Excellent post, I enjoyed it quite a lot. I often tell people that if they want to meet new people, get a dog. If you want to meet girls, get a puppy. When I was in college I would see other guys my age (early 20s at the time) walking a new puppy around campus and they became magnets for girls.
Plus, humans were MEANT to have dogs, and dogs were meant to have humans. We grew up together; dogs are one of our first forays into genetic engineering. We created an animal which was perfectly acclimated to human companionship
Might want to look up the history of sidewalks a bit. TL;DR: it can be argued that the existence of sidewalks is a concession that roads are only for cars, where previously they were for everyone, including pedestrians.
I hate that I live in a world where people get a dog because socialization is so broken and a nameless interaction at a park is among the barrel-scraping interactions people are doing to cope with it. Like if it's gotten that bad we should be having a revolution, not getting dogs.
From the perspective of someone who just moved from a developed to a developing city, please don't get a dog out of giving up. Have/adopt a child instead. Dogs/cats are indirectly being used to hack out the desire to parent offspring in developed nations which is really sad.
If you value socializing then create the opportunity for it, join a group activity or start one in your city and use social media to announce meets and eventually people will come. Shared experience is the most powerful social glue between people.
If you want to date go out Thu/Fri/Sat nights and sample Bars/Clubs in your city until you find 2-3 ones you like. Then start hanging out there every week until you feel comfortable. The goal is not to talk to attractive people, but to meet peers who are in the same position as you and then start/join a guys/girls group to do things together every week.
If you really like dogs and want to have a pet, then go for it. Just don't use it as a form of giving up on fundamental human needs, you're more resourceful than that.
This is probably the least controversial thing Mike has ever written, so naturally the HN consensus appears to be universal scorn. (And for the record, I don’t even like dogs, but I’m also aware that’s a me problem.)
> A few years ago I was reading a story about FOX News (know your enemy) and the author (who’s name I apologize for not remembering) mentioned that FOX News’ main goal was to make people afraid to leave their house
This isn’t knowing your enemy. It’s admitting you knowingly read articles that reinforce your bias. Reading or watching FOX News would be to know thy enemy
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[ 6.2 ms ] story [ 58.3 ms ] threadRecent related thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44223212
Plus, humans were MEANT to have dogs, and dogs were meant to have humans. We grew up together; dogs are one of our first forays into genetic engineering. We created an animal which was perfectly acclimated to human companionship
Thanks for letting me know right off the bat to not read any further :)
> Goes on to ridicule his own mom for the viewership of complete strangers
Um, yeah……I just use meetup.com to find groups with shared interests. It was a great way to make new friends.
If you value socializing then create the opportunity for it, join a group activity or start one in your city and use social media to announce meets and eventually people will come. Shared experience is the most powerful social glue between people.
If you want to date go out Thu/Fri/Sat nights and sample Bars/Clubs in your city until you find 2-3 ones you like. Then start hanging out there every week until you feel comfortable. The goal is not to talk to attractive people, but to meet peers who are in the same position as you and then start/join a guys/girls group to do things together every week.
If you really like dogs and want to have a pet, then go for it. Just don't use it as a form of giving up on fundamental human needs, you're more resourceful than that.
This isn’t knowing your enemy. It’s admitting you knowingly read articles that reinforce your bias. Reading or watching FOX News would be to know thy enemy