blog post ①

vibe check

no person on this world is a "true" (真) mind-reader, so why can some people learn to expect certain actions from other people?
pay close attention to their words...

"I get a terrible vibe from that guy..."
"Yeah, he gives me real 'pick me' vibes."
"Really? You never gave off 'apple user' vibes..."

see? many people believe that "vibes" are something that other people give off, and they're not wrong.
the one thing that sets ourselves as the most intelligent beings in our corner of the universe is "information synthesis." our brains are fast, insanely fast, and absorbing and processing information without us being conscious of it. the brain then creates, yes--true (真) creation, information. the next time you get a "vibe" off of someone, try thinking about what led you to that conclusion.

if you see a guy and think "i bet he has one of those nasty anime boobie mouse pads," then try tallying up all the points that led you there
such as:

1. does he smell a bit?
2. does he have a slight hunch?
3. is his laptop plastered with stickers of genshin impact girls?
4. does he seem uncomfortable around women?

wait... that all seems pretty rude, right? yes... here comes the third un-conscious step to getting a vibe:
implicit bias.

why does being a bit smelly make you a pervert? pervert is a strong word, what about owning a boobie mouse pad makes someone a pervert? weird, yes, but maybe they're comfortable? why, I've got a bit of a hunch as I type this--what's wrong about that? oh, and, maybe the dude just likes playing genshin... and not every guy is some charming debonair--girls can be hard to talk to...

your brain has already linked thousands of little points together to make biases against people. it already linked stuff like "odor" and "social awkardness" with "anime-loving" or "video-game-playing" together and produced a bias. evolutionary, or not, it's incondusive to living a fulfilling social life with the people we share our beautiful blue marble with.

yes... your brain has created a pretty rude judgement of someone without you realzing it, and it did that at a speed that makes your computer look like molasses. your brain is the absolute queen of all computers, and you can make it even more powerful with:
critical thinking.

you can think about what you're thinking, or have thought, about and break down implicit bias and rude snap-judgements--it's surprising how little people are taught this. so, think about the next vibe you get, and really break down what about that person gave you that vibe.

also, to the anime-dorks: sorry for using you as an example. here's a candy bar: