3 ms·

Strongly feeling a need to isolate yourself is not healthy and unnatural.

vitally3643 4mo ago
Just because you personally disagree with something does not make it a universal wrong. Thinking so is immature and unwise behavior.
- asdfsa32 4mo ago
  For a non-solitary species that requires almost 2 decades for self-sufficiency, isolation is not a question of personal opinion, it is fundamental.
  - dfssdfsdfsdf343 4mo ago
    Well, let's just say my needs changed a bit over the next two decades.. yours did not?
  - steve1977 4mo ago
    But we are talking about a temporary and situational isolation here. I'm not wearing Airpods when I meet family or friends.
ekidd 4mo ago
This varies enormously by where you live. I live out in the countryside. If I run into someone in the road, I will nod my head, maybe introduce myself, and maybe chat, if the other person is interested. (To be fair, I know about 80% of the people I see in the road.) This is normal behavior. Sometimes, two cars will pass each other and stop to talk. I have also lived in the city. If a stranger wants to talk to me in the city, either they're looking for directions (happy to help!), or they are deeply confused about appropriate social behavior in crowded spaces. In the latter case, I'm lucky if the stranger-with-no-boundaries merely wants to warn me about the dangers of the lizard people. So I've learned to ignore strangers.
- asdfsa32 4mo ago
  You're just taking the Western code of social conduct as "normal". Human interaction is completely normal and natural.
  - zamadatix 4mo ago
    Isolating yourself in certain situations isn't the same as not having human interaction and sticking 10 million humans in a small area and expecting them to always interact with all of the others is in no way normal or natural. Sometimes interacting with ~100ish people (within an order of magnitude) over your month is natural. Too many is both exhausting and diluting of the meaning, too few is lonely and over isolating.
  - TheRealDunkirk 4mo ago
    You're trying to follow an out-of-date map. Our technology-infused growth of the past 50 years has produced more widespread mental illness and psycopathy than someone in the 80's could have even imagined. At this point in our societal evolution, you cannot assume that HUMANS THEMSELVES are either normal or natural.
  - steve1977 4mo ago
    Human interaction, sure. Human interaction with complete strangers, 10 inches away from you, enclosed in a metal tube you cannot escape from easily... not so much.
- lelandfe 4mo ago
  > If a stranger wants to talk to me in the city, either they're looking for directions (happy to help!), or they are deeply confused about appropriate social behavior in crowded spaces A neat summary of the article. Talk to the old fogies in said city and they will saddle you with complaints of how people used to say good morning, how are you doing, etc. It didn’t used to be this way. Alas, we probably won’t be talking to the old fogies either.
  - Gareth321 4mo ago
Cthulhu_ 4mo ago
I'd agree in general terms, but I don't think city life or existing in busy and noisy spaces is either. Isolating as described (by putting on noise-canceling earphones) is a way to manage and reduce sensory input to something within your own control. Some people are comfortable with that, some people (say they) are used to it, but a lot of people find that blocking it out works better for them.
Gareth321 4mo ago
As they explain, living in such close proximity to thousands of strangers is also not how we evolved. The earphones are an adaptive strategy. Like masks on public transport during pandemics. We don't have to adapt to modern society, but we can make it more pleasant in various ways, depending on our preferences.
brianleb 4mo ago
This is a very un-nuanced and combative take on a lot of people's lives. It reminds me of it being socially acceptable for the extrovert to say to the introvert, "Why don't you talk more?" while it is not acceptable for the introvert to say to the extrovert, "Why don't you talk less?"
tokai 4mo ago
Writing comments on HN is also completely unnatural.
kashunstva 4mo ago
> …not healthy and unnatural I don’t think you can say this categorically without taking context and a myriad of facets of one’s socio-emotional situation into consideration.

Just because you personally disagree with something does not make it a universal wrong. Thinking so is immature and unwise behavior.

asdfsa32 4mo ago
For a non-solitary species that requires almost 2 decades for self-sufficiency, isolation is not a question of personal opinion, it is fundamental.
- dfssdfsdfsdf343 4mo ago
  Well, let's just say my needs changed a bit over the next two decades.. yours did not?
- steve1977 4mo ago
  But we are talking about a temporary and situational isolation here. I'm not wearing Airpods when I meet family or friends.

ekidd 4mo ago

This varies enormously by where you live. I live out in the countryside. If I run into someone in the road, I will nod my head, maybe introduce myself, and maybe chat, if the other person is interested. (To be fair, I know about 80% of the people I see in the road.) This is normal behavior. Sometimes, two cars will pass each other and stop to talk. I have also lived in the city. If a stranger wants to talk to me in the city, either they're looking for directions (happy to help!), or they are deeply confused about appropriate social behavior in crowded spaces. In the latter case, I'm lucky if the stranger-with-no-boundaries merely wants to warn me about the dangers of the lizard people. So I've learned to ignore strangers.

asdfsa32 4mo ago
You're just taking the Western code of social conduct as "normal". Human interaction is completely normal and natural.
- zamadatix 4mo ago
  Isolating yourself in certain situations isn't the same as not having human interaction and sticking 10 million humans in a small area and expecting them to always interact with all of the others is in no way normal or natural. Sometimes interacting with ~100ish people (within an order of magnitude) over your month is natural. Too many is both exhausting and diluting of the meaning, too few is lonely and over isolating.
- TheRealDunkirk 4mo ago
  You're trying to follow an out-of-date map. Our technology-infused growth of the past 50 years has produced more widespread mental illness and psycopathy than someone in the 80's could have even imagined. At this point in our societal evolution, you cannot assume that HUMANS THEMSELVES are either normal or natural.
- steve1977 4mo ago
  Human interaction, sure. Human interaction with complete strangers, 10 inches away from you, enclosed in a metal tube you cannot escape from easily... not so much.
lelandfe 4mo ago
> If a stranger wants to talk to me in the city, either they're looking for directions (happy to help!), or they are deeply confused about appropriate social behavior in crowded spaces A neat summary of the article. Talk to the old fogies in said city and they will saddle you with complaints of how people used to say good morning, how are you doing, etc. It didn’t used to be this way. Alas, we probably won’t be talking to the old fogies either.
- Gareth321 4mo ago

Cthulhu_ 4mo ago

I'd agree in general terms, but I don't think city life or existing in busy and noisy spaces is either. Isolating as described (by putting on noise-canceling earphones) is a way to manage and reduce sensory input to something within your own control. Some people are comfortable with that, some people (say they) are used to it, but a lot of people find that blocking it out works better for them.

Gareth321 4mo ago

As they explain, living in such close proximity to thousands of strangers is also not how we evolved. The earphones are an adaptive strategy. Like masks on public transport during pandemics. We don't have to adapt to modern society, but we can make it more pleasant in various ways, depending on our preferences.

brianleb 4mo ago

This is a very un-nuanced and combative take on a lot of people's lives. It reminds me of it being socially acceptable for the extrovert to say to the introvert, "Why don't you talk more?" while it is not acceptable for the introvert to say to the extrovert, "Why don't you talk less?"

tokai 4mo ago

Writing comments on HN is also completely unnatural.

kashunstva 4mo ago

> …not healthy and unnatural I don’t think you can say this categorically without taking context and a myriad of facets of one’s socio-emotional situation into consideration.