The Terrible Paradox of Intelligence | H.P. Lovecraft

[@PursuitofWonder]

As always, thank you for watching. Get 1 free week and 25% off a premium membership to Blinkist using: www.blinkist.com/pursuitofwonder. Thank you to Blinkist for sponsoring this video.

[@8-P]

Hey, was looking for 2 of your videos, but cannot find them: - one, where an alien world that only knows happiness is poisened by humans - and the last records of a human after death, in some kind of internet archive and then it gets deleted Are these videos still there?

[@ElenaAshe]

Your videos and your voice, I’m sorry to say, are very depressing. For example, I was expecting the topic to discuss how once one discovers a love for knowledge then one realizes that there is so much more to learn, which leads one to realize the more he or she learns, the more there is to discover and learn about, and so on it goes. That’s the paradox for me.

[@glenyssmith261]

Before man felt fear he knew a more primal emotion. Older brother to fear. He knew hunger.

[@gofai274]

Congrats 0:58 you were able to consider eternal suffering, didn't see yet single person. Even Schopenhauer and Nietzsche even it is obvious from their philosophy didn't speak about this directly. And even high IQ ppl go instantly on copium when this is mentioned. Ppl live like they have only 1 life, we torture each other for infinity. Where will ppl see this??? How would you live if you had 1$ and you were on street: you would cheat, murder, steal to get even bit up... But ppl don't realize there is no escape and cause infinite suffering!!! I Am so desperate civilization is so idiotic, it will go extinct and nothing will ever change, if it is even possible to escape in the first place! Google WW2 Japan unit 731 everyone needs to know!!!

[@glenyssmith261]

@@gofai274 Eternal suffering means I will never stop either. Pain just lets me know my works are not finished. Death only slows my inevitable victory. As far as I'm concerned this is just Brother Strifes long bye bye speech. I've been on the streets btw. Ive ate from dumpsters and never shanked or even raised my fists. I've been stranded in cabins for all winter with only a few scraps rotting dead moose to eat. Haven't eaten a person yet. Don't call the cavalry. Be the cavalry.

[@barcafan1760]

Ahh my daily dose of existential crisis!

[@thedownwardmachine]

Along with today’s Kurzgesagt, where incidentally this is the top comment. No escape.

[@_cloudface_]

Meme's gone stale 😐

[@nyrdybyrd1702]

​​@@_cloudface_ Stale? for y'all maybe but my days are simply saturated with sadness/fraught with fear.

[@joshua.recovers]

​@@nyrdybyrd1702change your mindset change the direction of your life. Old meme formats don't save you.

[@thevinufernando8526]

i hate the fact that this is the top comment in most of the videos i watched on this channel

[@hellyeah_ellajane]

I used to hate horror until I experienced some actual bad things in my life. Now reading a scary book (especially cosmic horror), watching a scary movie (especially monster movies and body horror), or reading a gruesome graphic novel quiets a lot of my inner turmoil and helps me cope with feelings of helplessness and grief. Nothing puts things in perspective like entertaining thoughts of something TRULY disturbing.

[@rusalkin]

I used to love horror until I experienced some actual bad things in my life. Now I cant even walk past a drowning insect without reaching for a straw. Funny how life works.

[@nunisthathigh4825]

what about when the horror-fantasy/sci-fi horror is fused with action? Like for example of a sci-fi horror action, Aliens or the Terminator franchise. I think it's cool when the fusion is made, it has a subversive element of toying with your emotions.

[@hellyeah_ellajane]

@@rusalkin it is pretty peculiar. I am also prone to rescuing insects but can totally get on board with extremely graphic movies/books. I think a lot of my fascination with horror stems from religious trauma and chronic health issues. Seeing things like The Excorcist or Raw make me feel like my experiences are totally easy to deal with.

[@nunisthathigh4825]

@@eldritchtales4808 he's already giving himself therapy. Why spend $1,000 on a bs therapy session for something you can address yourself for free?

[@beelzebob23]

It's called catharsis. Art is freakin awesome.

[@Pres42050]

Personally I think it’s safe to say pursuit of wonder started a change in my life that lead me to think about life and it’s challenges much more rationally and for this I will always be grateful. it has lead me to continue to explore philosophy and psychology and while I do recognize that the only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty, I continue to love learning and appreciate the little things. Thank you so much for this and please keep up the good work.

[@apolloisnotashirt]

Dude same! However, I went through a huge depression phase before deciding to pursuit wonder. And after a while I now find myself an absurdist, existence is absurd, and y'know what? I accept that.

