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by unflxw 927 days ago
> I'm an actual intellectual

It is literally impossible to make fun of this website. It is, truly, beyond parody. I think that I'm being hyperbolic in saying shit like "everyone in this website believes they're the smartest person alive", and five minutes later I get a reply with a dimly-lit picture of a Mensa certificate. Every single time.

2 comments

Hi unflxw. My name is Kris. A human being. I thought I introduce myself because it does not feel like you would talk to me the way you do here if we meet in person.

You are not interacting with a website. You are interacting with real world human beings. And you are interacting in quite an abrasive and frankly hurtful way. Are you aware of that? Is that your intention?

I really don't care what you think of me. I hoped to have a nice chat about the robot dogs. But I guess you preferred to throw insults around. Sad. Anyway. Hope you will have a good day.

Hi Kris. Thank you for reaching out in this way. I am sorry about what I said, and especially so about how I said it.

My undoubtedly harsh words intended to disqualify a line of thinking that I saw as logically dishonest and ethically dubious. Regardless, I overreached and turned it into a personal attack, which was not what I intended.

I've had enough of this terrible fucking website, and the terrible fucking people in it, even if there are also plenty of wonderful, insightful people in it, worth participating in conversation with.

The latter, to answer the previously stated question, are why I have participated here, even if it means having to share a space with people who do not feel the slightest tinge of doubt, self-awareness or embarrassment whilst crowning themselves "actual intellectuals".

This website brings the worst on me, and it brings the worst in others. Everyone here acts like they're so fucking smart, saying the most inane shit to each other, pretending each comment is a philosophy treaty, and patting each other on the back for it. I'm sure we're all really nice people when you meet us in person, even if we're unbearable shitheads in here.

And in trying to counter the hypocrisy, the self-reinforcing bubble of fake intellectualism, I too became part of it and turned into one of the unbearable shitheads. What a waste of time.

Website could be full of actual trolls much subtler than you're used to.
But I’m an actual intellectual worker - I’m an academic and employed to work purely with my mind, rather than a plumber or a mechanic who have to solve practical challenges. You’re also the one indulging in hyperbole and gross universal generalisations, hence, you’re the very pseud you're decrying.