This is something that came on my mind.

As our societies are going in a direction where social mobility is ending (a simple way to approach this is think of a publicly known story of rags to riches in the last 10-20 years, you won't find any. Go back 40-50 years, most success stories were rags to riches).

In the 21st century, people who succeed will have come from well to do families with decent education and money background and also strong networks.

Look at how shamelessly people say now to get a job anywhere after school, you need to network. Resumes don't matter.

This is the end of meritocracy because people who are coming from poor families do not have networks to begin with. This "referral" system we have is a corrupt system that heavily favors the offsprings of well to do people.

This is when I thought maybe we should now think of a "lottery system".

Yes, every job that is out there will be hired through a lottery system. Every promotion also has to be done through a lottery system. This is how it would work.

You meet the minimum qualifications for a job, you get to buy a lottery ticket to that job. Same for promotions.

From the employer side, the winning number has to be among the bought tickets.

You have no idea the amount of pros of this system. Let me list them. First, fake jobs by nature can not be posted as the winners have to be provided a real job. Second, this system will be fairer i.e., nepotism can't work here.

Now, I am thinking of a couple of opposing argument. Some might say what if employers choose the winning number of the person they want to hire? Well, we can figure out a system that cannot be easily rigged. The government will have to step in into this process for sure. I do not think this will be a massive issue. The second argument against this is well, there maybe mediocre people for the jobs and not the most "qualified".

Really? Do you see "qualified" people around you right now? Many public and private sector workers, are frankly mediocre people. I mean public sector is a good example of this. Think of incomplete construction projects around you, think of the weird apps public sector builds for your to install and they barely work (parking apps in the cities are the most notorious example of this). Same in the private sector. If you produce results and do a good work, guess what? You will either be fired or career will stagnate whereas your colleague who does a poor job gets promoted as they are not competition to people above them.

I think the current system of hiring "qualified" people is only in theory. In practice, people who have a strong nepotism advantage and people who do not pose competition to the hiring managers and C-suite people are getting all the roles and promotions.

A random lottery system has a better way of making things fairer, the results would be pretty much the same, and most importantly, if someone does not get hired or promoted, they can simply buy another ticket and wait for their turn. There won't be hard feelings people have right now.

I welcome all perspectives on this idea. Thanks.

I am so tired of people always telling teenagers that actually have a passion for something and wants to make a change in the world that they can't like they're always telling them"that's not happening" or " AI will take ur job "ect ect these adult expect the worst and think negative but that doesn't mean we have to , sure there's a lot of horrible things happening in the world and we can't so much about or at least some of us can't but wouldn't it be better if we tried to think differently and a little more positivity

I know that we're not meant to stay and do nothing and I think that passion, hope and love can do a lot

Guys, I don't know what's wrong with me. Everything bores me to all hell. I'll be watching a YouTube video and get bored 5 minutes in and frantically try to find something else to watch, but I end up scrolling for like 30 minutes because nothing looks interesting. Then, in desperation, I just click on one semi-interesting video title, hoping to enjoy it, but the same thing happens where I get bored after 5 minutes.

It's the same when I watch streams.

It's the same when I watch a show on Netflix.

It's the same when I play games.

It's the same when I'm talking with someone.

It's the same when I'm working.

It's the same when I'm drawing.

It's the same when I'm studying.

It's the same when I'm at a concert.

Like, whatever I do, 2 things always happen:

1. I get bored really, really fast.

2. Along with the boredom comes this weird, creeping anxiety.

The anxiety makes me desperate to find something to kill the boredom but nothing really satiates it, so I end up just feeling really uncomfortable throughout the day. The only thing I've been able to find that mitigates this is napping because I'm not conscious when I'm asleep.

Is anyone else going through this?

Just posting this here because im curious on everyone's opinions surrounding this topic. I believe in Sequential Open Individualism, which is a branch of Open Individualism and we believe every living this is the same consciousness but the one conciousness lives every life one at a time and doesn't follow the rules of time per say.

