I want to talk today about inkwells, but I don't want to exclusively talk about inkwells from the traditional perspective. Rather, I want to talk about inkwells from a perspective that stems from the basis of human psychology, in the sense that why is it that people don't get them? Why is it that people can't stand them? The phenomenon we observe when it comes to the misunderstanding of inkwells is not that different from the misunderstanding we can observe when it comes to other phenomena between human beings.
Now, if you've been with me for a while, then you almost certainly know that I've talked a lot about this phenomenon that I dub the problem of self-extrapolation. We struggle a great deal as human beings to understand the problems and dilemmas of other people, as individuals or as groups, because we are fundamentally separated from each other. Our consciousness is obviously separated from the consciousness of others, but on top of that, there's a serious issue of an inability to imagine what it's like to be that other person. Everything we look at, invariably, especially when you're not trained to do differently, looks like something you're either familiar with or you're not. People know what they know, people are familiar with what they know, what they experience, and generally speaking, things that are outside of that box become very, very difficult to understand.
As far as motivation is concerned when it comes to this understanding, that's another factor to consider. When you do not have a certain problem, you are rarely, as I've said many times, motivated to understand that problem, whatever it might be. If you're not diabetic, say a diabetic type 1, a congenital diabetic, then as an average person, you're probably not going to be super motivated to understand the interaction of insulin and blood sugar levels and things of this nature. You're just going to go about your day and do what you do. People are concerned, and this is really important to understand, about things that affect them.
The combination of the inability to extrapolate beyond oneself, which is, I would argue, the source of virtually all human misunderstanding at the social and psychological level, as well as the very normal reality to be concerned with things that affect you but not to be concerned with things that don't affect you, is important. This also goes back to the point I made in that Asmongold video, by the way, that out of sight, out of mind is a real thing. It's part of the reason why people don't care. It doesn't affect you directly, so you don't care.
How does this relate to inkwells? It's actually a good question. For the most part, the misunderstanding, the reproach, and indeed the derision that a lot of inkwells experience, however they might be presenting themselves, because there's no uniformity necessarily in how they present themselves, is related to these issues I just touched upon: inability to extrapolate beyond oneself and the out of sight, out of mind phenomenon. People are just not affected by these problems.
Now, I'm basing this, of course, on the argument that inkwells would make that they're basically sub-fives or even sub-fours, that they're extremely unattractive men. There are people who contest this, obviously, and the little official research that's been done has not confirmed this. In fact, they haven't touched upon the looks factor at all, probably because it's very difficult to test. But I will take the inkwells at their word and say that it is a problem with their looks. Even if it's not universally so, it probably is the case in a large majority of cases. As many people have pointed out, if you're an average-looking person, a quote-unquote normie, to use the looks definition of that, then you typically have a fair bit of room in terms of looks-maxing, in terms of optimizing your appearance. There are obviously severe limitations. You could be really good-looking but only 5'4". It's a thing that exists. But let's say you're of average height, let's say you're 5'10", and you are a 5.5. There are things you could do. Do you have unlimited room? No.
But this isn't just about acquiring mates or dates because, as almost all of you know by now, there's this thing called the halo effect. When you're a sub-five or perhaps even worse, a sub-four, especially as a male, then the world looks very different, and more importantly, the world looks at you very differently. How people receive you and perceive you is fundamentally different than what you can imagine as an average-looking guy. It's true you're invisible; nobody pays attention to you. But they're also probably not going to recoil away from you when you order a coffee or apply for a job. You're just going to be another faceless guy who looks like anybody else. You're not going to scare people off or scare people away. I'm not even talking about women here; I'm just talking about people.
When you're sub-four, and I've talked to a few of these people on occasion, the world is completely different. You are sometimes just invisible, but even worse, you're sometimes very apparent. I.E. your existence is apparent, I.E. people will look at you, make fun of you, they will feel repulsed by you. When you're truly unattractive, let's use the word ugly as a man specifically, the reception you receive from the world is something you just don't understand as an average-looking man or person. It's just not something you're going to get.
