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A side effect of losing touch with the physical world is that it wrecks your brain. You begin to feel isolated from the rest of the world. What doesn't help is

by Hisoka 15y ago

A side effect of losing touch with the physical world is that it wrecks your brain. You begin to feel isolated from the rest of the world. What doesn't help is the growth of cities, and overpopulation. We start to view other people as competitors and enemies. Have you ever gone through some days when you encounter many people, whether it's in a commute, or whatever and ask why people are so useless in your life? What does he/she matter in your life? Life has become so impersonal, and it's not our fault. But I think we have to do something about it, as individuals (not as collective). In the past, we had tribes. Small communities where everyone felt a sense of belonging. Why? Because everyone was important to the success of the whole. You could save the world, because the world was not 1 million people. Everyone mattered to each other, and everyone had stake in each other's lives. The world has become something like this: We RUSH and STRESS to go to places for 40 hours we hate, to work on stuff we don't like, with people we don't care about.

paulnelligan 15y ago
I don't think that being a member of a tribe enabled anyone to save the world, just their village and their families. I would argue that the internet has empowered far more people than ever. I get the Author's point, however I think he's overexaggerating by a long shot. Kids still play with lego, adults still buy books, and certainly do still have real sex with actual people - in fact they can't get enough of it!
- Hisoka 15y ago
  In a tribe, the tribe is your world (it's all you know and exposed to). Today the world is a billion people. We're surrounded by people we don't care about. We can't be compassionate to everyone. So it all ends up being impersonal
anamax 15y ago
> We start to view other people as competitors and enemies. Hold that thought. > In the past, we had tribes. And different tribes were enemies and competitors. And, if you don't think that there's competition in a tribe of humans, you're claiming that groups of humans are different from every other group of animals. (Simple example - even in tribes, 40% of males don't have genetic children while only 20% of females are dead ends. That's not all boys dying before breeding age.)
- Hisoka 15y ago
  Yes, true, but you still belong to 1 tribe. Nowadays we're lucky to have anyone besides family, or a S.O. who we consider a tribe. It doesn't help we spread the bulk of our days along people we don't care about too.
  - anamax 15y ago
    > Yes, true, but you still belong to 1 tribe. Reread the parent - he led with "no enemies or competitors". It's unclear whether the tribe thing was separate or it caused "no enemies". My point is that no enemies is clearly false in "the good old days" (when life expectancy was roughly 30). Tribes had enemies and there were enemies within tribes. > Nowadays we're lucky to have anyone besides family, or a S.O. who we consider a tribe. Speak for yourself. I'm reasonably anti-social yet belong to a couple of tribes.
  - westicle 15y ago
    Don't forget friends. Probably the largest potential subset of your tribe you can form :)
    - Hisoka 15y ago
      Actually I omitted friends because I don't believe most friendships are that tribe-like. Friends rarely have stake in each other's success, and they don't share suffering together in each other's failures. Most friendships wither away easily as a result. What I'm aiming for are "tribal businesses" where everyone works together to make a living together.
masterzora 15y ago
Have you ever gone through some days when you encounter many people, whether it's in a commute, or whatever and ask why people are so useless in your life? No, never. They all fascinate me, instead. Try this: next time you're in a rush somewhere stop for a minute and look at the people around you. Try to figure out their stories: who are their families or friends, why are they out right now and where are they going, what do they do for a living or in their spare time? You'll rarely, if ever, guess correctly, but it really helps to remind you of the human factor of everyone around you. We RUSH and STRESS to go to places for 40 hours we hate, to work on stuff we don't like, with people we don't care about. This seems to be the case with far too many people, but it doesn't have to be.
- Hisoka 15y ago
  I've actually tried that. It's not sustainable for me, personally to have that attitude. There's just way way too many people in this world. I just don't care about 99% of the people in this world.
prodigal_erik 15y ago
The problem with cities is they tend to outbreed their space and resources, bringing rivalry due to a sense of scarcity. But the anonymity of cities enables people to reinvent themselves and explore unpopular ideas in ways that would be impossible or forbidden in the tribal environment of conformity and oppression. A tribe might be tolerable if I could choose one with smart, open-minded members, but most are trapped in the hellhole they were randomly born into.

by Hisoka 15y ago

paulnelligan 15y ago

I don't think that being a member of a tribe enabled anyone to save the world, just their village and their families. I would argue that the internet has empowered far more people than ever. I get the Author's point, however I think he's overexaggerating by a long shot. Kids still play with lego, adults still buy books, and certainly do still have real sex with actual people - in fact they can't get enough of it!

Hisoka 15y ago
In a tribe, the tribe is your world (it's all you know and exposed to). Today the world is a billion people. We're surrounded by people we don't care about. We can't be compassionate to everyone. So it all ends up being impersonal

anamax 15y ago

> We start to view other people as competitors and enemies. Hold that thought. > In the past, we had tribes. And different tribes were enemies and competitors. And, if you don't think that there's competition in a tribe of humans, you're claiming that groups of humans are different from every other group of animals. (Simple example - even in tribes, 40% of males don't have genetic children while only 20% of females are dead ends. That's not all boys dying before breeding age.)

Hisoka 15y ago
Yes, true, but you still belong to 1 tribe. Nowadays we're lucky to have anyone besides family, or a S.O. who we consider a tribe. It doesn't help we spread the bulk of our days along people we don't care about too.
- anamax 15y ago
  > Yes, true, but you still belong to 1 tribe. Reread the parent - he led with "no enemies or competitors". It's unclear whether the tribe thing was separate or it caused "no enemies". My point is that no enemies is clearly false in "the good old days" (when life expectancy was roughly 30). Tribes had enemies and there were enemies within tribes. > Nowadays we're lucky to have anyone besides family, or a S.O. who we consider a tribe. Speak for yourself. I'm reasonably anti-social yet belong to a couple of tribes.
- westicle 15y ago
  Don't forget friends. Probably the largest potential subset of your tribe you can form :)
  - Hisoka 15y ago
    Actually I omitted friends because I don't believe most friendships are that tribe-like. Friends rarely have stake in each other's success, and they don't share suffering together in each other's failures. Most friendships wither away easily as a result. What I'm aiming for are "tribal businesses" where everyone works together to make a living together.

masterzora 15y ago

Have you ever gone through some days when you encounter many people, whether it's in a commute, or whatever and ask why people are so useless in your life? No, never. They all fascinate me, instead. Try this: next time you're in a rush somewhere stop for a minute and look at the people around you. Try to figure out their stories: who are their families or friends, why are they out right now and where are they going, what do they do for a living or in their spare time? You'll rarely, if ever, guess correctly, but it really helps to remind you of the human factor of everyone around you. We RUSH and STRESS to go to places for 40 hours we hate, to work on stuff we don't like, with people we don't care about. This seems to be the case with far too many people, but it doesn't have to be.

Hisoka 15y ago
I've actually tried that. It's not sustainable for me, personally to have that attitude. There's just way way too many people in this world. I just don't care about 99% of the people in this world.

prodigal_erik 15y ago

The problem with cities is they tend to outbreed their space and resources, bringing rivalry due to a sense of scarcity. But the anonymity of cities enables people to reinvent themselves and explore unpopular ideas in ways that would be impossible or forbidden in the tribal environment of conformity and oppression. A tribe might be tolerable if I could choose one with smart, open-minded members, but most are trapped in the hellhole they were randomly born into.