Gurwinder
@gurwinder.bsky.social
Examining how technology is affecting human psychology, and how to stay rational in the digital age.
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Gurwinder
@gurwinder.bsky.social
· Aug 3
How Social Media Shortens Your Life
And How to Expand it
www.gurwinder.blog
You spend more time on social media than you intend to, because time flows faster on these platforms, causing you to lose hours in what feels like minutes. This is no accident; it’s a result of a decades-long plot to steal your time.
My new essay.
www.gurwinder.blog/p/how-social...
My new essay.
www.gurwinder.blog/p/how-social...
Curiosity compounds.
January 29, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Curiosity compounds.
“People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
January 28, 2026 at 8:48 PM
“People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
In just a few decades, everyone who ever judged you will be dead. Remember this whenever you feel anxious about what people think of you.
January 28, 2026 at 1:26 PM
In just a few decades, everyone who ever judged you will be dead. Remember this whenever you feel anxious about what people think of you.
Nicholas Winton helped 669 Jewish children escape the Nazis. His efforts went unrecognized for 50 years. Then in 1988, while sitting as a member of a TV audience, he suddenly found himself surrounded by the kids he’d rescued, now adults.
I like to remember this every Jan 27th.
I like to remember this every Jan 27th.
January 27, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Nicholas Winton helped 669 Jewish children escape the Nazis. His efforts went unrecognized for 50 years. Then in 1988, while sitting as a member of a TV audience, he suddenly found himself surrounded by the kids he’d rescued, now adults.
I like to remember this every Jan 27th.
I like to remember this every Jan 27th.
The most important quality for a smart person is courage because without it their intellect will be leveraged to rationalize their fears and concoct the most convincing excuses not to act.
January 27, 2026 at 1:30 PM
The most important quality for a smart person is courage because without it their intellect will be leveraged to rationalize their fears and concoct the most convincing excuses not to act.
People have so many epiphanies in the shower because it’s one of the few places without phones or other distractions. Imagine how many life-changing realizations you’d have if you were undistracted for more than 15 minutes a day…
January 26, 2026 at 8:24 PM
People have so many epiphanies in the shower because it’s one of the few places without phones or other distractions. Imagine how many life-changing realizations you’d have if you were undistracted for more than 15 minutes a day…
“The Germans, perhaps, at first ill-treated the Jews because they hated them: afterwards they hated them much more because they had ill-treated them.”
— C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952)
— C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952)
January 25, 2026 at 8:25 PM
“The Germans, perhaps, at first ill-treated the Jews because they hated them: afterwards they hated them much more because they had ill-treated them.”
— C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952)
— C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952)
Tech platforms love culture war because it automates demographic segmentation. When they know what you stand for, they know how to get your attention.
January 25, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Tech platforms love culture war because it automates demographic segmentation. When they know what you stand for, they know how to get your attention.
The “it’s not intelligent, it’s just predicting the next token” argument ignores that predicting things *is* intelligence. IQ tests involve finding the next item in a sequence. Predicting the future is in fact the surest sign of IQ, because unlike others, it can't be bullshitted.
January 24, 2026 at 5:05 PM
The “it’s not intelligent, it’s just predicting the next token” argument ignores that predicting things *is* intelligence. IQ tests involve finding the next item in a sequence. Predicting the future is in fact the surest sign of IQ, because unlike others, it can't be bullshitted.
Most people don’t benefit much from chatbots because what people lack is not good answers so much as good questions.
It’s no longer enough to curate your feed; you must now also curate your curiosity.
It’s no longer enough to curate your feed; you must now also curate your curiosity.
January 24, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Most people don’t benefit much from chatbots because what people lack is not good answers so much as good questions.
It’s no longer enough to curate your feed; you must now also curate your curiosity.
It’s no longer enough to curate your feed; you must now also curate your curiosity.
When you view the world through an ideology, you seek information not to better understand the world, but to better justify what you already believe.
The way to see the world objectively is to view it without expectation; to see without looking for something.
The way to see the world objectively is to view it without expectation; to see without looking for something.
January 23, 2026 at 2:15 PM
When you view the world through an ideology, you seek information not to better understand the world, but to better justify what you already believe.
The way to see the world objectively is to view it without expectation; to see without looking for something.
