This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
In this video, I talk about hard work and how I’ve come to see it. I also offer what I hope is a balanced perspective on what it means to actually work hard in a world that seems increasingly unbalanced. I offer both these insights and perspectives free of charge, hoping it helps others as they navigate work and life moving forward. Enjoy!
Filed under human nature, Jack's World, philosophy, psychology, YouTube
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been hearing about the obesity epidemic in the United States. Every year, it seemed, the trends were getting worse. More and more people were becoming obese. As a result, many of those same people faced serious health issues. Those issues, in turn, put strain on families, health care systems, and numerous aspects of society.
It’s not unreasonable to call increasing rates of obesity a problem.
But calling it an epidemic? That may or may not be appropriate. The language often used to talk about obesity, and body image in general, is not very healthy. But the language used to talk about body positivity isn’t always health, either. Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but overall health is something that’s tangible and measurable. And by most measures, being obese is not good for your health.
Over the years, there have been plenty of efforts to raise awareness about obesity. There have been just as many efforts to encourage people to make healthier choices, either by eating healthy foods or exercising regularly. But the fact that obesity rates continued to increase year after year made clear that these efforts weren’t having much impact.
The reasons for that are many. But as someone who did not exercise or eat healthy for a good chunk of my adult life, I can attest that the primary reason is that it’s just hard. Eating right in a country where cheap, delicious, unhealthy fast food is available at every corner takes more than just will-power. Exercising regularly while being able to afford basic living costs can be fraught with challenges.
I was able to change my diet and my exercise habits to improve my overall health, but I was fortunate. My circumstances provided me the opportunities, the time, and the energy to pursue a healthier lifestyle. A lot of people don’t have that luxury. For them, obesity is almost impossible to avoid.
But recently, things might be changing in a profound way. According to new data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination, the obesity rate actually began to fall between 2020 and 2023. It’s the first time in my life that the rate has actually declined.
That, in and of itself, is remarkable. Obesity in America seemed like one of those things that would never decline, if only because unhealthy food will never stop being so delicious. But this data suggests that there is a limit to obesity within a population. It also has implications that may hint at new variables that we’ve never dealt with before.
That same data made clear that this decline was not directly linked to the rise of new weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic, but it’s not unreasonable to assume they had some influence. These drugs are unique in that they don’t change the effects food has on our bodies. They simply change how your body processes food while also affecting your cravings for it.
I can attest that one of the hardest things I had to do when getting into shape was changing my diet. I had gotten so used to eating junk that if I went too long without it, I would crave and binge eat. But these new drugs effectively mute that response. That makes it a lot easier to eat less while ensuring what you do eat doesn’t trigger the mechanisms that lead to weight gain.
These drugs aren’t miracle drugs by any means. They just make eating less and managing your diet a lot easier. And that might very well be the most important ramification of this data.
For years, there has been a tendency for people to seek any alternative to diet and exercise when it comes to losing weight. I’ve seen many diet fads and fitness gimmicks that claim they’ll help you lose weight without relying entirely on changing certain habits. None of them succeeded in the long run. That’s why they’re fads and not medical remedies.
And most of the time, they failed for the same reason. People wanted a “magic pill” to make weight loss and fitness easier. Companies and fraudsters were always eager to oblige, even if it meant providing false promises and unsubstantiated claims. But at the end of the day, people still needed to burn off these calories and change what they put in. Anything that avoided that was doomed to fail, plain and simple.
Now, there are drugs that get to the actual root of obesity, namely our desire to overeat. That approach is very different from any fad or gimmick. And the massive, multi-billion-dollar success of Ozempic has officially set a precedent while creating a new market.
But how far will this effort go?
If we can make drugs that reduces peoples’ desire to eat, why not make drugs that will reduce other desires?
What does that mean for people with addiction?
What does that mean for people with behavioral disorders?
What does that mean for mental health, body image, or even sexuality?
