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Probably needs to develop a soul first. NPCs don’t actually exist outside of video games, those are real human beings. Not sure what to do with all that wealt

Probably needs to develop a soul first. NPCs don’t actually exist outside of video games, those are real human beings. Not sure what to do with all that wealth? Try asking one of those NPCs… spend a day with each one of them, learn what being human actually is

voidhorse 2y ago
Yep. I don't understand why the technological community accepts essentially sociopathic tendencies as long as your idea (regardless of what that idea is) is rewarded by the capital system. It's pathetic.
- thfuran 2y ago
  It's not pathetic, it's destructive and evil.
nateburke 2y ago
Yes. Thinking of others as NPCs has its own way of turning ones self into an NPC. cf. Mean Girls
mcmcmc 2y ago
Calling people NPCs is one of my biggest pet peeves and a dead giveaway that someone is a soulless narcissist. It is dehumanizing in the extreme, the same way Nazis characterized Jews as rats in propaganda. When people say eat the rich… this is who they mean
- ddq 2y ago
  >a dead giveaway that someone is a soulless narcissist You're engaging in the exact same behavior, are you not? NPC and soulless are the same fundamental concept, that there is a certain threshold of humanity people can fall below to be considered lesser. They're soulless, they're NPCs, they're untermenschen... whatever the word for it, there are "dead giveaways" that a person can lack that hidden quality that separates man from animal. I'm sure it wasn't your intent, but from a certain reading, it seems like what you're saying isn't really all that far off from "calls people NPCs = is the real NPC". I often see people decry specific terminology associated with dehumanizing beliefs without refuting the actual premise behind them.
  - mcmcmc 2y ago
    Disagree. NPC carries a connotation that you are not even real. You do not have free will. You are there purely to serve their whims. You are an ephemeral nothing that does not exist when they look away. It is exactly what Andrew Tate preaches with his whole “matrix” schtick. It is the mindset billionaires use to excuse their bottomless greed. Soulless was just a heavy handing way of saying it demonstrates a disturbing lack of empathy. Whether or not souls exist is debatable in the first place, so no I wouldn’t equate it with calling someone subhuman.
- karmakurtisaani 2y ago
  Well.. I've pretty much accepted that I'm more or less an NPC. So no harm done from my side.
khazhoux 2y ago
You are misinterpreting. He’s talking about how at big companies, you always have people who don’t seem to bring any actual value. They're in every meeting, but don't say anything, don't set any direction, don't produce any documents or any code, don't exhibit any sense of urgency or even involvement, and don't contribute in any noticeable way. "NPCs." They are completely passive as far as you can tell -- or worse, they actively slow others down when they happen to be on some critical approval path. I'm sure they are lovely people outside work, and loving parents and good citizens. But when the rest of us are busting our butts to get work done, they're unfortunately useless.
- Aeolun 2y ago
  Negatively Producing Characters? Or maybe Null Producing Characters.
  - nunez 2y ago
    Non playable characters He's calling them filler, basically
- dclowd9901 2y ago
  They're still people. Just because the company doesn't motivate them or they have a bad manager or are on a bad team or a million other reasons they don't feel empowered to "participate" (specious since clearly they're employed) doesn't mean you can act like they're soulless bots ffs. This whole mindset has got to go. You and OP going around like this, it's gross for the world and it's a bad look on you.
  - lazide 2y ago
    sounds like you’re just shaming OP for trying to actually get something done by recognizing practical realities. If everyone matters the same, no one matters.
    - entropicdrifter 2y ago
taway1874 2y ago
100% this! Calling one's colleague an NPC is not only demeaning but also shows a lack of awareness and empathy. Does the author even understand that by his logic, he is a NPC in his colleague's world?
visarga 2y ago
> Probably needs to develop a soul first. More generally, if you cultivate yourself you will get more pleasure from your activities. If you take time to learn an instrument, or listen to classical, or gardening (you can grow exotic plants for example), learn a new language, or anything else. The more you put into refining your appreciation and knowledge, the more value you can get back from your activities. It's a self cultivation problem.
mywittyname 2y ago
The dude also dumped his long time girlfriend right after coming into a large chunk of money (and thinks she cares enough to read his blog!), and truly thinks he was going to "save our government". Also, the mountain climbing (IYKYK). He sounds pretty full of himself and seems to struggle making personal connections with people. Being the founder of a startup gave people a reason to care about him, and now that he's lost that along everyone around him. He beat the game and now the characters in the story have nothing left to say to him. The guy should put down the physics book and go learn to be a person that others enjoy being around. Go get a job waiting tables and hang out with coworkers after work, learn to surf, etc.

