What does society think of me? I couldn't give less of a fuck. How about asking what the people around you think of you?
For one, whether "you give a fuck for what society thinks of [you]" or not, what society thinks of you has implications for you and your role in life. To put it jokingly, "it's not all about you".
Not to mention that far from "narrow-minded pop-culturist bullshit" the whole post drives endlessly the inverse notion.
"what society thinks of you" is what (according to the post) ends at forty: society doesn't think anything of you, -- it could not give less fucks, to use your wording. And part of the idea is that you should care even less, and instead (cynically or not) become a culture-maker yourself, selling truth to the younger generations.
It doesn't apply to everybody. In fact people content with work, family life, and 3 hours of TV/browsing everyday until they die at 80 won't even understand the thing.
Well, this is Hacker News. Ever read a PG essay? Besides, 90% of us think very highly of our own cleverness anyway.
The author just doesn't assume readers need his post feed to them, and goes on as if talking to his peers.
>The actual point was not really clear.
Don't know, it was quite clear to me -- even though it's the first time I've chanced on the guy, and he seems to have a specific set of references, inside jokes and prior posts on similar issues...
The majority of people over 40 are not out there "making meaning" (the author's terminology for "influencing pop culture"), and that's just fine.
Where are their minds...?
Fight Club people, come on