The authorities know dark psychology. And methods to deceive and manipulate us. Controlling our environment and information. To influence our decisions and actions. They have knowledge of Psychological Operations. They have knowledge of our cognitive biases. They also use hypnosis, or other methods, to alter our minds. They have the knowledge and resources. And also propaganda, when you repeat a lie enough, people will be more likely to believe it.

I am not an expert in dark psychology. But I have studied neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive biases. And I have interacted with the authorities, to understand that they are deceptive and manipulative.

Therefore I encourage you to learn methods to control people. And use it to defend yourself from the authorities.

What comes up, must come down, I'm only around 15, so I wasn't alive for the 2008-everything catastrophe, and we recovered from that, . From what I understand,

- the current housing crisis has been on the horizon for a while now, and due to NIMBY-ism, and the fact that after 2008 we stopped building houses,

Do you think this will be fixed soon enough?

There are less Millennials and Gen Z than there is Boomers and Gen X, Boomers and X-ers will die,

Putting an end to NIMBY-ism might occur aswell, and a dramatic increase of building more houses.

And, find a way for more people to move willingly to small towns and rural-ish areas

- the cost of living crisis is because inflation dramatically increased during 2020-2021, and though now the rates are going down, wages haven't increased a lick, well, they have, but not enough, but how exactly will that happen? Outside of, people force themselves into jobs that are in demand, nursing or trades, so they become oversaturated (if such a thing is even possible for the former) making other fields more desperate to have people, and increasing pay as incentive, and then, vise versa and eventually, it will even out?? And a minimum wage increase?

- Preservation and increasing stuff like Jones act, and trying to cut down outsourcing (not saying it's bad, but a reduction might be well to prevent countries from the cycle of -outsourcing based economy because low cost of labour- country becomes richer- cost of labour increases- outsourcing shifts country- country screwed over.

- the Ai issue...

Do you guys think the bubble will pop? Is it a bubble?

Aren't those companies operating at a loss, and reliant on investors, and

Ai company - buys Nvidia stocks- Nvidia buys AI stocks,

"Obvious problem is obvious"

But isn't that how the internet started out?

And, if data centers are prevented from being created, and AI canabalizing itself, or with enough negative PR, we'd start sabotaging those AIs, and stuffs, and putting out money where our mouth is, and refuse to buy from companies that use AI?

Or is all that a speed bump instead of a car crash?

Tldr; estimates for the job market and economy in the 2030s and asking for opinions on various issues, ie. Ai, cost of living, housing crisis, etc?

Why do some people choose to live under oppressive states, work under oppressive institutions, or have their rules applied based on their religion or culture without feeling a problem?

Why do some people choose to be under authority when they can be free? Can you explain the biological, evolutionary, or sociological reasons for this? For example, let's take an oppressive country in the Middle East.

Could this situation be explained by the fact that imperialist countries support the nationalist and religious segments of the countries they exploit? Or is this a purely biological condition, independent of politics?

I've never really had female friends growing up. Until I was around 15, I barely talked to girls, so all of this is pretty new to me.

Recently, I met a couple of people online who genuinely helped me during one of the worst phases of my life. The thing is, I slowly realized they're struggling too.

One of them told me she doesn't share her problems with anyone. She writes everything in a diary because she doesn't want sympathy or to cry in front of people. Another also seems to be dealing with a lot but doesn't really open up.

Now I'm confused.

I genuinely want to help them the way they helped me, but I don't know if that's even the right thing to do. I don't want to force anyone to open up, make them uncomfortable, or act like I can "fix" their problems.

Maybe I'm just overthinking because I don't have much experience with friendships like this.

Has anyone else ever felt this way?

Like, it could be anything in life. Basically, taking actions which isolate yourself from something, and you end up regretting it later. And, this could be anything. A friendship, relationship, game, show, etc. And, it's more tragic if the bond you had seems irreversibly damaged. Humanity probably does this more than we think, due to not thinking rationally and acting on emotion.

