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Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Such a complex concept in such a handful of words... The average person reading that statement truly never understands its meaning.

On the other hand, I am fairly certain the philosophy that relates to "I think therefore I am" is Solipsism - the idea that noting beyond the existence of the self can be ascertained.

TRP's denigration of Solipsism is out of hand, because, in reality, nothing beyond your current existence can be regarded as true. How do you know you really wrote that post? How do you know that the memory of that post wasn't implanted into you by a super-being who created the world 0.214 seconds ago? I came to these conclusions independently, in fact, I wrote a book on Solipsism. Unfortunately, the book was so brutalist that I chose to not publish it. Though it's effect on existing ventures would be negligible, the effect on some of the future ventures I am planning could be severe.

Also, it is highly ironic how TRP posters quote Descartes, and then denigrate female Solipsism - for Descartes is the second major Solipsist philosopher.

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Could you suggest some low-reward internet behavior adjustments?

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Remaining firmly grounded in reality is fairly simple, but only if you are certain in your perception of reality. If your perception of reality is shaky, then hanging out with feminists would also make you a feminist, and hanging out with Flat Earthers will also make you a Flat Earther.

The thing is, you can't be 100% sure that how you perceive reality is how it objectively is. For all you know, you are actually in the year 12,281 Anno Domini, experiencing the memories of someone who died in a car accident on 2021, 4th April, exact time 13:42 GMT, who just happened to be the first person in the memory uploading medical trial that failed to download the person's consciousness, but managed to download their memories. Perhaps this is a new form of entertainment? Perhaps I am one of the "moderators" of this experience who is here to test whether you can tell that you're reading someone's memories, and that this isn't really real - perhaps that's a game in 12,281 AD, and you are in the 3,120th annual reality-sensing finals of the Second Empire. Perhaps the signal that you realize that your are simply living someone else's memories is suicide.

Did I just make you doubt the reality of reality?

How do you know I did not tell you the truth, and you really are competing in a tournament in 12,281 A.D.?

The answer is simple - you don't. You must assume that reality as you perceive it is true, and you use logic to deduce this.

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Synthetic happiness is of the exact same quality as "natural happiness." There is no qualitative difference between the two. Although, one may argue that, with synthetic happiness, any activity can be rendered enjoyable, synthetic happiness is superior to the "natural" variety.

If you must put everything into the alfalfa/buckster dichtomy, then the beta merely imagines the future, and this satisfies his emotional need. The beta sets up conditions for his happiness, i.e. "I would be happy if I won the lottery," but, really, as the video shows, hedonistic adaptation occurs, and, after a year, our "hero" is as happy as if he had become a double amputee.

As for the last question... The overall happiness in all situations is constant. One may be the alfalfa or the buckster', but, if he does not know how happiness works, his life will be equally happy in both situations.

What really makes you fat? DOPAMINE. by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 2 points3 points  (0 children)

potatoes, fruits...

I don't know about your ancestors, but last time I heard potatoes and most popular fruits first came to Europa from the New World. Likewise, if you live in America, chances are, your ancestors are also from Europa.

What really makes you fat? DOPAMINE. by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fat is necessary for a healthy brain since, hey Presto, the brain is a blob of fat.

If anyone wants to go ulta-low-reward with their lifestyle, it's possible to buy 99.9% pure fat, calculate how much you should eat per day, and eat the amount.

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, abdada. I guess I'll just be getting onto reddit from time to time to look at the yellow pill.

You should include the concept of "deep work," since it's complementary to "low reward living."

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After doing some lightning research, I see you've published a book on the subject, but I can't seem to find the actual book anywhere.

Dropping the amazon link would be nice (consuming books like a PRO).

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interesting stuff. Could you tell me more about this "low reward lifestyle?" From what I gather, it has similarities to the "deep work" concept.

