Comment by Aurornis
19 hours ago
> This post actually kind of blows my mind.
I suggest re-reading it from some different perspectives. Consider that the narrator may not be entirely reliable. They way they talk about being able to read other people and manipulate them into a sense of openness and connection has some hints of behaviors that are associated with people who view themselves as superior to others and view others as mere targets for their superior intellect to manipulate.
In this case, it’s worth considering that maybe the blog post itself is yet another chapter in their experimentation with manipulating others into a sense of connection, and the text is written in a persuasive way to leave the reader thinking that they have been blessed with some openness and revelation from the author. In other words, it’s crafted in a way to generate some of the same false sense of connection describe in the article, with the stories and claims crafted to target what the target audience wants to hear.
Something to think about when reading it, at least.
It's stages in their life and it goes from manipulation to letting go. Even the manipulation was not malicious -- they just wanted to have "better" experiences with other people (and maybe upsell an entrée at first).
And as a socially awkward individual I found it quite interesting.
Yes. He literally started his journey as being the most bullied kid in school. His intention was mainly to be accepted.
No it was to learn the biggest bully tricks to become the best bully
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So an emotional quine?
From that approach you could view (almost?) all human communication as artificial unreliable manipulation. And not be entirely wrong. But you could also view that same (almost?) all human communication as authentic attempts to connect and heal (including heal the speaker), if sometimes misguided, and not be entirely wrong either.
I am not sure I like what it does to my experience in the world to view all human communication as selfish manipulation. Although I recognize the pull to do so can come from an attempt to protect oneself based on past harm.