Selfhood

Three-fourths of philosophy and literature is the talk of people trying to convince themselves that they really like the cage they were tricked into entering.

From one of my favorite Hacker News comments ever, by @Jonathan_Blow: https://t.co/uJgib4x6El

I am sensitive, finely attuned, and as soon as I experience suffering, I have to pivot. I have no ability to stick it out. A quitter, you might call me. Undisciplined, Lazy, Child like, Weak, You might call me.

I certainly called myself those things.

I now realise that my intolerance for suffering is one of my greatest gifts.

I watch people who have a... See more

Julia Galef refers to ‘high-entropy thinkers’. When you ask a high-entropy thinker for their views on some political or social issue it’s hard to predict what they’re going to say because they approach every question afresh through the lens of a very individual sensibility. Most us aren’t like that. We offer up predictable opinions which come... See more

I can move through pain, but I have an intolerance for a life that doesn’t sparkle.

People often, for example, oppose the actions and belief systems of billionaires, but take jobs at companies that increase the power and influence of those same billionaires. It’s not because these job-seekers are bad people, but because we are all operating in a system that makes aligning our values and our everyday lives seem impossible.

This... See more