Note: I’m going to try recording an audio version of my Square Man posts for the time being. That way you can listen while you drive or whatever. If you have any feedback or comments, please let me know. If enough people find it valuable, maybe I’ll keep doing it every week. And, if that’s the case, I’ll probably invest in a decent microphone too. Because this one is not great.
I saw an interview with a famous scientist.
He made a prediction: by the year 2050, neuroscience and our understanding of the human mind will be so advanced that mental illness will be cured, leaving psychologists and psychiatrists without jobs.
I like this guy. But I really hope he was joking or clickbaiting. Because that might be the worst prediction I’ve ever heard. In my life.
For a few reasons.
Let me start by giving the devil his due: it may be possible that, at some point, scientifically, we may figure out how to cure bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. We may at some point figure out how to scientifically cure borderline personality disorder or Parkinson’s Disease or sleep apnea. That we will figure out how to create new neural connections, or implement little pieces of machinery in our bodies, or artificially balance chemicals in the brain, to “solve” the problems that these disorders cause in our bodies.
But there are a few problems even with that basic premise.
First of all, that sounds a bit too good to be true. And, when that’s the case, it almost always is.
Also, I’m not sure who’s supposed to be able to afford things like this. If you’re part of, for instance, the United States healthcare system, you can barely even afford a broken leg. Let alone cutting-edge neurological reconstruction projects.
And here’s another thing to think about: if you can afford it, then you need to think very carefully about why the people offering it to you have made it affordable. As they say about Facebook: when you don’t know what the product is, you’re the product. Don’t forget, tech-age capitalism runs on incentives, not good will. You can bet your last Canadian nickel that if someone is implanting a machine inside your skull, they’re getting something out of it.
But even if we were to cure various neurological disorders with advanced science and machines and chemicals… the prediction here implies something much more aggressive: that psychologists and psychiatrists will have nothing to do. In other words, widespread mental health will suddenly no longer be a problem.
But if you spend any time listening to expert psychologists or reading their work, you’ll find a recurring theme. Most mental problems are not mental problems. They are lifestyle problems. They will tell you that it’s not “cures” people need, it’s better lives. It’s not more doctors people need, it’s more sunlight and more self-respect and more friends.
We will never “cure” regular old run-of-the-mill bad mental health.
Why?
Well first, because modern society virtually ensures bad mental health. It’s too much stimulation and optionality, all of the time. That’s just plain bad for us. The very structure of modern society is inherently bad for us.
But more importantly, because bad mental health, for almost all human beings, is caused by being bad at life. And of course that’s forgivable, because modern society spends almost zero time teaching basic life skills and reinforcing self-care and useful behavior. But that does not excuse us from the responsibility for learning how to fix it ourselves, and fixing it.
A good life is earned. Not bought, not put on a credit card, not given to you by the machines in your home. If you’re not living a good life, you’re not going to have a good life. It’s as simple as that.
Technology is not going to spontaneously remove what causes most of our mental health problems — the problems that require psychologists and psychiatrists. Technology is not going to give us fulfilling relationships, healthy ambitions, and good lifestyle routines. Technology is not going to suddenly remove the concept of trauma from human life, or give us a tool that spontaneously solves trauma.
Technology is not going to stop other people from letting you down or betraying your trust. And it’s not going to stop you from letting you down either. Some of the most common and basic mental health issues come from people letting themselves down. Neuroscience can’t fix that. That would be like polishing a rotting apple.
Our society is largely based on the concept of instant gratification. We want everything to be solved immediately, right now, by something we can spend money on. We are the most spoiled society in the history of the world. Even the Romans would stand gaping in awe at our entitlement. And it’s for that reason that we have forgotten how to be happy. We have a million times more reasons to be happy than anyone else ever, and yet we find more creative ways to be unhappy than any of our ancestors. It’s the Tocqueville effect, in every area of our lives.
It’s not because we don’t have enough technology. It’s because we already have too much. It’s not because we haven’t found the right technology to fix enough of our problems; it’s because we have already told it to fix too many of them, and it has failed. Because it can’t.
You might be thinking, “oh, so you’re one of those guys who’s anti-technology, huh.” Yes. Yes, I am. But not because I believe it’s automatically bad. Technology is useful when used reasonably. It’s because I look around and I see a lot of people thinking that technology is automatically good, no further questions thank you Your Honor. It’s because I see what’s happening to people as they auto-embrace new technology. And it’s really not good.
I used to be very, very bad at life. I was on drugs, had no friends, and was crippled by dark thoughts and anxiety and isolation. I didn’t want to be here anymore. And I didn’t even have the guts to leave. So I know how bad it can get.
But I made a very important realization at some point, with the help of some people I was lucky to have met. They showed me that there’s not actually anything wrong with me, other than the disasters and filth caused by my own mistakes and failures of character. Everybody screws up their life, some worse than others… but the key is not to stay trapped there. The idea is to realize you can work your way out, and then do the work.
I didn’t need the pills. I didn’t need the doctors. I needed to want to be better. And, humans being social creatures, I needed a few people to hold me up under the arms and show me that I could be. And show me the way. And they did. And I will never forget them. They gave me what no doctor ever could. What no life-saving medical breakthrough ever could.