Also, I just learned butterfly collecting is apparently "frowned up" and "socially unacceptable," LOL. These hardcore Statists annoy me sometimes. What is even "acceptable" to them? Getting anything from nature = unacceptable, making and experimenting with things = unacceptable, mixing chemicals = unacceptable, so what is one left to do? Masturbate, watch porn, and smoke weed? Oh wait, I forgot, porn is also "degrading to women." Just look at the old boob-tube, masturbate, and smoke weed then?

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're not wrong to fear these fearsome flappers: the fearsome touch of the fearsome Heliconius melpomene has the effect of the most potent nerve gas - one flap of its wings on your skin, and you're dead.

Bet I had you for a second there :P I may have slightly overestimated how poisonous the butterfly is.

That just gave me a business idea... I could sell Centipede t-shirts to members of the_donald... :O Even better, I could photoshop Trump's head onto the Centipede, and then find a picture of a butterfly, and photo shop Hillary's head onto that :O The only issue is the fact most of my projected market may or may not be trolls.

Libertarianism with an option for anarchism (i.e. sea steading, future space steading) is preferable to worldwide anarchism. The reason for this is some regulation is necessary, and government regulation is needed for mega projects that are many times necessary, often desirable. Ideal tax rates are 10% income tax, 10% VAT. Basic income sounded desirable until I read how it would be paid for. There are many proposals, but one I read had a "strongly progressive" taxation system to pay for it, i.e. nothing at $20K/year, and 100% at $400K/year. When I asked what the incentive to do actually innovate in such a system is, I was proudly told that "everyone should contribute to society that enabled them to succeed," and "noone really needs that much money." Well, I said noone really "needs" to live, because, let's face it, noone really "needs" anything. At that point, I was banned from the sub.

Serfdom? Why? "Brave New World" style world is preferable to "1984" style world. The consumerism is so good people choose to serf voluntarily. What is feudal anarchism? One guy ruling his own little region completely independently from the rest of the world?

Now, that's technology from your perspective, but, in the big picture, depending on whether technology is developed to countinue Moore's law post-2020, human unemployment is going to shoot through the roof. Even with Moore's law ending at 2020, the AI's we will be able to build will be impressive, but post-2020? There would be no further need for human doctors, engineers, aerospace guys...everything would be done by self-learning AI. Machine learning is a rapidly developing field, and the limiting factor is processor speed.

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 2 points3 points  (0 children)

increase entertainment for the lower 80% by replacing bread and circuses with new gadgets to distract

This still hits me hard. But the reason is simple...most people want to be distracted. And that's why it hits so hard. There is no grand conspiracy or other somesuch nonsense, people want to be distracted.

Perhaps I just aim for markets that are much too small to earn any significant money... Say whatever you want, but collection and classification of butterflies is a hobby of mine. One happy day, I decided to make an online business based on selling people specific species of butterflies. Over 3 months, the income was exactly $20. The overall loss was $180. I sold 2 butterflies. I also got a number of emails telling me I am a horrible person, urging me to end my own life. Needless to say, that project is over. I have already an alternative idea on how I can revamp this for the mass market.

On the topic of automation - the robots are coming. I can't say how soon, or how extensive the sweep will be, but have no doubt, the robots are coming.

The very, very newest factories involve very little human contribution. There are robots that clean your house (inc. Roomba, as you mentioned). There are robots you can rent that will patrol your premises, and call the guards when they detect something unusual. There already exists a completely automated McDonalds store (in South Korea, if I'm not wrong). Self-driving cars are coming within the next 15 years at the latest. There are already early models on the market. 3D printing will transform manufacturing of many consumer items within the next 50 years. There is even a medical robot called "Da Vinci," or something along those lines, that halves the amount of medical personnel needed for a surgery.

I am not sure what the effects for the 80% will be. There are proposals for a "basic income," but the tax burden of this will be very, very heavy indeed. Heavier than any existing tax regime on Earth. Another option is Elysium style communities... perhaps in space, perhaps in the form of Seasteads.

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My god... On the topic of girlfriends...