[@Spartan-Of-Truth]

Like, actually pursuing ‘WONDER’? I’m interested in this statement.

[@henryn1144]

"the only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty" nothing truer than this

[@markhosking1882]

My thoughts entirely. I always stressed to my children the importance of recognising the vastness of space and at the same time the enormous complexity of life, the scale of how "large" we are compared to the smaller lives within us and the smaller still chemistry and quantum effects. The reason being not to instil despair, fear or horror, but to instil wonder, amazement and joy.

[@LuisSierra42]

I used to think my life was a tragedy, but now I realize it's a comedy

[@forthehomies7043]

In high school I fell in love with science and math. I dove into biology, put the puzzle pieces of chemistry together, and explored the infamous world of calculus. I also studied physics. After continuing my education in college, specifically in physics, I started to get these weird feelings randomly. In retrospect, I wasn't sure what was happening to me. I now know that I was having spurts of existential dread. The more I learned about life and the universe we live in, the more it started to overwhelm and freak me out. I still adore math and science, and after overcoming those feelings of dread I think I enjoy our reality even more. If you think about it for too long it can consume you. Very cool video -- will have to read some Lovecraft now.

[@noktumwhatever753]

I was the same in school, majored in mathematics. If a person has a philosophical bone in their body, they should definitely NOT major in mathematics. All the implications that ended up coming with knowledge gained did very serious damage to my life for almost a decade. It took one of the most dramatic spiritual shifts possible to get out of the hell that is mathematical causality.

[@sarpsays]

How so did this damage happen cause of maths?@@noktumwhatever753

[@sharuk1321]

I really love how you start every video stating the helpless condition of the human race, the existential insignificance of every being, everything we know, but at the end you always come up with saying that our existence no matter how pointless, how dreadful or frightening it may seem like, it is still worth a shot, and to exist facing everyday fully aware of all the mundane nature of it all is the braver, wiser and better choice. That's what makes me love your videos.

[@MalachiWhite-tw7hl]

That's Existentialism, in a nutshell.

[@Nunya111]

This is the stuff I think of just walking down the street, nobody captures those feelings with words like this channel. Like fr, just looking down at the pavement I begin to imagine the pavers and pothole fillers, then the pavers before them, then the people who came up with asphalt and concrete, then the people who harnessed the power of wood to make casts for such things even possible, then the first people to walk the earth, then the first fish, then the collision between the moon and the earth, then the formation of the earth, then the nature of the universe. Then I think about the future and how incalculable my small slice of time is in comparison. All 8 billion people on the planet could read this comment and it’d still be forgotten in a second (comparatively to all of time((even if they knew my real name and I was the most famous man alive!)) It’s absolutely terrifying and calming at the same time like no other sensation. It’s terrifying because I know I’ll be thought of for the last time mere (comparable) nanoseconds from the instant I send this out, and calming because I know that no matter how terribly I fail at life they won’t remember 100 years from now and especially 10,000 years from now anyway.

[@derekholman8694]

Since adopting a positive spin on the philosophy of Cosmicism, I’ve never appreciate daily life more.

[@gambucino1260]

Hows that working out for u?

[@miguelatkinson]

​@@gambucino1260he did say he's appreciates his life alot more so clearly there is some value he found within this

[@byamboy]

I want more details

[@KosMik_Skul]

​@@DS-ej7zthuh.. i guess. i think my favorite is when the two are combined.🫠 like Rick and Morty for example. but.. i kinda feel like that first part is backwards. i think that sometimes nihilism is the fearful response to existence. 🧐 but what do i know. I'm a spiritual atheist and an optimistic nihilist. 😉

[@KosMik_Skul]

​@@gambucino1260dumb question. do u always respond to comments as if they are the answer to a question but u missed it?

[@Nooneself]

Possible meaning of life 1. Help reduce the suffering of others and seek nothing in return. 2. The joy of figuring out how the universe works. Best wishes 👍

[@timetraveller2818]

I live by meaning 2. but sometimes do things similar to meaning 1.

[@ReynaSingh]

The truth of the human condition is that answers will never cure our fears; only acceptance will.

[@MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz]

are there even any answers at all?

[@TS10852]

@@MonsterMash-yy7nl being present in the moment is the only real comfort.

