[Macros]

I'm probably not all the way back yet, it's been a long night and J e had no sleep.

BUT

I red mark Manson's 'the subtle art of not giving a fuck' recently.

Was it great?

No.

It was average, entertaining but average. As a change your life book it could excel if you took it on board. He doesn't subscribe to the look for the good in everything bullshit.
He subscribes to the take fucking responsibility to your reaction and you action motif.

In this vein I've been thinking, I do cast a wide blame net for my life.
I waste money drinking? My friends dragged me out
I don't push on professionally, the guys I work with hold me back etc.


So

Let's all admit to shit that is entirely our own fault and work towards moving past it.

Poker, I'm a passable player and enjoy a game, when its 3am and I'm tanked up. And Ill sit it out for 5 hours to grind out a win.

This is entirely a fault of my own making.

I went out last night, ended up at the casino in a cash game.
Could have walked away even at 5am (after clawing myself out of a £300 hole) bit I played on. Drinking coffee so I can't even try and blame the beer (which I can't in this thread anyway) ended upaking the correct callnfor all in with AK and got shit on by an idiot with a lucky bad band.

Normally I would rail against this tool.

But.

This is my fault, I had no need to be in that poker game drunk at 7am

Not sure where I expect this to go

[Aptorian]

Macros, it's 12 am. What are doing, man!

I sometimes throw batteries in the trash. I am a terrible human being and I take responsibility for ruining the drinking water of future generations.

[Macros]

I'm in Stansted drinking, waiting to.fly home to Ireland.

If it helps I'm still getting paid?

[Gorefest]

How much did you lose?

You might want to delve into the chimp management model. Sounds like it could really help you conceptualise and take ownership of these feelings of belated self-irritation.

The basic run-down, using my limited understanding of neurology and questionable powers of explanation clarity:

1. Every person really has two brains, your 'primordial' brain (also called the 'chimp' brain) and your 'self' brain, for lack of a better term. The primordial/chimp brain is the bit of the brain that we share with many other mammals, so that roughly consists of your cerebellum and the limbic system (hippocampus, amygdala, etc). These are the bits that control your basic body movements, sensory and motor input, and (very importantly!) your emotional centers. The 'self' brain is the evolutionary newer section, which is most parts of your cortex, especially the frontal cortex. These are the areas that allow humans to do abstract thought, self-reflection, concept of 'self', rational decison-making, etc. It is what sets us humans apart from other animals, who have vastly less developed cortexes or even none at all, depending on the species.

2. You also have an internal 'computer', which is a memory bank that stores experiences and outcomes from previous events for reference. This receives input from and gives output to both of your brains. It also does a lot of automated decision-making at times when your chimp or 'self' brains are asleep or distracted. It acts based on preformed decisions and beliefs, built up from experiences and training/education.

3. Your chimp brain is the emotional and reflexive area, the part that keeps you ticking over and that arranges your immediate safety in dangerous situations. The 'fight versus flight' reflexes, the 'don't go there, it is scary', or the 'ouch that hurts, drop it!' sort of input signals. This is also the brain that gets all the sensory input (visual, auditory, pain receptors, etc) first, and reacts to it first. The 'self' brain is the bit that can extrapolate meaning and concepts from the initial input. This is what makes you 'you', your morals, your views on right and wrong, your goals and purposes, etc.

4. Now for the key howler: because of the way that your brain is wired and the order of information input from your environment, your chimp brain will always be way earlier and way stronger in early decision-making to any unexpected or new event than your 'self' brain. Signals will arrive at your chimp brain in microseconds and snap decisions will be made within seconds. The info will not get fully processed and thought through by your 'self' brain until minutes, sometimes even hours later. As a result, the 'self' brain is often left with being annoyed, regretting a snap decision and feeling guilty.


The key thing to realise is that there is a reason that our brain is wired this way. The chimp brain is an evolutionary vital part that has kept our and other species alive for hundreds of thousands of years. It is very well equiped to get you out of mortal danger, to keep you well fed and to help you reproduce. Unfortunately it is less well equiped to deal with input from a more advanced society, where food is often readily available and overpowering someone from the opposite sex in a dark alley to transfer your DNA is frowned upon. And even when your 'self' brain knows that a course of action is not right ("I am on a diet, I should not eat that cookie"), the annoying fact is that your chimp is way more powerful and quick and it will always trump your 'self' brain. Your 'self' brain has no direct means of shouting your chimp down or punishing it in any meaningful way for bad behaviour. Big bummer.