This is where the lack of creativity, the problem of self-extrapolation, the out of sight, out of mind, stuck-in-your-own-head principle comes into play. If you're an average-looking person, none of these issues are going to affect you. Now, it's still even more different if you're truly attractive. Then you're not invisible anymore, at least to some degree. People, especially women, are going to pay attention to you. The reception is the opposite effect, basically the halo effect versus the phthalo effect.
Have you ever witnessed the incredulity, the state of disbelief, of average-looking people or, more importantly, attractive people towards the average inkwell, a sub-four or a sub-five? It's pretty astonishing because these people are stuck in their heads, as we all are to some degree, and cannot extricate themselves from their own experience. They really think in many cases, and this is maybe a hot take, that all you need to do is take a shower, or all you need to do is change your attire, or all you need to do is come off more friendly. I don't think in most cases this is malice or intentional cynicism. Remember, people in general are not incredibly bright, and people in general almost to a fault are stuck in their own heads and stuck with their own experiences. When they approach other people, when they're looking at other people's experiences, it's always from their perspective.
You know my problems, if you've been with me for a while, with sleep. I'm a chronic insomniac. It's killing me slowly; it's been that way for decades. Everyone is going to give me advice, probably in the comment section again, "This worked for me, you need to do this." I could tell you I've probably done it already, but that won't help. They'll say, "You've done it wrong." This is this problem of self-extrapolation, but I don't think it comes from a position of malice.
You might be aware, but Reab Room made a video about a week plus ago, reanalyzing an interview with some actual models, including Sean O'Pry. I'd have to disagree with Rehab Room a little bit on the idea that Sean O'Pry is really aware of what he's saying and what he's thinking. If you're Sean O'Pry, a supermodel, an 8.5 or whatever, that is what your life has been. You don't know anything different, so why would you be aware of other people's experiences? I generally agree with much of what Rehab Room has to say, but I really think that people are stuck in their own heads, and so Sean O'Pry, just as a random example, is no different. He's a super attractive supermodel, and that's about it. He doesn't have a lot of room in terms of his capacity of thought, his ability to look at other people's situations. He's only used to easy mode in his case.
Now, there is an asymmetry here because if you're a sub-five or a sub-four, a proper inkwell, then you are accustomed to difficult mode. But for a variety of reasons, you're more in a position to observe that other people not stuck in your category are treated differently from you. Why? Because being in that category as an inkwell is actually a problem, a challenge, a difficulty you face. When you face a difficulty, you're more inclined to think about how to tackle it, if at all possible. Obviously, you're going to think about the things you can do, just as I have over the years with sleep. Nothing's really helped, but that's beside the point. You're going to think about the things that you face, the problems. How might I solve them? You're going to spend a lot of time with it. You're going to analyze it, and more importantly, you're going to be in a position to look at other people not in your category and see how it is different from your situation because it's an actual problem, because it's a challenge, because it makes your life worse.
That's the key feature here. The reason why Chads or even top-tier normies, as many people might use the term, are totally oblivious to, say, the plight of the inkwell is because in their situation it renounces their benefit. It's not a challenge; it makes their life easier. Hardship produces either failure, an attempt to counter that hardship, or in the best of cases, the successful surmounting of that hardship and everything in between. Obviously, these are not discrete categories, which is why people spend enormous amounts of time looking at their own problems. Inkwells are just as much stuck in their own heads as other people. It's not like they have a superpower. It's just their particular circumstance forces them to think about what it might be like for other people because it's a problem for them. When it's not a problem, you look really good, you don't think about it. It's that simple.
But it is possible, at least in theory, with some individuals, I think I've done a decent job of it, to extrapolate beyond your own experience and understand something, at least on an intellectual level. Example: I absolutely despise alcohol. I've never liked it. I think I've tried it three or four times in my life, and I'm pushing 50. I hate it. There's no version of myself in this universe that's ever going to become an alcoholic. I have tons of other problems, but alcoholism won't be one of them. And yet, I know people and have had close friends who struggle with alcohol, who come from families of alcoholics, basically addicts in this case, drug addicts. I'm still able to understand why that's so much of a challenge to them.
