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Any other escaped INTPs?

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Just wondering if there are any INTPs (or others!) out there who have, like me, been driven to escape unbearable 'reality' and seek a life of blissful solitude.
After years of somewhat bewildered existence in a society apparently organised against everything i think (in many cases, know) is moral, logical and compatible with rational thinking on the questions about how we should live and behave towards each other, unable to effect any meaningful change (obviously i didn't try too hard - just hid in my bedroom most of the time plotting elaborate schemes!), 4 or 5 years ago i decided i couldn't take any more of the pointless interaction, the ridiculous hierachy, the contrived child-like obedience of the majority, the thoughtless destruction of the ecosystem, the reverence for all things banal and meaningless etc and did the whole (slightly predictable) escape to the country to live off the land thing.
Whilst i don't regret my decision and love the life i have now, i live in a tiny village populated with completely closed-minded, conformist and incurious people who would probably lynch me if they got a look at my bookshelves!
I would really like to hear about the experiences of others who have made a similar break for freedom, and any insights or regrets you might share about life outside the system, and from anyone still trapped who would like to discuss the claustrophobia of urban life.
 

Architect

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My suspicion is that while completely attractive making such a move would be ultimately unproductive. Curious to learn the truth of the matter.
 

Twn

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My case isn't as extreme as yours, but I've made many big life changes


The first of which was becoming a life coach. Our kind isnt supposed to be driven by service based careers, but it actually fits into my ideal lifestyle.

I was depressed, and sad, and horny, and lifeless; eventually I decided to leave everything behind; my relationships, my antiquated ideals regarding humanity, my extreme self awareness.


Now I live in a cozy one-bedroom apartment, and I live a pretty chill lifestyle. I meditate every morning and night, I generally only interact with well-informed, intelligent people (After all, I get to choose my own goddanm clients!), and I dont pay much attention to politics, or the latest news stories.


I get to wake up feeling great every morning (Or evening), go out and help people, boost my own self esteem and confidence by doing so, and then come back home and get laid.

It's my own little piece of atheist heaven.

I dont think "Urban life" is the issue; it's the lack of inner peace that drives you to get away from it.

You can create peace, and harmony from anywhere; you didnt have to move in next to "unenlightened" folks in order to do so.

I actually think it's a bit pretentious to sit here and flaunt the fact that you live in a place with idiots; that you escaped urban conformity in order to find countryside conformity.

Is it somehow better?

I say just do what comes natural to you as an INTP: Go deep inside of your head, and forget about everyone that resides on the outside.
 

Brontosaurie

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i think that's more suitable for an ISFP.

INTx's have a tendency to forget that all of their intellectual goings-on are ultimately about humanity. we over-estimate our emotional independence and neglect the less flattering side of this equation, i.e. that our need for solitude is a symptom of inadequacy as much as it is a symptom of superiority.

i don't consider becoming a recluse a healthy move and from what i can tell you are a case in point.

regards,

your fellow sociophobic wannabe-rational who very well might be at a more progressed and severe stage of the disease which you are glorifying
 
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My suspicion is that while completely attractive making such a move would be ultimately unproductive. Curious to learn the truth of the matter.

Hehe, yes! My life is now a CONSTANT battle with myself - lazing/idling/general procrastinating V getting on with a million things that i WANT to do!
Well, it aways was i suppose, the difference is that now there are no deadlines/obligations.

“But one of the worst results of being a slave and being forced to do things is that when there is no one to force you any more you find you have almost lost the power of forcing yourself.”
C.S. Lewis

I haven't entirely lost the battle though and i would (could?) never go back. Just spending a few hours in a city makes my brain crazy, it's a horrifying onslaught to the senses.
 

Twn

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i think that's more suitable for an ISFP.

INTx's have a tendency to forget that all of their intellectual goings-on are ultimately about humanity. we over-estimate our emotional independence and neglect the less flattering side of this equation, i.e. that our need for solitude is a symptom of inadequacy as much as it is a symptom of superiority.

i don't consider becoming a recluse a healthy move and from what i can tell you are a case in point.

regards,

your fellow sociophobic wannabe-rational who very well might be at a more progressed and severe stage of the disease which you are glorifying

Best response I read all day.
 
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i think that's more suitable for an ISFP.

