Sterling's Truths for Life #26

Explanation

More Princess Bride. I simply cannot resist quoting it again and again.

“Life is pain.”

So true. So true. How can anyone look at the world we live in and think otherwise? We all know, deep down, that this is not how it is supposed to be. Life should not be filled with pain. And yet, life is full of pain beyond reckoning or human understanding.

“Anyone who says differently is selling something.”

And how many systems are there that claim, “If only we do this, the pain will go away.” Some people believe socialism will do it. Or they believe that getting rid of ownership will save us. Or that making sure that everyone has enough of their basic needs fulfilled will do it. Or that if we create the perfect Artificial Intelligence, we’ll find a peaceful solution to all human problems. Or if we can transcend and move into the computer, creating our own worlds using tiny amounts of energy in the simulation to fulfill all our dreams and desires with no more need, we’ll get away from the pain.

Every one of these systems is selling something.

I think William Goldman probably wished for a socialist paradise or something like that himself, but I think he was cynical enough to recognize it couldn’t really lead to utopia. The statement in the movie might have just been a trite statement designed to fill space, but I think there’s enough truth to think he meant it.