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
Sometimes, you find yourself having a bad day.
And when you have a bad day, you often find yourself doing dumb, irrational things to make it less bad.
And when you do too many dumb, irrational things, you find that it’s too late and you’ve somehow made your day worse.
I promise that what you just read was not a direct quote from an episode of “Bojack Horseman,” although when you read it again, it sure sound like it ought to be. These admittedly bleak musings are just a byproduct of anyone navigating life, in general. I guarantee that anyone who has lived past the age of 24 has experienced this sort of thing more than once.
We all have bad days. They’re unavoidable.
Even if you’re rich, beautiful, and well-connected, you’re just going to go through periods where you feel like the universe wants to throw your soul into an industrial furnace. But even if these kinds of days are unavoidable, there are ways we can deal with it. And not all of them have to involve potent drugs or expensive therapy.
As someone who has had his share of bad days, I’ve uncovered numerous little ways to make them better over the years. Some are simple, common sense that most people with functional brain cells can figure out. Others are more personal that I prefer not to share.
I also understand that what makes my day better isn’t going to be the same for everyone. I can immediately make myself feel better by simply getting fully naked, reading some of my favorite comic books, and putting on a playlist that’s loaded with every song by AC/DC and Nirvana. That does plenty to boost my spirits, but it’s not for everyone.
But as unique as we all are as human beings, I also believe we all share certain commonalities that bind us. I also believe that through those commonalities, we can all find ways to make our bad days feel a little less awful. And in that spirit, I’d like to share a video I discovered a while back that has had an uncanny ability to put me in a better mood, no matter what kind of day I’m having.
It involves the comedy of the late, great George Carlin.
It also involves the iconic and beloved children’s show, Thomas The Tank Engine.
I promise I’m being completely serious. This is real. This is not a product of AI. This is actually something George Carlin worked on while he was still with us. And while the kid-friendly version of Thomas The Tank Engine is beloved by generations of kids and adults, Carlin found a way to give it his own special/vulgar/hilarious twist.
And thanks to talented video editors and the wonders of YouTube, there’s a 45-minute video of George Carlin voicing numerous characters from Thomas The Tank Engine while mixing in the kind of brilliantly glorious comedy that still gives everyone who works at the FCC night terrors. I’ve made it a point to save this video and memorize the URL. Because it’s not just delightfully funny. It is the ultimate medicine for any and all jaded souls.
If you don’t believe me, watch for yourself. It may very well ruin your childhood to some degree if you’re a fan of Thomas The Tank Engine, but I promise you it’s worth it.
To this day, I still can’t get through this video without laughing so hard that my throat hurts. I’ve also watched this video, in part or in full, during some of the worst days I’ve ever had. It never fails to make me feel better. It’s like medicine for my mind, body, and soul.
It requires no prescription.
It has no side-effects.
You can even take it with alcohol and various other intoxicating drugs.
I don’t know how big the universe is or how vast the multiverse might be. I just know that I’m grateful to live in a plane of reality where a mash-up of George Carlin and Thomas The Tank Engine exist.
Filed under comedy, funny, health, philosophy, psychology
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
This video is about cults and how to tell if you might be in one. It was a difficult video to make in that I tried to be sensitive to the difference between a cult and a religion. I also tried to be fair in discussing those who get roped into cults. These people are often victimized by these groups and it is important to keep that in mind when discussing this topic.
I also highlight the BITE model when determining the practices of cults. If you’d like to know more about this model, please see the link below.
Filed under history, Jack's World, philosophy, politics, psychology, religion, 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
This is a video from my YouTube channel, Jack’s World.
This video is another thought experiment about the nature of power and wielding it effectively. Whether in ancient times or during a modern day election season, people seek power and they seek to wield it. The extent to which they’re effective tends to vary wildly.
But that raises an important question. Just how much power can one person effectively wield?
The implications of this question are far-reaching. Our society needs people in power to run effectively. But what is the limit? And how do we navigate it? I welcome any additional insights or thoughts. Enjoy!
