brutal truth

[Lain]

A surrogate activity is an activity that is directed toward an artificial goal that the individual pursues for the sake of the “fulfillment” that he gets from pursuing the goal, not because he needs to attain the goal itself. For instance, there is no practical motive for building enormous muscles, hitting a little ball into a hole or acquiring a complete series of postage stamps. Yet many people in our society devote themselves with passion to bodybuilding, golf or stamp-collecting. Some people are more “other-directed” than others, and therefore will more readily attach importance to a surrogate activity simply because the people around them treat it as important or because society tells them it is important. That is why some people get very serious about essentially trivial activities such as sports, or bridge, or chess, or arcane scholarly pursuits, whereas others who are more clear-sighted never see these things as anything but the surrogate activities that they are, and consequently never attach enough importance to them to satisfy their need for the power process in that way.”
― Theodore J. Kaczynski

I read this many years ago but I found it really remarkable when Kaczynski mentioned that scientists don't do what they do for a benefit to humanity, for a noble goal, they do it because they're satisfying their surrogate activities. I was listening to a knowledgable neuroscientist, who I respect (Andrew Huberman) who's said multiple times how he has this noble goal to help as much of humanity as possible and that's why he's doing everything and so on... but in a recent video of his, he mentioned he started being a neuroscientist because it made him feel 'safe' and then agreed himself that his goals and essentially everyone else's were made up. It contradicts Maslow's hierachy of needs, when you actually talk to people who have "self-actualized" and realized the limits of their abilities, some of them are actually worse off then a random NEET.

 

[Looksmax Refugee]

I'm a brainlet so help me understand. He's basically saying that people usually pursue goals as a coping mechanism, not because they have any actual use?

 

[Eren]

Probably the most clearpilled person in all of recent history

 

[Khaos]

I'm a brainlet so help me understand. He's basically saying that people usually pursue goals as a coping mechanism, not because they have any actual use?

I think he's saying people pursue goals because it gives them direction and purpose which makes them feel good but these goals are arbitrary and don't really actually mean anything to the individual they just attach themselves to them out of the need to feel like they're doing something with their lives.

 

[Khaos]

I'm a brainlet so help me understand. He's basically saying that people usually pursue goals as a coping mechanism, not because they have any actual use?

So basically yes it's a form of cope.

 

[Looksmax Refugee]

I think he's saying people pursue goals because it gives them direction and purpose which makes them feel good but these goals are arbitrary and don't really actually mean anything to the individual they just attach themselves to them out of the need to feel like they're doing something with their lives.

This is obvious stuff tbh

 

[Eren]

This is obvious stuff tbh

read the full manifesto there's a lot more to it.

 

[Lain]

This is obvious stuff tbh

Most NEETs know this intuitively which is probably one of the main reasons why they're NEETs imo. I realized it when I was 9 or 10 and my teacher snapped at me for not paying attention, telling me that I needed to get a good education so I could go to college and make a lot of money otherwise I'd be a McDonald's worker. Pure cope.

I'm reminded of a story by a behavioral biologist (Robert Saplosky) where he was observing chimps in Africa. They spent almost all day gathering foods but suddenly, due to humans dumping out huge amounts of food at the dump, they had all day for free time. There were a few high ranking chimps that would hoard most of the food and spend most of their free time beating low-ranking chimps up. The low ranking chimps would groom the females and fuck them while the high ranking chimps were beating the shit out of other low ranking chimps. Then, due to some sort of bacteria outbreak in the foods, almost all of the high ranking chimps died out. The low ranking chimps that survived didn't care to hoard the food, they spent most of their time fucking other chimps and eating food. This survived for a few generations IIRC until the humans stopped dumping food and they had to return to hunter-gatherers.

There's a lot of other animals that end up doing the same, just sort of sit around and relax after their needs are met. It's weird to think that lots of humans will admit that what they do outside of that is a cope but still do it and berate others to be like them, drugs will be prescribed to chemically alter someone to enjoy it. Maybe it's because there really just isn't super easy copes to get. Like sex, intimacy, a connected tribe, something like that.

 

[milkistermoo]

Good post. I am always skeptical of people trying to convince me (they're really trying to convince themselves) that their motives for pursuing what they do are not only pure, bur virtuous.

Other than the examples you mentioned, people who obsess over politics or social activists are one of these types. Their role goal is the pursuit of a romanticised idea of adventure or revolution.

I wonder also how much people doing things for "God" is the same, it could be an external manifestation of their need to justify their motives to themselves.

 

[maharsha]

Now I wonder why he briefly pursued the goal of becoming a tranny.

 

[NEET COOM LDAR]

ted is very comfy you got any more books you like buyo?

 

[Lain]

ted is very comfy you got any more books you like buyo?

The Technological Society | Jacques Ellul | download

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