I've always thought that it was better to have friends who you can relate to and friends who have the same interests or similar interests as you. There would be too many argument and disagreements if you have friends or people in your life who are completely different from you. What do you think? I would love to hear everyone's opinions and prospectives about this. How many of you have friends from different walks of life? How has it worked out for you? Are you still friends with that person?

There is context in China that does not apply here, and I don't normally quote the leaders of State Capitalist countries, but the comment still struck me given the critical housing shortage and the number of homeless in our streets. here in the US Some areas have large percentage of homes (up to 30% and more) owned by investors or investment firms. And in many areas, even people working two or more jobs can't afford the rent and have no chance of buying a home.

While a great deal of wealth is generated through investment homes, and while on one hand that is great, that wealth comes at the expense of those who cannot afford homes, which includes much the two newest adult generations.

What would happen if the percentage of investment homes in any area were limit as a percentage of the total homes?

There have been many occasions where someone will ask a question online and the top comment is something along the lines of, "Just Google it bro."

I personally dislike that kind of thinking, mainly because it attacks people who are of two categories:

1) The people that genuinely tried and didn't find an answer, or perhaps do not have the particular skills and just use what's comfortable.

2) The people who know they can easily Google it, but still want to hear the opinions of other people.

I'll be entirely honest and say that I am of the latter category and my honest desire is to ask people what they think, or what the answer is. I know a lot of people like me who desire to hear the voices of others because they lack the same social opportunities in real life.

I myself am a very lonely person, and quite anti-social, so I make up for that by interacting on the platform I know how to speak on.

I want that feeling of connection. Like asking a friend a silly question. When people simply reduce that desire for connection to a matter of, "Just Google it bro", it isolates the person more.

Of course, I say all this knowing full well that some people just ask stupid questions for the sake of trolling, but I believe in giving the benefit of the doubt.

Yeah. That's it. Would love to hear your guy's opinions.

People say that any job that can be done on a computer can be done halfways across the world, and eventually will be. What will happen to western economies once that happens?

This post isn't factual but more of a discussion post.Please contribute because this theme really really worries me.

It's about how common lust is becoming a thing in a modern world and the fact that people of a really young age nowadays start thinking about love/relationships early on.

While before for people before age of 16 it was almost always only about making friends,connections and genuine friendships,I(as a young person myself) noticed that children quite younger than me already talk about relationships,intimacy and stuff like that.

Do you think that in the future lust might actually become such a popular thing that it would be everywhere in our faces? And how do you think it will affect humanity as a whole?

Sorry for my English,its not my first language and i hope i expressed myself well,but i really want to hear peoples opinion on this!

Since we just sent people around the 🌖** **

Pretend you’re given 2 minutes..

You’re body is so massive, your eyes sit level with the earth 🌎 in space. Your eyes are the satellites. We can login to your brain from our computer and view the earth from your eyes.
You’re taking requests.
Someone says “tilt your head back, squat down, and move underneath the earth”
Someone else says, “ lean forward and zoom in”
Someone else comments “turn around completely 180 degrees”
“Stand on your tippy toes, and look down at the earth” 🌍
“We can see the color of someone’s shirt from a satellite, we want to see buildings horizontally held by gravity on the sides of the 🌏 “

Our satellite is stuck in the same position. Top-side looking down I suppose, would be a way to describe it.
Changing these perspectives would be easy for our satellites to do this for us. 😞 this is so sad.
And 10,000 are up there yall.
We are being lied to about everything. They are hiding something so grand and profound from all of us. And it’s our right to know.
Flat earth and all that, whatever. I just know we’re being lied to when critical thinking is applied. All I’m screaming about here. I don’t even know what real or fake anymore.
Or am I nuts to think this?

I've been thinking about how many moments in life quietly disappear.

You notice someone who seems genuinely interesting. Maybe you'd become friends. Maybe nothing would've happened. Maybe it would've changed nothing at all.

But because neither person says anything, the moment ends.

I'm curious:

Do you think most people avoid these moments because of fear, social norms, uncertainty, or something else?

And have you ever had one of these moments that you still remember years later?

