On the other hand, if you're sitting somewhere and you're smoking, or reading, none of that seems to happen. I wonder if we're uncomfortable with other people's ability to do nothing.
I protested, of course. They were clearly not being paid to listen to me.
I wish I'd kept a diary. (I actually did a lot of writing that year, but it was of the creative sort. I held onto a box full of it for years. I went through it once and thought it was dumb, but kept it still. The second time I did that, years later, I confirmed my earlier judgment and decided it wasn't worth keeping.)
I wasn't suicidal, but I was definitely unhappy that year. I don't know to what extent that showed. It may have been later in life that I developed my habitual friendliness with strangers.
I do remember deciding shortly after that to learn to fear other peoples' potential fears. It's a pain in the ass, but optimal, I think.
I would burn half the city to the ground after getting out for that bullshit, at least they'd have a valid reason to commit me then.
The idea that you could be hurting no one and be snatched up and taken somewhere against your will is extremely upsetting to me.
(BTW you know you can look through a commenter's history on HN to see if an interpretation of something they wrote is consistent with their character.)
Anyway, after maybe ten minutes a bicycle police officer came up and started talking to me. It took me a moment to realize that he was sounding me out for emotional distress, checking to see if I was suicidal. I gave him my best smile (easy enough as I was still in the thrall of beauty) and reassured him emphatically that I was okay, and thanked him for doing his (IMO very important) job and apologized for making him come out and check on me (no good reason not to be extra nice in the circs, eh?) and went on my way.
I'm not blaming the OP for getting, uh, overbearing and unneeded help. I'm pointing out that our society has developed mechanisms to try to prevent suicide in the obvious places: GGB and BART (the "subway" in Berkeley.)
> The Golden Gate Bridge is the most used suicide site in the world.
> After years of debate and an estimated more than 1,500 deaths, suicide barriers, consisting of a stainless steel net extending 20 feet from the bridge and supported by structural steel 20 feet under the walkway, began to be installed in April 2017.
From a philosopher writing in the 1600s. I don't think it's an issue with any particular society. It just seems part of human nature to be inable to sit and do nothing for a significant period of time.
How would you test this? The first way is direct: learn to quiet your own mind. The second way is through inference: observe a newborn baby who doesn't need food and when there isn't excessive stimulation (light sound, smell, pain, etc.) - they simply observe what is around them.