The Terrible Paradox of Intelligence | H.P. Lovecraft

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  • čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
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    In this video, we explore the unsettling work of 20th century writer H. P. Lovecraft and the philosophy of Cosmicism that developed out of his writings. In his work, we discover that the greatest source of fear might lie at the very core of our existence-perhaps existence itself is the biggest horror.
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Komentáře • 612

  • @PursuitofWonder
    @PursuitofWonder  Před 8 měsíci +46

    As always, thank you for watching.
    Get 1 free week and 25% off a premium membership to Blinkist using: www.blinkist.com/pursuitofwonder. Thank you to Blinkist for sponsoring this video.

    • @8-P
      @8-P Před 8 měsíci +2

      Hey, was looking for 2 of your videos, but cannot find them:
      - one, where an alien world that only knows happiness is poisened by humans
      - and the last records of a human after death, in some kind of internet archive and then it gets deleted
      Are these videos still there?

    • @ElenaAshe
      @ElenaAshe Před 8 měsíci

      Your videos and your voice, I’m sorry to say, are very depressing. For example, I was expecting the topic to discuss how once one discovers a love for knowledge then one realizes that there is so much more to learn, which leads one to realize the more he or she learns, the more there is to discover and learn about, and so on it goes. That’s the paradox for me.

    • @glenyssmith261
      @glenyssmith261 Před 8 měsíci

      Before man felt fear he knew a more primal emotion. Older brother to fear. He knew hunger.

    • @gofai274
      @gofai274 Před 6 měsíci

      Congrats 0:58 you were able to consider eternal suffering, didn't see yet single person. Even Schopenhauer and Nietzsche even it is obvious from their philosophy didn't speak about this directly. And even high IQ ppl go instantly on copium when this is mentioned. Ppl live like they have only 1 life, we torture each other for infinity. Where will ppl see this??? How would you live if you had 1$ and you were on street: you would cheat, murder, steal to get even bit up... But ppl don't realize there is no escape and cause infinite suffering!!! I Am so desperate civilization is so idiotic, it will go extinct and nothing will ever change, if it is even possible to escape in the first place! Google WW2 Japan unit 731 everyone needs to know!!!

    • @glenyssmith261
      @glenyssmith261 Před 6 měsíci

      @@gofai274
      Eternal suffering means I will never stop either. Pain just lets me know my works are not finished. Death only slows my inevitable victory. As far as I'm concerned this is just Brother Strifes long bye bye speech.
      I've been on the streets btw.
      Ive ate from dumpsters and never shanked or even raised my fists. I've been stranded in cabins for all winter with only a few scraps rotting dead moose to eat. Haven't eaten a person yet.
      Don't call the cavalry. Be the cavalry.

  • @barcafan1760
    @barcafan1760 Před 8 měsíci +949

    Ahh my daily dose of existential crisis!

    • @thedownwardmachine
      @thedownwardmachine Před 8 měsíci +23

      Along with today’s Kurzgesagt, where incidentally this is the top comment. No escape.

    • @_cloudface_
      @_cloudface_ Před 8 měsíci +6

      Meme's gone stale 😐

    • @nyrdybyrd1702
      @nyrdybyrd1702 Před 8 měsíci +6

      ​​@@_cloudface_
      Stale? for y'all maybe but my days are simply saturated with sadness/fraught with fear.

    • @joshua.recovers
      @joshua.recovers Před 8 měsíci +2

      ​@@nyrdybyrd1702change your mindset change the direction of your life. Old meme formats don't save you.

    • @thevinufernando8526
      @thevinufernando8526 Před 8 měsíci +6

      i hate the fact that this is the top comment in most of the videos i watched on this channel

  • @hellyeah_ellajane
    @hellyeah_ellajane Před 8 měsíci +410

    I used to hate horror until I experienced some actual bad things in my life. Now reading a scary book (especially cosmic horror), watching a scary movie (especially monster movies and body horror), or reading a gruesome graphic novel quiets a lot of my inner turmoil and helps me cope with feelings of helplessness and grief.
    Nothing puts things in perspective like entertaining thoughts of something TRULY disturbing.

    • @rusalkin
      @rusalkin Před 8 měsíci +47

      I used to love horror until I experienced some actual bad things in my life. Now I cant even walk past a drowning insect without reaching for a straw. Funny how life works.

    • @nunisthathigh4825
      @nunisthathigh4825 Před 8 měsíci +4

      what about when the horror-fantasy/sci-fi horror is fused with action? Like for example of a sci-fi horror action, Aliens or the Terminator franchise. I think it's cool when the fusion is made, it has a subversive element of toying with your emotions.

    • @hellyeah_ellajane
      @hellyeah_ellajane Před 8 měsíci +5

      @@rusalkin it is pretty peculiar. I am also prone to rescuing insects but can totally get on board with extremely graphic movies/books.
      I think a lot of my fascination with horror stems from religious trauma and chronic health issues. Seeing things like The Excorcist or Raw make me feel like my experiences are totally easy to deal with.

