Discussion I don't like how our brains are programmed

Discussion in 'General Chat' started by FoolishCarp, Aug 8, 2017.

  1. Cosmic_

    Cosmic_ [Novel Addict] [Lazy Writer] [Meh Editor]

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    I find empathy to probably the single most important human emotion? concept?. I also find that your thinking a little inaccurate or misunderstood. Sympathy to the pain we personally see in front of us is a good thing. Yes, ignoring the larger problems and worldsuck is bad, but if we needed a problem to be big enough to become a statistic or on the news before we can actually care about it, then that would be truly messed up. Sympathising with one or focusing on small problems won't take away from the bigger, but only caring about the big and seeing small one's as "insignificant" or not as big will.

    Yes, there are big problems that affect million, but I think that our brain's design and programming to only deal with the small things that we as only one individual can is effective and realistic. When one person doesn't worry about all the big problems and instead on the small manageable ones in front of them, it allows real progress because then things are solved one at a time and we can let the collective of individuals solving small problems form to one huge powerhouse solving big problems.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2017
  2. Tramsloof

    Tramsloof Quarter Erudite

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    Ignorance.

    Do you know why the victims of something take stands to prevent somthing of similar nature to happen to other people? Because now they know how it feels. (for eg opening a cancer hospital if your parents died because of cancer, or standing up against terrorrism if you have been a victim, or have been close enough to know the victim)

    How do you feel when you see in news that someone died? I will bet that it will not be as much as compared to someone who knew, whoever that died.

    Is our brain at fault here? I would not jump. at the gun.

    Take your time and study. No one is born with knowledge of everything, it is with time and patience that we learn and experience.

    And I would say that feel empathy for whatever you feel it for, dont reject it as a hypocircy becausw you see or want something greater than compared to what you have. Instead if you go this way, you will become heartless and cruel. What we need to do is, do good and feel good, with time our ability to do good increases as we can see things differently.
     
  3. Shance

    Shance 『Trying to evade the wall in the front』『Failing』

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    Right, though it's usually willful ignorance, youd feel bad for them if you knew so you don't try to find out more of those suffering.

    If something happened in front of you you'd probably help.
     
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  4. OverlyUnfriendly

    OverlyUnfriendly Well-Known Member

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    Real talk, are you high or something?

    You sound like you're saying something, but your words are absolutely meaningless. And wtf is going on in this thread? Are you guys trying to be deep? How pretentious, you all sound like emo 13 year olds.
     
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  5. SilverxCalibur

    SilverxCalibur ...

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    There is no hypocrisy. The simple fact is that the brain can only sympathize with that which it considers real. A frame of reference is needed. Aid workers can sympathize with statistics because they've seen the damage on a large scale. The average joe otoh who has never seen a war torn region ravaged by disease can scarcely even imagine it.
     
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  6. Englandismycity

    Englandismycity Rap God Nick Crom-... okay, I regret my username

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    So your logic is that since we don't feel sympathy for every human being going through shit around the world, we also shouldn't feel sympathy for those going through troubles in front of us. That's like saying you shouldn't just be racist towards a certain race but towards every race, including your own. It is a flawed logic indeed.
     
  7. Qt

    Qt Qt is cute

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    okay. So, your problem is that you feel that, you cannot sympathize with people when it becomes statistics?

    Let's have a movie. When you watched a movie, sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry, sometimes you feel fear for the characters. You sympathize with the characters, that you immerse yourself in the story. You gain this experience.

    Now, let's say you have this same movie, but you haven't watched it. You, as of that time, seek for the summary for that movie. What kind of feeling do you feel when you read that summary? Nothing strong, or even nothing. After that, you read through the review. Same feeling, probably nothing. Now, you see the aggregate score. That's the statistics. Each of the review is a datum. The insight or information gained from those data is what represented as statistics. Why would you see it as something that will evoke your feeling, when each of the component has no meaning to you?
     
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  8. AIm21

    AIm21 Well-Known Member

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    It is not how your or our brain is programmed, it is just the limitation of the human brain.

    You can't feel sympathy for statistics not because your brain is program this way, but just the limitation of how far your eyes can see and your brain can comprehend before you feel overwhelm by the immense despair of what those statistic represent.

    Like a normal computer that can't run data far beyond its capacity, the human brain can't comprehend the suffering of peoples beyond its understand.

    However, if you really want to feel the suffering of millions and know what those statistics mean, it is not impossible to try and do so. But you would probably go crazy and your believe in God will crumble to pieces then you will no longer even be able to feel sympathy..
     
  9. Qt

    Qt Qt is cute

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    Now... We are talking over indefinite length of time, right? I'm not sure you can go crazy when you have proper time to absorb each experience.
     
  10. AIm21

    AIm21 Well-Known Member

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    If it is indefinite length of time, you will definitely go crazy, not all of us has the protagonist iron will to withstand all that pain and suffering and not go crazy.
     
  11. SoulZer0

    SoulZer0 Heaven Refining

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    Edgy little kids?
     
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  12. noisypixy

    noisypixy Sacatunn que pen, que summum que tun.

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    Hypocrisy? It looks like "biology doing its job" to me.
     
  13. Hahhaa

    Hahhaa hereby irrevocably & perpetually waives all moral

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    “One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.” -Joseph Stalin

    *typing*
    *reading more on the internet*
    *feeling depressed*
    *delete*

    A million tragedies are not something my brain can take. :blobpensive:
    Life must go on. Cheer up _me_ and everyone else. :blobexpressionless::blobexpressionless::blobexpressionless:
     
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  14. 1amdude

    1amdude Nakamatu Agraulek

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    you're lucky.
     
  15. Zx

    Zx Well-Known Member

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    More pseudo-intelligence, hurray.
     
  16. 99 others

    99 others Sleep is for the weak.

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    Which one able to stimulate your feeling/emotion?
    Having sex with someone/watching a sex scene
    Or
    Hearing/reading statistics/facts about sex somewhere?

    Well, that's our brain.