Optimistic nihilism has been my jam ever since I learned about it last year. It really helped with my midlife crisis and some of my religious trauma, as well as my eternal malaise and disappointment with myself for not being more ambitious. You don't have to justify your hobbies or the tiny, silly things and moments that bring you joy; they're already fleeting, so there's no need to speed up the timetable. Most people ARE average, and it's okay that you are, too. Everything changes, including you, and everything ends, including you. Have as much fun as you can that doesn't compromise your mental or physical health, and let others do the same without your commentary or opinion. Great video, Dr. Ana, and thanks for all you do to uplift us.
The key is in not doing so not compromising your wellbeing and that of others should I add. That would mean not indulging in vices and not using and abusing others for pleasure... if embracing nihilism don't fall into the justification of all selfishness based on the meaninglessness as in the lack of values or morals. Might sound religious but it's simple, doing these things results in broken trust and toxicity. Why are people lonely? Because they been abused and lost trust.
I think that this will be the longest quote, but it helped me a lot: “You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There's been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. [...] Earth has survived everything in its time. It will certainly survive us. If all the nuclear weapons in the world went off at once and all the plants, all the animals died and the earth was sizzling hot for a hundred thousand years, life would survive, somewhere: under the soil, frozen in Arctic ice. Sooner or later, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would spread again. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. Of course, it would be very different from what it is now, but the earth would survive our folly, only we would not. [...] Think about oxygen. Necessary for life now, but oxygen is actually a metabolic poison, a corrosive glass, like fluorine. When oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells some three billion years ago, it created a crisis for all other life on earth. Those plants were polluting the environment, exhaling a lethal gas. Earth eventually had an atmosphere incompatible with life. Nevertheless, life on earth took care of itself. In the thinking of the human being a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago we didn't have cars, airplanes, computers or vaccines. It was a whole different world, but to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can't imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven't got the humility to try. We've been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we're gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.” -- Jurassic Park (one of my favorite books)
I am graduating with an Environmental Science degree. My senior project was running a climate grief circle. Thanks for this content. I too detest the heat.
Thank you Ana. This video helped me a lot as someone who struggles with the fleeting nature of everything. I especially loved the last point. I’ve always felt comforted by the fact that life for others will go on after I die, but I never thought about it from the perspective of shared consciousness. I’m also reassessing my spiritual beliefs at this point in my life, so it’s nice to hear what other people think.
I started to think in a very similar way, which made living life and experiencing things more enjoyable and less fleating. I didn't know there was a term for how I felt, but I'm glad I know now and that someone elee feels the exact same way. Thank you so much for sharing, Ana!
I can come to terms with the consequences of climate change for myself. But what about the social aspects? How do you cope with the knowledge, that so many people in the world are and will be much more affected by climate change than you are? I'm not worried about the extinction of humanity, I'm worried about endless suffering of billions of people, many of them innocent in the sense that they didn't do anything to cause climate change but have to live with the consequences like heat, hunger, extreme weather and the social conflicts that arise from that. How do you come to terms with that without trying to do something against it? Serious question! I'm very curious what your thoughts on this are :)
i lose my faith in humanity so often it triggers my inner misanthrope so although on one hand i can get super depressed at the thought of the world ending catastrophically, on the other hand if we were ever wiped out as a species at least the suffering and injustices we see today will cease to exist
hey Ana! I came from your psychology channel and heard you mention your PhD dissertation on hookup culture. I'm wondering if you'd be interested in making a book review on The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry? There seems to be some controversy around her book Would really love to know your opinion!!
This sounds really interesting, thanks for the suggestion! Buying it right now and I'll make a video if I have enough thoughts about it in either direction. What sort of controversy, out of curiosity?
@@BookandHearthher book was criticized by radical feminists as not radical enough and conservatives as not conservative enough. While she makes many points in her book that are backed by science, people have criticized her for arguing from an evolutionary standpoint that ultimately aligns with the viewpoints of Peterson.
Seems like all of these coping mechanisms trend toward a buddhist-philosophy style - save maybe the last one. Recognizing that lots of our suffering is formed from an attachment to the way things are and one relief is to accept that everything is ever-changing. FWIW, I don't think climate change will end the human species. If anything, something like 3 people in a lab making a virus that is more deadly and more contagious than covid will but I digress... It will probably be a lot harder though.