Sometimes you can draw analogies with yourself. For example, I struggle, as many people do, this is hardly me saying I'm unique in this regard, with sweets, right? I have to actively fight the urge to consume sweets, pastries, all these things. I'm a bit of a sugar addict. Many people are. Seeing from that perspective, the idea that somebody else might be addicted to a substance such as alcohol is not that alien. It's not that strange at all. But people rarely do the legwork in order to achieve that understanding, and here's the thing, they don't want to. In the case of inkwells, there's an added layer here. In the case of inkwells, they don't want to. People, average people specifically, and of course the most attractive people, do not want to understand the plight and challenges of inkwells. Why? Basically because of the phthalo effect. The very thing that the inkwells are complaining about, the very thing they're suffering from, their extremely poor physical appearance, makes them targets of apathy, derision, scorn, and in some cases even hatred. That's basically the phthalo effect. These other people want them to shut up about their problems because they don't think they're real, because they can't extrapolate beyond their own experience, and because they find them repulsive. So, all the more reason to say, "Shoo, go away. Don't talk about this. Don't talk about this."
Now, it is possible, as I said, to extrapolate beyond your own experience to understand at least intellectually how something else might be. People have done this. Serpinator, the Punani Slayer that you're familiar with, the guy is 6'4", but intellectually he can certainly understand that if you're 5'4" as a guy, or even 5'8" or 5'10", you are in a different category, and you will be treated differently. He can't viscerally experience that or explain it or replicate it in his own life, but he can understand this is how the world works. If you're in this category, you'll be treated accordingly, as opposed to this other category. It is entirely possible to do that, given the requisite motivation, given the requisite cognitive ability. However, in most cases, that is lacking. Even when people are really smart, there's just no motivation.
I'll give you one final example before I part ways. Some moons ago, I was in this conversation with, unironically, a mathematics professor at a prestigious university in California. This guy's intellect, cognition, is off the charts. I'm not especially bright; I am basically mentally compared to this guy. We got into this conversation about the problem of homelessness and drug addiction and alcoholism and how there are all these people there running around, setting up their tents, and lost in life. Then we specifically got to this idea of unemployment. A lot of them are unemployed, they got fired. He said to me, and I thought this was bizarre, "If I were them, I would start studying things such as, unironically, IT, programming, coding, so I could get my life together and find a job. And if I ever became homeless, I would gather my resources and that's what I would do." This is a guy with an IQ that's probably approaching 150, and since then has quit that job and works for a private company making close to $2 million a year as some kind of mathematical data analyst.
Do you see the problem here? "If I were them." But you're not them. You couldn't grasp, this hyper-intelligent guy, that there are people out there that don't have his brain capacity, that there are people out there that are lost in cycles of drug addiction and mental illness and alcoholism. Me, the intellectual dwarf compared to that guy, understands that. So, it's partly a cognitive issue, but it's also not. This guy couldn't get it, wouldn't get it. He was basically, in some sense in that moment, a complete idiot because he could not extrapolate beyond his own experience. That applies to the intellect, and it certainly applies to looks. As I've said, it applies across the board. Most people are not going to show you an inkling of understanding if they do not share your experience directly. It's a special person that can go beyond themselves to delve into the problems and dilemmas of other people in order to understand them, even if they're not affected by it.
Anyway, as always, thank you for tuning in. Many special thanks to my patrons on Patreon and my donors on PayPal. You guys are the best; you keep the channel alive and going. Without you, I would be dust and ash. As for everybody else, if you can leave a like, comment, share, and subscribe, all that YouTube jazz, apparently it helps. It would be much appreciated. Until the next time, if I'm still alive, I'll check you out then. May the gods watch over you. Bye-bye for now.
