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How will the miracle happen today?

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Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#261

Post by nuancebydefault »

whackernews wrote: post #186
voxleone wrote: post #175

Radical openness can slide into naïveté if it ignores power, incentives, and bad actors. “Be vulnerable and good things will happen” is only true in constrained contexts, where norms, reciprocity, and consequences exist. Outside those, vulnerability can absolutely be exploited. Ina perfect world openness is not surrender; humility is not passivity; trust is not indiscriminate access.

Your comment makes me think about my situation. I am an open person that likes to try to make strangers laugh and people often are comfortable striking up conversations and opening up to me. Recently I was essentially conned by a guy who I thought was being friendly but he ended up walking off with my phone and PIN (that I’m guessing he saw me enter earlier) and emptied my bank account. This was my payment for being…

He could empty your bank account with just one pin? Was it not traced where the money went?

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#262

Post by xnx »

Fiveplus wrote: post #32

I couldn't help but focus on the vicarious adventure aspect Kelly mentions which was the "payment" he offered drivers in exchange for the ride. This is a mechanism that has largely been deprecated by the modern attention economy. In the era of hitchhiking, the bandwidth for novelty was low. A driver on a long commute had no podcasts, no Spotify or audiobooks. A stranger with a story was high value. The transaction wa…

> A stranger with a story was high value.

What? Really? I though the rule was cash, grass, or ass.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#263

Post by asdff »

Fiveplus wrote: post #32

I couldn't help but focus on the vicarious adventure aspect Kelly mentions which was the "payment" he offered drivers in exchange for the ride. This is a mechanism that has largely been deprecated by the modern attention economy. In the era of hitchhiking, the bandwidth for novelty was low. A driver on a long commute had no podcasts, no Spotify or audiobooks. A stranger with a story was high value. The transaction wa…

People had CDs, tapes, radio for their long trips before spotify and podcasts. It was actually easier in the old day because all this stuff was more or less curated for you; record store stocking the popular music that would actually sell, radio dj playing the popular songs, various genres represented, even "underground" radio, same with tv and video stores, just turn it on and it plays no friction, vs the modern streaming era where "what will I watch?" or "I binged that already, now what?" is such a dilemma and source of friction since the algorithmic recommendations are usually trash, or pushing the first party slop content of the day the service doesn't have to pay a license for.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#264

Post by asdff »

ryandrake wrote: post #63
Fiveplus wrote: post #32

I couldn't help but focus on the vicarious adventure aspect Kelly mentions which was the "payment" he offered drivers in exchange for the ride. This is a mechanism that has largely been deprecated by the modern attention economy. In the era of hitchhiking, the bandwidth for novelty was low. A driver on a long commute had no podcasts, no Spotify or audiobooks. A stranger with a story was high value. The transaction wa…

> Today, we have near infinite content in our pockets. The marginal utility of a stranger's story has plummeted because the competition is Joe Rogan or an endless algorithmic feed. Not just strangers. The content tentacle reaches even deeper. You can go to a restaurant and see two people (presumably partners, who know and love one another, or friends who at least like to hang out together) sitting together separately…

People were doing this with the TV, the radio, the newspaper. To an extent at least. The phone is so easy to use it can come out in pretty much any situation. Even at the urinal.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#265

Post by asdff »

lossyalgo wrote: post #197
phkahler wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> In the era of hitchhiking, the bandwidth for novelty was low. A driver on a long commute had no podcasts, no Spotify or audiobooks. A stranger with a story was high value. Haha! In the 90's I picked up a hitchhiker on the Pensylvania turnpike. I thought 'oh, someone to talk to". After a brief conversation he said where to wake him up and slept until we were there...

You should try again sometime. I try to pick up hitchhikers when I get the chance (I rarely drive) and always get to hear some truly interesting stories - I have yet to regret picking someone up.

I haven't seen someone hitchhiking in probably 20 years.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#266

Post by tarokun33 »

ericmcer wrote: post #140

Really nice article, but it sort of flies in the face of all our biological imperatives. Being a good "kindee" means forgoing security, control and some safety. Constant Gratitude for just the miracle of life means forgoing the driving dissatisfaction that will push you ahead. This is the classic battle between our ancient biological impulses and the reality of modern society. Many religions try to square these: Budd…

Even setting aside ethics and faith, from the perspective of the norm of reciprocity, being kind to travelers (or those who appear to be) is effective in winning them over as allies. In my personal experience, the more aggressive a person is, the more likely they are to be hyper-vigilant or starved for kindness, meaning they tend to be deeply moved by even a small gesture. Of course, genuine psychopaths in confined environments are the exception. This is an extreme case, but a certain murderer (from a real incident in Japan) stated : "I just wanted to kill anyone. So, I stabbed the person who ignored me when I greeted them."

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#267

Post by scotty79 »

moron4hire wrote: post #220
scotty79 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure if I'd use word curse. It at least slightly implies agency. I'd just say it's a burden and a bother.

It's certainly a responsibility. A responsibility that, through its unique circumstances, you were not given the opportunity to accept our reject on your own volition. I generally view that life has no meaning out of the box. We tend to think of terms like "meaningless" as a negative thing, but I see that more as a reaction to the indoctrination of a society that insists on lives having meaning. You wouldn't say a sc…

I don't feel life's a responsibility. Rather a consequence of someone elses irresponsibility that you are now stuck with, doing damage control and trying to suffer as little as possible.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#268

Post by UomoNeroNero »

arjie wrote: post #183

Before I quit riding my motorcycle, I recalled one important thing: all the way from the Oakland Hills to downtown San Francisco, many (I dare say 'most') drivers would step their cars to the edges of their lanes to make room for me to lane-split. I know there are lots of people who use their phones will driving, but this was clearly intentional, and a large number of people would do it. I was riding a Ducati but in…

I was riding a Ducati Bravo!

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#269

Post by anonymous344 »

lukan wrote: post #159
f1shy wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But if you have done the livestyle and know that you can get by without money, you do loose some fear of loosing money. I disagree. I’ve seen people that used to say “I was unemployed, I don’t fear unemployment”… until they lost the job. To me is like saying “I will go to see the bear behind bars in the zoo, so that when I see one in the wild I do not fear.” The people I know that actually were poor fear poverty th…

I mean, it depends of course. Especially now that I have children, who depend on me. I do know, even with kids you can hitchhike, do work exchange, etc. but it is a whole different story than doing it on my own, so I would never claim I transcended above existential fears regarding money. But I do believe my base attitude is way more relaxed to always find a way somehow and that helps me a lot to not get a heart atta…

How do you "work exchange" doctor and medicine instantly if ur child gets really sick, and have 0$ and no insurance or free healthcare?

having money, gives you more choises with each amount, the liberty.

Re: How will the miracle happen today?

#270

Post by anonymous344 »

jimbokun wrote: post #36
JR1427 wrote: post #5

This reminds me of a video I watch recently of a comfortably off guy who decided to try and do a long-distance cycle with just £100. He could afford not to rely on others, but instead he let people buy him food, give him a bed, etc. This didn't sit well with me. If you can pay your own way, but choose to instead let others pay for you, you're just sponging off people.

I think if he is willing to be generous in other times and places as well, it can be a good learning experience. I know this is also how Jesus lives in the Gospels, and has his disciples do so at times as well. Of course he paid his way by healing the sick and raising the dead! And telling really good stories.

in contrast, Jesus also could turn water into wine and he has the most rich parents in a human history (can manifest anhthing) so was he taking advance of people like the writer?
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