Comment by techblueberry

Comment by techblueberry 3 days ago

I’m curious - do you think you’re an independent thinker? Do you think it’s a competitive advantage? What does thinking differently mean? It seems like a thing people say because it sounds good without really interrogating it.

I objectively find myself to be an independent thinker, and I mostly find it distracting. I could be much more functional to society/work/relationships if I spent more time thinking about the kinds of things other people think about, in the way they think about them.

I observe most of the most successful people in society, are successful _because_ they have mainstream thought patterns, people look up to them because they understand them, and they develop solutions that are in line with what most people need/want/desire.

ekjhgkejhgk 2 days ago

I think I'm an independent thinker. One symptom is that I repeatedly find myself observing that other people do things because they're copying other people. This is one symptom, but there's more.

> Do you think it’s a competitive advantage

> I could be much more functional to society/work/relationships

> most successful people in society, are successful _because_ they have mainstream thought patterns

Don't care, I'm not optimizing for being competitive, being successful, or any of the other things you mentioned.

See, another symptom of being an independent thinker: I've thought about it on my own and I've concluded I'm not interested in your targets.

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techblueberry 2 days ago

This sounds like a very common sort of misanthropic attitude I see littered around the web.
You know how they say - like in making music - in order to break the rules you have understand them?
I don’t like the take directly, but as a person who makes music, what I realize, and I think this is what they meant, it if you don’t study music, most people are likely to naturally slide into the most simplistic forms of it, because that’s what naturally sounds good, so you’re like naturally more inclined to recreate a 1 4 5 progression, rather than Mozart.
Do you think that you may have accidentally slid into this position, or sort of thinking exactly like a like blase’ counter cultural sameness, copying all the self-defined independent thinkers?, or do you think you have some insight into what makes your perspective unique and clearly in some way spiritually valuable to you?
I would be concerned that purely “thinking about it on your own” would lead to a really narrow set of beliefs. Like no offense, but your answer is a carbon copy of “disaffected youth” I’ve both exhibited and seen exhibited my whole life, with maybe a little less bite, so I’m guessing your not that young. But I’m often wrong.
But I am genuinely curious, what do you think makes you an independent thinker? And what purpose does that serve you?

Reply View | 6 replies
- ekjhgkejhgk 2 days ago
  
  > copying all the self-defined independent thinkers
  At this point I can no longer put effort into responding to you. You think that my conception of "thinking for myself" is "listening to people who claim they think for themselves, and repeat what they say"? You know the HN principle of "assume the most generous interpretation"? This is the opposite.
  Anyway, FYI, you sound like you're trying to deradicalize an andrew tate fanboy. You're A) really bad at feigning your concern, and B) extremely off target.
  
  Reply View | 5 replies
  
  techblueberry 2 days ago
  
  You didn’t give me a lot to go on. I think it was the most generous interpretation from what was available. Give me more! What drives you? How am I so off base?
  This is genuinely a philosophical question I am deeply interested in, what is individual thought?
  
  Reply View | 4 replies
tayo42 2 days ago

So what is your independent thinking doing for you? Are you happier then most?

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- ekjhgkejhgk 2 days ago
  
  To me, thinking independently isn't a mean to an end, it's an end in itself.
  
  Reply View | 0 replies