If you like this video, please like, share, and subscribe. If you enjoy my content, please consider making a donation or becoming a patron. Thanks for watching.
- Thinking Ape
Now, if you've been with me for a while, then you almost certainly know that I've talked a lot about this phenomenon that I dub the problem of self-extrapolation. We struggle a great deal as human beings to understand the problems and dilemmas of other people, as individuals or as groups, because we are fundamentally separated from each other. Our consciousness is obviously separated from the consciousness of others, but on top of that, there's a serious issue of an inability to imagine what it's like to be that other person. Everything we look at, invariably, especially when you're not trained to do differently, looks like something you're either familiar with or you're not. People know what they know, people are familiar with what they know, what they experience, and generally speaking, things that are outside of that box become very, very difficult to understand.
As far as motivation is concerned when it comes to this understanding, that's another factor to consider. When you do not have a certain problem, you are rarely, as I've said many times, motivated to understand that problem, whatever it might be. If you're not diabetic, say a diabetic type 1, a congenital diabetic, then as an average person, you're probably not going to be super motivated to understand the interaction of insulin and blood sugar levels and things of this nature. You're just going to go about your day and do what you do. People are concerned, and this is really important to understand, about things that affect them.
The combination of the inability to extrapolate beyond oneself, which is, I would argue, the source of virtually all human misunderstanding at the social and psychological level, as well as the very normal reality to be concerned with things that affect you but not to be concerned with things that don't affect you, is important. This also goes back to the point I made in that Asmongold video, by the way, that out of sight, out of mind is a real thing. It's part of the reason why people don't care. It doesn't affect you directly, so you don't care.
How does this relate to inkwells? It's actually a good question. For the most part, the misunderstanding, the reproach, and indeed the derision that a lot of inkwells experience, however they might be presenting themselves, because there's no uniformity necessarily in how they present themselves, is related to these issues I just touched upon: inability to extrapolate beyond oneself and the out of sight, out of mind phenomenon. People are just not affected by these problems.
Now, I'm basing this, of course, on the argument that inkwells would make that they're basically sub-fives or even sub-fours, that they're extremely unattractive men. There are people who contest this, obviously, and the little official research that's been done has not confirmed this. In fact, they haven't touched upon the looks factor at all, probably because it's very difficult to test. But I will take the inkwells at their word and say that it is a problem with their looks. Even if it's not universally so, it probably is the case in a large majority of cases. As many people have pointed out, if you're an average-looking person, a quote-unquote normie, to use the looks definition of that, then you typically have a fair bit of room in terms of looks-maxing, in terms of optimizing your appearance. There are obviously severe limitations. You could be really good-looking but only 5'4". It's a thing that exists. But let's say you're of average height, let's say you're 5'10", and you are a 5.5. There are things you could do. Do you have unlimited room? No.
But this isn't just about acquiring mates or dates because, as almost all of you know by now, there's this thing called the halo effect. When you're a sub-five or perhaps even worse, a sub-four, especially as a male, then the world looks very different, and more importantly, the world looks at you very differently. How people receive you and perceive you is fundamentally different than what you can imagine as an average-looking guy. It's true you're invisible; nobody pays attention to you. But they're also probably not going to recoil away from you when you order a coffee or apply for a job. You're just going to be another faceless guy who looks like anybody else. You're not going to scare people off or scare people away. I'm not even talking about women here; I'm just talking about people.
When you're sub-four, and I've talked to a few of these people on occasion, the world is completely different. You are sometimes just invisible, but even worse, you're sometimes very apparent. I.E. your existence is apparent, I.E. people will look at you, make fun of you, they will feel repulsed by you. When you're truly unattractive, let's use the word ugly as a man specifically, the reception you receive from the world is something you just don't understand as an average-looking man or person. It's just not something you're going to get.
