r/facepalm • u/Repulsive_Thanks_922 • 19d ago
Remember always look for the common denominator when diagnosing problems.. đ˛âđŽâđ¸âđ¨â
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u/-holdmyhand 19d ago
I'm 100% positive that I'm an idiot, surrounded by idiots.
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u/Duryeric 19d ago
Takes one to know one.
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u/tomdarch 19d ago
Ironically, stupid people arenât capable of accurately differentiating between stupidity versus intelligence.
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u/OkAttempt4752 19d ago
So out of interest after seeing this one time I actually read his "surrounded by idiots" book, and while I don't really agree with his 4 categories of people thing, he isn't actually saying that people are idiots.
He's mainly saying "people look like idiots to you because they do things in a different way, let's try and figure out how they think, and why that's not as dumb as you think it is"
For example some people when faced with a problem like to just jump straight in and try and fix things, other people will want to think about it longer and get more information about the problem before coming up with a solution. Those people would look at each other and go "what an idiot, why aren't they helping?" even though both are often valid approaches.
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u/A1sauc3d 19d ago
No, weâre judging books by their covers! Here on Reddit we donât read articles and we certainly donât read books đ¤ Headlines and book titles are all we need to come to our conclusions!
Still a funny joke tho OP lol. But I always appreciate the truth in the comments, and itâs a good reminder to not jump to conclusions :)
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u/Ch1mpy 19d ago
In 2018, the author of these books was awarded Swedish Obscurantist of the Year for his work to promote pseudoscience and gross psychological simplifications.
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u/gimme_dat_good_shit 19d ago
...How gross? Like butt stuff or what...?
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u/Kyleometers 19d ago
Gross meaning âa lotâ not ânastyâ. âGross negligenceâ means âreally bad negligenceâ, in the sense of âextremely dangerousâ. Itâs the other meaning of the word, and I believe shares a root with the German Gross (sorry I canât do the fancy ss) meaning âbigâ.
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u/cantadmittoposting 19d ago
German gross (sorry I canât do the fancy ss)
What, you don't shop at Hugo Boss?
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u/SkittishSkittle 19d ago
Could you elaborate? Some things have to be simplified so your average joe could easily read and understand them.
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u/Revolutionary_Gas542 19d ago
Pseudoscience = something that promotes itself as science but really isn't, such as astrology.
I'm guessing "obscurantist of the year" is the person who is recognised as doing the most damage to human understanding, because his work is basically "this is the science of understanding people" but actually he doesn't base it on any science
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u/SkittishSkittle 19d ago
I was asking about what this guy wrote that was pseudoscientific. I should have mentioned that, my bad.
Because for example: saying that sun orbits the earth is technically pseudoscientific but itâs an explanation a toddler would easily understand.
Iâm not smart enough to come up with a better comparison because Iâm the average joe I was talking about.
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u/Revolutionary_Gas542 19d ago
Oh so basically his book is "here are four categories that perfectly divide all humans based on a conjecture from 1928 that I will present as absolute fact"
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u/palinola 19d ago
I was asking about what this guy wrote that was pseudoscientific.
His books are based on the DISC model. Basically management consultant personality tests.
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u/MisterZaremba 19d ago
not too far below the surface:
"Moulton based his theory on a hypothesis that people's behavior is influenced by something he called psychonic energy."
hence pseudoscience... it's basically crystal healing in a business suit...
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u/DarrenGrey 19d ago
Pseudoscience = something that promotes itself as science but really isn't, such as astrology.
I don't think astrology is a good example, since there's a clear mystical element to it.
More appropriate would be something like homeopathy, which has trappings of methodologies and some "logic" behind it (however silly). Or much of early psychology, which was based on low experimental numbers and a lot of "logic"-based conclusions, and which still infuses a lot of modern psychology and psychiatry.
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u/hackingdreams 19d ago
I don't think astrology is a good example, since there's a clear mystical element to it.
A lot of pseudoscience is about trying to sell mysticism that doesn't exist. Astrology is a fine example - the positions of celestial bodies at someone's birth has zero consequences to someone's temperament.
