My alternate hypothesis is that you're (aspirationally?) mistaking for dark triad traits your mild ASD. (Cf. your anecdote about parceling through all those text messages.) NPD and ASD can present similarly, such that the borderline girlfriend type who thrives on the jerkass indifference of the former will often be found misguidedly wrecking the world of the latter—but they are very different.
(As to circling, it seems to be for neurotics and women—that is, people who have the ever-present need to prattle on about who and what they are etc. On this we're agreed: it is a set of techniques for shallow people to imbue their externally-directed self-talk with an illusion of depth; conversational three-point perspective.)
As someone who lives in the bay area I've been exposed to innumerable micro-cults and variants of non-violent communication, prosocial behaviorism etc. What I always founds strange/interesting about them is that they seem to be a deeply boomer phenomenon which has more or less passed over gen x and hit the millennials like a bus. I wonder if it goes back even further: Are the boomers just the cultural continuation of the bohemian artists of the lost generation, which skipped over the greatest generation? I can't help but feel that with some exceptions (like Pound or Elliot) most lost generation types would be more at home with circling than traditional religiosity.
also as an aside: I think it's interesting that these fads seem to only appeal to Anglo or Anglo-assimilated cultures. I almost never see Black or Hispanic people attending these psudo-religious events, east Asians are perhaps the exception.
This is the first Gray Mirror post that came at me like the New York Review of Books. I did a head fake, slipped the jab, and caught just the last two paragraphs. A reader has to know that styles make fights. Collapse the pocket.
Good paragraphs, those last ones. Worth the ticket.
I vaguely remember camp counselors from the 1970s spouting this sort of thing. "I'm OK, you're OK," I think it was. Fortunately, I wasn't adorable enough to attract extra attention.
I see two paths. Either we convince everyone "Circling" reinforces white supremacy (probably true!), or we just nuke it from orbit.
I kept thinking how seamlessly Pete's prose folded into CY's, as though "Pete" were in fact a circle-forked version of Curtis, chiming in from the other side. Some amount of this is probably just the blogger/conversational tone, the exclamation points, the casual philosophizing ("Hey, man, I get it, I philosophize, too!"), but I found it pretty striking. Heavy doppelgänger vibe. Also—and I won't bother to tease out the parallels—but there's some real symmetry between the impulse toward "deep, phenomenological listening, etc." and the impulse toward an "autistic analysis" of 300MB worth of texts and emails. Both exercises probably have their marginal (or let's call it baroque) value, but a well-adjusted psyche would see them as the fool's errands they are and, having considered them briefly in that corner of the mind where such things come up for consideration, promptly set them aside.
I know this comes off like a jerk, but if some broad says she's into 'circling' or some other word you've never heard of that has a SWPL rig to it, that's the end of the date. If you were a misogynist you'd know that, so this is probably a tip that you should become a bit more misogynist.
Quite an enjoyable read, and it reminds me of a relationship I sunk a decent amount of time into as a slightly younger and much more misguided man. The younger generations do this unconsciously. Sadly, I’ve always had to learn the hard way. Here’s to being fashionable!
I miss the zeppelin based world conquest. This shit is way too gay.
I'm quite surprised how much I'm enjoying this detour Curtis...
Curtis Yarvin and Taylor Swift were separated at birth. Few know this.
It wasn't obvious until after he started dating again and, more to the point, breaking up.
What's next? A poem about this millennial? (Don't tell us she was a zoomer. Oh lord don't...)
*Dark Triad Curtis teleports behind you*
"psssh...nothin personnel...kid..."
coitus yarvin
My alternate hypothesis is that you're (aspirationally?) mistaking for dark triad traits your mild ASD. (Cf. your anecdote about parceling through all those text messages.) NPD and ASD can present similarly, such that the borderline girlfriend type who thrives on the jerkass indifference of the former will often be found misguidedly wrecking the world of the latter—but they are very different.
(As to circling, it seems to be for neurotics and women—that is, people who have the ever-present need to prattle on about who and what they are etc. On this we're agreed: it is a set of techniques for shallow people to imbue their externally-directed self-talk with an illusion of depth; conversational three-point perspective.)
Autism
As someone who lives in the bay area I've been exposed to innumerable micro-cults and variants of non-violent communication, prosocial behaviorism etc. What I always founds strange/interesting about them is that they seem to be a deeply boomer phenomenon which has more or less passed over gen x and hit the millennials like a bus. I wonder if it goes back even further: Are the boomers just the cultural continuation of the bohemian artists of the lost generation, which skipped over the greatest generation? I can't help but feel that with some exceptions (like Pound or Elliot) most lost generation types would be more at home with circling than traditional religiosity.
also as an aside: I think it's interesting that these fads seem to only appeal to Anglo or Anglo-assimilated cultures. I almost never see Black or Hispanic people attending these psudo-religious events, east Asians are perhaps the exception.
This is the first Gray Mirror post that came at me like the New York Review of Books. I did a head fake, slipped the jab, and caught just the last two paragraphs. A reader has to know that styles make fights. Collapse the pocket.
Good paragraphs, those last ones. Worth the ticket.
I vaguely remember camp counselors from the 1970s spouting this sort of thing. "I'm OK, you're OK," I think it was. Fortunately, I wasn't adorable enough to attract extra attention.
I see two paths. Either we convince everyone "Circling" reinforces white supremacy (probably true!), or we just nuke it from orbit.
"I have the whole Dark Triad" strikes me as inaccurate. And if it is inaccurate, imprudent!
I kept thinking how seamlessly Pete's prose folded into CY's, as though "Pete" were in fact a circle-forked version of Curtis, chiming in from the other side. Some amount of this is probably just the blogger/conversational tone, the exclamation points, the casual philosophizing ("Hey, man, I get it, I philosophize, too!"), but I found it pretty striking. Heavy doppelgänger vibe. Also—and I won't bother to tease out the parallels—but there's some real symmetry between the impulse toward "deep, phenomenological listening, etc." and the impulse toward an "autistic analysis" of 300MB worth of texts and emails. Both exercises probably have their marginal (or let's call it baroque) value, but a well-adjusted psyche would see them as the fool's errands they are and, having considered them briefly in that corner of the mind where such things come up for consideration, promptly set them aside.
Well, this is unfortunate but it does appear that this post puts us in cringe territory, for several reasons.
The Dork Triad:
1. Referring to someone you were seeing for two months as your "ex"
2. Referring to seeing someone for two months as a relationship
3. Sending a thousand pages of your text messages to a friend for an autistic analysis
I know this comes off like a jerk, but if some broad says she's into 'circling' or some other word you've never heard of that has a SWPL rig to it, that's the end of the date. If you were a misogynist you'd know that, so this is probably a tip that you should become a bit more misogynist.
Here is the framework that helps me wade through all those words: the woman wants to convert the man to her religion/cult. [Many such cases](http://www.artnet.fr/artistes/joos-van-winghe/phinehas-slaying-zimri-and-cozbi-the-midianite-HS5cQxvGakU022WucKbYfg2). The man, who is already in his middle age and thus (1) Already pretty well settled in his own religion/worldview and (2) Does not have raging hormones that can override it, politely declines.
Quite an enjoyable read, and it reminds me of a relationship I sunk a decent amount of time into as a slightly younger and much more misguided man. The younger generations do this unconsciously. Sadly, I’ve always had to learn the hard way. Here’s to being fashionable!