INTx's have a tendency to forget that all of their intellectual goings-on are ultimately about humanity. we over-estimate our emotional independence and neglect the less flattering side of this equation, i.e. that our need for solitude is a symptom of inadequacy as much as it is a symptom of superiority.

i don't consider becoming a recluse a healthy move and from what i can tell you are a case in point.

regards,

your fellow sociophobic wannabe-rational who very well might be at a more progressed and severe stage of the disease which you are glorifying


Are you serious? My desire for solitude is neither a symptom of inadequacy nor superiority and it most certainly is not a disease. But thanks for the attempted diagnosis. Perhaps in future you could focus on diagnosing/curing yourself, since, like you said your disease is more severe.
 

Valentas

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I see no reason to remove myself from society.

It would become pretty boring fast because believe it or not, I get bored without having a chat about cool stuff :) It gets lonely fast. I think you have more to gain from interacting than locking yourself up.

You can argue that books reading will provide with stimulation to not get bored but I tend to disagree, Nothing compares with a great conversation between like-minded minds. They tend to connect, develop relationship and sometimes cool stuff happens. (a new company, a true friend to rely on, experimenting partner, love maybe) :)

I considered the idea of solitude but that does not make sense. We, humans, have always lived in small groups since our beginning because it is easier to push forward in life this way.

In other words, my perfect balance is living among people and interacting only when I want or it is necessary.
 
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I see no reason to remove myself from society.

It would become pretty boring fast because believe it or not, I get bored without having a chat about cool stuff :) It gets lonely fast. I think you have more to gain from interacting than locking yourself up.

You can argue that books reading will provide with stimulation to not get bored but I tend to disagree, Nothing compares with a great conversation between like-minded minds. They tend to connect, develop relationship and sometimes cool stuff happens. (a new company, a true friend to rely on, experimenting partner, love maybe) :)

I considered the idea of solitude but that does not make sense. We, humans, have always lived in small groups since our beginning because it is easier to push forward in life this way.

In other words, my perfect balance is living among people and interacting only when I want or it is necessary.



I completely agree that (almost!) nothing compares to great conversation with like-minded individuals, i have a partner here for that and friends to chat with online. I know this lifestyle would not be suitable for most people but for me the advantages of living in a very small community of not exactly like-minded but nevertheless kind, friendly and unintrusive people far outweigh the disadvantages.
I may be much less likely to meet like-minded people, but then the frequency of undesirable interactions is almost nil.
I may have to hide my political/religious/humourous views here, but then i always did to a large extent.
Perhaps the main advantage besides the exquisite tranquility is the connection to nature and the ability to grow my own food.
I always found the pace and scale of urban life unsettling - as you say, we are supposed to live in small groups. I think i could scale it back even more and not get bored though..different people!
Thanks for your input!
 

Brontosaurie

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Are you serious? My desire for solitude is neither a symptom of inadequacy nor superiority and it most certainly is not a disease. But thanks for the attempted diagnosis.

try claiming you don't have a superiority complex in the face of this quote:

"I think we probably have different definitions of what is meant by 'like-minded' - i do not intend it to refer to anything more than the possession of acquired faculties such as rationality, logic, reason etc etc - the sum of which tend to result in thoughfullness, tolerance, wit etc etc all of which are mostly entirely absent in the majority." // Perfectly Normal Beast, like, yesterday

Perhaps in future you could focus on diagnosing/curing yourself, since, like you said your disease is more severe.

you think a forum post diverts my focus from introspection?
 
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try claiming you don't have a superiority complex in the face of this quote:

"I think we probably have different definitions of what is meant by 'like-minded' - i do not intend it to refer to anything more than the possession of acquired faculties such as rationality, logic, reason etc etc - the sum of which tend to result in thoughfullness, tolerance, wit etc etc all of which are mostly entirely absent in the majority." // Perfectly Normal Beast, like, yesterday



you think a forum post diverts my focus from introspection?


Hmmm...took you quite a while to come up with that little gem.
I believe i am free to claim whatever i want.
 

Brontosaurie

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Hmmm...took you quite a while to come up with that little gem.
I believe i am free to claim whatever i want.

ok so your defense amounts to the following:

1. i didn't reply immediately, from which follows that i have spent the whole gap finding your quote and writing two sentences, from which follows that my argument is invalid. errh wat?