Every generation always thinks the world is terrible and its going to end but here we are. we will be replaced with another generation that will think the same thing 😂 isnt the cycle beautiful ❤️
Hi Ana, I really like your work, you do a good job breaking things down. Could you make a video discussing your recent findings about collective consciousness. I know you already talked about a bit of it in the carl jung video, but a discussion of the collective consciousness from your pov and other sources would be nice. Good day : )
I feel like I have a lot more to learn about it before I discuss it in depth, but the philosophical question of consciousness is something I'll be exploring a lot in the novel I'm currently working on. Fiction seems like a good avenue for this cause I have more questions than I do answers :)
8:27 actually I think there is evidence of a quantum field that extends indefinitely where atoms are waves on this field.so yea all matter in the universe are part of this giant quantum blanket can communicate with each other in real time across all distances in the universe. Go figure!
I'm so interested in quantum physics but it's such a struggle for me to find credible sources on it! A lot of the people who discuss it from a spiritual standpoint feel a little bit dishonest to me, like they're stretching scientific findings to make conclusions that actual quantum physicists would never make. Do you recommend any books/speakers on this topic who you trust?
I get all my information on physics from the most credible source… RUclips lol. but to the best of my knowledge I love Sabine hossenfelder is pretty good, but as far as the overlap between physics and spirituality, You will hardly see, if any, where their credibility isn’t questionable. Those two communities do not see eye to eye most of the time but I’d be happy if anybody else would chime in and let me know of any good sources!
I can't really speak to the spiritual side of things - but as a mathematician interested in popularization I *do* have a lot of thoughts on public conception of these abstract physics things. TL;DR: The clear answer is to look into Feynmann's works. Knowing the mathematics, I know that if you have a strong understanding of the math you can truly understand these non-intuitive phenomena and theories. Mathematics is essentially an objective language that was created to discuss scientific phenomena. We needed some objective language because human intuition doesn't map onto the science well. So, one option is to try to delve into the physics/math but honestly if you don't already know a lot mathematics or physics that seems like too much work to ask of you. SO, what can be done in that case? Well, I'm not convinced that you *can't* have a meaningful understanding of quantum mechanics, relativity, all these other physics things without knowing the mathematics. Although I have not come across any writing by someone without these qualifications that I felt like gave a fully correct summarization. Even experts in related fields get these things wrong... Michio Kaku's latest book on quantum computing is riddled with basic errors... In sum, my advice is this: 1. If it is something on physics/math/etc, try to make sure whatever source your learning from has requisite technical background in physics. I would start by watching/reading Feynmann's public facing works. He was a great science communicator and had an intuition for the physics better than literally everyone in the world in his time. 2. Continually ask yourself, "What does this mean in a physical way?" and "What would it mean if this is not true?" Due to great abstraction, you'll find no shortage of metaphor in reading about physics. Waves/particles/fields, all these are in a sense abstractions. Wave-particle duality and all that. What could "Time moves at different speeds in different reference frames." even mean? A speed is relative to time, so... are there different times moving different relative to other times? Is there an example showing what this means in terms of something I, myself, could observe and what would it be like if the universe didn't work like that? ruclips.net/video/lZ3bPUKo5zc/видео.htmlsi=_xKPNol-3kSkobit this lecture gives a great intuitive discussion on what do we mean by 'wave-particle duality.' If I were to summarize its point in a sentence, calling the quantum phenomena wave-particle duality is kind of like calling a cylinder a type of cube-sphere duality. Really, thinking of a cylinder as some cube-sphere hybrid is a little odd, even if it makes some sense. Really, it is its own thing different from a cube or a sphere. 3. If you can, ask your local nerd. Be humble, and don't worry about getting details wrong. I'm a nerd who knows lots of other nerds and can confidently say we love spinning yarns about this shit. See the above writing... 4. Continue to be open in curious even though this seems daunting or may seem out of your depth. I think truthfully, every field's details contain nuance that can seem impassable - just in physics, that wall is more visible. It is easier to tell that there is a lot you might not be getting. I'd say, explore anyway. Explore broadly.
I worry about many things but not really about climate change. I am not in gen z though, Im a millennial. I think it is because I realise its out of my control. I can do things but I know it won't stop or slow it unless a whole bunch of other people do it as well.
I'm always so inspired by people who can so naturally accept what cannot be controlled! For others, it takes quite a bit of work, but once you master it, it's so liberating
Optimistic nihilism has been my jam ever since I learned about it last year. It really helped with my midlife crisis and some of my religious trauma, as well as my eternal malaise and disappointment with myself for not being more ambitious. You don't have to justify your hobbies or the tiny, silly things and moments that bring you joy; they're already fleeting, so there's no need to speed up the timetable. Most people ARE average, and it's okay that you are, too. Everything changes, including you, and everything ends, including you. Have as much fun as you can that doesn't compromise your mental or physical health, and let others do the same without your commentary or opinion. Great video, Dr. Ana, and thanks for all you do to uplift us.
