Omega 3 snake oil

hey Duncan, this is going to sound ridiculous but I've met a couple nice girls on Tinder.... met a couple not so nice ones, too, so you need to be good at sifting and sorting.Also, I think you may like the pickup artist thread I started: http://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/37826-pickup-artist-culture-is-actually-proof-of-the-objectification-of-men/ Also: At least you don't live here: http://www.rooshv.com/15-reasons-why-toronto-is-the-worst-city-in-north-america-for-men

Holy eff dude, tell me about it. I get it a lot, and it recently cost me a close friendship. I've had run-ins with my boss (and one another boss many jobs ago). One of the trickiest things I've had to manage. Bloody ridiculous.

Let's say I have a friend, a young psychiatrist. We've spoken only as friends but in doing so I've told her a lot about myself, my hopes and fears, sources of joy and anxiety, my overall health, relationships, etc. I recently confided in her that I've come to believe:a) I've been badly undervalued by the people in my life thus far, andb) the root cause for people's undervaluing me is that they have deep seated emotional problems.example of this include family members who were abusive toward me, friends who took me for granted, and women I've dated. And these are not blanket statements; for each incident I can recall the exact circumstances, what I believe the person was thinking/feeling/hoping to achieve, etc. Granted, I'm far from perfect myself, and have made my share of mistakes, but one mistake I feel I have not often made is taking people for granted. I've never been dishonest or manipulative, and I think I'm less selfish than the average person. So, my psychiatrist friend (who I might add has confessed to having had romantic feelings for me) basically disregards what I told her, saying "if you're that dissatisfied what don't you consider getting help". I told her, because I don't need to be shown what my problems are. I've got that part figured out. What I need now are good, supportive people who recognize my value rather than deliberately undervaluing me to their own selfish or neurotic ends.Anyway, I just felt like sharing this little anecdote, which for all intents and purposes you should take as fiction. I think it says a lot about psychiatry, the overall aim of health care, and about the state of modern discourse regarding men's emotional/spiritual needs.

I recently had lunch with a young English major who described herself as a feminist. Previously I had recommended Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams", and she read it. I asked for her opinion, and she said something along the lines of "puh-lease, I don't get what the big deal is. Some guy writes about loving some girl when she's young, and now that he finds out she's old and no longer beautiful he's sad? Oh, boo-hoo!"I asked her if she ever considered that feelings such as those described in the story are very much a part of the male experience, and are as valid as anyone else's, e.g a feminist's. She stared blankly. There was no followup meeting.

Another misread. I either need more coffee or less coffee.

I heard Stefan say it just now, my apologies if I didn't notice he was quoting MLK!

"turn the other cheek" is for slaves, against their masters; "an eye for an eye" is for the owner against the slaves

go on...

A while back I listened to Stef's podcast on the truth about Paul Walker. I had no idea about the man's predilection for underage girls. I then heard a later podcast in which a caller questioned Stef about what he would do if his daughter at around that age began seeing an older man, which I thought Stef handled perfectly: “she won't speak the language of dysfunction,” meaning she won't be charmed by this type of individual because she will understand only loving, stable, respectful relationships. Full disclosure: I'm a 32 year old man. About a year and a half ago I got out of the long term relationship with a woman who was two years older than me. I've always dated women around my age or slightly older and since becoming single I've continued to do so. And in doing so I've come to question the value in dating so-called age-appropriate women. And no, I'm not justifying Walker or any grown man having a relationship with a 16 year old girl. But 22, even 20…? Sure, why not. Listen: I value intellectual connections in all my relationships, friendships or otherwise. But if the potential for intellectual/emotional connection does not keep in step with a woman's chronological age, then there is little to no incentive to date women around my age. Clunky but accurate: I find that our current cultural paradigm encourages women (maybe men, too) to stay “Forever 21”. So, say I meet a 21 year old and then a 31 year old, there's only a marginal increase in maturity and sophistication in the older of the two. And with the older of the two, I'm getting someone (typically) less physically attractive, more emotional baggage, less ability to produce oxytocin i.e. form loving bonds due to a greater number of past sexual partners. And the list does go on. Either way, I'm likely getting a woman so ridiculously self-absorbed that real kinship is off the table in the first place. And I'm positive I'm not going into these things with a closed mind/heart; I approach with an open mind and open heart and I keep seeing the same result. So, what say you? How young is too young? I've heard the rule is half your age, plus seven (for me that's 23).

