The meaning of life

Evolution wants us to solve things. It's why our brains get that hit of dopamine every time we experience that aha moment.

A.J. Jacobs, The Puzzler

A.J. Jacobs above is trying to explain the universal appeal of puzzles, but I think he has hit upon the meaning of life.

I differentiate between the "meaning of life" and the "purpose of life." The latter I see as more individual We may see the purpose of our life as being to serve God, to care for our family, to benefit mankind, to protect the environment, to create art, to design great buildings, or whatever. Most of us find multiple purposes that make our lives worthwhile.

The meaning of life, on the other hand, I view as universal. All life, plants as well as animals, must solve problems to survive. A tree in a drought solves that problem by sending its roots deeper into the ground. When in the shade of other trees, it solves that problem by growing taller or sending branches out farther to find patches of sunlight. Some trees simply wait as long as necessary, a century or more, until older trees die and they can find their own place in the sun and then grow to maturity.

All animals must find food, shelter, water and a mate. They raise their young and hide from danger. Their entire lives involve trying to solve these problems.

We humans confront problems from the moment of birth. As babies the solution to every problem is always the same: we cry until until someone, usually our mother, solves our problem for us. As we grow older problems became more challenging, but we also develop skills to solve more of these problems by ourselves. Instead of crying about that toy across the room, we learn to crawl to fetch it ourselves.

Eventually we are old enough to get a job, where we are paid to help solve somebody else's problems by mowing lawns, babysitting children or making french fries. We devote our entire careers to problem-solving.

Our lives are so wrapped up in problem-solving that, as Jacobs observes, we devote our leisure time to problems, as well. Thus we do crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. We play games, where the problem consists of beating other players. Or for entertainment we simply observe others solving their own problems. The novels we read, the movies and situation comedies we watch, the sporting events that occupy us all make problem-solving a spectator sport.

Many of us daydream of that island paradise or that cabin by the lake where there is absolutely nothing to do but relax. But after a day or two of doing nothing, we start yearning for problems to solve. And so we take a 15-mile hike or climb a mountain or try to catch the biggest fish in the lake or reorganize the cabin cupboards or whatever.

Without problems to solve, our lives would be empty and, in fact, meaningless.