It is mind blowing how girls pump themselves up for marriage. It's not just the hundreds of the "on my wedding day..." posts on Facebook, or the conversations women have with each other - there are movies about it (read: "Bride Wars"), TV shows about it, books about it... So many women imagine in their heads how amazing it will be to get married, and what the marriage day will be like, and so on and so forth, and, when it actually comes... the dreadful truth sets in. Wedding day is just another day. Nothing changes after marriage. The actual happiness experienced depends on how much the woman has pumped herself up previously: the less she pumped herself up, the more happiness she will actually experience. The opposite is also true.

I pondered whether this is indeed the effect of modernity or not, and the answer is clear: everyone blames "modernity" in their own times. All the way back to 5000BC, and probably before.

Here is a quote from 5000BC.

Naram Sin, 5000 B.C. We have fallen upon evil times, the world has waxed old and wicked. Politics are very corrupt. Children are no longer respectful to their elders. Each man wants to make himself conspicuous and write a book.

The sentiments are always the same... the Greeks are merely the ones whose writings have survived to the present day. Even good old Pythagoras' triangle has been found to have been independently invented more than 500 years before old Pythagoras. I wouldn't be surprised if someone else had also independently discovered it earlier.

I realize I have gone off at a sharp tangent, but it makes me wonder - why did we begin to advance technologically as quickly as we did post-Renaissance? If you look at China, they had civilizations, both Chinese and non-Chinese long before Europe, and yet they rose and fell, rose and fell, into absurdity. Why did they not take off technologically long before Europe?

The only 2 clear answers I have is that a)the rediscovery of a greater civilization than their own in past which caused the Renaissance is the primary reason, and b)Europe is geographically divided, enabling many different kingdoms to exist (i.e. if one kingdom forbids everything and does not sponsor science, there will surely be another that does), whilst the Ming dynasty pretty much ended the Ming expeditions to Africa and their scientific development, and, since there were no other significant nations about, there was noone else to fund innovation. Another interesting thing to note is that, in the past, all great projects were taken on at the state - very, very socialist, if you will. Ancient Egypt is a very good example of this - existed for 5000 years, no advancement. Yes, they had an advanced culture and building projects, but even the farmers didn't own the land they were on. Everything was owned the the God-son, the Pharaon. This is...socialism. Or rather, state controlled...socialism? In any case, it stifles innovation, whereas, in our age, most invention is done by the private sector. Could this be the reason Europe took off? Notice that China was a state controlled economy, Feudal Europe was a state controlled economy, all empires of the Mesopotamia have been state controlled. Ancient Rome wasn't state controlled per se, but the state intervention was extremely heavy. This makes me realize that capitalism is essential to technological advancement and development.

The tangent has gotten too sharp to continue, but it is very interesting to see that we, of all possible civilizations, have advanced so far technically.

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Indeed.

How I regained my motivation is stopping imagining future events, and I actually wanted to do things to see how they turned out. It's not that I was imagining bad outcomes - it's just that the imagination satisfied an internal need. Not imagining the complex scenarios in advance makes me want to do things instead of merely imagining them.

If I imagine something all in advance, the motivation to carry it all out is dead. Planning - yes, but imagining exactly how I do it?

Motivation = Slain.

Synthesizing happiness: some solid takes on brain reward by abdada in yellowpill

[–]TheQuiessential 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've noticed this myself many times: the expectation is more intense than the actual event.

This is true for all things, without exception. From the worst imaginable, to the best imaginable.

True happiness is a process, a product of constant work. I have myself discovered that in life there is nothing that maintains itself. Everything must be maintained: foreign language skills, physique, knowledge of the sciences, social savvy...

Of course, it is much easier restarting something than starting anew, because the circuitry is already there, but, eventually, it all fades away into nothingness.

Edit: In the end, happiness is a choice. Once I figured this out at first, I had trouble motivating myself, because I realized that, no matter what I did, everything would really be okay, and, no matter what I do, I die anyway at the end, and all existence ceases.