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Are we more depressed because we're getting smarter?

Started by Q. G. Pennyworth, December 17, 2013, 05:10:28 PM

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minuspace

Quote from: Raz Tech on July 26, 2014, 03:49:47 AM
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on July 26, 2014, 03:22:23 AM
Quote from: zackli on July 25, 2014, 10:04:19 PMIf by "equally valued and valid" you mean "valueless and irrelevant", then yes, you would be correct. And here I thought I would find people who spoke my kind of language, considering it proclaims to be about bringing people together with a philosophy that considers all things true, false, meaningless and meaningful at the same time.

Uh oh, guys, we're doing Discordia wrong.

Well duh, there is only one way to do Discordia, certainly no different perspectives could cone to light since the principia isn't vague in its ideology at all.
It's clear now how meaningless being unable to un-notify this thread becomes in light without distinction.

zackli

Quote from: Raz Tech on July 26, 2014, 03:49:47 AM
Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on July 26, 2014, 03:22:23 AM
Quote from: zackli on July 25, 2014, 10:04:19 PMIf by "equally valued and valid" you mean "valueless and irrelevant", then yes, you would be correct. And here I thought I would find people who spoke my kind of language, considering it proclaims to be about bringing people together with a philosophy that considers all things true, false, meaningless and meaningful at the same time.

Uh oh, guys, we're doing Discordia wrong.

Well duh, there is only one way to do Discordia, certainly no different perspectives could cone to light since the principia isn't vague in its ideology at all.

Yea, I think you missed that last meeting. We do those now, too, and it doesn't matter if you're present or not; it's expected that you telepathically receive the message. The first rule of Discordia is don't talk about discordia, and the second rule of discordia is that the first rule is invalid if you're listing off the rules of Discordia. The third rule is that the first and second rules don't matter unless you say they do.

I'm glad you guys are here to stop me from becoming a true believer. Thank you for that. Whatever I said that peeved you guys off, make sure you take it doubly serious from now on, especially that part about how my experience with mental health is the correct one. It's definitely right, just like all of the other valid perspectives.
It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas or feelings proves the validity of those feelings. Nothing is further from the truth.... The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make those vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane." - Erich Fromm

Q. G. Pennyworth

I hope all the bad things in the world happen to you and only you.

zackli

Quote from: Q. G. Pennyworth on July 26, 2014, 10:16:39 PM
I hope all the bad things in the world happen to you and only you.

If I could have taken the role of jebus christ, I would have. Possibly because it didn't seem like he had any say in the matter, but also because I have what they call a masochistic personality. Every Friday night, in honor of Principia Discordia, I have my friend tattoo a new quote from it using a pointed piece of heated metal. Last night's was "When in doubt, fuck it; when not in doubt, start doubting". Although it seemed like what he had written took a long time for such a short statement and that this hasn't been the first time he's intentionally fucked it up, I have both lots of and no faith that he wrote what I told him I wanted him to write.

While I'm not sure what it was that you appear to be so upset about, remember this: Whether you think you're right or wrong, you're right.
It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas or feelings proves the validity of those feelings. Nothing is further from the truth.... The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make those vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane." - Erich Fromm

trix

Quote from: zackli on July 26, 2014, 11:16:24 PM
While I'm not sure what it was that you appear to be so upset about

HELLO my fellow ape!!!

GREETINGS and SALUTATIONS!

I wish to capture your attention for the moment, to tell you a story. The story of trix (with pictures!):

-

-

-

Once upon a time in the jungle, there was a monkey. 

Much like many other monkeys before him, this monkey enjoyed monkey things, like crawling around on four limbs, flinging his own shit at other monkeys, and most of all, getting up on his hind legs and HOLLERIN his monkey holler.

:showus:

One day, this monkey started to realize he was different from the other monkeys.  He looked around and many of the other monkeys seemed to be content simply flinging shit and crawling around and hollerin, but this monkey was no longer so satisfied.  This monkey wanted to see if there wasn't more out there than shit-flinging and hollerin.  In fact, having realized that shit-flinging and hollerin weren't as great as he used to think, he started to look down on the other monkeys that hadn't come to his conclusion.  After all, didn't this realization make him smarter than the other monkeys?  Isn't it better to be smarter?

:winner:

So this monkey started to believe himself better than other monkeys, and set off to find out if there wasn't a better place for him than the jungle.

Now, let me interrupt this story to point out two things this monkey had missed, in his assumptions.

1: His part of the jungle contained few monkeys, so it's not a good indication of the intelligence of monkeys in general.  The smartest monkey in one group could easily be the dumbest in another.

2: It's entirely possible other monkeys had already thought out his train of thought long before, and decided in the end that shit-flinging and hollerin were, after all, worthwhile life choices.  And those hypothetical monkeys are not wrong.

Anyway back to the story.

So this monkey left his tiny jungle and entered the World-At-Large.  Leaving behind his monkey name, he dubbed the nickname "trix", and set off to find some meaning in a suddenly much larger world.  Now, the monkey understood that the world he had just entered was much larger and much more diverse than anything he had previously encountered, but he did not follow that train of thought to the point where he'd have realized this meant he was no longer the Smartest Gorilla In The Room (SGITR).