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u/fingerscrossedcoup 19d ago
If you have met as many Homeopaths as me you would realize it contains mysticism too. I like to call it crazy though.
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u/Bolaf 19d ago
he invented a new way to categorise people
Red - Factual and impatient
Blue - factual and deliberate
Green - emotional and impatient
Yellow - emotional and deliberate.
Pretty much out of thin air, he just wanted to paint a picture of four personalities that everyone could relate to and pick one as their own and affirm their feelings.
I don't think he explicitly stated is as science but it is written in a very "this is a fact" sort of way.
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u/A1sauc3d 19d ago
Keep the truth coming! I love it :) What else should we know about this Thomas character lol
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u/LillaMartin 19d ago
Its good to add that this author was named "misleader of the year 2018" when this book became a huge hit...
I just google translated the award. Dont know a better translation for it. But many scientists and phsycologists have been very outspoken about whats written in his books and said to use this knowledge with caution.
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u/A1sauc3d 19d ago
Keep them facts coming! What else should we know about this character? Maybe he was the problem after all lol
Still likely for different reasons then we all initially assumed from reading just his book covers though.
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u/LillaMartin 19d ago edited 19d ago
After reading some more surrounding this. I can shorten it down to: Without any science backing this up, he have mislead many people and companies into believing him. Spreading pseaduescience and companies starting to use these methods to test their employees. He have made over 10million$ selling his books and lectures. And harmed the society with his teachings.
What is said in these books is a mix of pseadue science and very simplified psychology...
I want to add that I have not read these books. But they was very hyped around Sweden for some time. And it wasn't very uncommon to hear someone said "you are so blue..." "you are so green"... Etc.
He was invited as a prof psychologists many times in our biggest news channels and public service media. Government owned. And Noone said anything then. Didn't do a bigger background check.
I haven't herd anything of this guy in a couple years. So hopefully people and companies have moved on from him!
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u/Hello_iam_Kian 19d ago
Iâm always judging books by the little trailer summary thing on the back
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u/Sweet_Translator_163 19d ago
No, weâre judging books by their covers! Here on Reddit we donât read articles and we certainly donât read books đ¤ Headlines and book titles are all we need to come to our conclusions!
here on reddit we always judge books by their covers!
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u/Assassinatitties 19d ago
Hear hear! Face value! No context! No further inquiry! Feed the Mob beast! đĽ pitchforkđ´âď¸âď¸
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u/IntelligentNickname 19d ago
The problem with the book is that it's not based on science, he's basically making stuff up while claiming it's based on science. The Author was recognized as "The misleader of the year" by VoF which is basically an organization to raise awareness of good and bad science. The book is by all means pseudoscience which is particularly bad in this case because people believe in it.
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u/stealthbus 19d ago
And of course the corporate world has embraced his pseudoscience and have implemented his pseudoscience into their policies and management of employees.
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u/Alderez 19d ago
God, corporate culture is so cult-like; this doesnât surprise me at all.
Rather than looking at results and not sweating the details so long as work is getting done to the expected quality standard and on-time, letâs talk about pow-wows and what youâre thankful for this week?
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u/throwitaway333111 19d ago
Another place this type of bullshit prevails is education... make of that what you will...
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u/Iliketowastetimeatwo 19d ago
We don't use pow-wow anymore. This corporate boy got dinged for that one a few weeks ago.
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u/OkAttempt4752 19d ago
Yeah, that's definitely worth pointing out, he does talk about his 'personality colours' thing quite often as if it's actual science rather than just being a reasonably effective (but flawed) mental model.
It's a book that I very much put under the "you got a good answer, but all your working out was wrong" category.
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u/IntelligentNickname 19d ago
It doesn't seem like you understand that he's not actually teaching science, he's merely acting like it. The answers he gives could as well be a throw of the dice if applied to any situation. There seems to be somewhat of a cult surrounding him that defends the books while actual scientists concluded that the books at best are wrong and at worst purposefully misleading.
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u/OkAttempt4752 19d ago
I agree that it's not actually good science, that he is presenting as if he's teaching as science.
Where I disagree though is whether it's completely useless.