(for your information i was on my way home from work and i don't have a smartphone. does that give me cool independent lifestyle points? oh and can i have a slice of that delicious "boohoo no one gets me" cake too? pretty please?)

2. "it's subbjecutative!!! don't touch my toys!!!"
 
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ok so your defense amounts to the following:

1. i didn't reply immediately, from which follows that i have spent the whole gap finding your quote and writing two sentences, from which follows that my argument is invalid. errh wat?

(for your information i was on my way home from work and i don't have a smartphone. does that give me cool independent lifestyle points? oh and can i have a slice of that delicious "boohoo no one gets me" cake too? pretty please?)

2. "it's subbjecutative!!! don't touch my toys!!!"

1) that's what i was implying, yes. very perceptive of you, well done.
2) not sure what subbjecutative means but yes, please, i would much prefer it if you stopped touching my toys or any other part of me.
 

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INTx's have a tendency to forget that all of their intellectual goings-on are ultimately about humanity. we over-estimate our emotional independence and neglect the less flattering side of this equation, i.e. that our need for solitude is a symptom of inadequacy as much as it is a symptom of superiority.

Ah, hit the nail on the head. This is the idea I had about this but wasn't able to formulate. With Fe in the inferior we want to push it away and believe we don't need people, but the unfortunate result of that is that the inferior Fe will strike when we're not looking.

The opposite mistake is to give in to the inferior. AJ Drenth (PersonalityJunkie) did this by going into Psych to help people I believe, and regrets it. Especially with our careers people often give into the inferior, which is why it is probably a mistake for INTP's to go into the humanities generally.

The best approach then is a median; be on the edge of the activity. Live at the edge of the town, and be on the edge of a group. When I lived in the center of cities it really jams my psychic energy. Presently I live in a house on the edge of town and am happy with it. Likewise with groups you see me out on the edge of them.
 

Brontosaurie

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1) that's what i was implying, yes. very perceptive of you, well done.
2) not sure what subbjecutative means but yes, please, i would much prefer it if you stopped touching my toys or any other part of me.


1. ok. that's really stupid. your attitude toward society is an unwarranted pose.

2. bye.
 

TimeAsylums

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AJ Drenth (PersonalityJunkie) did this by going into Psych to help people I believe, and regrets it.
Ah, fuck. Not sure whether I want to help people (of course I do), but I'm more enticed to learn...to gain the knowledge, to make known what isn't. But yes fear of the ever encroaching inferior is daunting. But Q for you @Archie, what would the ENTP's inferior Si be calling them to do O_o?

Presently I live in a house on the edge of town and am happy with it. Likewise with groups you see me out on the edge of them.
Literal and mental metaphor. Nice.
 

Brontosaurie

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but the unfortunate result of that is that the inferior Fe will strike when we're not looking.

yes! i think this extends to INTJ's as well. there are some differences, but both types have, in a sense, "drive for independence" as dominant function, and "social awareness" as inferior function, albeit in opposite ways regarding the rational/irrational dichotomy.

btw i'm studying psychology right now. not very median but so far i pass the exams. i can't set the bar any higher than that with previous academic failure in mind. any experience of, or general thoughts about, this type of thing?

i think you are right about being on the edge. the idea is a good way of framing the balance issue. as TimeAsylums said, a nice metaphor.
 

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Ah, fuck. Not sure whether I want to help people (of course I do), but I'm more enticed to learn...to gain the knowledge, to make known what isn't. But yes fear of the ever encroaching inferior is daunting. But Q for you @Archie, what would the ENTP's inferior Si be calling them to do O_o?

Si is a problematic function. Si dominants tend toward the "brown study" or quiet depression. Those I've known who are too strong Si users don't go anywhere in their lives but are stuck in the past (think "virgin living at home with your mom as an adult male" (I'm not kidding)).

So the danger with Si is living too much in the past and on past glory. Or worse brooding on past failures. Or being resistant to change and growth.
 

TimeAsylums

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Si is a problematic function. Si dominants tend toward the "brown study" or quiet depression. Those I've known who are too strong Si users don't go anywhere in their lives but are stuck in the past (think "virgin living at home with your mom as an adult male" (I'm not kidding)).

So the danger with Si is living too much in the past and on past glory. Or worse brooding on past failures. Or being resistant to change and growth.


Great! No interference forcing to get the wrong job then :D I literally have almost no sense of the past (but I won't go into an ENTP monologue here), and as a result am also never sentimental etc, but sounds good to me.

