Editor’s Note: This is an adaptation from a talk recently given by Carrot at a symposium on “The Point”.
“Radishes grow just about anywhere. People think, ‘Oh it’s just a radish.’ But radishes are delicious, and people don’t think of cooking them.” – Emeril Lagasse
What’s the point? ‘What’s the Point’ is actually a really good question. It can be applied to almost everything we do. What is the point of college? What is the point of working? What’s the point of climbing? What is the point of money, eating, entertainment? What’s the point of philosophy? The point of love? What’s the point of happiness?
I think that looking at goals can help illuminate the point. I also think it’s important that we recognize that there doesn’t always have to be a (uh) point, and also recognize that there isn’t always a (eh) point, sometimes there are several.
And, while it is interesting to consider the point of college and climbing and work and money, I think it’s far more interesting to consider the point life. What is the point?
Most people have something to recommend, and while there are certainly some similarities among those recommendations, there are also differences, because even when it comes to life, there isn’t necessarily a point, and there isn’t necessarily just one. A person of religious persuasion may consider the point of life to live according to Divine values. A person of high libido may consider the point to be body count. A person of capitalist influence may be driven by money, and a person of curiosity may be driven by questions. Sometimes these points can coalesce. A religious capitalist with a high libido and a thirst for knowledge is not difficult to imagine. Sometimes points conflict. A boulderer with an aspiration for being cool is clearly a misguided conflation.
A point or even the point doesn’t have to be stagnant, it doesn’t have to be constant.
For most of my life I embraced the Aristotelian goal of Eudaimonia, until I was moved philosophically to reconsider. The point being…the point can change.
One cup of sliced radishes has only 19 calories.
I grew up on the north side of Detroit in a house built in the 1920’s. Back then they used actual 2×4’s to build houses, did you know that a 2×4 today isn’t 2”x4”? It’s actually 1 ½” x 3 ½”. In houses that old however, the studs measured 2”x4”, and all the drainpipes were made of clay. Clay is strong, but it’s susceptible to fracture especially from tree roots.
I was about 10 years old, maybe 11, mostly an idiot? And despite having a pretty progressive mom, I was delegated to traditional male household chores. I took out the garbage, shoveled the snow, raked the leaves, cut the grass, removed the spiders, and all other things of this variety.
One day, like a scene from a horror movie our front yard was covered in dead mice. Hundreds of them. I didn’t know what happened, maybe someone was playing a disgusting prank, maybe there was a metropolis of mice living under our front porch that came across a bad batch of poisoned cheese, maybe they fell from the sky? I had no idea where they came from, and despite my protests, my mom convinced me that this task fell under my jurisdiction, I’d have to clean them up.
I don’t know if you’re hearing me say there were a lot of dead mice, and thinking there were a few, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying I had to go out and rake up mounds of dead mice. I didn’t know what was up with these mice though, they were kind of petrified, but also wet? I was grossed out and wasn’t trying to look at them, but it didn’t seem like they had any faces or legs. After a little while of raking I fell into a pretty decent groove and was making headway.
After some time, my oldest sister came to check on me.
Sister: What are you doing?
Carrot: Mom said I had to rake up all these dead mice.
Sister: Those aren’t mice.
Carrot: Oh really, what are they then?
Sister: Those are tampons.
Carrot: What is a tampon?
Sister: Explains
Carrot: MOM!!!
I threw down the rake in protest.
Carrot: That does not fall within my jurisdiction!
These “mice” have been accumulating in that clay drainpipe ever since Earl Hass invented the tampon in 1931. Tree roots eventually cracked the pipe, and they slowly made their way to sunlight. What I assumed was the foul odor of dead mice was actually the smell of human feces gurgling beneath my feet as I raked.
There is a near endless list of platitudes and quotes on the point.
To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. – Nietzsche
Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with another. – Thomas Merton
We can regard our life as a uselessly disturbing episode in the blissful repose of nothingness. ― Arthur Schopenhauer
The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity. – Leo Tolstoy
Plunge boldly into the thick of life, and seize it where you will, it is always interesting. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Life has no meaning the moment you lose the illusion of being eternal. – Jean-Paul Sartre
“The secret for harvesting from existence the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment is: to live dangerously! Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius! Send your ships into uncharted seas!” – Nietzsche
Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. – Albert Camus
I started working on this talk by trying to find a specific quote from Kurt Vonnegut. He says, “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” I’m not really sure what is meant by “farting around”, but perhaps figuring it out is the point?
In the end, what do I know about the point? I could tell you more about radishes1.
