> Try expressing yourself

Okay. The reason I find that heading painful to read is it seems to miss the entire point of the quote. The line is said in the context of a world where everyone already is defining themselves by their jobs, possessions, etc. it’s not descriptive, it’s prescriptive. So it can’t really even be wrong.

My memory of the book is it’s fairly philosophical, getting at modernity and the human condition. It’s quite traditionally masculine and violent and I get that that turns a lot of people off. Love it or hate it, quotes of it probably don’t belong in a LinkedIn-style “here’s some advice kids” article.

Moreover, it’s just too easy — low hanging fruit, e.g.

Tyler Durden said “once you you lose everything you’re free to do anything” but that’s not right because many activities are expensive and you’ll need money.

Yuck.

Is commenting on HN not a form of self-expression? Looks like the poster has a pretty extensive history of comments and posts.

Agreed - you have a good perspective in a sea of internet pessimism.