    • @nunisthathigh4825
      @nunisthathigh4825 Před 8 měsíci +6

      @@eldritchtales4808 he's already giving himself therapy. Why spend $1,000 on a bs therapy session for something you can address yourself for free?

    • @beelzebob23
      @beelzebob23 Před 8 měsíci +9

      It's called catharsis. Art is freakin awesome.

  • @forthehomies7043
    @forthehomies7043 Před 7 měsíci +39

    In high school I fell in love with science and math. I dove into biology, put the puzzle pieces of chemistry together, and explored the infamous world of calculus. I also studied physics. After continuing my education in college, specifically in physics, I started to get these weird feelings randomly. In retrospect, I wasn't sure what was happening to me. I now know that I was having spurts of existential dread. The more I learned about life and the universe we live in, the more it started to overwhelm and freak me out. I still adore math and science, and after overcoming those feelings of dread I think I enjoy our reality even more. If you think about it for too long it can consume you. Very cool video -- will have to read some Lovecraft now.

    • @noktumwhatever753
      @noktumwhatever753 Před 3 měsíci +2

      I was the same in school, majored in mathematics. If a person has a philosophical bone in their body, they should definitely NOT major in mathematics. All the implications that ended up coming with knowledge gained did very serious damage to my life for almost a decade. It took one of the most dramatic spiritual shifts possible to get out of the hell that is mathematical causality.

    • @sarpsays
      @sarpsays Před 2 měsíci

      How so did this damage happen cause of maths?@@noktumwhatever753

  • @Pres42050
    @Pres42050 Před 8 měsíci +208

    Personally I think it’s safe to say pursuit of wonder started a change in my life that lead me to think about life and it’s challenges much more rationally and for this I will always be grateful. it has lead me to continue to explore philosophy and psychology and while I do recognize that the only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty, I continue to love learning and appreciate the little things. Thank you so much for this and please keep up the good work.

    • @apolloisnotashirt
      @apolloisnotashirt Před 8 měsíci +6

      Dude same! However, I went through a huge depression phase before deciding to pursuit wonder. And after a while I now find myself an absurdist, existence is absurd, and y'know what? I accept that.

    • @Spartan-Of-Truth
      @Spartan-Of-Truth Před 8 měsíci +2

      Like, actually pursuing ‘WONDER’? I’m interested in this statement.

    • @henrynwokoroku1144
      @henrynwokoroku1144 Před 8 měsíci +1

      "the only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty" nothing truer than this

    • @markhosking1882
      @markhosking1882 Před 8 měsíci

      My thoughts entirely. I always stressed to my children the importance of recognising the vastness of space and at the same time the enormous complexity of life, the scale of how "large" we are compared to the smaller lives within us and the smaller still chemistry and quantum effects. The reason being not to instil despair, fear or horror, but to instil wonder, amazement and joy.

    • @LuisSierra42
      @LuisSierra42 Před 8 měsíci

      I used to think my life was a tragedy, but now I realize it's a comedy

  • @Nooneself
    @Nooneself Před 8 měsíci +16

    Possible meaning of life
    1. Help reduce the suffering of others and seek nothing in return.
    2. The joy of figuring out how the universe works.
    Best wishes 👍

    • @timetraveller2818
      @timetraveller2818 Před 8 měsíci

      I live by meaning 2. but sometimes do things similar to meaning 1.

  • @derekholman8694
    @derekholman8694 Před 8 měsíci +143

    Since adopting a positive spin on the philosophy of Cosmicism, I’ve never appreciate daily life more.

    • @gambucino1260
      @gambucino1260 Před 8 měsíci

      Hows that working out for u?

    • @DS-ej7zt
      @DS-ej7zt Před 8 měsíci +18

      If Cosmicism is a fear response to Nihilism, Absurdism is a humor reaponse

    • @miguelatkinson
      @miguelatkinson Před 8 měsíci +5

      ​@@gambucino1260he did say he's appreciates his life alot more so clearly there is some value he found within this

    • @byamboy
      @byamboy Před 8 měsíci +3

      I want more details

    • @KosMik_Skul
      @KosMik_Skul Před 8 měsíci +1

      ​@@DS-ej7zthuh.. i guess. i think my favorite is when the two are combined.🫠
      like Rick and Morty for example.
      but..
      i kinda feel like that first part is backwards. i think that sometimes nihilism is the fearful response to existence.
      🧐
      but what do i know. I'm a spiritual atheist and an optimistic nihilist. 😉

  • @sharuk1321
    @sharuk1321 Před 8 měsíci +38

    I really love how you start every video stating the helpless condition of the human race, the existential insignificance of every being, everything we know, but at the end you always come up with saying that our existence no matter how pointless, how dreadful or frightening it may seem like, it is still worth a shot, and to exist facing everyday fully aware of all the mundane nature of it all is the braver, wiser and better choice. That's what makes me love your videos.

