The Terrible Paradox of Intelligence | H.P. Lovecraft

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  • Опубліковано 30 тра 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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КОМЕНТАРІ • 612

  • @PursuitofWonder
    @PursuitofWonder  8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому

      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 8 місяців тому

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

    • @gofai274
      @gofai274 6 місяців тому

      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 6 місяців тому

      @@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 8 місяців тому +947

    Ahh my daily dose of existential crisis!

    • @thedownwardmachine
      @thedownwardmachine 8 місяців тому +23

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

    • @_cloudface_
      @_cloudface_ 8 місяців тому +6

      Meme's gone stale 😐

    • @nyrdybyrd1702
      @nyrdybyrd1702 8 місяців тому +6

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

    • @joshua.recovers
      @joshua.recovers 8 місяців тому +2

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

    • @thevinufernando8526
      @thevinufernando8526 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +9

      It's called catharsis. Art is freakin awesome.

  • @forthehomies7043
    @forthehomies7043 6 місяців тому +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 3 місяці тому +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 2 місяці тому

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

  • @Pres42050
    @Pres42050 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +2

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

    • @henrynwokoroku1144
      @henrynwokoroku1144 8 місяців тому +1

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

    • @markhosking1882
      @markhosking1882 8 місяців тому

      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 8 місяців тому

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

  • @Nooneself
    @Nooneself 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому

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

  • @derekholman8694
    @derekholman8694 8 місяців тому +143

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

    • @gambucino1260
      @gambucino1260 8 місяців тому

      Hows that working out for u?

    • @DS-ej7zt
      @DS-ej7zt 8 місяців тому +18

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

    • @miguelatkinson
      @miguelatkinson 8 місяців тому +5

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

    • @byamboy
      @byamboy 8 місяців тому +3

      I want more details

    • @KosMik_Skul
      @KosMik_Skul 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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.

  • @tumbler9428
    @tumbler9428 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +1

      That is 1 perception

    • @tpolutts3309
      @tpolutts3309 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +7

      Reality is for people who can’t handle drugs

  • @Nunya111
    @Nunya111 8 місяців тому +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.

  • @natural9743
    @natural9743 8 місяців тому +8

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

  • @ReynaSingh
    @ReynaSingh 8 місяців тому +204

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

    • @MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz
      @MushiMbonyumugara-ts8nz 8 місяців тому +8

      are there even any answers at all?

    • @TS10852
      @TS10852 8 місяців тому +10

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

    • @jesuscastro7076
      @jesuscastro7076 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому

      @@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 8 місяців тому +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

  • @SP-ny1fk
    @SP-ny1fk 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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. 🌝

  • @nuwanda2702
    @nuwanda2702 8 місяців тому +107

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

    • @qwertzu140
      @qwertzu140 8 місяців тому +2

      You got me interested. Who's the author?

    • @CaviarTaco
      @CaviarTaco 8 місяців тому +6

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

    • @georgewillow112
      @georgewillow112 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +1

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

    • @wisdomsnap8695
      @wisdomsnap8695 8 місяців тому +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

  • @niceman3318
    @niceman3318 8 місяців тому +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_ 8 місяців тому +3

      I know right 😂

  • @MoriohAnime
    @MoriohAnime 8 місяців тому +36

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

    • @somedudeok1451
      @somedudeok1451 7 місяців тому +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.

  • @Krokonil
    @Krokonil 8 місяців тому +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.

  • @PollyCot
    @PollyCot 8 місяців тому +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.

  • @joshuawhinery208
    @joshuawhinery208 8 місяців тому +6

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

  • @electricsnut
    @electricsnut 8 місяців тому +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 7 місяців тому

      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 7 місяців тому +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 7 місяців тому

      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 7 місяців тому +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 7 місяців тому +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

  • @myshkakozlovski802
    @myshkakozlovski802 8 місяців тому +4

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

  • @billbill3709
    @billbill3709 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @kirk1147
    @kirk1147 8 місяців тому +12

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

  • @real-timelabel-freeimaging4653
    @real-timelabel-freeimaging4653 8 місяців тому +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

  • @amampathak
    @amampathak 8 місяців тому +3

    This is absolutely top tier content mate, brilliant as ever

  • @bootnad
    @bootnad 8 місяців тому +2

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

  • @earnyourimmortality6805
    @earnyourimmortality6805 8 місяців тому +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
    ❤️⚖️🧠

  • @mikechaplin7717
    @mikechaplin7717 8 місяців тому +2

    This was brilliant. Well done and thank you!

