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    Your Elvenar Team

Whats your view on human nature

what kind of person do you think you are?(pick the two you more closely relate to)

  • Selfish

    Votes: 4 16.7%
  • helpful

    Votes: 11 45.8%
  • kind

    Votes: 6 25.0%
  • smart

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • loving

    Votes: 5 20.8%
  • couragous

    Votes: 3 12.5%
  • calculating

    Votes: 3 12.5%
  • cold

    Votes: 1 4.2%
  • whimsical

    Votes: 3 12.5%
  • funny

    Votes: 5 20.8%

  • Total voters
    24

DeletedUser19483

Guest
Oh hey, thought of something to add here, where it's much more appropriate, topic-wise, and that's on the nature of gaslighting.

If I had to pick which form of abuse is the worst, I'd probably go with this, and that's why I try to save the method for enemies only. It tears down the target's self-esteem and spirit, makes them question their own mind and even their sense of reality, yet is often oh so difficult to properly define in exact terms, and it usually comes down to a "they said, I said" argument. I have little in hard rules on what constitutes gaslighting, but if someone is constantly making another person feel crappy and then denying or justifying it, then I call it such.
I don't know if I should call 911 but (scoffs like a boss) what do I care you don't know where I live and I can hit a target watching me sleep(one out of 20 times I try) so(scoffs again) I'll be fine(please don't hunt me down) also nice post:D
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
TWO ADDITIONS IN A SINGLE DAY. I feel special! Not really something that applies to many, though.

Asterisk Actions® are a literary device I picked up while participating in the anime community during the late nineties/early two thousands. I have no idea who originally came up with it, but nearly all of us used this to add flavor, style, and inanity to our posts, and I don't believe I have ever employed it for any other reason than to inject more attempts at humor into what I type. It's fun and allows for descriptions that would be overly wordy and robbed of hilarity in regular form.
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
Now I'm just being excessive, BUT THREE ADDITIONS IN A SINGLE NIGHT!

Regarding the purpose of life, besides the obvious biological ones, I think it's all about pursuing happiness, doing whatever makes you happy as long as it is not at the expense of, or harms, others. Has had a negative impact on my personal nature, in that I am much less tolerant than I used to be, ruthlessly cutting out what makes me unhappy, since life is too short for that noise, but I don't often take it out on another unless their behavior directly affects me or I consider it to be potentially causing significant damage to somebody else.

This mindset masquerades as kindness, but it is strictly in the name of self-interest; I am modelling the behavior I want every person to exhibit, so that if I am ever in a position where I can't defend myself, the chance of people coming to my defense is higher, thus better safeguarding my happiness and whatnot.
 
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DeletedUser

Guest
"Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power. For identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel." (Loki, The Avengers)

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I've realized that you are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague."
(Agent Smith, The Matrix)

"My mother made me understand that every human society is a pyramid and that some lives will always matter more than others. It is better to accept this than to pretend it isn't true."
(Balem Abrasax, Jupiter Ascending)

"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard … and too damn cheap."
(Kurt Vonnegut Jr.)
 

DeletedUser19483

Guest
"Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It’s the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power. For identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel." (Loki, The Avengers)

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I've realized that you are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment. But you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague."
(Agent Smith, The Matrix)

"My mother made me understand that every human society is a pyramid and that some lives will always matter more than others. It is better to accept this than to pretend it isn't true."
(Balem Abrasax, Jupiter Ascending)

"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard … and too damn cheap."
(Kurt Vonnegut Jr.)
oooohh......wait(looks around) which one do you agree with
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
The fallibility of memory is extremely disturbing to me, especially since all of our memories tend to be fabricated in some manner, and I believe that what we remember experiencing is the main shaping factor of our personalities. We can condition ourselves with varying degrees of success to modify how we behave, despite how we are wired mentally and even the physical urges we feel, but unless there is a type of accurate record of events, we can't be certain that what we think happened actually did and it is still subject to embellishments from internal biases.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4183265/
"Memory is imperfect and is susceptible to distortion and loss."
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
"Empathy might be a little bit more selfish than many people assume. The empathizer feels less alone, they share experiences, they learn something. So we should ask for whom is [empathy] good? It's actually the empathizer in most cases."

"My core argument here is that in many cases of altruistic help or humanitarian aid, people actually don't really empathize as much with the person in need. They identify more with the helper, the hero, the person who intervenes even if it's an imaginary helper."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/04/12/712682406/does-empathy-have-a-dark-side

Dude... DUDE, I knew it, I knew empathy was likely selfish in its own nature and not just mine, but I could never really articulate the concept. Still think my top reason for empathizing is to better predict and anticipate attacks, but this makes so much sense. LEARNING STUFF LIKE THIS MAKES ME HAPPY. *does happy spastic dance*
 

DeletedUser19483

Guest
"Empathy might be a little bit more selfish than many people assume. The empathizer feels less alone, they share experiences, they learn something. So we should ask for whom is [empathy] good? It's actually the empathizer in most cases."

