# will sound stupid if u dont know **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 29, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541 "2005-12-29T04:18:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/21 "2005-12-29T05:16:36Z")
[hijack]This has nothing to do with anything, but wasn’t there a Dutchboy here once? Who, I think, later became Isla. What happened to him? He was a great poster, than just stopped.[/hijack] As for the OP, I am 17 at the moment as well. It seems pretty natural to some people to feel like they have a purpose, that their life has some underlying meaning, and all they need to do is find it. This is rehashed predeterminism, so I generally discredit this feeling. Then, there is another common feeling, that of which makes the victim feel like they have something great to share, that they are the best that has ever lived in one subject or another, and/or that they have something so profound inside of them that society will be utterly revolutionized once they share it. Most people grow out of it, once they realize they are brilliant and talented and magnificent just like the rest of society. Some will actually revolutionize society, but they are definitely the minority. The rest never grow out of it, and usually evolve into an egocentric adult, what most modern standards deem an asshole. As a teenager, though, these feelings are normal. Maybe you have something profound to say. How will you know until you say it? Try to figure out what you are trying to say, speak clearly, and then let the world be damned. For me personally, I have had these feelings as well, but I usually don’t listen to them. I know that I will be the greatest theoritical physicist director mathematician that has ever lived. ---
**Author:** ![i\_have\_the\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bcef8e/32.png) [@i\_have\_the\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_have_the_z)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/22 "2005-12-29T05:28:56Z")
i rele appreciate the wisdom…but i dont see the point in not listening tro these feelings…we know soo little about everythingg…who knows what could be possible…maybe i just like to hear myself speak? ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/23 "2005-12-29T05:46:29Z")
> [@i have the ?z](#): > > i rele appreciate the wisdom…but i dont see the point in not listening tro these feelings…we know soo little about everythingg…who knows what could be possible…maybe i just like to hear myself speak? IF you think your life is pre-determined and that you have a special fate in store for yourself, asking about it is only gonna confuse your purpose. Go out and live life , if and when that moment comes ,then your life experience to date will determine if you walk through the fire , or the fire consumes you. Declan ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/24 "2005-12-29T06:03:36Z")
Paging Mr. Rock… Mr. L. Rock… ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/25 "2005-12-29T06:10:10Z")
This is so lame. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/26 "2005-12-29T06:28:55Z")
Your ideas do not sound very stupid. However, the way in which you are typing looks extremely stupid. One period at the end of a sentence, capatilize the first word in a sentence and try organizing your thoughts instead of merely rambling on. You are wondering why you are here why not try exploring the possibility that the reason you are here is to post with some semblance of grammar, sentence structure and organized though. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/27 "2005-12-29T06:29:10Z")
**i have the ?z** , I don’t mean to be rude, but 17 is not 12. Rico gave you some constructive advice on your grammar, spelling and punctuation. You seem to have ignored it. I am a guy, and I remember what it was like to be 17. However, you seem to acting in an immature fashion, even for a 17 year old. The posters have shown you respect and taken you seriously. Return the respect by cleaning up your act. I don’t mean to be rude, and I offer the advice in a constructive way. Stick around. Join if you wish. But this group is not likely to treat you like you’re 12, even if you act like it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/28 "2005-12-29T06:37:27Z")
> [@the raindog](#): > > **i have the ?z** , I don’t mean to be rude, but 17 is not 12. Well, if 40 is the new 30… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/29 "2005-12-29T06:48:23Z")
> [@i have the ?z](#): > > im 17. im from ny… i have this feeling like i am here to do something… i cannot figure out what it is… i know there is something… I know exactly where you’re coming from. I had those same type feelings when I was 17. My solution was to drop out of school and join the military service. That solved my problems, as I then had some real issues to address and didn’t have time to stand around looking in a mirror. Hey! It worked for me. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) ---
**Author:** ![rkts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c4cdca/32.png) [@rkts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rkts)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/30 "2005-12-29T09:09:09Z")
Umm, I just got finished being 17, and I have no idea what any of you are talking about. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/31 "2005-12-29T09:20:42Z")
You have no special purpose in life and will most likely live a meaningless, dull, and tepid existence marred by self-doubt and regret that will eat away at the void you call a soul. But remember this…There is always Beer. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/32 "2005-12-29T09:37:52Z")