  • @Nunya111
    @Nunya111 Před 8 měsíci +7

    This is the stuff I think of just walking down the street, nobody captures those feelings with words like this channel. Like fr, just looking down at the pavement I begin to imagine the pavers and pothole fillers, then the pavers before them, then the people who came up with asphalt and concrete, then the people who harnessed the power of wood to make casts for such things even possible, then the first people to walk the earth, then the first fish, then the collision between the moon and the earth, then the formation of the earth, then the nature of the universe. Then I think about the future and how incalculable my small slice of time is in comparison. All 8 billion people on the planet could read this comment and it’d still be forgotten in a second (comparatively to all of time((even if they knew my real name and I was the most famous man alive!)) It’s absolutely terrifying and calming at the same time like no other sensation. It’s terrifying because I know I’ll be thought of for the last time mere (comparable) nanoseconds from the instant I send this out, and calming because I know that no matter how terribly I fail at life they won’t remember 100 years from now and especially 10,000 years from now anyway.

  • @ReynaSingh
    @ReynaSingh Před 8 měsíci +204

    The truth of the human condition is that answers will never cure our fears; only acceptance will.

    • @MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz
      @MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz Před 8 měsíci +8

      are there even any answers at all?

    • @TS10852
      @TS10852 Před 8 měsíci +10

      @@MonsterMash-yy7nl being present in the moment is the only real comfort.

    • @jesuscastro7076
      @jesuscastro7076 Před 8 měsíci +3

      @@MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz being in the present moment (truly being in the present moment and enlightened) you get to experience reality as it truly is without your mind putting these weird unrealistic filters on reality. Usually when you experience reality directly through the practice of meditation you will literally lose any fear you’ve had about existence and reality

    • @MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz
      @MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz Před 8 měsíci

      @@jesuscastro7076 I think you're right. But again it seems that we humans are kinda fantasy-obsessed, as in reality is such a frightening thing to us that we've got to always come up with some fantasy or story to make it less terrifying. In other words, we can not live without somehow lying to ourselves because facing the truth, however uncomforting and harsh as it may turn out to be, is something that we aren't ready for. According to Donald Hoffman in his book The Case Against reality, he talks about how due to evolution, we are hardwired to see not as they really are but simply in ways that are convenient for our survival as a species. It just seems that this is the human predicament and every sensitive and concerned human being has tried to come up with solutions for it.

    • @parallax4475
      @parallax4475 Před 8 měsíci +1

      ​@@jesuscastro7076i 100% agree
      I have the same philosophy
      This Lovecraft thing is too out there
      Existential crisis is just I'm 14 and it's deep
      There is Nothing to be scared of u can't do shit about how small or how insignificant u r
      U will realise when u will meditate and actually sort ur thoughts
      It's good as a fiction but in reality in present it's just an childish fantasy

  • @tumbler9428
    @tumbler9428 Před 8 měsíci +117

    I find it indeed interesting that after a cultural development of thousands of years, we seem to be at a point where not too few of us spend as much time as possible trying to escape reality, using means of escapism like binge watching, binge gaming, binge youtubing :) , binge tiktoking ... or simply by drugging themselves to the point of perfect dizziness or stupor.

    • @RictusHolloweye
      @RictusHolloweye Před 8 měsíci +36

      To be fair, our immediate ancestors snorted coke and smoked joints to their hearts' content. Humans have always sought escape from their own thoughts.

    • @DuckDodgers69
      @DuckDodgers69 Před 8 měsíci +1

      That is 1 perception

    • @tpolutts3309
      @tpolutts3309 Před 8 měsíci +10

      ​@@RictusHolloweye
      For real. Alcohol is nearly 10 thousand years old. And who knows how many natural drugs were used for thousands of years.

    • @AndreasDelleske
      @AndreasDelleske Před 8 měsíci +5

      We try to escape emptiness but if we'd face it, it's the most beautiful no-thing. It's what we are and there are only one.
      We are having bullshit concepts around it, that's why we fear to give up clinging.
      To die or to sleep - same thing. No big deal.
      I'm not afraid, I went through my feelings and thoughts as you all will. They faded, just as I will.

    • @childpeanut5095
      @childpeanut5095 Před 8 měsíci +7

      Reality is for people who can’t handle drugs

  • @natural9743
    @natural9743 Před 8 měsíci +8

    I have fear of comments, so this is a big hurdle I have overcome.

  • @SP-ny1fk
    @SP-ny1fk Před 8 měsíci +6

    “The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”
    ― H.P. Lovecraft

  • @krokodyl1927
    @krokodyl1927 Před 8 měsíci +9

    ‘we are becoming increasingly aware of what we are not aware of’. True, although you can never get enough of what you don’t need - Buddha. 🌝

  • @joshuawhinery208
    @joshuawhinery208 Před 8 měsíci +6

    "Why did the universe happen?" & "Where are we going?" Strike me as the two primary existential questions about reality

  • @Krokonil
    @Krokonil Před 8 měsíci +9

    Once you accept that existence is meaningless and that death is just nonexistence, which makes it even more meaningless than existence ... Then nothing is scary.