  • @ABeeStingInTheBrain
    @ABeeStingInTheBrain 8 місяців тому +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

  • @matthewpocock4824
    @matthewpocock4824 8 місяців тому +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.

  • @chaunceytraplay6853
    @chaunceytraplay6853 3 місяці тому

    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 8 місяців тому +2

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

  • @srhodes6963
    @srhodes6963 8 місяців тому

    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

  • @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon
    @12stepsbeyondtheeventhorizon 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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!

  • @thesilenceofthesnowinsumme1463
    @thesilenceofthesnowinsumme1463 8 місяців тому +2

    Thanks very much. Really interesting 👏👏👏

  • @Badfish3208
    @Badfish3208 2 місяці тому +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.

  • @terryhammond1253
    @terryhammond1253 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @dsgdsg9764
    @dsgdsg9764 8 місяців тому +22

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

    • @madelinmitford8062
      @madelinmitford8062 8 місяців тому +1

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

    • @GB2G
      @GB2G 8 місяців тому +1

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

    • @jimijenkins2548
      @jimijenkins2548 8 місяців тому +1

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

    • @madelinmitford8062
      @madelinmitford8062 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +1

      ​@@jimijenkins2548you sound scared lol

  • @mikepostalakis
    @mikepostalakis 8 місяців тому

    this is your best video yet

  • @wkgall
    @wkgall 8 місяців тому +2

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

  • @noktumwhatever753
    @noktumwhatever753 3 місяці тому

    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.

  • @jamzydarth7746
    @jamzydarth7746 8 місяців тому

    I needed this thank you

  • @GregMoress
    @GregMoress 8 місяців тому +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"

  • @djangotriump8025
    @djangotriump8025 8 місяців тому +1

    Thank you pursuit of wonder for changing my life and perception

    • @maxhagenauer24
      @maxhagenauer24 8 місяців тому

      Did you never question these things?

  • @commandergreen8296
    @commandergreen8296 8 місяців тому +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.

  • @brenogabriel8633
    @brenogabriel8633 7 місяців тому

    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...

  • @thesmokingburrito9097
    @thesmokingburrito9097 8 місяців тому

    This was absolutely awesome
    Thank you

  • @kakanhejsan
    @kakanhejsan 8 місяців тому

    awsome video!!

  • @mahan.arya.m
    @mahan.arya.m 8 місяців тому +1

    Amazing video

  • @danielgreen2788
    @danielgreen2788 8 місяців тому

    Well done. Thanks

  • @CJ-uf6xl
    @CJ-uf6xl 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @kittylove685
    @kittylove685 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому

      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

  • @ilyas_elouchihi
    @ilyas_elouchihi 8 місяців тому +8

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

  • @dkstudioart
    @dkstudioart 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому +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 8 місяців тому

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

    • @gofai274
      @gofai274 6 місяців тому

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

  • @rome8726
    @rome8726 6 місяців тому

    Amazing !

  • @robertjacobs7223
    @robertjacobs7223 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @alejandrogillick6788
    @alejandrogillick6788 8 місяців тому

    Thank you very much !! (from France)

  • @Picklejar75
    @Picklejar75 8 місяців тому

    This was great

  • @paulrw5168
    @paulrw5168 8 місяців тому +4

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

  • @drawn2myattention641
    @drawn2myattention641 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @ZafOsophy
    @ZafOsophy 8 місяців тому +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 🎉

  • @Mohyshukri
    @Mohyshukri 8 місяців тому

    All the love for you @pursuit of wonder

  • @thejackanapes5866
    @thejackanapes5866 7 місяців тому

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

  • @jaredleemease
    @jaredleemease 8 місяців тому

    Thank you. 😎

  • @tyfife79
    @tyfife79 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @Andrea-pm3dy
    @Andrea-pm3dy 8 місяців тому +1

    Thank you 😊

  • @michaelrivera6989
    @michaelrivera6989 8 місяців тому +5

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

    • @nintendianajones64
      @nintendianajones64 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @RogerLewis-ey2tt
    @RogerLewis-ey2tt 8 місяців тому +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!