The originator.
quite the useful inferior function.
 

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Literal and mental metaphor. Nice.

Thinking about it I do it everywhere. I've always sat in the back of the classroom or back of the meeting room. With crowds I stay on the edge. With concert tickets I get edge or terrace seats, and with airplane tickets I prefer aisle and back or front of the plane. Feels more comfortable.
 

Architect

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Great! No interference forcing to get the wrong job then :D I literally have almost no sense of the past (but I won't go into an ENTP monologue here), and as a result am also never sentimental etc, but sounds good to me.

The originator.
quite the useful inferior function.

Yeah ENTP's have a strong Ne dominant propelling them forward, the Si inferior doesn't seem to stand a chance against that. The ENTP's I've known are quite balanced people and don't seem to suffer much from inferior grip experiences.
 

TimeAsylums

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Yeah ENTP's have a strong Ne dominant propelling them forward, the Si inferior doesn't seem to stand a chance against that. The ENTP's I've known are quite balanced people and don't seem to suffer much from inferior grip experiences.

wait...
INTP...
praise?!?!?!



I..I...I...I....

:cutewhitekitten:


:rip:
 
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The best approach then is a median; be on the edge of the activity. Live at the edge of the town, and be on the edge of a group. When I lived in the center of cities it really jams my psychic energy. Presently I live in a house on the edge of town and am happy with it. Likewise with groups you see me out on the edge of them.

I completely agree - i live at the edge of a village - the last house before the forest. And always move towards periphary of crowds (god forbid), gatherings etc.
Possibly it has something to do with a need to be able to perceive clear escape route! Away from everybody!
 

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I completely agree - i live at the edge of a village - the last house before the forest. And always move towards periphary of crowds (god forbid), gatherings etc.
Possibly it has something to do with a need to be able to perceive clear escape route! Away from everybody!

It's the best place for the observer. Even in camera focal lengths, I prefer 20mm-21mm. This perspective is at the edge of being in the scene versus out IMO.
 

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It's the best place for the observer. Even in camera focal lengths, I prefer 20mm-21mm. This perspective is at the edge of being in the scene versus out IMO.

OF COURSE!!!!
Another piece in the puzzle.
Thanks!

I maintain my point about escape routes though :phear:
 

Architect

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That's on a full frame body equivalent (or old 35mm film).

...i see...sorry, know nothing about this...searched for lanscapes at this focal length and i think i know what you mean - something like this 20mm...?
TS560x560

If so, it's a lovely perspective.
 

Architect

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...i see...sorry, know nothing about this...searched for lanscapes at this focal length and i think i know what you mean - something like this 20mm...?

That seems to be taken on a FF.

Go onto Flickr and look up the Voightlander 20mm pancake lens group, and search for pictures taken on a Canon 5DmII/5DmIII, or the equivalent Nikon FX bodies. Those are the perspective that will show what I mean.

I've got 8mm-400mm in a series of Canon L lenses and have spent a lot of time investigating this and 20mm is my sweet spot, and I finally realized why.
 
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That seems to be taken on a FF.

Go onto Flickr and look up the Voightlander 20mm pancake lens group, and search for pictures taken on a Canon 5DmII/5DmIII, or the equivalent Nikon FX bodies. Those are the perspective that will show what I mean.

I've got 8mm-400mm in a series of Canon L lenses and have spent a lot of time investigating this and 20mm is my sweet spot, and I finally realized why.


I can see why you would spend a lot of time on this. I am constantly fascinated by the changes in the presentation of reality in various media. I often can't even find the vocabulary to explain what i like or hate about a particular perspective, or at least find it difficult to articulate why/how it moves me in a certain way. I can often quite precisely date music videos/adverts etc just by the changes wrought by camera angles/perspectives etc (?) but don't really understand how. Keep meaning to look into it...
I find this one very disconnecting, it feels like reptilian observation and there is something of impending doom to it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8IkwY5WvzE

Very interesting, thanks! Perhaps i'll add it to my hobby to-do list ;)
 

Cherry Cola

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"I think we probably have different definitions of what is meant by 'like-minded' - i do not intend it to refer to anything more than the possession of acquired faculties such as rationality, logic, reason etc etc - the sum of which tend to result in thoughfullness, tolerance, wit etc etc all of which are mostly entirely absent in the majority." // Perfectly Normal Beast, like, yesterday

OP:

If you don't see the problem with defining like-mindedness as simply being right, doing so by listing all the qualities that people who consider and want to prove themselves smart always list when they can't think of anything else to say, and then going on to equalize possesion of those qualities with moral superiority, and at the same time actively neglecting your Ne, well then perhaps writing this to you is pointless anyway. Yeah.