We use simplified models for a lot of things in science. Someone teaching you that an atom looks like this is technically wrong, but the model is still a useful thing to think about and refer back to.
Again, I disagree with a lot of his model, but I can see how it can be useful, as long as you keep in mind that it's very simplistic.
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u/IntelligentNickname 19d ago
There's a substantial difference between psuedoscience, as in not scientific at all and meant to deceive, and scientific simplifications. Consensus is that he's doing the former, his intention is not to bring difficult subjects down to an understandable level but instead to make the reader believe they understand the topics at hand, which they do not since they're wrong.
The models he presents are not useful and as previously said, is not different from merely throwing a dice in best case scenarios. It's dangerous because by teaching people wrong, they will start to adapt it to their daily lives and cause disruptions.
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u/Lord_Harkonan 19d ago
Still not an easy read on the subway.
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u/tttxgq 19d ago
Probably better than âHow to murder your fellow subway passengers, and get away with itâ. That oneâll get you some very disapproving glances.
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u/xDerJulien 19d ago
Just shake your head in a disapproving way every now and then
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u/TheRealSquirrelGirl 19d ago
When I was in high school, my dad gave me his copy of Kill Without Joy: The Complete How to Kill Manual.
Luckily, the kid that had a problem with it told our Army JROTC teacher, who just said âYou know what the Armyâs job is, right?â
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u/IllIIlllIIIllIIlI 19d ago
Uhh⌠I thought it was to bring freedom to the oppressed citizens of Iraq?
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u/Cthulhu__ 19d ago
Is it a take on things like personality types (think myers-briggs), personality colors, communication styles (promotor, supporter, analyser, controller), introvert / extravert, neurodiversity, attachment styles, etc? But in a clickbait cover.
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u/EsotericSnail 19d ago
Itâs exactly that. Like those other things, itâs a âpersonality classification someone pulled out of their arseâ. There are empirical personality theories based in research evidence. This book doesnât contain one of those and is instead full of unsubstantiated bullshit claims.
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u/Dr-Jellybaby 19d ago
To be fair, the author specifies that this relates mainly to how you operate in the workplace (as workplace team building was their job for the 30 or so years before writing the book) and that it's not scientific, it's just his views on things given his experiences. So there is merit in trying to identify what "type(s)" your coworkers are and using that to be more productive when working with them.
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u/CharlieParkour 19d ago
Why is it that when I think about workplace productivity experts, I imagine the Bobs from Office Space?
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u/Luciusem 19d ago
So it's like that one book with a title something like "How to make any guy fall for you" and it turns out to be a self help book that ends with "guys like girls who like themselves" or something?
So basically the titles are there to attract the people that most have to read them.
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u/Terugtrekking 19d ago
I appreciate this insight. I sometimes catch myself defaulting to thinking people are idiots, but people just have different ways of going about things.
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u/Grizzledboy 19d ago
Is that even considered being an idiot?
In my mind an idiot is someone who caused the problem. A guy I worked with took it upon himself to figure out how our coffee machine worked. It was fully functioning, but he wanted to know how it worked. So he decided to take it apart, didn't ask anyone if it was fine, a machine that cost us around 20k (a fancy commercial machine).
He messed up somewhere and broke it. Cause us to lose a lot of money from customers, and his job. That's an idiot.
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u/MattSilverwolf 19d ago edited 19d ago
For example some people when faced with a problem like to just jump straight in and try and fix things, other people will want to think about it longer and get more information about the problem before coming up with a solution.
my dad vs me
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u/elmz 19d ago
Being put on group projects with all "do before think" people has scarred me.
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u/True-Ear1986 19d ago
I just love working with people who jump to fixing problems before finding out what's the problem. Love it. Gives me more things to fix after them. It's nice to be needed.
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u/ImposterJavaDev 19d ago
Yeah I just learned to shut up most of the time and watch the realization on their face of the multitude of problems they're hitting on the way while sighing mentally. We'll fix it, don't worry, but not fucking instantly lol.
But I have to admit, many times I've been surprised by an approach that was actually great that I wouldn't have thought of while going overanalytical.
