4 ms·

I read a story where the main protagonist ran a business who did nothing but provide solutions to people. They would come in, pay a fee, and he would dispense

I read a story where the main protagonist ran a business who did nothing but provide solutions to people. They would come in, pay a fee, and he would dispense a solution to their problem that would make things better if only the advice was followed. I thought it delightful. A problem I have that I can simply ask for a solution and get it? That would be great. The reason these bad actors exist is that they recognize the same: people struggle and just wish someone would offer real advice. If everyone wishes to dig for gold, sell shovels right? Well if everyone is dealing with failure, feelings of inadequacy, and a desire to change why not sell them the hope that if you do these simple things everything will be better. It is a desirable thing, even for me who should know better.

boomskats 4y ago
I, too, am a huge fan of Nathan for You [0] [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_for_You https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_for_You
- suction 4y ago
  Best comedy on TV. Basically anything Fielder has touched so far, was gold. Or maybe it's because his brand of comedy really works for me, personally.
  - wnolens 4y ago
    The latter. I can barely watch him. I'll admit he's incredibly original and I really appreciate a skit or two. But he borders on sociopathic, and his latest movie is a great encapsulation of that.
    - suction 4y ago
      Movie? I guess you meant show? A friend of mine thinks like you, he feels extremely uncomfortable watching Fielder and his brand of comedy, and any sort of "cringe" comedy about sociopathic individuals, e.g. Curb Your Enthusiasm. I really can't empathize, because after all he's playing a character which should be very obvious. I think for my friend, the stuff depicted in this sort of comedy hits a bit too close to home, i.e. this sort of comedy doesn't work for people who are socially awkward because it reminds them of IRL too much, and conjures up bad memories, while normal people just laugh at the exaggeration of the awkwardness.
- apetresc 4y ago
  You perceive Nathan's ideas on the show as "a solution to their problem that would make things better if only the advice was followed"? We must be watching different shows :)
suction 4y ago
The only reason these bad actors exist is because there are a lot of marks for their con. We wonder why there are so many alleged Nigerian princes with money logistics problems on the internet - this is the same thing, just in less obvious fashion. A fool and his money are soon parted. The real question a society should ask itself is to what extent it should protect its fools from their own gullibleness and inevitable bad decisions. If a business owner goes bankrupt because he believed the "insight peddlers" and their easy solutions, then according to capitalist theory, it's OK he'll be replaced by someone who is better at business. The same also happens in the political realm. How much time and effort should a society spend on educating its fools, for example that their belief that the president shitposts on 4chan under the guise of "Q" to tell his followers about his secret plans, is based on nothing but lies and gullibleness? Should we take our collective eyes off the ball of actual issues at hand and deal with our fools' every concern? Or should we just accept that we can't save every voter or every business man and just let the "market" do its thing? It's not black and white like that, because of course a society shouldn't be do-or-die about anything, but when the extent of foolery starts to threaten the fundament that allows it to exist, there's a limit.
- collaborative 4y ago
  Schools should harden students against idiot-traps. Perhaps a class of "History of scams" would be appropriate
  - suction 4y ago
    That would be a very practical approach, and also could be fun for children as it's not a dry topic. On a more general level, I think we (as in any society that's not too far gone like Russia) need to educate our young about propaganda and how to not fall for it. Social media has been a game changer in terms of the spread of propaganda, if nothing is done about that then I fear we'll see the end of humankind in our lifetime.
bombcar 4y ago
Another part is nobody wants the real advice, because it's often hard. See how many diet books are sold, and see how few people actually successfully lose weight, even though the advice boils down to "stop eating so much".
- groby_b 4y ago
  It... really doesn't. Maybe that's what makes real advice so hard - too many people making glib blanket statements on the Internet. Actual advice always targets individuals, and it's never a single thing that it boils down to.
lupire 4y ago

boomskats 4y ago

I, too, am a huge fan of Nathan for You [0] [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_for_You https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_for_You

suction 4y ago
Best comedy on TV. Basically anything Fielder has touched so far, was gold. Or maybe it's because his brand of comedy really works for me, personally.
- wnolens 4y ago
  The latter. I can barely watch him. I'll admit he's incredibly original and I really appreciate a skit or two. But he borders on sociopathic, and his latest movie is a great encapsulation of that.
  - suction 4y ago
    Movie? I guess you meant show? A friend of mine thinks like you, he feels extremely uncomfortable watching Fielder and his brand of comedy, and any sort of "cringe" comedy about sociopathic individuals, e.g. Curb Your Enthusiasm. I really can't empathize, because after all he's playing a character which should be very obvious. I think for my friend, the stuff depicted in this sort of comedy hits a bit too close to home, i.e. this sort of comedy doesn't work for people who are socially awkward because it reminds them of IRL too much, and conjures up bad memories, while normal people just laugh at the exaggeration of the awkwardness.
apetresc 4y ago
You perceive Nathan's ideas on the show as "a solution to their problem that would make things better if only the advice was followed"? We must be watching different shows :)

suction 4y ago

The only reason these bad actors exist is because there are a lot of marks for their con. We wonder why there are so many alleged Nigerian princes with money logistics problems on the internet - this is the same thing, just in less obvious fashion. A fool and his money are soon parted. The real question a society should ask itself is to what extent it should protect its fools from their own gullibleness and inevitable bad decisions. If a business owner goes bankrupt because he believed the "insight peddlers" and their easy solutions, then according to capitalist theory, it's OK he'll be replaced by someone who is better at business. The same also happens in the political realm. How much time and effort should a society spend on educating its fools, for example that their belief that the president shitposts on 4chan under the guise of "Q" to tell his followers about his secret plans, is based on nothing but lies and gullibleness? Should we take our collective eyes off the ball of actual issues at hand and deal with our fools' every concern? Or should we just accept that we can't save every voter or every business man and just let the "market" do its thing? It's not black and white like that, because of course a society shouldn't be do-or-die about anything, but when the extent of foolery starts to threaten the fundament that allows it to exist, there's a limit.

collaborative 4y ago
Schools should harden students against idiot-traps. Perhaps a class of "History of scams" would be appropriate
- suction 4y ago
  That would be a very practical approach, and also could be fun for children as it's not a dry topic. On a more general level, I think we (as in any society that's not too far gone like Russia) need to educate our young about propaganda and how to not fall for it. Social media has been a game changer in terms of the spread of propaganda, if nothing is done about that then I fear we'll see the end of humankind in our lifetime.

bombcar 4y ago

Another part is nobody wants the real advice, because it's often hard. See how many diet books are sold, and see how few people actually successfully lose weight, even though the advice boils down to "stop eating so much".

groby_b 4y ago
It... really doesn't. Maybe that's what makes real advice so hard - too many people making glib blanket statements on the Internet. Actual advice always targets individuals, and it's never a single thing that it boils down to.

lupire 4y ago