  • @niceman3318
    @niceman3318 Před 8 měsíci +9

    7:45 at this point he realizes what he is saying is really depressing so he than suddenly tries to convince people not to kill themselves

    • @siriuss_
      @siriuss_ Před 8 měsíci +3

      I know right 😂

  • @PollyCot
    @PollyCot Před 8 měsíci +9

    When I was young, I felt this while reading the second Darren Shan Demonata book, when one of the characters points out tiny stars in the sky to another, who then tells him that they're demons of unimaginable size hurtling through their universe.
    Great bedtime reading for kids.

  • @nuwanda2702
    @nuwanda2702 Před 8 měsíci +107

    It is called Cosmic Horror. I recommend the book Three-Body Problem as well if you like Lovecraft's work.

    • @qwertzu140
      @qwertzu140 Před 8 měsíci +2

      You got me interested. Who's the author?

    • @CaviarTaco
      @CaviarTaco Před 8 měsíci +6

      Amazing book series. Best sci-fi I’ve ever read.

    • @georgewillow112
      @georgewillow112 Před 8 měsíci +7

      @@qwertzu140 Liou Cch’-sin, he's a chinese writer and the book is also originally chinese, but has since been translated into many languages and has become a worldwide phenomenon.

    • @qwertzu140
      @qwertzu140 Před 8 měsíci +1

      @@georgewillow112 Thank you, I'll look into it :)

    • @wisdomsnap8695
      @wisdomsnap8695 Před 8 měsíci +6

      ​@qwertzu140 cixin Liu is how it is on books in america. The trilogy which has three body problem, dark forest, and deaths end i think are collectively known as the remembrance of earths past trilogy

  • @myshkakozlovski802
    @myshkakozlovski802 Před 8 měsíci +4

    Existence is terrifying until you realize that you ARE existence. All of it. What a relief.

  • @electricsnut
    @electricsnut Před 8 měsíci +24

    This has to be the greatest synchronicity I’ve ever had. I’ve been slipping deeper and deeper into this existential rabbit hole of the absurdity of existence.

    • @somedudeok1451
      @somedudeok1451 Před 7 měsíci

      There's nothing absurd about it. So you exist because of a chain of events that (potentially) started with the big bang. Why would that be absurd or scary? It's pretty bland stuff tbh. Just the nature of how things are.

    • @MikeSpinoza
      @MikeSpinoza Před 7 měsíci +1

      Actually there is no-one who exists. The story of a 'who' or 'I' is just a construct of mind. Whose mind? No-ones...

    • @jogon2433
      @jogon2433 Před 7 měsíci

      That’s why atheism leads to depression , or even sometime mental problems lol, I truly hope you guys find Jesus 🙏he is the way the truth and the life

    • @somedudeok1451
      @somedudeok1451 Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@jogon2433 Nonsense. If anything, the worship of a fictional being that demands constant adoration while threatening eternal agony if you don't love it is what leads to depression. Atheism just frees you from this cage of masochism. And being outside of that religious cage means you can expand your mental capacity to recognize concepts that might be so terrifying for you that you become depressed. But that's not the same as saying atheism leads to depression and it's also not an argument for staying in your masochistic cage.

    • @jogon2433
      @jogon2433 Před 7 měsíci +1

      @@somedudeok1451 no what makes atheism so depressing, is because if it is true, there’s absolutely no meaning or purpose lol, no groundings for logic, reasoning, epistemology etc.. without the existence of a God you have no justification for believing in anything in the first place, let alone metaphysical claims like objective morality, evil, , the mind , existence etc. and as for constant adoration is not a command that you ought to do, but do so because God is all good loving and powerful and deserves adoration, you send yourself to hell not the other way around

  • @kirk1147
    @kirk1147 Před 8 měsíci +12

    Thank you. I was running low on existential dread and you refueled my tank elegantly and poignantly.

  • @real-timelabel-freeimaging4653
    @real-timelabel-freeimaging4653 Před 8 měsíci +4

    I read a lot of HPs books and still like them very much. But as scientist, especially physicist and biochemist, I have to admire the unknown... and it even more suiting, that even as we or our acestors konw so much less, we are all have a chain of ancestors going back to the very first life on this planet.. and unbroken chain, which is linking over billions of years... this is remarkable stable and resilint against all odds of reality... we are persistant.. each of us... so fear is warning us, but we have a rich history, do never forget this

  • @billbill3709
    @billbill3709 Před 8 měsíci +12

    You successfully put into words what I had come to realize, everything happens because something else happened, therefore you were destined to be right here right now no matter what. That is the undeniable truth of our reality, we are on a predetermined path of cause and effect and nothing can stop or change that. It’s so weird to come to that realization, I can’t even begin to describe the feeling

    • @thzzzt
      @thzzzt Před 8 měsíci +4

      It's not "undeniable" unless you want to ignore the debate about determinism vs. free will that philosophers have had for centuries. There are good arguments on both sides.

