What would be the best use of his last few years? Sitting in an easy chair by the pool?
Using your last few years to exercise your brain and ward off cognitive decline might be the best way to ensure those last few years are fulfilling and not just marking time before the end.
He himself said he didn't think it was worth it anymore and that he very rarely codes now. I respect him enough to assume he has some other pursuit more worthy of his attention.
I suppose there's meaning in searching for abstract logical truths, but he might
have other such pursuits. Or, he might even feel that it's mostly done already and became just another boring software maintenance project.
It's hard to imagine an extremely niche software tool to be the greatest meaning in someone's life.
Still the same dichotomy. Who's to say his other pursuits are "meaningless", and the likes of crosswords, sudoku, etc.? For all we know he might have some other projects that he considers more useful.
He does not think working on Colorforth is worth it anymore, so it could actually be detrimental to do so.
>> Some people have trouble doing meaningless intellectual pursuits like crosswords, sudoku etc.
My Dad is like this. I'm like this. My son is like this.
Unless we're busy, pushing ourselves to build something, fix something or just outside doing something we don't feel the reward.
My Dad told his motto, "A rolling rock gathers no moss - until it finally stops rolling." He told me that in his 50's - he's in his 80's still out in the garage refinishing old furniture and giving it away. The drive the man has just never burns out.
Yeah! I can definitely see myself doing that. I told family and friends that my ideal way of death is a quick death by the computer when I'm over 80 working on some projects. I just have to move forward in some direction.
Perhaps he has chosen the best use of his last few years to his own satisfaction, and doesn't feel the need to share every last detail about himself on the internet.
Using your last few years to exercise your brain and ward off cognitive decline might be the best way to ensure those last few years are fulfilling and not just marking time before the end.