Not knowing things is nice

6 days ago by boaratio to c/showerthoughts

Does anyone else feel like the more they learn about fucked up history and current events the more we have to worry about? The older I get, and as I learn about history, the more things I have to think about that keep me up at night. Maybe ignorance is bliss after all?

EDIT: I should have mentioned originally that I'm a person that is hyper vigilant (on the spectrum) and can't not notice things. I notice every little detail of everything I see. Why is the guy at the grocery store blocking the entire aisle and is completely oblivious that people can't get by? Why did that person turn without a turn signal? I notice people's body language. I meticulously pick apart things that people say and extract meaning that I'm sure they never intended. I originally thought it was OCD, but I don't have any of those traditional trappings. I wish I could just turn it off, as it's exhausting.

This essentially sums up how I go through my day. I wish I could not know/notice things: https://youtu.be/dmbtt3iGXzg

ramble81 33 points 6 days ago

No. In fact the world would be a better place if more people actually knew what was going on and then maybe feel inclined to do something about it. Knowledge is power and right now, in a lot of places, knowledge is being suppressed as ignorant masses are easier to control and manipulate.

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kbal 28 points 6 days ago

No.

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Arcanepotato 23 points 6 days ago

Ignorance is bliss because the cause of all suffering is desire.

It doesn't mean there is no harm in ignorance, but I think it's important people don't just panic wildly. That's just as useless as being ignorant but it feels worse.

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shrugs 1 point 6 days ago

instead of fretting about the things you can't change, care about the things you can. help your neighbor, cook your own food, by local, don't use ai, switch to Linux, don't be racist or homophob.

would go a long way if people would do that instead of whining about what's happening on the world stage

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Strider 12 points 6 days ago

Ignorance absolutely is bliss. However, it also comes with some downsides.

One being easily abused, especially en masse.

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Hamartiogonic 3 points 4 days ago

Also: “knowledge grows, grief increases“

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JandalsAweigh -2 points 6 days ago

How has your lack of ignorance prevented any.of that?

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Feathercrown 4 points 6 days ago

It's a network effect, you need collective understanding for things like unions to exist

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MyDogLovesMe 10 points 6 days ago

Shove that blue crayon up my nose!

Extended warranty? How can I lose!

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serpineslair 2 points 6 days ago

Literally just finished watching that episode🤣

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snooggums 8 points 6 days ago

Ignorance is ignorance.

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surewhynotlem 3 points 6 days ago

I don't know that that's true

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Marty_TF 7 points 6 days ago

fair

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panda_abyss 6 points 6 days ago

For me it’s not history, but niche things that I would learn and then never be able to use, where when I didn’t know I had zero complaints.

Sometimes it is better to not know, so I can not care about trivial things.

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Vandals_handle 5 points 6 days ago

First they came for the socialists, and I blissfully ignored it.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I blissfully ignored it.

Then they came for the Jews, and I blissfully ignored it.

Then they came for me, and I could not ignore it.

—boaratio

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aedelred 5 points 6 days ago

https://youtu.be/z9pD_UK6vGU

Just take one of these and you’ll feel much better. 😆

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Chaunticleer 4 points 6 days ago

I deeply love learning fucked up history. But I also like hearing other people share their niche interests with me so I try not to explore everything myself.

Part of the joy is learning it vicariously through passionate individuals

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ChaoticEntropy 4 points 6 days ago

It almost feels like I am being aged by knowledge and experience more than I am by biological decay.

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theneverfox 4 points 6 days ago

Ignorance is bliss, but it also means you're not seeing the world clearly

Which is probably fine if you only care about yourself, but it means you're going to have warped views. Views that will hurt other people

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garbagebagel 2 points 5 days ago

But I'm so tired of caring for other people. I just want like a month where everything is fine and okay and nobody is being hurt and I can just breathe without feeling bad about being selfish. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? just a little bit of world peace. Just for me :'(

Edit: asking as someone who lives on the verge of burnout because I do way too much community organizing and volunteering.

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theneverfox 2 points 5 days ago

I get that... As someone who has been thoroughly burnt out, I give what I can when I can, and when the affect on others is greater than the cost to me

Self care isn't being selfish. The world will barely notice if you took a month off. You can shut off the news, you can decide not to pick up the phone. There will always be problems to solve and more people who need help

You have to help the people within your reach first, not because they're more important, but because they're within your reach. You can do more for a single person nearby than many people far away. You can do more to improve the community around you than you can for the people in Gaza. It doesn't matter if the people far away need it more, you just have more leverage within your reach than beyond your fingertips

And that includes you. You have to be a person who helps others. A person with a clear heart, who can help others without being tainted by the badness of the world yourself or so used up you stop feeling

