Grant Imahara Has Died(hollywoodreporter.com)
hollywoodreporter.com
Grant Imahara Has Died
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/grant-imahara-dead-mythbusters-host-was-49-1303101
267 comments
My father started his career as a software engineer in the 1970s. He worked at places like Raytheon and DEC and a few others. He started his career using punchcards, and ended his career building websites from a laptop. I am grateful that from a very young age he let me ask about and use anything he had in his home office, starting with a kit computer in the late 1970s which I learned BASIC on.
My father died in 2011. I flew back home to be with my mother during that time. It was a really hard time, made much harder because my only son was one month old, and my father never got to meet him.
In that week at home, my mother asked me to go through my father's computers and help her figure out if there was anything she should know about or do anything with. Going through his computers was a profound experience. I got to see all the projects he was working on; the ones we all knew about because they were his professional projects, the ones I knew about because we always had technical conversations, and the ones no one knew about because they were just little side projects for fun and curiosity.
I spent several days going through his computers, because it was like lingering in one last conversation with him. In the end, there wasn't much to share with my mother, for the reasons the parent comment mentioned - most of the projects had too much personal context for anyone else to pick up. But that experience had a huge impact on me. I realized that if I died that day and someone went through my computer, they'd find all kinds of projects that would never see the light of day. I was a hobbyist programmer at that point, and going through my father's computer motivated me to stop working on so many different hobby projects, and pick one or two to really build out. I realized I had developed meaningful programming skills, and I could probably build something that others would find useful.
Since then I have done that with a number of projects. If I die today, you could still find many little projects that won't ever see the light of day. But you'd also find some highly impactful projects, which I am really proud of. I miss my father every day, but I my life would also be on a very different trajectory if I hadn't learned what I did from his passing.
My father died in 2011. I flew back home to be with my mother during that time. It was a really hard time, made much harder because my only son was one month old, and my father never got to meet him.
In that week at home, my mother asked me to go through my father's computers and help her figure out if there was anything she should know about or do anything with. Going through his computers was a profound experience. I got to see all the projects he was working on; the ones we all knew about because they were his professional projects, the ones I knew about because we always had technical conversations, and the ones no one knew about because they were just little side projects for fun and curiosity.
I spent several days going through his computers, because it was like lingering in one last conversation with him. In the end, there wasn't much to share with my mother, for the reasons the parent comment mentioned - most of the projects had too much personal context for anyone else to pick up. But that experience had a huge impact on me. I realized that if I died that day and someone went through my computer, they'd find all kinds of projects that would never see the light of day. I was a hobbyist programmer at that point, and going through my father's computer motivated me to stop working on so many different hobby projects, and pick one or two to really build out. I realized I had developed meaningful programming skills, and I could probably build something that others would find useful.
Since then I have done that with a number of projects. If I die today, you could still find many little projects that won't ever see the light of day. But you'd also find some highly impactful projects, which I am really proud of. I miss my father every day, but I my life would also be on a very different trajectory if I hadn't learned what I did from his passing.
I think back to some of the working men in my life. Even at an early age, I was intimidated by their workbenches.
Ingenious little tools they'd cobbled together with scrap material. Probably some insanely specific purpose... but the time it saved was immeasurable. Or perhaps some little design to test a theory out, kept as a memento. Even if it was disorganized, everything had a place. If you asked for something, they knew where it was.
The hours of creative thought and domain knowledge, that spark of creativity, all gone. Just bits of scrap now. It's tragic, but in a strangely bittersweet way.
I think though... when you invest in people? That's something that will last much longer. Both Grant (and your father) invested in people. That's something that is much harder to forget.
Ingenious little tools they'd cobbled together with scrap material. Probably some insanely specific purpose... but the time it saved was immeasurable. Or perhaps some little design to test a theory out, kept as a memento. Even if it was disorganized, everything had a place. If you asked for something, they knew where it was.
The hours of creative thought and domain knowledge, that spark of creativity, all gone. Just bits of scrap now. It's tragic, but in a strangely bittersweet way.
I think though... when you invest in people? That's something that will last much longer. Both Grant (and your father) invested in people. That's something that is much harder to forget.
This was a beautiful read, thanks for sharing
I see a nodemcu, some sparkfun and adafruit gear. I see the node sitting on some plug in headers over a breakout board.
That looks like things I like to play with. I'm not an electrical engineer, but am an earth scientist , engineer, programmer, and electronics hobbyist. This man was inspiring. What a loss to the world his passing is.
That looks like things I like to play with. I'm not an electrical engineer, but am an earth scientist , engineer, programmer, and electronics hobbyist. This man was inspiring. What a loss to the world his passing is.
The world lost a decent person
They said he had one of those personalities where he made you feel special. Not through flattery; in a truly genuine way. We lost a truly good guy.
It is eerie how much that looks like my workbench. I guess EEs are all the same.
It's a neurological condition. We go to college to get a diagnosis.
From someone who gets giddy about exciting algorithms, languages, performance numbers - I suppose we're kindred spirits, though across the pond of the hardware-software divide. Glad the world has all sorts of people in love with all sorts of things.
Do a search for "Jim Williams workbench", you won't be disappointed.
"Don't worry Timmy, there's nothing wrong with you. You're just an electrical engineer."
He had the knack https://youtu.be/Dx6HojLBsnw
Gave me ideas . Man I thought I was the only one that made a huge mess with electrical stuff on the desk . I was trying to emulate my lab setup from school this whole time and what I really need is just the foldout desk from the attic.
If the bench is clean, that means there isn't any work happening. Sad he passed so soon, I'm sure I'm not the only one he inspired a love of electronics for.
> Barely a bitter or angry tweet. None of the toxic outrage so prevalent in society today.
It’s pretty rare you can find celebrities who are balanced, genuine and avoid taking to outrage social media. I sadly had to unfollow Adam Savage years back because his negative tone and constant angry political outlook. That was not the content I was looking for when I originally followed him.
It’s pretty rare you can find celebrities who are balanced, genuine and avoid taking to outrage social media. I sadly had to unfollow Adam Savage years back because his negative tone and constant angry political outlook. That was not the content I was looking for when I originally followed him.
Shit I have the same scope.
I normally don't care about celebrity deaths but this one really has me sad. I know a lot younger people were influenced by him but he had a positive influence on me even thought I was already well into my career as an engineer. He embodied a true engineering spirit, and watching him on TV would make me reflect and kindle the engineering spirit of my own. Even if my job wasn't as sexy, was in a sea of cubicles and the biggest explosions were a small circuit fuse burning off.
It's hard to think of him as a celebrity, even. He felt just like a guy you'd hang out with at work or after work.
This is not relevant, but this strikes me as a big cultural difference between wherever you're from and where I'm from. Here, the first thought to complete that sentence would be "he strikes me as someone you'd be friends with". I wonder why "hang out at work" was the first thing that came to mind for you. Here we don't tend to think in terms of "people we hang out with after work", we generally have "friends we first met at work" and "coworkers with no other social relationship".
I know it's a small thing, but that's where cultural differences usually manifest, and I find them very interesting.
I know it's a small thing, but that's where cultural differences usually manifest, and I find them very interesting.
I'm not sure where are you from initially but I think it's a flaw with english language itself. There are just too few words to describe relationships in english, everything is very binary, e.g. You either love someone or you don't where other languages are have many more words to describe your relationship with someone; see famous example of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_words_for_love
I'm actually from Greece, and while we still use most of those words, we have about the same words as English does (friends, acquaintances, lovers, etc).
We just rarely use "people you hang out with after work" as a category, if you went out on a work dinner, we say acquaintances, if you regularly hang out, they're friends.
We just rarely use "people you hang out with after work" as a category, if you went out on a work dinner, we say acquaintances, if you regularly hang out, they're friends.
I don't know about OP's intention, but I always took and intended "someone you grab a beer with after work" to mean something along the lines of "close acquaintance" or "casual friend". Someone you more than incidentally hang out with via group meets or mutual friends, but not quite someone you would invite to a small intimate event.
It doesn't necessarily imply co-workers, but usually that's where that sort of friendship develops; given forced proximity.
It doesn't necessarily imply co-workers, but usually that's where that sort of friendship develops; given forced proximity.
> I wonder why "hang out at work" was the first thing that came to mind for you.
The Mythbusters team had a great comradery that reminds me of working at a great company. I guess he just seems like talented humble engineer that you might been lucky to hang out with at work at some point...
The Mythbusters team had a great comradery that reminds me of working at a great company. I guess he just seems like talented humble engineer that you might been lucky to hang out with at work at some point...
I also wonder how much of it is "nerd" adjacent.
I came to software development late in my career (I was a lawyer and a health care administrator first). I work for a good company and I like a lot of my coworkers. I would never want to be friends with them. That's a barrier I'm not very comfortable crossing. When I worked in a hospital, when I was a lawyer, it was the same. Good coworkers, no desire to keep seeing them after quitting time.
I have a lot of software development friends who play board games or video games or go climbing or whatever with their coworkers. It baffles me. They ask me and my wife for social advice and I have nothing to give - how I'd resolve a given problem with a friend and with a coworker are too totally different things.
I've talked to friends from college who've gone into many different industries, and a lot of them distinguish between "friends" and "friends from work".
Except engineers, developers, and data scientists. I'm not sure what it is.
I came to software development late in my career (I was a lawyer and a health care administrator first). I work for a good company and I like a lot of my coworkers. I would never want to be friends with them. That's a barrier I'm not very comfortable crossing. When I worked in a hospital, when I was a lawyer, it was the same. Good coworkers, no desire to keep seeing them after quitting time.
I have a lot of software development friends who play board games or video games or go climbing or whatever with their coworkers. It baffles me. They ask me and my wife for social advice and I have nothing to give - how I'd resolve a given problem with a friend and with a coworker are too totally different things.
I've talked to friends from college who've gone into many different industries, and a lot of them distinguish between "friends" and "friends from work".
Except engineers, developers, and data scientists. I'm not sure what it is.
There are those nerds who grew up bullied, ostracized by everybody. Where the ones at work remind us of those bullies. Where there's some common thread between "engineers, developers, and data scientists" that respects hard work, and rejects blowhards. Something along this crowd that's compelled to accept the meekest and quietest of all, and as equals. The font this comment is written in as the same as from `pg` or `dang`. There's a broader, quieter culture that thrives on listening to the substance of people.
And then are those "nerds" who did the bullying.
And then are those "nerds" who did the bullying.
> Except engineers, developers, and data scientists. I'm not sure what it is.
I assume you mean "they're not friends", rather than "they're all just friends"?
That doesn't really echo my experience, I have many good friends from past jobs that I'm still in contact with. Though I've also definitely gotten frustrated with people we seemed to get along with at work but then didn't ever seem to want to hang out outside work...