It’s hard to say at this point. But I’ve seen enough health fads and exercise gimmicks to surmise what happens when something actually works. If a company finds a winning drug that makes hard efforts easier, then they will try to build on that success. They’ll try to make new drugs that utilize similar mechanisms. We saw it with erectile dysfunction medications. Now, we might see it this new crop of drugs.
They won’t just affect our bodies.
They’ll affect our desires, as well.
How will we manage this? Will the good outweigh the bad?
Only time will tell. But if the obesity epidemic is finally in decline, then that means we’ll have to answer these questions sooner rather than later.
Filed under biotechnology, Current Events, exercise, human nature, psychology
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
This video is about hatred and bigotry. I’ve witnessed it manifest in many forms over the course of my life. It is a dark, disturbing insight into humanity’s collective psyche. But in that same experience, I came to a number of realizations about hatred and bigotry that I wish to share. Hopefully, it broadens everyone’s perspective on the matter.
Filed under Current Events, human nature, Jack's World, psychology, rants, YouTube
Every now and then, you encounter an incredibly insightful, rhetorically beautiful, and philosophically perfect collection of words that truly resonates with every fiber of your being. You don’t expect it. You weren’t even searching for it, but somehow you still found it. And the more you think about it, the more you realize just what an incredible influx of wisdom you’ve gained. It may very well be the kind of wisdom that you carry with heart, pride, and honor until you draw your last breath.
That’s exactly what I felt when I watched “Team America: World Police” the first time. I know I’m prone to exaggerate and speak in hyperbole, both on this site and on my YouTube Channel, but I am dead serious when I say that this might be one of the single most brilliant manifestations of cinema in human history. This is, without a doubt, the kind of art that will transcend generations, cultures, language, and trends.
The fact that it involves gratuitous puppet sex is just a bonus.
But it isn’t just the story, the characters, the fake vomit, and the mind-expanding message that makes “Team America: World Police” a modern masterpiece. The true extent of this movie’s greatness is perfectly distilled in a single speech that, beyond any shadow of a doubt, is the single greatest speech in movie history in terms of sheer philosophical weight.
If you haven’t seen it yet, I encourage you to brace yourself. Because you will not be the same person after you hear this speech.
Take a moment to let your mind and body process this overwhelming surge of revelatory wisdom. Go for a walk. Take some deep breaths. Meditate for a few hours if you have to. I understand. Believe me, I do. Our limited human minds can only ever struggle to comprehend such brilliance.
Once your fragile psyche has caught up to this newfound understanding of the human condition, I only ask that you use such wisdom wisely. Having heard it, you are now in a new state of mind. Your world will never be the same, but in the best possible way. What you do from here on out and how you choose to utilize this profound realization you now possess is entirely up to you.
As for me, I don’t know how many years I’ll live in this crazy world. I just know that when my time comes, I want these profound words etched on my tombstone.
There’s three kinds of people: dicks, pussies, and assholes. Pussies think everyone can get along, and dicks just want to fuck all the time without thinking it through. But then you got your assholes. And all the assholes want us to shit all over everything! So, pussies may get mad at dicks once in a while, because pussies get fucked by dicks. But dicks also fuck assholes. And if they didn’t fuck the assholes, you know what you’d get? You’d get your dick and your pussy all covered in shit!
Filed under human nature, movies, philosophy, political correctness
When it comes to being rich, there are only two types.
The first type is more traditional and common, relatively speaking. That type of rich largely covers people who can afford to live in nice houses within nice neighborhoods in well-maintained communities while not drowning in debt, be it from credit cards and student loans. These aren’t the kind of rich people who live in mansions and have butlers. These are just people who have comfortable, affluent lifestyles.
I don’t have a problem with rich people like this. I even know some of them. They’re generally decent people. And while some did inherit part of their wealth, they still had to work to some extent in order to maintain it. If they didn’t, then they wouldn’t remain rich for very long.
