Degraded State

A concept that involves conscious rejection of the basic responsibilities for managing tensions expected of humans in a society. The Degraded State is most clearly exemplified in Internet culture, and particularly Internet gamer culture, where LARPing, trolling, take downs, gotchas, impersonation, doxxing, harassment for sport and lulz, and a thirst for personal and reputational destruction of others are common behaviors aided by asymmetric anonymity and pseudonymity. Those who accept and embrace the Degraded State share the view that life is simply a game that lacks any deep, ultimate meaning.

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

I’m going to start talking publicly more about a concept I formulated a few years ago just for my own internal use: “The Degraded State”.

It’s hard to define. But it involves conscious rejection of the basic responsibilities for managing tensions expected of humans in a society.

One of the owners of the Golden State Warriors says he doesn’t care about Chinese genocide of the Uighurs.

5:55 PM · Jan 17, 2022

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

For those who know me as slow to anger, that remains true. But, stalking, physical threats, impersonating my business to spread anti-semitism/misogyny, doxxing & taking my wife’s work w/o attribution puts you in a different category. *Especially* if you work at my email provider.

6:34 AM · Aug 5, 2021

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

The Internet or gamer culture is not an excused absence from being a human being. You don’t get to harass or terrorize families in real life just because you have an ISP.

This isn’t a scientific dispute. It’s about being a human and using that life to harass for sport & lulz.

6:34 AM · Aug 5, 2021

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

This isn’t a relationship between two people. it’s harassment of a family by a jealous server of many people that thinks actively causing fear and loss is funny.

I’ll show you. You’ll wonder why I didn’t say more earlier. Wish me luck. More to come.

Love to all. And thanks. 🙏

6:34 AM · Aug 5, 2021

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

You hear talk about “cancel culture”. About “hit pieces”. About “bad faith” “journalists” & trolls who, out of sheer malice, destroy others to gain status by smearing targets out of little more reason than envy.

But of course that’s always bullshit and sour grapes. Right? #Lulz

5:51 AM · Dec 31, 2020

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

“My phone is in there.”

This is how I see internet culture & our degraded current version of life as a game.

Jan 6th felt the same: “You don’t get memes bro: a Viking is epic!”

All becomes LARPing. A man lies lifeless beside his own hijacked car: “My phone...”

On what planet?

Appalling footage of the carjacking near Nationals Park in Washington D.C. on Tuesday that resulted in the death of Pakistani immigrant & Uber Eats driver Mohammad Anwar. The teenage girls who police say used a Taser to steal the car face murder charges.

12:59 AM · Mar 28, 2021

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

My issue has been “How can the richest man worried that we have to preserve human consciousness focus on Rockets(?)&Mars, when he has a physics background & the ability to personally lead an attack on getting beyond Einstein’s limits?”

Thinking: “So, survival isn’t real either?”

5:53 AM · Jun 4, 2021

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

#Bitcoin 💔

6:07 PM · Jun 3, 2021

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

Makes sense. I guess. Sorta. It’s just super disappointing that we aren’t focused on actually saving ourselves.

And slightly bewildering. If not @elonmusk who?? Jim Simons? Yuri Milner? Anyone?

There is no one with both the vision & money to organize this.

Oh well. Onward...

5:53 AM · Jun 4, 2021

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

I mean obviously our government and science establishment should be the ones leading this...but that currently makes no sense in their degraded states.

The universities could do it. But they are too degraded.

Perhaps China is the only capable player left in the game. Sad if so.

6:00 AM · Jun 4, 2021

Eric Weinstein

@EricRWeinstein

Looking for a name for a particular style of comment that is very easy to program into bots. It looks to make *every* substantive issue a point about psychology, the interpersonal, cognitive superiority and shunning the pathetic (rather than merely those that are actually about just that).

Examples:

"That will never not be funny." "Unintentionally Hilarious!" "Dude, take the L." "Cringe alert level: Severe! You have been warned."

We've all seen it everywhere. It's not just ridicule although that is a component of it. It's sort of an appeal to a pre-established order that is never specified and seeks to outgroup someone trying to say something I'm interested in and trying to follow through a thread. Is it a setting on a bot farm product.

Think this is BS? I had ChatGPT generate 25 *totally* content indepdent responses. It took like 5 seconds. Here is more or less what we are forced to read all day long interspersed with real points in unfiltered Twitter and Reddit if we are trying to follow actual humans:

"LOL, are we in the comedy club or a debate hall?"

"Oh look, another episode of 'The Chronicles of Intellectual Ridiculousness' 🙄"

"Can someone pass the popcorn? This thread is comedy gold."

"Sorry, but this is like trying to teach calculus to a pigeon."

"🤣 Intellectual gymnastics at its finest!"

"I didn't know we were hosting a stand-up show in the library today."

"Intellectual discourse? More like a circus act without the entertainment."

"Is this the part where we pretend to take this seriously?"

"Bravo! You win the award for 'Most Pretentious Tweet of the Day' 🏆"

"Quick, someone call the meme police! We've got a serious case of intellectual nonsense here."

"Wow, the mental gymnastics required to take this seriously is Olympic-level."

"In the dictionary under 'Pseudo-Intellectual,' there's a link to this thread."

"And here I thought I'd seen it all. Thanks for the laugh!"

"I didn't realize we were auditioning for a comedy special with our intellects."

"This is why aliens don't visit us. They're afraid of catching our stupidity."

"Hold on, let me grab my clown shoes before diving into this conversation."

"Congratulations! You've officially won the award for 'Most Delusional Tweet' 🎉"

"Can we get a laugh track for this? It's too good to be true!"

"I swear, reading this thread is like watching a parody of intellectualism."

"Do we have to pay admission for this comedy show, or is it free with the cringe?"

"Every time I think I've seen peak absurdity, Twitter surprises me."

"If ignorance is bliss, then this thread is the happiest place on earth."

"Ah, the joys of watching intellectual acrobatics crash and burn."

"And here I thought I'd seen it all. Thanks for proving me wrong!"

"I didn't know we were hosting a roast of intellectuals today. Count me in!"

---

What is this style named, and how do we get it out of our diet? It's like maggots crawling all over ever piece of food.

I don't want to block these accounts individually. I want a master regex blocker that filters them all out that leaves me human level interaction. Any ideas? And if you own such a bot farm or think at this level, let us guess how you are going to react...which will prove the point. Because that is "Unintentionally hilarious!" Thanks.

3:56 PM · Mar 22, 2024