However, I also mentioned your computer. The computer stores previous experiences and outcomes and it is the only thing other than emotional and sensory input that the chimp brain will check before jumping into action. So if in the past you had a cookie and felt really nauseous afterwards, your chimp will know not to eat the cookie even though it looks really appetising. The memory bank is also the only connection that your 'self' brain has with your chimp. It can be trained through repetition and reinforcement. And it can help your 'self' to keep your chimp in check. You can train it by self-reflection and by in-depth reviews of your own beliefs and moral code. It will not prevent your chimp acting badly when faced with a completely new situation, but it can allow you to manage your chimp in every day life.


Very important to note: even though there is solid scientific grounding for this model and even though the chimp brain is a lot more powerful than the 'self' brain, that should not be seen as an excuse for bad behaviour. It is an explanation, not a justification. The model should not be used to explain away bad actions, but it should help with lifting the sometimes stifling sense of guilt that people are left with and that can get in the way of them trying to improve. Chimp brain actions can leave people feeling depressed and full of self-loathing, when they could be positively working towards activating and utilising their memory bank conditioning. This model tries to give people an insight into the workings of their brain and, through this insight, empower them to take action instead of fretting and despairing.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 27 July 2018 - 11:18 AM

[QuickTidal]

Macros, on 27 July 2018 - 10:08 AM, said:

Could have walked away even at 5am (after clawing myself out of a £300 hole) bit I played on. Drinking coffee so I can't even try and blame the beer (which I can't in this thread anyway) ended upaking the correct callnfor all in with AK and got shit on by an idiot with a lucky bad band.

I think I get the gist of the post, but I'm still attempting to parse the above sentence. Any help when you're up (and soberish) Mac?

What's a lucky bad band? An AK? Upaking?

[Gorefest]

Macros translator:

Lucky bad hand (i.e. he had nothing but he still managed to win because everyone else had shit hands as well)

AK: Ace King

upaking: up making


*Gorefest: competent in drunk spelling since 1993*

*1993 cuz legal drinking age in the Netherlands at the time was 16, just to clarify*

*that is alcohol, not drinking in general, which i have managed succesfully since birth*

*which was longer ago than 1993*

* stop typing, dude*

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 27 July 2018 - 12:09 PM

[Macros]

Basically yes

Ak - ace king, like third/forth strongest hand pre flop in Holdem.
The idiot came with fuck all and got lucky.

Usually I would go fucking mental at him ( I'm a VERY well balanced individual outside of poker) but I sat back and acknowledged that I basically should not have been there. Shook his hand. Told him politely that was a lucky bastard, and walked.

For me this was a massive moment, I wasn't, and am not blaming anyone else.


And FUCK that monkey/ape brain shit.

This is me, taking ownership of my actions and not trying to pump it off on some stupid fucking 'primeval urge' fuck that twaddle.

Accept that you are entirely responsible for everything YOU do.

[Macros]

Yes I am on the beer in the Airport


Basically.

Think back in your life.
Things that have gone awry
It's always circumstances and other people.

Study your problems, at what level is it YOUR fucking issue, what can you do to make shot change

[Macros]

I love and hate my job


But it is entirely my fault I'm heere

[Gorefest]

Macros, on 27 July 2018 - 12:22 PM, said:

This is me, taking ownership of my actions and not trying to pump it off on some stupid fucking 'primeval urge' fuck that twaddle.

Hrm, yeah, that is kind of the point. Don't pump it off, just understand what is happening and how you can take ownership in actions as well as in words. Sounds like pretty strong coffee!

[Mezla PigDog]

Mac if you weren't so indestructible you wouldn't burn through cash the way you do. Most of the rest of us can save money via keeling over/realising we've had enough. You don't have that natural stop

[Mentalist]

Macros, on 27 July 2018 - 12:22 PM, said:

Basically yes

Ak - ace king, like third/forth strongest hand pre flop in Holdem.
The idiot came with fuck all and got lucky.

Usually I would go fucking mental at him ( I'm a VERY well balanced individual outside of poker) but I sat back and acknowledged that I basically should not have been there. Shook his hand. Told him politely that was a lucky bastard, and walked.