> [@i have the ?z](#): > > im 17. im from ny… i have this feeling like i am here to do something… i cannot figure out what it is… i know there is something out there more then this more then what i have come to know in my life already… i dont know if im asking the right questions or even the right people… if you are the right person or happen to know who might bee please contact me back…i am trying to fin more people who know the feeling that i feel… the feeling when you look in the mirror and get the feeling of something i cannot even explain…if this sounds stupid to you then i guess you are not the right person. thanks i got the ?z Just so you’re aware, **i have the ?z** , recent unscientific surveys among the posters here have pegged the average age at somewhere in the upper 30s. In other words, at least twice as old as you. I say this in the nicest way possible: You’re feelings are very normal, but not very far down the line, you will regard the stage in life where you actually devoted time and energy to focus on them will seem like a period of quaint naive innocence. Which of course does not help you now. If you, as a seventgeen year old, truly feel that to date, your talents and abilities have remained underappreciated, underutilized, and underdeveloped, I would say that you are entirely justified. What you need to realize is that the path to true adulthood lies in realizing that the answers to your questions will never be fully given by outside entities. Despite what you have been led to believe up to this point, the world is not nearly that carefully organized. You have reached an age where you must begin planning and carving your own path through life. Having been an educator for over 20 years, I have worked a lot with your particular cohort (born in the mid-to-late 1980s), and sadly, you have been truly gypped. Your generation has been provided with fewer tools to perform what I have described above than any other in recent memory. You have been very sheltered and structured so far, and your ability to be satisfied in what is ultimately a completely unstructured world, I fear, has been hampered by your upbringing. Your success will depend entirely on your own strength and perseverance. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/33 "2005-12-29T09:40:02Z")
> [@i have the ?z](#): > > im 17. im from ny… i have this feeling like i am here to do something… i cannot figure out what it is… i know there is something out there more then this more then what i have come to know in my life already… When the machines rise up and enslave us, it is your destiny to lead mankind’s crusade for freedom. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/34 "2005-12-29T10:20:01Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > When the machines rise up and enslave us, it is your destiny to lead mankind’s crusade for freedom. Don’t tell him that; he’ll spend his life avoiding hot blondes. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/35 "2005-12-29T10:39:25Z")
It’s moments like this that I regret letting my cult lapse. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/36 "2005-12-29T11:22:39Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Don’t tell him that; he’ll spend his life avoiding hot blondes. Actually, I was reading the prophecy upside down: it says he’ll spend most of his life on the couch smoking dope, watching TV, and feeling vaguely sorry for himself. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/37 "2005-12-29T13:08:22Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Actually, I was reading the prophecy upside down: it says he’ll spend most of his life on the couch smoking dope, watching TV, and feeling vaguely sorry for himself. I’m sorry, that position has already been filled. Perhaps something in Chartered Accountancy? > [@i have the ?z](#): > > p.s. if you dont know then please dont make stupid answers You must realize that you’re asking a deeply philosophical question, and there is no right or wrong answer. Relax, enjoy the various personalities and viewpoints here, and open yourself to a new experience. Perhaps you might even find a sense of direction here, who knows? Personally, I found a wonderful community full of highbrows, cranks, eccentrics and goofballs, and I fit right in! Welcome, guest, and consider becoming a member, all the while listening without judging. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/38 "2005-12-29T13:22:49Z")
**Case Sensitive** , you seem to be the most qualified Doper to help our young friend find his shift key. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/39 "2005-12-29T13:39:20Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > It’s moments like this that I regret letting my cult lapse. And exactly when did _this_ happen, huh? You owe me _back dues_, O Love’s Avatar of the Matchbook Cover! And to think I’ve been telling myself all these months, “I’m stupid, just like Larry The God says. I even got the Holiday Inn room number wrong.” You deceitful, deceiving _deceiver_! I should’ve listened to my imaginery friend Foami (the international stripper): you mailed me the packets of Quick-Ade not because it was “more exotic” than Kool-Aid®, you did it because it was _cheaper_! I prepaid for Kool-Aid®, damn it! You owe me for that too! You– What? Oh. Sorry. **I have the ?z** , your question, unfocused as it is, isn’t stupid, but expecting a concise answer to it is, let us say, a mark of innocence. Every thinking person on the planet, several times over the course of years, can be expected to wake up in the middle of the night and ask, “Who am I? What purpose should I be serving? Am I doing well? Am I a good person, and will anyone, including me, ever know it?” Most people find some way to answer the question, or defer it, or suppress it, else suicide would be, not the leading cause of death, but the leading recreational activity on the planet. At your age, it’s best to defer it, as your track record is not yet complete enough to satisfactorily answer it or require suppression. Also, don’t be quite so contemptuous of stupid. It’s only an adjective, one that can be aptly applied to us all at several moments in our lives, not a terminal diagnosis. Applying such adjectives as stupid, wise, cruel, kind, etc., to individual actions rather than to individual people is the basis of a wise and pragmatic outlook. And you’re 17. Your purpose is to sleep 12 hours a day, play video games, try to figure out which is more difficult: calculus II or girls, and eat lots of pizza. Go do that, and know you’re on the right track. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541/40 "2005-12-29T13:46:42Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > And you’re 17. Your purpose is to sleep 12 hours a day, play video games, try to figure out which is more difficult: calculus II or girls, and eat lots of pizza. Go do that, and know you’re on the right track. You forgot one VERY important thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-sound-stupid-if-u-dont-know/337541.md?page=3)