Then, there’s the second type of rich people. These people are rich in ways that most of us, including the first type of rich people I just mentioned, cannot begin to fathom. These are people with access to billions of dollars of wealth. I know people love to throw terms like millions and billions around interchangeably, but I don’t think those people realize just how much more a billion is than a million.
To illustrate, consider the following anecdote.
If you made approximately $50,000 a year, it would take you about 18 years in order to make $1 million. That’s a timeframe we can wrap our heads around. Most people work longer than 18 years in their adult lives.
But working at that same rate, it would take over 18,000 years to make $1 billion. That’s nearly three times longer than the history of human civilization. That is not a trivial difference.
And that difference is worth highlighting because only the second type of rich people can afford obscene displays of wealth like yachts. I also think it’s entirely appropriate to label these types of displays as obscene. Because yachts are not just boats.
They might as well be floating private islands that rich people use as extensions of their gawdy lifestyle. It’s not enough they can afford armies of butlers, nurses, nannys, personal chefs, and servants. They have to take that shit with them across the ocean. Just imagine feeling like you need that kind of pampering and luxury to begin with, let alone take it with you on an oversized boat.
It’s just one of the many reasons why I’ve come to believe that there’s no such thing as a “good” billionaire. But if you’re a billionaire who happens to own a yacht, then I’m just going to assume you’re an insufferable asshole until proven otherwise. Thus far, I haven’t been able to find reliable proof in that regard.
But all too often, I come across proof in the opposite direction that further affirms that these types of rich people really are assholes. The latest bit of proof comes courtesy of a misguided fireworks display organized by the crew of a superyacht that had been chartered by a group of rich people who don’t mind dropping $320,000 a week.
What’s the difference between a yacht and a superyacht? I don’t claim to know, but it’s safe to assume you have to be a special kind of greedy, self-centered asshole to think a regular yacht isn’t obscene enough.
But according to the Daily Beast, this particular superyacht tried to do a firework show off the Greek island of Hydra. While it might have looked pretty initially, it didn’t end well because it caused a massive forest fire on the island. Thankfully, no one was hurt in this fire, as far as we know. Even so, this is the kind of display that only the obscenely wealthy can pull off.
It’s not enough for people like this to live on a floating resort where they’re treated like royalty. They need a personal fireworks show to be entertained, even if it puts part of the natural world at risk. Even if you grand them the benefit of the doubt that this was entirely an accident and the people involved feel bad about it, remember this one detail.
These people won’t be the least bit inconvenienced.
It doesn’t matter that the mayor of the island is seeking compensation. Chances are he’ll run into an army overpaid lawyers who will either pay for this incident to go away or just plain intimidate the people on this island into submission. For most of the people paying these lawyers, the most they’ll have to do is make a phone call, sign some papers, and maybe even wire some money.
If anyone else mistakenly caused a forest fire that devastated an entire island, there would be consequences. This wouldn’t be something we could just ignore or bully our way out of. Then again, this isn’t something most of us are in a position to even do. We don’t own or use any yachts, let alone a superyacht.
We don’t know the names of the people who were on this superyacht when the fire erupted. Chances are we’ll never know, thanks to those aforementioned lawyers. But whoever they are, they’re still prime examples of why billionaires in general are assholes.
Filed under Current Events, human nature, politics, rants, real stories
A while back, a close relative of mine retired after a long, fruitful career that spanned nearly 40 years. They probably could’ve retired much sooner, but they were among the fortunate few who actually enjoyed their job for the most part. It had its ups, downs, and everything in between. But overall, it was a good career that most would be lucky to enjoy.
Over the course of that lengthy career, they worked under multiple CEOs. This was a fairly well-regarded organization, too. So, the CEOs were not part of some succession plan or a proud family business. This was the kind of company that followed a fairly traditional corporate structure and kept things impersonal as much as possible when it came to executive decisions.
However, in talking about how much the job had changed over the years and how much the industry had evolved in that time, this same person revealed something I found both striking, yet unsurprising.