    • @thzzzt
      @thzzzt Před 8 měsíci +1

      So if you had the power, would you abolish prisons? After all, why imprison a man for something he was destined to do?

  • @noktumwhatever753
    @noktumwhatever753 Před 3 měsíci

    Anyone who stays up for hours every single night thinking about the unanswerable questions KNOWS that existence itself is horrifying. In a long list of ways. I will always love this channel, and I'm very grateful that the Matrix hasn't decided to shut you down yet. You're a very gifted thinker, and I hope you hear that from more than just youtube users.

  • @MoriohAnime
    @MoriohAnime Před 8 měsíci +36

    Yes! A new video to help treat my existentialism and depression. Thank you 💙🤝🏽

    • @somedudeok1451
      @somedudeok1451 Před 7 měsíci +3

      This trend of people acting semi-proud of having depression, as if that is some kind of achievement or sign of good character, is truly weird.

  • @matthewpocock4824
    @matthewpocock4824 Před 8 měsíci +4

    As a child, I used to worry about the cause and effect of existence and how if just one of the innumerable dynamics changed, I would not exist. It would terrify me. As an adult, I now fear that the nature of discovery is such that it only magnifies the unknown. The search for knowledge is a fools journey, and I fear it will eventually drive me mad.

  • @Badfish3208
    @Badfish3208 Před 2 měsíci +1

    The odds of anyone existing in this world is astronomical. If you consider all the things from the beginning of time that had to align perfectly, to come to our own individual existence baffles my mind.

  • @bootnad
    @bootnad Před 8 měsíci +2

    I've been waiting for this one for a long time specifically from you!!!

  • @earnyourimmortality6805
    @earnyourimmortality6805 Před 8 měsíci +4

    There is no first cause or absolute beginning. That is the ultimate conundrum.
    No God, know fear...
    Know God, no fear!
    Godspeed, to my fellow astronauts
    ❤️⚖️🧠

  • @ABeeStingInTheBrain
    @ABeeStingInTheBrain Před 8 měsíci +2

    the remnants of a smile and lots of laughter too ❤ life is a funny blessing
    thank you, pursuit of wonder, for the topics you cover and your unique renditions on them

  • @mikechaplin7717
    @mikechaplin7717 Před 8 měsíci +2

    This was brilliant. Well done and thank you!

  • @amampathak
    @amampathak Před 8 měsíci +3

    This is absolutely top tier content mate, brilliant as ever

  • @chaunceytraplay6853
    @chaunceytraplay6853 Před 3 měsíci

    Dude I have never heard of this channel but I can say this much. I don't know if the speach you'd said at the end was an original or not but it was very good and it was very well delivered on your part. It almost reminds me of a graduation speach in a way. How it managed to encapsulate the fear of not knowing what is to come next whilst still being inspirational to the the potential of what may lie ahead and reminding you not forget or ignore the experiences or events that inevitably lead up to this point. I have always been somewhat blown away by the thoughts of the larger world around me and my place in experiencing it or the thought of how many other people their are who are all experiencing their own existence all around me and their thoughts and feelings in comparison to my own. How completely different their lifes can be or at least their views on life may be even if they are living right nextdoor. The idea that so many people exist and for every single one is a life that's only truly experienced by themselves. I remember as a child walking around and glancing at other people's windows and seeing a brief glipse of what is essentially a completely different existence going on parallel to my own. One that even though it was happening so near to mine however it might never actually intersect with it in anyway at all or in ways that either will ever be consciously aware of if they do. I remember wondering what their lives must be like and how as a species or even a planet we someway ended up with the world we have today and everything that has happened to get us there. I don't know how much of that makes sense but I can end with a last definite case of cause and effect... watching your video has caused me to subscribe and like.

  • @caroflines8298
    @caroflines8298 Před 8 měsíci +2

    you always do such a stand-up job on your graphics, I need to know your methods!!

