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Comment by blake8086 | Hacker News Reader

I am always amused at this mentality. Have you ever noticed how Reddit is full of people who all think everyone else are sheep?

Everyone is unique if you only count the things that make them different, and people are pretty similar if you look for things that make them alike.

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Absolutely. You are always a sheep in some regard; non-conforming in every regard is an exhausting and worthless endeavor. Not to mention, you almost have to pay more attention to trends than the unconscious conformer, at which point... who is the slave to trends?

Nonconforming is not the same as anticonforming. And the fact that you observe and analyse trends doesn't mean you're a slave to them.

the fact that you observe and analyse trends, doesn't mean you're a slave to them

Even if you are making the opposite choice, if your every decision is predicated on the trends, I'd still call you a slave to them.

"To manipulate children, you simply say 'no'. " --The Fantasticks

Prescription: 2 doses of zen, stop thinking so much about it, just be and do.

I find the whole idea of using "sheep" as a shorthand for adherence to social norms to be immature. To me it smacks of the adolescent impulse to distinguish oneself from one's parents, and by extension, from any perceived authority--social or otherwise. It's not a great long-term strategy, but it satisfies an emotional need.

>Have you ever noticed how Reddit is full of people who all think everyone else are sheep?

Relevant XKCD: http://xkcd.com/610/ (Also a great statement on solipsism.)

Actively defying the norm for its own sake is counterproductive. If your choices are based directly on trends by actively pushing against every one of them you notice your still a slave to them.

I love how you wrote "Reddit" because you had to hold the party line that HN is more sophisticated than Reddit.

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