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u/True-Ear1986 19d ago
That's true, both approaches can give good outcomes. It's just that the first approach is more dependable, while second one relies on singular grand moments.
I know some people in high up corporate positions that got there through a couple of singular grand moments, but now they're just drowning every day cause they actually can't solve problems cerebraly. They don't have the analytical ability, they just depend on the single grand moments and they only come once in a while. Other than that their decision making is absolutely erratic.
Granted, to acheive great things you need some of the bravado, so smart cooperation is always the best way.
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u/ImposterJavaDev 19d ago
Yeah smart cooperation between both groups that understand their own and other shortcomings and strenghts.
I've had a teamlead who was full of bravado that took things head on, was actually fun to work with. Altough he's lucky he's brilliant, and people respect him so he can make more 'mistakes'. He also actually listened, but sometimes after going all in lol.
Such a guy with less intelligence, oh god,...
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u/True-Ear1986 19d ago
That guy with less intelligence and no ability to listen is my current boss xD He started with his own company, where he could do whatever he wanted, but then sold his company to a bigger one. Now his company is a separate "project" inside a bigger one and he's obliged to work by the bigger companies corporate standards.
The dude just doesn't do anything cause his brain doesn't compute with the way the corporate works. When his grand ideas hit the slightest obstance he just gives up because he can only do things 100% his way. Throws tantrums when he can't. He doesn't accept he has bosses above him, and he can't accept taking a "no" from someone higher up so he just doesn't do anything that requires getting a permission. It's really fascinating to watch him be so uncomfortable while being at such a prominent place in the company and an extreme, balls to the wall example of "do before think" type of person.
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u/This_User_Said 19d ago edited 19d ago
My husband VS me.
He says he will build the fence and immediately goes at it, I suggested we wait for a professional.
Year later, we hired a professional and ripped down ALL the fence husband built.
Nevermind the wasted money.
Edit: I'll clarify here as well
We live in Texas in rural area that has what we call "black dirt". It's fertile dirt that's mixed with clay that will expand, contract and wash away easily. So anything, and I mean anything, will move in time.
First summer storm hit and half the back yard was wide open. Husband and I tried our best but we didn't do well.
Professional built our now fence and not one panel has leaned despite the storms!
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u/ImposterJavaDev 19d ago
Would you like my approach better? I would have refused to get a pro, as they just would take my money and do a crap job (control freak logic lol)
I would have thought and researched about different fences, poles, depths, heights... I would have created a complete plan on how to do it.
Then I would have been burned out from all the thinking and you still wouldn't have a fence today, as I would still refuse a pro as I did all that thinking work already!
No jest at you, more at myself lol
I'm currently dealing with this issue. We really need a fence.
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u/This_User_Said 19d ago
Better to get a pro, shop around and find someone you can trust.
We had to. We live on what Texans call "black dirt" which is fertile soil that's mixed with clay. Tends to expand, contract and wash away. Usually destroys fences immediately, if you don't do it right. Ours immediately started leaning the first storm.
We had this new fencing for a year and not a single panel leaning! Especially after these horrible Texas summer storms we've had this year. It would have been absolutely worth looking for the professional first. Although can't guarantee we would've found the same guy that would've done such a great job!
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u/Hurrahurra 19d ago
Growing up in Denmark I was always taught that people in general were competent and skilled, but people often seemed stupid to me,
Then when I took my teacher education one of my proffesors would call it something like âThe Trick of Perceptionâ or âLie of Perceptionâ. I am not sure how to translate it that well.
Anyway. The majority of people are very competent. They just have different strategies or competences than you do. It is easy for you to see what they do not know that you know. It is impossible for you to see what they know that you do not know.
So you end up looking worse in each others eyes.
I often think about that when people on reddit say something like: âThink about how stupid the average person is and then realise that half the world is dumber.â
It seems true, but you are actuelly falling for the lie of the perception.
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u/TurnipWorldly9437 19d ago
Or, like my mother always says: Different people, different minds.
And I still need a moment to look past the "idiot" some people present to the outside world...