  • @cuLiref
    @cuLiref 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @yurigiuseppe0603
    @yurigiuseppe0603 8 місяців тому +2

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

  • @omerawni8557
    @omerawni8557 8 місяців тому

    Beautiful

  • @metamorphosis_77
    @metamorphosis_77 8 місяців тому +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.

  • @jesuscastro7076
    @jesuscastro7076 8 місяців тому +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

  • @KK-dc3qk
    @KK-dc3qk 8 місяців тому

    Wonderful 🥰 thank you 😊

  • @nathanielmikkie7171
    @nathanielmikkie7171 8 місяців тому +6

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

  • @videosbymathew
    @videosbymathew 8 місяців тому +2

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

  • @missmahogany031
    @missmahogany031 8 місяців тому +1

    this my fave channel

  • @chokfrancisco2008
    @chokfrancisco2008 8 місяців тому

    This format is much better

  • @nesbitx6025
    @nesbitx6025 8 місяців тому +1

    Finally❤

  • @tombuilder1475
    @tombuilder1475 8 місяців тому

    nice mythos video!

  • @paulbolton2322
    @paulbolton2322 8 місяців тому

    Most excellent indeed 👍❤️

  • @thedownwardmachine
    @thedownwardmachine 8 місяців тому +2

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

  • @explorer.samrat
    @explorer.samrat 8 місяців тому +12

    This channel is questioning our existence, but still we love it.😅❤

    • @vladimir3335
      @vladimir3335 8 місяців тому +1

      This channel is not questioning anything. This channel is made of professionals who simply write effective scripts for their audience. However, they write in a professional and thorough manner, delivering high-quality and engaging content. There's no need to seek a truly deep meaning on a totally commercial channel with 2.5 million subscribers.

    • @LuisSierra42
      @LuisSierra42 8 місяців тому

      @@vladimir3335 There's no truth sir

  • @nikhilshivansh
    @nikhilshivansh 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @needthecoast
    @needthecoast 8 місяців тому +7

    Excellent writing. Thanks for putting the brilliance of Lovecraft in the proper light.🎉

  • @james_solo
    @james_solo 8 місяців тому +2

    The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

  • @Mic420m
    @Mic420m 8 місяців тому

    Up inside of a mind INSANE. SLAYER

  • @bearingoutward1302
    @bearingoutward1302 8 місяців тому

    Feelings of spontaneity are important

  • @francoispremier3191
    @francoispremier3191 8 місяців тому

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

  • @csj9619
    @csj9619 4 місяці тому

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

  • @fernandoorozco5968
    @fernandoorozco5968 8 місяців тому +9

    Truly a deep daily dose of existential crisis and what to learn more about Cosmicism

    • @wilberwhateley7569
      @wilberwhateley7569 8 місяців тому +1

      It’s only an existential crisis to those among us who are still wearing the mask of sanity - people like me have *embraced* the madness of a universe without purpose, thus deriving an almost perverse joy in realizing that human existence is inherently meaningless!

  • @JinroHz
    @JinroHz 24 дні тому

    I'm grateful for experiencing life.

  • @listengort88
    @listengort88 6 місяців тому

    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

  • @jaqueitch
    @jaqueitch 5 місяців тому

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

  • @infernow2125
    @infernow2125 8 місяців тому

    I find this oddly comforting

  • @francisfischer7620
    @francisfischer7620 6 місяців тому

    Oh my goodness!! Extremely well done and well thought out. I quite dislike Lovecraft. But this was fascinating!! Thank you!

  • @merrypeterson489
    @merrypeterson489 8 місяців тому

    crying on my break at work now

  • @Anthonydanells
    @Anthonydanells 8 місяців тому +1

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

  • @meirgrossman850
    @meirgrossman850 8 місяців тому +4

    Fucking love this guy…hits the deepest parts of my subconscious and shakes it up…sheer brilliance.