Your comment sounds like such a comforting pep talk :)
The key is in not doing so not compromising your wellbeing and that of others should I add. That would mean not indulging in vices and not using and abusing others for pleasure... if embracing nihilism don't fall into the justification of all selfishness based on the meaninglessness as in the lack of values or morals. Might sound religious but it's simple, doing these things results in broken trust and toxicity. Why are people lonely? Because they been abused and lost trust.
I think that this will be the longest quote, but it helped me a lot:
“You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There's been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. [...] Earth has survived everything in its time. It will certainly survive us. If all the nuclear weapons in the world went off at once and all the plants, all the animals died and the earth was sizzling hot for a hundred thousand years, life would survive, somewhere: under the soil, frozen in Arctic ice. Sooner or later, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would spread again. The evolutionary process would begin again. It might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. Of course, it would be very different from what it is now, but the earth would survive our folly, only we would not. [...] Think about oxygen. Necessary for life now, but oxygen is actually a metabolic poison, a corrosive glass, like fluorine. When oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells some three billion years ago, it created a crisis for all other life on earth. Those plants were polluting the environment, exhaling a lethal gas. Earth eventually had an atmosphere incompatible with life. Nevertheless, life on earth took care of itself. In the thinking of the human being a hundred years is a long time. A hundred years ago we didn't have cars, airplanes, computers or vaccines. It was a whole different world, but to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can't imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven't got the humility to try. We've been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we're gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.”
-- Jurassic Park (one of my favorite books)
I am graduating with an Environmental Science degree. My senior project was running a climate grief circle. Thanks for this content. I too detest the heat.
Thank you Ana. This video helped me a lot as someone who struggles with the fleeting nature of everything. I especially loved the last point. I’ve always felt comforted by the fact that life for others will go on after I die, but I never thought about it from the perspective of shared consciousness. I’m also reassessing my spiritual beliefs at this point in my life, so it’s nice to hear what other people think.
I'm so glad to hear it resonated with you!
I started to think in a very similar way, which made living life and experiencing things more enjoyable and less fleating. I didn't know there was a term for how I felt, but I'm glad I know now and that someone elee feels the exact same way. Thank you so much for sharing, Ana!
I can come to terms with the consequences of climate change for myself. But what about the social aspects? How do you cope with the knowledge, that so many people in the world are and will be much more affected by climate change than you are? I'm not worried about the extinction of humanity, I'm worried about endless suffering of billions of people, many of them innocent in the sense that they didn't do anything to cause climate change but have to live with the consequences like heat, hunger, extreme weather and the social conflicts that arise from that. How do you come to terms with that without trying to do something against it? Serious question! I'm very curious what your thoughts on this are :)
i lose my faith in humanity so often it triggers my inner misanthrope so although on one hand i can get super depressed at the thought of the world ending catastrophically, on the other hand if we were ever wiped out as a species at least the suffering and injustices we see today will cease to exist
I feel you, it can be hard to see the good in humanity sometimes!
Wooow, this is such an interesting topic!
hey Ana! I came from your psychology channel and heard you mention your PhD dissertation on hookup culture. I'm wondering if you'd be interested in making a book review on The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry? There seems to be some controversy around her book Would really love to know your opinion!!
This sounds really interesting, thanks for the suggestion! Buying it right now and I'll make a video if I have enough thoughts about it in either direction. What sort of controversy, out of curiosity?
@@BookandHearthher book was criticized by radical feminists as not radical enough and conservatives as not conservative enough. While she makes many points in her book that are backed by science, people have criticized her for arguing from an evolutionary standpoint that ultimately aligns with the viewpoints of Peterson.
Seems like all of these coping mechanisms trend toward a buddhist-philosophy style - save maybe the last one. Recognizing that lots of our suffering is formed from an attachment to the way things are and one relief is to accept that everything is ever-changing.
FWIW, I don't think climate change will end the human species. If anything, something like 3 people in a lab making a virus that is more deadly and more contagious than covid will but I digress... It will probably be a lot harder though.