When you have less to give, narrow your scope. If you need a month to regain the energy and joy of helping others, take it. Don't be selfish or shut out the suffering of others, just focus on helping yourself and those right in front of you. Invest in the good you will do in the future

If I ever have the opportunity, I'd like to run a retreat for people like you. A place in nature, surrounded by good people who need a refuge from the world for a while. A place where problems are simple and direct, like rain is coming and we need to bring things inside, or someone is in distress and needs comfort

I'm not in a place to offer that, but I urge you to take the time and try to find some time and peace for yourself to recover. Burning yourself out would be worse for everyone than whatever problems your temporary absence brings

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sunsofold 4 points 6 days ago

Ignorance of the ignorable is bliss. Ignorance of the intrusive adds terror to injury. It's an amplifier. In other words, if it doesn't affect you personally, being able to ignore it makes it not part if your reality and unable to cause suffering. If it does affect you personally, you not only experience the problem but the terror of not understanding the problem.

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faintwhenfree 2 points 5 days ago

I'm gonna remember this

"ignorance of the ignorable is bliss"

Very well put.

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JeeBaiChow 3 points 6 days ago

Part of knowing is learning how to deal with the shit.

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boaratio 3 points 6 days ago

Maybe that's the thing I haven't learned yet.

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JeeBaiChow 1 point 6 days ago

Lol. Not to worry. Most of us haven't.

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iusemybrain 3 points 6 days ago

Hmm, never imagined myself being against that claim.

Some people say ignorance is bliss, I would say it isn't. For example, by learning engineering it made me loose my jewish faith... and I'm not complaining against it.

what's worse then knowing everything, being manipulated. for the first 18 years of my life, I've been manipulated to believe in something I never understood why. it was my hell.

So yea I'll take learning analysis, probability, ODEs, fourier series/transforms, any motherfucking day over being manipulated.

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yesman 1 point 6 days ago

For example, by learning engineering it made me loose my jewish faith…

The Conservatives are right to worry about University. I mean faith leaders expect to loose biology majors, but when engineers are getting de-converted you've got a serious problem.

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boaratio 1 point 5 days ago

One of my best friends dad once told me that going to college makes you liberal. He's a crazy conservative, but I can't say he's wrong. Knowing more helps you realize how the world actually works and information your decisions based on grounded logic, but at the same time conservative vs liberal is an interesting take on college. Id phrase it more as "sane vs insane."

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Fallibilist 3 points 6 days ago

I feel that way about meaningless things that are trending on social media. I might wake up one day and a new term like hawk tuah has appeared or I see a headline about a sydney sweeney controversy and my first though is that I don't know what that is or who that is and I'm glad that I don't. Even better if I don't hear about it at all - it's just noise.

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baggachipz 2 points 6 days ago

I absolutely bury my head in the sand about the news the last couple years. It’s just constant outrage porn and I already know who is a piece of shit and why. It makes no sense for me to get the daily (hourly?) confirmations of that.

If something is important enough, I’ll hear about it from others or see a meme in /c/lemmyshitpost@lemmy.world.

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boaratio 2 points 6 days ago

All I can hear is Cipher from the Matrix.

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ianhclark510 2 points 6 days ago

1930s German Citizen ass response

Also it just feels antithetical to (my?) idea of showerthoughts to just be like, Shall I ponder this nebulous and complex issue? Naaah

The first fascist you have to defeat is the little one in your hand maaaan

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42yeah 2 points 6 days ago

All knowledge is good knowledge!

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abbadon420 2 points 6 days ago

No, you don't have to worry much about things that are out of your control. Like I don't appreciate the president of America being a criminal and a pedophile, but it's not my country and it doesn't really affect my daily life much. So I'll just file that somewhere in my brain's long term storage, but I don't let it influence my brain's RAM when it doesn't need to. Maybe when I'm pumping gas, or discussing European cloud in LinkedIn, I'll think about it for a hot second and then store it back in long term storage.

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HubertManne 2 points 6 days ago

Im more worried about the present and the future. What concerns me is when we are not trying to get better or even glorify worse.

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schnurrito 1 point 6 days ago

You might enjoy the song "To Know the Unknown" by Innosense.

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BreadOven 1 point 5 days ago

It is bliss, and I almost wish I was ignorant enough not to care. But I'm glad I'm not so I can help enact change. Well at least try to.....

Edit: overall the world would be a much better place if people were less ignorant. I'm just so tired of feeling helpless.

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gh0stcassette 1 point 5 days ago

Nah, fuck this tbh.

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showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

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showerthoughts

@lemmy.world

login for more options

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

All posts must be showerthoughts
The entire showerthought must be in the title
No politics
- If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
- A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
Posts must be original/unique
Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.

Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.

go to feed...