I assume you mean "they're not friends", rather than "they're all just friends"?
That doesn't really echo my experience, I have many good friends from past jobs that I'm still in contact with. Though I've also definitely gotten frustrated with people we seemed to get along with at work but then didn't ever seem to want to hang out outside work...
I meant
> a lot of them distinguish between "friends" and "friends from work", except engineers, developers, and data scientists
as in my experience is the people who don't distinguish between the two seem to be very STEM focused.
I'll get drinks with coworkers after work, but it's still very much "drinks with coworkers".
My friends get to place demands on my time that coworkers don't, and I'm willing to accept a higher level of frustration with coworkers than I am with my friends. For me, they're different relationships, and I always want to know which one I'm in. I never want to fire a friend, ever.
> a lot of them distinguish between "friends" and "friends from work", except engineers, developers, and data scientists
as in my experience is the people who don't distinguish between the two seem to be very STEM focused.
I'll get drinks with coworkers after work, but it's still very much "drinks with coworkers".
My friends get to place demands on my time that coworkers don't, and I'm willing to accept a higher level of frustration with coworkers than I am with my friends. For me, they're different relationships, and I always want to know which one I'm in. I never want to fire a friend, ever.
So frustrating when you have a coworker who you get along with very well, will take walks/lunch/etc, but refuses to go to happy hour or do anything outside of work.
We’re all people, shouldn’t matter where we met. It’s not like we talk about work outside of work.
We’re all people, shouldn’t matter where we met. It’s not like we talk about work outside of work.
Yeah, and when I asked, the answer was "oh I don't hang out with coworkers outside work", which I can't understand.
I don't personally limit myself in this way, but I understand. Having personal friendships at work makes it more challenging to make hard business decisions such as switching companies when opportunities present themselves or firing / laying off team members. I've worked with people who are very friendly and pleasant to work with but explicitly avoid any personal relationships so they can use pure cost-benefit analysis in career and company decisions, rather than allowing emotion and sentiment to influence it.
Edit: actually, the most effective person I ever met who did this was someone who _did_ hang out outside work and etc to allow others to form personal bonds with him, but he avoided reciprocal investment in them. This let him take advantage of their empathy while not having any of his own to limit his decision-making. It was a bit sociopathic, but I saw firsthand how much it helped his career.
Edit: actually, the most effective person I ever met who did this was someone who _did_ hang out outside work and etc to allow others to form personal bonds with him, but he avoided reciprocal investment in them. This let him take advantage of their empathy while not having any of his own to limit his decision-making. It was a bit sociopathic, but I saw firsthand how much it helped his career.
More than a "bit" sociopathic, unless you are saying that this person had to make a conscious effort to avoid reciprocating, and you know that they naturally formed reciprocal bonds in other contexts.
I hang out with coworkers outside of work for a little decompression. As coworkers.
probably means "someone I would be unlikely to meet via my personal circles, but likely someone I'd encounter at work, and then develop a friendship with, both within and outside the workplace."
We care about celebrity deaths because our instinctive brain sees them as someone familiar. Someone that you knew, a member of your tribe. Even if that person doesn't even know you exist. It is also a reminder of our own death. Specially when it is someone young that looks fit and all.
I saw him as an engineer before being a celebrity. I'm like you deaths of celebrities although sad tend to be of vapid people. But Grant was a scientist who inspired many. Just reading the comments here it's amazing the impact he had in such a short time.
I disagree. Celebrities are often highly gifted people, like Grant. But they’re usually entertainers, not technical.
I'm in my 40s, and he both influenced me, and has affected me, more than I can ever state...
Grant was part of a group of people who showed us how engineering could be more than cubicles and paperwork, and inspired my childhood dreams which turned into fulfilling careers in both tech and entertainment. To this day Grant and his coworkers are my 'what do i want to be when i grow up' answer.
We don't even get cubicles these days
I'd kill for a bog standard, completely depressing, tall walled, beige colored cubicle taken out of an Enron office building.
We had them at Intel, and I completely hated it, then 2015 rolled around with hot seats and the open office and I learned how lucky I was
Armed with science, engineering, and curiosity, the Mythbusters crew inspired a generation. Embrace the Scientific Method, and you just might solve any problem that comes your way.
Still to this day, my friends and I consider the Mythbusters as the final word on so many "myths".
Grant's clever use of robotics, sensors and code opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. I still remember the first time I read a temperature sensor on an arduino. Here I was, interacting with the real world, using just a few components and some code... solving no problems but feeling invincible nonetheless.
Thanks Grant for inspiring me, and many more like me. There are so few that inspired so much.
Rest in peace.
Still to this day, my friends and I consider the Mythbusters as the final word on so many "myths".
Grant's clever use of robotics, sensors and code opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. I still remember the first time I read a temperature sensor on an arduino. Here I was, interacting with the real world, using just a few components and some code... solving no problems but feeling invincible nonetheless.
Thanks Grant for inspiring me, and many more like me. There are so few that inspired so much.
Rest in peace.
>Embrace the Scientific Method, and you just might solve any problem that comes your way.
Mythbusters was a great and inspiring show, but they weren't always great at following the scientific method IMO. It was always more about cool hacks than scientific validity. They decided people being injured by bullets being shot into the sky was a myth mostly because they couldn't locate the bullets they fired into the sky, in spite of talking to one of the leading experts on the phenomenon, talking to a doctor that performed surgery on people injured by bullets fired into the sky, and discovering there are people in prison for seriously insuring people miles away by, once again, shooting bullets into the sky.
That was before Grant's time though, he was awesome.
Mythbusters was a great and inspiring show, but they weren't always great at following the scientific method IMO. It was always more about cool hacks than scientific validity. They decided people being injured by bullets being shot into the sky was a myth mostly because they couldn't locate the bullets they fired into the sky, in spite of talking to one of the leading experts on the phenomenon, talking to a doctor that performed surgery on people injured by bullets fired into the sky, and discovering there are people in prison for seriously insuring people miles away by, once again, shooting bullets into the sky.
That was before Grant's time though, he was awesome.
I just rewatched this out of curiosity and I think you’re seriously misremembering that episode (S4E11), the final conclusions wasn’t “busted”. They asked “busted, plausible or confirmed” and they concluded “all of the above”.
Grant actually was part of the show already at this point, they did actually find 9mm bullets they fired up, but couldn’t find 30-06 rounds. They did conclude that “straight up and down” was safe but said multiple times that bullets on a trajectory are still lethal. They present the medical evidence at the 21 minute mark, and a simulation around the 25 minute mark.
I don’t hold Mythbusters to be a scientific end-all to a discussion but I think they made that episode in good faith and portrayed it ok, even if they bulk of the testing footage was on the very narrow (and filmable) straight up and down terminal velocity aspect.
Grant actually was part of the show already at this point, they did actually find 9mm bullets they fired up, but couldn’t find 30-06 rounds. They did conclude that “straight up and down” was safe but said multiple times that bullets on a trajectory are still lethal. They present the medical evidence at the 21 minute mark, and a simulation around the 25 minute mark.
I don’t hold Mythbusters to be a scientific end-all to a discussion but I think they made that episode in good faith and portrayed it ok, even if they bulk of the testing footage was on the very narrow (and filmable) straight up and down terminal velocity aspect.
I remember being disappointed with their testing and results at the time but it was 14 years ago maybe I didn't get it right.
I don't think they are overly rigorous with in general but its still a great show and I actually dont think they tried to portray themselves as strictly following the scientific method either.
I don't think they are overly rigorous with in general but its still a great show and I actually dont think they tried to portray themselves as strictly following the scientific method either.
I remember them talking about this complaint on one of the episodes, or maybe in an interview.
They explained that the episodes definitely don't always show rigour in their tests, and that there probably wasn't the rigour you would want for a paper in every test they did, but they would still do more than was shown to test different theories and add rigour. A lot of that would be left on the cutting floor.
They explained that the episodes definitely don't always show rigour in their tests, and that there probably wasn't the rigour you would want for a paper in every test they did, but they would still do more than was shown to test different theories and add rigour. A lot of that would be left on the cutting floor.
In fairness, if I remember correctly, the bullet myth was testing the narrow condition of "shot straight up into the air" such that the bullet would be returning at terminal velocity and no longer be on a ballistic trajectory. Whereas, most people struck by bullets fired into the air are probably being hit by bullets that are still on a predominantly horizontal trajectory.
Fair enough, but IMO if they are holding themselves to that narrow and frankly completely useless condition then 90% of the episode was wasted effort talking to people about things that, by the definition of their own condition were completely unrelated.
I wouldn't consider 46 degrees to be a predominantly vertical trajectory, but its closer to being that than it is horizontal. I'd bet money that people have been injured by bullets between 46 and 70 degree angles at least. I wouldn't rule out higher angles than that either.
It could end up having less energy sooner than I imagine, but I would have to see it simulated far more convincingly than they did on the show.
I wouldn't consider 46 degrees to be a predominantly vertical trajectory, but its closer to being that than it is horizontal. I'd bet money that people have been injured by bullets between 46 and 70 degree angles at least. I wouldn't rule out higher angles than that either.
It could end up having less energy sooner than I imagine, but I would have to see it simulated far more convincingly than they did on the show.
Fair, I should have said "still on a ballistic trajectory". Given that a bullet fired not straight up may travel miles, I'm just guessing here, but legal was probably not too keen on them testing the more likely scenario. And, of course, every wants the payoff of full scale.
I totally agree that simulations of the most likely events would have been nice. The show could have benefited from more strict adherence to the scientific method. Alas, that probably would have made the show less appealing for a large segment of the audience.
I totally agree that simulations of the most likely events would have been nice. The show could have benefited from more strict adherence to the scientific method. Alas, that probably would have made the show less appealing for a large segment of the audience.
While I agree, I think XKCD had a great take on this: https://xkcd.com/397/
They weren't rigorous, and the results weren't always correct, but they were showing the core of science.
They weren't rigorous, and the results weren't always correct, but they were showing the core of science.
Ugh - I want to scream whenever I hear some idiot spout "the science is settled!" - there's so much wrong with that statement it would be less painful if my head literally exploded.
I haven't found this video but I got this one about the terminal velocity of a penny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHxvMLoKRWg
Long story short, it's not enough to kill you or even really hurt you (Adam Savage even shot his own hand to prove that).
That being said a bullet's terminal velocity is probably much higher thanks to it's much more aerodynamic shape. I can't be bothered to see if the math adds up because Mythbusters uses feet per second and miles per hour and I just refuse to touch this nonsense.
Long story short, it's not enough to kill you or even really hurt you (Adam Savage even shot his own hand to prove that).
