Intro to Jivanism
Have you ever encountered a math problem that completely stumped you? You tried every method in the textbook, looked away and returned to it, even asked a friend for help, but you just couldn't seem to solve it. At a certain point, it seems like there are only two options: take a random guess and run with it, or skip the question and move on. What do you do?
As a species, we’ve spent our collective existence looking for a solution with no comprehensive conclusion. Many of us end up taking the guess of faith in an unknown truth. We take comfort in choosing a concrete answer we can stand behind, something we can justify despite a lack of evidence. Others take an agnostic perspective and skip the question, believing it’s more likely that the question has a typo than for a solution to actually exist. Both of these seem like reasonable choices, except unlike a math equation, the question of existence has deeper implications. There’s only one question on this test, and we have to submit our answer before the clock strikes death. So what do you choose?
Jivanism supposes a third alternative: to solve the problem or die trying. Keep learning skills, keep acquiring tools, keep shifting perspectives, and keep attacking the question. A solution may become self-evident, or it may require our creation. If we fail in our objective, our fate is no different than if we had never tried at all. But by trying, the odds bend towards success.