[@jesuscastro7076]

@@MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz being in the present moment (truly being in the present moment and enlightened) you get to experience reality as it truly is without your mind putting these weird unrealistic filters on reality. Usually when you experience reality directly through the practice of meditation you will literally lose any fear you’ve had about existence and reality

[@MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz]

@@jesuscastro7076 I think you're right. But again it seems that we humans are kinda fantasy-obsessed, as in reality is such a frightening thing to us that we've got to always come up with some fantasy or story to make it less terrifying. In other words, we can not live without somehow lying to ourselves because facing the truth, however uncomforting and harsh as it may turn out to be, is something that we aren't ready for. According to Donald Hoffman in his book The Case Against reality, he talks about how due to evolution, we are hardwired to see not as they really are but simply in ways that are convenient for our survival as a species. It just seems that this is the human predicament and every sensitive and concerned human being has tried to come up with solutions for it.

[@parallax4475]

​@@jesuscastro7076i 100% agree I have the same philosophy This Lovecraft thing is too out there Existential crisis is just I'm 14 and it's deep There is Nothing to be scared of u can't do shit about how small or how insignificant u r U will realise when u will meditate and actually sort ur thoughts It's good as a fiction but in reality in present it's just an childish fantasy

[@tumbler9428]

I find it indeed interesting that after a cultural development of thousands of years, we seem to be at a point where not too few of us spend as much time as possible trying to escape reality, using means of escapism like binge watching, binge gaming, binge youtubing :) , binge tiktoking ... or simply by drugging themselves to the point of perfect dizziness or stupor.

[@RictusHolloweye]

To be fair, our immediate ancestors snorted coke and smoked joints to their hearts' content. Humans have always sought escape from their own thoughts.

[@DuckDodgers69]

That is 1 perception

[@tpolutts3309]

​@@RictusHolloweye For real. Alcohol is nearly 10 thousand years old. And who knows how many natural drugs were used for thousands of years.

[@AndreasDelleske]

We try to escape emptiness but if we'd face it, it's the most beautiful no-thing. It's what we are and there are only one. We are having bullshit concepts around it, that's why we fear to give up clinging. To die or to sleep - same thing. No big deal. I'm not afraid, I went through my feelings and thoughts as you all will. They faded, just as I will.

[@childpeanut5095]

Reality is for people who can’t handle drugs

[@MoriohAnime]

Yes! A new video to help treat my existentialism and depression. Thank you 💙🤝🏽

[@somedudeok1451]

This trend of people acting semi-proud of having depression, as if that is some kind of achievement or sign of good character, is truly weird.

[@natural9743]

I have fear of comments, so this is a big hurdle I have overcome.

[@SP-ny1fk]

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.” ― H.P. Lovecraft

[@Napoleonwilson1973]

I’m choosing a new dark age

[@joshuawhinery208]

"Why did the universe happen?" & "Where are we going?" Strike me as the two primary existential questions about reality

[@billbill3709]

You successfully put into words what I had come to realize, everything happens because something else happened, therefore you were destined to be right here right now no matter what. That is the undeniable truth of our reality, we are on a predetermined path of cause and effect and nothing can stop or change that. It’s so weird to come to that realization, I can’t even begin to describe the feeling

[@thzzzt]

It's not "undeniable" unless you want to ignore the debate about determinism vs. free will that philosophers have had for centuries. There are good arguments on both sides.

[@thzzzt]

So if you had the power, would you abolish prisons? After all, why imprison a man for something he was destined to do?

[@Krokonil]

Once you accept that existence is meaningless and that death is just nonexistence, which makes it even more meaningless than existence ... Then nothing is scary.

[@PollyCot]

When I was young, I felt this while reading the second Darren Shan Demonata book, when one of the characters points out tiny stars in the sky to another, who then tells him that they're demons of unimaginable size hurtling through their universe. Great bedtime reading for kids.

[@niceman3318]

7:45 at this point he realizes what he is saying is really depressing so he than suddenly tries to convince people not to kill themselves

[@siriuss_]

I know right 😂

[@nuwanda2702]

It is called Cosmic Horror. I recommend the book Three-Body Problem as well if you like Lovecraft's work.

[@qwertzu140]

You got me interested. Who's the author?

[@CaviarTaco]

Amazing book series. Best sci-fi I’ve ever read.

[@georgewillow112]

@@qwertzu140 Liou Cch’-sin, he's a chinese writer and the book is also originally chinese, but has since been translated into many languages and has become a worldwide phenomenon.