People who succeed almost never say they succeeded because they were lucky enough to be born healthy, into a good family, with a good education, the right friends, the right opportunities, and so on.

If you listen to them, they're all survivors who overcame adversity through extraordinary courage and determination.

Let me say this as clearly as I can : that's a lie.

And I say that from experience. I'm in a privileged position myself. I could easily tell you that I worked hard to get where I am, that I had to overcome countless obstacles, and so on. That's not entirely false. I did work hard, and I did face real hardships (for example, I lost my mother when I was fourteen).

But telling the story that way leaves out a crucial fact : those hardships are nothing compared to what many people with far less support have to endure.

More importantly, the reason I was able to overcome those difficulties is that I had the privilege of growing up in an environment that wasn't perfect, but was stable enough to give me the confidence and emotional energy to keep moving forward. When life works that way, opportunities encourage you to keep going, and hard work no longer feels like a burden.

I worked hard, but at no point did it ever feel unbearable, because my efforts were rewarded, and every new opportunity motivated me to work even harder.

Yes, I lost my mother, but I was also lucky enough to have an incredible father who cared deeply about my education and my well-being. Not to mention my friends, my girlfriends, and all the people who helped me become a happy and fulfilled person.

Don't believe narratives that insult you without ever saying so outright. Narratives that imply that if they succeeded and you didn't, it's because you're somehow worth less.

Stop idolizing celebrities as if they were living gods. Most of them are nothing more than arrogant rich kids who are completely blind to the suffering of ordinary people.

They don't deserve your admiration, and you're worth more than that.

I've felt that I've "grown up old".

My father was 40 when I was born. When I started seeing his patterns and following them, he was between 45 and 50. I grew up with an old mentality.

I never applied gel to my hair until after my 30s! My appearance was never a concern. I felt a "Why?" towards people who think about appearance.

Growing up in a Buddhist country (SL) didn't help either, as it focuses on "the inside".

Now, I do care. I can never catch-up and stop feeling as if doing something weird/bad.

BECAUSE I don't want my son to "grow up old".

When we metaphorically put on a mask, it's just that, a mask. It conceals our true self, which begs the question of it we are still ourselves, or if we've surrendered ourself to essentially being a different individual altogether.

Pour poser le contexte à chaque fois que je rencontre le père de mon copain on est au restaurant, toujours. Et j’appréhende toujours ce moment car il juge mes goût en permanence et ne supporte pas que je ne mange pas les choses qu’il aime ou même simplement si j’aime ajouter un ingrédient dans mes plats. Ce n’est pas souvent car il habite loin du coup je ne peux pas éviter cette sortie mais sa m’insupporte. Un jour je lui ai clairement dit que sa me dérangeais que chacun avait des goût différent et il a recommencer dès le lendemain. Si vous voulez un exemple (BP « donc tu n’aime pas les fruit de mer? » moi : « non » BP « pourquoi » moi : « je n’aime pas c’est tout » BP « bah pourquoi.. »

The media is not free to report the truth. People are not free to discuss the truth. But nobody is worried. As long as they are materially taken care of. Have a home, family, food etc. Governments manufacture crises like wars and pandemics, to divert the public attention. And increase the the size of the government. The government uses the media to control the narrative.

Yes, people don't care for freedom or truth. They are happy to be told what to do, and what to believe. People prioritize security, and stability, over freedom and truth.

I've been thinking about this for a while and I genuinely don't know if it's just me.

You know that feeling when you're in the middle of something: a bootcamp, a course, a program, some kind of intensive thing with a group of people, and it genuinely feels like these are your people? There's this sense that the community is alive and you're part of something real.

Once courses/ bootcamp etc. ends it doesn't feel like family anymore.

And suddenly the same people, in the same group chat feel like acquaintances at best. You post something and it feels performative. Someone replies and it feels like they're just being polite. You see a message and you think "I should respond" and then you don't. And eventually you just mute the notifications and forget the whole thing existed.

