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In the scales of which this article speaks, I am at the limits. The conclusion you draw at the end would result in an embrace of nihilism in the instance that

In the scales of which this article speaks, I am at the limits. The conclusion you draw at the end would result in an embrace of nihilism in the instance that you assume that this is an unchanging fact or transhumanism in order to widen the gap and make it significant on a cosmological scale. I'm wholeheartedly in favour of the second option, certainly. My humanity already feels more a shedding skin than a fitting glove, long ago I had wished I could move beyond it's constraints and push the limits of possibility.

antonovka 17y ago
You sound like an indulged child, not a misunderstood genius. I am at the 'upper bounds' as well, but I don't attempt to batter others over the head with my vocabulary and pride, and I've learned that I'm just as vulnerable, alone, and human as anyone else. Setting yourself apart on the basis of a standardized test is just sophomoric justification for misanthropy and depression.
- shadowaccount 17y ago
  That is expressly why I made this account, to avoid suggestions that this might be my motivation. I have nothing to gain here from grandstanding, nobody knows who I am and I neither gain nor lose karma from the exchange, it's simply an attempt to objectively engage with a potentially touchy subject which by nature practically begs to be painted as showboating. The response I made was only as venomous as that made originally. I was annoyed by what was a generally helpful exchange being punctuated by what still appears to me to be little more than an attempt at justifying the poster's own disagreement by directly accusing me of mental illness.
  - 10ren 17y ago
    > When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is an idiotic thing to say; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Retaliation is actually a sign of maladjustment. Sure, it's also quite common. The original comment was unkindly short, but however it was meant, it was accurate. You've said yourself: "growing misanthropy and detachment". These are psychological problems. Not intellectually, but emotionally and socially. I don't know whether a particular psychologist would actually help, but I agree with your own assessment that they do "not serve my interests in the long run". In other words, you are quite clear that they are a problem. Seeing a psychologist is one step towards doing something about it, that might help. Unfortunately, your misanthropy immediately gets in the way: you would have to at least entertain the notion that someone else does have insights that you don't. So, you're in a difficult situation because the nature of your problem prevents you from getting help with it. But unless you take some kind of action (perhaps thinking of it as an experimental trial, or maybe finding an aspect or form of it that you are willing to entertain), things aren't going to improve. They'll get worse. EDIT silly me, I meant to reply in the thread with the line "You lack the capacity to spell sheer, your attempt at philosophical hegemony is quaint. Go see an educator." Fortunately, you seem to have known what I meant anyway.
    - shadowaccount 17y ago
      I disagree that the original comment was by any stretch of the imagination an accurate diagnosis, and in fact I think the suggestion is absurd. I have studied psychological topics extensively, in fact realising that all other humans were not the same as I am was first accomplished by doing exactly that. The idea that one could diagnose a psychological disorder simply by reading about a case where somebody finds their misanthropy / detachment growing with humanity at large is so absurd as to be completely unreasonable at face value. That said, I did actually attempt to figure out more about the person making that accusation in the event that I had something to learn by it and instead of finding that to be the case just found a lot more data to back up my original reaction. The action that I took was, I believe, actually quite useful, I am mostly glad of the ideas that this thread provoked and happy with my conclusions about the nature of human interaction based upon it. I think that the point has passed beyond which further action makes any sense however, unless someone can see some obvious problem with the conclusions I've reached from the exchange. To reiterate, these conclusions are that just because many humans may exist with which it would not make logical sense to pursue any kind of relationship, all humans as a whole are not within this category, If I wish to be less alienated or have my opinion of humanity degraded any further, I ought simply be more careful with whom I choose to engage.
      - deleted 17y ago
        [deleted]

antonovka 17y ago

You sound like an indulged child, not a misunderstood genius. I am at the 'upper bounds' as well, but I don't attempt to batter others over the head with my vocabulary and pride, and I've learned that I'm just as vulnerable, alone, and human as anyone else. Setting yourself apart on the basis of a standardized test is just sophomoric justification for misanthropy and depression.

shadowaccount 17y ago
That is expressly why I made this account, to avoid suggestions that this might be my motivation. I have nothing to gain here from grandstanding, nobody knows who I am and I neither gain nor lose karma from the exchange, it's simply an attempt to objectively engage with a potentially touchy subject which by nature practically begs to be painted as showboating. The response I made was only as venomous as that made originally. I was annoyed by what was a generally helpful exchange being punctuated by what still appears to me to be little more than an attempt at justifying the poster's own disagreement by directly accusing me of mental illness.
- 10ren 17y ago
  > When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. E.g. "That is an idiotic thing to say; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3." http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Retaliation is actually a sign of maladjustment. Sure, it's also quite common. The original comment was unkindly short, but however it was meant, it was accurate. You've said yourself: "growing misanthropy and detachment". These are psychological problems. Not intellectually, but emotionally and socially. I don't know whether a particular psychologist would actually help, but I agree with your own assessment that they do "not serve my interests in the long run". In other words, you are quite clear that they are a problem. Seeing a psychologist is one step towards doing something about it, that might help. Unfortunately, your misanthropy immediately gets in the way: you would have to at least entertain the notion that someone else does have insights that you don't. So, you're in a difficult situation because the nature of your problem prevents you from getting help with it. But unless you take some kind of action (perhaps thinking of it as an experimental trial, or maybe finding an aspect or form of it that you are willing to entertain), things aren't going to improve. They'll get worse. EDIT silly me, I meant to reply in the thread with the line "You lack the capacity to spell sheer, your attempt at philosophical hegemony is quaint. Go see an educator." Fortunately, you seem to have known what I meant anyway.
  - shadowaccount 17y ago
    I disagree that the original comment was by any stretch of the imagination an accurate diagnosis, and in fact I think the suggestion is absurd. I have studied psychological topics extensively, in fact realising that all other humans were not the same as I am was first accomplished by doing exactly that. The idea that one could diagnose a psychological disorder simply by reading about a case where somebody finds their misanthropy / detachment growing with humanity at large is so absurd as to be completely unreasonable at face value. That said, I did actually attempt to figure out more about the person making that accusation in the event that I had something to learn by it and instead of finding that to be the case just found a lot more data to back up my original reaction. The action that I took was, I believe, actually quite useful, I am mostly glad of the ideas that this thread provoked and happy with my conclusions about the nature of human interaction based upon it. I think that the point has passed beyond which further action makes any sense however, unless someone can see some obvious problem with the conclusions I've reached from the exchange. To reiterate, these conclusions are that just because many humans may exist with which it would not make logical sense to pursue any kind of relationship, all humans as a whole are not within this category, If I wish to be less alienated or have my opinion of humanity degraded any further, I ought simply be more careful with whom I choose to engage.
    - deleted 17y ago
      [deleted]