[@qwertzu140]

@@georgewillow112 Thank you, I'll look into it :)

[@wisdomsnap8695]

​@qwertzu140 cixin Liu is how it is on books in america. The trilogy which has three body problem, dark forest, and deaths end i think are collectively known as the remembrance of earths past trilogy

[@electricsnut]

This has to be the greatest synchronicity I’ve ever had. I’ve been slipping deeper and deeper into this existential rabbit hole of the absurdity of existence.

[@somedudeok1451]

There's nothing absurd about it. So you exist because of a chain of events that (potentially) started with the big bang. Why would that be absurd or scary? It's pretty bland stuff tbh. Just the nature of how things are.

[@MikeSpinoza]

Actually there is no-one who exists. The story of a 'who' or 'I' is just a construct of mind. Whose mind? No-ones...

[@jogon2433]

That’s why atheism leads to depression , or even sometime mental problems lol, I truly hope you guys find Jesus 🙏he is the way the truth and the life

[@somedudeok1451]

@@jogon2433 Nonsense. If anything, the worship of a fictional being that demands constant adoration while threatening eternal agony if you don't love it is what leads to depression. Atheism just frees you from this cage of masochism. And being outside of that religious cage means you can expand your mental capacity to recognize concepts that might be so terrifying for you that you become depressed. But that's not the same as saying atheism leads to depression and it's also not an argument for staying in your masochistic cage.

[@jogon2433]

@@somedudeok1451 no what makes atheism so depressing, is because if it is true, there’s absolutely no meaning or purpose lol, no groundings for logic, reasoning, epistemology etc.. without the existence of a God you have no justification for believing in anything in the first place, let alone metaphysical claims like objective morality, evil, , the mind , existence etc. and as for constant adoration is not a command that you ought to do, but do so because God is all good loving and powerful and deserves adoration, you send yourself to hell not the other way around

[@krokodyl1927]

‘we are becoming increasingly aware of what we are not aware of’. True, although you can never get enough of what you don’t need - Buddha. 🌝

[@myshkakozlovski802]

Existence is terrifying until you realize that you ARE existence. All of it. What a relief.

[@kirk1147]

Thank you. I was running low on existential dread and you refueled my tank elegantly and poignantly.

[@real-timelabel-freeimaging4653]

I read a lot of HPs books and still like them very much. But as scientist, especially physicist and biochemist, I have to admire the unknown... and it even more suiting, that even as we or our acestors konw so much less, we are all have a chain of ancestors going back to the very first life on this planet.. and unbroken chain, which is linking over billions of years... this is remarkable stable and resilint against all odds of reality... we are persistant.. each of us... so fear is warning us, but we have a rich history, do never forget this

[@matthewpocock4824]

As a child, I used to worry about the cause and effect of existence and how if just one of the innumerable dynamics changed, I would not exist. It would terrify me. As an adult, I now fear that the nature of discovery is such that it only magnifies the unknown. The search for knowledge is a fools journey, and I fear it will eventually drive me mad.

[@earnyourimmortality]

There is no first cause or absolute beginning. That is the ultimate conundrum. No God, know fear... Know God, no fear! Godspeed, to my fellow astronauts ❤️⚖️🧠

[@amampathak]

This is absolutely top tier content mate, brilliant as ever

[@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon]

A few months ago I completed Lovecraft's "The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales", comprised of 23 stories set in the same universe. It was a wild, wild ride that definitely made me think on these questions. To put in focus the infinity of time and space, as contrasted by our own strictly limited human perspective, is a task that both terrifies and inspires one. Despite the relative comfort of nowadays' life, partially made possible by the very technological advancements Lovecraft seemed to dread so much, I still feel as if we're yet to experience that which he alluded to in his opening paragraph to "The Call of Cthulhu". And I don't really want to point my finger at truly sentient and independent AI, but it's hard not to. I think the real horrors are yet to come. Guess only time will tell.

[@byamboy]

How do you deal with this feeling the true horrors are yet to come? I seem to intuitively know this. I have no idea why I keep getting flashes of an AI overlord torturing me after reading my thoughts. It's scary.

[@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon]

@@byamboy I don't deal with it. I completely and utterly ignore it by occupying my attention with other less ominous ideas and activities. To carry the burden of a future I have not yet lived is equally as futile as shouldering the excruciating weight of a past that no longer belongs to me. The present is all I have, and while I do go through the motions in their full spectrum, I try not to dwell too much on the horrors I may or may not live to see. As Seneca eloquently yet succinctly put it so many years ago: "He who suffers before is necessary suffers more than is necessary."