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u/Lore_ofthe_Horizon 19d ago
He's mainly saying "people look like idiots to you because they do things in a different way, let's try and figure out how they think, and why that's not as dumb as you think it is"
Has it occurred to thomas that he might be the problem
Yes... yes it has, and that apparently is what these books are about if the pattern holds for the other 3 as well.
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u/Quod_bellum 19d ago
letâs judge the book by its cover, in both senses
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u/Roflkopt3r 19d ago
Well we can also judge him by winning the Fraudster of the Year 2018 Award of the Swedish Sceptics Society for spreading pseudoscience.
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u/watzisthis 19d ago
hey man i can't read the article. would appreciate if you gave another link. thanks
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u/Repulsive_Thanks_922 19d ago
An author's true portrait is painted in their words
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u/TearyEyeBurningFace 19d ago
And did you read these books?
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u/Phlanix 19d ago
it could be a Steven Hawking intelligent person who just doesn't know or have social skills and is trying to understand the average human.
1 in a million, but the higher your IQ the lower their EQ. logic takes a front seat for most of these types and they don't develop social or emotional intelligence.
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u/eddiethink 19d ago
Yet you base your opinion on something you didn't read. It's like looking at a nostril and claiming you know what the author looks like.
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u/kimchifreeze 19d ago
Imagine someone putting out brochures: "how to treat cuts", "how to treat burns", "how to treat rashes".
"That sounds like a you problem, dude." - OP.
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u/trainsandmusic 19d ago
This sub sucks. Most of the facepalm arenât ones, just opinions. They see something they donât like and put it in /facepalm .
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u/campfire12324344 19d ago
Unsurprising that the people who would participate in what is ultimately a glorified intellectual circlejerk would lack any intellect to jerk around.
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u/TheSkerriesStrangler 19d ago
Therewasanattempt is the fucking worst for that.
"There was an attempt to not do an amazing batman cosplay."
"There was an attempt to not make churros."
Fuck off.
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u/acathode 19d ago
Well, considering that sub was so antisemitic that Reddit had to geoblock it so that Germany no longer can read it...
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u/bobthebiscuit127 19d ago
context please?
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u/acathode 19d ago
Germany were considering making the phrase "From the river to the sea ..." officially recognized as a call for genocide of the Jews living in Israel and as illegal hate speech.
As it happens, some of that subs powermods also mod subs like /r/Palestine, /r/IsraelCrimes and /r/ApartheidIsrael.
On Oct 7th, those mods worked overtime to ban most pro-Israel voices in all subs they controlled, which then set the tone for those subs. Today, it's fairly trivial to find barely hidden anti-Semitism on those subs.
In this particular sub, they went the furthest, and set the banner to a Palestinian flag + "From the River to the Sea ...", so when Germany announced that the "From the river..." chant would be considered illegal anti-Semitic hate speech, Reddit decided to block that sub from being read in Germany.
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u/Enchet_ 19d ago
The author of these books got the prize for "ĂĽrets fĂśrvillare" in sweden wich is a kind of "anti prize" for like pseudo science and stuff. They are complete bullshit so please don't read them.
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u/LathropWolf 19d ago
Not surprised. 9 books, and his bio consists of "touring" europe lecturing coca cola and others for fat stacks of cash. Just your usual two bit "life coach" type of hustler
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u/Goatftw 19d ago
To be fair, he didn't get the prize because the content is bullshit. He got the prize because the content isn't scientifically proven, and he got accused for overstating the science behind. The content is based on DISC model, first published in 1928, so it's not like it's something new made-up theory.
And if you want to go through that rabbit hole, try to find any book describing broad personalities that are scientifically proven and accepted.. Which should result in 0.
Take the books, given their titles, for what they are. Personality books that are a easy read, that can (for me at least) help you get an insight why others think/behave like they do.
I've worked with DISC method (Not Thomas books) and itv have helped at our work regarding understanding and communication - both internally and externally.
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u/qtzbra 19d ago
Check out the big five theory. The only one scientists (psychologists) agree on.
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u/Mundane-Education-42 19d ago
They are complete bullshit so please don't read them.
You just convinced me harder to read those books.
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u/Enchet_ 19d ago
Why the heck?
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u/Mundane-Education-42 19d ago
Because bullshit sounds hilarious.
