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I would argue that a majority of humans are in a human mill, blindly following the next person, who follows the next person, ad infinitum, and are blind to it.
by madaxe_again 5y ago
I would argue that a majority of humans are in a human mill, blindly following the next person, who follows the next person, ad infinitum, and are blind to it. I say this not scornfully, but rather as an outside observer, who having been flicked off the trail by a series of accidents, now observes the same humans passing by, over and over. Or perhaps they’re different humans, but are functionally indistinguishable. Same wants, same needs, same counterproductive and counterintuitive but “normal” decisions and behaviours.
A fundamental feature of behaviour in the animal kingdom is mimicry, memetics, whatever you want to call it - and the behaviours which propagate are usually favourable to the gestalt, rather than the individual.
- halpert 5y agoWhat does it mean the follow another human in this context? I went to the store today. I believe I did so by my own free will. I wasn’t aware of anyone else going to the store.
- madaxe_again 5y agoStudy hard, get a good job, work hard, aspire to own things, buy things, work hard, get a promotion, aspire to more things, buy more things, work hard, buy things, die. It’s absolutely a mill and is absolutely possible to leave - but most will deny that it’s a mill, that they are on a unique and special journey. Sure, this ant wears a party hat, that ant has clogs on, but they’re still all walking in a circle. Most existences are functionally indistinguishable. Not all, by any means, but most.
- halpert 5y agoWhere do you get your food? What are you reading HN on? You’re making “working hard for a promotion” seem like a futile endeavor, and yet you likely sustain yourself and entertain yourself with the fruits of those working the jobs you deride. This article is about an ant mill, which occurs when a group of ant’s start following a circular track of pheromones The ants think they’re heading towards the colony, but they’re not. What you describe as a “mill” is really just society, i.e. the ant colony. To me, it seems like you’re on the mill, following an idea that ultimately leads nowhere.
- kortilla 5y agoThere is no derision there. Consider that it wasn’t a personal attack and reread it.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- madaxe_again 5y agoI produce about half of my own food, and hope to get that to 100% within the next five years - but for that I have to wait for trees to grow. I deride nobody - I feel great empathy for those walking the well trodden industrial path, as I too was born into it, and I too saw it as The Path. I understand your anger at my position - it is quite an affront to have someone say that your existence may as well have been manufactured on a production line. What you see as society is, in my view (and of many, many philosophers - see Baudrillard, Sartre, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, for starters) a gigantic mill, spiralling in on itself, self referential and crippled through the reification of concepts introduced in 18th century Britain. We are so deeply inured to the ideas that industrialisation bought that we are mostly blind to the idea that there are other paths to tread, other goals to seek. Our entire value system has been harnessed by a mindless machine of capital, with no human or humanity at the helm - it is a pattern, self sustaining through humans’ tendency to do as others do, and fear of social ostracism. This indolent peasant decided to go back to the land, rather than to continue to toil in a dark, satanic mill. I am ostracised for it, and that’s quite alright.
- spidersouris 5y agoNot OP, but I'd interpret it in a broader sense, that is, not focusing on specific and daily activities, but rather on general, social trends. Anthropologically, humans (but also animals) tend to mimic others so that they can integrate into a social group, and thus have better chances at surviving. Even if people are unaware of it, they're constantly influenced, directly or indirectly, in the modern world, whether it be through ads, fashion, music trends, hobbies... Generally, people try to conform to other people's tastes lest they'll be rejected and isolated. I mean, the prime example of that is high school, where you have the popular groups on the one side, the members of which all like the same type of stuff, and who reject those they call the "weirdos" because they're not into the same things.
- DarylZero 5y agoMot physically but in terms of desires. Where do they come from? Trying to fit in with others, mostly. Applies to what you buy in the store.