  • @waltergall
    @waltergall Před 8 měsíci +2

    I 🥰 this presentation, thanks, I'm subscribed to your newsletter // visiting my inbox has never been this interesting, love your work

  • @srhodes6963
    @srhodes6963 Před 8 měsíci

    Very good video! I've seen some from this channel, but this one really hits the mark. I'll be keeping an eye on future postings

  • @thesilenceofthesnowinsumme1463
    @thesilenceofthesnowinsumme1463 Před 8 měsíci +2

    Thanks very much. Really interesting 👏👏👏

  • @GregMoress
    @GregMoress Před 8 měsíci +2

    "No One Here Gets Out Alive" A book about Jim Morrison, lead singer of 'The Doors', a band name based on the words of poet William Blake, who wrote of "The Doors of Perception"

  • @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon
    @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon Před 8 měsíci +19

    A few months ago I completed Lovecraft's "The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales", comprised of 23 stories set in the same universe. It was a wild, wild ride that definitely made me think on these questions. To put in focus the infinity of time and space, as contrasted by our own strictly limited human perspective, is a task that both terrifies and inspires one. Despite the relative comfort of nowadays' life, partially made possible by the very technological advancements Lovecraft seemed to dread so much, I still feel as if we're yet to experience that which he alluded to in his opening paragraph to "The Call of Cthulhu". And I don't really want to point my finger at truly sentient and independent AI, but it's hard not to. I think the real horrors are yet to come. Guess only time will tell.

    • @byamboy
      @byamboy Před 8 měsíci +3

      How do you deal with this feeling the true horrors are yet to come? I seem to intuitively know this. I have no idea why I keep getting flashes of an AI overlord torturing me after reading my thoughts. It's scary.

    • @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon
      @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon Před 8 měsíci +3

      @@byamboy I don't deal with it. I completely and utterly ignore it by occupying my attention with other less ominous ideas and activities. To carry the burden of a future I have not yet lived is equally as futile as shouldering the excruciating weight of a past that no longer belongs to me. The present is all I have, and while I do go through the motions in their full spectrum, I try not to dwell too much on the horrors I may or may not live to see. As Seneca eloquently yet succinctly put it so many years ago: "He who suffers before is necessary suffers more than is necessary."

    • @byamboy
      @byamboy Před 8 měsíci +3

      @@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon oh yes, so you are one of those superhumans that can actually do that. :-D I have been practicing mindfulness too, with the intent of coming closer to the present. Being "intelligent" leads you to anticipating these things automatically. Our brains are predicting machines and mine takes its job very seriously. lol. I found that gratitude also works when my AuDHD brain takes a turn to the depths of despair, completely lost in storms of pattern recognition and earthquakes of torturing self-analysis.

    • @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon
      @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon Před 8 měsíci +4

      @@byamboy well, I like to tell myself I mostly live in the present, but as I said, I also have my moments when the darkness descends upon me once again. If it lingers too much and refuses to leave, I turn to psychedelics. LSD has literally saved my life twice already, and seeing how things in the world are going, I won't be surprised if it does it again in the future.

    • @byamboy
      @byamboy Před 8 měsíci +3

      @@12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon Thanks man, I have tried it too, and it was awesome, but I just microdosed a bit. Still to try a full trip. Ayuaska saved my life, I recommend!

  • @brenogabriel8633
    @brenogabriel8633 Před 7 měsíci

    Is amazing how this videos make me so hipnotized. It just feel different to hear and see all this things; create such a unique sensation...

  • @terryhammond1253
    @terryhammond1253 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Wow! What a Superb Narrative!
    I will now delve into H P. LOVECRAFT. Thank you for
    "The Pursuit Of Wonder"

  • @kittylove685
    @kittylove685 Před 8 měsíci +2

    I am sad... still sad... because of all the mistakes I make because I am too stupid... but still .... u came... my emo prince... greatest genius....and did this... the final minutes where incredibile... why? why you? Why any of us? So so... no words to describe....really... I still dunno if I am too weak or life is too hard... you helped me realise that indeed life is too hard... well I kinda always knew but you confirmed my judgement... as I am sad...in my despair and lonely hours, as it is hard for me to go outside... crippling anxiety... that gives lots of tummy problems......in the taughest times I met u...and frans de waal books... and you saved my life.... especially u.... ghis video motivates me to read lovecraft.
    .
    It seems fascinating... if i can bare it... cause I am too scared...lol

    • @animalshaverights127
      @animalshaverights127 Před 8 měsíci

      We're on the same crippling anxiety boat. I feel like everyone can read my exact thoughts and it feels extremely uncomfortable making me hate going out... but listening to videos like this or about the universe helps a lot

  • @jamzydarth7746
    @jamzydarth7746 Před 8 měsíci

    I needed this thank you

  • @commandergreen8296
    @commandergreen8296 Před 8 měsíci +2

    Our universe is actually built on probability so it isn’t deterministic in nature. Quantum mechanics has found definite proof that the probability is intrinsic to the universe, we discovered this during the first half of the 20th century. Great video, I just wanted to correct you on this.

  • @dkstudioart
    @dkstudioart Před 8 měsíci +6

    The idea that there might be some kind of existence after death is probably my biggest fear. If I could be 100% certain that death was the absolute end of my existence that would be very comforting.

    • @thereisnosanctuary6184
      @thereisnosanctuary6184 Před 8 měsíci +1

      Ikr.
      Imagine never sleeping. Eternally conscious. That is Hell, I wouldn't need fire and pitchforks. Just always awake, bodiless, no ability to touch or be touched.

