/lit/ - Literature

>>13882592
universities should have basements for such dwellers

Yeah it's definitely possible, not speaking of myself because I don't have the right to, but I know people like this. It's hard though, there are too many distractions and not enough collegiality, and the kind of dilettantism you see on /lit/ is the most likely result, people who know a little here and there and have good intentions but mostly don't engage seriously with anything.

The one nice thing about university is that it forces you to read concertedly, at least occasionally. And it surrounds you with people who are at least ostensibly experts on the same topic, so there's enough collegiality and competition to keep you motivated. But the downside of university is that it's far more likely to turn you into a polished nothing than a something. So both avenues have their pitfalls.

It's the only path to happiness though if you don't "fit" into normie hell. Especially once you start to crest thirty you really realize modern life is a giant advertising campaign geared at 20yos, and when you're no longer in its target demographic you're just discarded and have to live off scraps for the remaining decades of your life. This is why millennial men 25-40 seem to have stopped growing as people at 21, so they just become older and older versions of cool hip fag characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer still gossiping about comic book movies and ironically watching Samurai Jack in their thirties. There's just nothing else. If you want to escape this, devote yourself to a higher calling or ideally several callings, and actually keep dashing yourself against it until you reconstitute enough times that you begin to gain some perspective on what you're doing. And constantly try to find collegiality and camaraderie with other people who have somehow beaten the odds and managed to become human.

>>13882621
I enjoyed reading this post anon, something about it was real comfy.

>>13882621
Good post anon

>>13882621
thank you

>>13882592
easy. make sure you also write. humanities academia is redundant in the YouTube/book piracy era. half decent lit takes on Twitter will get you a wider audience than a thesis. then u can release a book

>>13882592
Yes. Universities are now a barrier to wisdom, unfortunately.
It's difficult though, and it is getting much harder to find anyone to engage with seriously. Effortposts are either ignored or looked down upon here, and most other sites are normie.

>>13882621
>devote yourself to a higher calling or ideally several callings, and actually keep dashing yourself against it until you reconstitute enough times that you begin to gain some perspective on what you're doing. And constantly try to find collegiality and camaraderie with other people who have somehow beaten the odds and managed to become human.
Very good. It seems you have great insight on that head of yours and are able to articulate excellently. Consider writing a guide for autodidacts and becoming famous among them.

>>13882621
good post

>It's the only path to happiness though if you don't "fit" into normie hell. Especially once you start to crest thirty you really realize modern life is a giant advertising campaign geared at 20yos

had exactly this epiphany like a day ago, right as I'm about to turn 29.

>>13882621
Good post, thanks anon

>>13882592
I think as other anons said, be sure to talk to people and to write, that way you'll learn. Most academics I knew are not against the idea of self-teaching, and will discuss with you if you have interesting perspectives or look genuinely interested in things. Same is true for students (graduate students in particular). In general, be sure not to isolate yourself, hermitage does not really work in a world where being alone mostly results in masturbating or arguing with strangers online. Talking to real people and discussing things with them can really help

>>13882785
joker's trick

>>13882621
Bump because this is likely the best post on /lit/ right now.

>>13882618
They actually should

>>13882621
shit post faggot

>>13882592
I guarantee that if you read seriously two hours a day for a year that you'd be better read than 90% of professors. I know professors who bragged about reading Camus' The Stranger, that how low the bar is. So go on, get reading. Just learn to read well!

>>13882592
Dude, those must be some fucking awesome pigeons. Go wait over there Church Fathers, right now it's Pigeon Time.

>>13885040
Yeah, they're generally pretty bad. I can remember two or three that actually knew something.

>>13882592
Yes. Dont listen to this>>13882621 faggot. Just listen to your heart. Be honest and "hold fast and hold yourself in check, the aim of your endeavours is within.

One mans dilettante is another mans polymath. Besides if all the worlds a stage, why does it have to be a serious work? Why can't it be a comedy?

>>13882785
>now a barrier
They've been so since plato.
>>13882621
>higher calling
My own calling is high enough. This stinks of bugman.

>>13882592
Dont waste your time listening to them. Just do the kynos thing and after your finished with the library- shit in the foyer.

Not me but I know of a man that went outside only to church and the rest of the time stayed at home reading (he didn't go to Uni) maths, philosophy, theology etc and people said he was crazy. I think he gained too much intelligence people could not keep up with his intellect. That's my goal. We all can. Godspeed

No, you need lots of motivation and that is not around here. Just take a look to writing threads. Get an objective and fight for it, learning for learning Im afraid its not enough

Bump for this
>>13882621