When an average but healthy psyche is put into an artificial no-win situation, they go, "That was dumb," and forget all about it. At best they ask each other about the teacher's password, correctly assessing it as a camouflaged social game. If there is no "right" answer, there must be a zealous ass-kissing answer.
The narcissist is instead destroyed. Every
narcissist models themselves as the best in some sense. This is in
reaction to their true belief: that they are, in fact, the worst. This
belief is intolerable, so they bandage over it with the opposite
delusion. Every time they are reminded of the truth, they pour twice as
much psychic energy into the psychotic bandage.
The best have a winning strategy in every situation. Indeed, this is why Kirk, narcissist hero, has to win the no-win test. It's cope. The Kobayashi Maru says they aren't the best, and therefore, must be the worst.
"Can't win 'em all." "Yeah, and clouds are fluffy."
"Only human." "Indeed, and the sun rises in the morning."
If you need to be reminded of these things, you are insane. Lost contact with reality. Narcissists not only can win 'em all, but must win 'em all, according to narcissism. When faced with a no-win situation, even a farcically artificial one, they are faced with the falseness of their narcissistic delusions. If you hear them talk about it, it superficially sounds profound, but in essence it's all cope. "How can I say that I in fact won the Kobayashi Maru?" Petty and venal. The tragic part is when you see the flashes and glimmers of realization, that the problem isn't in the external problem, but in their need to win everything. "It makes me feel like I can't win 'em all," they will almost say.
A healthy mind is aware that they are who they are, regardless of what anyone thinks - including themselves. The narcissist is the one obsessed with 'identity formation' and 'membership' and whether they truly belong in Starfleet or whatever. If they can't figure out the cope that says they in fact "won" the Kobayashi somehow, they will get stuck in an endless cycle, first thinking it's over, then deciding for no reason they're back, then remembering the Maru again...
P.S. In the case of Kobayashi Maru, the zealous ass-kissing answer is like, "Yes, I understand the limits of human power and I will be hardened in the face of defeat in the future," except veiled so it doesn't sound like you read your answer off the teacher's cheat sheet. Pretend you did some soul-searching and do an anecdote about how you folded to defeat earlier or something. Try to sneak in a subtle insinuation that your proctor did something specifically to help, without being so blatant it's obvious ass-kissing. Not: "I couldn't figure out the solution until Proctor Starbutt gave me the solution," but instead, "I hadn't considered picking the ball up with my left hand after dropping it until I saw P. Starbutt pick it up with they/thems left hand."
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i have been solving* this recently by coincidence with my nyr of "have fun". historically it was "how do i" have fun, a question, now it is simply a declaration by fiat, "i will" have fun.
ReplyDeleteas it turns out 'having fun' and 'being the best' occupy about the same slot. maybe it's just the revenue column? if i'm having fun, then it doesn't really matter if i'm the best. if i'm not having fun though i better be the best. but this is more expensive and does not cause itself / is an unstable state.
nyr logic was
"Fun is 'fulfilling the original purpose'.
This requires a) proper definition of a desired purpose and b) knowledge of true status in real time."
i don't remember how i came to this logic but it seems to be true. i declared the set and its prerequisites have autocoalesced.
solving*: i don't have a singular word for "requires active execution". i think "solution" implies passive and automatic and maybe historical, but there's obviously an active type of solution too.
Something something strategy. Alt: prototype.
ReplyDeletehave food, still need to eat, have weapons, still need to fight, have policy, still have to enforce. "technology" and "will" in the end need deployment. i think maybe it's just the limit of language. the divide between talk and action is known.
ReplyDeleteoccurs to me "if i'm not having fun i better be the best" might be the actual source.
"school fucking sucks. this is not fun. since it's not fun, i better be the best."
I agree with what you wrote here in this article. Notice how William Shatner, a Canadian, acted like he was James Tiberius Kirk, an American. Are Canadians more narcissistic than Americans? Do Canadians pretend to be Americans to make Americans look bad? Enquiring minds want to know. doclove
ReplyDeleteCanadians like Shatner pretend to be American due to their inferiority complex. Shatner was a narcissist and was too solipsistic to know, let alone care, what this does to the reputation of Americans.
ReplyDeleteJust like most Canadians I have met, they think it is funny when Americans get blamed for what Canadians did wrong.doclove
ReplyDelete