Have you ever tried to play a 2018 game on a 2004 computer? Let me guess: it ran like shit.
Now what might happen if you introduced an ape to an alien world? My guess is that your guess is that this ape won’t have a clue what the flying fuck is going on.
Here’s the kicker: you are, right now, an evolved ape in an alien planet.
Our brains are designed for hunter-gatherer tribes tens of thousands of years ago; evolution has not caught up to our modern technology.
You live in an artificial world. While you might be used to modern comforts, the fact of the matter is that your brain is designed to grow up in the wild.
Every “modern convenience” is a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes, it provides more comfort, safety, and stability, but it also can prevent you from achieving long-term fulfillment in your life.
Mouse Utopia
There was an experiment done in which mice were given a utopian society to live in.
Instead of having to search for food, survive, and struggle in any way, they were given exactly everything that they needed to for perfect happiness.
Things didn’t turn out so well.
The mice started killing each other. The mice became extremely aggressive and socially broke down. Some mice didn’t kill each other, but they instead hid inside their huts unable to socialize. These mice lost all abilitiy to sexually perform- females and males- and were not anymore fulfilled than the mice running around killing each other.
Human Utopia
Your world is indeed not perfect- but it is objectively much better than what a caveman could’ve ever experienced.
The problem is that your brain is designed for that harsh, caveman existence. Your brain & body is designed to suffer and struggle a bit before achieving rewards.
We live in an artificial, plastic society. You have all the comforts in the world, but do tell: are you truly fulfilled in your life?
When you feel lonely and want sex, rather than going out and struggling to meet partners, Google Chrome can auto-complete your favorite porn website with just one letter! Open chrome, press the letter, press enter, and BAM in 3 clicks you are tricking the caveman part of your brain that you’re enjoying a massive orgy.
Do you need a sense of purpose & achievement? No worries, video games got you covered there as well. No need to struggle! Just sit on your ass, press a few buttons, enjoy the process, and collect your digital rewards.
Need your sugar hit? No need to remember where the last apple tree was or scavenge for bananas. For less than $1 you can purchase almost any cheap candy at an abundance of stores around you.
Bored? YouTube. Validation? Instagram. Connection? Facebook. Conversation? Reddit. Adventure? Movie theater. Love? Tinder. Sex? Porn.
People are becoming increasingly isolated in their Artificial Worlds. Distractions fill the mind in an attempt to escape the paradoxical discomfort that our comfy lives have provided us.
Does it really feel fulfilling that long-term to achieve these artificial rewards?
Did the porn fulfill you, young man? Did Instagram give you the validation of love dear ladies?
Artificial World
The fact is we live in an artificial world. Our caveman brains are not designed for the levels of instant-reward our lives provide us.
Mental illness such as ADHD, depression, anxiety, and more are all on the rise.
Rather than actually going out to interact with people, the trap of the internet & instant-reward is too alluring for most.
The worst thing about these instant-gratification things is that they quickly build habits & addiction.
There are two parts of the brain to keep it simple: the caveman part, and the long-term fulfillment part. In the natural world, these two mechanisms worked together to keep you optimally fulfilled and doing what you had to do.
For example, the only way to have sex was to initiate interaction with the opposite sex. Once you got the reward, the caveman part would explode. It just so happens that real sex is also extremely fulfilling, so you’d get both!
Today you can satisfy the caveman part instantly with 3 clicks to any saved porn website. The problem is that the fulfilled part of the brain knows it is truly lonely; you are not actually bonding with another human! And you know that consciously as well!
The caveman part keeps you addicted and forms the habit of porn, while the fulfilled part of the brain remains unsatisfied. This is true of video games, social media, internet, and pornography.
Age of Addicts
Most people are addicted to some aspect of our Artificial World. Many Americans are overweight for example- they are addicted to fake food!
Just look around; you don’t need proof or statistics just to see how bad it is. How many people eat at McDonald’s every single day? How many people do you see “eating out with friends,” but actually staring at their phones?
This one horrifies me: watching couples go out to eat, then stare at their phone across from each other.
One huge thing I appreciated about my ex-girlfriend was that she did not succumb to such behavior. Simply finding another girl intelligent enough to have real conversation is a huge challenge. She was a rare catch to not need that daily fix over my attention!
Mental Illness
Pills are thrown at issues such as ADHD, depression, and anxiety, yet psychologists & psychiatrists do little to actually determine the cause for these mental illnesses.
Are our scientists really so stupid to think that we are magically losing mental sanity? Why is it these “doctors” lack the ability to research internet addiction, porn addiction, social media addiction, effects of loneliness, the gut micro biome (bad food = bad brain), and more?
If you suffer from such a mental illness, as I have many before, I encourage you to look for the underlying cause rather than assuming a mental illness is “primary.”
We live in an artificial world where we throw pills at internet addiction thinking that someone naturally has ADHD or depression. Maybe it’s just that they’re lonely, but covering it up through excessive social media & porn?
Wake Up
Wake up dear friends! There is no shame in admitting you were not designed for this reality.
I write this now on a plane from Shanghai to Los Angeles. It is so strange to think that I casually write miles above the Ocean floor in a giant box that someone transports me across the world.
Upon reflection, I realize we do live in an alien world. We are evolved apes, nothing else. We created technology beyond what our genetics program us to do.
Once you realize this, understanding long-term fulfillment becomes a much easier pursuit.
Now I’m not saying you abandon modern amenities in favor of a wild lifestyle in nature- no, there is no need for that (but you wouldn’t be the first to go that far).
What I encourage you to do is think of life in terms of the “caveman brain.” Perhaps quitting porn in favor of going through the suffering of acquiring real mates will bring you more fulfillment than the clicks? Of course, it’ll hurt a bit in the meantime.
It is important we create situations similar to what our brains were designed for in order to be optimally happy, while also taking advantages of modern convenience.
For example, I noticed that my motivation to work out increased tenfold when I ate after I worked out. I would wake up, work out first, and then eat.
Something as simple as altering my morning routine helped me feel excited to work out because the caveman part of my brain associated the work out with unlocking the ability to eat. It is as if I was a caveman again, going for the morning hunt.
Purpose
I intend to write more posts on this in the future. For now, I encourage you to wake up from the dream. This is not how we were intended to live. This is a confusing, strange, alien world.
As you wander the city today, do take note of what you see, hear, taste, and feel.
Comfort is wonderful, but perhaps we need to suffer a bit. No, not the kind of suffering where we attack or bully each other, or cut ourselves to sleep.
We need purpose. We need to work towards something greater because it’s the only thing that’ll keep us grounded in this brave new world.
Do with this as you wish. Just know that comfort is the enemy, and now that you know the enemy, you can find true fulfillment.
-Michael
