alt Hacker NewsThis is pure escapism. Numbing yourself to the burden of being. Likely from a stress tolerance so shallow and under-developed that the slightest inconvenience or expectation feels like a crisis.
The truth is that after the brief initial relief of excusing yourself from being anything at all, you'll end up in a deep depression. It's a naive and immature fantasy.
Remove all electronics from your life, they are a constant nervous system stimulator that has prevented you from truly relaxing into a state of repair. Then introduce responsibilities into your life, start small. We are wired to be needed, wanted, useful, accountable, social. You're just stressed out.
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You'd be a great CEO, preaching people to tie their worth to their output in life.
I don't interpret it to that extreme. I think it's more about shutting out noise and acting along a thread that keeps you pleased without interference from e.g. brainrot media or an over-demanding job.
Arguably a reason most everyone found the early internet/web so awesome: it wasn't as commoditized into feeds and platforms. You were an adventurer on an undiscovered planet, a secret life beside the boring real one and just did your thing. It's how most of us ended up here, anyhow.
> Likely from a stress tolerance so shallow and under-developed that the slightest inconvenience or expectation feels like a crisis
Maybe, but that could also be because of autism, trauma or some other disability
And maybe the author just wants to feel heard, get others to comment on their experiences, be vulnerable in public (which btw can be pretty stressful too), and connect with their community
I feel like we aren't reading the same thing.
That can happen with a high stress tolerance too, it just needs to be pushed past the breaking point. Some of us have gone through harrowing experiences and the NPC lifestyle is one coping mechanism among many others.
> We are wired to be needed, wanted, useful, accountable, social.
When AI eventually takes nearly ALL jobs, that will be a quite difficult thing.
i dont think it's that deep.
it's the age old advice of "dont give a fuck" dressed up in some modern terminology ("npc")
I don't know if I fully agree with this analysis, but I really appreciate the argument for emphasizing these values.
wtf are you talking about. Being a blacksmith isn't pure escapism.
Not sure at all you actually read the piece. Your responses about having a job or inconvenience or expectation seem entirely unrelated.
The text does not, for instance, encourage not having a job. It also does not encourage being nothing at all. Being nothing special is quite different.
Recommended movie: perfect days https://youtu.be/wqUT9hQd1XM?is=v1x85FdKOK_zfu60