# People **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296 "2016-09-07T19:43:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/121 "2016-09-13T08:03:11Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > We all feel somewhat estranged from society from time to time, especially in our youth. > > The difference recently though, is that among certain groups it’s become cool or even a badge of honor. Like there is something superior about making no effort to socialize or understand others, and rolling your eyes at others who are trying. > > But if I were to answer the OP, it would be like this: There are people I like, people I don’t like and a vast majority of people I have no feelings about one way or another, and I’m basically wired up to want to put humans into those brackets. > I wish people would behave more rationally, and certain things like religion and US politics sometimes gives me that feeling, yes, that other people are NPCs. But generally when I actually talk to people, I understand them. We’re more alike than we are unalike. It seems like the only thing in common is biology. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/122 "2016-09-13T08:06:28Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Well, yes - that’s what makes it easy to understand. There’s a part of me who, like you, sees other people as nothing more than tools; but there is another, hopefully stronger part, that sees them as human beings and feels a connection with them. I’m sorry you seem to have that part missing. > > No, research has shown that people can have, on average, circa 150 \*close \*relationships at any time. It says nothing about other relationships, and about how people feel about other people in general. Actually it does, because those others are just bodies to us. We only react in the appropriate way towards them because society says so, not out of any genuine concern or compassion. I think people who say otherwise don’t grasp how many people there are. They suffer and die every day, so what. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/123 "2016-09-13T08:16:12Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > Actually it does, because those others are just bodies to us. We only react in the appropriate way towards them because society says so, not out of any genuine concern or compassion. No, that’s just you. Don’t presume to speak for other people. You don’t understand us, so how can you know what we think and how we feel? ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/124 "2016-09-13T08:23:05Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > No, that’s just you. > > Don’t presume to speak for other people. You don’t understand us, so how can you know what we think and how we feel? Thing is, I do. That’s why I said what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/125 "2016-09-13T08:23:39Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > Just as I have also accepted that I won’t be understood by people Oh yes, you’re just like my mother, only in a different language. We have every piece you do, it’s you who’s missing several key ones. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/126 "2016-09-13T08:29:41Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > Thing is, I do. That’s why I said what I said. Then why is everything you said wrong? Stop acting like you’re smarter or more aware than anyone else here. If we’re NPCs, you’re just a scripted event. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/127 "2016-09-13T08:32:32Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Oh yes, you’re just like my mother, only in a different language. We have every piece you do, it’s you who’s missing several key ones. I would say you are greatly mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/128 "2016-09-13T08:35:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Then why is everything you said wrong? > > Stop acting like you’re smarter or more aware than anyone else here. If we’re NPCs, you’re just a scripted event. I didn’t say it was wrong. I understand how npcs work though. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/129 "2016-09-13T09:30:58Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > As she herself said: “Ayn; it rhymes with swine.” No, she said it rhymes with “mine”. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/130 "2016-09-13T11:38:34Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > It seems like the only thing in common is biology. Well you’re incorrect; people have much more in common psychologically, culturally and situational than that. Heck, we’ve seen very many threads just like this one on the Dope. That’s why I was even complaining about the phenomenon. Do you think you have anything in common with people who start threads (or make comments in other threads) almost exactly like yours? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/131 "2016-09-13T16:10:04Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > Philosophy from what I know is more personal opinion than any sort of truth. Experiment and observation teaches me that power is what matters. It’s the only way to enforce such opinions as truth. > > Also I think you are mistaken. I know people have all those things, but it doesn’t matter. It makes no difference to me. Their feelings, emotions, dreams, views. It’s the equivalent of a talking toy. All I’m concerned with is how they can benefit me, and what I might have to do to grease the wheels to get what I want. It’s like how a car doesn’t do anything without a key in the ignition and you to push the pedals. Also without proper upkeep it won’t last long. But if it should be wrecked beyond repair, then I find something else. > > I have accepted that