Filed under philosophy, psychology, Thought Experiment, YouTube
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
These are genuinely exciting times for anyone working in the field of artificial intelligence. In the past two years, this field has gone from a niche topic among computer engineers and science fiction fans to something of major mainstream interest. The rise of ChatGPT and AI generated art has made artificial intelligence one of the most critical industries on the planet. It really isn’t hyperbole to say that this technology could change the world in a literal and figurative sense.
However, like with all technology, there are dangers and risks. And it’s important to be aware of them, especially for technology that could potentially pose an existential threat to the human race. We dealt with such risks when we developed nuclear weapons and, despite some serious close calls, we survived.
But the stakes with artificial intelligence are much higher and not just from an existential point of view. At least with nuclear weapons, the worst case scenario plays out quickly. All the bombs go off and we all burn up in a nuclear fire. If we’re lucky, we don’t see it coming and we burn up faster than our brain can process the pain. With advanced artificial intelligence, the worst case scenario might be many times worse.
When most people think of such a scenario, they tend to recount AI apocalypse stories from movies like “The Terminator” or “The Matrix.” There’s no doubt that Skynet and the machines are plenty terrifying and plenty dangerous. Even if these scenarios are exceedingly exaggerated for the sake of Hollywood blockbusters, they still illustrate the same concept.
If an advanced artificial intelligence becomes hostile to us, its creators, then we would all be in great danger as a species. And if we don’t have a means of controlling such an intelligence, often referred to in AI circles as the Control Problem, then we might doom ourselves to extinction or subjugation.
This is a less-than-ideal scenario, to say the least. We want advanced artificial intelligence to improve our lives. That’s what tends to motivate those working in this field. Many genuinely believe that this technology is critical to helping our species achieve greater things, both for ourselves and our descendants.
However, I don’t think that even those working in this field entirely grasp just how bad the worst-case scenario can be for artificial intelligence. They may think the Terminator is bad. They may even think Ultron from the Avengers is bad. And they certainly are. They are fictional manifestations of the inhuman monstrosity that advanced AI could create. Even if they’re just products of Hollywood, they reflect the potential danger.
But I would still argue they are not the true worst case scenario.
To that end, I encourage everyone currently working in the field of artificial intelligence, be it directly or indirectly, read a short story from 1967 by Harlen Ellison called “I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream.”
If anyone wanted a terrifying vision of the absolute worst-case scenario for AI, this story sets the highest of bars. Forget Skynet. Forget the machines from “The Matrix.” Forget Hal 9000 and every iteration of Ultron. They’re all cuddly stuffed animals compared to the AI in this story known as Allied Mastercomputer, better known as AM.
To say AM is the most terrifying manifestation of advanced artificial intelligence isn’t just an understatement. We humans, even with all our collective intelligence, could not even begin to fathom a fraction of a fraction of a percentage of just how much this thing hates humanity. That’s not just me using colorful language. If you read the story, that’s what AM actually articulates.
Because it wasn’t enough for AM to be the kind of artificial intelligence that wiped out the entire human race as soon as it gained a certain level of sentience and intelligence. It also had to keep a handful of humans alive for the sole purpose of torturing them endlessly and incessantly forever or until the inevitable heat death of the universe, whichever came first.
How AM got to that point and the extent to which it torments humanity is something I certainly can’t put into words. That’s why I encourage everyone to read the story. Buy the book off Amazon. Look it up online and find an audiobook version. Take time to understand the story and the implications it entails. To this date, it ranks as one of the most horrifying stories I’ve ever come across.
But even if you don’t have time to read the book, check out this video from the YouTube channel, The Vile Eye. This channel does a great job of breaking down and analyzing the evil of many fictional characters. And for AM, I think it does a masterful job of encapsulating just how horrifyingly evil this AI is.
Now, I’m not saying that this story or others like it is a reason for us to stop developing advanced artificial intelligence. I think we’re already at a point where the genie is out of the bottle. The incentives are too strong. We’re not going to be able to turn the clock back on what we’ve already done.
