4 ms·

I actually disagree with the last paragraph. Appearance can be earned. Staying fit, learning how to dress, what hairstyles work for you, how to do makeup, corr

I actually disagree with the last paragraph. Appearance can be earned. Staying fit, learning how to dress, what hairstyles work for you, how to do makeup, correcting your posture, etc. All these take a lot of effort, and makes a big difference in how people perceive you. I have a friend who I met at the gym who’s a software engineer at Amazon, and she has ~50k instagram followers because she lost a lot of weight. Like, from 300lbs to “the fit girl at the gym”. She was used to being bullied when she grew up. Social perception of attraction can definitely be earned. Similarly, being likeable and socially capable is something that can be earned too. From personal experience, it takes a lot of practice and putting in effort to understand others. Even gaining perspectives from MDMA and LSD helps a lot. Human behavior isn’t set in stone, and with effort can be changed.

blackflame7000 6y ago
To understand humans you must know 2 things: 1) Humans are designed by nature to be selfish 2) Humans like other humans who solve more problems than they cause. 3) Humans will remember 10 wrongs for right.
roflc0ptic 6y ago
It sounds like we're more philosophically aligned than might be clear. I agree about all of that - I have spent substantial time figuring out grooming/dressing/posture, and it helps. But in my thinking, I take the nature of initial conditions out to the extreme. The fact that I was able to identify deficiencies, make a plan, and execute that plan - that's just kind of lucky. If I was too emotionally dysregulated to follow through on plans, I'd be hosed. Or if I wasn't intellectually capable of identifying problems and forming viable plans, I'd be hosed. And even on a day to day basis: I feel like my ability to program is a product of decisions my past self made. My current self isn't responsible for my capabilities, he's just the beneficiary/victim of past choices I've made. Maybe this is all a little woo, I don't know. But I feel like the only reality is the one directly before me, and the only meaningful choices are the ones I make in this moment.

blackflame7000 6y ago

To understand humans you must know 2 things: 1) Humans are designed by nature to be selfish 2) Humans like other humans who solve more problems than they cause. 3) Humans will remember 10 wrongs for right.

roflc0ptic 6y ago

It sounds like we're more philosophically aligned than might be clear. I agree about all of that - I have spent substantial time figuring out grooming/dressing/posture, and it helps. But in my thinking, I take the nature of initial conditions out to the extreme. The fact that I was able to identify deficiencies, make a plan, and execute that plan - that's just kind of lucky. If I was too emotionally dysregulated to follow through on plans, I'd be hosed. Or if I wasn't intellectually capable of identifying problems and forming viable plans, I'd be hosed. And even on a day to day basis: I feel like my ability to program is a product of decisions my past self made. My current self isn't responsible for my capabilities, he's just the beneficiary/victim of past choices I've made. Maybe this is all a little woo, I don't know. But I feel like the only reality is the one directly before me, and the only meaningful choices are the ones I make in this moment.