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There Is No Antimemetics Division (2018)

(qntm.org)
728 points squircle | 2 comments | 12 Aug 24 13:37 UTC | HN request time: 0.42s | source
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agubelu ◴[12 Aug 24 15:24 UTC] No.41225501[source]▶
The concept of an antimeme has been living rent free in my head (which is quite ironic) ever since I first read this piece back then. Easily my favorite tale from the SCP universe.
replies(1): >>41227861 #
BiteCode_dev ◴[12 Aug 24 18:40 UTC] No.41227861[source]▶
I know right?

Then you start wondering if you, or anybody, have forgotten anything so important that it would shatter your world.

And would you ever know? Is there any way to ever know?

What if the past changes as much as the future?

What if that's the Mandela effect?

replies(3): >>41228692 #>>41230388 #>>41233635 #
salawat ◴[13 Aug 24 09:00 UTC] No.41233635[source]▶
It's called "repression". It's a rather studied thing in psychological circles. Can cause all sorts of messes.

Solution is usually liberal application of therapy, hard work, persistence, and a little luck.

replies(1): >>41238016 #
1. BiteCode_dev ◴[13 Aug 24 18:26 UTC] No.41238016[source]▶
Equating existential pondering with mental illness is a dangerous slippery slope.
replies(1): >>41252066 #
2. salawat ◴[15 Aug 24 00:17 UTC] No.41252066[source]▶
Perhaps I worded that poorly. I was trying to express that there exist various psychological mechanisms specifically involved with isolating existentially destabilizing mental events from the conscious cognitive process to maintain it's integrity and ability to function, and what one of their names were. I tacked on the end the list of remedies applied traditionally when such mechanisms for whatever reason end up going awry. Those cases are undeniably a form of mental illness.

This instance of a poster's existential pondering is not mental illness. It's a valid question. The answer was yes. See repression, then research other cognitive distortions. It's part of building up a healthy meta-cognition.