Love the article. Love that you acknowledged that it’s a privilege too. And although it is, it’s a good reminder that it can be the smallest thing that anyone can start with and it’ll in turn make their life a little bit more happier.
Also your emphasis on giving out authority. I think teachers deserve authority however I do believe giving it out leisurely to people ties a bind on people’s mind with fear of being judged etc. So I like that this was mentioned too. WE LITERALLY HAVE FREE WILL GUYS. Recently, I’ve realized this too and it’s like a slight pressure has been off my shoulders. It’s like I really don’t have to do certain things in a certain order for them to come out right or I don’t have to be looking a certain way, this and that. It quietens down the busy in my mind. Anyway that’s my rant. IN CONCLUSION, this was a nice read!
I appreciated the acknowledgment of privilege but I feel like it goes beyond “free will can be exercised because of privilege,” and more privilege allows you to exercise free will in a way that doesn’t shatter the social contract in a way that’s threatening to your livelihood. If I were to exercise free will a certain way, the ramifications for me are completely different to another person with a different set of privileges. However, they do all link back to the social contract which makes me think I’d like to start pushing boundaries more to allow space for folks like myself to be given the grace to extend the contract.
Of course different people will have different ramifications of free will because everyone has different barriers and boundaries that they adhere to ( for example the amount of money /time you have to explore ). But yea everything you said is valid and very true and I can’t sit for you to explore your own free will !
I'm autistic so I didn't even know some of these things were social expectations. I have always had a crippling fear of authority figures, or, more accurately, disappointing them. I'm aware they're also just people with their own problems, but I get anxious whenever I need to approach managers, interviewers, advisors, teachers/professors, trainers, doctors/pharmacists/optometrists/dentists/opthalamologists/orthodontists, my parents, or parents of my friends about an issue I have because I'm afraid of looking stupid or being annoying when they have better things to deal with. The rest of the examples I don't really relate to though? I eat whatever for breakfast. In fact, I rarely eat American 'breakfast' foods because I need to have protein so I don't feel ill like two hours later, and I can't eat most meat (due to some enzyme issues) so I sometimes have eggs and toast, or oatmeal, but I might also just have like a giant salad, or a sandwich, or some tofu, or pasta leftovers. I sit or lay on floors sometimes. I always sit criss-crossed in chairs or in like a seated squat. I abide by rules of the road when driving, but that's just because I would be devastated if I hurt someone. I guess I didn't sign as many social contracts because I wasn't aware they existed lol
Loved this piece. As a late diagnosed autistic woman, I lived by the social contract (or tried to) for so long. I’ve been trying to unmask for the last couple of years and embracing my true sometimes childish or “odd” whims and desires. It’s very freeing. X
Past a certain age (probably 40) tummy time is impossible as getting back up off the floor is ungainly and embarrassing. A similar issue occurs when trying to get out of a beanbag. The loss of dignity is not worth it. Neither is the poor bladder control when you start laughing while trying to do it.
Love this post :) I recently saw an Instagram post about this girl who was watching The Holiday and thought: Why hadn't she done house swapping before? She then remembers she has free will and proceeds to message everyone she knows to find someone who does house swapping. This led to her living in a random girl's apartment in Paris. It thus leads us to think: why haven't I done these things that I would love? What is stopping me?
It's so strange to think all of our choices are cemented in social expectation and construct. When we try and break that and absolutely use our free will, you can start to go the other way, and question whether these 'anti-system free will choices' are influenced by other norms, constructs and authority that we aren't yet clear on.
Then the cycle of confusion starts!
But to start with I might now have cereal for dinner 😂❤️
This is clearly written by someone who has never taught. How do you expect to manage a classroom if all the kids could do what they liked? In fact, they tried that in NZ, in Christchurch, and the school had the worse results possible due to a lack of structure and free will. Children opted to not study and roam the school. Why do we answer 'here'? It's the quickest and simplest way to acknowledge the child's presence and moving on to the teaching as quickly as possible.
I think it's important to have structure, but if a lot of people have a deep fear of authority figures to the point of not talking to them when they need to, then I think there is a problem with the social dynamic.
Fascinating read! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
Love the article. Love that you acknowledged that it’s a privilege too. And although it is, it’s a good reminder that it can be the smallest thing that anyone can start with and it’ll in turn make their life a little bit more happier.