This is where the lack of creativity, the problem of self-extrapolation, the out of sight, out of mind, stuck-in-your-own-head principle comes into play. If you're an average-looking person, none of these issues are going to affect you. Now, it's still even more different if you're truly attractive. Then you're not invisible anymore, at least to some degree. People, especially women, are going to pay attention to you. The reception is the opposite effect, basically the halo effect versus the phthalo effect.
Have you ever witnessed the incredulity, the state of disbelief, of average-looking people or, more importantly, attractive people towards the average inkwell, a sub-four or a sub-five? It's pretty astonishing because these people are stuck in their heads, as we all are to some degree, and cannot extricate themselves from their own experience. They really think in many cases, and this is maybe a hot take, that all you need to do is take a shower, or all you need to do is change your attire, or all you need to do is come off more friendly. I don't think in most cases this is malice or intentional cynicism. Remember, people in general are not incredibly bright, and people in general almost to a fault are stuck in their own heads and stuck with their own experiences. When they approach other people, when they're looking at other people's experiences, it's always from their perspective.
You know my problems, if you've been with me for a while, with sleep. I'm a chronic insomniac. It's killing me slowly; it's been that way for decades. Everyone is going to give me advice, probably in the comment section again, "This worked for me, you need to do this." I could tell you I've probably done it already, but that won't help. They'll say, "You've done it wrong." This is this problem of self-extrapolation, but I don't think it comes from a position of malice.
You might be aware, but Reab Room made a video about a week plus ago, reanalyzing an interview with some actual models, including Sean O'Pry. I'd have to disagree with Rehab Room a little bit on the idea that Sean O'Pry is really aware of what he's saying and what he's thinking. If you're Sean O'Pry, a supermodel, an 8.5 or whatever, that is what your life has been. You don't know anything different, so why would you be aware of other people's experiences? I generally agree with much of what Rehab Room has to say, but I really think that people are stuck in their own heads, and so Sean O'Pry, just as a random example, is no different. He's a super attractive supermodel, and that's about it. He doesn't have a lot of room in terms of his capacity of thought, his ability to look at other people's situations. He's only used to easy mode in his case.
Now, there is an asymmetry here because if you're a sub-five or a sub-four, a proper inkwell, then you are accustomed to difficult mode. But for a variety of reasons, you're more in a position to observe that other people not stuck in your category are treated differently from you. Why? Because being in that category as an inkwell is actually a problem, a challenge, a difficulty you face. When you face a difficulty, you're more inclined to think about how to tackle it, if at all possible. Obviously, you're going to think about the things you can do, just as I have over the years with sleep. Nothing's really helped, but that's beside the point. You're going to think about the things that you face, the problems. How might I solve them? You're going to spend a lot of time with it. You're going to analyze it, and more importantly, you're going to be in a position to look at other people not in your category and see how it is different from your situation because it's an actual problem, because it's a challenge, because it makes your life worse.
That's the key feature here. The reason why Chads or even top-tier normies, as many people might use the term, are totally oblivious to, say, the plight of the inkwell is because in their situation it renounces their benefit. It's not a challenge; it makes their life easier. Hardship produces either failure, an attempt to counter that hardship, or in the best of cases, the successful surmounting of that hardship and everything in between. Obviously, these are not discrete categories, which is why people spend enormous amounts of time looking at their own problems. Inkwells are just as much stuck in their own heads as other people. It's not like they have a superpower. It's just their particular circumstance forces them to think about what it might be like for other people because it's a problem for them. When it's not a problem, you look really good, you don't think about it. It's that simple.
But it is possible, at least in theory, with some individuals, I think I've done a decent job of it, to extrapolate beyond your own experience and understand something, at least on an intellectual level. Example: I absolutely despise alcohol. I've never liked it. I think I've tried it three or four times in my life, and I'm pushing 50. I hate it. There's no version of myself in this universe that's ever going to become an alcoholic. I have tons of other problems, but alcoholism won't be one of them. And yet, I know people and have had close friends who struggle with alcohol, who come from families of alcoholics, basically addicts in this case, drug addicts. I'm still able to understand why that's so much of a challenge to them.