That being said a bullet's terminal velocity is probably much higher thanks to it's much more aerodynamic shape. I can't be bothered to see if the math adds up because Mythbusters uses feet per second and miles per hour and I just refuse to touch this nonsense.
Wow, just wow. Grant’s dead at a young age of a tragic event. He inspired a lot of people and probably didn’t push anyone out of a technical field in the process. I know how he was in the show was how he was personally, too. I just think this isn’t the time to over analyze. If anything your comment is the sort of comment that makes science and technical fields lose people.
I didn't say anything negative about Grant. I said Grant was great and the show in general was great.
If anyone decides not to be a scientist or an engineer because of me saying that Myth Busters was a great show that was not always scientifically rigorous, they weren't really that interested in the first place.
Its OK to learn from and be inspired by things that don't 100% follow the scientific method. Saying something isn't scientifically rigorous in the context of talking about a TV show focused on entertainment doesn't detract from the show's value.
I stand by my statement that it was a show about cool hacks more than strictly adhering to scientific rigor. Cool hacks are cool and I am often inspired by them, I'm not sure how you arrived at such a negative interpretation of my comment.
If anyone decides not to be a scientist or an engineer because of me saying that Myth Busters was a great show that was not always scientifically rigorous, they weren't really that interested in the first place.
Its OK to learn from and be inspired by things that don't 100% follow the scientific method. Saying something isn't scientifically rigorous in the context of talking about a TV show focused on entertainment doesn't detract from the show's value.
I stand by my statement that it was a show about cool hacks more than strictly adhering to scientific rigor. Cool hacks are cool and I am often inspired by them, I'm not sure how you arrived at such a negative interpretation of my comment.
Wow, this cuts really deep.
This makes me want to take more risk in life, to live a bit fuller and care less about money.
Even at 26 I still don't have a great way to digest loss like this. The loss of someone who I genuinely looked up to and whom had significant impact on decisions I made my life. Who I thought about when I really hated myself and felt that I didn't belong in engineering at college. Especially Grant, since he was one of my childhood "heroes" who never lost his luster or genuine character.
This makes me want to take more risk in life, to live a bit fuller and care less about money.
Even at 26 I still don't have a great way to digest loss like this. The loss of someone who I genuinely looked up to and whom had significant impact on decisions I made my life. Who I thought about when I really hated myself and felt that I didn't belong in engineering at college. Especially Grant, since he was one of my childhood "heroes" who never lost his luster or genuine character.
> I still don't have a great way to digest loss
I'm about double your age and don't either. And I would be surprised if someone double my age claimed to.
Live every day like it could be your last. Don't hold grudges, and tell people you love them.
That's the best we can do. And it is apparently what Grant did, as his colleagues all have fond memories of him.
RIP, Grant. You were cool.
I'm about double your age and don't either. And I would be surprised if someone double my age claimed to.
Live every day like it could be your last. Don't hold grudges, and tell people you love them.
That's the best we can do. And it is apparently what Grant did, as his colleagues all have fond memories of him.
RIP, Grant. You were cool.
> Live every day like it could be your last.
I've apparently been doing this, and you know? I'm thinking it's not going to work out.
If I followed those words to the letter, literally believing that I was going to die of a heart attack at any moment, I would go insane.
Maybe I am going insane, then.
There are a lot of things we take for granted. Sure. I'm incredibly grateful to have both my hands, because if I lost even one of them then I would be severely impacted in my work. I could end up having to take a pay cut or lose my job outright. And I might never be able to draw at the level I could accomplish by still having hands.
But I believe there's a reason we take these things for granted, with the side effect in a lot of people of never understanding their importance until it's too late. We do so because if we didn't take anything for granted, we would spend all of the time thinking about what would happen if we suddenly lost body part X or Y, and become constantly aware of every single tendon and muscle in our body and how they were still functional as opposed to dead, and never get anything done. Or at least greatly reduce our mental capacity to think about the important things we want to accomplish with those limbs instead of spending it on fruitless worry.
So I have to both understand that yes, it would be horrible if I lost my hands or ability to walk or my sight or my hearing or my life, and then I have to put it out of my mind and do what I want to do while there's still time instead of worrying about it every single day.
And even thinking like that becomes counterproductive.
I'm 24 and have had this bizzarre chest pain. I went to the doctor and the ER several times for it. Dozens of times. Nothing came of it. Not even a diagnosis of pleurisy, or a diagnosis of anything at all. It was just unresolved and I have to assume it's something in the realm of anxiety or hypochondria. And it still hurts in the most inconvenient moments and is a constant hovering reminder of my own mortality.
So now it's 3 in the morning and I need to write this thing. I know I'm only killing myself by failing to fall asleep at 3 in the morning but I don't know if I'm going to be alive tomorrow and I need to get this out there. Need someone to know that before I died that yes, I had thought enough to think of this thing, this concept that nobody else I've ever met has thought of, that nobody else will ever think and if I'm going to die tomorrow there will never be anyone else that will think of it again. So I need to do this, to write this down and move my still functioning fingers and joints over the keys to just get it out, need to finish this before I die because I don't take my own impending death for granted and I was smart enough to realize that fact, so use it. And oh, there's that other thing, that programming project I've spent years on committing to master alone and intend to spend several more years on. If I die that project will never be finished because nobody else cares enough. Sure, someone else realizing I died somehow and telling the community that I intended to finish it but never could because instead I happened to die, out of my control, could motivate someone else to take up the flag. Or not, and as a result the planet overheats 100 years from now without that one thing I wanted to accomplish with my life ever becoming reality. What could possibly be worse for the psyche of human accomplishment, of redefining the status quo, when you're trapped in this box of failing hearts and endless anxiety and just couldn't do it so that's just the end of it all? That's the end of the dream? What else is there to lose?
No.
Not going to happen.
So now it's seven in the morning.
And I've failed to get any sleep and failed to eat anything so I'm starving and physically exhausted and my heart is racing and it feels like it's being shoved against my lungs and ribcage and I feel that much closer to dying than before.
Then I try and fail to go to sleep since apparently I'm not mentally exhausted yet and go on HN and discover this person formerly a part of Mythbusters is dead of a brain aneurysm at 49, and then I remember that wowaka, the world famous Vocaloid artist, probably one of if not the single most popular Vocaloid artist of all time, died of heart failure at the age of 31, 31 years old for fuck's sake and that means I only have 7 years left if it really comes to the worst possible scenario with my health that me never getting any sleep and worrying about dying all of the time every single day of the past year is not doing any favors. And now it feels like my heart is going to explode inside my chest from remembering this, remembering wowaka and Rolling Girl and dying of heart failure in 7 years at the worst possible time because this important person died tragically and everyone considers 49 to be young, 49 is young, right, and my heart hurts so much it feels like it's being squeezed with a belt, and
You get the idea.
I've apparently been doing this, and you know? I'm thinking it's not going to work out.
If I followed those words to the letter, literally believing that I was going to die of a heart attack at any moment, I would go insane.
Maybe I am going insane, then.
There are a lot of things we take for granted. Sure. I'm incredibly grateful to have both my hands, because if I lost even one of them then I would be severely impacted in my work. I could end up having to take a pay cut or lose my job outright. And I might never be able to draw at the level I could accomplish by still having hands.
But I believe there's a reason we take these things for granted, with the side effect in a lot of people of never understanding their importance until it's too late. We do so because if we didn't take anything for granted, we would spend all of the time thinking about what would happen if we suddenly lost body part X or Y, and become constantly aware of every single tendon and muscle in our body and how they were still functional as opposed to dead, and never get anything done. Or at least greatly reduce our mental capacity to think about the important things we want to accomplish with those limbs instead of spending it on fruitless worry.
So I have to both understand that yes, it would be horrible if I lost my hands or ability to walk or my sight or my hearing or my life, and then I have to put it out of my mind and do what I want to do while there's still time instead of worrying about it every single day.
And even thinking like that becomes counterproductive.
I'm 24 and have had this bizzarre chest pain. I went to the doctor and the ER several times for it. Dozens of times. Nothing came of it. Not even a diagnosis of pleurisy, or a diagnosis of anything at all. It was just unresolved and I have to assume it's something in the realm of anxiety or hypochondria. And it still hurts in the most inconvenient moments and is a constant hovering reminder of my own mortality.
So now it's 3 in the morning and I need to write this thing. I know I'm only killing myself by failing to fall asleep at 3 in the morning but I don't know if I'm going to be alive tomorrow and I need to get this out there. Need someone to know that before I died that yes, I had thought enough to think of this thing, this concept that nobody else I've ever met has thought of, that nobody else will ever think and if I'm going to die tomorrow there will never be anyone else that will think of it again. So I need to do this, to write this down and move my still functioning fingers and joints over the keys to just get it out, need to finish this before I die because I don't take my own impending death for granted and I was smart enough to realize that fact, so use it. And oh, there's that other thing, that programming project I've spent years on committing to master alone and intend to spend several more years on. If I die that project will never be finished because nobody else cares enough. Sure, someone else realizing I died somehow and telling the community that I intended to finish it but never could because instead I happened to die, out of my control, could motivate someone else to take up the flag. Or not, and as a result the planet overheats 100 years from now without that one thing I wanted to accomplish with my life ever becoming reality. What could possibly be worse for the psyche of human accomplishment, of redefining the status quo, when you're trapped in this box of failing hearts and endless anxiety and just couldn't do it so that's just the end of it all? That's the end of the dream? What else is there to lose?
No.
Not going to happen.
So now it's seven in the morning.
And I've failed to get any sleep and failed to eat anything so I'm starving and physically exhausted and my heart is racing and it feels like it's being shoved against my lungs and ribcage and I feel that much closer to dying than before.
Then I try and fail to go to sleep since apparently I'm not mentally exhausted yet and go on HN and discover this person formerly a part of Mythbusters is dead of a brain aneurysm at 49, and then I remember that wowaka, the world famous Vocaloid artist, probably one of if not the single most popular Vocaloid artist of all time, died of heart failure at the age of 31, 31 years old for fuck's sake and that means I only have 7 years left if it really comes to the worst possible scenario with my health that me never getting any sleep and worrying about dying all of the time every single day of the past year is not doing any favors. And now it feels like my heart is going to explode inside my chest from remembering this, remembering wowaka and Rolling Girl and dying of heart failure in 7 years at the worst possible time because this important person died tragically and everyone considers 49 to be young, 49 is young, right, and my heart hurts so much it feels like it's being squeezed with a belt, and
You get the idea.
I'm literally in the same boat as you on this one. I've had random chest pain for years (27 now, started when I was 22). I've had my heart imaged, tested, basically everything that they can do non-invasively (no angiogram, odds of me having a problem is less than the odds of the test itself killing me). All the tests come back telling me I have a perfectly healthy heart for a 20 something. It's just never enough.
