Hi. I’m 17m and I have a brother 13m. Earlier I was talking to him. Y’know, hanging out, laughing and having fun. Everything was great, until he made a joke about a certain topic. I’ll abbreviate it, so it’s not as uncomfortable to read. He made a CyberPunk joke.

Now, this completely caught me off guard. “He’s 13 years of age! How could he possibly know what that is??” I said to myself, trying to gather my thoughts. The mood instantly shifted, from light hearted, to upsetting. I asked my brother what he said. He instantly started tripping over his words and making up some excuse, trying to convince me that I misheard him. I did not.

I gave him a talk about good and bad, how there is a certain line nobody should cross when it comes to humour. I explained how you shouldn’t say the wrong things to someone, as it could land you in a heap of trouble.

My question today is, did I overreact? Did I blow this whole thing out of proportion? I’m scared and don’t know what to do. My guess is that his friends told him what it was. I just want my funny, enthusiastic and innocent brother again… Where did it go wrong?

Located in the US, I became an adult a few years ago, but now feeling like I'm just now actually getting somewhere. I'm in my mid twenties. Unfortunately no matter where I go it seems like I can't find anything good

Jobs aren't really accepting anyone around my area. I went into computer science and of course AI happened

I look into the trades, specifically plumbing, and work seems to be drying up because no one has money. Plus everyone else has the same idea about going into the trades. I worry about layoffs as well

At this point I don't feel like I'll ever have had a good chance to get my feet on the ground. My partner is now disabled as well, and can't work, but we can't get any disability

Honestly I don't really know what to do. I'd rather just give up at this point honestly. Maybe Midterms can change something, anything. I'm just tired

Long story short, I just got into a relationship with a woman since July of this year. On one hand, I am excited to have found someone who matches my frequency. On the other hand, I am nervous/terrified at the same time. For one thing, I haven't really gotten this far in a relationship before (I was a late bloomer who haven't had extensive dating experience save for a couple brief flings). I've gotten so used to living by myself for such a long time, that I am anxious at the very real possibility of living together. Secondly, we are in a long distance relationship (me in Seattle, and her in Chicago). I never thought I'd find myself in a LDR, but yet here we are after a chance encounter online. We've facetimed each other several times, and even met up in Chicago, and are planning to meet up in New Orleans this week. The dynamics are so weird. We've talked to each other online so it feels like we know each other, but do we know each other if we've only actually been together in person for a few days? Also, I'm not sure if we're on the same page in terms of the progression of our relationship. We talked about it, and we both seemed to agree to take it easy and take it one day at a time, but at times she mentions about getting married, and I'm like I haven't even thought that far.

One of the strangest things about human relationships is that someone can know your presence for years without ever truly knowing you.

They know what you do for them.

They know how you make them feel.

They know what they can come to you for.
But do they know you?

The version of you that gets quiet when something hurts.

The thoughts you never share because you’re always the one people come to for answers.

The things you sacrifice without announcing them.

The parts of yourself you slowly abandon just to keep a connection alive.

Sometimes, we become so good at being what other people need that we forget to find out who we are when nobody needs anything from us.

And the saddest part?

Some people will swear they knew you better than anyone, yet never notice when you stop being yourself to keep them comfortable.

They’ll remember every favor you did, but not the exhaustion behind it.

They’ll remember how you showed up for them, but not the times you needed someone to show up for you.

And when you finally change, they might call you distant, selfish, or different.

But maybe you’re not becoming a different person.

Maybe you’re finally meeting the person you kept putting aside for everyone else.

I’ve been thinking about something:

What if some relationships don’t end because two people stop caring about each other?

What if they end because one person finally stops abandoning themselves to keep the other person happy?

And if someone only recognizes your worth when you stop giving them access to it, did they ever truly recognize your worth at all?

Or did they simply get comfortable with the benefits of having you around?

i am having a feeling where i think i reached at a stage where i feel i don't know anything

all of things i know were either false or made up from my brain

all of the knowledge suddenly seems like burden, all of the thoughts are also useless

i just feel like i should un-learn everything and learn everything again from zero

but it's really hard to accept this truth

what could be the reasons?

