111–120 of 183 posts
He portrays a man who, without a shred of formal outdoor training, survived through ingenuity and remarkable self-discipline The man burglarized people's houses for supplies.
Being alone and hiking and camping in the wilderness without human contact for longer period can be amazing experience. There can be initial anxiety and intense desire to go back after romance goes away and your internal shit comes to light. When there is constant need for do chores to survive but also free time and no human contact, no books, radio or music, mind gradually settles into itself. It's like coming from…
How much time before the eye adjusts?
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Wasn't that one of Dante's levels? Seventh Circle (Agile)
This is not necessarily agile. I think this is cargo cult software engineering: "collaboration", "teamwork" and "agile". Wasn't Agile about doing less work? Less unrealistic plans. Less meetings - including informal. Shorter meetings - mostly just daily standup - what I did, what I'm doing, any blockers.
Scrum with its artifacts/ceremonies like standup is a specific interpretation.
The title IMO is far more interesting and thought provoking than the actual story. So this guy lived in the woods somewhat near people, and stole to get by... I've personally always been fascinated by the topic as I have met several hermit monks, have a friend who lived as one for half a year, and contemplated it for myself. The history of religious asceticism and hermits is quite interesting, and many of history's m…
I think the idea that "Humans are social creatures" is spread by the part of humanity that are social creatures and us introverts are not normally around to challenge that assertion. While undoubtedly there are many many humans that desire to socialize and be around other humans, there are many of us that find socialization less enjoyable. So while I personally have benefited from periods of social interaction, I'd m…
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There are very real evolutionary pressure on humans to be social and pliant and buy into the notion that society is a net good, whether it be a tribal one or a more modern version. Just think about it: the outliers get ostracized and more often than not don't pass on their genes to the next generation. Until very recently, we had extremely tribal behavior among human societies as well. So it makes sense that most peo…
> I am living in an age and country where not being socially pliant isn't something that would get me killed Not killed, but certainly the victim of gossip, even smear campaigns and gang stalking. You're an ideal patsy to cover up some sociopath's schemes. "You may not be interested in war, but war is interestwd in you."
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Being social and being sociable often conflated. Every time you buy something from Amazon, drink tap water, or live in a dwelling that you didn't build yourself, you are being a social creature. Few animals are capable of interacting in these highly complicated and choreographed ways.
> "Every time you buy something from Amazon, drink tap water, or live in a dwelling that you didn't build yourself, you are being a social creature." I'd say that's stretching the definition of social beyond the breaking point. Technically those interactions involve other humans, but none that you engage with directly. It's direct human interaction that is the key to whether something is 'social' or not IMO.
> Years ago, I went to India for a ten-day, silent retreat. I wanted to make myself go where I was afraid to go—deep down, inside my own head. I found it terrifying. Why don’t we want to be alone? Because the stuff that’s down there is stuff you don’t want to see. We live in a world in which who we are is defined by what we do . We are a role - parent, engineer, carer. Strip that away and all that remains is a who .…
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I like very much how you describe this thing with words like "triggers" and "disappearing into network", that feels exactly this way for me too. Where is this place, where you can hike for a week without seeing any other human?
Nunavut, Patagonia, Lapland, Siberia, etc etc etc
I have the impulse to become a hermit myself, fundamentally because I'm tired of living up to other people's ideologies: going through schools and finding a job in a cubical. getting married at the right age and then raising the right amount kids, saving for their college fund and then for retirement. but why? I can't help but compare with my surroundings, even I have quit Facebook for many years. I can't be myself w…