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Comment by drivingmenuts | Hacker News Reader

As a misanthrope, I'm probably screwed.

The ideal is to make enough money to not have to deal with people, other than a very select few.

I mean this in the most genuine way possible, but you can never be around people for dirt cheap. If you could save up 50k you could by a house in the middle of nowhere for 20k, invest the rest to bring in a couple hundred dollars a month and work online to cover the rest of your expenses. Or become a cross country truck driver part of the year. Etc etc. There are tons of very easy ways to never be around anyone.

You are probably just addicted to the internet and it has caused you to not be able learn the right social skills to enjoy the people around you so you just attach to some idea that you are some "misanthrope". It's like alcoholics that believe they just naturally depressed people when its really just the alcohol.

Like I said, I mean this in the best way possible, but you probably have an internet addiction that is stunting your social growth. You might want to try something like take 1 month and never go online. Get a flip phone and cancel your internet for a month just to find out. And if what I just said about going without a smartphone and internet at home for a month sounds impossible, then that's probably the proof you have an addiction.

http://www.99daysoffreedom.com/

Your algorithm for detecting addiction seems it would have a very high false positive rate. Consider this restatement:

Like I said, I mean this in the best way possible, but you probably have an air addiction that is stunting your social growth. You might want to try something like take 1 month and never breathe. Stop breathing for a month just to find out. And if what I just said about going without air at home for a month sounds impossible, then that's probably the proof you have an addiction.

There is one problem with your restatement. Breathing, even non-stop hyperventilation, does not interfere much with other activities, so it's hard to imagine how it could stunt social growth. Aside from that, it is of course true: everyone is in some sense "addicted" to breathing, though it might be more accurate to say that air is an essential nutrient.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this, but you are saying a person would die without the internet?

I'm saying there are reasons other than addiction why one might not be able to disconnect for a month (e.g. they are a remote worker).

It's not that easy to disconnect yourself from humanity as you make it up to be. Covering your running costs without a steady job is hard and takes planning. Also I don't believe you can get a "house" for 20k anywhere. Maybe a cabin in a forest with no electricity and running water but that doesn't count.

That said, there are tons of people living like that. And claim to be happy with their lives. So either they are lying or your assertion that "everybody works like this" is wrong and some people just doesn't want to be around other people.

Far far easier (and more rewarding as it goes) to learn to like people.

How?

Tao Te Ching http://taotechingdecoded.com/TbM/0100.html

I think you can easily learn to accept people, but really really liking them is a lot harder.

Most people I meet don't have the same interests as I do, and many are also very shallow that I really don't want to hang out with them.

Call me misantrophic, or just experienced ;-) The more people I get to know, the more I think "what's the point?"

I think it's starts with being interested in them. Travelling may help.

It started with being interested, but as I said, the more people I meet, the more I'm just bored by them.

Travelling didn't help at all. Yes, nots of friendly people, but also lots of aggravating tourist assholes (interestingly, I find American travelers to be very nice, but many Australian or English travelers seem to be assholes, maybe just the ones I met?). Also, too many rugged, handsome, self-absorbed, sunburnt surfer types who play the guitar, are full of themselves, and generally very opportunistic and shallow in how they deal with people. Just can't take them seriously, as they don't seem to take anybody seriously.

Disagree. I find it difficult and unrewarding. Like, why should I give a shit about another human? Would it make me that much smarter or better in any tangible way? Don't think so. Frankly, I'm having a hard time thinking of a single person in my life that I would rather not go on without.

It sounds like you might benefit from a change in environment. Maybe you don't have the right people in your life.

> Would it make me that much smarter or better in any tangible way?

If you think life is about you, you are guaranteed to find it difficult and unrewarding.

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