Slowest Known Time

The internet killed moderation. Ideas have become so extreme. We know this already with politics because we see it every day. Moderation in politics disappeared right around the birth of the internet and social media.

But what we don’t see every day is the death of moderation in obscure places like hiking, yoga or the body positivity. I just learned in my yoga class the other day that many practitioners are either arguing for or against purity. One would think that yoga is a mecca for moderation, yet the internet allows yogis to push for purity in the practice and then that sets off alarms for non-purists who worry that yoga may be heading towards nazi-like tendencies.

I saw an article in the New York Times that talks about how a woman who was part of the body positivity community got shamed when she worried about her friends’ health. She had lost a couple of friends to health complications and she wanted to keep that from happening again. I had no idea that the views of some members where so extreme say that mentioning the word “health” would get you cancelled.

The hiking world has become more extreme with the Fastest Known Time. You can’t just hike anymore, you need to be someone special if you are going to be a hiker. The amount of competition and comparison that has entered the wilderness is wild. At least the slow people aren’t getting cancelled.