It's driven me insane for years. At this point they say I have acid reflux that's in part triggered by anxiety, but I've never had the probe done (they run a probe through your nose and down your throat. Push the button when you feel pain and they can see if it correlates with increased acid or acid backflow). Doctors put me on medication for it but it hasn't done anything for me. Everytime I see the doctor it just sounds like he's annoyed at me being back.
Part of this whole thing is that I'm very overweight, it's something I've struggled with my whole life, and it got bad in college and now my adult life. Needless to say I missed out on your typical college social experience. Being alone with your thoughts can be a dark place.
Knowing I'm at higher risk for these things and seeing many of the HAES people dying young has me very worried. My dad's boss's son died at 28 earlier this year from undiagnosed heart issues. He also struggled with weight his entire life.
Going to start seeing a therapist and see if it helps and possibly consider anxiety medication. The fear has been paralyzing and I need to get over it so I can start making changes to my lifestyle.
It's driven me insane for years. At this point they say I have acid reflux that's in part triggered by anxiety, but I've never had the probe done (they run a probe through your nose and down your throat. Push the button when you feel pain and they can see if it correlates with increased acid or acid backflow). Doctors put me on medication for it but it hasn't done anything for me. Everytime I see the doctor it just sounds like he's annoyed at me being back.
Part of this whole thing is that I'm very overweight, it's something I've struggled with my whole life, and it got bad in college and now my adult life. Needless to say I missed out on your typical college social experience. Being alone with your thoughts can be a dark place.
Knowing I'm at higher risk for these things and seeing many of the HAES people dying young has me very worried. My dad's boss's son died at 28 earlier this year from undiagnosed heart issues. He also struggled with weight his entire life.
Going to start seeing a therapist and see if it helps and possibly consider anxiety medication. The fear has been paralyzing and I need to get over it so I can start making changes to my lifestyle.
One way to live every day like it could be your last is to be honest with others, and ask them for help when you need it.
Do you need help?
Do you need help?
I think so. I think this is not normal, and if it isn't normal then it might do me in.
But it could also be a coping mechanism that I've developed over the years because telling myself all these negative things was the only way to motivate me.
I believe that was influenced by the way I was raised. Operant conditioning and such. But it's also a part of the negative feedback loop that might have made, now that I'm alone with my own thoughts, reinforcing the same tired patterns day after day and seeing the worst in the world get to me and letting it validate my cynicism and morbidity.
It's like, if you're inclined to that way of thinking throughout your entire life, how do you accidentally discover someone dying like this and not let it get to you? How are you supposed to "get over it" and do the thought suppression or whatever that all of the other mature people around me seem to handle reasonably well?
It's like, basically I never learned how to do that, and it does hurt me in a sense.
So I need to unlearn that and learn something better.
But maybe that's also why I'm thinking of these things and incorporating them into writing the way I do, because of this counterproductive way I think and how the frustrations I want to express can be expressed with my thought process, that people aren't usually trying to think counterproductively in this manner so I have some kind of insight that people with more self esteem will never find, because they don't personally understand the problems I have.
Kayne West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. They put him on medication and if I'm remembering correctly he said it took away some of his creativity.
If Kanye West wasn't bipolar then we might never have known him as Kanye West the way we do today.
I think about that sometimes, for some reason.
So it's like, what is the part of me that needs the help? Okay, so I ought to improve somehow, because I pretty much always have room for improvement, in general. Maybe art is therapudic. But still, if nobody knows what you do and validate you for it, it's like you're screaming into the void, and that's how I see myself as alone a lot of the time. Not validated for the things I do. Nagata Kabi's definition of "alone" that she picked up from one of her sympathetic Twitter followers. Even though I do have a few people that validate the things I create, it still doesn't feel like it's enough, and don't know at what point it will. Or if it's even supposed to be enough at some point, like if I was some kind of genius in the top X percent of people (I'm not, I'm somewhere in the bottom half) and somehow did everything perfectly I'd just be happy and satisfied one thousand pages and ten thousand upvotes later, after hundreds of comments from people whose faces I'll never know reading "this is the best thing I've read today" and "thanks for the words" and "cool", when I reach middle age and can just kick back and watch the entirety of Star Trek without worrying about what impact I'm going to make on the world every single day.
That being the only reason I do these things.
It's like when people start saying a sentence that begins with the words "In life, you should" and talk about making interpersonal contacts, people that will at least talk to you in good faith and not call you "salty" for getting frustrated at your errors. Because you are going to be put through adversity and fail over and over no matter what you do, and you need to have a healthy way of managing that if you're going to survive. I mean, of course I'm going to get frustrated if I choose to play Persona 5 and end up getting my ass handed to me over and over again. I can't help it. What do you expect me to feel instead?
It was a miracle I managed to meet a single person that understands that kind of frustration and never judges me for it (well, almost never) and has a practically infinite amount of patience and takes time out of her work day to do administrative things for my sake and talk to me (she isn't a therapist, she's someone I can have a legitimate relationship with in the mentor-mentee sense, the kind I don't have to pay to receive - you know, the ones normal people going to see a movie together always have). She never yells at me or tells me something matter of factly like someone smarter who tells me everything I don't know like it's obvious and intimidates me, like they're in a totally different intellectual sphere, and what were you doing with your life all those 24 years to not know that simple thing? And the only reason I met her was because I had a mental health diagnosis. And still the first time I met her I treated her like absolute shit, and only by being put in my place by people who knew better than me did I realize that my behavior was terrible, a firable offense at any other company in any other set of circumstances, and so I learned from my mistakes, and a year later if it wasn't for her I'd probably be either homeless or dead.
I'm just ranting at this point, excuse me.
But I guess the reason I'm writing all of these words out in the open, on a handle that's indexed by major search engines and adtech companies and will be publicly searchable for decades to come, is because all I wanted was for someone to listen, but not just listen really - to also get to know on the level of a friendship of some kind. To not worry about having a social filter with. The people I mentioned are essentially family that will never cross me and keep me in check out of a parental sense of wanting to do right. But I don't have people you can call hard-won friends, the ones you meet at Deerhunter concerts and are of legal drinking age and have jobs and overcome hardships as their own independent person. The ones you're responsible for keeping or losing. I've never understood these kinds of people in the same sense. I've either lost all their trust or, more commonly, lost interest in them when I felt I couldn't say the things I wanted without worrying about whether or not the next word out of my mouth was going to lead them to dump me in the middle of a nice little social outing together in a foreign country and have me pay my own train fares back. I don't mean this metaphorically.
So yes. In a sense, I guess you could conclude from reading all of the above that, indeed, I need help.
But it could also be a coping mechanism that I've developed over the years because telling myself all these negative things was the only way to motivate me.
I believe that was influenced by the way I was raised. Operant conditioning and such. But it's also a part of the negative feedback loop that might have made, now that I'm alone with my own thoughts, reinforcing the same tired patterns day after day and seeing the worst in the world get to me and letting it validate my cynicism and morbidity.
It's like, if you're inclined to that way of thinking throughout your entire life, how do you accidentally discover someone dying like this and not let it get to you? How are you supposed to "get over it" and do the thought suppression or whatever that all of the other mature people around me seem to handle reasonably well?
It's like, basically I never learned how to do that, and it does hurt me in a sense.
So I need to unlearn that and learn something better.
But maybe that's also why I'm thinking of these things and incorporating them into writing the way I do, because of this counterproductive way I think and how the frustrations I want to express can be expressed with my thought process, that people aren't usually trying to think counterproductively in this manner so I have some kind of insight that people with more self esteem will never find, because they don't personally understand the problems I have.
Kayne West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. They put him on medication and if I'm remembering correctly he said it took away some of his creativity.
If Kanye West wasn't bipolar then we might never have known him as Kanye West the way we do today.
I think about that sometimes, for some reason.
So it's like, what is the part of me that needs the help? Okay, so I ought to improve somehow, because I pretty much always have room for improvement, in general. Maybe art is therapudic. But still, if nobody knows what you do and validate you for it, it's like you're screaming into the void, and that's how I see myself as alone a lot of the time. Not validated for the things I do. Nagata Kabi's definition of "alone" that she picked up from one of her sympathetic Twitter followers. Even though I do have a few people that validate the things I create, it still doesn't feel like it's enough, and don't know at what point it will. Or if it's even supposed to be enough at some point, like if I was some kind of genius in the top X percent of people (I'm not, I'm somewhere in the bottom half) and somehow did everything perfectly I'd just be happy and satisfied one thousand pages and ten thousand upvotes later, after hundreds of comments from people whose faces I'll never know reading "this is the best thing I've read today" and "thanks for the words" and "cool", when I reach middle age and can just kick back and watch the entirety of Star Trek without worrying about what impact I'm going to make on the world every single day.
That being the only reason I do these things.
It's like when people start saying a sentence that begins with the words "In life, you should" and talk about making interpersonal contacts, people that will at least talk to you in good faith and not call you "salty" for getting frustrated at your errors. Because you are going to be put through adversity and fail over and over no matter what you do, and you need to have a healthy way of managing that if you're going to survive. I mean, of course I'm going to get frustrated if I choose to play Persona 5 and end up getting my ass handed to me over and over again. I can't help it. What do you expect me to feel instead?
It was a miracle I managed to meet a single person that understands that kind of frustration and never judges me for it (well, almost never) and has a practically infinite amount of patience and takes time out of her work day to do administrative things for my sake and talk to me (she isn't a therapist, she's someone I can have a legitimate relationship with in the mentor-mentee sense, the kind I don't have to pay to receive - you know, the ones normal people going to see a movie together always have). She never yells at me or tells me something matter of factly like someone smarter who tells me everything I don't know like it's obvious and intimidates me, like they're in a totally different intellectual sphere, and what were you doing with your life all those 24 years to not know that simple thing? And the only reason I met her was because I had a mental health diagnosis. And still the first time I met her I treated her like absolute shit, and only by being put in my place by people who knew better than me did I realize that my behavior was terrible, a firable offense at any other company in any other set of circumstances, and so I learned from my mistakes, and a year later if it wasn't for her I'd probably be either homeless or dead.
I'm just ranting at this point, excuse me.
