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- The Tribe That Forgot It Was Real
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“The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth, it is the truth that conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true.”
If you read latest blog post , the one about your shirt not being real, your room not being real, your self not being real , and felt something crack open inside you… good.
That was the point.
But we’re not done.
Because Baudrillard didn’t just warn us.
He gave us a map.
A map of how reality dissolved , layer by layer, sign by sign , until we arrived here: a world where war and TikTok dances share the same emotional bandwidth. Where your LinkedIn profile is more “you” than your 3 AM thoughts. Where you choose fake grass because real grass is “too messy.”
Let’s go deeper.
🌍 The Epfuago: When the Documented Became the Real
You might remember them from the blog post.
The Epfuago tribe.
Anthropologists arrived, notebooks in hand, eager to capture “authentic indigenous culture.” Rituals. Clothing. Social structures. The real thing.
But as soon as the Epfuago realized they were being watched… they began to perform.
Rituals became more elaborate. Traditional garments appeared more frequently , even when not culturally necessary. Dances were extended. Symbols amplified.
Not to deceive.
But to please the gaze.
The anthropologists left, published their findings. The world consumed them as gospel: “This is how the Epfuago live.”
Then , here’s where it gets chilling , the Epfuago themselves began reading those papers.
New generations used the anthropologists’ notes to learn their own “traditions.”
The simulation , the documented, curated, external representation , became the source code for reality.
The copy birthed the original.
There was no “authentic” left.
Only the agreed-upon simulation.
Sound familiar?
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🛒 Your Grocery Store is a Stage. You’re the Audience (and the Actor)
Let’s revisit Walmart.
It’s not evil. It’s not a conspiracy.
It’s hyperreal architecture.
Every inch is designed to simulate abundance, cleanliness, order, safety.
The produce? Glossy. Uniform. Plastic-wrapped. Not because that’s how food grows , but because that’s how food should look, according to decades of TV dinners, stock photos, and sitcom kitchens.
You don’t walk in thinking, “This is fake.”
You walk in thinking, “This is normal.”
That’s the genius , and the horror , of Level 4 simulacra.
It doesn’t ask you to believe the lie.
It removes the need to distinguish between lie and truth.
The simulation doesn’t mask reality.
It replaces the desire for reality.
🧍♂️ You Didn’t Lose Yourself. You Outsourced Yourself.
Your social media profile isn’t a highlight reel anymore.
It’s your operating system.
You don’t ask, “How was my day?”
You ask, “How will this look as a story?”
You don’t choose a coffee shop because the espresso is good.
You choose it because the lighting is Instagram-ready.
You don’t reflect on your beliefs.
You perform the version of your beliefs that gets the most retweets.
This isn’t vanity.
It’s ontological outsourcing.
You’ve handed the job of “defining who you are” to the platforms, the algorithms, the metrics.
The simulation doesn’t just surround you.
It speaks for you.
And the scariest part?
You’re relieved.
Because maintaining a “real self” , messy, contradictory, uncertain, evolving , is exhausting.
The simulation? It’s smooth. Consistent. Optimized.
It’s easier to be a sign than a soul.
🎭 Disneyland is the Only Honest Place on Earth
Baudrillard called Disneyland “a perfect model of all the entangled orders of simulacra.”
Why?
Because Disneyland admits it’s fake.
It screams: “THIS IS A FANTASY! A CONSTRUCT! A STAGE!”
And in that honesty, it becomes more real than the world outside its gates.
Because the outside world?
It pretends.
It pretends politics is about policy (it’s about aesthetics).
It pretends brands sell products (they sell identities).
It pretends news informs you (it sells emotional activation).
Disneyland doesn’t lie about being a simulation.
The rest of the world? It gaslights you into thinking it’s not one.
🔄 The Feedback Loop That Ate Reality
Here’s how it works:
Media (ads, films, influencers) shows you a simulation of how life should look.
You internalize it as “normal” or “ideal.”
You begin to live toward that simulation , buying the clothes, staging the photos, performing the lifestyle.
You post it. The algorithm rewards it.
Someone else sees it , and internalizes your simulation as their new normal.
Repeat. Infinitely.
Reality doesn’t disappear in a bang.
It evaporates in a million tiny performances.
🌿 The Quiet Rebellion: How to Carve Out Pockets of Real
Baudrillard was bleak. He thought escape was impossible.
I disagree.
You can’t “go back” to some pure, pre-simulation Eden.
But you can build enclaves of the real.
Tactical withdrawals. Micro-resistances.
Here’s how:
1. Practice “Unphotographable” Moments
Do something beautiful, meaningful, or joyful , and don’t document it. Not for Instagram. Not for your Notes app. Not even for memory. Let it exist , and then vanish. That’s real power.
2. Touch Imperfect Things
Buy the crooked carrot. Wear the shirt with the loose thread. Sit in the park where the grass is patchy. Re-sensitize yourself to the beauty of the unoptimized.
3. Seek “Pre-Simulation” Spaces
Libraries before they became “Instagrammable.” Churches that don’t livestream. Conversations with no agenda. Meals with no photos. These are the resistance cells.
4. Become a “Simulation Detective”
Start noticing signs that point to nothing. The “artisanal” label on mass-produced bread. The “handwritten” font on a corporate ad. The “authentic story” in a 15-second reel. Name them. Laugh at them. Refuse to be fooled by them.
5. Ask: “What Am I Performing Right Now?”
Before you post. Before you speak. Before you buy. Before you react. Pause. Ask: “Is this me? Or is this the version of me the simulation trained me to be?”
🧭 The Most Radical Question You Can Ask Today
“What would I do, think, or feel right now… if no one , not even an algorithm , was watching?”
Sit with that.
Not as a thought experiment.
As a lifeline.
🔚 Final Thought
The simulation wins when we forget it’s optional.
It doesn’t own you.
It rents space in your attention, your desire, your self-image.
And rent… can be canceled.
One unphotographed sunset at a time.
One crooked carrot at a time.
One silent, unshared moment of genuine awe at a time.
You were real before the simulation.
You are real beneath it.
And you will be real after it.
If this landed , forward it to one person who needs to wake up.
Not to scare them.
To free them.
And if you haven’t yet , share your “pocket of real” with me.
Reply to this email. Tell me:
When did you last feel something that couldn’t be simulated?
I read every reply.
Timo