Also your emphasis on giving out authority. I think teachers deserve authority however I do believe giving it out leisurely to people ties a bind on people’s mind with fear of being judged etc. So I like that this was mentioned too. WE LITERALLY HAVE FREE WILL GUYS. Recently, I’ve realized this too and it’s like a slight pressure has been off my shoulders. It’s like I really don’t have to do certain things in a certain order for them to come out right or I don’t have to be looking a certain way, this and that. It quietens down the busy in my mind. Anyway that’s my rant. IN CONCLUSION, this was a nice read!
I appreciated the acknowledgment of privilege but I feel like it goes beyond “free will can be exercised because of privilege,” and more privilege allows you to exercise free will in a way that doesn’t shatter the social contract in a way that’s threatening to your livelihood. If I were to exercise free will a certain way, the ramifications for me are completely different to another person with a different set of privileges. However, they do all link back to the social contract which makes me think I’d like to start pushing boundaries more to allow space for folks like myself to be given the grace to extend the contract.
I totally agree with you!
Of course different people will have different ramifications of free will because everyone has different barriers and boundaries that they adhere to ( for example the amount of money /time you have to explore ). But yea everything you said is valid and very true and I can’t sit for you to explore your own free will !
I’m going to experiment with this today, wish me luck 😊
Prepare for all the “no we don’t” comments from the I watched a YouTube short crowd 🤣🙏
Sapolsky likely didn't form his outlook watching YouTube shorts. Nor did John Calvin. Lol.
I'm autistic so I didn't even know some of these things were social expectations. I have always had a crippling fear of authority figures, or, more accurately, disappointing them. I'm aware they're also just people with their own problems, but I get anxious whenever I need to approach managers, interviewers, advisors, teachers/professors, trainers, doctors/pharmacists/optometrists/dentists/opthalamologists/orthodontists, my parents, or parents of my friends about an issue I have because I'm afraid of looking stupid or being annoying when they have better things to deal with. The rest of the examples I don't really relate to though? I eat whatever for breakfast. In fact, I rarely eat American 'breakfast' foods because I need to have protein so I don't feel ill like two hours later, and I can't eat most meat (due to some enzyme issues) so I sometimes have eggs and toast, or oatmeal, but I might also just have like a giant salad, or a sandwich, or some tofu, or pasta leftovers. I sit or lay on floors sometimes. I always sit criss-crossed in chairs or in like a seated squat. I abide by rules of the road when driving, but that's just because I would be devastated if I hurt someone. I guess I didn't sign as many social contracts because I wasn't aware they existed lol
Loved this piece. As a late diagnosed autistic woman, I lived by the social contract (or tried to) for so long. I’ve been trying to unmask for the last couple of years and embracing my true sometimes childish or “odd” whims and desires. It’s very freeing. X
Love a glitter gel pen moment
Past a certain age (probably 40) tummy time is impossible as getting back up off the floor is ungainly and embarrassing. A similar issue occurs when trying to get out of a beanbag. The loss of dignity is not worth it. Neither is the poor bladder control when you start laughing while trying to do it.
I put money on the laugh being worth it 💓
Love this post :) I recently saw an Instagram post about this girl who was watching The Holiday and thought: Why hadn't she done house swapping before? She then remembers she has free will and proceeds to message everyone she knows to find someone who does house swapping. This led to her living in a random girl's apartment in Paris. It thus leads us to think: why haven't I done these things that I would love? What is stopping me?
Breakfast at dinner. That’s all.
Love this. I’ve made being the adult floor sitter a core part of my personality.
Handed my notice in this morning with debt and no job to go to because I can’t stand it after nearly 8 years. Fuck it .
Really enjoyed this article.
It's so strange to think all of our choices are cemented in social expectation and construct. When we try and break that and absolutely use our free will, you can start to go the other way, and question whether these 'anti-system free will choices' are influenced by other norms, constructs and authority that we aren't yet clear on.
Then the cycle of confusion starts!
But to start with I might now have cereal for dinner 😂❤️
This is clearly written by someone who has never taught. How do you expect to manage a classroom if all the kids could do what they liked? In fact, they tried that in NZ, in Christchurch, and the school had the worse results possible due to a lack of structure and free will. Children opted to not study and roam the school. Why do we answer 'here'? It's the quickest and simplest way to acknowledge the child's presence and moving on to the teaching as quickly as possible.
I think it's important to have structure, but if a lot of people have a deep fear of authority figures to the point of not talking to them when they need to, then I think there is a problem with the social dynamic.
The concept of "giving authority out so freely" - INTERESTING! I relate to this. Now reflecting on why I relate to this...
Fascinating read! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
Here , here !