[@byamboy]

@@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon oh yes, so you are one of those superhumans that can actually do that. :-D I have been practicing mindfulness too, with the intent of coming closer to the present. Being "intelligent" leads you to anticipating these things automatically. Our brains are predicting machines and mine takes its job very seriously. lol. I found that gratitude also works when my AuDHD brain takes a turn to the depths of despair, completely lost in storms of pattern recognition and earthquakes of torturing self-analysis.

[@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon]

@@byamboy well, I like to tell myself I mostly live in the present, but as I said, I also have my moments when the darkness descends upon me once again. If it lingers too much and refuses to leave, I turn to psychedelics. LSD has literally saved my life twice already, and seeing how things in the world are going, I won't be surprised if it does it again in the future.

[@byamboy]

@@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon Thanks man, I have tried it too, and it was awesome, but I just microdosed a bit. Still to try a full trip. Ayuaska saved my life, I recommend!

[@dkstudioart]

The idea that there might be some kind of existence after death is probably my biggest fear. If I could be 100% certain that death was the absolute end of my existence that would be very comforting.

[@thereisnosanctuary6184]

Ikr. Imagine never sleeping. Eternally conscious. That is Hell, I wouldn't need fire and pitchforks. Just always awake, bodiless, no ability to touch or be touched.

[@okthisisepic2928]

You should read the Bible and decide for yourself. Just in case.

[@gofai274]

Same, i don't want to even tell you things i know... This has been my worst fear... Wisdom of Silenius...

[@michaelrivera6989]

Find something meaningful and do it. I, for one, am grateful to be here.

[@nintendianajones64]

You're denying reality. Your attitude of denialism is very common.

[@metamorphosis_77]

Examine the melody of the cosmos, the sparkling allegories of nature, the big-ass truths of the human condition wrapped in the hard shell of nonsensical abstraction - themes that flew through the air with the greatest of ease.

[@nathanielmikkie7171]

I just lack words to express what I ever thought, but this channel does it for me. I love it

[@Baloo555]

Lovecraft also came up with purrrfect names for his cats.

[@ZafOsophy]

We all want to run away, be free, from mundane reality. Some people buy a mobile home/caravan, or a canal boat, but we can't run away from overselves. Most of our life, we are distracted by the everyday problems of the world, but later we have much time to dwell on our existence. Without a good frame of reference, we can imagine/invent all sorts of horrors. It's all about attitude, the world is full of beauty, love and wonder. Life is the greatest gift from the creator, race each other to do good, and you will have a blessed life 🎉

[@Badfish3208]

The odds of anyone existing in this world is astronomical. If you consider all the things from the beginning of time that had to align perfectly, to come to our own individual existence baffles my mind.

[@ilyas_elouchihi]

I'm a simple man, I see Lovecraft, I click

[@bootnad]

I've been waiting for this one for a long time specifically from you!!!

[@756kanav]

“did it anyway cuz we had a chance to”. loved the line. just wow

[@noktumwhatever753]

Anyone who stays up for hours every single night thinking about the unanswerable questions KNOWS that existence itself is horrifying. In a long list of ways. I will always love this channel, and I'm very grateful that the Matrix hasn't decided to shut you down yet. You're a very gifted thinker, and I hope you hear that from more than just youtube users.

[@commandergreen8296]

Our universe is actually built on probability so it isn’t deterministic in nature. Quantum mechanics has found definite proof that the probability is intrinsic to the universe, we discovered this during the first half of the 20th century. Great video, I just wanted to correct you on this.

[@dsgdsg9764]

Existence is not scary it is and that's all it needs to be

[@madelinmitford8062]

"Only those who are most afraid , don't admit that"

[@GB2G]

The scary aspect of it is the amount of suffering it can afflict

[@jimijenkins2548]

@@madelinmitford8062 This is wrong, no matter how poetic it sounds. There are those who are unafraid and content to exist.