Funny how you're all nice towards Architect despite the fact that what he wrote hinted at precisely the same thing as Brontosaurie. Yeah you are so rational and immune to petty battles of superiority that prestige certainly couldn't have anything to do with it.

I hope your farm burns, until then have fun milking cows and doing other stimulating things.
 
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OP:

If you don't see the problem with defining like-mindedness as simply being right, doing so by listing all the qualities that people who consider and want to prove themselves smart always list when they can't think of anything else to say, and then going on to equalize possesion of those qualities with moral superiority, and at the same time actively neglecting your Ne, well then perhaps writing this to you is pointless anyway. Yeah.



Ugh...yawn...
What i don't see a problem with is listing the qualities which are necessary and usually sufficient to render individuals capable of not being total douchbags.
The context of that reply was to counter Brontosaurie's implication that my looking for like-minded individuals implied a desire for uniformity:

the "individual" person is a liberal idea and as such it depends on the idea of the free market which in turn depends on the value of diversity. this contradicts your high regard for like-minded individuals.

but if we were to primarily be an interdependent collective then like-mindedness would be a good thing...


As for

OP:Funny how you're all nice towards Architect despite the fact that what he wrote hinted at precisely the same thing as Brontosaurie. Yeah you are so rational and immune to petty battles of superiority that prestige certainly couldn't have anything to do with it.

I hope your farm burns, until then have fun milking cows and doing other stimulating things.

I was "all nice" to Architect because he entered the thread with polite curiosity:

My suspicion is that while completely attractive making such a move would be ultimately unproductive. Curious to learn the truth of the matter.

rather than by suggesting that i am extolling mental illness:

i don't consider becoming a recluse a healthy move and from what i can tell you are a case in point.
your fellow sociophobic wannabe-rational who very well might be at a more progressed and severe stage of the disease which you are glorifying

Also, if Architect "hinted" at the same point, i may have missed it because a) i purposefully ignore things which are hinted at me and b) as i've made clear on this thread or elsewhere, i am not very well-informed about MBTI or the jargon.

You hope my farm burns down? Nice. How rational of you. And not remotely petty.
 

Brontosaurie

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yeah and then you equated "like-minded" with ~"great person" instead. you want to be with good people. alright. explanatory power: 0.

these are the possible interpretations:

1. tautology ("i like good people") and oxymoron ("i am not arrogant" + "any good person is like me")
2. inconsistent application of liberal ethics

out of courtesy, i will leave the choice up to you. which one suits your tastes better?
 

Duxwing

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yeah and then you equated "like-minded" with ~"great person" instead. you want to be with good people. alright. explanatory power: 0.

these are the possible interpretations:

1. tautology ("i like good people") and oxymoron ("i am not arrogant" + "any good person is like me")
2. inconsistent application of liberal ethics

out of courtesy, i will leave the choice up to you. which one suits your tastes better?

"Like" is a vague term. I am like Lady Gaga in that she and I both speak English, but I am unlike Lady Gaga in that I am not a professional singer. Since finding a perfect copy of oneself is extremely difficult and leads to all sorts of philosophical problems, finding someone "like" oneself is a matter of finding someone whose similarity to one is above an arbitrary level. Therefore, if goodness isn't a highly weighted property in Perfectly Normal Beast's similarity calculator, he could be a bad person and hang out with good people like him.

Nevertheless, the intuitive conclusion from PNB's post is an application of the transitive property and elementary set theory:

Consider the set of all good people
Consider the set of all people like me
The set of all companions that I will accept is the intersection of the former two.

If the third set is non-empty, then I am a good person.

-Duxwing
 

Valentas

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I think the moral of the story is this:

Dude, go and find people who are strange as you. Don't look for today's idiots, vain, materialistic people, okay?