One day while wandering, this monkey came across a very unusual tribe of monkeys he did not recognize.  These monkeys were unlike anything he had ever seen.  Not only did they have a very different take on shit-flinging and hollerin that he found refreshing, but these monkeys appeared to be much more intelligent than his old tribe, and thus, in his mind, finally a tribe worth joining!

:lambs:

There were things the monkey did not understand about this new tribe, however.  For one, they preferred to stand on their hind legs, even when not hollerin!!  Another thing, they had shaved off most of their monkey fur and developed a rather clever set of ways they communicate with each other.  A standard that was very effective in their particular community at allowing intelligent discussion with minimal derailment into monkey noises and shit flinging. The monkey also discovered that this new tribe set a higher standard for monkeys, and wouldn't be likely to accept him just based on his word that he wasn't like those lesser monkeys.

At this point, our monkey friend could have simply introduced himself, said hello, and began to absorb the culture and social cues of this new tribe, so that his inclusion could happen with maximum smoothness and minimal whacking with the stick.  But this particular monkey had already discovered he was smarter than other monkeys, goddamnit, and these new monkeys were going to LEARN IT.  So he did the only thing you can really expect a monkey to do, when faced with a challenge like this.

He took a big, smelly, huge shit, targeted one the most vocal, active, respected members of the tribe, and flung it with all his might.

Then, as the tribe charged, he dug his heels in deep and flung shit after shit at everyone in sight, because he was smarter than other monkeys and was going to WIN DAMNIT.

:supertard:

...

Years later, we have this same monkey.  He really hasn't changed all that much.  He still loves to fling shit sometimes, loves to holler when he thinks he should holler, and every now and then will drop down on all fours and crawl around in the dirt because he wants to.  However, the tribe is far less hostile to him, and he can effectively communicate and learn from them now.  What changed?  Well, first and foremost, the monkey finally figured out he was in a different room than the one he started in, and he was no longer the smartest ape.  In fact, he wasn't even in the top ten percent.  Hell, he probably wasn't even above average.

It took a long time for this to sink in for this particular monkey, having always been praised and expected to be the smartest, back in his own jungle.  It still causes friction and shit-flinging at times... But again, the major difference is that the monkey can communicate with this tribe that he respects and admires, and is able to put aside his own ego to adopt some humility (which, amazingly, is actually a virtue here) and learn from all the resources, knowledge, experience, and intelligence present in this community.

I hope you learn quicker than this monkey, as it was not a fun road to go down.  Read up on the SGiTR for more.

Also I'm very stoned right now so this might have been worded terribly.

Anyway I guess my point is, if the story wasn't clear, that much of what you write has the smell of an elitist SGiTR syndrome.  This rubs many people the wrong way.  Then you throw in some random pinealism, which this board is particularly sensitive to, and which does not help anything.

In short,
:notnice:



-
This has been another PNWR (post-not-worth-reading) by the trix.


(Edited to fix typos and wording a bit)
There's good news tonight.  And bad news.  First, the bad news: there is no good news.  Now, the good news: you don't have to listen to the bad news.
Zen Without Zen Masters

Quote from: Cain
Gender is a social construct.  As society, we get to choose your gender.

LMNO

Nomination for that to become the new introductions thread, if we ever need one.

Q. G. Pennyworth


Chelagoras The Boulder

Thirded, I think that sums up a lot of new peoples experiences here on the board, mine included.
"It isn't who you know, it's who you know, if you know what I mean.  And I think you do."

minuspace

Teted, I knew there was a reason to resist my pride.

zackli

Quote from: Chelagoras The Lust-Driven Dickwolf on July 27, 2014, 05:00:09 AM
Thirded, I think that sums up a lot of new peoples experiences here on the board, mine included.

Fourthed :) It definitely summed my posting activity up, though to a certain extent that was me normally. In light of this information, I'll tone that part of me down. I find it interesting how the "Law of Eristic Escalation" works so reliably.
It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas or feelings proves the validity of those feelings. Nothing is further from the truth.... The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make those vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane." - Erich Fromm

minuspace


hooplala

"Soon all of us will have special names" — Professor Brian O'Blivion

"Now's not the time to get silly, so wear your big boots and jump on the garbage clowns." — Bob Dylan?

"Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)"
— Walt Whitman

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

I really liked your story, Trix. Stoned or not stoned, it was perfect!
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."


trix

Quote from: The Right Reverend Nigel on July 29, 2014, 06:00:23 AM
I really liked your story, Trix. Stoned or not stoned, it was perfect!

Thank you!

This probably isn't the place for it but I only have a minute...
My Internet is down for awhile, so I'll be scarce until I get a new router.

I'll try to check in when I can!
There's good news tonight.  And bad news.  First, the bad news: there is no good news.  Now, the good news: you don't have to listen to the bad news.
Zen Without Zen Masters

Quote from: Cain
Gender is a social construct.  As society, we get to choose your gender.

minuspace

Quote from: trix on July 30, 2014, 03:26:34 AM
Quote from: The Right Reverend Nigel on July 29, 2014, 06:00:23 AM
I really liked your story, Trix. Stoned or not stoned, it was perfect!

Thank you!

This probably isn't the place for it but I only have a minute...
My Internet is down for awhile, so I'll be scarce until I get a new router.

I'll try to check in when I can!

I think I got a linksys around, and maybe a generic Wyfi.  PM if whatever :)