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It was my mother's idea... Very clearly I have no idea about what goes on in his head, anyone's head for what matters... But when I compare my upbringing with

It was my mother's idea... Very clearly I have no idea about what goes on in his head, anyone's head for what matters... But when I compare my upbringing with his, I cannot understand how is it that this happen. I had so little, and struggle so much compared to him, and it's him the one giving up on life before even trying? This is thought that hunts me the most. Feels like giving someone way too much of anything just cripples the process of understanding the struggle as a beautiful part of the process to be something, overcome something, feel something... All his life has been in front of screens, talking to strangers, bites of information he digests after the digital rendition of a human voice has been transferred from across the internet. There is no beauty in this way of life. No wonder kinds have no feeling for what the world has to offer, unless it's coming from an Instagram influencer.

hackinthebochs 3y ago
I suspect the mind is like the immune system, it needs hardship to develop into the best version of itself. Without external assaults that induce the formation of strengthening mitigations, you're left with a system that is dysfunctional, even self-destructive. In the case of minds, we discover meaning through battling and overcoming hardship. A life devoid of hardship is devoid of the impetus to discover personal meaning, which leads to these kinds of empty existences we're seeing much more of. The last 20 years has seen an intense effort to rid childhood of any hardship whatsoever, while providing a controlled environment where one's formative experiences are managed to a degree as to remove the possibility of any negative circumstances or emotions. But this just optimizes for the wrong thing. A development without challenges, conflicts, hardship, is a stunted development. This society-wide crisis of meaning is only going to grow as we continue down this path towards a hyper-connected world.
silverquiet 3y ago
What do you feel he got too much of that he didn't have to struggle? I don't think it's wrong that pressure is sometimes formative, but also too much pressure will cause systems to fail; humans included. I had plenty of adversity as a child (an illness that has caused a lifetime of chronic pain), and what I learned is that there is no limit to the amount of pain life can provide you, and it doesn't mean anything, and no one really cares about it. I suspect a lot of us just realize early on that the nihilists are correct, and so trading video game skins is as meaningful as anything else, and at least it makes sense unlike most of life. Maybe the psychiatrists can find a drug that gives meaning though; they'll keep trying for awhile usually. I assume you've asked him about what goes on in his head at least - what does he tell you?

hackinthebochs 3y ago

I suspect the mind is like the immune system, it needs hardship to develop into the best version of itself. Without external assaults that induce the formation of strengthening mitigations, you're left with a system that is dysfunctional, even self-destructive. In the case of minds, we discover meaning through battling and overcoming hardship. A life devoid of hardship is devoid of the impetus to discover personal meaning, which leads to these kinds of empty existences we're seeing much more of. The last 20 years has seen an intense effort to rid childhood of any hardship whatsoever, while providing a controlled environment where one's formative experiences are managed to a degree as to remove the possibility of any negative circumstances or emotions. But this just optimizes for the wrong thing. A development without challenges, conflicts, hardship, is a stunted development. This society-wide crisis of meaning is only going to grow as we continue down this path towards a hyper-connected world.

silverquiet 3y ago

What do you feel he got too much of that he didn't have to struggle? I don't think it's wrong that pressure is sometimes formative, but also too much pressure will cause systems to fail; humans included. I had plenty of adversity as a child (an illness that has caused a lifetime of chronic pain), and what I learned is that there is no limit to the amount of pain life can provide you, and it doesn't mean anything, and no one really cares about it. I suspect a lot of us just realize early on that the nihilists are correct, and so trading video game skins is as meaningful as anything else, and at least it makes sense unlike most of life. Maybe the psychiatrists can find a drug that gives meaning though; they'll keep trying for awhile usually. I assume you've asked him about what goes on in his head at least - what does he tell you?