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While I appreciated some of the thoughts in the essay, this is the one that jumped out at me as problematic as well. I thought long and hard about this, and my

While I appreciated some of the thoughts in the essay, this is the one that jumped out at me as problematic as well. I thought long and hard about this, and my biggest frustration is when people around me refuse to change their minds despite all evidence. This goes hand-in-hand with people who refuse to engage in a good-faith debate. While I am certainly not perfect and need to keep improving, I've worked hard to cultivate these qualities in myself, and I think that hard work is partially why I am frustrated when I encounter the opposite in others. For sake of argument, I'll assume the author is right, and one's frustrations are also one's own weaknesses. The author's test does not account for the people who have learned the most by recognizing these negative qualities in themselves and working to change them.

Swizec 4y ago
Irritations can also be past weaknesses. Like you said, you’ve put in the work why don’t others? That’s irritating/frustrating in itself because it implies that they don’t think it’s worth the work which by implication invalidates your effort and that feels bad.
Eisenstein 4y ago
I found it to me more along the lines of 'thou dost protest too much', because otherwise it makes little sense. Why can we not be irritated by people who treat service workers poorly, for example? I used to be one, and I know what it is like. I am also a person so I know what that is like, and I don't like people who treat others poorly. That isn't because I am projecting, it is because I am empathetic. However, if I think that everyone is out to cheat me, or that other people always value money over loyalty, and I express that to you and it seems kind of out of proportion to things that have actually happened to me, then you should look at me suspiciously because most likely those are traits I have.

Swizec 4y ago

Irritations can also be past weaknesses. Like you said, you’ve put in the work why don’t others? That’s irritating/frustrating in itself because it implies that they don’t think it’s worth the work which by implication invalidates your effort and that feels bad.

Eisenstein 4y ago

I found it to me more along the lines of 'thou dost protest too much', because otherwise it makes little sense. Why can we not be irritated by people who treat service workers poorly, for example? I used to be one, and I know what it is like. I am also a person so I know what that is like, and I don't like people who treat others poorly. That isn't because I am projecting, it is because I am empathetic. However, if I think that everyone is out to cheat me, or that other people always value money over loyalty, and I express that to you and it seems kind of out of proportion to things that have actually happened to me, then you should look at me suspiciously because most likely those are traits I have.