4 ms·

Unpopular opinion: the vast majority of people in the world do not need to get so emotionally invested in things happening in the world that don't directly affe

Unpopular opinion: the vast majority of people in the world do not need to get so emotionally invested in things happening in the world that don't directly affect them. As terrible as it is, in the broader context of all human history we are living in the most peaceful and prosperous time EVER RECORDED! (Suggested reading: Better Angels of our Nature by Stephen Pinker) There is a huge gap between the state of the world as viewed through statistics and scientific progress, versus the state of the world as viewed through Twitter. What concerns me more is what might happen when most people THINK the world is awful and lose hope.

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
I tell my Mom this all the time. You don’t have to share in the misery of the news. Be informed enough to do the few things that actually make a difference, like voting. Any involvement and sharing of misery past that is hurting yourself and making the world no better of a place, only worse.
- CrazyStat 5y ago
  I learned about Neil Postman's concept of the information-action ratio[1] about 15 years ago and it totally changed my life. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information%E2%80%93action_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information%E2%80%93action_rat...
  - sdoering 5y ago
    Interesting. I learned a similar concept from the late Hans Rosling in his book Factfulness. He described that we tend to not derive actionable insights from most news we consume (my wording). I felt the concept to be too similar to be a coincidence. He probably knew Postman's ideas.
sneak 5y ago
As someone who left friends and family and language behind to emigrate across an ocean in search of a place with lasting peace and the rule of law and a semblance of human rights, a large scale war in europe strikes deep at my hope that human beings in large groups are even capable of what might be termed civilization. I was of the hope that it is here and just not evenly distributed yet. I had hoped at least some of our species had learned enough from the big one that we may avoid a repeat. Time will tell, but it's definitely not 100% clear at this point. This isn't something just happening to others. This is a real-time experiment being run in whether or not humans as a concern can avoid pointless megadeaths whilst continuing to play our monkey status game.
beaconstudios 5y ago
Might I suggest a tweak in your framework, to be: the vast majority of people in the world do not need to get so emotionally invested in things happening in the world that /they can't affect/. Nobody benefits from stressing about things beyond their control. Instead of doomscrolling ukraine updates, send in a donation if you can but otherwise move on. The only thing you're accomplishing by continuing to read the news on the situation, is upsetting yourself. However, I don't think it's productive to ignore the problems in the world, even though the economy is ascendant, as Pinker is inclined to do. But we should generally try to focus on where we can make a difference.
- TimTheTinker 5y ago
  > Instead of doomscrolling ukraine updates, send in a donation if you can but otherwise move on. One can donate either money or time. Here are a few specific ideas. - donate to a group in Ukraine that is working to feed, clothe, and shelter people - donate to an organization that is helping refugees in Poland, Romania, or Hungary - donate directly to the Ukrainian military (yes, they did set up a donation endpoint early in the war) - assist with Squad303's efforts. Text Russian people about the war -- see https://1920.in - utilize computer skills that enable you to help Ukraine remotely (I won't elaborate; if you're a candidate you know what I mean and likely have already considered this)
  - beaconstudios 5y ago
    Thanks for expanding on the options for donations! It's important that people know that they can positively impact the world in ways that suit their personal situations. I'm going to have to disavow the 'computer skills' suggestion though :)
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
it_does_follow 5y ago
- bitcharmer 5y ago
  > resisting violence itself is the primary cause of violence > better to just lay down an let things happen. I really hope this is sarcasm or some elaborate intellectual joke. Sitting back and letting it happen as you describe it is exactly what the German population did before the Holocaust. Also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance
- tluyben2 5y ago
  > It's far better for people to simply be occupied than fight back You are joking I hope? Have you lived or been born in an occupied territory or perhaps forgot to read some history? You can argue about every single incursion by the US or otherwise, but there are definite ‘simply be occupied’ by internal or external forces where people were slaughtered and no one ever really lived in peace until the regime was disbanded. Maybe you live somewhere safe and do not have family members to tell you how absurd this is after they actually did live in occupied territory; for instance in the USSR.
- gjm11 5y ago
  Is anything in your second paragraph actually true? That is: does Pinker actually say anything like that, or did you just say he did because it makes him sound stupid and evil?
- divan 5y ago
  Honestly, this is the dumbest and most pseudo-intellectual comment I've ever seen on HN. Next time russian soldier will be raping your wife or russian bomb destroying your home, please update us on your views on resisting violence.
- s5300 5y ago
  All is well until you happen to be part of the group the top decides needs some “ethnic cleansing”
recuter 5y ago
Your opinion is in fact the popular opinion through out history. Picture the see no evil hear no evil monkeys. Stephen Pinker is a very nice man with a soothing voice and a very curly haircut. And he attended Harvard. And has a warm and fuzzy message of optimism in his best selling mass market book, which has angels in the title. Pixar should make a character based on him. Practically a real life Dumbledore. Surely everything will pan out just so. Meanwhile, the "sate of the world" is such that he wrote his prognostications over a decade ago when the US was still the single remaining superpower in a unipolar world steeped in the longest stretch of relatively violence free global economic expansion. And at the moment they ring hollow. Of course we all wish for the positive trends to continue indefinitely, but the night is in fact dark and full of terrors. It really is. Baseless optimism is simply the flip side of the doomer-ism you deride. Everything is still on the line. Everything.
aaomidi 5y ago
Alternatively: America is one of the leading forces of the world getting destroyed. America also has the power to fundamentally shift the world. Americans don't get to say we can't do anything about it. Literally out of everyone in the world were the only ones that can make a lasting difference.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

JohnJamesRambo 5y ago

I tell my Mom this all the time. You don’t have to share in the misery of the news. Be informed enough to do the few things that actually make a difference, like voting. Any involvement and sharing of misery past that is hurting yourself and making the world no better of a place, only worse.