    • @okthisisepic2928
      @okthisisepic2928 Před 8 měsíci

      You should read the Bible and decide for yourself. Just in case.

    • @gofai274
      @gofai274 Před 6 měsíci

      Same, i don't want to even tell you things i know... This has been my worst fear... Wisdom of Silenius...

  • @djangotriump8025
    @djangotriump8025 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Thank you pursuit of wonder for changing my life and perception

  • @CJ-uf6xl
    @CJ-uf6xl Před 8 měsíci +1

    That has to be the coolest explanation of cosmicism I have ever heard 👍

  • @thesmokingburrito9097
    @thesmokingburrito9097 Před 8 měsíci

    This was absolutely awesome
    Thank you

  • @ZafOsophy
    @ZafOsophy Před 8 měsíci +1

    We all want to run away, be free, from mundane reality. Some people buy a mobile home/caravan, or a canal boat, but we can't run away from overselves. Most of our life, we are distracted by the everyday problems of the world, but later we have much time to dwell on our existence. Without a good frame of reference, we can imagine/invent all sorts of horrors. It's all about attitude, the world is full of beauty, love and wonder. Life is the greatest gift from the creator, race each other to do good, and you will have a blessed life 🎉

  • @danielgreen2788
    @danielgreen2788 Před 8 měsíci

    Well done. Thanks

  • @paulrw5168
    @paulrw5168 Před 8 měsíci +4

    It’s hard not to have a fear of what I don’t know because there is so much out there!😅

  • @mikepostalakis
    @mikepostalakis Před 8 měsíci

    this is your best video yet

  • @mahan.arya.m
    @mahan.arya.m Před 8 měsíci +1

    Amazing video

  • @ilyas_elouchihi
    @ilyas_elouchihi Před 8 měsíci +8

    I'm a simple man, I see Lovecraft, I click

  • @RogerLewis-ey2tt
    @RogerLewis-ey2tt Před 8 měsíci +1

    "Perhaps existence itself is the greatest horror.". Well, yeah. All our pain hits us while we exist. When we stop existing---no pain! Like magic!

  • @kakanhejsan
    @kakanhejsan Před 8 měsíci

    awsome video!!

  • @cuLiref
    @cuLiref Před 8 měsíci +1

    My deepest fear. And that's putting it very lightly

  • @michaelrivera6989
    @michaelrivera6989 Před 8 měsíci +5

    Find something meaningful and do it. I, for one, am grateful to be here.

    • @nintendianajones64
      @nintendianajones64 Před 8 měsíci +1

      You're denying reality. Your attitude of denialism is very common.

  • @drawn2myattention641
    @drawn2myattention641 Před 8 měsíci +1

    This is a well written, powerful little essay. I hear echoes of Rod Serling.

  • @alejandrogillick6788
    @alejandrogillick6788 Před 8 měsíci

    Thank you very much !! (from France)

  • @dsgdsg9764
    @dsgdsg9764 Před 8 měsíci +22

    Existence is not scary it is and that's all it needs to be

    • @madelinmitford8062
      @madelinmitford8062 Před 8 měsíci +1

      "Only those who are most afraid , don't admit that"

    • @GB2G
      @GB2G Před 8 měsíci +1

      The scary aspect of it is the amount of suffering it can afflict

    • @jimijenkins2548
      @jimijenkins2548 Před 8 měsíci +1

      @@madelinmitford8062 This is wrong, no matter how poetic it sounds. There are those who are unafraid and content to exist.

    • @madelinmitford8062
      @madelinmitford8062 Před 8 měsíci +1

      @@jimijenkins2548 i was just quoting the video
      And no , unless you come from a rich family or from some place that hasn't seen problems , you are scared to exist
      It's not more scared to exist than it is scared of the future
      In this case it can be interpreted as scared to exist in the future
      And just because it's scary doesn't mean people aren't happy , it's maybe the same as watching a horror movie
      Regardless of that , if you delve into philosophy or history and stuff , you do know how scary and cruel the world is and how unfairly people are treated
      So i don't think that people are not scared to exist
      Again , they can be happy to exist but at the same time , they also can be scared
      Anyways , if i was given the choice to exist or not , i would always choose the later

    • @nintendianajones64
      @nintendianajones64 Před 8 měsíci +1

      ​@@jimijenkins2548you sound scared lol

  • @Mohyshukri
    @Mohyshukri Před 8 měsíci

    All the love for you @pursuit of wonder

  • @rome8726
    @rome8726 Před 6 měsíci

    Amazing !

  • @yurigiuseppe0603
    @yurigiuseppe0603 Před 8 měsíci +2

    Graciliano Ramos and his work "angústia" need to appear on this channel. Great video

  • @Picklejar75
    @Picklejar75 Před 8 měsíci

    This was great

  • @KK-dc3qk
    @KK-dc3qk Před 8 měsíci

    Wonderful 🥰 thank you 😊

  • @robertjacobs7223
    @robertjacobs7223 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Enjoyed the ride..
    This one did the trick..
    More like this & I'm a keeper..