- This quote was inspired by Samuel Beckett who said the same thing about destiny. “What do I know of man’s destiny? I could tell you more about radishes.” – Samuel Beckett
thedihedral.com 
Hey Carrot, I’m kinda freaked out right now. I asked the same question a few nights ago. What’s the point of maintaining a website, writing, painting, striving for (insert noun here). Tired of struggling from health issues and feeling broken and beat down. I just want to give up on the things that occupy my time. I began doing them to escape my health issues. But, What’s the point? I’m freaked out because when I opened WordPress Reader your post is the only one I see. Serendipity? Providence? Divine turnips? Not sure. But farting around sounds about right. Our little lives are too short to accomplish much of anything. We all cannot be Einstein. Thinking about it, I assume he struggled with society and his mental health as well.
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That is so perfect!!! Sometimes things kind of just fall into place. But from what I can tell, farting around sounds about as good as anything else! I bet even Einstein took advantage of that goal sometimes?
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Whenever I wonder about the Meaning of Life (or The Point), I return to my personal Plato and Socrates (Flakey Foont and Mr. Natural). When Flakey asked Mr Natural, “Mr. Natural! What does it all mean??”, Mr. Natural replied, “Don’t mean sheeit…”
Or, one could argue that we give meaning to life instead of it having an intrinsic meaning. Does anything have a point? Only if we say it does.
You learned younger than most why plumbers tell you not to flush tampons. As a plumber, I will also tell you not to flush dental floss. (Also see John W. Gardner re: plumbing and philosophy.)
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I am going to check out John W Gardner right now…I can’t wait to see what that is!
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That quote is great!!!
Here it is in case anyone else is following this thread…
“The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”
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Hey Carrot, I’m kinda freaked out right now. I asked the same question a few nights ago. What’s the point of maintaining a website, writing, painting, striving for (insert noun here). Tired of struggling from health issues and feeling broken and beat down. I just want to give up on the things that occupy my time. I began doing them to escape my health issues. But, What’s the point? I’m freaked out because when I opened WordPress Reader your post is the only one I see. Serendipity? Providence? Divine turnips? Not sure. But farting around sounds about right. Our little lives are too short to accomplish much of anything. We all cannot be Einstein. Thinking about it, I assume he struggled with society and his mental health as well. Peace out and turnip juice-T
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All I’m going to say is, my mom loved a radish sandwich!!! It helps not thinking of you demise.
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Some radish with a little salt seems like the perfect sandwich!
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Now that’s a good story! However, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for that young boy and his rake. BTW, I love radishes!
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I felt sorry for that young boy too, haha!
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I don’t know if I was supposed to laugh, but… Wonderful story. It’s funny what Goethe quote is most often, uh, quoted. It could be (but isn’t)
All is given by the eternal gods
to those they love, complete.
All joy, unending,
All suffering, unending, complete.
Pretty different perspective. 🙂 I kind of go with this one at this point — at the end of that turn turn turn stuff that everyone goes on about…
“Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?” Ecclesiastes 3:22
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Basically, farting around.
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I was looking at some possible quotes for this list and I read a recent post of yours and immediately thought ‘I better add a Goethe quote’. It was a little more affirming than the others so I thought it fit in pretty well!
There was a psych professor on the panel who ended his talk with that exact quote. I like it too. The Schopenhauer quote above really got me though.
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The Schopenhauer quote made me laugh. My personal philosophy is like Towelee, “I have no idea what’s going on.” Like I used to tell my students when they wondered how old I was (I looked 20 when I was 35) “The question is interesting. The answer isn’t” 🙂 At this point, I decided I was put on this planet to walk my dogs and that’s just awesome.
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I love that…dogs are the best!. One of the other panelists had recently lost his dog and talked about the idea of approaching life in a style similar to that of a dog. Have fun, enjoy walks, show your happiness, etc… Diogenes would have been proud!
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Yep. I’m an old-school cynic. 🐾
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You write with panache. Love reading them. Radishes are in my mind presently. Seeds mostly. Raised vegetable beds deserve three of rows of different variety radishes. Baked they are glorious. What else is in my head? Harry Nilsson. I have his album ‘The Point’ on vinyl. Had it about 50 years and play it at least once a year. There is no song about a radish on it though. But ‘Me and my arrow’ is now an ear worm. 😊 All the best.
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I agree 100%. Radishes grow so easily, I actually just bought some radio seeds that will go in the soil tomorrow! I’ve never listened to Harry Nilsson, but I’m thinking he’ll be great company as I settle in to start grading papers!
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Harry is perfect company in writing down thoughts. So should suit marking too I hope. Watch out for his quirky tunes though! Happy seed planting.
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This was an enjoyable and entertaining read from start to finish. I seldom ponder the meaning of life … I’d far sooner spend that time living and enjoying however many days I may have left 😊
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It’s kind of like taking a photo vs. enjoying the moment. Enjoy what and when you can! Great point Terry!
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You’re born. You die. Everything in between is busywork. Enjoy what you can, when you can. That is life.
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Maybe eat a few radishes along the way!!!
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Oh gosh.
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