CrazyStat 5y ago
I learned about Neil Postman's concept of the information-action ratio[1] about 15 years ago and it totally changed my life. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information%E2%80%93action_ratio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information%E2%80%93action_rat...
- sdoering 5y ago
  Interesting. I learned a similar concept from the late Hans Rosling in his book Factfulness. He described that we tend to not derive actionable insights from most news we consume (my wording). I felt the concept to be too similar to be a coincidence. He probably knew Postman's ideas.

sneak 5y ago

As someone who left friends and family and language behind to emigrate across an ocean in search of a place with lasting peace and the rule of law and a semblance of human rights, a large scale war in europe strikes deep at my hope that human beings in large groups are even capable of what might be termed civilization. I was of the hope that it is here and just not evenly distributed yet. I had hoped at least some of our species had learned enough from the big one that we may avoid a repeat. Time will tell, but it's definitely not 100% clear at this point. This isn't something just happening to others. This is a real-time experiment being run in whether or not humans as a concern can avoid pointless megadeaths whilst continuing to play our monkey status game.

beaconstudios 5y ago

Might I suggest a tweak in your framework, to be: the vast majority of people in the world do not need to get so emotionally invested in things happening in the world that /they can't affect/. Nobody benefits from stressing about things beyond their control. Instead of doomscrolling ukraine updates, send in a donation if you can but otherwise move on. The only thing you're accomplishing by continuing to read the news on the situation, is upsetting yourself. However, I don't think it's productive to ignore the problems in the world, even though the economy is ascendant, as Pinker is inclined to do. But we should generally try to focus on where we can make a difference.

TimTheTinker 5y ago
> Instead of doomscrolling ukraine updates, send in a donation if you can but otherwise move on. One can donate either money or time. Here are a few specific ideas. - donate to a group in Ukraine that is working to feed, clothe, and shelter people - donate to an organization that is helping refugees in Poland, Romania, or Hungary - donate directly to the Ukrainian military (yes, they did set up a donation endpoint early in the war) - assist with Squad303's efforts. Text Russian people about the war -- see https://1920.in - utilize computer skills that enable you to help Ukraine remotely (I won't elaborate; if you're a candidate you know what I mean and likely have already considered this)
- beaconstudios 5y ago
  Thanks for expanding on the options for donations! It's important that people know that they can positively impact the world in ways that suit their personal situations. I'm going to have to disavow the 'computer skills' suggestion though :)

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

it_does_follow 5y ago

bitcharmer 5y ago
> resisting violence itself is the primary cause of violence > better to just lay down an let things happen. I really hope this is sarcasm or some elaborate intellectual joke. Sitting back and letting it happen as you describe it is exactly what the German population did before the Holocaust. Also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance
tluyben2 5y ago
> It's far better for people to simply be occupied than fight back You are joking I hope? Have you lived or been born in an occupied territory or perhaps forgot to read some history? You can argue about every single incursion by the US or otherwise, but there are definite ‘simply be occupied’ by internal or external forces where people were slaughtered and no one ever really lived in peace until the regime was disbanded. Maybe you live somewhere safe and do not have family members to tell you how absurd this is after they actually did live in occupied territory; for instance in the USSR.
gjm11 5y ago
Is anything in your second paragraph actually true? That is: does Pinker actually say anything like that, or did you just say he did because it makes him sound stupid and evil?
divan 5y ago
Honestly, this is the dumbest and most pseudo-intellectual comment I've ever seen on HN. Next time russian soldier will be raping your wife or russian bomb destroying your home, please update us on your views on resisting violence.
s5300 5y ago
All is well until you happen to be part of the group the top decides needs some “ethnic cleansing”

recuter 5y ago

Your opinion is in fact the popular opinion through out history. Picture the see no evil hear no evil monkeys. Stephen Pinker is a very nice man with a soothing voice and a very curly haircut. And he attended Harvard. And has a warm and fuzzy message of optimism in his best selling mass market book, which has angels in the title. Pixar should make a character based on him. Practically a real life Dumbledore. Surely everything will pan out just so. Meanwhile, the "sate of the world" is such that he wrote his prognostications over a decade ago when the US was still the single remaining superpower in a unipolar world steeped in the longest stretch of relatively violence free global economic expansion. And at the moment they ring hollow. Of course we all wish for the positive trends to continue indefinitely, but the night is in fact dark and full of terrors. It really is. Baseless optimism is simply the flip side of the doomer-ism you deride. Everything is still on the line. Everything.

aaomidi 5y ago

Alternatively: America is one of the leading forces of the world getting destroyed. America also has the power to fundamentally shift the world. Americans don't get to say we can't do anything about it. Literally out of everyone in the world were the only ones that can make a lasting difference.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]