Good old neon may be my favorite DFW piece. Because I think it reflects not only his state of mind; but also his frustration with psychiatry. Or his experience with practicing doctors.
“The mind is its own place and, in itself, can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven,” So true. I like to think that meditation can help with this normal but tricky condition. Thank you.
I read Good Old Neon and found it fascinating, especially the zoom out at the end. It's also frustrating, because I keep thinking "well, just do things you like instead of seeking approval." I get that the whole issue is that being self-centered is difficult for the narrator, but neither he nor Dr. G seem to actually work on the process of focusing on intrinsic motivation.
It's also interesting how much modern fiction and philosophy focuses on the problem of over-indexing on external approval. Existentialism. Maybe Girard's mimetic desire. Fight Club. Maybe Office Space, haha. Maybe it was always like this, but it seems like we've hit an age where losing your internal compass is an especially big risk.
This stuff all feels very relevant to me as a parent of a toddler. I have to do my best to keep her from being too focused on external approval.
Good old neon may be my favorite DFW piece. Because I think it reflects not only his state of mind; but also his frustration with psychiatry. Or his experience with practicing doctors.
“The mind is its own place and, in itself, can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven,” So true. I like to think that meditation can help with this normal but tricky condition. Thank you.
I read Good Old Neon and found it fascinating, especially the zoom out at the end. It's also frustrating, because I keep thinking "well, just do things you like instead of seeking approval." I get that the whole issue is that being self-centered is difficult for the narrator, but neither he nor Dr. G seem to actually work on the process of focusing on intrinsic motivation.
It's also interesting how much modern fiction and philosophy focuses on the problem of over-indexing on external approval. Existentialism. Maybe Girard's mimetic desire. Fight Club. Maybe Office Space, haha. Maybe it was always like this, but it seems like we've hit an age where losing your internal compass is an especially big risk.
This stuff all feels very relevant to me as a parent of a toddler. I have to do my best to keep her from being too focused on external approval.