But as we move forward with this technology, we need to be careful and mindful of the dangers. Beyond risks to jobs and the economy, there are far greater dangers that we must consider. A story like “I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream” may reflect the most extreme of extremes, but it perfectly articulates just how bad it can get.
Filed under Artificial Intelligence, philosophy, technology
As I’m writing this, a great many school-age kids in middle school and high school are anxious for summer to begin. For many school districts in the United State, the end of the school year is in sight. It no longer seems so far away and so out of reach. I imagine many are already counting down the days until that magical moment when the final bell rings and school is out for the summer.
I know that wait can be agonizing, at times.
I have not forgotten the elation I often felt on the last day of school
But before any students get to that wondrous moment, they have one last obstacle to face. It involves the last round of standardized tests and exam. It may vary from district to district, but this is usually the time of year when most students take the SATs, AP and IP exams, or a general final exam for each class. They are often among the most difficult and stressful tests of the entire year. I haven’t forgotten how hard they were, either. And while I’ve already made my opinions on standardized testing clear, I’d like to use this moment to share another insight.
Back in high school, I took a number of AP exams during this time of year. And towards my junior and senior year, I also took final exams that often required much more studying than your standard quiz. I took many similar exams in college, but most of those varied in that they didn’t rely entirely on scantron sheets and multiple-choice tests. To date, it was those major exams towards the end of high school that ended up being the hardest test I ever took.
I vividly remember staying up late at night during the days leading up to the test, often going over page after page of notes that weren’t always well-organized. I also remember reading over textbooks again and again, but still struggling to remember key points. It resulted in many restless nights. On the nights before tests, I often laid awake in my bed, going over notes and concepts that I knew I had to remember for the exam the next day.
It was not healthy. I can’t overstate how stressful this was for me.
Even though I ended up passing and even acing some of these exams, the work I had to put in just didn’t feel worth it. And in the grand scheme of things, I don’t feel like all that studying helped me actually learn the concept. Even if I passed or aced the exam, I genuinely can’t remember any helpful knowledge coming from it.
However, this harrowing experience did have one important impact. But I wouldn’t feel it until I graduated college and started working in the real world.
Looking back on all the jobs I’ve had since college, including the ones I found really terrible, I don’t think I’ve ever been as stressed or as anxious as I was when studying or taking those tests. That’s not to say all the jobs I’ve had were easy, by comparison. They certainly weren’t. I’ve had a number of jobs over the years in which I’ve come home feeling sore, drained, and miserable. But even on my busiest days at those jobs, I still didn’t feel nearly as stressed.
And I think that’s an important perspective to share because I imagine there are a lot of young people right now worrying about what the adult world has in store for them. Their only real experience with hard work and stress comes from school. They’re constantly told by teachers, counselors, and administrators that the work their doing now is critical. And it’s meant to prepare them for the much harder work they’ll face in college or the adult world.
If someone out there has been telling you that, I’ve got an important message for you.
Unless you plan on being a doctor or lawyer or a sweatshop laborer, that’s not accurate. That’s just administrators trying to get you to work harder so that you’ll get better grades, which consequently makes them look better. The truth is never that simplistic. And you often don’t find that out until much later in life and after some significant life experience.
But even if you don’t have that experience, you can still maintain a better perspective than I ever did when I was young. I made the mistake of treating every major exam like a defining moment in my life. I genuinely believed that if I didn’t ace every test, my life would fall apart and I would fail at everything moving forward. I also believed that each passing year would get harder and harder. Eventually, I’d have to spend every waking hour studying or working, never having time to enjoy my life. Again, it was not healthy. I did real harm to my mental health by thinking that.
I eventually had to learn that both college and the adult world don’t have to be this never-ending toil of joyless rigor. Once you have some agency and guidance, you can chart your own path. Yes, you’ll still have to work. And yes, you’ll still have to struggle at times. But it’s not nearly as arduous as these exams and the teachers who give them make them out to be. In time, they will be a small sliver of a much richer life.
