Optimistic Nihilism
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN users recommend it as a comforting, clear introduction to nihilism for anxiety, mid-life doubts and feeling behind in life.
What it is
Kurzgesagt's short animated take on optimistic nihilism. It argues the universe has no inherent meaning, so we are free to create our own and enjoy life.
Recommended by 5 HN commenters across 6 different months, 2018 to 2022.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec dinamic · 2021-04 · on “You Are Not ‘Behind’ (2016)”
There is a beautiful video by Kurzgesagt. It makes a similar point and I feel better every time I watch it. [this video]
Strong rec vitorbaptistaa · 2022-09 · on “Ask HN: Activity and reading to move through mid-life crisis?”
Your comment reminded me of the Optimistic Nihilism video by Kurzegesagt [1]. I highly recommend it, as they explain these concepts very well in a short 6min video. [1] [this video]
Recommends thunderbong · 2018-05 · on “What will happen when an ant falls from the Empire State Building”
Thanks for that! I got carried away and sank an hour watching stuff. Totally off topic - My favourite was 'Optimistic Nihilism' - [this video]
Recommends stared · 2021-02 · on “The Art of Negativity”
I like the notion of "Optimistic Nihilism", as explained by Kurzgesagt: [this video] For me, it is about stoic/Zen acceptance of things we cannot change. Contrast it with "American optimism", which is for me close to gaslighting, or at best - a "flight" reaction from suffering.
Recommends cupcake-unicorn · 2021-11 · on “In Praise of Idleness (1932)”
Absolutely. Thanks for this. It's telling to me how dismissive/judgemental are about nihilism, and that's been a good signal for me in other areas that it's getting a lot closer to a basic truth and people are threatened with it and want to push it away. Which is what we shouldn't be doing. Optimistic Nihilism ( [this video] ) or Absurdism ( [LINK] ) are maybe more accessible takes if nihilism seems too "scary".
Recommends stared · 2022-03 · on “I am the healthiest person I know, and I got cancer”
> The thought may be freeing to you, but many others become paralysed by it, obsessing about “the right choices” at every moment. I had been struggling with the same issue. The opposite (“our choices don’t matter”) is depressing. However, two things help me: The first is “Optimistic Nihilism” ( [this video] ) - a view very close to Zen/stoicism. The second is that ALL choices matter, but their impact is finite and subject to randomness. I used to think that all of my choices were forever and set in stone. While technically correct, it misses that the future changes only a bit. We might be tempted to think that “the grass is greener”, or “I should have bought Bitcoins”, but it is like “I miss I di