Manufacturing Artificial Resistance to Remain Relevant

Introduction: A Misplaced Masculine Energy

One morning, while out for a walk, I heard the unmistakable roar of a superbike tearing down the road. In a residential area where the speed limit was only 25km/h, this rider was pushing at least 100km/h. This wasn’t just reckless driving—it was something deeper. The man, a neighbor, was frustrated with someone on the street. But instead of confronting the issue head-on or channeling that frustration into something constructive, he passive-aggressively expressed it through speed and noise. The raw energy, the need for power and assertion, had nowhere meaningful to go, so it spilled out in an uncontrolled and dangerous way on a residential street where children normally play.

This got me thinking. Masculine energy, when left without purpose, doesn’t just disappear—it finds a way to manifest itself, often destructively. And we see this phenomenon everywhere. Whether it’s in the people we’re electing, the popularity of certain hyper-masculine influencers, or the dominance of male-oriented podcasts discussing struggle, combat, and existential crisis—this is all evidence of a deep, collective yearning for masculinity in a world that suppresses it.

Because it’s being restricted in the real world, it’s being consumed on the internet instead. This is why so many men are addicted to content about traditional masculinity, survivalism, war, and self-improvement—it’s an attempt to fill a void. It’s also no wonder why so many of these same men are obsessed with the idea of simulation theory. The concept that we’re living in an artificial, pre-programmed world resonates with men because, for most, life already feels simulated.

Unless you're a firefighter, a deep-sea fisherman, or working in something equally hands-on and high-stakes, you’re likely spending your time simulating struggle—whether through video games, watching combat sports, or lifting barbells in a gym. In many ways, modern masculinity has become a game of trying to manufacture resistance in order to remain relevant.

But let’s be clear: this is not about that Andrew Tate-style, AI-generated version of masculinity. That model is an algorithmically optimized caricature—built for virality, not depth. It promotes materialism, hollow bravado, and an image-based, transactional view of masculinity that lacks true purpose. What we are talking about is something far deeper, more meaningful, and more primal.

1. The Natural Role of Men: Struggle as Purpose

For most of human history, men thrived in environments that required them to hunt, build, explore, and protect. The hunter-gatherer lifestyle provided a natural purpose—men went out into the wild, exerted themselves physically, and brought resources back to their families.

However, as civilization progressed, the male role became more abstract. Industrialization replaced manual labor with machinery, digitalization removed the need for physical presence, and modernity eroded the necessity of physical strength. Today, men roam around shopping malls with their wives, wait in airport lounges, stare at computer screens, hunched over their phones while doing all of the above, passively consuming rather than actively engaging with the world.

Worse still, modern life is structured around waiting on others to provide services that we should be independent from. Instead of problem-solving, fixing, or creating, we wait—for our flights, for our food, for our entertainment, for someone else to handle our problems. Masculine energy is drained through inefficiency, forced dependency, consumerism, and the suffocating grip of bureaucracy.

Even the architecture of modern life restricts masculine expression. Most men live in apartments or tightly controlled residential areas with no workshop, no garden, and no space to store tools or build things. Without a place for hands-on work, they become entirely dependent on the system for repairs and basic tasks that once defined self-reliance. The infrastructure itself discourages practical skills, further stripping men of their ability to be independent and capable.

To counteract this, men artificially create resistance—lifting weights in a gym instead of moving boulders, engaging in combat sports instead of protecting their land, or embarking on ultramarathons instead of genuinely exploring the unknown. Video games replace combat, and modern-day "Tripadvisor" tourism replaces true exploration.

This is the paradox of modern masculinity: we simulate difficulty because real difficulty no longer exists.

2. The Erasure of Masculine Utility in the Digital Age

With the rise of artificial intelligence, automation, and remote work, male utility is diminishing faster than ever before. Many of the last strongholds of masculinity—construction, heavy industry, and physical trades—are being replaced by robots and AI-driven machinery.

This leaves men with a difficult question: If we are no longer needed to build, protect, or even work, what are we left with?

The answer is uncomfortable. In many ways, the male species is moving toward obsolescence. Unlike women, who retain their biological purpose through childbearing, men must assert their value beyond reproduction.

Feminism has promoted female independence—which, in itself, is not a bad thing—but it also means that many women no longer seek male protection or provision. As a result, men find themselves searching for new ways to differentiate themselves in a world where they are increasingly unnecessary.

But what can men do that others cannot?

• Physical Strength: Higher testosterone levels, greater muscle mass, and a natural inclination toward competition.
• Discipline and Resilience: The ability to endure extreme hardship and push past limits.
• Philosophical and Spiritual Depth: The capacity to think critically and connect with something beyond materialism.

These are the things that cannot be automated, outsourced, or erased.

3. The Four Pillars of Masculine Fulfillment

To remain relevant, men must cultivate four core attributes:

1. Physical Mastery (Strength, Fitness, Capability)

• Not bodybuilding, not steroids, but real functional strength training.
• The more muscle mass we build, the stronger we become, the greater our longevity.
• Strength as a means of being self-sufficient and capable, not just for aesthetics.

2. Intellectual Depth (Critical Thinking, Resource Management, Strategy)

• Not playing chess or engaging in meaningless intellectual games.
• Developing critical thinking to question and challenge authoritative systems rather than passively accepting them when things don’t make sense.

3. Creative Production (Writing, Building, Inventing, Expressing)

• Not AI-generated "art"—but real, visceral creation.
• Writing, painting, sculpting—things that require true skill and engagement with reality.

4. Spiritual Development (Faith, Discipline, Purpose Beyond Materialism)

• Not New Age nonsense—building a real relationship with God.
• Living with purpose rather than drifting through distractions.

Additionally, men must re-learn how to fix things. In an era of planned obsolescence, where products are intentionally designed to break so we keep buying replacements, we should be focusing on sustainability—learning how to repair and modify the things we use rather than discarding them.

Men who cultivate all four of these aspects will not only remain relevant but will thrive.

4. Conclusion: The Future of Masculinity

We are moving toward an era where the male species may no longer have an inherent role. Automation, social change, and the digital world are erasing the need for traditional masculinity.

But we don’t need to fear AI. Instead, we should allow AI to take over the monotonous, soul-draining tasks that have kept us hunched over computers for the past 20 years. If we embrace that, we can redirect our energy into things that are more wholesome, tangible, and lasting.

As Andy Dufresne said in The Shawshank Redemption, "That’s the great thing about music. They can’t get that from you."

The same applies to masculinity. If we anchor ourselves in things that cannot be taken away—our strength, intellect, creativity, and spirituality—we remain untouchable.

The world will not reward passivity. Only men who actively shape their own purpose will remain relevant.