# no as a matter a fact you did not come into this world alone **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828 "2012-10-25T15:05:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/41 "2012-10-26T20:25:01Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > some “I’ve done everything for myself and nobody’s ever cared about me” Randian claim of utter self sufficiency & selfishness. That’s how it sounded to me when I read the OP, as the apologia of a “self-made man.” That’s why I was a bit puzzled why people were attributing mommy issues to the OPer – you wouldn’t have to be the mother of a person who said that to react badly to it if that’s how you interpret it. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/42 "2012-10-26T21:16:33Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Wow - it is typically not meant that way at all. Much more of a “there is nothing out there; and no one can experience life from your point of view.” It may be uttered by beret-wearing philosophers trying to sound deep, but that doesn’t change the fact that, as a statement “we enter and exit life alone” is meant to convey the burden we all have, and that any support we get is illusory or could disappear at any time. > > So, in other words, it is more the \*opposite \*of your definition - it is not “I proudly state my aloneness,” it is “we are alone and nothing can change that.” The former definition makes more sense though, since we do have plenty of non-illusory support and aren’t alone. “No man is an island”, to counter with another quote. This seems to fall pretty firmly in the “sounds deep but doesn’t hold up if you think about it” category. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/43 "2012-10-26T21:52:46Z")
Not necessarily. Even loving, supporting people can say or do things that make you realize they have no idea what you are going through and don’t understand you, at least now and then. My mother once asked me what on earth I had to be depressed about, when that wasn’t the point at all. Knowing that sometimes you absolutely must only rely on yourself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/44 "2012-10-26T22:00:07Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Knowing that sometimes you absolutely must only rely on yourself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You can’t rely on yourself more than you can rely on others. Alone, you are weak; individuals are near helpless. That’s why society exists in the first place. People are taught individualism because it makes them easy prey for the rich and powerful, not because it’s a good idea. And on top of that people can be sick or injured or just screw up. Relying on yourself isn’t a good thing; it just means you’ve been reduced to hanging by your fingertips, and have to hope that no one wanders by who is inclined to stomp on them instead of giving you a hand up. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/45 "2012-10-26T22:06:46Z")
"We come into this world naked, covered in our own blood, screaming in terror - and it doesn’t have to stop there if you know how to live right” ― Dana Gould ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/46 "2012-10-26T22:09:28Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > "We come into this world naked, covered in our own blood, screaming in terror - and it doesn’t have to stop there if you know how to live right” > ― Dana Gould “I want to leave the world the way I came into it; naked, screaming and covered in someone else’s blood.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/47 "2012-10-26T23:15:59Z")
I just read a fascinating article in the New Yorker about how the bacterial that live inside us is far more beneficial than we think. In utero we are in a sterile environment, but during birth we pick up tons of bacteria from the vagina. So we don’t come into this world alone - we’re accompanied by billions of bacteria. The article said that babies born through Caesarean deliveries often have more health problems in life, perhaps because they don’t pick up these germs. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/48 "2012-10-27T15:41:06Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > That’s how it sounded to me when I read the OP, as the apologia of a “self-made man.” That’s why I was a bit puzzled why people were attributing mommy issues to the OPer – you wouldn’t have to be the mother of a person who said that to react badly to it if that’s how you interpret it. Thank you. When I’ve heard it from people in passing it is amusing. When the man you love says it to you it feels like a slap in the face. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/49 "2012-10-27T19:21:00Z")
Uh, that _is_ what my mother did with me. At any rate, I think when people talk about being alone they mean that no matter how many people are with you, they’re not “in” you. They are not experiencing the same thing you are no matter how much they may want to commiserate. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/50 "2012-10-27T19:38:27Z")
Seems like it’s only a positive thing if you’re already so depressed that something slightly less depressing is better. It doesn’t make sense as comfort unless a lot of shitty things have happened to you, and no one is around to help you through it. And, yeah, saying it to someone you supposedly love is a pretty big slap in the face, just like any other statement that you are all alone in the world would be. What other purpose can you divine in telling someone this? Not suggesting it as something for you to believe, but as something the speaker believes? ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/51 "2012-10-27T21:02:14Z")
> [@truthSeeker2](#): > > I can count on my mom for > -unlimited love always. > -awesome food. > -taking interest in all stuff concerning me. > thats how mothers are. That’s how _some_ mothers are. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_of\_the\_Dark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Fear\_of\_the\_Dark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_of_the_Dark)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/52 "2012-10-27T21:11:16Z")
> [@sahirrnee](#): > > If you go out on your own you have nobody to blame but your own damn self and with that attitude you probably will. Sorry, I am confused here. For example, if I hang out alone or I feel lonely or something, should I blame myself? ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/53 "2012-10-27T23:01:54Z")
> [@Fear\_of\_the\_Dark](#): > > Sorry, I am confused here. For example, if I hang out alone or I feel lonely or something, should I blame myself? No What I meant was if you are going to go around with the attitude of I don’t need or want anybody in my life, and pushing people away, then don’t be upset if you end up alone. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/54 "2012-10-29T20:17:39Z")
Relationships come and go, even including family ones. But when you face death, you face it on your own, no matter who else is in the room with you. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828/55 "2012-10-30T14:00:42Z")
The “alone” here doesn’t mean with nobody beside you. It means nobody taking part with you. Like people who swim across the Atlantic solo - they’re not really alone, you know? If someone says sorry at a funeral, do you say, “What are you sorry for? You didn’t kill them”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-as-a-matter-a-fact-you-did-not-come-into-this-world-alone/638828.md?page=2)