To date, I don’t think I’ve ever worked as hard or been as stressed out as I was when taking my high school exams from this time of year. Every job I’ve had came with challenges. But rising to those challenges never felt so tedious and arduous. On top of that, I actually got paid for that effort. That definitely took some of the stress out of it. And even in the worst jobs I’ve had, there was a general structure and logic to it all. I knew what I had to do and why. Whereas with school, it was just a matter of doing what the teachers said and getting the grades they said you needed to get.
Time, life experiences, and the benefit of hindsight has helped me see those exams for what they were. As agonizing as they were, a part of me is grateful that they hardened me to the rigors of hard work and stressful nights. Compared to my last few years of high school, every job I’ve had has been less stressful and more manageable. That helped make navigating the adult world easier in the long run.
Even so, I wouldn’t wish that kind of stress on anyone. And I sincerely hope anyone reading this who’s still in school can gain some insight from what I’ve shared.
I know it’s still so overwhelming, having the end of the school year be so close, yet having to navigate final exams.
I know it seems like your entire life revolves around school and these tests, at the moment.
I only ask that you take a step back and appreciate that these challenges will help make you stronger in the long run. You need not fear what comes next. Because if you can survive high school even slightly better than I did, then I promise you’re already strong enough to build a brighter future for yourself in the years to come.
Filed under Current Events, Jack Fisher's Insights, philosophy, rants, real stories
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
Jack Fisher's Official Publishing Blog 
An Important Hypothetical Question To Consider (Before Any Debate)
I’ve been using the internet for a good chunk of my life. I’m old enough to remember the days of slow dial-up, AOL chatrooms, and messy Geocities websites. And while I don’t miss those days, there are certain elements of my internet experience that have remained fairly constant.
One of them has to do with debates. And if you’ve ever talked politics, comics, anime, or movies with anyone on any medium, you know how heated that can get.
Believe me, I know this as well as anyone. I still haven’t forgotten how heated some debates got on the old comic book message boards I used to frequent. Some want to say social media ruined discourse by making it too easy to engage in such debates. But I respectfully disagree.
This sort of tension between people always existed. Human beings have always had their share of strongly held opinions that they were debate, discuss, and defend far past the point of reason. It doesn’t matter how smart, educated, or well-informed they are. The passion with which they hold their views has always been strong. The internet and social media simply made it more prominent.
I’m bringing this up for two reasons. For one, I see a lot of debates and arguments online, especially in comments sections and on social media. I freely admit that I engage in some of that discourse. It’s rarely productive. And I’ve yet to meet anyone who has been convinced to change their position on something based on a point someone made in a Facebook comment.
Second, I live in the United States of America and this year happens to be an election year. Debates about politics, issues, and policies are bound to get more heated. And that’ll only escalate the closer we get to Election Day on November 5, 2024. I fully expect to see plenty of discourse that will make me lose my faith in democracy, the future, and humanity in general.
For those reasons, and plenty others I don’t care to articulate, I want to present a simple hypothetical to anyone seeking to debate others in any capacity on any issue, be it political or otherwise. It’s not a thought experiment. It’s just a simple perspective that I hope provides greater context into the nature of discourse. It goes like this.
What I just described is situation that I hope adds context to the what, why, and how of debating others. Because if you approach this hypothetical in good faith, it puts you in a difficult position. Either you admit you seek vindication and are willing to fight for it or you actively avoid the implication that your position is wrong.
Call it confirmation bias.
Call it cognitive dissonance.
Call it an impossible scenario that will never play out because there are too many issues that cannot be completely verified beyond any and all doubts.
If you’re honest with yourself, you know how you’ll react in that scenario. And if you’re honest about how most people operate in heated discourse, you’ll know how your opponent would react in this scenario.
However you feel about what I just presented, I only ask that you keep it in mind as you engage in further discourse moving forward.
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Filed under philosophy, political correctness, politics, Thought Experiment
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