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u/Revolutionary_Gas542 19d ago
It's not funny bullshit, it's just a ridiculous "here's the four categories that perfectly divide up all humans" despite not being based in reality
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u/pocket_eggs 19d ago
It goes without saying that they're bad books, but they could still be bad in a self conscious play to pander to and exploit a market niche.
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u/SenseWitFolly 19d ago
They are not complete BS, having read Surrounded by idiots it's just standard people/personality profiling training any sales based job role undertakes.
It's mirroring and approaching guidance. Nothing revolutionary that hasn't been dressed up in many other ways before.
Is it science, no. Is it a useful guide for sales training, yes. It has value.
Can't speak for the other books but surrounded by idiots was his first and he seems to have just ridden the wave of popularity from that.
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u/my20cworth 19d ago
Ok, we get it, you're surrounded.
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u/som11322 19d ago
Idk whatâs funny about your comment but I laughed
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u/my20cworth 19d ago
As long as I'm not surrounded by laughter. Your laughter alone will be all I need.
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u/Economy_Second8886 19d ago
You know what..? Throughout my 45 years on this planet, I've learnt that most people genuinely mean well. People are a result of their upbringing, mixed with how their brains work. I've found that generally speaking, if you're decent to someone, they're generally decent back. Sometimes people are difficult, and even hard work, but without judging these books by their cover, I think perhaps his intent is how to learn how to deal with people that demonstrate traits of these types of people. It's not a natural instinct for everyone to understand how people are different. I haven't read the books, but I do wonder if the janna-g has?
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u/Joe_Jeep 19d ago
That's literally what most means, of course. The assholes will be much more memorable than the average people.
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u/CharlieParkour 19d ago
I've totally seen places in the service industry where a manager comes in and hires a crew of like minded folk that get off by being dicks and/or thieves. Business usually goes under and gets bought out within a couple of years or they catch it in time, bring in new management and have to rebuild their client base.
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u/ForwardCulture 19d ago
I used to think similarly. Then I moved to Florida for a year. Everyone should try that, changes your perspective really fast.
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u/hotasanicecube 19d ago
Nope, not me, I think your a jerk off looking for that sweet Karma with a nice comment. Lol
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u/Economy_Second8886 19d ago
LoI we'd get along really well you dumbshit..also Im heaps drunk so gimme a break
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u/potatodrinker 19d ago
Have a friend like this. Every company she works at, she clashes with her colleagues and manager. Then she quits, moves to another company. Repeat, and complains that everyone is out to get her.
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u/DarthWraith22 19d ago
"If you meet an asshole in the morning, youâve met an asshole. If everyone you meet all day is an asshole, youâre the asshole."
- Raylan Givens
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u/Icy-Turnip8985 19d ago
âBefore you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.â ~ William Gibson
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u/Massive-Ad7628 19d ago
we've got this saying in Swedish, roughly translated to "you become as you associate"
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u/Several_Patience_691 19d ago
It also exists in English âwe become what we beholdâ
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u/Electrical_You2889 19d ago
If Thomas works in corporate Iâm with Thomas
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u/Bolaf 19d ago
Thomas works by charging companies for him to come and tell their employees that "red" people want things done quick and "green" people want things done slow. So red people should be patient with green people and green people should hurry up when dealing with red people..
So corporate love him as they pay him once and think they've improved synergy and employee relations 1000%.
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u/Super_NiceGuy 19d ago
Thomas Erikson has gotten some serious critic in Sweden because he references studies or if it was just one study that either donât exist or has been debunked by science. He might be right though but the science he references is very weak. If you believe that it is dangerous to proclaim knowledge as supported by science when it is not verified you should not read this and take it for certain.
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u/OwnPercentage9088 19d ago
If any FBI agents are lurking, that's the guy who's basement you should check
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u/Stainless-S-Rat 19d ago edited 19d ago
If you run into an arsehole in the morning, you ran into an arsehole. If you run into arseholes all day, you're the arsehole.
