Back in the Boy Scouts, at summer camp, myself and a couple friends snuck out one night after curfew to commandeer a couch someone had left by a dumpster at the other end of the camp (maybe a half kilometer away).

Now, our particular designated adult was a very stick-to-the-rules type, so we definitely did not want to get caught. I, therefore, made my way slowly and sneakily. The summer camp was in the woods, so I’d keep myself behind trees and bushes and out of the light anytime someone went by. At one point I literally hunkered down in a ditch, staying below the line of the headlights of a passing car. At another point I was maybe five feet from a guy, standing in a shadow, entirely unnoticed. It was slow, but a very fun game, and I was not noticed.

… and then I arrived to find that my two friends had done the walk much more quickly. They didn’t bother hiding at all. They just… walked over. Nobody particularly cared. Sure, our curfew violation was salient to us, but nobody else out that night was paying any attention to us. Why would they?

What I [...]

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First published:
November 28th, 2025

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hCWbNDwrJ57iME7Rf/you-are-much-more-salient-to-yourself-than-to-everyone-else

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

You Are Much More Salient To Yourself Than To Everyone Else

LessWrong (30+ Karma)