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We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12994626 and marked it off-topic.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man's_Search_for_Meaning

I was about to bring up Victor Frankl. I'm happy you beat me to it.

In addition, consider the story of Admiral James Stockdale, who was kept in a P.O.W camp in Vietnam for 7 years. His memoir explicitly mentions Stoic philosophy as having been key to his ability to endure.

Ah, the reductio-ad-concentration-camp: If advice isn't applicable to Auschwitz, it's not valid in any form.

Sorry for the bluntness. I responded with better phrasing.

Edge cases are good proving grounds for rules claimed to be general.

James Stockdale[1] credited stoicism with giving him strength to endure 7 years of captivity in Vietnam.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Stockdale

Viktor Frankl, concentration camp resident, might have words with you:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”