I've been in probably six or seven communities like this in the past few years and the pattern is almost identical every time. The active phase feels real. The after phase feels like everyone's going through the motions.

What I can't figure out is — is the active phase an illusion? Because the second the daily contact stops, the thing evaporates almost immediately.

I'm asking because I want to build something myself. Not a startup thing, just a community around something I care about. And I have this fear that nobody actually wants to be in an ongoing community.

For people who've built communities that actually lasted — what made the difference? I mean what actually made people want to come back. What made it feel less like a group chat and more like somewhere they belonged.

And for everyone else — do you recognize this feeling?

I came from a poor town in the outskirts of Ukraine. When the war begun in 2014, my mom and I immediately flew to Canada, just days before the airport bombing, where I was raised there ever since. Covid didn’t affect me, I actually liked the lockdown. My parents got back together just months before the lockdown, and my stepdad was able to work from home, so my days involved playing video games all day, riding the bike around my neighbourhood, and online school. Now, I live in a villa in a resort community due to my mom’s relationship with a land developer. This life was handed to me by my mom, by God, by fate. I didn’t have to work for it at all. I have a great chance at building my life. But because I barely worked for anything, I have become lazy and unmotivated. I guess even luck has a downside.

​

I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I want people to challenge my view.

My current belief is that society often rewards wealth, status, and connections more than competence, ethics, or the ability to solve difficult problems. I think this creates long-term problems because the people with the most influence are not always the people with the best ideas.

Here are a few experiences that shaped my opinion.

1. Short-term political solutions vs long-term solutions

I live in the capital city of my country. I once discussed traffic congestion with someone who is a deputy mayor.

I spent almost two months collecting statistics. My conclusion was that the city needs better infrastructure: more roads where needed, stricter driver's license requirements, mandatory parking for new developments (including visitor parking), and better long-term planning.

His response surprised me.

He said that he believed my ideas would probably work better in the long run, but they would take years to implement. Restricting cars, on the other hand, could be done much faster.

This made me wonder whether governments sometimes knowingly choose less effective solutions simply because they produce faster political results.

Am I misunderstanding how governments have to operate?

1. Wealth vs competence

I started my business six years ago with about $2,200.

Today it earns around $12,000 per month.

A friend started with approximately $450,000 from his family and now earns more than I do.

I don't think he's unintelligent. My question is different.

People around me automatically assume that he is much more competent simply because he has more money, more businesses, luxury cars, and a wealthier background.

Should wealth really be treated as strong evidence of competence?

Or are people confusing success with ability?

1. Status changes how people judge behavior

I've noticed that people often criticize successful or powerful individuals in private but defend the exact same behavior once those people are present.

I've seen this both in business and in everyday life.

It makes me think that status changes people's moral standards.

My current view

I believe society frequently evaluates people based on:

- wealth,

- status,

- influence,

- expensive possessions,

- and connections,

instead of:

- competence,

- reasoning,

- ethics,

- and the ability to solve real problems.

If that is true, then it seems likely that many important positions end up being occupied by people who are not necessarily the most capable.

Change My View

I'm not looking for people to agree with me.

I genuinely want to know where my reasoning is wrong.

- Am I confusing correlation with causation?

- Are wealth and competence actually much more closely connected than I think?

- Is it unrealistic to expect society to reward competence more than status?

- Are there examples where my conclusion clearly fails?

If you think I'm wrong, I'd really like to understand why.

I saw an article about the World Cup final halftime show.

It began with examples of public figures who thought the performance was terrible. Then it showed several social media comments saying essentially the same thing.

At the end, the article asked the reader: “What did you think?”

But by that point, it felt difficult to approach the question neutrally. Before being asked for my opinion, I had already been shown a carefully selected version of what other people supposedly thought.

The opposite article could probably have been written just as easily. Find a few public figures who enjoyed it, select five positive comments, and then ask the same question.

This does not necessarily mean the reporting was dishonest. But it made me wonder how often the framing of a story shapes our reaction before we have consciously formed one.

How much of an opinion is truly our own when the context has already been chosen for us?