Hulse = these guys:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvMsuONpTLo

Listening to Stefan on Alex Jones now. AJ mentioned a recurring dream where he's back in high school having not studied for a test, only now he's thirty. I still have those dreams, I'm however old I am at the present time (presently early thirties). What do you think this dream means? I think it's caused by anxiety about my life direction, not feeling prepared to meet new challenges, etc. And how about you, any recurring dreams?

"Empathy is the sunlight to the vampire of culture"

Great concept for people to be aware of, for sure. It has endless applications in the realms of philosophy, soft science, and sometimes even hard science. I have a practical example I'd like to share. I have a close friend who is a practicing Christian. He and I are in agreement on many issues both great and small (e.g. the breakdown of the family being a main cause of a lot of social issues and personal issues that manifest as social issues) but we are vehemently opposed to one another on a couple of big issues. Not surprisingly the issues we are opposed on are those that directly or indirectly arise from my friend's reliance on Christian ideology. Some of these are obvious, e.g. his believing Jesus is the son of God and will save all those who submit to his power and grace, and some are less obvious, like his now-dashed but for several months, sustained support of Toronto mayor Rob Ford. Before the allegations of Ford's nefarious dealings ever arose, I said to my friend, that man is an embarrassment, and I bet will cause huge problems for the city. My friend defended Ford almost without thinking, saying, That guy is so helpful to the city, he just wants to save us money, blah blah, all the nonsense Ford has used to self-promote. Then the allegations happened, and my friend said, they were probably unfounded or exaggerated, etc. He still wouldn't admit there was anything fishy about the mayor, until finally came the mayor's admission that the video did in fact exist. At that point, my friend forced or perhaps allowed himself to say that I had been right. But it took a form of undeniable evidence (an uncoerced, public confession and apology for him to do this).We had a similar conversation about a recent police shooting that left a mentally ill eighteen year old dead. My friend says, it's the police's job to protect us, he was only doing his job, blah blah, etc. And my friend is an intelligent person. He just believes in patriarchy, including a devoted and unquestioning respect and admiration of authority figures, which includes government use of deadly force, etc.When I tell him things like, the real and primary reason police use deadly force is to send the message not to disobey them, i.e. they are enforcing the state by enforcing patriarchy, my friend gets irritated. Only irritated, never mad, because he is a really great guy. But his irritation is from something like a mosquito sucking blood from the part of his brain that hold dubious ideas that support his emotional needs. Cognitive dissonance.

Hey all,Stefan said something a while back, can't recall which podcast, that really stuck with me. I'm pretty sure I've heard the idea elsewhere, maybe in a book, etc. but Stefan's rendition is the one I carry.He said, when a sociopath senses empathy in another, he or she will typically use that against the person. Use the fact that they experience compassion as a basis for manipulation. Not surprisingly, the top three professions for sociopaths are (apparently) lawyer, CEO, and politician. These positions have a lot of room for a dishonest person to gain advantage over honest people. I think this much goes without saying.Here's what made me start this thread. The other day I had a meeting with a lawyer (I work in insurance). Without getting into details, this fellow was clearly dishonest, perhaps pathologically so, and seemed a bit grandiose (possible Napoleon complex to boot). A real weasel, in my opinion, and I'm told I'm a good judge of character.Funny thing, the reason I think I'm a good judge of character is I'm a somewhat empathetic person. I read certain traits in others. As such I'm hyperaware of the presence of sociopaths. I spot them more efficiently than they can read/spot me. I don't think they can read empathy in others, rather they pick it up from social cues, social evidence, etc. Anyway, back to the lawyer I was dealing with. I could tell he had no read on me whatsoever and that seemed to make him uncomfortable. He kept his cards close to the vest, so to speak, and in the end our little exchange was a complete waste of time and money (I think his aim was pure posturing), but I really felt I had a much clearer read on him than him, me.So, my question: Is empathy necessarily a hindrance when dealing with sociopaths/people with sociopathic tendencies? Again, not saying this fellow is a sociopath, so you can take my story as a hypothetical if that helps.

