Why does nobody think of the boulder?
this post was submitted on 29 May 2025
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I’m sure Sisyphus thinks about bouldy.
But more importantly, does Bouldy believe in us?
Is Sisyphus happy?
Possibly. For once in his endless existence he now has an objective aside from "move this big rock." No matter which target gets clobbered, moving the boulder has a point. That and nobody has any idea what will really happen - how exciting! Who knows, maybe we do this all again tomorrow and see if the outcome is the same?
As a bonus, if you give Sisyphus the ability to choose which target, he gets to exercise some agency. Forever in a state of doing the same exact thing all the time, this would likely feel like sipping on ambrosia for the first time. It would be a tremendous act of mercy.
Edit: Also, Tartarus is now in anarchy, so anything is possible.
OP's thought experiment shows that some rando just showed up with lodging of infinite size and the nautical manifestation of a logical paradox, in his back pocket. And what does he do with this awesome, reality-bending power? They conduct philosophical experiments that only end in more questions. Moreover, he's aggravating Zeus' terms of Sisyphus' imprisonment, and you don't have to be Prometheus to know that's playing with fire. The gods must be busy doing, uh, other things.
Luckily, Sisyphus will do this an infinite number of times so he'll be able to explore the options.
Yeah but if he never gets time away from the boulder to go show off his sweet bod then what’s the point?
The point is he is jacked as FUCK
The answer is simple the cat is alive, but god is dead in a box when you ring the bell.
Ring the bell ?
To remind Pavlov that he needs to feed the dogs
Thx
You can always move the room guests into the next room before the boulder reaches them.
Besides, the boulder will have to destroy half of the rooms before it reaches the other half. And half of those first before reaching the later half. And half of those first before reaching the later half. So Sisyphus can only ever bulldoze an inifinitelly small share of the rooms.
Trick question: Sisyphus is never happy.
This feels like something that an infinite number of monkeys with typewriters would write.
The instructions stated "get on the train. go to the last stop. go through the station and exit down stairway 17. The stairs terminate in a tunnel. follow the lights."
So I got on the train and rode to the last stop. I went through the station, found stairway 17, and followed them down until they ended in a tunnel.
The lights went both ways. I was confused.
For as long as he has to push the boulder, Sisyphus will never be happy.
So, I don't know. I vote for Hotel Massacre today, might change my mind later
but isn't the struggle itself towards the heights enough to fill a man's heart?
I'm glad someone else posted this. The point of the essay is that Sisyphus is fulfilled and Happy. Sisyphus being miserable at the meaningless and futility of his torment wouldn't really require an essay.
Wait, what essay?
Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
a very short read itself (often bundled with his other works) but dang, does it slap
Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.
This is absurd.
in the best possible way.
Five tons of flax
Plot twist, the boulder is actually a golden apple and he's just trying to get it to the prettiest one
Zeno of Elea tried shooting Sisyphus but none of his arrows would move once they were in the air.
I'll just go with my typical RPG reaction and say: I attack the boulder
Fortunately, according to Zeno, he'll never reach either; he can only ever get halfway. Not sure if that makes him more, or less happy.