The way to see the world objectively is to view it without expectation; to see without looking for something.
The “Great Feminization” theory which has recently become popular on the Right is nothing new; here’s a conservative caricature from Henry James’ 1886 novel, The Bostonians, sounding like he’s been red-pilled by the manosphere.
January 22, 2026 at 5:06 PM
The “Great Feminization” theory which has recently become popular on the Right is nothing new; here’s a conservative caricature from Henry James’ 1886 novel, The Bostonians, sounding like he’s been red-pilled by the manosphere.
Just as being good at running is disadvantageous if you run the wrong way, so being smart is a handicap if you’re irrational.
January 19, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Just as being good at running is disadvantageous if you run the wrong way, so being smart is a handicap if you’re irrational.
“Nothing gives you a clearer look into someone than how they misinterpret things; every misinterpretation is a confession.”
—Dylan O’Sullivan
—Dylan O’Sullivan
January 18, 2026 at 8:15 PM
“Nothing gives you a clearer look into someone than how they misinterpret things; every misinterpretation is a confession.”
—Dylan O’Sullivan
—Dylan O’Sullivan
Many online express disagreement not because they actually disagree but because disagreeing is how they exercise (and signal) their individuality. It’s why many people instinctively nitpick or play devil’s advocate even when they agree; common ground can feel claustrophobic.
January 16, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Many online express disagreement not because they actually disagree but because disagreeing is how they exercise (and signal) their individuality. It’s why many people instinctively nitpick or play devil’s advocate even when they agree; common ground can feel claustrophobic.
People sound like chatbots not just because they’re using chatbots, but also because they’re subconsciously adopting the linguistic mannerisms of chatbots. We're now witnessing humans being trained on LLMs, becoming ever more average & predictable. The autocompletion of the soul.
January 15, 2026 at 8:34 PM
People sound like chatbots not just because they’re using chatbots, but also because they’re subconsciously adopting the linguistic mannerisms of chatbots. We're now witnessing humans being trained on LLMs, becoming ever more average & predictable. The autocompletion of the soul.
Resist the urge to engage with content that enrages you, or the algorithm will show you more of it.
January 14, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Resist the urge to engage with content that enrages you, or the algorithm will show you more of it.
Reposted by Gurwinder
A thread of useful concepts to equip you for 2026:
December 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
A thread of useful concepts to equip you for 2026:
"Life is 10% what you make it, and 90% how you take it."
—Irving Berlin
—Irving Berlin
December 30, 2025 at 2:59 PM
"Life is 10% what you make it, and 90% how you take it."
—Irving Berlin
—Irving Berlin
Reposted by Gurwinder
3. Reality Apathy: When the deluge of conflicting info makes the effort of finding truth costlier than the value of knowing it, people give up trying to be right and instead choose whatever bullshit stinks least. Slop doesn't just threaten the truth, but the very worth of truth.
December 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
3. Reality Apathy: When the deluge of conflicting info makes the effort of finding truth costlier than the value of knowing it, people give up trying to be right and instead choose whatever bullshit stinks least. Slop doesn't just threaten the truth, but the very worth of truth.
Reposted by Gurwinder
Worth reading now
A thread of useful concepts to equip you for 2026:
December 29, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Worth reading now
Reposted by Gurwinder
1. 1% rule: In online communities, around 1% of users produce almost all of the content. As such, what you see online is not representative of humanity, but merely of a loud, obsessive (and often narcissistic) minority. Social media is literally a freakshow.
December 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
1. 1% rule: In online communities, around 1% of users produce almost all of the content. As such, what you see online is not representative of humanity, but merely of a loud, obsessive (and often narcissistic) minority. Social media is literally a freakshow.
Reposted by Gurwinder
26 Useful Concepts for 2026
Ideas to equip you for 2026.
www.gurwinder.blog
December 28, 2025 at 6:53 PM
A thread of useful concepts to equip you for 2026:
December 28, 2025 at 5:33 PM
A thread of useful concepts to equip you for 2026:
“Social media made y’all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it.”
—Mike Tyson
—Mike Tyson
November 15, 2025 at 4:26 PM
“Social media made y’all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it.”
—Mike Tyson
—Mike Tyson