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I think society is full of three or four things that are essentially mentally enslaving people: 1. Diets of processed food, carbs, sugar, etc. 2. Alcohol 3.

I think society is full of three or four things that are essentially mentally enslaving people: 1. Diets of processed food, carbs, sugar, etc. 2. Alcohol 3. Dopamine jerking online content and social media 4. Porn By mentally enslaving, I mean people are running at a hugely reduced mental clarity, which is stopping them from living life to its full potential. They are essentially living on automatic, with reduced ability to have agency and be agile about how they live Personally I think number 1 (diet) is the easily the most underated.

muzani 5y ago
A lot of these are at such a terrible level that they should be treated like cigarettes were. Eventually society learns that they're bad and avoids them, but it usually takes a generation. We were faster to build immunity to things like clickbait and frankly we're doing decent with porn. Diet has been incredibly resilient though. I've tried Frosted Flakes for breakfast last week and I'm surprised how damn much sugar is in there. It's literally 1/3 sugar and some people eat that every day. My kids actually want to eat broccoli for breakfast, though. So I think the next generation is building up some immunity to junk food, but it's slower than everything else. We're seeing a lot of changes with the sugar tax though and even without that, soda companies have been dumping lots of R&D into healthier food choices.
throwaway3b03 5y ago
This is another case of mistaking the cause for the effect. It is not alcohol, diet or online content that is causing the "enslaving", they are simply a coping mechanism, an effect or a symptom of a neuro-somatic problem. It's why not all people are susceptible to these issues, and the class of people who are is fairly well identified. And the cause has also been fairly well established in the literature. Eliminating the "effects" will do little in solving the problem.
- meiraleal 5y ago
  Point 1 definitely doesn't fit in your explanation. Processed food is highly related to what companies want to produce and marketing to make more and easy money, turning their consumers into addicted/slaves. It is not a coping mechanism if most people only know and have access to food that has more to do with plastic than nutrients. Eliminate this effect would help all others.
- ldjkfkdsjnv 5y ago
  I dont think so. I think all the issues I listed are modern inventions that hack the human brain in ways that never existed in nature. The problems are more shallow than we think, technology with a profit driven motive finds ways to appeal to the human brain that are bad. Essentially what was scarce was highly appealing, and technology makes it plentiful, turning people into zombies. The problems are more shallow, strip them away and you are left with biology, which full well can function.
joshxyz 5y ago
Damn points 1 to 4 hit me haha

muzani 5y ago

A lot of these are at such a terrible level that they should be treated like cigarettes were. Eventually society learns that they're bad and avoids them, but it usually takes a generation. We were faster to build immunity to things like clickbait and frankly we're doing decent with porn. Diet has been incredibly resilient though. I've tried Frosted Flakes for breakfast last week and I'm surprised how damn much sugar is in there. It's literally 1/3 sugar and some people eat that every day. My kids actually want to eat broccoli for breakfast, though. So I think the next generation is building up some immunity to junk food, but it's slower than everything else. We're seeing a lot of changes with the sugar tax though and even without that, soda companies have been dumping lots of R&D into healthier food choices.

throwaway3b03 5y ago

This is another case of mistaking the cause for the effect. It is not alcohol, diet or online content that is causing the "enslaving", they are simply a coping mechanism, an effect or a symptom of a neuro-somatic problem. It's why not all people are susceptible to these issues, and the class of people who are is fairly well identified. And the cause has also been fairly well established in the literature. Eliminating the "effects" will do little in solving the problem.

meiraleal 5y ago
Point 1 definitely doesn't fit in your explanation. Processed food is highly related to what companies want to produce and marketing to make more and easy money, turning their consumers into addicted/slaves. It is not a coping mechanism if most people only know and have access to food that has more to do with plastic than nutrients. Eliminate this effect would help all others.
ldjkfkdsjnv 5y ago
I dont think so. I think all the issues I listed are modern inventions that hack the human brain in ways that never existed in nature. The problems are more shallow than we think, technology with a profit driven motive finds ways to appeal to the human brain that are bad. Essentially what was scarce was highly appealing, and technology makes it plentiful, turning people into zombies. The problems are more shallow, strip them away and you are left with biology, which full well can function.

joshxyz 5y ago

Damn points 1 to 4 hit me haha