But I guess the reason I'm writing all of these words out in the open, on a handle that's indexed by major search engines and adtech companies and will be publicly searchable for decades to come, is because all I wanted was for someone to listen, but not just listen really - to also get to know on the level of a friendship of some kind. To not worry about having a social filter with. The people I mentioned are essentially family that will never cross me and keep me in check out of a parental sense of wanting to do right. But I don't have people you can call hard-won friends, the ones you meet at Deerhunter concerts and are of legal drinking age and have jobs and overcome hardships as their own independent person. The ones you're responsible for keeping or losing. I've never understood these kinds of people in the same sense. I've either lost all their trust or, more commonly, lost interest in them when I felt I couldn't say the things I wanted without worrying about whether or not the next word out of my mouth was going to lead them to dump me in the middle of a nice little social outing together in a foreign country and have me pay my own train fares back. I don't mean this metaphorically.
So yes. In a sense, I guess you could conclude from reading all of the above that, indeed, I need help.
Have you considered Acid Reflux? When I was going through a lot of stress, consuming too much coffee and not eating enough I had a similar thing happen.
It sounds like you're experiencing panic attacks.
My personal impression is ADHD or at least something involving a deficiency in executive function after reading this article.
https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html
It really opened my eyes to what AD(H)D is really like from someone actually suffering from it and speaking his mind without mincing words, and how hyperactivity is sometimes overemphasized in the diagnosis. So some people get the impression that if you're not hyper it doesn't apply.
And for me specifically this was so ironic because ADHD was the one disorder that my parents insisted I never had, so I just ended up believing them the entire time I was with them.
But at least now I can think for myself and revisit the possibility for once without being shut down.
And they had once been wrong about me not having this other disorder that, surprise, I actually did have, which is the only reason I was hired into a position specifically seeking those with a diagnosis of said disorder, allowing me to pay my own rent.
And it certainly has something to do with anxiety.
I might have had panic attacks at one point when the pain was new and I wasn't sure if I was in immediate danger. Even after I sort of got used to it and it became "normal," it still stresses me out but not in an "am I going to die in 5 minutes" sense, spurred on by late-night WebMD binging.
https://gekk.info/articles/adhd.html
It really opened my eyes to what AD(H)D is really like from someone actually suffering from it and speaking his mind without mincing words, and how hyperactivity is sometimes overemphasized in the diagnosis. So some people get the impression that if you're not hyper it doesn't apply.
And for me specifically this was so ironic because ADHD was the one disorder that my parents insisted I never had, so I just ended up believing them the entire time I was with them.
But at least now I can think for myself and revisit the possibility for once without being shut down.
And they had once been wrong about me not having this other disorder that, surprise, I actually did have, which is the only reason I was hired into a position specifically seeking those with a diagnosis of said disorder, allowing me to pay my own rent.
And it certainly has something to do with anxiety.
I might have had panic attacks at one point when the pain was new and I wasn't sure if I was in immediate danger. Even after I sort of got used to it and it became "normal," it still stresses me out but not in an "am I going to die in 5 minutes" sense, spurred on by late-night WebMD binging.
I very well could be wrong, but that's almost completely besides the real point [as well the self diagnosis regarding ADHD].
The amount of anxiety you're experiencing in your day to day life is grossly abnormal. I would suggest not waiting another day to start seeking out the help [therapy or working with a psychiatrist] you deserve. I also you suggest you research hallucinogenic medications as something to possibly relieve your existential anxiety: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hallucin...
The amount of anxiety you're experiencing in your day to day life is grossly abnormal. I would suggest not waiting another day to start seeking out the help [therapy or working with a psychiatrist] you deserve. I also you suggest you research hallucinogenic medications as something to possibly relieve your existential anxiety: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/hallucin...
Life really is short. Plan for tomorrow or live for today. There is a balance, but I think many engineer types skew much too far into the planning, not enough into the living. I've gone to a lot of funerals and it is always a constant reminder.
Not a lot of genuine people in the entertainment business for sure. Its tragic that such a great thinker is lost, especially for our generation 50 feels so young, who knows what he could have done with more years.
you aren't the only one who feels this way :(
> This makes me want to take more risk in life
Depends on what type of risk. Some risks make you die earlier.
Depends on what type of risk. Some risks make you die earlier.
Guess they'd better sit inside all the time then, can't risk dying. They clearly meant that they wanted to live life more fully.
Thank you for pointing out that people can die on a post about a person dying.
Thank you for pointing out that people can die on a post about a person dying.
Brain aneurysm is truly something terrible, I lost a friend to it a couple of years ago. (She was 22 at the time and in good health). She just woke up one day in the middle of the night with a headache and had to vomit. On the way to the hospital she fell into a coma and never woke up. Really scary.
My significant other (23 at the time, otherwise perfectly healthy) felt a sudden headache one evening. Since it didn't stop, she was taken to the emergency room immediately, where they've dismissed her with "menstrual problems".
A day after that the pain didn't stop, she ended up in the hospital, and had a (fortunately successful) brain operation some days later. Luckily it was in an accessible place, so she ended up with no apparent long-term damage.
Definitely a terrible situation to be in. About 4% of people have it, and a small percentage of those only find out when it bursts.
A day after that the pain didn't stop, she ended up in the hospital, and had a (fortunately successful) brain operation some days later. Luckily it was in an accessible place, so she ended up with no apparent long-term damage.
Definitely a terrible situation to be in. About 4% of people have it, and a small percentage of those only find out when it bursts.
Being dismissed from the ER while having serious conditions that they overlooked is an awful experience. I wanted to let you know that my wife and I can sympathize with you and your SO.
4% seems to be a scary high number.
Glad your SO made it fine.
Glad your SO made it fine.
>Since it didn't stop, she was taken to the emergency room immediately, where they've dismissed her with "menstrual problems".
Infuriating.
Infuriating.
It is something terrible, and really scary. My best friend at the time suffered one at 23 years old. He eventually recovered but he suffered a huge loss of concentration capabilities and had to drop from college eventually. He also fought with speech impairment for many years but with a lot of training he was able to recover 99% of it.
So what can be done preventatively against a brain aneurysm?
Seems like there is something called a Magnetic Resonance Angiography.
Seems like there is something called a Magnetic Resonance Angiography.
(I'm not really here to discuss the pros and cons, false positives and what not here as it's a complex topic, but..) I have a medical every three years that involves a full body MRI and ultrasounding which monitors for both brain and aortic aneurysms. There are people who have caught aneurysms in early stages through such monitoring, but there are enough downsides to such screening that it's not something that would usually be recommended for everyone. My next is next week and I'm going to try and tweet as much of the process as I can since enough people have asked about it in the past.
Do you have an idea of some of the downsides? (Imagining cost - but also radiation?)
As a sibling response says, false positives are a big issue. Understanding risks is another issue (consider if you're told you have an aneurysm with annual risk of spontaneous rupture at 0.1% versus an operation with 10% mortality rate.. do you choose the op?)
In some people, indulging anxieties around health can be problematic in itself or have mental health repercussions. Anxieties could also be aroused by benign findings. For example, I have a 7mm cyst on my left kidney. It is entirely benign and not growing but some people may find such a finding unduly alarming and seek treatment they don't need.
In some people, indulging anxieties around health can be problematic in itself or have mental health repercussions. Anxieties could also be aroused by benign findings. For example, I have a 7mm cyst on my left kidney. It is entirely benign and not growing but some people may find such a finding unduly alarming and seek treatment they don't need.
Oh man, this is me right now! I had some minor but constant back pain and got an MRI. They found a bulging disc which had shrunk (a good thing) since the last MRI 5 years ago (when I presumably injured the disc, though there's no way to even know that for sure).
I CANNOT stop worrying about it. Ever since the doctor labeled it, even though she says it's not cause for concern, I cannot stop worrying about it and imagining the worst; it bursting and leaving me in agony for the rest of my life. Fun times.... The best part, bulges are not even necessarily abnormal, I know all this and yet, cannot let it go.
Yes, that's exactly the downside to screening, although it sounds like it was necessary in your case nonetheless :-) I hope it continues to get better! Maybe a third improvement will set your mind at rest.
I went through with screening because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have similar concerns over such findings, but it's quite hard to know that for sure until something comes up, I suspect. If I had a benign, but growing, tumor somewhere in my body, it's hard to know how I'd take it, though I do tend to be pretty prosaic.
I went through with screening because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have similar concerns over such findings, but it's quite hard to know that for sure until something comes up, I suspect. If I had a benign, but growing, tumor somewhere in my body, it's hard to know how I'd take it, though I do tend to be pretty prosaic.
Researchers seem nervous about the contrast dye used in the process.
It would seem unwise to do a MRI with GBCA for fun or speculative purposes, on the other hand "makes 1 in a zillion people sick" is actually quite acceptable odds for something that's fatal unless treated.
It seems those dyes can cross the blood-brain barrier as very few things can, which is good during the MRI process, however the body may or may not be terribly good at cleaning them out (and the process of cleaning those dyes out of the blood once they're outta yer brain is also hard on the kidneys).
Also edited to add, we DO know everything there is to know about stupid tricks involving ferrous metal being attracted to giant MRI magnets with squishy humans in the way, and that risk of damage is probably higher than the GBCA risk.
It would seem unwise to do a MRI with GBCA for fun or speculative purposes, on the other hand "makes 1 in a zillion people sick" is actually quite acceptable odds for something that's fatal unless treated.
It seems those dyes can cross the blood-brain barrier as very few things can, which is good during the MRI process, however the body may or may not be terribly good at cleaning them out (and the process of cleaning those dyes out of the blood once they're outta yer brain is also hard on the kidneys).
Also edited to add, we DO know everything there is to know about stupid tricks involving ferrous metal being attracted to giant MRI magnets with squishy humans in the way, and that risk of damage is probably higher than the GBCA risk.
Not the poster but I imagine false positives as one specific cost to excessive monitoring unless there’s an underlying condition or history that necessitates it. One of the reasons in the US they raised the recommended age for mammograms.
MRIs and ultrasounds don't involve any ionizing radiation. You may be thinking of CT scans or X-rays.
About 1 per 100,000 people have a ruptured brain aneurysm each year. You have to screen a whole lot of people to detect one person who will suffer from this.
Worse, you'll get a whole lot of "positives" / questionable imagery in people who would never have had a problem, and may end up giving some not insignificant number of people unnecessary brain surgery.
Worse, you'll get a whole lot of "positives" / questionable imagery in people who would never have had a problem, and may end up giving some not insignificant number of people unnecessary brain surgery.
Looks like the shift from 3T to 7T will really open up what they can see inside the brain:
https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=rca&sub=ecr_2019&p...
https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=rca&sub=ecr_2019&p...
7T scanners for structural imaging is amazing, hands down. I dream daily of being able to move on my the 3T I get to work with for brain volumetry.
Having a controlled blood pressure really helps. Other than that... good luck I guess.
I guess that would also entail, surrounding yourself with people who don't embroil your blood pressure. That's something within some level of control.
Also not being a smoker. But that's not really preventative I guess.
Absolutely, it's preventative.