[@madelinmitford8062]

@@jimijenkins2548 i was just quoting the video And no , unless you come from a rich family or from some place that hasn't seen problems , you are scared to exist It's not more scared to exist than it is scared of the future In this case it can be interpreted as scared to exist in the future And just because it's scary doesn't mean people aren't happy , it's maybe the same as watching a horror movie Regardless of that , if you delve into philosophy or history and stuff , you do know how scary and cruel the world is and how unfairly people are treated So i don't think that people are not scared to exist Again , they can be happy to exist but at the same time , they also can be scared Anyways , if i was given the choice to exist or not , i would always choose the later

[@nintendianajones64]

​@@jimijenkins2548you sound scared lol

[@chaunceytraplay6853]

Dude I have never heard of this channel but I can say this much. I don't know if the speach you'd said at the end was an original or not but it was very good and it was very well delivered on your part. It almost reminds me of a graduation speach in a way. How it managed to encapsulate the fear of not knowing what is to come next whilst still being inspirational to the the potential of what may lie ahead and reminding you not forget or ignore the experiences or events that inevitably lead up to this point. I have always been somewhat blown away by the thoughts of the larger world around me and my place in experiencing it or the thought of how many other people their are who are all experiencing their own existence all around me and their thoughts and feelings in comparison to my own. How completely different their lifes can be or at least their views on life may be even if they are living right nextdoor. The idea that so many people exist and for every single one is a life that's only truly experienced by themselves. I remember as a child walking around and glancing at other people's windows and seeing a brief glipse of what is essentially a completely different existence going on parallel to my own. One that even though it was happening so near to mine however it might never actually intersect with it in anyway at all or in ways that either will ever be consciously aware of if they do. I remember wondering what their lives must be like and how as a species or even a planet we someway ended up with the world we have today and everything that has happened to get us there. I don't know how much of that makes sense but I can end with a last definite case of cause and effect... watching your video has caused me to subscribe and like.

[@RogerLewis-ey2tt]

"Perhaps existence itself is the greatest horror.". Well, yeah. All our pain hits us while we exist. When we stop existing---no pain! Like magic!

[@kittylove685]

I am sad... still sad... because of all the mistakes I make because I am too stupid... but still .... u came... my emo prince... greatest genius....and did this... the final minutes where incredibile... why? why you? Why any of us? So so... no words to describe....really... I still dunno if I am too weak or life is too hard... you helped me realise that indeed life is too hard... well I kinda always knew but you confirmed my judgement... as I am sad...in my despair and lonely hours, as it is hard for me to go outside... crippling anxiety... that gives lots of tummy problems......in the taughest times I met u...and frans de waal books... and you saved my life.... especially u.... ghis video motivates me to read lovecraft. . It seems fascinating... if i can bare it... cause I am too scared...lol

[@animalshaverights127]

We're on the same crippling anxiety boat. I feel like everyone can read my exact thoughts and it feels extremely uncomfortable making me hate going out... but listening to videos like this or about the universe helps a lot

[@pyewackett5]

We realise this is a battle on every level Dark versus light. The Dark offers all kinds of things. We're SO vulnerable.

[@Alexander-oh8ry]

What?

[@pyewackett5]

@@J.U... Good & evil then .

[@nintendianajones64]

​@@pyewackett5what a simplistic, childish attitude lol

[@pyewackett5]

@@nintendianajones64 Well how would you describe the nature of what is happening ?? lol

[@djangotriump8025]

Thank you pursuit of wonder for changing my life and perception

[@maxhagenauer24]

Did you never question these things?

[@needthecoast]

Excellent writing. Thanks for putting the brilliance of Lovecraft in the proper light.🎉

[@GregMoress]

"No One Here Gets Out Alive" A book about Jim Morrison, lead singer of 'The Doors', a band name based on the words of poet William Blake, who wrote of "The Doors of Perception"

[@domb8448]

Correction: The doors of perception is a Blake quote from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The Doors of Perception is a book by Aldous Huxley from which The Doors took their name. "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern." William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

[@videosbymathew]

I don't have a fear of death, I have a fear of dying...

[@PatrickRyan147]

Please pick one. We live in a.. A: Big bang scenario B: A computer simulation C: A holodeck scenario Ans: "C". This is good news because holodeck scenarios are potentially eternal unlike true big bang universes which are not..

[@PatrickRyan147]

Surely, to be miserable forever is a good definition of 'hell' and to have fun and be happy forever would be a good definition of 'heaven'.. therefore one should try to have fun and be happy.. in case we are doing it forever.

[@thedownwardmachine]

Counterpoint: Ice-T’s video on the theory of “F*ck it.”

[@chexterkat]

And then you walk outside and everything is normal…..