Sometimes you can draw analogies with yourself. For example, I struggle, as many people do, this is hardly me saying I'm unique in this regard, with sweets, right? I have to actively fight the urge to consume sweets, pastries, all these things. I'm a bit of a sugar addict. Many people are. Seeing from that perspective, the idea that somebody else might be addicted to a substance such as alcohol is not that alien. It's not that strange at all. But people rarely do the legwork in order to achieve that understanding, and here's the thing, they don't want to. In the case of inkwells, there's an added layer here. In the case of inkwells, they don't want to. People, average people specifically, and of course the most attractive people, do not want to understand the plight and challenges of inkwells. Why? Basically because of the phthalo effect. The very thing that the inkwells are complaining about, the very thing they're suffering from, their extremely poor physical appearance, makes them targets of apathy, derision, scorn, and in some cases even hatred. That's basically the phthalo effect. These other people want them to shut up about their problems because they don't think they're real, because they can't extrapolate beyond their own experience, and because they find them repulsive. So, all the more reason to say, "Shoo, go away. Don't talk about this. Don't talk about this."
Now, it is possible, as I said, to extrapolate beyond your own experience to understand at least intellectually how something else might be. People have done this. Serpinator, the Punani Slayer that you're familiar with, the guy is 6'4", but intellectually he can certainly understand that if you're 5'4" as a guy, or even 5'8" or 5'10", you are in a different category, and you will be treated differently. He can't viscerally experience that or explain it or replicate it in his own life, but he can understand this is how the world works. If you're in this category, you'll be treated accordingly, as opposed to this other category. It is entirely possible to do that, given the requisite motivation, given the requisite cognitive ability. However, in most cases, that is lacking. Even when people are really smart, there's just no motivation.
I'll give you one final example before I part ways. Some moons ago, I was in this conversation with, unironically, a mathematics professor at a prestigious university in California. This guy's intellect, cognition, is off the charts. I'm not especially bright; I am basically mentally compared to this guy. We got into this conversation about the problem of homelessness and drug addiction and alcoholism and how there are all these people there running around, setting up their tents, and lost in life. Then we specifically got to this idea of unemployment. A lot of them are unemployed, they got fired. He said to me, and I thought this was bizarre, "If I were them, I would start studying things such as, unironically, IT, programming, coding, so I could get my life together and find a job. And if I ever became homeless, I would gather my resources and that's what I would do." This is a guy with an IQ that's probably approaching 150, and since then has quit that job and works for a private company making close to $2 million a year as some kind of mathematical data analyst.
Do you see the problem here? "If I were them." But you're not them. You couldn't grasp, this hyper-intelligent guy, that there are people out there that don't have his brain capacity, that there are people out there that are lost in cycles of drug addiction and mental illness and alcoholism. Me, the intellectual dwarf compared to that guy, understands that. So, it's partly a cognitive issue, but it's also not. This guy couldn't get it, wouldn't get it. He was basically, in some sense in that moment, a complete idiot because he could not extrapolate beyond his own experience. That applies to the intellect, and it certainly applies to looks. As I've said, it applies across the board. Most people are not going to show you an inkling of understanding if they do not share your experience directly. It's a special person that can go beyond themselves to delve into the problems and dilemmas of other people in order to understand them, even if they're not affected by it.
Anyway, as always, thank you for tuning in. Many special thanks to my patrons on Patreon and my donors on PayPal. You guys are the best; you keep the channel alive and going. Without you, I would be dust and ash. As for everybody else, if you can leave a like, comment, share, and subscribe, all that YouTube jazz, apparently it helps. It would be much appreciated. Until the next time, if I'm still alive, I'll check you out then. May the gods watch over you. Bye-bye for now.
If you like this video, please like, share, and subscribe. If you enjoy my content, please consider making a donation or becoming a patron. Thanks for watching.
- Thinking Ape
but nigga i woke up to live in hell again