For me this was a massive moment, I wasn't, and am not blaming anyone else.


And FUCK that monkey/ape brain shit.

This is me, taking ownership of my actions and not trying to pump it off on some stupid fucking 'primeval urge' fuck that twaddle.

Accept that you are entirely responsible for everything YOU do.

Ha. I usually play like that. I start trying to play tight, then (as I drink progressively more), I get bored and start chasing runner runner straights or smth. And sometimes I hit on the river, pissing off all the intelligent players.

[amphibian]

Mentalist, on 27 July 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Macros, on 27 July 2018 - 12:22 PM, said:

Basically yes

Ak - ace king, like third/forth strongest hand pre flop in Holdem.
The idiot came with fuck all and got lucky.

Usually I would go fucking mental at him ( I'm a VERY well balanced individual outside of poker) but I sat back and acknowledged that I basically should not have been there. Shook his hand. Told him politely that was a lucky bastard, and walked.

For me this was a massive moment, I wasn't, and am not blaming anyone else.


And FUCK that monkey/ape brain shit.

This is me, taking ownership of my actions and not trying to pump it off on some stupid fucking 'primeval urge' fuck that twaddle.

Accept that you are entirely responsible for everything YOU do.

Ha. I usually play like that. I start trying to play tight, then (as I drink progressively more), I get bored and start chasing runner runner straights or smth. And sometimes I hit on the river, pissing off all the intelligent players.

I honestly think you should play some format of Magic the Gathering. It'll keep you interested in the card game, you can play it almost anywhere, and there is still an element of "light my money on fire for vague hopes of more money or prizes" to it.

It's also a lot less addictive and less strong feelings evoked for most people than poker.

[Gorefest]

You might be moving in different circles than me, in that case. MTG used to be life or death with some of my mates. Whereas poker was just a bit of friendly fun and suiting up, with cigars and whiskey.

[Mentalist]

amphibian, on 27 July 2018 - 06:05 PM, said:

Mentalist, on 27 July 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Macros, on 27 July 2018 - 12:22 PM, said:

Basically yes

Ak - ace king, like third/forth strongest hand pre flop in Holdem.
The idiot came with fuck all and got lucky.

Usually I would go fucking mental at him ( I'm a VERY well balanced individual outside of poker) but I sat back and acknowledged that I basically should not have been there. Shook his hand. Told him politely that was a lucky bastard, and walked.

For me this was a massive moment, I wasn't, and am not blaming anyone else.


And FUCK that monkey/ape brain shit.

This is me, taking ownership of my actions and not trying to pump it off on some stupid fucking 'primeval urge' fuck that twaddle.

Accept that you are entirely responsible for everything YOU do.

Ha. I usually play like that. I start trying to play tight, then (as I drink progressively more), I get bored and start chasing runner runner straights or smth. And sometimes I hit on the river, pissing off all the intelligent players.

I honestly think you should play some format of Magic the Gathering. It'll keep you interested in the card game, you can play it almost anywhere, and there is still an element of "light my money on fire for vague hopes of more money or prizes" to it.

It's also a lot less addictive and less strong feelings evoked for most people than poker.

Considering I play poker maybe once in a few years since I finished uni, that'd be a terrible idea for a new hobby.

[amphibian]

Gorefest, on 27 July 2018 - 06:28 PM, said:

You might be moving in different circles than me, in that case. MTG used to be life or death with some of my mates. Whereas poker was just a bit of friendly fun and suiting up, with cigars and whiskey.

My MtG circle is a bit in between these, but we only play EDH or Sealed. That keeps the most cutthroat elements out.

There is a bunch of smoking and drinking going on as well as yelling at each other. Quite fun.

[worry]

Keep track of the money you "waste" (according to your own personal sense of that word) and make donations in kind to causes you find worthy/important. Self indulgence tempered by good works.

[Tiste Simeon]

I thought standard operating procedure was to blame Brood?

[D'rek]

Mezla PigDog, on 27 July 2018 - 12:43 PM, said:

Mac if you weren't so indestructible you wouldn't burn through cash the way you do. Most of the rest of us can save money via keeling over/realising we've had enough. You don't have that natural stop

Something something puking on a dog

[Macros]

Something something that was Mezla