Maths, Ethics, the Cosmos (and Why!?!)

This post is going to be a little random as i’ve had lots of things going through my mind recently and thought I would make a single post of it all!

Make of it what you will…

Would it be disconcerting to truly grasp how small and potentially insignificant we are as humans in relation to the universe? Or would it fill you with wonder and excitement?

I watched an interesting video from a TED conference by Jill Tarter about SETI and it’s work. It considered the relationship between us and the potential for extra-terrestrial life. As insignificant as we may be, and as it may end up being, how little time we have as individuals to live, it makes me want to contribute something significant to humanity and at the same time, pushes me to pursue selfish wants. Needs maybe, but like I said before, they appear trivial on reflection. I’m sure there is an element in all of us that feels this way, however skewed it may be from acceptance to repulsion.

Similarly (bear with me), i’m currently reading a book on Andrew Wiles’ famous mathematical pursuit of proof of Fermats’ last theorem, and although the effort is admirable, the HOPE that the results will provide usable dramatic change for humans is speculative at best. Or provide results at all in SETI’s case! Even Wiles knew that his pursuit of an answer would yield little more than personal satisfaction, and perhaps a few advances in Number Theory, code encryption, etc. I oversimplify, but you get my meaning. So, my link between these apparently different topics is that age old question of Why?

The mathematician G. H. Hardy wisely noted, that although his work was in all likelihood useless is was something of undeniable worth. The question was whether it was of any value?

So, Why are we here? Why am I doing what I do? I thought about working for TED, but why bother? Don’t get me wrong, I know why I should and I still adhere to those altruistic beliefs but the question remains. In laymans terms, I haven’t found a logical proof as of yet!

I also got to thinking about work ethics. I often think that we could do more, and I’m 100% right, but at what cost to us? To what benefit? Reading this back, it feels like more of a motivation issue. More on a traders interesting perspective on that in another post. There is a significant degree of difficulty combining these wants and needs into a satisfying life. I can attest to that as can most people i’m sure.

On the poker front, I’m always thinking of ways to deepen my understanding. Not just improve by vicarious experience, but philosophically entrench myself in the kind of self analysis that is akin to enlightenment. I want to REALLY understand people and poker is the most obvious test bed that I can practice on where I have any experience. What cues are there that I miss that tell me the exact info I want to know? It’s an exciting and intriguing prospect to even contemplate. It’s why I love to play, the psychology of it all. The need for that ultimate attention to achieve nirvanic insight.

Anyway, thats what’s on my mind for now. Until next time…