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u/OnsetOfMSet 19d ago
This somehow makes the "I knew it, I'm surrounded by assholes!" bit from Spaceballs even funnier
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u/Geezmanswe 19d ago
The guy who wrote the books is a pseudo-science guy who uses really old personality theories with zero grounding in modern psychological science. He is a good old snake oil salesman who fooled tons of swedish municipalities to buy his bullshit workshops.
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u/SelfTechnical6976 19d ago
I have some people that read this and other nonsense success guru books. They always say to ditch your friends because they are holding you back. And that's what they did, and still to this day 10 years laters they are at the same place they once were.
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u/JohnCasey3306 19d ago
Exactly this. We all know people who jump from nightmare to nightmare in their family/friend/romantic relationships... The problem is always someone else, they never look inward.
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u/Deecee7374 19d ago
âsurrounded by enemy armiesâ how to stop murderous adversaries from ruining your life -Sun Tzu
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u/jamesmcdash 19d ago
It's the same book, just pick the cover that appeals to you. A/B testing, printing press style
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u/The_LoneRedditor 19d ago
Yes, I know I'm the problem, no I don't want to be constantly reminded of it and yes I'm living in a state of blissful ignorance
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u/Reserved_Parking-246 19d ago
Someone needs to chatgpt up a book "mabey I am the problem" A readers commentary on self help books aimed at making everyone else the enemy.
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u/Cold-Elk-8089 19d ago
Maybe he wrote one, it did really well, and now he's writing more just for the money
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u/piz510 19d ago
This whole post is such a Reddit Meta reality.
Knee jerk reaction to a book cover, no effort to actually understand content or context, snarky remark critical of the person in an obvious insecurity driven attempt to put them down so they can feel better about their own shitty life. Repeat.
The irony is that the content of the book might actually help this person to think a bit more deeply, take the time to understand others, and to react with kindness and intelligence. Steps and skills which would actually make their own life and the world a better place.
Yet they scroll to the next social media trigger instead of taking the opportunity to improve themselves (which by the way is the great potential value of social mediaâŚsharing good and helpful information, instead of snark and insults).
The net effect is people donât value maturity and growing up, it isnât âyoung and cool.â Much of Reddit values the perpetual juvenile and downvotes any effort to enlighten.
But I will age out long before this issue is resolved via global destruction or some form of future enlightenment. Good luck kids. The future is in your own hands and how you act will drive it along its path.
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u/Raiquo 16d ago
Alternative: there are 4 people in Thomas's life that he is really not fond of.
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u/joseph4th 19d ago
I read this series, what a great mystery, the author never even saw the ending coming that it was him all along!
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u/ImNoTree 19d ago
So I met Thomas' son through swimming school and me and his son as well as our moms became quite good friends, meaning I've hung out a fair bit at their house.
I just remember Thomas being very stern about weird stuff almost to the point of being mean to his kids sometimes, but then again I was a fairly quiet emotional kid with soft parents. What I do know for sure though is that the last time I checked none of his kids wanted to have any contact with him and he and the kids' mother divorced a long time ago. I think the first of these books, Surrounded by idiots, has a thinly veiled jab at his ex wife in the description on the back of the book.
I don't know if it needs saying but these books are 100% pseudo science and have led to A LOT of workplaces in Sweden having these bullshit color-personality tests that job applicants have to take.
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u/Repulsive_Thanks_922 19d ago edited 15d ago
Thomas needs to understand flanking maneuvers better, if he keeps getting surrounded...
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u/No-Albatross-7984 19d ago
I've read a couple of those. They're pretty much just pseudoscientific trash, but the first one was super successful so I guess that's reason enough to do three followups.
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u/JudgeHodorMD 19d ago
Itâs clear that your powers of retention are as wet as a warthogâs backside.
But thick as you are, pay attention. My words are a matter of prideâŚ
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u/rektumrokker 19d ago
Only time I actually stopped reading a book when I got 20 pages in to the idiots one. I can't understand how this guy sells books.. Not recommended.
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u/DaveInLondon89 19d ago
If you run into an arsehole in the morning, they're the asshole. If you run into assholes all day, maybe you're gay
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u/jmancoder 19d ago
I take it that the 29.5k people who upvoted this post never actually bothered to read these books.
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