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This is Water by David Foster Wallace – The Water We Choose to Swim in!
“The most important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about.” In the speech - which would later become known as "This Is Water" - Wallace introduces his argument by using a parable about two young fish swimming along. An older fish passes by and asks, “How’s the water?” The young fish swim on for a bit, and then one turns to the other and asks, “What the hell is water?” Arrogance This anecdote serves as a metaphor for our blindness to the most fundamental aspects of our lives. Wallace explains that we are often oblivious to the mental and emotional "water" we swim in—our default settings that dictate how we interpret and react to the world. One of the most treacherous aspects of this default setting is arrogance. Wallace shares a story of an atheist and a religious man discussing the former’s near-death experience. Both view the event through their own lenses, each arriving at vastly different conclusions. Wallace’s point here is that “blind certainty” can imprison us without our knowledge. When we become trapped by our arrogance, we are incapable of seeing the world from other perspectives. Reject Your Default Setting Wallace then expands on the concept of the “default setting,” which he defines as the unconscious belief that we are the center of the universe. This egocentric perspective can turn mundane experiences—like navigating traffic or standing in line at the grocery store—into sources of frustration and misery. The power of rejecting our default setting lies in choosing to see these everyday annoyances differently. When we choose to recognise the humanity in others, when we choose to see a crowded store not as a hassle but as an opportunity to practice patience and empathy, our experience shifts dramatically. This is not about suppressing negative feelings but about acknowledging them and choosing a more intentional response. Find True Freedom The final lesson Wallace offers is perhaps the most profound: true freedom comes from mastering the power of attention and awareness.
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New comment Oct 11
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Ahad's Blog: Is this world good? (3 mins)
"Do you think this world is good?" As I was winding down for bed last night, I received the above text message from my good friend and I thought to myself, 'That's a pretty vague question.' Here's the response I sent: "I would ask for a definition of 'this world' and 'good' but I’ll give it a go anyway. I think the average person walking by you on the street is nice and pleasant and kind and helpful if they can be. I think that people generally lean selfish in a way that makes total sense, but averages out to many decisions going for the guy in power and against the little guy, until you end up like we are today. I think that the world is the world. I can’t apply good or bad to the ecosystems and wildlife. I saw a butterfly land on a flower earlier and that was nice, but on Tuesday I saw a grey squirrel pounce from a branch and slash a pigeon minding it’s own business scattering feathers into the wind - which happened to be blowing in my direction - and that was less nice. I think that the universe is massive, we’ll amount to very little 'in the grand scheme of things' but I think that’s not our job. I think we’re supposed to do our best and live a good life by whatever standards we deem, and some people agree to the standards I hold and some people don’t and that’s OK - and important to remember. I think good and bad are awkward words to describe anything, because the full context of a thing or a person or an event is often obscured before the judgement making process, and after the initial judgment is made the mind hardens to that 'fact'. You can't teach a man that which he thinks he already knows. I think I’m good, until I’m bad by accident and sometimes, even worse, on purpose. I think you’re good, because I don’t know what capacity you have to be bad. I think a stranger walking up to me is bad because I don’t know the capacity they have to be good. I think good can be done by bad people, and bad done by good. I think it’s nuanced in a way that is not satisfying but very human.
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New comment Jul 29
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The Community
I want to build a platform which provides free and accessible resources to everybody and anybody who seeks it. I don't pretend to be speaking to anyone but myself right now, but when the time comes please introduce yourself, share your interests and vote on the content you'd like to see.
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New comment Jul 6
The Degeneration of Society 1 (4 mins)
There will be a day when guys have robot / AI partners who are programmed to sometimes reject their advances and cause arguments... since having an AI girlfriend who is always compliant is not exactly exciting. Chris Williamson alluded to AI OnlyFans "content creators" over a year ago, stipulating that "AI will soon be able to generate hotter than reality women, and ChatGPT will soon be able to do dirty talk better and more attentively than real girls, should we be worried?" Last week, on Instagram Reels, there appeared an AI generated "model", who had an OF account, to my horror, this OF account had 125,000 subscribers to its account. I am someone who believes the access of explicit content does absolutely no good at all for anybody involved in the interaction, whether it be the producer, provider nor consumer. However, the degeneration of this content to the point where real guys are paying real money to see and interact with an AI generated model scares me. It scares me because how disaffected and despondent and lost must you be to fall to this level? How many more boys and men will stop interacting in the dating market and choose to live in these virtual, pseudo-relationships? It almost goes without saying, real life relationships should be prioritised, and guys should not be removing themselves from the gene pool because they feel incapable of forming meaningful relationships with others. My first instinct is to say this should be legislated against and banned - that's how strongly I am against this degeneration. However, I have seen arguments online taking the position, 'what is wrong with this? It's their lives, and so it should be perfectly legal how they enjoy themselves so long as nobody is being harmed.' I query whether these consumers really are enjoying themselves and certainly contend that they're not being harmed. I think we cannot begin to understand the damage this would cause to the users, and to society in the long run. I think this will never be banned, nor even really restricted, and it is coming. The mission now is to really push the importance of two things: First the very real value of REAL relationships, since guys should be aspiring for "marrying a good woman, having children with that good woman, building a family with that good woman, being part of a community with that good woman and your children and building the institutions of society that actually make society flourish and function." Second to push that they are more than capable of achieving the first aim, and to provide them with a decision-making matrix and an education as to how exactly to pull it off.
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The Godfather (4 mins)
If you have read the first of these submissions you may be aware that I am working on a journal of lessons I have learned, and the first chapter is dedicated to the key lessons I learned from the people in my family. For example, here is what I wrote for my late grandfather: "Grandad showed me that loving your family is the most important thing a man can do. He taught me the importance of Peace, and of God. Unfortunately, as the person I lost first, he also taught me the necessity of giving your loved ones their flowers whilst they are still with you. The man with a Powerful Spirit." This week my uncle, and sister's Godfather, passed away after a short-lived battle with terminal cancer. He was a good man, who weathered incredibly difficult times. When asked how he's doing, his response was always something along the lines of "I'll be alright." Without delving into the inner workings of my family, I can outline that my uncle's life was difficult. He and my aunt didn't have children and eventually they went separate ways after over 30 years of marriage. It was this event that highlighted to me how difficult life is for a man and this hardship is no excuse for losing your standards and being anything less than a gentleman. When the separation happened, my aunt moved back in with her sister and parents. She was welcomed and supported. My uncle was alone, his parents had passed and he was hundreds of miles away from his childhood hometown and siblings because he had left almost three decades prior to pursue a life with his childhood sweetheart, moving close to my aunt and her family. Post separation, he was alone, his only support financially, emotionally, and mentally was himself. Despite this, my uncle went to work day in, day out. He supported the least fortunate members of society by supplying wheelchairs to them day in, day out. Not only did he carry on contributing to society, and supporting his own livelihood. He also made an effort with my aunt, continuing to pay for her phone bills and the maintenance of her car. He was under no obligations to do this, aside from being bound by those very real obligations which come with unconditional love and selfless attempts to be a gentleman.
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