It actually didn't take me too long to regard Shi-chan as a person, and not simply a (sex object); it occurred pretty much when I opened her crate for the first time.
I'll take "Opening lines from novels I wish I'd written" for $200, Alex...
My gut reaction to this story is to judge Davecat because, honestly, the concept of coming home to an apartment with a "synthetic woman" has a Steven King novel quality to it.
But...when I try to get past that to offer a constructive comment, I can see one way in which the dolls are appealing. Having been in a longterm relationship (with an organic woman), I appreciate what Davecat called "consistencies" — the idea that another person will simply be present when you get home from work.
After a while, I think, we learn to appreciate our partners' company without needing to speak or be doing things constantly. And I can see how a humanized object could serve that purpose for people who're unwilling or who don't want the added responsibilities of having an "organic" partner.
If your view on relationships is one-dimensional and you don't actually respect the people around you, then yes, by all means replace them with a doll. Maybe you could have some doll children while you're at it. And if you really want to go all out, a theme park sized place to live equipped with nothing but dolls.
Synthetic love is one-way, you can't really advocate for it without saying a lot about yourself, about how you value relationships with other people and about the total lack of respect and futility of your life.
I prefer the people around me to be hot-blooded, real life, complex and interesting human beings. If you're reading this article and you're thinking 'wow, that's just the ticket for me', please take my advice, shut down your computer for a couple of months and spend all the money that you have travelling. Being around people and interacting with them is the best cure for this kind of funk.
I doubt davecat is coming from a life of social abundance.
And "revel in the presence of other people!" probably isn't going to cajole you from the dungeon when social trauma is what mired you in your funk to begin with.
He probably found a coping mechanism for damage done.
Perhaps, at some point, self-medicating with things you pretend are human in a one-bedroom apartment in southeastern Michigan isn't so different than self-medicating with travel.
Because that is always good advice for a depressed person 'get over it and do something new'... I take it you've not suffered from medical depression or anxiety?
It's easy to think people can just snap out of their worries and issues, but do you really think that advice to someone with what seems to be serious people issues is going to be productive?
Great advice! I might suggest to travel to countries that you are not familiar with, countries that speaks a different language to you, countries that scare you. Get outside of your comfort zone, and things will start to get interesting!
To be fair this guy is probably not as far out there as you might think. Consider for one that quite a lot of people believe in transubstantiation; a bit of bread and wine becomes the body of their savior. I don't think this is too far from that, this doll becomes in some way a real companion for him.
Likewise, his little invented back-stories for his dolls are not so materially different than say my relationship with my girlfriend. I don't and can't truly know my girlfriends existence; everything I know about her is basically a story I tell myself based on the things she says to me and what I assume or surmise myself. If it turned out one of these days that she had been completely and totally dishonest with me about who she was - everything I thought I knew about her was not true - in a lot of ways our relationship would have been just as much a fantasy as Davecats.
I'm not prepared to go in for it myself, or even consider it totally healthy and desirable...but he seems to have a good handle on it and I wouldn't be too quick to judge him. Maybe he is a little nuts, but so are most people I have met.
I may be overthinking it, but I read Davecat as someone who was, in some way, damaged early on and has built up a framework that allows him to function and survive pretty well. His life isn't normal, by usual standards, but it seems to work OK for him.
The thing that worries me is that there are a lot more people out there that are more like him, than there are people who've been able to make that special connection with someone else.
It isn't that well written, but does have several interesting angles beyond being a sex toy. What happens if the robot is able to prepare your meals - will you eat better? Or act as a personal trainer? Heck what if it can go through all your stuff, work out what you don't use and put it on eBay?
>Part of the (sexual) appeal of synthetics is how much they look like their organic counterparts. If you have a robot shaped like a refrigerator, that won't have as much draw as a robot in the shape of a human; people will be more willing to interact with the human-shaped one.
>However, that 1 percent of unfulfillment? That's only there because neither Sidore nor Elena are Gynoids. Once that technology becomes affordable, I'll have one made in my wife's likeness, and that'll be the final piece of the puzzle. She'd be able to hug me back whenever I embrace her, we'd be able to attend films and concerts together, and do all manner of things besides. There would be genuine interaction.
>I'm not interested in having someone in my life who may bail at any time, or who transforms into someone unpleasant.
According to the above quotes it seems he does indeed want a relationship with a real person, but he just wants that person to be submissive and totally devoted to his whims; in other words, the perfect slave. The problem here isn't the dolls. He's entitled to own them and enjoy their presence. But he's not entitled to compare them to real persons or claim that they are more than objects.
So yes, I am going to judge him. It's clear to me he has a really unhealthy and controlling attitude towards others.
I think part of it is that he's unable to assert himself with "organic" women. I agree that he has control issues, but I see it stemming more from his history of feeling out of control with his previous partners.
He's unable to handle the unpredictability of a relationship with another person or the lack of control over their actions, so he resorts to dolls who can never question him. The fact is that the article scares me a bit, since I can totally see a lot of people being attracted to dolls to escape the maturity, responsibilities, and skills needed to deal with real people.
> According to the above quotes it seems he does indeed want a relationship with a real person, but he just wants that person to be submissive and totally devoted to his whims; in other words, the perfect slave. The problem here isn't the dolls. He's entitled to own them and enjoy their presence. But he's not entitled to compare them to real persons or claim that they are more than objects.
It's a strange feeling, to laugh at something that makes you cringe. This whole situation is absurd to me and anyone with conventional views, and reminds me of those 40 year olds Hikikomori living in a fantasy land unable to face reality.
That said it's his life and he's not harming anyone so who minds what he does with his life or his toys. It does seem he has some unresolved back-story, but that's neither for me to judge or care about.
This to me is an example of "individualism" and a self-centered life taken to the extreme. Alas, this may become the norm some day. What very well may be the decline of our civilization is that we stop living as nature meant for us to and all die obsessing over superreleasers, like bugs screwing a beer bottle.
Just because its hi-tech or the latest "innovation" doesnt make it right for our development as a people. First the erosion of the village, then neighborhood and it ends with preferring to have "synthetic" people to interact with rather than real ones. The undoing of our social fabric may be the undoing of us as a whole. (Someone remake idiocracy with fem-bots!)
sounds like old arguments against gays and, later, against gay marriage. Still, civilization seems to be chugging along, and will survive some guys/gals going "synthetic" as well.
Oh yes, only the best literature on Hacker News at 3AM on Friday night. If I don't read the top ten articles about A/B testing my Erlang-based non-profit YC-funded startup in the next five minutes, I WILL DIE!
But seriously, this is an interesting perspective on life. What I take away from it is that if you want 70% sex and 30% companionship (read: silently sitting there while you talk about your boring life) from someone, perhaps you should just shell out the $6000 for a doll and save that hypothetical other human years of therapy.
I'll take "Opening lines from novels I wish I'd written" for $200, Alex...