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There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

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Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#161

Post by mcappleton »

evervevdww221 wrote: post #24

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…

You don't have to. I sometimes feel similarly to you. I dropped out of college and am so happy I did. In high school my parents pushed me so hard. In college I was doing honors going for a 4.0. But now I just do freelance coding and live on very little. Sometimes I do coding for other people, but I have a lot of free time to code my own projects. I keep it that way on purpose

If your gonna live in society, you are completely dependent on other people. Without them giving you food, a place to live you would die. So just do some freelancing to get some money and then you can do what you want in the rest of the time.

You probably don't hate interacting with people that much. It's probably just that your interactions are out of control and on overload in the office. You'd probably be happier freelancing so your interactions would be far fewer and more structured.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#162

Post by BeetleB »

tray5 wrote: post #17

My personal theory for explaining hermits throughout history is simple, these people had/have aspergers. I have aspergers myself, and I can very easily see someone who has aspergers who for whatever reason no longer wants to socialize anymore getting up and doing their own thing out in isolation. I don't truly believe that any neurotypical person, and for that matter many aspies could do it, but if you're brain is wi…

>I have aspergers myself, and I can very easily see someone who has aspergers who for whatever reason no longer wants to socialize anymore getting up and doing their own thing out in isolation.

Did you get a diagnosis from a qualified professional, or is this self-diagnosis?

I used to wonder if I had it, but then I met someone who was diagnosed with it. Fairly significant difference.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#163

Post by dasmoth »

a_imho wrote: post #114
reitanqild wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Agile is defined as http://agilemanifesto.org/ Scrum with its artifacts/ceremonies like standup is a specific interpretation.

That's true, but -- especially if you read the 12 principles as well -- it's very clear that the intention is team-based software development with a lot of fine grained interaction (and an explicit rejection of remote work). Stuff like daily stand ups definitely go with the grain.

It would be interested to see how a variant that truly focussed on individuals rather than interaction could work.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#164

Post by dasmoth »

sliverstorm wrote: post #53
evervevdww221 wrote: post #24

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…

Trouble is at the end of the day we need food and shelter. Reading some really fascinating papers or code is great, and so are painting and playing guitar. Do all those things. But most everyone will have to work to live, and working a good job is easier with schooling, and you might meet this girl... It seems like an artificial treadmill from afar, but IMO the underpinnings are fairly sound. You just have to find th…

Buying farmland and working in your fields 12 hours a day, is still an option :)

As someone who's looking in that kind of direction at least semi-seriously, don't underestimate the cost of farmland, especially if you're hoping for land that's reasonably flat and fertile. There probably are places in the world where it remains a cheap option -- but few that are an easy move from the UK. Also, however close to self-sufficiency you come in terms of food, fuel, potentially clothing, there remain expenses that need to be paid in cash.

I'm somewhat hoping that one day I might find a balance between some paid work and some time in my own fields -- but don't expect it to be easy. In the mean time, I get a certain amount from the garden.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#165

Post by exergy »

ZenoArrow wrote: post #134
exergy wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite the opposite. Yuval Harari explains really well in Sapiens that one of the keys to human success has been the ability to "do things together" at larger scales than any other species. For example, maritime trade going back millenia. That is true social "trust" in each other. The whole concept of money being a social construct is a very interesting thing to consider.

> "Quite the opposite." Consider the context. The subject under discussion is those who want to be alone. It's quite possible to be alone whilst still enjoying the fruits of human collaboration.

I believe that was the point that your parent was trying to make; clarify that "Humans are social creatures" doesn't mean that all of us love interacting with people, but that the quote implies that we can come together to do things in a way that others cannot.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#166

Post by sliverstorm »

dasmoth wrote: post #164
sliverstorm wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trouble is at the end of the day we need food and shelter. Reading some really fascinating papers or code is great, and so are painting and playing guitar. Do all those things. But most everyone will have to work to live, and working a good job is easier with schooling, and you might meet this girl... It seems like an artificial treadmill from afar, but IMO the underpinnings are fairly sound. You just have to find th…

Buying farmland and working in your fields 12 hours a day, is still an option :) As someone who's looking in that kind of direction at least semi-seriously, don't underestimate the cost of farmland, especially if you're hoping for land that's reasonably flat and fertile. There probably are places in the world where it remains a cheap option -- but few that are an easy move from the UK. Also, however close to self-suf…

Oh yes, farmland is not cheap in much of the world. Unfortunately living your dream frequently takes work to attain.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#167

Post by skrebbel »

pge wrote: post #141
skrebbel wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nunavut, Patagonia, Lapland, Siberia, etc etc etc

You don't need to go to an exotic place, there are significant wilderness areas all over the US (eg. Boundary Waters in Minnesota). If you choose less traveled areas, there's a good chance you can go a week without seeing anyone.

For me, Lapland is significantly less exotic than Minnesota.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#168

Post by [deleted] »

marcosdumay wrote: post #149
a_imho wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agile is defined as http://agilemanifesto.org/ Scrum with its artifacts/ceremonies like standup is a specific interpretation.

Scrum with its rigid artifacts/ceremonies is a complete negation of the basis of what's on the manifesto.

[deleted]

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#169

Post by astrostl »

taw55 wrote: post #153

Here is another, longer form article about Chris Knight by the same author. http://www.gq.com/story/the-last-true-hermit

Simply astounding read. Just added the book to my wishlist, but I wonder how much it'll do above and beyond.

Re: There Have Always Existed People Who’ve Simply Wanted to Be Alone

#170

Post by ghaff »

nerdponx wrote: post #76
nabla9 wrote: post #42

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…

Where do you learn the outdoor and craftmanship skills you'd need to survive on your own in the woods? Lots of backpacking trips with more experienced people?

That's probably the best way. It may be multimedia but YouTube is still pretty much book learning. That said, lack of people doesn't need to imply difficult circumstances. Camping out by yourself for a week doesn't need to imply living off the land, etc.
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