We live in a time when the following statement is, for some reason, wildly controversial:
What I just described applies to 99% of people who claim to have depression and anxiety.
What I experienced is also what they’re experiencing. Maybe you’re experiencing. Almost none of us has fundamental problems inside of our brains. Structural, unsolvable problems. Almost none of us. We’re just living terrible lives.
If you say things like this in public, you get crucified. Because this is politically and socially insensitive. Because everyone insists that they are special and that their suffering is the truest and most unbearable kind of suffering. They insist that the world should feel sorry for them. And of course we’re all guilty of delusional self-pity at some point. That’s pretty common, actually.
But crucifixion or not, it’s the truth. And I’m not going to apologize for saying it, and neither should anybody else. If you are struggling with “anxiety and depression,” you are overwhelmingly likely to be in the majority — and the majority is just lacking basic life skills. Just like I was.
What I needed wasn’t a reconstruction of my brain. What I needed was good relationships, good orderly direction, and structure. I needed to bond with other people and bond with myself.
In the words of my friend and boss Brent Donnelly, “If you have heartburn, don’t take a pill to fix it. Figure out what foods are causing it and stop eating them.”
Pills usually make people worse. Pills have a net positive impact on very few lives.
And I look at most technology the same way. We think that it’s making our lives better, or saving us from something. Because it allows us to get more out of less, or because it solves some of our everyday struggles. Or because it makes our lives easier and more comfortable. It’s artificial comfort, artificial productivity, artificial everything.
But the real question is: are you absolutely certain that these are good things?
People have this affinity for absurd technological visions. It’s the Tower of Babel forever. People hear about some wild new piece of technology, and they just start masturbating. They fantasize about all the ways this new piece of technology will finally give them everything they ever wanted. They fantasize about all the time they’ll save and all the privileges they’ll have. All the futuristic pleasure of owning something so cool.
Not once do they stop to think about what trade-offs might be coming along with it. After all, there’s no room in a fantasy for nuance.
But there are no solutions. To anything. Only trade-offs. Politics, economics, even physics — only trade-offs. Sure you can split an atom and break the first law of physics, but the trade-off is that you’ll evaporate in an explosion visible from space.
Sure you can have a hyper-financialized economy that does nothing but grow all the time and never experiences pain. But the trade-off is that eventually it’s going to collapse under its own weight and devastate people who knew better than to support that idiocy in the first place.
Yes, you can have a robot that mows your lawn for you. But it seems to me that mowing your lawn was actually quite good for you. You were getting a lot of sun, getting in a mild exercise, giving your wife some alone time, maybe even bonding with your oldest son while teaching him about the mower. And I’ll bet you were also more proud of your yard and your home. Because you actually had to put in the work to take care of it.
When you seriously consider a new piece of technology, you should be asking yourself some basic questions. Such as “at what cost?”
Or questions like “how could this new piece of technology complicate my life?” (Or, in the case of advancements in the food arena, “how could this new piece of technology complicate my diet or my health?”)
Or questions like “what, exactly, am I going to do with the time this will save me?” Because if the answer is “nothing,” I’d argue that you just made a bad trade. I’d argue that your life just became worse, not better. Because you’re now a person with more free time and less focus and responsibility. That’s typically not a good thing, even though it sounds like it is.
People are happiest when something useful is required of them. People who have nothing to do and have everything handed to them are profoundly unhappy. This is why one of the most important lessons in the modern landscape of thinkers is “find meaning and responsibility.”
Human beings are supposed to hate waking up early and scraping snow off their cars. Human beings are supposed to spend the entire work day wishing they were doing something else. Human beings are supposed to have to spend time on things they don’t want to spend time on. Because there is no other way to value your time when it’s yours again. You can’t have one without the other.
People predict a future where technology “solves” what it means to be human.
That’s childish. That’s a terrible goal. That’s a terrible thing to look forward to. That, to me, rhymes with a complete abandon of human life. Pure nihilism disguised as technological optimism.
Technology cannot solve your life. It can only open up options for trade-offs to you.
Look at social media, for instance. The benefit? Social revolution: connection with old friends, new ways to network professionally and socially, and a big burst of business and community in third-world countries. The price? The entire world is now a worse place to live. Everybody hates each other for no good reason.
Trade-offs.
When you’re assessing a new piece of technology, avoid the temptation to remove your pants and masturbate. Just think critically for a while about how it’s really going to impact your life.
Because if you aren’t going to counteract its gifts with something that re-calibrates you back into moral, mental, and physical balance, then it has probably made your life worse. Not better.
We need less pills and more self-respect. And self-respect is earned by voluntarily doing hard things that are worth doing.
Drink some water by collecting and boiling rain,
JDR
(clapping) “Oh, isn’t that automatically wonderful.” - Louis C.K.
Hey Justin,
Your writing is absolutly incredible.
I'm currently reading some old books and begin to see life though another lens.
The modern life makes much mores sense now.
Could you please talk about what old books (philosophy, economics, history, etc.)
you recommend to read?
Love your blog.
Keep going!