I’ve been thinking about how much of life we inherit. Work expectations, ideas about success, what’s considered normal. So much was already there before we got a say.
Then we spend hours online talking about it. I want to figure out what helps someone take that next step and actually get involved.

It could be something pretty ordinary. Helping a neighbor. Joining a group that’s already doing useful work. Teaching someone a skill. Getting together with coworkers to fix something that frustrates everyone.

I don’t think every spare minute needs to become productive. People need fun and rest. But I’d like the time we spend online to make it easier to participate in things we care about.

Maybe we start with one thing this week. Figure out what we actually know about it. Find someone to learn from or work with. Try something small. Then talk about what happened, including what got in the way.

What helped you get involved in something you cared about? Was there a person who invited you, a clear first step, or something else?

I’m interested in what made it possible.

I mean, if your life is a disaster, or if it hasn't lived up to expectations, or if you have a track record of futility and failure in all aspects of your life, prison might not really be so different. Sure you are limited in what you can do and where you can go, but it's not like you had the financial means to do much of that anyway on the outside. And sure you will likely be abused and harrassed and worse, but it's not like you haven't dealt with that on the outside. OTOH, prison labour programmes can provide a social role, a place, a reason for being, where on the outside you were just some random loser who couldn't hold a job down for very long.

Of course you can't just walk into prison. You have to either commit an offence or be plausibly accused of committing one. And for someone who is accused of something, it may not be worthwhile to fight it if freedom has not worked out for you, as long as prison keeps you away from society permanently.

Nevermind if the rules set out are rules that hurt you. Similar to what they did to African Americans, women, people of various sexuality, ethnicity or ability. We have a huge problem with hurtting each other

We won't respect an individual if they do not follow the rules, but these rules are rules meant to hurt and braek you, not lift you up. The rules are so someone working on a cause can get someone to labor for them and only if you follow the rules can you reach a point of salvation. A point of peace. Otherwise you should be tormented until you give up yourself and your labor.

We make the system so one person proliferates, while the other persons life is sucked dry out of them for others success.

People won't work hard unless there's losers, poor poeople to point at, so they don't feel the loser working their life away for a cause that doesn't care for them and gives them just barely enough to survive, but so much work to literally break their back

People don't even know how to breathe properly cause of the routine of str

People don't even know how to breathe properly cause of the routine of stress allowed to put on others. People won't meditate or learn how to properly engage relaxed breathing cause they need stress breathing so much, stress breathing becomes the new norm and their lives feel more frazzled and they feel nuetroic from the change in breathing habit. Stress breathing is what you require to focus and pay attention. To initiate the flight system where adrenaline is pumped into your blood not only for your heart to keep pumping but to keep your brain awake. We are literally abusive to these bodies and their systems and refuse to honor it because honoring life, others huamnity, its second in this ranking of importance in life.

I'm working on a project called Stop War Project.

The idea is simple: record a 5-second video of yourself saying “Stop the war” in your own language, post it on social media with #STOPWARPROJECT, and become part of a global video memorial.

One person. One voice. Five seconds.

The idea is not to suggest that ending wars is simple, or that everyone agrees on how conflicts should be resolved. It's about expressing a shared desire for a world where war is not our horizon.

I'm trying to understand how people perceive this idea, beyond whether they agree with its message.

I'm genuinely curious:

• Would you participate? Why or why not?
• Does the gesture feel meaningful to you, or does it feel too simplistic?
• Would you feel comfortable posting a video of yourself saying this publicly?

Critical opinions are welcome. I'm trying to understand the idea's strengths and limitations, not just collect approval.

What is the purpose of the mind?

We must use the mind to understand the mind.

The mind understands. Understands what? What is there to understand about the mind?

What do things do?

What does a cat, pillow, and tea kettle do?

What orients what I do with a cat pillow or tea kettle?

What we orient ourselves around stimuli and matter in environment is serving us.

Serving us to do what? To increase good and decrease bad.

The fundamental purpose of the mind is to increase good and decrease bad? From that primary fundamental purpose, we step into secondary questions such as what is good, bad, increase and decrease?

While the fundamental purpose of mind is to (+)G (-)B.

