How to be anti-social – a guide to incoherent and isolating social experiences

Source: Hacker News

Guidelines

• If someone is confusing or upsetting you, assume they have no sane reason for doing or saying what they are doing or saying.
• When ambiguous, assume intent is malicious, ignorant, or amoral. Interpret others’ actions in the context of your fears.
• Do not challenge or acknowledge the existence or influence of your assumptions; wholly trust your intuition and feelings.
• Pivot conversations when someone challenges your assumptions or cites reasoning outside your wheelhouse. Avoid displaying a lack of knowledge in any domain – this is seen as weakness.
• If you must ask questions, imply the correctness of your originally held position by wording your question suggestively.
• Dig in your heels when confronted with overwhelming dissent.
• Exploit your immediate network; when the obvious merits of your narrative are exhausted, present like‑minded people with tastefully curated details of your interactions with detractors, to provide a more appropriate account that your supporters can rally around to crush any lingering threats to your narrative.
• Do not research or consider the record, acumen, or credentials of those with whom you speak, unless you agree with them.
• Do not grant grace to those who make mistakes, especially those that you have never met or otherwise spoken to.
• When all hope is lost in conversation, retreat into yourself.
• Do not seek to understand those you do not already understand.