101–110 of 122 posts
>I want to kill my ego, or at least substantially break it.
So not that they have had an ego death, but rather had a goal of it.
This is very much akin to Echart Tolle in his ego death. He was literally suicidal and then realized his ego is his problem. Thus avoiding an actual suicide.
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You're right, there nothing much there but excessive, if muted, self-grandiosement and hypocritical judgement. Eg, the first sentence: > As I begin settling into a new flow of my life I find myself finding tremendous sanctuary and peace with myself. 2 * "I", 2 * "myself", 1 * "my life" and a claim that this person has found "tremendous sanctuary and peace". > I notice this internal tranquility seems to be related to…
The ego has a million-and-one (and, always one more) ways to subtly cling to anyone trying to rid themselves of it. As far as I can tell, from observations in myself, and of others, the ego is only something you can manage. You can experience moments of freedom (most reliably through psychedelics in my experience) that give you a taste of something beautiful and relieving. But the ego is just sleeping. The tentacles…
Shutting up for a long time is a pretty good way to test your comfort level with suppressing an inflated concept/value of self. Extending the shutting up to internal chatter, even more so.
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If they had quit, but didn't tell anyone, would they get the validation craved?
That's a shitty thing to assume. For all you know they treated their website like a diary and just write for the sake of expressing themselves. It's not like the author posted it here seeing as they are dead.
If I'm active in a community and suddenly stop showing up, I may make an announcement too.
I don't know how to say this constructively, but this post reads like it is written with a deep smugness. It feels very "ego-y". It feels like the author has glommed onto a real concept (denying the ego) but instead used it to get out of the competitive marketplace of social media, and instead take it to their blog where the competition is invisible and lesser. It even basically finishes with "tune in later to keep i…
Do you realize you’re providing a very smug criticism about a recently deceased, beloved by many, community member? If the authors earnest blog post strikes you as ego-y maybe stop for a second check your own ego. Your cynical response to someone practicing vulnerability is disgusting.
I noticed the train wreck phenomenon she described around 2009 on facebook and immediately quit knowing that I lacked the self control to look away. I post from multiple anonymous hn accounts to test ideas and make a point of not acquiring a particularly high karma before switching to a new account to ensure that I don't get attached to a particular persona that might become correlated with the handle.
> correlated Why would there be correlation? Do you mean in your own mind, or decided by others? > test ideas I don't understand. You post things you don't necessarily believe, to see how people react? This is not a healthy approach for you or the platform. You could instead use one account and simply say you're not sure about this or that idea, or on the fence about particular issues.
If I had a reputation then people would consciously or not evaluate the truth of my statements at least in part based on my reputation. I often fail, but I try to write the truth as I see it and let it stand without being tied up in my identity.
I noticed the train wreck phenomenon she described around 2009 on facebook and immediately quit knowing that I lacked the self control to look away. I post from multiple anonymous hn accounts to test ideas and make a point of not acquiring a particularly high karma before switching to a new account to ensure that I don't get attached to a particular persona that might become correlated with the handle.
This is an interesting approach. Do you imbue reach handle with its own persona (presumably a fragment of yours, writ whole)? Or is it basically just a cover for whatever you feel like writing in each moment?
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I thought it was funny that it comes off a little pretentious for someone to claim that their ego is now dead.
Some additional context is that Kris Nova, the author, recently passed away so this is somewhat poignant: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37199495
> We aren’t using social media to drive action. We are using it to farm a false sense of worth. To cast stones at anyone who foolishly stumbles into the latest virtue-trap. Yeah, it feels like most of social media is now shit-flinging and calling the "outside group" stupid so one can feel "At least I'm not a stupid horrible person like that idiot!". I notice on Instagram you can "like" comments but not dislike them,…
I support the post author's position completely. It's incredibly clear to me now after using social media for about a decade that it's not something healthy to participate in, and I shouldn't use it beyond a few really specific scenarios, like communicating with a business. I've watched it destroy relationships, including some of mine, and turn people into psychopaths. When I meet someone new I can observe a pretty c…
I wonder who is going to pay for that domain and web hosting now.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> correlated Why would there be correlation? Do you mean in your own mind, or decided by others? > test ideas I don't understand. You post things you don't necessarily believe, to see how people react? This is not a healthy approach for you or the platform. You could instead use one account and simply say you're not sure about this or that idea, or on the fence about particular issues.
I only post things I believe to be true but I am not always successful at communicating my thoughts and feelings. The response lets me know if I was effective or not. I also have blindspots and recognize that I may not be seeing the whole picture at any given moment. Sure, I could hedge every statement with every possible doubt but then it becomes impossible to actually say anything. If I had a reputation then people…
I would expect the same of readers of my posts... I highly doubt anyone is digging through my old posts. Who has the time? For what purpose?
The exception is maybe a big claim you make. Perhaps a controversial claim which is hard to verify, and people may then look at your past comments. But if you're not making any big bold claims, or leaking juicy gossip, or dropping any unbelievable truth bombs....
I think your account churn is motivated by something else. It's your business, it's all good, but your HN account reputation wouldn't be used against you. Every day is a new day, and people gravitate towards good faith discussion, don't they? Your spicy post from the other day is forgiven! (to be clear, I am not aware of any spicy posts you wrote). Good luck.