the emotional rewards humans bring aren’t worth the investment. Just as I have also accepted that I won’t be understood by people Your middle paragraph is the very DSM definition of abject sociopathy / psychopathy. Whether you’ve come to it via revelation or by birth defect is mostly immaterial. If I was to wager I’d say you’re in your late teens or maybe early 20s and are just gaining enough psychosocial independence to drop the ordinary habits of mind and ordinary behaviors you picked up as a kid from your parents and peers which don’t really fit your atypical internal wiring. In my view people with this defect should be identified and if not promptly killed, at least obviously tattooed so as to be instantly unmistakable to the rest of us. They are dangerous to normal society. Frankly given the choice I’d rather round up the psychopaths than I would the child molesters. I’m permanently out of this conversation at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/132 "2016-09-13T19:52:47Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Your middle paragraph is the very DSM definition of abject sociopathy / psychopathy. Whether you’ve come to it via revelation or by birth defect is mostly immaterial. > > If I was to wager I’d say you’re in your late teens or maybe early 20s and are just gaining enough psychosocial independence to drop the ordinary habits of mind and ordinary behaviors you picked up as a kid from your parents and peers which don’t really fit your atypical internal wiring. > > In my view people with this defect should be identified and if not promptly killed, at least obviously tattooed so as to be instantly unmistakable to the rest of us. They are dangerous to normal society. Frankly given the choice I’d rather round up the psychopaths than I would the child molesters. > > I’m permanently out of this conversation at this point. You would be incorrect once again. I came to this through logic and extensive questioning. But I wouldn’t call it a defect, more like a boon. Too me empathy is a defect. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/133 "2016-09-13T20:08:35Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > You would be incorrect once again. I came to this through logic and extensive questioning. > > But I wouldn’t call it a defect, more like a boon. Too me empathy is a defect. It doesn’t matter how you arrived your sociopathy. It matters whether you are a sociopath now or not. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/134 "2016-09-13T20:21:50Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > You would be incorrect once again. I came to this through logic and extensive questioning. > > But I wouldn’t call it a defect, more like a boon. Too me empathy is a defect. You’re like a comic book villain, aren’t you? But not one of the interesting ones. A one-off. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/135 "2016-09-13T20:23:46Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > I came to this through logic and extensive questioning. Show your workings, or it didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/136 "2016-09-13T20:49:13Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > You’re like a comic book villain, aren’t you? But not one of the interesting ones. A one-off. Not exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/137 "2016-09-13T21:02:19Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Show your workings, or it didn’t happen. Well considering that I saw no reason to feel empathy I concluded that it was useless to have. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/138 "2016-09-13T21:11:16Z")
> [@Machinaforce](#): > > Well considering that I saw no reason to feel empathy I concluded that it was useless to have. Well, you’re wrong. Empathy is an investment in self-interest. If you’re nice to others, they’ll be nice to you. It’s part of the bonding process that makes society work and civilization possible. If you’re cold and aloof to others, then you will be less likely to receive help when you are in need. The social mammals invented empathy as a way to promote survival. You’re putting your own interests at risk when you retreat from social bonding. ---
**Author:** ![Machinaforce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@Machinaforce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machinaforce)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/139 "2016-09-13T21:36:46Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Well, you’re wrong. > > Empathy is an investment in self-interest. If you’re nice to others, they’ll be nice to you. It’s part of the bonding process that makes society work and civilization possible. If you’re cold and aloof to others, then you will be less likely to receive help when you are in need. The social mammals invented empathy as a way to promote survival. > > You’re putting your own interests at risk when you retreat from social bonding. Wrong. Being nice to others doesn’t mean they will be nice to you. It’s the hope that they will, but the reality is quite different. It’s a liability that can prevent one from seeing clearly. You don’t need empathy for society to work. It’s in fact a crutch to fall back on when they can’t see the logical aspect of cooperating. Also the fact about humans being social animals isn’t entirely correct. Such behavior is learned not innate. If we were a social animals then such things would be instinctual. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296/140 "2016-09-13T21:50:40Z")
In the past few weeks, we’ve had \*\*Machinaforce, Chihuahua, \*\*and \*\*KimJongUn \*\*all talking about why empathy is a bad or pointless thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people/765296.md?page=8)