Living mentally in 1986: nostalgia as a strategy

Living mentally in another era: from portfolio to courtship

One can live in the 21st century and refuse to belong to it. The thesis, raised in the thread, holds that the era one inhabits is an operational decision —where one puts one's money, whom one partners with, or what rules one accepts— and not a destiny fixed by the calendar. The nuance comes quickly: one chooses the mentality, not the date. The body remains where it is.

This leads to very concrete applications. And from this arises an uncomfortable question: does this hold up against reality, or is it simply a disguise?

The mental trick: Patton, Mishima, and a Pompeian legionary

General Patton states it in his biopic with a phrase that summarizes the method: “How I hate the 20th century.” According to the thread's author, he lived mentally in the past, and that was his secret. Yukio Mishima did the same with traditional Japan: fencing, samurai attire, and a private militia of feudal inspiration. Oswald Spengler, a hundred years ago, presented the Pompeian legionary —who died at his post, buried by ash— as the destiny that the West should aspire to.

Nostalgia has illustrious precedents and a touch of trickery. The most cited anecdote is that of Francisco de Aldana, sent by Philip II to gather information on the North African campaign of King Sebastian of Portugal. Aldana returned with a diagnosis of failure and, instead of staying at court, begged to be allowed to go fight in that same campaign. The anecdote circulates in the thread as an example of this attitude.

Why nostalgia anchors on 1986

1986 functions as a boundary. On January 1, Spain and Portugal joined the EEC and VAT came into effect; on March 12, the NATO referendum; on April 26, Chernobyl. That same year is taken as a reference by nostalgic styles such as synthwave, vaporwave, and retrowave, which emulate the aesthetics and relaxing tone of the theme "Last Wave" from Sega's Out Run. According to a participant who claims to have lived through the eighties, the cultural atmosphere then proclaimed the end of vulgarity and the peak of civilization, the exact opposite of the dark narrative with which, according to him, things are presented today.

What applies to the portfolio: value investing and gold

In the economic sphere, the proposal is recognizable: analyze balance sheets, fundamentals, economic conditions, and competition, and keep gold and silver in the portfolio, Keynes's “barbarous relic.” Those who defend it maintain that if it is rational, rationality will eventually prevail, and time will prove them right. The thread also mentions a diversified portfolio across various sectors, including pharmaceuticals.

None of this is a recommendation. It is the reasoning of someone who believes that classic criteria remain rational.

The pandemic according to Koch's postulates

The leap to public health is where the thesis stretches the most. A participant argues that a fruta pathogen that does not meet Koch's postulates is not proven as the cause of the disease attributed to it, and that a product developed in one year cannot be called a vaccine when the usual process requires ten years. These are claims by a participant, not facts supported by the material. They should be read as what they are: a position, not a finding.

Hermit, double agent, and fugitive: three ways to sustain it

A classification in the thread distinguishes three behaviors. The hermit accepts his maladjustment without hiding it. The double agent blends in —pretends to comply with expectations— and discreetly warns those he can. The fugitive takes refuge in references from another era; the thread also mentions the case of someone who abandoned suits and ties for farmer's overalls and decided to come down to civilization less and less often.

The underlying problem is not aesthetics. It is friction: swimming against the current is tiring, and isolating oneself resolves friction at the price of companionship. The same happens in courtship: someone who revives dating criteria from the fifties risks being seen as eccentric by some, and yet claims it can intrigue more valuable women. The biological reading that appears in the thread is a participant's opinion, not a fact.

In the material, the proposal appears as an individual attitude, without organization or support network.