Yes, I relate to a lot of Buddhist thinking! And also Stoic philosophy. Thanks for sharing, it's interesting to hear different people's predictions
Every generation always thinks the world is terrible and its going to end but here we are. we will be replaced with another generation that will think the same thing 😂 isnt the cycle beautiful ❤️
Hi Ana, I really like your work, you do a good job breaking things down. Could you make a video discussing your recent findings about collective consciousness. I know you already talked about a bit of it in the carl jung video, but a discussion of the collective consciousness from your pov and other sources would be nice. Good day : )
I feel like I have a lot more to learn about it before I discuss it in depth, but the philosophical question of consciousness is something I'll be exploring a lot in the novel I'm currently working on. Fiction seems like a good avenue for this cause I have more questions than I do answers :)
I understand, looking forward to the book ^^
8:27 actually I think there is evidence of a quantum field that extends indefinitely where atoms are waves on this field.so yea all matter in the universe are part of this giant quantum blanket can communicate with each other in real time across all distances in the universe. Go figure!
I'm so interested in quantum physics but it's such a struggle for me to find credible sources on it! A lot of the people who discuss it from a spiritual standpoint feel a little bit dishonest to me, like they're stretching scientific findings to make conclusions that actual quantum physicists would never make. Do you recommend any books/speakers on this topic who you trust?
I get all my information on physics from the most credible source… RUclips lol. but to the best of my knowledge I love Sabine hossenfelder is pretty good, but as far as the overlap between physics and spirituality, You will hardly see, if any, where their credibility isn’t questionable. Those two communities do not see eye to eye most of the time but I’d be happy if anybody else would chime in and let me know of any good sources!
I can't really speak to the spiritual side of things - but as a mathematician interested in popularization I *do* have a lot of thoughts on public conception of these abstract physics things.
TL;DR: The clear answer is to look into Feynmann's works.
Knowing the mathematics, I know that if you have a strong understanding of the math you can truly understand these non-intuitive phenomena and theories. Mathematics is essentially an objective language that was created to discuss scientific phenomena. We needed some objective language because human intuition doesn't map onto the science well. So, one option is to try to delve into the physics/math but honestly if you don't already know a lot mathematics or physics that seems like too much work to ask of you.
SO, what can be done in that case? Well, I'm not convinced that you *can't* have a meaningful understanding of quantum mechanics, relativity, all these other physics things without knowing the mathematics. Although I have not come across any writing by someone without these qualifications that I felt like gave a fully correct summarization. Even experts in related fields get these things wrong... Michio Kaku's latest book on quantum computing is riddled with basic errors... In sum, my advice is this:
1. If it is something on physics/math/etc, try to make sure whatever source your learning from has requisite technical background in physics.
I would start by watching/reading Feynmann's public facing works. He was a great science communicator and had an intuition for the physics better than literally everyone in the world in his time.
2. Continually ask yourself, "What does this mean in a physical way?" and "What would it mean if this is not true?"
Due to great abstraction, you'll find no shortage of metaphor in reading about physics. Waves/particles/fields, all these are in a sense abstractions. Wave-particle duality and all that. What could "Time moves at different speeds in different reference frames." even mean? A speed is relative to time, so... are there different times moving different relative to other times? Is there an example showing what this means in terms of something I, myself, could observe and what would it be like if the universe didn't work like that? ruclips.net/video/lZ3bPUKo5zc/видео.htmlsi=_xKPNol-3kSkobit this lecture gives a great intuitive discussion on what do we mean by 'wave-particle duality.' If I were to summarize its point in a sentence, calling the quantum phenomena wave-particle duality is kind of like calling a cylinder a type of cube-sphere duality. Really, thinking of a cylinder as some cube-sphere hybrid is a little odd, even if it makes some sense. Really, it is its own thing different from a cube or a sphere.
3. If you can, ask your local nerd. Be humble, and don't worry about getting details wrong.
I'm a nerd who knows lots of other nerds and can confidently say we love spinning yarns about this shit. See the above writing...
4. Continue to be open in curious even though this seems daunting or may seem out of your depth.
I think truthfully, every field's details contain nuance that can seem impassable - just in physics, that wall is more visible. It is easier to tell that there is a lot you might not be getting. I'd say, explore anyway. Explore broadly.
thank you for this lovely comment :)@@acerbic-piglet
@@acerbic-piglet Yeah thank you so much for this comment, it's awesome
I worry about many things but not really about climate change. I am not in gen z though, Im a millennial. I think it is because I realise its out of my control. I can do things but I know it won't stop or slow it unless a whole bunch of other people do it as well.
I'm always so inspired by people who can so naturally accept what cannot be controlled! For others, it takes quite a bit of work, but once you master it, it's so liberating