Ok, great movie. But man, I hate that this is what everyone thinks about when they think of nihilism.
It is very challenging to truly believe in nothing. I think it is much more realistic to see nihilism as a label applied to others’ belief systems that we find entirely void of valid belief.
Organizations described as Nihilistic Violent Extremists do have beliefs that motivate them, they are just vacuous beliefs in the eyes of the vast majority of human beings.
However if you can show me someone who can convincingly claim to be that they really are a nihilist I would be curious to see it.
That's not my experience. A lot of people on HN seem to be concerned (performatively or not) with things like ethics, altruism and "making the world a better place", whatever that means.
I think most people on HN are just regular joes and there’s a strange expectation that most people in tech are on the spectrum or something. not that there’s anything wrong with that
You have to be something other than a "regular joe" to even know that HN exists, much less want to hang out here. This forum was designed to be repellent to any but a very specific kind of technically minded "good hacker" personality, as defined by pg. The kind of person who cares about "information density," eschews design and UX as frivolous and prefers only "technical" topics is likely not neurotypical.
And yes many people in tech are on the spectrum. I suspect that much of what's dysfunctional with SV and tech culture is the result of raising a generation of socially awkward neurodivergent kids on 4chan and making them millionaires before their frontal lobes have even fully developed. That necessarily bleeds into HN and becomes normalized within the culture as performative cynicism, misanthropy and toxicity.
> I suspect that much of what's dysfunctional with SV and tech culture is the result of raising a generation of socially awkward neurodivergent kids on 4chan and making them millionaires before their frontal lobes have even fully developed
It's exactly concerns like these that could drive people into loneliness and nihilism, when constant disappointment with a lack of care from society turns into hatred and despair.
Especially in modern online culture, with its oft-unhealthy obsession with ideology, performative behaviors, and political identities, one should recognize that there's a wide gray spectrum here - from someone who is "purely" an NVE, to people superficially adopting the appearances of various groups and ideologies, to people who may "obviously" be exemplary members or adherents to a group or ideology...but their underlying motives are all-too-clearly to articulate/fuel/inspire/justify/support their NVE condition.
I've often observed that if you take an angry fanatical ideologue and scratch, you often find a nihilist. The ideology is just a medium for the anger. The anger is the fundamental thing. There's a lot of people who seem to be really angry right now.
Part of it is legit, I think. There are legit things to be angry about, though they differ depending on where you live in the world.
Part of it is an addiction. Anger releases some powerful brain chemicals, and it can be addictive.
And for "scratch", it's usually sufficient to compare the angry fanatic's views/actions with some of the more prosocial parts of their supposed ideology.
I do things because I like them, want them, or they give me pleasure. Motivates me just fine. Boredom is unpleasant, so I avoid it by continuing to do and learn new things. Reflection is only warranted if it seems like I'm damaging myself or those adjacent to me who contribute to my good life, which is easy to do accidentally in modern society.
A bit of a code-word for "anything that doesn’t fit into our own world-view". I see this phrase tossed around right-wing circles quite a bit, and it should be regarded carefully.
Yes, the current admin is pushing this as a catch-all category for people they want to monitor/disrupt but who don’t fit into traditional categories. It’s smart to be wary any time there is an official “threat” defined, as there’s often something else behind it.
I had the impression "NVE" was used to avoid describing folks like the Butler PA shooter, Charlie Kirk's assassin, and this last would be lone gunman as conservatives.
The parent comment is warning about the potential for a false representation of a crisis being used to grab more power; the underlying facts being inconsistent with the supposed crisis is not particularly surprising
"They were nihilists, man. They kept saying they believe in nothing." - The Big Lebowski
Ok, great movie. But man, I hate that this is what everyone thinks about when they think of nihilism.
It is very challenging to truly believe in nothing. I think it is much more realistic to see nihilism as a label applied to others’ belief systems that we find entirely void of valid belief.
Organizations described as Nihilistic Violent Extremists do have beliefs that motivate them, they are just vacuous beliefs in the eyes of the vast majority of human beings.
