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    • AMMDI is an open-notebook hypertext writing experiment, authored by Mike Travers aka mtraven. It's a work in progress and some parts are more polished than others. Comments welcome! More.
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from self-sabotage

there is no try

22 Jul 2026 - 22 Jul 2026
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    • I was always suspicious of that line of Yoda's. Sounds both Zenny and Fash. Not fash, aristocratic, snobby, implying there is somethign wrong with trying, even to learn or to better oneself.
      • I men maybe I am being some kind of leftist dope
    • I was always bugged by that famous line of Yoda's, Do or do not, there is no try. So fucking anti-human, anti-democratic, anti-rational. And yet with undeniable wisdom to it. And this is not something George Lucas pulled out of his ass, the exactly same message may be found in ZMBM and elsewhere. Trying is bad, goals are bad, you shoul be perfectly natural like the beasts of the field.
    • But of course (duh) ZMBM says explicitly that you have to practice to be natural, and Yoda did of course impose rigorous training on his disciple.
    • Sorry there is a whole book on this Trying not to Try. What am I not-trying to say here?
    • In addition to the Zen quality, it has the taint of aristocracy about it. People are born to their station and trying to improve yourself is somewhere between vulgar and impossible.
    • Yes weird attitudes towards striving, effort. Esp in tech where there is such a fucking bourgie attitude towards everything.
    • OTOH it is true that a lot of trying is counterproductive and short-circuiting it might be of benefit.