Every single CEO they worked under qualified, by their definition, as a narcissist.
Now, for most people who have worked similar jobs, this probably isn’t surprising. There’s this prevailing sentiment that anyone who becomes CEO has to be a narcissist to some extent in order to get to that level. It even makes a perverse bit of sense. By their own nature, a narcissist seeks control, status, power, and aggrandizement. And the position of CEO offers all of that in spades.
But even if it makes sense for narcissists to become CEOs and we consider it normal, for the most part, that still warrants concern. There are times when our concept of normal has some major problems and we shouldn’t be afraid to confront it. This is definitely one of those situations.
For the relative who told me this, they had quite a few interesting stories to tell regarding the narcissism of CEOs. But they did make one important distinction. Even though these individuals were overtly narcissistic, they were not outright psychopaths. While most psychopaths are narcissistic, not every narcissist is a psychopath.
Narcissists can and do have some sense of moral responsibility.
Narcissist can and do experience empathy on some levels.
Narcissists can even be good CEOs, for the most part.
However, we shouldn’t let that override the legitimate concerns we should have when dealing with narcissists. There’s a reason why so many super-villains in pop culture tend to be inherently narcissistic.
Among the key traits of narcissists is a sense of arrogance, self-entitlement, vanity, and a greater capacity to exploit others for selfish means. These are traits we rarely want in people we deal with on a day-to-day basis. But in the role of CEO, they can give someone an advantage.
It means they won’t hesitate to make decisions that cause harm, distress, or ruin to others. It also means they’ll cross lines most people won’t in order to increase profits, further an organization, or undermine the competition. They can and will do things that’ll seriously hurt those working for them, yet still sleep comfortably in their fancy beds without a shred of guilt.
Maybe these sorts of tactics do help certain companies and organizations thrive. Many of the most successful companies in the world were founded or run effectively by narcissists who did things that, in hindsight, were deplorable by most measures. But we give them a pass because that made them and their company a great success.
It’s a not-so-hidden blind spot that we, the public, tend to overlook. And as I’ve gotten older and had my own experiences with narcissists, I feel like that sort of mentality is detrimental in the grand scheme of things.
One story that did stand out from my relative was how one particularly narcissistic CEO lamented how they might not have enough money to retire. Granted, this CEO was making well above six figures and he was complaining directly to someone who made a fraction of this. The idea that their bloated salary was not enough to retire on just seemed outrageous for someone just trying their best to pay their rent or mortgage on time.
It perfectly reflects how narcissists lack empathy and aren’t the least bit concerned with how people less fortunate or affluent get by. It would be one thing if this were just someone who had been born rich. But remember, this is a CEO. Unlike those rich from inheritance, their decisions impact entire organizations. Those organizations are full of hard-working people who may or may not be in a position to retire, no matter how hard they work.
That kind of disconnect between those making executive decisions and those actually doing the work isn’t just illogical. It’s damaging to the long-term health of any organization and society. Because if the CEOs of the organizations we rely on to keep our economy growing are too narcissistic, then what incentive do they have to do right by the society at large?
If the choices is between making the right choice for the most amount of people or more money and power for them personally, a narcissist won’t make the right choice.
If the choice is between sacrificing for the good of others or exploiting others for their own personal benefit, a narcissist will choose to benefit themselves 99 times out of 100.
Unlike most people with a more balanced perspective, narcissists need to be coaxed into doing the right thing. And even when they do, they’ll often do it begrudgingly. Those who are smart on top of being narcissists might be able to come to that conclusion if the long-term benefits are there. But for the most part, you can usually expect a narcissist to made decisions that benefit them over everyone else.
In addition to the anecdotes of my retired relatives, there’s real science to indicate that a disproportional number of CEOs are indeed narcissists. And those narcissists working within those titles will continue to do whatever they think they can get away with, so long as they continue to benefit. You really don’t have to look far to see how much harm decisions from narcissistic CEOs can incur.