I cannot see how you going to find peace meditating for ten years in some forest. Maybe when you are 60 and pissed off by humanity during the decades to come :)
 

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I've always felt there was something 'off' about reality ever since I was a kid. I would always wonder why we were forced to be somewhere where I personally wasn't doing as well as the other kids due to boredom and the want to explore things that I felt really mattered. The feeling has lasted all throughout my educational development because teachers were telling me 'what' but never 'how' or 'why'.

It's even more apparent as an adult. I think real life, especially one's job should be more of a co-op than a hierarchy, which I feel is an obsolete sensibility due to advances in technology. Applied scarcity, competition, and Darwinism is rather silly to me and is what is ultimately holding us back as a society, IMO.

It's just that the primal behaviors that were so prevalent in the jungle are still alive and well in the modern world, therefore, we see(and exhibit unknowingly) the same unevolved sensibilities everyday that it's become trivial. It's making others aware that is hard when most look at you like you're nuts.
 
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I've always felt there was something 'off' about reality ever since I was a kid. I would always wonder why we were forced to be somewhere where I personally wasn't doing as well as the other kids due to boredom and the want to explore things that I felt really mattered. The feeling has lasted all throughout my educational development because teachers were telling me 'what' but never 'how' or 'why'.

It's even more apparent as an adult. I think real life, especially one's job should be more of a co-op than a hierarchy, which I feel is an obsolete sensibility due to advances in technology. Applied scarcity, competition, and Darwinism is rather silly to me and is what is ultimately holding us back as a society, IMO.

It's just that the primal behaviors that were so prevalent in the jungle are still alive and well in the modern world, therefore, we see(and exhibit unknowingly) the same unevolved sensibilities everyday that it's become trivial. It's making others aware that is hard when most look at you like you're nuts.


Yep, reality always felt a little 'off' to me too.
I'm completely with John Taylor Gatto on the function of the education system:


  1. It confuses the students. It presents an incoherent ensemble of information that the child needs to memorize to stay in school. Apart from the tests and trials that programming is similar to the television, it fills almost all the "free" time of children. One sees and hears something, only to forget it again.
  2. It teaches them to accept their class affiliation.
  3. It makes them indifferent.
  4. It makes them emotionally dependent.
  5. It makes them intellectually dependent.
  6. It teaches them a kind of self-confidence that requires constant confirmation by experts (provisional self-esteem).
  7. It makes it clear to them that they cannot hide, because they are always supervised.
- From "Dumbing us down"

Not to mention the consequences of shoving 30 twelve year olds in a room together and forcing them to compete...
All the 'rote & wrong' system did for me was give me a horror of being compelled to memorize endless lists of seemingly unconnected facts.
This Chomsky quote sums it up nicely:

"The Enlightenment ideal of education was captured in the image of education as laying down a string that students follow in their own ways, developing their creativity and independence of mind. The alternative, to be rejected, is the image of pouring water into a vessel – and a very leaky one, as all of us know from experience. The latter approach includes teaching to test and other mechanisms that destroy students' interest and seek to fit them into a mold, easily controlled. All too familiar today."
Noam Chomsky

So it's no wonder that we haven't learnt to discard all that jungle nonsense - the chest-thumping, peacocking, rivalry, hierachy and so on since all we teach our children is how to fit in/conform to that reality which is predicated on those primal behaviours.

Now, look at me like i'm nuts! :)
 
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I think the moral of the story is this:

Dude, go and find people who are strange as you. Don't look for today's idiots, vain, materialistic people, okay?

I cannot see how you going to find peace meditating for ten years in some forest. Maybe when you are 60 and pissed off by humanity during the decades to come :)

Ten years meditating in some forest...sounds like heaven! :)
Well, just being in the forest - meditating would require that elusive 'off' button that i can't seem to locate!

Also, YES - looking for people as strange as me is what i'm doing!
 

Redfire

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I did think about it. It just doesn't seem realistic to me, where would I go? How would I support myself? A big city seems much more impersonal and a more practical place to live to me. Even if you want to live as a hermit (which I don't, although it crossed my mind). Besides, if I you live in a tiny village as a hermit you are quickly identified as one, while in a city no one will actually care.
 
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I did think about it. It just doesn't seem realistic to me, where would I go? How would I support myself? A big city seems much more impersonal and a more practical place to live to me. Even if you want to live as a hermit (which I don't, although it crossed my mind). Besides, if I you live in a tiny village as a hermit you are quickly identified as one, while in a city no one will actually care.