"My core argument here is that in many cases of altruistic help or humanitarian aid, people actually don't really empathize as much with the person in need. They identify more with the helper, the hero, the person who intervenes even if it's an imaginary helper."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/04/12/712682406/does-empathy-have-a-dark-side

Dude... DUDE, I knew it, I knew empathy was likely selfish in its own nature and not just mine, but I could never really articulate the concept. Still think my top reason for empathizing is to better predict and anticipate attacks, but this makes so much sense. LEARNING STUFF LIKE THIS MAKES ME HAPPY. *does happy spastic dance*
stop! your making my normal apathy seem good(can't muster the energy to scream)
 

DeletedUser19483

Guest
"Do you believe in a god?"-Lorenzo
"I don't like talking about politics over dinner."-Guppy
-conversation between Guppy and Lorenzo
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
"Do you believe in a god?"-Lorenzo
"I don't like talking about politics over dinner."-Guppy
-conversation between Guppy and Lorenzo
Ah, religion. I think it's ultimately for the good of humanity, gives people something to believe in and follow, but I've never considered such to be more than fairy tales created to control the masses for a variety of reasons falling along the scale between virtuous and corrupt... Mainly corrupt, but most of the teachings, when actually adhered to and not simply preached, prod the religious into behaving kindly.
 

DeletedUser19483

Guest
Ah, religion. I think it's ultimately for the good of humanity, gives people something to believe in and follow, but I've never considered such to be more than fairy tales created to control the masses for a variety of reasons falling along the scale between virtuous and corrupt... Mainly corrupt, but most of the teachings, when actually adhered to and not simply preached, prod the religious into behaving kindly.
Funny true story, when I was younger, I was about five, whenever I did something bad I would always pray for forgiveness, and I'd always get a response. It actually took me a long while to figure out I was giving pardon to my own misdeeds..........looking back I think I did a lot of bad..........(shrugs)
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
Funny true story, when I was younger, I was about five, whenever I did something bad I would always pray for forgiveness, and I'd always get a response. It actually took me a long while to figure out I was giving pardon to my own misdeeds..........looking back I think I did a lot of bad..........(shrugs)
Hey, most of us needed imaginary friends when we were young, and all children are monsters with undeveloped senses of right and wrong. ;D

One of my earliest memories, taken with a grain of salt because of the whole unreliable memory thing, was when I would have been around the same age, since I hadn't started school yet. My mother would read these inane bible stories to my siblings and I that I found a total yawn, and I'd sneak out of the room while she was engrossed in the storytelling and go kind of burrow inside of the giant comforter I had on my bed, a tactic that wouldn't have been possible if we had been forced to make our beds and I wasn't tiny. I'd fall into these almost fever dozes, as Redding summers can only be politely described as so hot you'd long for the sweet embrace of death, and then I would crawl out an hour or so later, drenched in sweat and disoriented. Good times.
 

DeletedUser

Guest
When I was six, my "imaginary playmate" was my residual memory of my older brother who'd died when I was two.
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
Introversion versus extraversion, the great debate. Everybody possesses traits from both, with introverts actually tending to be better at portraying extravert qualities due to more time spent reflecting internally, but the claim of being one or the other is determined by whether interacting with people invigorates you or wears you out. I have always been grateful to be an introvert because I value independence over everything else, and the thought of my contentment being beholden to the whims of another makes my skin crawl with horror. My sociability rises and falls like the swells of the tide, but the uptick is usually prompted by mental restlessness, where nothing seems overly entertaining, and thus I make use of others to provide distraction.
 

DeletedUser19483

Guest
so.....................your an extravert Nonchalant Antipathy. I shoulda known:p
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
so.....................your an extravert Nonchalant Antipathy. I shoulda known:p
I can pretend to be the most friendly, outgoing person in the world if I get the urge to and/or it serves my goals. ;)
 

DeletedUser20951

Guest
The concept of a "genuine self" based on outward behavior is fascinating to me. It's well-known that nearly every person acts different depending on the situation, except that it varies on how conscious or targeted the modifications are. When I was young, I often didn't realize what I was doing, but now almost all of my behavior towards people is calculated to some extent, with my work persona being the extreme opposite of my natural mode. I am "hail, fellow, well met" but vague with my neighbors. I completely ignore strangers unless they initiate contact. If I dislike someone, I am lower key combative and dismissive to encourage less direct interaction. Looking at how I treat anybody, I can find a reason behind it, and this used to cause discomfort, but I've come to peace with this chameleon, disingenuous aspect of my personality, whether rightly or wrongly, since the skill is far too valuable and I don't feel like changing.

Besides, all that my being completely honest would accomplish is making those I encounter feel utterly wretched about themselves and land me with a ton of enemies, which is definitely not in my best interest. The saying, "I'm just being honest" is synonymous in my mind with, "I'm just a jerk, but want to justify it and not have anyone get mad at me about it." XD
 
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DeletedUser20951

Guest
The degradation of communication is concerning, although it's nothing new, but I do believe that the internet has sped up the process. If you have ever been more of a listener than a talker, how much is lost in translation as we rush to spew our own nonsense with only a cursory examination of what we are responding to stands out in stark relief, and social media makes it much, much worse. So many are desperate for connection, yet unless views align perfectly, which results in the common, superficial echo chamber, any chance of meaningful connection sails by like ships in the night as we fight to speak our piece without extending the same courtesy we want for ourselves of being heard and comprehended. I am not above this trend, I have to constantly strive to not pick up the bad habits that I encounter, that begin to mold my own actions out of sheer repetition (anybody who thinks they are not affected by what they are surrounded by doesn't understand how the brain works), and the main recourse is to limit exposure. Failing that, it does help to tell yourself over and over to slow the fudge down and consider what is important to you.
 
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