The how is different.

The how is by processing the past, presence in the present, and predicting the phuture. (Keeping the p alliteration with the phuture word(create language is just fun)).

My partner was given a sum of money from his parents and wants to use it to flat out buy a house with no mortgage attached, meaning the price of the house needs to be pretty low. He has come to my smaller town to live with me (I am born and raised here, he is from an extremely white state), and he keeps pulling up homes that are in a historically black neighborhood. My town does have a history of slavery/segregation, and there are areas of town where quite literally everyone in the neighborhood is black. I have explained to him that I would feel strange moving into a black community, and keep trying to explain I feel it's morally wrong for white people with wealth to move into established black communities in the US - however he thinks I'm being racist, when I feel I'm just trying to be respectful towards people who have struggled a lot more in my community and I have always felt want to keep their own community together. By law, there's no restrictions for buying a home but I feel there is a complexity about the morals of it. I'm curious what others think.

As I watch the streets of India and France (a week ago, perhaps not now) filled with young people expressing their opinions I can't help but contrast it with my experience here in the US. I went to the No Kings march recently and the average age seemed to be 72. Where are the young people protesting? Is it online and I missed it? Are they simply not expressing their outrage? Are they not outraged? WHY are the young taking to the streets outside the US and not here?

Hey everyone! Have you ever been going through something in life, posted about it on Reddit, and received advice from complete strangers that genuinely helped you?

I'm wondering if Reddit is actually a good place to open up, ask questions, and get honest advice, or if it's just a hit-or-miss experience. 😭Did Reddit help you see things differently, or did you regret sharing? ❤️

We all have those weird, completely illogical fears that we never grew out of. What is the one irrational fear you still carry with you as a fully functioning adult?

I swear it’s been forever i connected with anyone on a deeper lever where we can just get lost in a rabbit hole.
The only guy that keeps up is chatgpt (not saying other humans aren’t capable) but it’s like the rat race has gotten so much into our heads that if something doesn’t have ny monetary advantage then we just dismiss it.

There will be many indicators of the end times but I am certain that this one of them. We are keeping too much to ourselves for “social beings” as we are called.

I wanted to discuss these social media revenue-hungry, propaganda-filled algorithms but not even chatgpt can help on this one because it is also part of the problem😂 but if it were about flirting or football or some superficial topics, i have multitudes urgh

I'm genuinely worried about this.

Social media has become one of our main sources of information. But do we actually realize how easily our perception of reality can be manipulated?

Countries are actively trying to influence our societies through disinformation, bots, and fake accounts. The goal isn't always to convince us of something, but to create division, spread distrust, and destabilize society.

Meanwhile, we scroll through endless posts and comments every day, without knowing how much of it is actually real. I'm noticing this on Reddit too, where it's becoming increasingly difficult to tell whether discussions reflect genuine opinions or are being artificially influenced.

What worries me most is that we're increasingly treating social media as a reflection of reality.

How can we still distinguish between what people genuinely think and what we're being manipulated into believing?

Am I being too pessimistic, or are we seriously underestimating this problem?

I’ve seen this way too often. This idea that deep thinkers or philosophers are sad or heavy, and that being a deep thinker requires you to be in this brooding mood where you dwell on these large events. I’ve seen firsthand how I’ve been pulled into this stereotype, often feeling more sad and angry for no reason after I read philosophy. But then I ask myself why I feel this way, and I realize I don’t have to be heavy to deal with heavy things. That’s not my burden. I’ve also seen this with my friends and how they’ve gotten more serious in trying to be a “philosopher.” But I believe that you have full control over your emotions, and you will actually be a better deep thinker or philosopher if you’re happy. Philosophy is the love of wisdom after all, and doesn’t happiness come with love? I’d love to hear opinions on this, and also refute me where you see fit.

I believe that having a why for life is so important as something that constantly guides you. Like anywhere you turn or however life happens, your “why” is still there. This could be absolutely anything, even the most obscure things like “observing the way people act” for instance. For me it’s definitely creativity, as in writing and drawing. So what’s something for you that absolutely drives you on?