Oh no, do you think they might be on to me? - this is my 5th summer here and i haven't once attended the village party!
I understand that a big city is probably far more impersonal/easy to hide in, but village existence is far more private compared to surburbia.
Yes, they've probably realised i'm not a sociable person but they're used to their privacy too and are not nosey/intrusive.
But you have considered it...that is partly what i was trying to find out. Not that i'm polling the other types, but for some i guess it wouldn't even come up.
 

Redfire

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I'm sure at the very least they are curious about you, aren't they?

I'm sure many INTPs thought about it. It comes down to whether you think society can bring you something or not. I also think those who think about it are less likely to be reading a forum. To me what you did is a constant possibility inside my head, but I may never actually do it. In fact: I find it quite impressive that you actually pulled it off. I'd probably be to passive to make the move.

I read a book last year called "The Map and the Territory", by Michel Houellebecq. The main thing I liked about it was how the loner protagonist is seen as just that: a loner. Not a weird, sociopathic freak; just someone who prefers to be alone.

By the way, how is village existence more private? That interests me. Is it also truly more quiet? Noise is the main reason why I sometimes think about leaving the city, but then I think that different types of noise are present everywhere to a certain extent.

Edit: Por cierto, no hablo portugués pero si lo entiendo (a veces). Quizás vos también entendés español. Y una vez visité un pueblo de mis bisabuelos en Asturias, quizás es parecido al tuyo.
 
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I'm sure at the very least they are curious about you, aren't they?

I'm sure many INTPs thought about it. It comes down to whether you think society can bring you something or not. I also think those who think about it are less likely to be reading a forum. To me what you did is a constant possibility inside my head, but I may never actually do it. In fact: I find it quite impressive that you actually pulled it off. I'd probably be to passive to make the move.

I read a book last year called "The Map and the Territory", by Michel Houellebecq. The main thing I liked about it was how the loner protagonist is seen as just that: a loner. Not a weird, sociopathic freak; just someone who prefers to be alone.

By the way, how is village existence more private? That interests me. Is it also truly more quiet? Noise is the main reason why I sometimes think about leaving the city, but then I think that different types of noise are present everywhere to a certain extent.

Edit: Por cierto, no hablo portugués pero si lo entiendo (a veces). Quizás vos también entendés español. Y una vez visité un pueblo de mis bisabuelos en Asturias, quizás es parecido al tuyo.

People being curious about you is the constant curse of the recluse!

I'm still not sure whether society had anything to give me, or me it, but after years of living in it and coming up empty, i'd had enough and felt i had to try a different way. Virtually all the people i've admired in my life (very nearly all!) were not real people in my life but ones i encountered via their various writing/music/art etc so i figured i wouldn't be shutting myself off from anything which i'd previously valued. Except maybe the chance of actually meeting people like that in real life...but the odds seemed so low as to not be worth hanging around for.
I got lucky with economic circumstances, if i'd been 5 or 10 yrs younger i'm sure i'd have missed this boat and had to go a different way. I constantly think about this possibilty and feel really sad, even guilty for others like me trapped by economic circumstances.
Village life is definately more private, if simply by the virtue of distance - my nearest neighbours are far enough away so i don't hear any of their noise and they can't hear whatever music i want to blast any time of day or night. Nobody peers in to my windows and i don't have to hear about their lawns everytime i step outside.
Btw, i have never joined ANY forum til this one a few days ago - i guess total isolation has brought out some hidden social animal in me!
Will definately look into "The Map and the Territory", sounds wonderful.

Sorry, my portuguese and spanish is awful, particularly written (it helps isolate me, hehe) but i understood that - yes, possibly similar - loads of little white houses, olive trees, pine forest, old ladies with funny headscarves, searing heat?! Any possibility for you to take it over?
 

Redfire

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Asturias was a bit cold, in fact, even though it was summer. A dry cold that I liked very much. The previous week I had been in Madrid and it was unbelievably hot, so that was interesting.

As for joining a forum, you just joined and you already have more posts than me. I mostly stalk it; I learned a lot of things, but I'm usually too lazy to post.

I'm glad that the whole thing worked out for you. I guess the main thing that will keep me around cities is my career; whatever I end up doing. I also learned some things from socializing, but lately I've been thinking that I wouldn't be too different without said experiences.
 
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