[@jesuscastro7076]

Being in the present moment (truly being in the present moment and enlightened) you get to experience reality as it truly is without your mind putting these weird unrealistic filters on reality. Usually when you experience reality directly through the practice of meditation you will literally lose any fear you’ve had about existence and reality

[@explorer.samrat]

This channel is questioning our existence, but still we love it.😅❤

[@pvs-19]

This channel is not questioning anything. This channel is made of professionals who simply write effective scripts for their audience. However, they write in a professional and thorough manner, delivering high-quality and engaging content. There's no need to seek a truly deep meaning on a totally commercial channel with 2.5 million subscribers.

[@LuisSierra42]

@@pvs-19 There's no truth sir

[@terryhammond1253]

Wow! What a Superb Narrative! I will now delve into H P. LOVECRAFT. Thank you for "The Pursuit Of Wonder"

[@thesilenceofthesnowinsumme1463]

Thanks very much. Really interesting 👏👏👏

[@paulrw5168]

It’s hard not to have a fear of what I don’t know because there is so much out there!😅

[@Anthonydanells]

For me i no longer fear existence after 3 unliving attempts, i just hate existing and find it a waste of time

[@fernandoorozco5968]

Truly a deep daily dose of existential crisis and what to learn more about Cosmicism

[@wilberwhateley7569]

It’s only an existential crisis to those among us who are still wearing the mask of sanity - people like me have *embraced* the madness of a universe without purpose, thus deriving an almost perverse joy in realizing that human existence is inherently meaningless!

[@cuLiref]

My deepest fear. And that's putting it very lightly

[@mikechaplin7717]

This was brilliant. Well done and thank you!

[@james_solo]

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

[@TarzanHedgepeth]

Duck!

[@Enethriel]

Your videos are like a psychedelic trip into sanity.

[@yurigiuseppe0603]

Graciliano Ramos and his work "angústia" need to appear on this channel. Great video

[@Neil-Aspinall]

'When I was 7 I awoke crying, my parents tried to console me with a plate of banana's and ice cream and kept asking, what's wrong? As I looked at them I thought, you can not help me.This was my first memory of existential angst, the terrible realization that I was seemingly real? Since then I have kept busy to try and keep the terrible truth at bay.'

[@caroflines8298]

you always do such a stand-up job on your graphics, I need to know your methods!!

[@jerrysstories711]

The most terrifying thought I can imagine is that our souls are immortal. We don't have the agency to end our existence. Torment can indeed be eternal.

[@jaqueitch]

The idea of existing forever has haunted me since I was four years old.

[@ABeeStingInTheBrain]

the remnants of a smile and lots of laughter too ❤ life is a funny blessing thank you, pursuit of wonder, for the topics you cover and your unique renditions on them

[@Greg-xs5py]

If the only thing that we know for sure is suffering, if fear is the oldest emotion, if everything continues to exist only because it feeds on other living things, then at some point you have to ask “what is this existence?”

[@natmanprime4295]

roleplay

[@Brambrew]

Don't even worry about it, all living beings are a part of a collective consciousness... probably. Death is a temporary inconvenience. "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter!" ~Yoda

[@listengort88]

That's genial. I've named it ''an awestruck fear of existence'' or being aware of ''I am what I am and that's only me''. Actually that's the first step towards true enlightenment and understanding naturally that we are an eternal soul and body is only a temporal form of existence for a spirit within

[@meirgrossman850]

Fucking love this guy…hits the deepest parts of my subconscious and shakes it up…sheer brilliance.

[@alejandrogillick6788]

Thank you very much !! (from France)

[@saurav4180]

Afterlife exists, and it’s more terrifying than any of us can imagine. Over time ive seen many glimpses and mention of it in this channel’s videos. We’re all trapped in a cycle of birth and death, there exists a way to escape it, and it’s present in our world. Human life form is the only chance to escaped it before being thrown into an endless life forms chain.

[@GB2G]

Is that Buddhism? It’s the religion with nirvana right? I might be wrong. It’s been a long time since I took social studies.

[@kelleemerson9510]

Being here is a prison if we consider it so or a beautiful experience if we consider it so. As far as my experience, I am trapped in one body and the only thing I can do is make the best of what I got. Everything worthwhile is gone that isn't in this moment and worrying for the future changes nothing. Just enjoy this life as best you can.

[@saurav4180]

@@GB2G it's definitely isn't confined to any specific religion, but hinduism, sikhism, even Buddhist has mentions of a single divine entity who created us and our homes but many souls got greedy and chose to left it for better life, and now being trapped in this life-death cycle.