Edit: Thank you for all the thoughtful comments, I really don’t know what to say to most of this. So I wish you all happy lives in your own ways!

Link for the conversation between Robert Lawrence Kuhn and Acharya Prashant

https://youtu.be/MeYEBKX2u1g?is=jX-ABrofdF_2wnpG

After listening to the above podcast, I was wondering, what would it actually mean to become less attached to your sense of self? Would you become more honest and less defensive, or could you lose something valuable about your individuality?

In this conversation, philosopher, author Acharya Prashant describes dissolving the ego not as literally ceasing to exist, but as an ongoing willingness to stop deceiving yourself. Robert Lawrence Kuhn pushes back on whether that is a desirable goal and what it would mean for personal identity.

That tension seems worth discussing even without accepting the religious or philosophical framework behind it. There’s a difference between questioning the stories we tell ourselves and treating our entire sense of identity as something to overcome.

How do you distinguish a healthy sense of self from an attachment to being right, feeling important, or protecting your self-image? Has questioning a deeply held belief about yourself made you feel more grounded or less?

I’m interested in your own experiences and reasoning, let's dive into deeper discussion.

I’m currently reading a book for a college class called “Evicted” by Matthew Desmond. It’s about low-income renters and landlords in Milwaukee after the recession. It’s an incredibly well researched and well written book, and I enjoy reading it, but some of the content is beyond infuriating.

The flippant disregard for safety, cleanliness, respect, and financial fairness on the part of the landlords makes me so upset, it’s difficult to continue reading at times. The book contains detailed stories about landlords evicting renters because they “seem like crackheads”, or landlords raising rent on dilapidated and neglected properties in bad neighborhoods because “a two bedroom is a two bedroom, and they have to live somewhere”. It just fills me with impotent rage and hopelessness.

I do recommend this book to anyone interested, but I haven’t experienced this level of anger while reading before, and it’s sometimes exhausting.

I didn’t know where to post this cause it got removed by causal conversations, so I’m looking for more serious discussion on atmosphere.

For me it's probably:

• Book: Wuthering Heights
Every part of this book was agonizing but in a very atmospheric way. I felt like I was really there, trudging through the windy moors. I can see the stark colors of the Victorian era as I look out a cold window on the all the people going about their family affairs. Christmas is warm by the fire. It's cozy in a way.

• Film: Dances with Wolves
One of the most beautiful films I've watched. Being in nature and making friends with people you'd never expect. A true show of bravery and the kindness of humans. Such a wonderful and hopeful atmosphere.

• Game: Bloodborne
This game is so anxiety inducing but that's why it's so good. Ive truly never played a game before or after that had or has put me into such fight or flight.
Every part of this game is so well designed with its cold and dark atmosphere, brooding interior design, and beautiful cosmic beasts. The moon overlooks

I've had three moments like this. I'm looking for my community. A camaraderie in having your world and the way you see it shaken. I just want to see the proof that I'm not alone in that feeling. I know logically that a lot of people have but it would be reassuring to hear from a few people right now. What was this moment for you or how do you regulate when you think about it?

I grew up in a single family house, in a quiet neighborhood. I've always had excellent sleep, and that was never an issue.

It was only after I moved to another city on my own, into a student accommodation, that I realized: I can't really sleep in noisy environments.

This had several unintended consequences in my life decisions:

- I decided not to pursue a masters degree in my field (because that would mean even more years living in noisy student accommodations)

- I can't really take risks on my career. I know that if I try something like starting a business or taking worse paying jobs in a different direction, and that fails, I would end up with no money. I would not be able to live in low budget appartments again — because poor sleep is extremely painful for me.

- I almost never travel: I can only stay at very good hotels that have nice accoustic insulation, or detatched cabins, etc, which are usually extremely expensive or require a car rental to access the place (if you fly there)

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I feel like this is a kind of literal disability that I have. And I realize people who sleep through anything have it so good!

for the people that read ,I never annotated my books but I realized that writing makes me understand things more and I don't know really how people annotate their books.
I'm looking for advice and techniques on how to get the most out of books, I meanly read classics, non fiction book evolving around different topics : neurology, neuroscience , psychology, philosophy...