  • @Andrea-pm3dy
    @Andrea-pm3dy Před 8 měsíci +1

    Thank you 😊

  • @JinroHz
    @JinroHz Před 27 dny

    I'm grateful for experiencing life.

  • @jesuscastro7076
    @jesuscastro7076 Před 8 měsíci +3

    Being in the present moment (truly being in the present moment and enlightened) you get to experience reality as it truly is without your mind putting these weird unrealistic filters on reality. Usually when you experience reality directly through the practice of meditation you will literally lose any fear you’ve had about existence and reality

  • @tyfife79
    @tyfife79 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Cosmic horror... Seems like a way to stay stuck in fear 🤷 good upload as usual

  • @nathanielmikkie7171
    @nathanielmikkie7171 Před 8 měsíci +6

    I just lack words to express what I ever thought, but this channel does it for me. I love it

  • @omerawni8557
    @omerawni8557 Před 8 měsíci

    Beautiful

  • @thejackanapes5866
    @thejackanapes5866 Před 7 měsíci

    Video is nice
    It's empirical evidence of the soundness of Ligotti's argument.

  • @jaredleemease
    @jaredleemease Před 8 měsíci

    Thank you. 😎

  • @jaqueitch
    @jaqueitch Před 5 měsíci

    The idea of existing forever has haunted me since I was four years old.

  • @paulbolton2322
    @paulbolton2322 Před 8 měsíci

    Most excellent indeed 👍❤️

  • @GB2G
    @GB2G Před 8 měsíci +1

    I’ll admit, in the hypothetical scenario I was an atheist. I would’ve probably already kicked the bucket. I can’t imagine how much hopelessness I would be dealing with on top of my current mental state

  • @nikhilshivansh
    @nikhilshivansh Před 8 měsíci +1

    Existence is truly a difficult thing to grasp but it is not deterministic. There are predictable probabilities but never certainty.

  • @Mic420m
    @Mic420m Před 8 měsíci

    Up inside of a mind INSANE. SLAYER

  • @metamorphosis_77
    @metamorphosis_77 Před 8 měsíci +3

    Examine the melody of the cosmos, the sparkling allegories of nature, the big-ass truths of the human condition wrapped in the hard shell of nonsensical abstraction - themes that flew through the air with the greatest of ease.

  • @videosbymathew
    @videosbymathew Před 8 měsíci +2

    I don't have a fear of death, I have a fear of dying...

  • @infernow2125
    @infernow2125 Před 8 měsíci

    I find this oddly comforting

  • @csj9619
    @csj9619 Před 4 měsíci

    "Dimensional acuity". I like it. I'm gonna go ahead and approve.

  • @merrypeterson489
    @merrypeterson489 Před 8 měsíci

    crying on my break at work now

  • @bearingoutward1302
    @bearingoutward1302 Před 8 měsíci

    Feelings of spontaneity are important

  • @tombuilder1475
    @tombuilder1475 Před 8 měsíci

    nice mythos video!

  • @chokfrancisco2008
    @chokfrancisco2008 Před 8 měsíci

    This format is much better

  • @RSanchez111
    @RSanchez111 Před 4 měsíci

    I wish I could be blissfully unaware again

  • @Brambrew
    @Brambrew Před 4 měsíci +1

    Don't even worry about it, all living beings are a part of a collective consciousness... probably. Death is a temporary inconvenience.
    "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter!"
    ~Yoda

  • @listengort88
    @listengort88 Před 6 měsíci

    That's genial. I've named it ''an awestruck fear of existence'' or being aware of ''I am what I am and that's only me''. Actually that's the first step towards true enlightenment and understanding naturally that we are an eternal soul and body is only a temporal form of existence for a spirit within

  • @missmahogany031
    @missmahogany031 Před 8 měsíci +1

    this my fave channel

  • @nesbitx6025
    @nesbitx6025 Před 8 měsíci +1

    Finally❤

  • @james_solo
    @james_solo Před 8 měsíci +2

    The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

  • @michaelw6277
    @michaelw6277 Před 8 měsíci

    Thank you for introducing me to Thomas Ligotti.

  • @francoispremier3191
    @francoispremier3191 Před 8 měsíci

    No easy conversation with you, but... a very good video.

  • @thedownwardmachine
    @thedownwardmachine Před 8 měsíci +2

    Counterpoint: Ice-T’s video on the theory of “F*ck it.”

  • @Anthonydanells
    @Anthonydanells Před 8 měsíci +1

    For me i no longer fear existence after 3 unliving attempts, i just hate existing and find it a waste of time

  • @Greg-xs5py
    @Greg-xs5py Před 8 měsíci +1

    If the only thing that we know for sure is suffering, if fear is the oldest emotion, if everything continues to exist only because it feeds on other living things, then at some point you have to ask “what is this existence?”