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John Vervaeke discussed the contrast between Axial Age traditions (Greek philosophy, Buddhism, Abrahamic religions) that once provided practices and “technologies of wisdom”, with a world of overwhelming information. When this relevance‑realization machinery is hijacked by anxiety, manipulation, or shallow reward systems, people become vulnerable to nihilism, conspiracy thinking, or addictive behaviors that feel meaningful but don’t genuinely orient them toward flourishing. But how is "flourishing" defined at any one moment in our own lives in context with how the world is changing? Very often I have to make a concerted effort to relive the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s to remind myself of how I defined "meaning" and "flourishing" back then. Every era creates new mediums and messages. At some level, attempting to model a future based on the perceived virtues of an ancient past is almost silly. The collective seems to want to return to a meekness and turn away from the science and technology that created many zeitgeists that we all benefitted from. But how do we quantify the meaning of "all" when every age had its inequalities. Were there discussions of a "meaning crisis" in the 1950s as there is now? Probably not--or there weren't technologies like the internet and the ability for anyone to express their opinions about meaning or the lack of it. We have already solved the meaning crisis and is self-evident but we're too busy naval-gazing to see it. My life seems to be more meaningful when I find something interests me and I investigate it. If it isn't ultimately satisfying that might lead you to think life has lost its meaning--and it has, but it's only temporary. A general lack of meaning may mean you haven't looked at something interesting, or for something interesting. Very often I'll see something clever, like a clever design or clever architecture and it will give my day meaning, even if fleeting. If you add up all those little moments you can say your live had meaning in it. The question remains whether a life of meaningful moments is a meaningful life. So if you did all the things on your bucket list, would that be satisfying? Maybe. It will depend on the moment. My general observation is that people define meaning by how the tribe defines it because they fear being ostracized. So they'll go with the group's definition and as a result, and may cause painful cognitive dissonance, which we collectively define as the "meaning crisis" and blame it on technology (usually).

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