[@Andrea-pm3dy]

Thank you 😊

[@mikepostalakis]

this is your best video yet

[@mari-xp5my]

Reality is here. One can be scared of it and write a book about humanity’s deepest fears and the other can be intrigued by it and write a groundbreaking physical theory. The existence is both at the same time.

[@lukehowie9969]

I realise, sitting here watching this video, that it may not be 'existing' that I fear in and of itself, as I had thought perhaps it was. Instead, it is the conditions within and causing that existence that I fear and indeed, loathe. To be born against our will, due to the arrogances of our foremothers; to trudge through life, berating oneself for not being grateful enough and hating oneself for emotions that you've inherited somewhere along the way but have to take responsibility for nonetheless; trying to be what people want you to be, only to fail because the only perceptions you have of what people want are your own fabrications - these are the things that make me sick, tired and will myself not to wake up every morning. And here I am venting that on a KZbin comments section. What a sad, pathetic human I am.

[@TarzanHedgepeth]

Almost all of what is being said here is true, with one exception: the lack of understanding that the root cause of it all is God who set up the dominoes and then kickstarted the whole process - and He planned every single domino and He is present at the fall of every domino. It is HIS work. The reason why you feel like a slave in that body is because you aren’t comprehending your service to God - but, even more importantly, you’re not comprehending His service to you - to save you from all of that baggage at the end; to keep your soul from that outer darkness, and death, and hell. This earth will always have its trials. Jesus imprisoned Himself in our body and humbled Himself and took responsibility for EVERYONE; especially those who believe in Him. This world does not necessarily get easier because of that belief - what happens is that your soul is saved. But, in this present time, He still grants His children what they ask, as a part of God’s will. For those who believe in Him, He lays on their heart the proper desires they should have - even if those desires contradict more basic desires; that desire is there. He put it there. He will fulfill that desire in all of His children because that’s what a good Father does. If you believe in Jesus, you will have someone to talk with - and someone who knows you and hears you better than you even know yourself. I’m never lonely with Jesus. In all of my failures, He’s never been unfaithful to me.

[@luckyduck_.]

The moment you take back control is the moment you’re free. Use those experiences to grow yourself into the person YOU want to be. You’re still waking up everyday and trying for a reason. Subconsciously you want to be here, you’re stronger than you think.

[@drawn2myattention641]

This is a well written, powerful little essay. I hear echoes of Rod Serling.

[@robertjacobs7223]

Enjoyed the ride.. This one did the trick.. More like this & I'm a keeper..

[@OumyLand-wf7tp]

Enjoy ride as long as it lasts

[@OumyLand-wf7tp]

😥😥😥

[@joshunodd9581]

Do a live stream sometime soon... I'd really love to see you

[@brenogabriel8633]

Is amazing how this videos make me so hipnotized. It just feel different to hear and see all this things; create such a unique sensation...

[@wkgall]

I 🥰 this presentation, thanks, I'm subscribed to your newsletter // visiting my inbox has never been this interesting, love your work

[@chokfrancisco2008]

This format is much better

[@SlurpeeBoy9999]

"Come, Bender. You'll like being dead." "That's what they said about being alive!"

[@merrypeterson489]

crying on my break at work now

[@thejackanapes5866]

Video is nice It's empirical evidence of the soundness of Ligotti's argument.

[@nikhilshivansh]

Existence is truly a difficult thing to grasp but it is not deterministic. There are predictable probabilities but never certainty.

[@itsirrelephantman]

"I have always been in here, I have always looked out from behind these eyes, feels like more than a lifetime..feels like more than a lifetime" Floyd

[@missmahogany031]

this my fave channel

[@dnalord77]

I sometimes think Ligotti is a frustrated optimist, you can't know what a bad deal is without understanding what a good deal would be.

[@Leto85]

04:26 'Our awareness, driven by scientific and methematic understanding, that existence becomes more and more synonymous with the unknown, and thus becomes more and more the object of fear.' To me that sounds contradicting. The more science and mathematic understanding would come to the unkown - thus the more we understand - it would seem to me that the less we would fear. Understanding can take away the fear of what once was feared.

[@csj9619]

"Dimensional acuity". I like it. I'm gonna go ahead and approve.

[@RSanchez111]

I wish I could be blissfully unaware again

[@JinroHz]

I'm grateful for experiencing life.

[@reuvenpolonskiy2544]

Never be worried about things not in your control, as it is meaningless. Stop asking what would be of me, and start asking what is my duty to do.

[@moonxarya]

Amazing video

[@layneetc]

Hands off the wheel for madame president Broski 🫡🫡🫡