Diet and exercise.
Don't know why you're being downvoted. Anecdotally, my brother-in-law had surgery to correct an aneurysm, and was told to change his diet and start running after to help his recovery.
And sleep. Since I made a real effort to re-establish regular sleeping patterns of sufficient length (sadly I need a full 8 hours) the diet and exercise thing also got a lot easier to whip into shape too.
Taking your vitamins is the first step. People seem healthy until it turns out they had chronic low levels of vitamin D and K.
Any thoughts or places to look for what impacts D & K have on the condition?
It's just, such a terrible thing to think about. Nothing you can do either.
It is, she was on life support for about a week, the doctors had said that there was no chance she would ever wake up, so her parents decided to take her off life support and donate her organs. I can't even begin to understand what they must've gone through, such a terrible thing to happen to anyone.
I went to see her the night before (as did many of her friends), it's very unsettling knowing this is the very last time you'll ever get to see that person. And especially given her age, it's very upsetting how unforgiving life can be.
I went to see her the night before (as did many of her friends), it's very unsettling knowing this is the very last time you'll ever get to see that person. And especially given her age, it's very upsetting how unforgiving life can be.
Normally I ignore the "rich and famous" obits, however Grant's passing is really quite upsetting. MythBusters meant a great deal to me during my college years, right as I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go in life. The build team was always the best.
With the loss of Jessie in 2019, it's been a hard year for Mythbusters.
With the loss of Jessie in 2019, it's been a hard year for Mythbusters.
See with the Mythbusters (sidekicks), I can't really see them as rich; I mean I'm sure they made some decent money off of it, but I doubt it set them up for life and I wouldn't be surprised if they got screwed over in that show in favor of Jamie / Adam. I never heard why they were let go / quit the show, although I've always suspected it was because the show just wasn't as popular anymore.
Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage have a reported net worth of about $8 million. Grant and Tory have reported net worths of $2 million. And Kari is about $1.5 million.
Not bad, but both Jamie and Adam were well respected visual effects artists, builders, and model makers before Mythbusters. Mythbusters primarily shot at Jamie's shop.
Grant and Tory both worked at ILM. Kari was an employee of M5, Jamie's company, when she was put on the show.
So, not terribly rich, but about what you would expect. $1 - $2 million "net worth" is more attainable than you might think. As net worth includes assets and what not. They have enough money to take substantial risks that might not pay off.
Not bad, but both Jamie and Adam were well respected visual effects artists, builders, and model makers before Mythbusters. Mythbusters primarily shot at Jamie's shop.
Grant and Tory both worked at ILM. Kari was an employee of M5, Jamie's company, when she was put on the show.
So, not terribly rich, but about what you would expect. $1 - $2 million "net worth" is more attainable than you might think. As net worth includes assets and what not. They have enough money to take substantial risks that might not pay off.
That's peanuts compared to a similarly popular sitcom. I honestly expected Jamie and Adam to each have net worth in the $50-100MM range because of the syndication potential of that show, which will absolutely be on TV in 30 years. Being engineering types, maybe they all didn't really understand how to negotiate.
Given the net worth of Grant, Tori and Kari, I'm guessing they didn't have huge salaries from the show, maybe $200k/yr on average.
Given the net worth of Grant, Tori and Kari, I'm guessing they didn't have huge salaries from the show, maybe $200k/yr on average.
If you watch Adam Savage’s stuff on YouTube, he often talks about a particular piece of equipment in his shop, and sometimes mentions that it’s a little expensive. He will follow that by saying something like “at one point, I was making TV show income”. I get the impression that he’s doing well financially but I don’t think he’s got as much money as people might think.
> That's peanuts compared to a similarly popular sitcom.
Is it actually? Do you have particular sitcom(s) in mind? I tried to look for this myself and couldn't find much (beyond ratings for anything beyond the top ~20 highest rated shows in a given year).
I know very little about this, but I'm a little skeptical because I feel people tend to vastly overestimate how much money the average person they see on TV makes. The stories of the outliers (like the Friends stars making $1M per episode) really skew the perceptions of this -- the vast majority of professional actors (if not regular TV actors, but maybe even then) make less than the median Bay Area software engineer. A salary on the order of $200K a year for a non-headliner regular actor in a sitcom with viewership around 1M people (which I think is more than a typical episode of Mythbusters would've gotten) doesn't sound that far out of the ballpark to me.
Is it actually? Do you have particular sitcom(s) in mind? I tried to look for this myself and couldn't find much (beyond ratings for anything beyond the top ~20 highest rated shows in a given year).
I know very little about this, but I'm a little skeptical because I feel people tend to vastly overestimate how much money the average person they see on TV makes. The stories of the outliers (like the Friends stars making $1M per episode) really skew the perceptions of this -- the vast majority of professional actors (if not regular TV actors, but maybe even then) make less than the median Bay Area software engineer. A salary on the order of $200K a year for a non-headliner regular actor in a sitcom with viewership around 1M people (which I think is more than a typical episode of Mythbusters would've gotten) doesn't sound that far out of the ballpark to me.
Jerry Seinfeld is almost a billionaire due to his eponymous sitcom. The starring cast of Big Bang Theory fame were earning nearly a million dollars an episode by the end of the series. Similar story with Two and a Half Men, Gilmore Girls.
Jamie and Adam were stars of a wildly popular television show that ran for 14 seasons, spawn numerous spin offs and runs in syndication even today. I'd expect them to have hit at least $500k per episode.
Jamie and Adam were stars of a wildly popular television show that ran for 14 seasons, spawn numerous spin offs and runs in syndication even today. I'd expect them to have hit at least $500k per episode.
You said "similarly popular sitcom". I loved Mythbusters but it's a geeky Discovery Channel (cable) show, it never came anywhere close to Seinfeld ratings...
[deleted]
I don't understand this smug "normally I don't care about celeb deaths, except the ones I care about."
I understand the gist of the message. Grant is an engineer, and we relate to him in more ways than we do to a singer or a movie star. So a singer or a movie star's death might not have as big of an impact as someone who is "our own".
Sure, the question is why one would feel the need to point that out and explicitly compare this death to others, other than to feel a bit of smug self-satisfaction. It kind of goes without saying that it will affect you more when someone you care about dies (whether you know them or not) than when someone you don't care about dies. For any given death, most people on earth are going to be in the latter camp, and in polite society those people keep their mouths shut out of respect to those in the former camp.
All the rhetoric about how artists (singers and actors) are "vapid" and the like is also pretty emblematic of the worst of "arrogant engineer" thinking.
All the rhetoric about how artists (singers and actors) are "vapid" and the like is also pretty emblematic of the worst of "arrogant engineer" thinking.
I also rewatched all of Mythbusters early in college as I was struggling to figure out what I wanted to be. They really showed the fun to be had building wacky projects!
Grant and I lived in the same building in San Francisco for a while and I met him at the HOA-run functions. Always a delight to talk to about his crazy path through life. He was a good man and I'm really sorry to hear of his passing.
Grant was an inspiration.
The whole crew were, are.
Their efforts pushed me along the path I am on and made my life measurably better.
Grant was core to that. Grant made my life better.
I got to meet him one at a Maker Faire. They say, never meet your heroes. Grant was the exception to that rule. Shaking his hand was everything I expected. He was kind to some rando and seemed happy that he was able to make a better life for some stranger he'd never met.
I'm so grateful for his efforts. I am so grateful for his humor. I am so grateful for his joy.
Thank you Grant.
The whole crew were, are.
Their efforts pushed me along the path I am on and made my life measurably better.
Grant was core to that. Grant made my life better.
I got to meet him one at a Maker Faire. They say, never meet your heroes. Grant was the exception to that rule. Shaking his hand was everything I expected. He was kind to some rando and seemed happy that he was able to make a better life for some stranger he'd never met.
I'm so grateful for his efforts. I am so grateful for his humor. I am so grateful for his joy.
Thank you Grant.
For several years Grant had the only other master/slave robot arm I could find on youtube. I was so excited when I found one and saw it was his...
I felt a real connection with him, even though I didn't know him personally. It's been a long time dream of mine to be on battlebots, and I treasure the Deadblow T-shirt I got there about 20 years ago. This truly hurts.
The 2 videos for the curious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7l4YE2K-HI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XChu20hTxU
I felt a real connection with him, even though I didn't know him personally. It's been a long time dream of mine to be on battlebots, and I treasure the Deadblow T-shirt I got there about 20 years ago. This truly hurts.
The 2 videos for the curious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7l4YE2K-HI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XChu20hTxU
I desperately want to put an actuated camera on that, and wear a VR helmet, so you can see the arms from your point of view.
Brain aneurism. The thought has always kept me up at night, and this only serves to make the fear worse. Poor guy, I really looked up to him. This really puts a damper on my mood which had been on an upswing recently
Yeah it seems like an area that needs massively more research, the information available on what causes these seems filled with gaps.
Compared to heart disease and cancer, aneurysms are a drop in the bucket. Not that they should be ignored, but if you're choosing where to put funding it's not going to be high on the list.
Anyone know if this could have been caused by Covid-19? There have been reports of strokes due to it.
A brilliant man who elevated Asian representation on mainstream American TV. Rest in peace.
You have got to love him as Sulu
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Continues
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2732442/mediaviewer/rm1680690432
Edit. The episodes are free, at https://www.startrekcontinues.com
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Continues
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2732442/mediaviewer/rm1680690432
Edit. The episodes are free, at https://www.startrekcontinues.com
Those are AMAZING. How did I not know about this?
A hollywood reporter article [1] says that he passed of a brain aneurysm. Tragic way to go and so early. He entertained the heck out of me as a kid.
[1] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/grant-imahara-dead-my...
[1] https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/grant-imahara-dead-my...
(This comment was merged from a thread which originally pointed to a different article.)
One of his most recent creations was a Baby Yoda! So sad to hear of his passing, like many others here I was inspired by him and still aspire to be a creative coder and builder like he was.
https://youtu.be/I7P4frD_GiE
https://youtu.be/I7P4frD_GiE
Amazing. What a great engineer, and a great person. Rest in peace, Mr. Imahara.
https://www.cnet.com/news/former-mythbusters-adorable-baby-y...
https://www.cnet.com/news/former-mythbusters-adorable-baby-y...
"Imahara plans to take the Baby Yoda to children's hospitals to cheer up young patients".
Heartbreaking.
Heartbreaking.
Didn't know this ... what an awesome guy ... sadder now ...
For people who can not view the article, here's an outline link https://outline.com/uGmACW
Thanks, it's censored in Europe.
Edit: Weird, now it doesn't show the GDPR censorship page anymore.
Edit: Weird, now it doesn't show the GDPR censorship page anymore.
