Saved by Lucas Jackson
Getting to Gnome Mode
"Goblin mode is the completely rundown, degenerate condition of normie striving in fully burned-out retreat. And it’s definitely real. The rates of burnout-induced quitting in big tech companies (and this during a period of rising wages) spiked last year."
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
Gnome mode is the opposite of goblin mode
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
"Goblin mode is when circumstances change at a macro level, throwing off everybody’s calibration on the effort/reward equation of life, rendering it unsolvable, causing an epidemic of goblinhood."
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
The reversal into gnome mode comes after hitting rock bottom and realizing that life is worth living.
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
"... gnome mode is the restoration of a relationship with yourself where you are owner, user, and maintainer, all in one, and like it. All the roles are aligned and coincident, and you behave accordingly. Your body and your self are one, and in harmony with the environment."
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
When in a maintenance phase, if there is no incentive to do things right (like put the laundry away instead of leaving it on the bed) neglect and rapid degeneration set in.
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
Goblin mode may have taken hold due to the pandemic and then was exacerbated by massive inflation. The meaning crisis consumes you.
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
"...goblin mode is normies processing burn out!"
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
Gnome mode isn't a return to pre-goblin mode. It is a total recalibration toward life.
Venkatesh Rao • Getting to Gnome Mode
Goblin mode is when you start to feel less 'human' and more like an object inhabiting space.