I think we've all been there. Learn and move on, which it sounds like you have, and are.

hey all,looking for someone who can turn a couple JPEGs into a pretty basic logo in Vector format for use on a t shirt. Not looking to spend a ton but I imagine this will take less than an hour. Shoot me a message.Nick

Yep. And is the rate at which electronic blips get passed between people presently improving quality of life? Not saying it's not, just curious as to how it is, if it is.

This has been on my mind because it is the one point of contention between Stefan and Peter Joseph where I haven't necessarily heard Stefan lock it down.Here's what I mean: Stefan and Peter (and everyone else) seem to agree that technology inevitably displaces the need for human labour. For PJ, this necessarily means widespread and eventually total unemployment and thus the collapse of economy as we know it. But Stefan seems to think that with maximum freedom we can keep (the) economy going indefinitely--don't mean to put words in Stefan's mouth as I've never heard him say this exactly. It just seems to be implied in his arguments, which I happen to agree with.But, what happens when, say, manufacturing reaches near-total automation--will humans still find ever increasing ways of creating value for themselves? Obviously I don't expect anyone to have a crystal ball on this one... I just mean, in theory/on paper, is it possible to have an economy that is purely service-based? ... what say you, FDR-ers?

I came across this the other day, and it reminded me of something I think Stefan said. It was something along the lines of, once damaged, a person can never become whole or perfect, will always be flawed. I may be slightly misquoting, but I think the sentiment is accurate, and it resonated with me, confirmed some thoughts and feelings I've had. Then I came across this, which I think more or less directly contradicts Stefan's idea. I sent it to a friend (incidentally a neuropsychiatrist) who thought it was beautiful. I really like it, find it very life affirming. Thoughts on kintsukuroi versus "once broken it can never be completely whole" ?

That nearly everything you've said in this thread is unfounded, illogical, or untrue.

I hear there's a spike in suicides over the holidays. Me, I just refuse to see people I don't see at other times of the year and spend lots of time with those I do. And booze of course:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvmi2xCoT_8

Ad hominem nonsense. When did I say such things? You seem to put words in others' mouths to compensate for your own inability to reason. More B.S. I've never said anything of the sort.

Who is this second person "you" are referring to? It takes a lot more than talking to a girl to make me nervous, unless she's wielding a broken beer bottle or positive pregnancy test. This sounds word-for-word like the lecturing of a PUA/aspiring PUA. Is this "you" yourself? Again, your argument(s) boil down to "you're all just a bunch of pussies so stop being afraid of girls and start being cool and confident like me". There are a lot of forms of self-perception that are not based on sex or one's relationship to the opposite sex. Yes, of course it's just frustration. It's not like it could have some rational basis, like questioning whether one should adapt to a cultural norm that is ludicrously unsustainable and is as much a symptom of a society gone off the rails as it is a biological imperative. I effing love this. Agree 100%.

... says the person posting on a philosophy forum. No, I really don't... Now THIS is a strawman. a) what moral outrage? b) at what point in this thread has it been suggested it's wrong or bad to approach women?

Hmm... partially true. I wouldn't say you can say *anything* to a woman--as long as you have the right attitude--and you can create attraction. Do you suppose you can chat up a girl by discussing the merits of UPB and she'll still be interested? Philosophy, politics, science? I think not. The less intellectual the content, the greater the odds of success (according to my own experience and much of what I've heard from PUAs). This is true. I meet girls here and there, some of whom turn out to be quite intelligent, interesting, etc. But I don't meet them by running game/whatever PUA techniques are called. I just kind of let nature take its course--which may be easy for me to say since I'm told I'm quite handsome Also, Tinder is great. I think this is a rather rosy, rationalized take on the whole thing. You could discuss prostitution by saying "at the end of the day it's just a business transaction." Which of course is true, but fails to take into account factors such as childhood abuse, broken families, etc. that create the conditions in which girls often wind up selling their bodies. I'd like to reiterate that this isn't an "I can't get laid and it's society's fault" thread, though some seem to take it that way. It's more of a "our divorce rate is 60%, women are even more miserable than men, no one seems to be in happy, loving relationships, and there is no place for children to be born and grow healthily" thread.