I can view it just fine here in Germany. Hm, wonder what's up with that.
Europe != Germany
But Germany is indeed in Europe. So, if someone says that it cannot be viewed in Europe, as in the whole continent, than saying that you can view it in Germany invalidates the initial assumption.
Btw I'm in another European country and I can see the article as well.
Btw I'm in another European country and I can see the article as well.
outline.com appears to be located in the USA. The decision to not show the content to European IPs will have been made inside that server, not "in Europe".
(I acknowledge it isn't doing that now, so please consider this a comment in a time-warp. The images are all failing with "Sorry, this content is not available in your region." however.)
(I acknowledge it isn't doing that now, so please consider this a comment in a time-warp. The images are all failing with "Sorry, this content is not available in your region." however.)
I can also view it in Spain.
"GDPR censorship page"
as in
the cookie consent?
as in
the cookie consent?
Usually that refers to HTTP 451 (Unavailable For Legal Reasons) error pages.
https://twitter.com/Warin/status/1049566944989536256
https://twitter.com/Warin/status/1049566944989536256
Wow. When I was a kid Mythbusters was one of the only TV shows I watched, and Grant was my favorite on the B team. It was one of the few shows really encouraging kids to do science.
What a tragedy.
What a tragedy.
My dad got us direct tv back in 2000. I watched a lot of MTV, Cartoon Network and Discovery Channel (where mithbusters was broadcasted for us, Brazil). I already had a taste for science and engineering, I use to love Beakman's World (when I was even younger). Is great to see how many people, like me, were inspired by people like Grant. He will be missed, for sure. You should see some of his videos in robot fight.
Had to do a double take on this one. He always seemed like a genuine and kind person, it's weird to see "Grant Imahara" and "Dies" in the same sentence.
Fuck. Grant has always been a shining example of engineering spirit. I have looked up to him for a long time.
I remember when they were testing the aerodynamics of something in Mythbusters and needed a quick way to create laminar flow. Grant's solution was to cut both ends of a pack of drinking straws and put it inline with the airflow. Such an elegantly brilliant idea.
I never comment here, but this one really hit me. I have so many great memories watching MythBusters and seeing now this headline makes me really sad.
This will hit my kid hard, since he learned to work the TV his two favorite shows were Mythbusters and Popular Mechanics for Kids. When they dropped the B team and when they stopped producing the shows were probably his biggest introduction to the general impermanence of the world.
Grant Imahara’s curiosity, energy, and brilliance have taught millions of folks the unbridled joy of how to be bewildered by the world and overcome that with sober, rational, reason and scientific method. It gives me hope how the celebration of Grant front and center in my networks.
So very sad to lose a hero, I was lucky to be crammed right next to him at Pershing Square in a very crowded group at the March for Science in Downtown Los Angeles a couple years ago. He was very friendly, I was starstruck. I wish I could have chatted with him more.
As a younger person who hasn't seen many of the celebrities I grew up with pass away, this is probably one of the first celebrity deaths that really affected me. I grew up watching Grant and the whole MythBusters crew. The show was hugely influential and definitely guided me towards an interest in science and engineering.
Whenever I think about the science of the MythBusters, I always bring up this xkcd comic.[1]
I think science tends to have an ivory tower issue, and those who don't get the resources growing up to be included in standard academic science may feel left out. People like Grant and shows like the MythBusters made the viewers feel included, and instead of just talking down to the viewer about a bunch of facts, the show included them into the process of discovery. I think that's really cool and important.
[1] https://xkcd.com/397/
Whenever I think about the science of the MythBusters, I always bring up this xkcd comic.[1]
I think science tends to have an ivory tower issue, and those who don't get the resources growing up to be included in standard academic science may feel left out. People like Grant and shows like the MythBusters made the viewers feel included, and instead of just talking down to the viewer about a bunch of facts, the show included them into the process of discovery. I think that's really cool and important.
[1] https://xkcd.com/397/
All I know about him is that he was the one who created Geoff the Robot in Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show. That robot was AMAZING, it enabled a lot of good sketches!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Peterson
This is not a good year :(
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Peterson
This is not a good year :(
I'm deeply sorry for the loss of Grant having lost an engineer friend the same way.
An engineer friend of mine passed away due to brain aneurysm few years ago. Higor was in his twenties and had just achieved moving to Dublin after managing to acquire an Italian citizenship through his Italian ancestors being from Brazil.
I fantasize I will build a machine to extract his consciouness before the brian aneurysm saving him (but also causing the brain aneurysm).
Being an atheist I guess that's my way to hope for a way to see him again. I miss you Higor
An engineer friend of mine passed away due to brain aneurysm few years ago. Higor was in his twenties and had just achieved moving to Dublin after managing to acquire an Italian citizenship through his Italian ancestors being from Brazil.
I fantasize I will build a machine to extract his consciouness before the brian aneurysm saving him (but also causing the brain aneurysm).
Being an atheist I guess that's my way to hope for a way to see him again. I miss you Higor
I would love to see a documentary on this man, learn more about his life. I saw only his TV personality but the slim bio I just read suggests he had fascinating life and was kind as well.
"The Untold Truth Of Grant Imahara From MythBusters" (2019, 12 mins)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7PdllrAoL0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7PdllrAoL0
Grant was why I decided to go into STEM. :(
Super sad! It was due to Grant, Adam, and Jamie that I fancied making things from an early age. I used to do LEGO versions of their builds as a kid that helped me a lot to become a designer and engineer today. The kind of multi-disciplinary notion of life they professed was a key for me to approach my education.
I still remember dubbed versions of their show in Hindi on Discovery and my parents allowing to watch it beyond TV as "Whatever is on discovery is good for kids"
I resonated a lot with Grant as he was very simple and introvert-ish among the whole lot.
This year is like a nightmare.
RIP Grant :'(
I resonated a lot with Grant as he was very simple and introvert-ish among the whole lot.
This year is like a nightmare.
RIP Grant :'(
The Mythbusters were incredibly influential in my desire to pursue engineering. I also liked watching Battlebots, seeing all the crazy things they would come up with...
I wish the best for his friends and family.
I wish the best for his friends and family.
I'd recognized him from Battlebots since his robot Deadblow was a finalist from season 1, the final episode[0] starts with a short intro from Grant that shows his fun perspective brought to the table on Mythbusters. The entire Mythbusters team surely inspired the next generation of scientists and engineers with a can-do mentality.
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTDrwWCJqAo
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTDrwWCJqAo
Oh man, I forgot about battle bots. Loved that show - haven’t thought about it in years but wow, must be loads of fun building those things...
RIP to an all around positive addition to our world.
RIP to an all around positive addition to our world.
Yeah, Grant Imahara's did such great work on Robot Wars!
I would not be surprised if he is diagnosed with COVID-19, it can cause blood clots that obstruct blood flow.
"Severe brain haemorrhage and concomitant COVID-19 Infection: A neurovascular complication of COVID-19": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7199686/
"Severe brain haemorrhage and concomitant COVID-19 Infection: A neurovascular complication of COVID-19": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7199686/
This article is specifically about a single person (60yo woman) who had a aneurysm and was actively fighting pneumonia from COVID19.
Just because a celeb died doesn’t mean it makes any sense to try and tie in COVID19.
Just because a celeb died doesn’t mean it makes any sense to try and tie in COVID19.
I've seen multiple reports of severe blood clotting and strokes in COVID patients, including those who are otherwise asymptomatic, including people under 50.[1] Given that there is a pandemic going around with similar symptoms, I don't think this is a huge leap (but again, I am not saying it's anywhere near certain either). I probably should have used this source in my original comment, I just grabbed the first link I had handy.
[1]: https://www.biospace.com/article/covid-19-increases-risk-of-...
[2]: https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2020/07/what-is-known-ab...
[3]: https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2020/06/11/searching-for-ways-...
[1]: https://www.biospace.com/article/covid-19-increases-risk-of-...
[2]: https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2020/07/what-is-known-ab...
[3]: https://directorsblog.nih.gov/2020/06/11/searching-for-ways-...
That COVID wasn't mentioned by reports is itself information. I believe that had Grant tested positive for COVID, the reports would have mentioned that. The fact that it isn't mentioned, makes it unlikely that it is COVID related.
There are still testing backlogs for COVID, it can take multiple days to get results (assuming the doctors decide to run the test). Link #2 also says:
It’s hard to know for sure [if clotting is a major factor], because the clotting problem is apt to go undetected.
Since most people think of COVID as a respiratory disease and the clotting symptoms aren't as well publicized, doctors may not always call for the test when respiratory symptoms aren't present.
Since most people think of COVID as a respiratory disease and the clotting symptoms aren't as well publicized, doctors may not always call for the test when respiratory symptoms aren't present.
No for some reason these are omitted, such as the death of a recent French mathematician and another one that came up here on hackernews.
[deleted]
I specifically didn't want to post my similar suspicions regarding blood clots and covid so that I didn't have to defend myself from the "everything I didn't think of is fearmongering" people.
yes, the normal distribution of people dying every year will still happen, but now that there is a blood clot causing virus out there, its also worth considering any time someone dies from a blood clot. not a huge stretch. I would actually wonder if they explicitly ruled that out, I don't trust that medical professionals have this in the modus operandi yet, and especially in the distributed US healthcare system.
yes, the normal distribution of people dying every year will still happen, but now that there is a blood clot causing virus out there, its also worth considering any time someone dies from a blood clot. not a huge stretch. I would actually wonder if they explicitly ruled that out, I don't trust that medical professionals have this in the modus operandi yet, and especially in the distributed US healthcare system.
The OP did not say "because a celeb died therefore ...". You said that.
It may be insensitive or bad timing to be mentioning COVID as a speculation for Grant's death right now, but it doesn't rule out the possibility.
It may be insensitive or bad timing to be mentioning COVID as a speculation for Grant's death right now, but it doesn't rule out the possibility.
This is such awful news. I looked up to him growing up
I also lost a friend who was very influential among us this year. The death was so sudden and guessing from his tweet before his death, it was probably cerebral apoplexy or similar sudden brain damage.
If you have a friend not keep in touch of years, you should consider to have a little chat sometimes because you never knew he or you still alive tomorrow.
If you have a friend not keep in touch of years, you should consider to have a little chat sometimes because you never knew he or you still alive tomorrow.
[deleted]
Is there effective screening for aneurism potential? It runs the male side of my family and I'm approaching due time.
I think the weakened blood vessels show up on MRI and CT scans. I don't think it's usually done unless you have specific risk factors. Probably best to let your doctor know about your family history.
What can you do about a weakened blood vessel?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracranial_aneurysm#Risk_fac...
Managing and monitoring blood pressure, avoiding smoking, alcohol and cocaine, avoiding excess body fat, and last managing risk for physical trauma.