However if you can show me someone who can convincingly claim to be that they really are a nihilist I would be curious to see it.
I always appreciate being one of the day's 10,000 lucky fews, but why is this here? Did I miss something horrible that happened earlier today?
HN is pretty nihilistic imo. Tons of people on here fit the stereotypical lonely nerdy techie to the T.
That's not my experience. A lot of people on HN seem to be concerned (performatively or not) with things like ethics, altruism and "making the world a better place", whatever that means.
I think most people on HN are just regular joes and there’s a strange expectation that most people in tech are on the spectrum or something. not that there’s anything wrong with that
You have to be something other than a "regular joe" to even know that HN exists, much less want to hang out here. This forum was designed to be repellent to any but a very specific kind of technically minded "good hacker" personality, as defined by pg. The kind of person who cares about "information density," eschews design and UX as frivolous and prefers only "technical" topics is likely not neurotypical.
And yes many people in tech are on the spectrum. I suspect that much of what's dysfunctional with SV and tech culture is the result of raising a generation of socially awkward neurodivergent kids on 4chan and making them millionaires before their frontal lobes have even fully developed. That necessarily bleeds into HN and becomes normalized within the culture as performative cynicism, misanthropy and toxicity.
> I suspect that much of what's dysfunctional with SV and tech culture is the result of raising a generation of socially awkward neurodivergent kids on 4chan and making them millionaires before their frontal lobes have even fully developed
Quote of the Month
It's exactly concerns like these that could drive people into loneliness and nihilism, when constant disappointment with a lack of care from society turns into hatred and despair.
Reminds me of what is called in China "revenge against society"
Especially in modern online culture, with its oft-unhealthy obsession with ideology, performative behaviors, and political identities, one should recognize that there's a wide gray spectrum here - from someone who is "purely" an NVE, to people superficially adopting the appearances of various groups and ideologies, to people who may "obviously" be exemplary members or adherents to a group or ideology...but their underlying motives are all-too-clearly to articulate/fuel/inspire/justify/support their NVE condition.
Related concept: Salad Bar Extremism
I've often observed that if you take an angry fanatical ideologue and scratch, you often find a nihilist. The ideology is just a medium for the anger. The anger is the fundamental thing. There's a lot of people who seem to be really angry right now.
Part of it is legit, I think. There are legit things to be angry about, though they differ depending on where you live in the world.
Part of it is an addiction. Anger releases some powerful brain chemicals, and it can be addictive.
Sadly yes.
And for "scratch", it's usually sufficient to compare the angry fanatic's views/actions with some of the more prosocial parts of their supposed ideology.
Well put tbh
It's hard to beleive this is even real. I understand agnosticism, and atheism but the absence of a beleif system doesn't feel particularly motivating.
Atheism would fit the definition of absence of a belief system.
I do things because I like them, want them, or they give me pleasure. Motivates me just fine. Boredom is unpleasant, so I avoid it by continuing to do and learn new things. Reflection is only warranted if it seems like I'm damaging myself or those adjacent to me who contribute to my good life, which is easy to do accidentally in modern society.
A bit of a code-word for "anything that doesn’t fit into our own world-view". I see this phrase tossed around right-wing circles quite a bit, and it should be regarded carefully.
Yes, the current admin is pushing this as a catch-all category for people they want to monitor/disrupt but who don’t fit into traditional categories. It’s smart to be wary any time there is an official “threat” defined, as there’s often something else behind it.
I had the impression "NVE" was used to avoid describing folks like the Butler PA shooter, Charlie Kirk's assassin, and this last would be lone gunman as conservatives.
And yet if you say that on television the administration will try to pull you off the air: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/18/nx-s1-5544559/abc-jimmy-kimme...
The parent comment is warning about the potential for a false representation of a crisis being used to grab more power; the underlying facts being inconsistent with the supposed crisis is not particularly surprising
That's exactly it. These people were not disillusioned with the whole world, just their political party.