LessWrong (Curated & Popular) “The Origami Men” by Tomás B.
Oct 8, 2025
Dive into a world transformed by strange origami men who evoke apathy and curiosity. The narrator grapples with emotions in a monotonous existence, balanced by a compassionate friend, Jamie. Encountering Shaman Bob reveals the complexity of feeling versus numbness. Witnessing the terror of origami men sparks a painful yet enlightening transformation. As Jamie makes a fateful choice to seek understanding, the narrator confronts grief and explores the haunting question of what these beings learn from humanity. A poignant reflection on connection and existence unfolds.
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Podcasts As A Numbing Ritual
- People use background podcasts as a shield to avoid acting or feeling in a horrifying world.
- This habit creates a false sense of participation while preserving learned helplessness.
Monsters Framed As Machines
- Origami men are presented as machines-of-machines mirroring human complexity.
- This analogy reframes horrors as mechanistic systems rather than mystical monsters.
Unfactory Work And Lost Memories
- The narrator works disassembling cars at an 'unfactory' and feels the job's pointlessness deeply.
- He remembers a pre-change world and clings to those memories to avoid total numbness.