Managing and monitoring blood pressure, avoiding smoking, alcohol and cocaine, avoiding excess body fat, and last managing risk for physical trauma.
In extreme cases they do surgery to cut off the blood flow before it pops
Make sure your blood pressure is under control, as hypertension can be a risk factor and also tends to run in families.
popped(2)
Honestly this hit me harder than any announced passing in the last few years. What a brilliant and pleasant human being.
"Sorry, this content is not available in your region."
Replying to myself again. OP now points to a different source which actually works.
I hate this year. I am going to miss him even though I never met him he was kind of a friend.
I’m 49. Already hit one funeral this week. 49 isn’t supposed to feel this old. :(
RIP. He was my favorite person and in my opinion, most talented on the show.
I'm grateful for Grant, an engineer who isn't a billionaire-egomaniac and still stirred such a passion in so many. How often are engineers role models? At least in this part of history.
Only appropriate that this has risen to the top of HN. RIP Grant.
So, so sad. I absolutely loved Grant, in Mythbusters especially.
This is hitting me hard.
Fuck 2020.
This is hitting me hard.
Fuck 2020.
I wished there was a way to detect aneurysm without the need of an MRI... maybe one day with AI and some blood pressure sensor. My condolences to his family.
The problem, just as in cancer, is not detection. It's what to do once you find it. Many aneurysms/cancers that could be found will turn out to be harmless, and the risk of harming someone physically and/or psychologically from unnecessarily treating them is not negligible. There isn't much we can do for aneurysms unless they are obviously immediately threatening.
This. The risk calculations can be quite scary and people's responses to them can be poor given a powerful human dislike of uncertainty.
Consider a totally fabricated and naive example of finding a minor aneurysm with a 0.1% annual risk of rupture versus a 10% risk of death during surgery.. there are many people who would take the surgery to remove the uncertainty. (And this is a highly contrived example, real life is far more complicated!)
Consider a totally fabricated and naive example of finding a minor aneurysm with a 0.1% annual risk of rupture versus a 10% risk of death during surgery.. there are many people who would take the surgery to remove the uncertainty. (And this is a highly contrived example, real life is far more complicated!)
A doctor basically told my mother "The cure could be worse than the problem". So they just monitor.
I've really liked Mythbusters. I grew up with their shows. I still think about their shows weekly. I'm really sad about what happened. Grant seemed (didn't get to know him) like a very nice guy and he really inspired me (along with the whole Mythbusters team) and as it appears, a whole lot of other people.
Thanks Grant for your work and dedication! You won't be forgotten!
I met him at filming of one of the early seasons (maybe first?) in Vegas - he was warm and inviting even then before he became a household name.
Why do the good people always seem to die young yet assholes live forever? Ugh.
We are pretty much the same age so this also hits doubly close to home for me. Prayers for his friends and family.
Why do the good people always seem to die young yet assholes live forever? Ugh.
We are pretty much the same age so this also hits doubly close to home for me. Prayers for his friends and family.
Grant was my childhood hero, and one of a few people who inspired me to pursue robotics. RIP Grant. 2020 fucking sucks.
Damn. He was one of those people who you could just tell was a good dude. I grew up watching him.
This is very sad, Mythbusters is just about my favourite tv series of all time.
Ugh. This one hits hard. I stopped watching MythBusters before he even left the show, but it was one of those shows we always watched in college and his robots were always the best. What a tragic and sad loss.
Normally when newsworthy deaths occur, I'm not affected. However, Grant's death really hits home for some reason. I first saw him on Mythbusters. He seemed like such a nice and brilliant guy.
Grant will be missed. I was definitely influenced by him at an early age. He gave me a glimpse of what being a roboticist and engineer looked like. And that was enough to propel my career forward.
RIP. Thank you for all the great times I had watching MythBusters a kid! I remember I had to run from school to my house as a kid in order to catch the start of the show. It was awesome!
Just when you think 2020 can’t get worse. What a tragedy. RIP Grant!
I wish we could get a black bar for this guy.
Why can't we? Sure he didn't write fundamental software back in the 70s, but he was inspirational for many of the users here.
I didn't have cable so I rarely saw myth busters, but I was a fan of his for building the Geoff Peterson robot
kerri said it best "i wish i had a time machine some days" :( it sucks getting old and seeing truly wonderful people pass.
man i miss mythbusters. they all had such chemistry and it truly was a wholesome show. grant, kerri, adam, jaime and tory really became part of my life.
rip grant... you have no idea how many people you inspired.
man i miss mythbusters. they all had such chemistry and it truly was a wholesome show. grant, kerri, adam, jaime and tory really became part of my life.
rip grant... you have no idea how many people you inspired.
Sad news.
I remember fondly watching Myth Busters show. RIP.
I remember fondly watching Myth Busters show. RIP.
This was not an expected headline to read this morning.
I, like so many others, was shaped by Grant as a kid. It’s a sad day :(
I, like so many others, was shaped by Grant as a kid. It’s a sad day :(
Aww man...i was just heading to bed and took a last look at hn and then this. That really sucks. :(
Aww damn man.
He was awesome to watch. I'll miss him. May he tinker and have fun forever wherever he is now.
He was awesome to watch. I'll miss him. May he tinker and have fun forever wherever he is now.
Damn, I loved watching Myth Busters and Grant. I'm very sad to see he has died so young.
Grant's intelligence and creativity was always inspiring. This is very sad to hear.
That's really sad.
Grant seemed like such a genuine, kind-hearted intelligent dude.
My condolences to his family.
Grant seemed like such a genuine, kind-hearted intelligent dude.
My condolences to his family.
Damn. I watched pretty much every episode of mythbusters, so this one hits hard.
was just watching mythbusters a few hours ago for the first time in years.. RIP Grant
Not sure about the timing but I wonder if Hulu was recommending the show because of his death or it was just random
Not sure about the timing but I wonder if Hulu was recommending the show because of his death or it was just random
It's possible Hulu's recommendations have a "what's suddenly popular" component, so it could be recommended in response to a number of people choosing to watch it in response to the news. Or it could be a total coincidence; it's a great show, it should be recommended!
very sad news. I loved Mythbusters, especially the ones with Grant, Tori and Kari. I still cringe when I think about that time Grant nearly disemboweled himself on camera.
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RIP! Another one of my childhood stars just gone like that...
Great man and an inspiration through Mythbusters. RIP Grant.
He was one of my heroes. Amazing person overall. RIP.
This is absolutely devastating.
So sad! He was amazing on MB.
Grant warrants a black bar.
Agreed. He's inspired many "hackers" over the last 15+ years. Many are still early in their careers, but Grant's inspiration shouldn't be underestimated.
"When someone important to the community dies, a thin black bar is added to the top of HN as a mark of respect"
I agree. That follows.
He may not have been a founding member of a computer based community, software, or protocol, but he certainly inspired many of us.
I agree. That follows.
He may not have been a founding member of a computer based community, software, or protocol, but he certainly inspired many of us.
My guess is that the age demographic of the moderators may be more tuned to earlier CS community contributors. I often recognise the names from references in university lectures, but don't have much of a connection to them. Grant on the other hand is someone who I grew up with on my TV, inspiring me to make things.
Such a truly good person
wow.... horrible news :(
That just bites.
Horrible.
damn
aivosha(1)
Sounds like a corona-induced aneurysm.
What the flying fuck, 2020. This was unexpected.
Everybody knows that the only ones capable of getting shit done in Mythbusters were Jamie and Imahara, with Savage a distant third.
Everybody knows that the only ones capable of getting shit done in Mythbusters were Jamie and Imahara, with Savage a distant third.
I would not be surprised if he is diagnosed with COVID-19, it can cause blood clots that obstruct blood flow.
"Severe brain haemorrhage and concomitant COVID-19 Infection: A neurovascular complication of COVID-19": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7199686/
"Severe brain haemorrhage and concomitant COVID-19 Infection: A neurovascular complication of COVID-19": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7199686/
I'm pretty sure that for most of these posts, this is how it goes for HN users:
- no idea who this guy is, let's spend 5-10 minutes of my life to find out
- hmm yeah, he did good
- upvote
But maybe we keep doing this for post after post, wasting time and learning stuff that won't help us achieves our actual objectives.
- no idea who this guy is, let's spend 5-10 minutes of my life to find out
- hmm yeah, he did good
- upvote
But maybe we keep doing this for post after post, wasting time and learning stuff that won't help us achieves our actual objectives.
Of course that the majority of HN folks here know that Grant has had a major influence in their lives and engineering careers, so they will pay their respects here, which they should. My deepest condolences to Mr Imahara's family.
Unfortunately on HN, it now seems to depend on some other things to be able to pay your respects to here. We lost Kobe Bryant (NBA basketball player) and some (including me) wanted to pay their respects here, but it was repeatedly flagged and censored immediately.
Unfortunately on HN, it now seems to depend on some other things to be able to pay your respects to here. We lost Kobe Bryant (NBA basketball player) and some (including me) wanted to pay their respects here, but it was repeatedly flagged and censored immediately.
I would guess that around 90% of HN's US users have watched Mythbusters, and probably 30-40% of users from elsewhere - which might be half the people reading this post. If you don't know it, I'd totally recommend it - especially the ones with Grant in (S4-13?)
Anyway, I'm really sorry to hear this - seemed like a great guy and, as others have said, a fantastic role model.
Anyway, I'm really sorry to hear this - seemed like a great guy and, as others have said, a fantastic role model.
HNers should also watch him as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek Continues. It's a fan series that manages to perfectly recreate the original Star Trek, down to set lighting and acting style. It's truly a work of love.
Or maybe the person actually had an effect on many people here, and they are legitimately sad that he passed away?
I didn't understand why people cried when John Lennon died; they didn't even know him, right?
Then when I heard Elliot Smith died and I had to pull over for a while and I got it.
Then when I heard Elliot Smith died and I had to pull over for a while and I got it.
This was his workbench. In many ways, it doesn't look much different than mine. Grant was an electrical engineer, like me. Gone suddenly before 50 from an aneurysm. I can't help but wonder if it looks like that now, filled with unfinished projects. Projects that only he understood the complexity of, and few would have the hope of picking up where he finished. Projects that will never be completed, now that their creator has died.
Grant, and Myth Busters were an inspiration to me as a young engineer. He was barely my age on the show, but influenced an entire generation of future engineers.
I checked his Twitter feed. Barely a bitter or angry tweet. None of the toxic outrage so prevalent in society today. The world lost a decent person, and a brilliant engineer.
Nobody knows their time. That what I leave unfinished would only be personal trivialities, and not angry tweets. That I would be able to have that impact on the next generation.