voidhorse 2y ago

Yep. I don't understand why the technological community accepts essentially sociopathic tendencies as long as your idea (regardless of what that idea is) is rewarded by the capital system. It's pathetic.

thfuran 2y ago
It's not pathetic, it's destructive and evil.

nateburke 2y ago

Yes. Thinking of others as NPCs has its own way of turning ones self into an NPC. cf. Mean Girls

mcmcmc 2y ago

Calling people NPCs is one of my biggest pet peeves and a dead giveaway that someone is a soulless narcissist. It is dehumanizing in the extreme, the same way Nazis characterized Jews as rats in propaganda. When people say eat the rich… this is who they mean

ddq 2y ago
>a dead giveaway that someone is a soulless narcissist You're engaging in the exact same behavior, are you not? NPC and soulless are the same fundamental concept, that there is a certain threshold of humanity people can fall below to be considered lesser. They're soulless, they're NPCs, they're untermenschen... whatever the word for it, there are "dead giveaways" that a person can lack that hidden quality that separates man from animal. I'm sure it wasn't your intent, but from a certain reading, it seems like what you're saying isn't really all that far off from "calls people NPCs = is the real NPC". I often see people decry specific terminology associated with dehumanizing beliefs without refuting the actual premise behind them.
- mcmcmc 2y ago
  Disagree. NPC carries a connotation that you are not even real. You do not have free will. You are there purely to serve their whims. You are an ephemeral nothing that does not exist when they look away. It is exactly what Andrew Tate preaches with his whole “matrix” schtick. It is the mindset billionaires use to excuse their bottomless greed. Soulless was just a heavy handing way of saying it demonstrates a disturbing lack of empathy. Whether or not souls exist is debatable in the first place, so no I wouldn’t equate it with calling someone subhuman.
karmakurtisaani 2y ago
Well.. I've pretty much accepted that I'm more or less an NPC. So no harm done from my side.

khazhoux 2y ago

You are misinterpreting. He’s talking about how at big companies, you always have people who don’t seem to bring any actual value. They're in every meeting, but don't say anything, don't set any direction, don't produce any documents or any code, don't exhibit any sense of urgency or even involvement, and don't contribute in any noticeable way. "NPCs." They are completely passive as far as you can tell -- or worse, they actively slow others down when they happen to be on some critical approval path. I'm sure they are lovely people outside work, and loving parents and good citizens. But when the rest of us are busting our butts to get work done, they're unfortunately useless.

Aeolun 2y ago
Negatively Producing Characters? Or maybe Null Producing Characters.
- nunez 2y ago
  Non playable characters He's calling them filler, basically
dclowd9901 2y ago
They're still people. Just because the company doesn't motivate them or they have a bad manager or are on a bad team or a million other reasons they don't feel empowered to "participate" (specious since clearly they're employed) doesn't mean you can act like they're soulless bots ffs. This whole mindset has got to go. You and OP going around like this, it's gross for the world and it's a bad look on you.
- lazide 2y ago
  sounds like you’re just shaming OP for trying to actually get something done by recognizing practical realities. If everyone matters the same, no one matters.
  - entropicdrifter 2y ago

taway1874 2y ago

100% this! Calling one's colleague an NPC is not only demeaning but also shows a lack of awareness and empathy. Does the author even understand that by his logic, he is a NPC in his colleague's world?

visarga 2y ago

> Probably needs to develop a soul first. More generally, if you cultivate yourself you will get more pleasure from your activities. If you take time to learn an instrument, or listen to classical, or gardening (you can grow exotic plants for example), learn a new language, or anything else. The more you put into refining your appreciation and knowledge, the more value you can get back from your activities. It's a self cultivation problem.

mywittyname 2y ago

The dude also dumped his long time girlfriend right after coming into a large chunk of money (and thinks she cares enough to read his blog!), and truly thinks he was going to "save our government". Also, the mountain climbing (IYKYK). He sounds pretty full of himself and seems to struggle making personal connections with people. Being the founder of a startup gave people a reason to care about him, and now that he's lost that along everyone around him. He beat the game and now the characters in the story have nothing left to say to him. The guy should put down the physics book and go learn to be a person that others enjoy being around. Go get a job waiting tables and hang out with coworkers after work, learn to surf, etc.