Having to work for a narcissist CEO is always challenging, but it can be done. Most people who have worked a steady job can attest to that. But it’s still worth asking ourselves if this situation is tenable in the long run. Because if we continue rewarding narcissists with lucrative jobs like CEO, then we’re just creating a world that’ll enable more narcissists.
Filed under health, human nature, philosophy, psychology
This is another video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. This video is a thought experiment about capitalism. Specifically, it challenges us to contemplate alternatives that we could actually implement in the real world. Given the current trends in politics, which either glorify or villainize capitalism, I think this sort of idea is increasingly relevant. And it’s something we should contemplate seriously as technology, society, and the world continues to change. Enjoy!
Filed under Current Events, human nature, Jack's World, philosophy, politics, Thought Experiment, YouTube
I am a man.
I strive to be a good man.
I like to think I’ve done the best I can in that regard. I know I’m not perfect, but I still strive to improve. I also try my best not to judge others who don’t do as well or struggle to be the man they seek to be.
I say all of this as a precursor because I’m about to go on an angry rant, of sorts, on those who take advantage of insecure, vulnerable men. That rant will include profanity, tirades, and insults. So, if that doesn’t appeal to you, this is your warning. I’m just sharing that as a common courtesy.
Having gotten that out of the way, I’d like to make some important statements that hope finds its way to men and women alike.
Fuck every man who calls himself an alpha male.
Fuck every man who promotes the whole alpha male mentality.
Fuck every man who actually buys into the bullshit behind alpha males.
I understand that’s a bit terse, but I promise I mean every word. I only wish the English language had stronger forms of profanity to get my point across.
Because as a man who has written about men’s issues in the past, I have nothing but abject hatred and disdain for those peddling the objectively stupid notion of the alpha male. I would go so far as to argue it’s worse than the idea of “toxic masculinity,” another label I think is built on a foundation of bullshit.
But the notion of the alpha male isn’t just stupid and wrong. It’s dangerous.
It presents men with a rigid dichotomy that supposedly determines whether they’re a “real man” or just some loser weakling who can’t open a pickle jar. Either you’re some muscle-clad, sports-loving, macho douche-bag who builds his day around how many women he sleeps with or you’re some pathetic, scrawny weakling who deserves to get shoved into lockers in high school.
There’s nothing in between. You’re either one or the other. And unless you’re constantly striving for that alpha status, then you’re somehow a failure as a man.
Again, that’s all bullshit. I seriously cannot emphasize that enough. There is no such thing as an alpha male. That is not a thing in science, biology, or objective reality.
In fact, the whole concept behind “alpha males” is based on horribly flawed study about wolves in captivity that was later disproven. If you want to know the details, please see the following from Phys.org.
If you don’t care to read the whole thing, the long and the short of it is simple. The study that first coined the terms, alpha male and alpha female, was based on observations of social structures of wolves in captivity. However, that social structure does not manifest in the wild.
Instead, the structure is largely based on adult wolves looking after their pups. It’s not too different from how most social animals look after they’re young. We don’t call their parents alphas. That’s just a byproduct of having a particular social structure that relies on adults protecting, teaching, and guiding their young.
That’s exactly what happens in humans, too. We don’t call the parents of children alphas. They’re just parents. Their role is the same as the wolves observed in the wild. They raise their children as a family unit, looking after them and teaching them so that they can survive on their own.
At no point is there this alpha male of the pack who gets all the females and makes all the lesser males do his bidding. That’s not a social structure we find in nature. That’s a social structure we find only in cults, namely the dangerous ones.
That’s exactly what keeps the whole alpha male myth going. It feeds into the agenda of selfish, power-hungry narcissists who need some excuse for being the one who gets all the money, sleeps with all the women, and gets others to do his bidding with little to no compensation.
I won’t name names. But if you follow the news about people who throw around the whole “alpha” label, you know who I’m talking about.
Again, fuck those men and every asshole who buys into their bullshit.
