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Don't worry, be happy: 'The Sunny Nihilist'

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You generally do not find nihilists worrying about the meaning of life, because nihilism is itself the rejection of the idea that life has any meaning.

So it's a bit of a surprise to find the term for a practitioner combined with an upbeat adjective. But there it is, in the title of the book The Sunny Nihilist: A Declaration of the Pleasure of Pointlessness.

In the book, author Wendy Syfret makes the argument that we've been forced to reconsider life and the things we attach meaning to, by the pandemic and related events.

We pick the author's brain about how pointlessness itself can have a point, if it makes us a bit happier.

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The Jefferson Exchange is Jefferson Public Radio's daily news program focused on issues, people and events across Southern Oregon and Northern California. Angela Decker is the program's senior producer, Charlie Zimmermann is the assistant producer, and Geoffrey Riley hosts the show.