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This seems unnecessarily negative towards the trend of self-optimization. Self help media has been around for a long time, and this is just a new evolution of i

by daoboy 3y ago

This seems unnecessarily negative towards the trend of self-optimization. Self help media has been around for a long time, and this is just a new evolution of it targeted to a specific audience. I have only watched a handful of episodes of the Huberman podcast, but I really appreciated that they have an actionable science-based takeway to help with the area you want to focus on.

alwayslikethis 3y ago
Yeah, this article comes off as holier-than-thou and politically charged. It does not attempt to justify its assumptions (Why should improvement be centered on a community? This isn't a truth about the universe or anything like that.)
- cempaka 3y ago
  I mean, it's right here: > I want to be clear that there isn't anything wrong with trying to make yourself better, healthier, or happier. But investigating _why_ we feel the need to optimize ourselves to cope with a system of political and social injustices that make life harder for us without actually questioning the injustices of that very system is not only unhelpful, but it's counterproductive. The people who hold the most power have a great deal of interest in us focusing on bettering ourselves instead of bettering our communities. You can argue that this wrong in various ways but it's not true that the article fails to make any case.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - xeckr 3y ago
    The author begins with the baseless assumption that self-optimization is "to cope with a system of political and social injustices". There is no case.
    - cempaka 3y ago
      Even Huberman admits that the reason many need to, e.g., stare toward the sun for 15 minutes a day is because they are disconnected from normal exposure to nature by the demands of work. In fact he remarks upon systemic causes of the needs for many of the health hacks he discusses.
      - xeckr 3y ago
        These demands do not constitute "political and social injustices".

by daoboy 3y ago

alwayslikethis 3y ago

Yeah, this article comes off as holier-than-thou and politically charged. It does not attempt to justify its assumptions (Why should improvement be centered on a community? This isn't a truth about the universe or anything like that.)

cempaka 3y ago
I mean, it's right here: > I want to be clear that there isn't anything wrong with trying to make yourself better, healthier, or happier. But investigating _why_ we feel the need to optimize ourselves to cope with a system of political and social injustices that make life harder for us without actually questioning the injustices of that very system is not only unhelpful, but it's counterproductive. The people who hold the most power have a great deal of interest in us focusing on bettering ourselves instead of bettering our communities. You can argue that this wrong in various ways but it's not true that the article fails to make any case.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- xeckr 3y ago
  The author begins with the baseless assumption that self-optimization is "to cope with a system of political and social injustices". There is no case.
  - cempaka 3y ago
    Even Huberman admits that the reason many need to, e.g., stare toward the sun for 15 minutes a day is because they are disconnected from normal exposure to nature by the demands of work. In fact he remarks upon systemic causes of the needs for many of the health hacks he discusses.
    - xeckr 3y ago
      These demands do not constitute "political and social injustices".