Because that’s what this stupid concept propagates at the end of the day. It’s an enabling force for assholes seeking to exploit those who are vulnerable. Every cult leader in history does the same thing. Organized religion and toxic fandoms do it too. But the people who embrace the alpha male label are just uniquely insufferable.
So, the next time you hear someone throw that alpha male label around, remind them that it’s based on bullshit science and only exploited by wannabe cult leaders. And if they refuse to accept that, then don’t give them the courtesy of calling them alphas. Just call them insufferable assholes. Because that’s what they are and that’s what they’ve always been.
Filed under Current Events, gender issues, human nature, men's issues, psychology, rants
We live in a strange time.
I know you could say that about many other periods in history. Even within my own lifetime, I’ve experienced periods that are well beyond the scope of what we think of as normal. The recent upheavals with the COVID-19 pandemic certainly qualify.
But as overwhelming as that was, I still find today’s current state of affairs both unusual and striking. It’s not just that things are changing so fast and we’re all struggling to keep up. That has been a constant for much of the modern world. It’s more that people seemed so overwhelmed, so upset, and so frustrated that they’re forgetting the most basic elements of getting along with fellow human beings.
It’s true. People have always been mean, hateful, and downright cruel to one another. You don’t have to look far into the recent or distant past to see humans committing egregious atrocities on other humans. And I certainly don’t deny there have been worse times in that regard. If you’re alive today, you should consider yourself somewhat lucky. It wasn’t that long ago that such atrocities were both disturbingly common and largely unpunished.
But even with that perspective in mind, I feel like our collective capacity to hate one another has escalated considerably. You could blame politics, going back to the 2016 Presidential Election or even the 2008 Presidential Election. You could also blame the media, pop culture, social trends, religion, and everything in between. I know I’ve criticized those things plenty and will likely continue to do so in the future.
At the end of the day, though, I understand there’s only so much you can do to influence another person. Whether it’s on politics, personal tastes, or personality quirks, we’re all still individuals. We still have our own thoughts, feelings, and biases. That has always been the case. But I can’t recall a time when those elements we all share have been the fuel for so much outright hatred.
It’s easy to notice online, but it’s happening more and more in real life. Real people are committing real acts of violence and hatred towards other people for the simple crime of not agreeing with them on something, be it politics, ideology, or pop culture. It’s getting to a point where the disagreements don’t even have to be about something big like politics or religion. Just being different and existing is now sufficient to invite someone’s hatred.
That is not a tenable state of affairs.
That is not good for individuals, people, or the world in general.
You can blame the internet and political polarization all you want on this, but that only goes so far. At the end of the day, it’s people who still act. It’s people who still speak and send messages through various mediums, be it mundane or hateful. The tools we use don’t create the hate. They may reinforce and spread it. But like it or not, we are the ones that create it. We are the ones that use it as excuses for violence and hate.
I don’t deny that I’ve said dumb things on the internet. I’ve expressed hateful sentiments, both in real life and online. I’m only human and I do regret it. But I also try to counter those inclinations with something stronger. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that doing so is not that difficult. It doesn’t even require some kind of radical rethinking of your current thoughts, beliefs, or biases.
It all comes down to a simple approach.
Be kind.
That’s it. That’s really all you need to counter so much of the hate and mistrust that seems to infect our world at every turn. It may sound simplistic or cliched, but make no mistake. There’s real power in kindness. Most people understand that on some levels. But one man, in particular, dedicated his life to understanding it. You’ve probably heard of him. His name is Fred Rogers, better known to generations of kids as Mr. Rogers from “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.”
Now, there’s a lot I could say about him and his message. There are no shortage of stories about him that are so heartwarming, they help renew your faith in humanity. But in the spirit of keeping things simple, I’ll just share this clip that I think best explains the true power of kindness.
Please take Mr. Rogers’ message of kindness to heart. In a world as divided as ours, a little kindness goes a long way.
Filed under Current Events, human nature, Jack Fisher's Insights
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