A big *What if?*

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Of course I don't believe the creation myth of Genesis if that's what you mean, I'm merely saying that humans are inclined almost exclusively to evil, and the entire edifice of civilisation has been a constant struggle to keep this inclination in check - to minimise entropy.

I don't necessarily think we can minimize entropy vis a vis building anything but I get what you mean, although it also kind of distracts from my OP; do people really have to be unequivocally good to help each other? Where there's a yin there should be a yang. What does that yang consist of in terms of people making decisions on the internet? Presuming there's good & evil in everyone (I can see that every day on my commutes); what are some good ways to stop us fixating on 'necessary evils' in order to get together more?

Well religion was the means by which we once were led to fellowship with each other. Then Marxism came along and replaced it. Then post-modernism came along and now it's impossible to conceive of reasons to good unless expecting an immediate reward.

I suppose more effective methods of conditioning may be able to goad us I to doing good, but this doesn't appeal to those who have the financial and political clout to coordinate such conditioning; good deeds don't sell, you see.

Well more than just any good deed in particular I'm describing a hypothetical means for people to personally interact which precludes anxiety, I have a lot of that to work around myself & in the lives of those I'm closest to; so much in fact that it's nearly stopping us getting together at all.

The reward is self-explanatory - more time with someone I love.

it's only a mirror, an electrified mirror

you get more hollow for it takes more than it gives

there's an energy crisis, it's internal (but externalised for profit)

(almost) everyone takes more then one needs, or is compelled to want to do so

from one (plato's) cave into the next



(mirrors & fairytales, maybe i find a better bit but for now this) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-Mxw0tsc9s

Just so everyone knows, this thread started out more interrogatory than philosophical.

Are you referring to technology or this idea in itself?

I think there are more realistic ways of achieving this stuff.

Nothing would change if all humans stop using the internet for socializing or dating.

Sadly, an unattractive guy online is likely to be seen unattractive offline as well.

A man/woman can MAKE him/herself attractive beyond mere physical looks.

Most definitely. I've seen this many times. All one has to do is ride on the train sometime.

That's not exactly what I'm asking about. I'm more curious if you think there are different ways to use the internet for this stuff. Likewise, I'm also asking if anything like that translates to reality. I'm looking to subvert the shallowness of internet culture more than I'm trying to exist within it.

I feel like people in my life have been sold short by these industries, probably more than I have because I'm not much of a participant.

So would you say this is more about skills, knowledge & achievements or is it a matter of demeanor & mannerisms?

Anything that relies on people describing/explaining themselves is going to be flawed because people are self

deluded. Everyone judges themselves by their intentions and others by their actions and therefor thinks themselves

nicer than they are. We also value the things we are good at over the things we are bad at, often referring to the

things we are bad at as trivial/vain/boring/weird ect, to make ourselves feel better.

So are you saying people can gain a better mutual understanding & respect by not over-representing ourselves?

Again, I'm leaning towards practicality more than philosophy here. I don't think this is impossible. I'm looking for imaginative answers, not cynicism. I don't write posts like these to come up with reasons to keep ignoring my social situation.

Here I am trying to brainstorm & everyone but Kraftie says this is all just wishful thinking about human nature.

I'm not interested in remaining jaded about the current social norms, none of that nonsense is mandatory.

Here's my two cents; we're all obviously doing any number of pointless things about our love lives & simultaneously not doing a whole bunch of easy things that might help everyone understand each other. I think a lot of this is due to politics exacerbating the gender gap, as well as social networks neatly dividing everyone into a messy set of groups in a database.

All while we're still right here on the same planet.

I didn't say it was all pointless and humanity is doomed I just pointed out that your system better not rely on people

telling the truth about themselves.

How about dividing people up by on your alternative site (is this what you mean) by subject matter rather than

profiles. In fact don't call in a dating site build it as an interests site and fill it with interests that appeal to people

who are not social. This would allow people to get to know each other in a no-pressure way. You could have areas

for each interest plus areas that are shared areas between interests to increase interaction between different

interest groups. A structured rule/system for showing you liked someone would be good too, with different levels

so that you can build up a picture of how mutual your liking is before you are ok to ask someone to meet or PM

or date. This would get around a lot of the problems of asking out v harassing.