Golden rules of Dr. Kurpatov. "People lack love, understanding, reciprocity, the feeling that you are needed."

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We like articles on psychological topics by your author Anna Tsipris. I would like to read tips smart people: how to push back old age, how to learn to enjoy everything that surrounds us and thank God for giving us the opportunity to live, and not drag out a miserable existence. It is interesting to talk about the famous doctor Kurpatov, who hosted psychotherapeutic programs on Russian television and published many books. »

Spouses Babenko (58 and 61), Belgorod

Since 2006, for some time, a program was broadcast daily on the first Russian TV channel Dr. Kurpatov: in front of an astonished audience, the doctor led the patient to spiritual recovery. The press praised the doctor with all voices: we all witnessed an unprecedented growth in the popularity of the psychologist and psychotherapist Andrei Kurpatov. Thousands of people sat in front of the TV waiting for what the famous doctor would say. Dr. Kurpatov was bombarded with letters, queues of sufferers lined up for him to receive a recipe for psychological well-being.

For most people, he became the personification of "Russian" psychology and psychotherapy, and he was secretly awarded the title of people's psychotherapist of the whole country.

"Doctor Kurpatov"- it was, perhaps, the only talk show on domestic television that talked about human experiences. Here everyone could find the answer to the most intimate and main questions.

Dr. Kurpatov wrote about his TV show this way:

“The most important thing for us is human feelings, inner world, pain, fears and hopes of people. We are not looking for scandals and revelations. We help people solve problems that prevent them from being happy. This program is for those who are ready to change their lives for the better, who do not look for excuses for their failures, who are ready to take their fate into their own hands. And most importantly, this program is for those who are ready to work on themselves.”

The triumphal procession of the doctor on the air was quite diverse. At first, the program was being prepared for the TNT channel, but relations did not work out there: instead of real heroes, they wanted to shoot fake characters, but Dr. Kurpatov could not “really help and respond” to the decoys. Therefore, the entire team quit TNT a week before filming began, and this program was launched on the Domashny channel under the title " Doctor Kurpatov's advice.

The doctor convinced, pushed the participants with leading questions, often turned to the client himself: “What do you think? What do you feel? Sometimes he gracefully revealed the mental mechanisms that prevented the interlocutor from making changes in his life. During the entire period when these programs were on, individual professionals tried to discredit the methods of conducting this talk show. This was followed by litigation about the authorship of the program between the producer and the Kazan psychologist R. Garifullin. Kurpatov was simply invited to host this TV program, and he got into a rather unpleasant situation. In addition, big businessmen in the book trade, who wanted to independently distribute the doctor's hugely popular books, put pressure on him.

All this led to the closure of the talk show "Doctor Kurpatov". Now he continues to work actively in his clinic in St. Petersburg and conducts appointments in Moscow, writes books (by the way, he has written more than 40 books on various life topics (“5 great secrets of a man and a woman”, “Everyday psychology”, “How to survive divorce?”, etc.), conducts consultations and various psychotherapeutic seminars.

Here are some of the doctor's statements in one of his many interviews. When asked about assessing the state of society today, the doctor replied that he diagnoses society with "social stress disorder" and considers this the result of chronic stress that people are experiencing today - a change in values ​​and priorities, ideas about life, social roles, etc. He believes that if we sum up the statistics for all mental disorders - from schizophrenia to alcoholism and anorexia, then for every Russian there are one and a half mental disorders, and this is already too much.

When asked what people really need, he replied that bread and circuses modern man obviously not enough. Having both, he begins with some kind of pathological frenzy to settle accounts with life.

By 2020, more people will die from suicide than from cancer, according to the World Health Organization. Already now in Russia, only according to official statistics, there are more suicides than victims of road accidents. What do we need to be happy?

The answer is simple and not original - there is not enough love, understanding, support, reciprocity, the feeling that you are valuable, needed. People are in a rapid stream of superficial social connections - "hello - bye", the city dweller has an abyss of friends, meetings, contacts. Because of this, people have the illusion of limitless choice. It seems to them that they can endlessly choose the one with whom, in the end, they will be happy. This is the greatest delusion, says the doctor. If not in everyone, then in every second person can find "the one". It is naive to wait for a "happy meeting" before the onset of complete loneliness.

Sit back, read carefully (more than once), and think carefully.

"The Golden Rules of Dr. Kurpatov"

• - Never shift the responsibility for what happens in your life onto someone else's shoulders. I understand that the temptation is great, but have pity on yourselves. Only at the moment when you internally make this decision - "I am the author of my failures and the creator of my successes", you will gain strength.

• - Accept the fact that the past cannot be changed, it is over. We are subject only to our future, which directly depends on what we are doing now, at every given, specific minute. Don't expect the future to smile at you, make sure that it can't help but smile at you.

• - Get rid of the illusion that you can change other people. Subconsciously, we all suffer from this naive delusion, and as a result, we suffer in the truest sense of the word. Only circumstances change people, everything else is just a delusion of perception. Let them be different, and at some point you will even begin to enjoy it.

• - This is sad news, but nothing can be done about it: others need us strong. Weak, tired, suffering, unhappy - no one needs us. If they pretend that things are somehow different, then they are simply misleading you. Don't give in! Agree with the absoluteness of this rule, exhale, shake yourself up, and you will understand that there is nothing to be upset about.

• - All our actions will have certain consequences. And, in fact, we always choose not what we will do, but what will be the result of our action. Therefore, before you do something stupid, think carefully about its consequences, and then there will be much less stupidity in your life.

• - To each normal person I want a comfortable retirement, and the sooner the better, and preferably right now, right away. This is a chimera. And not because there can be no comfortable pension, but because a person needs to work. Realize this, and then your daily work will begin to bring you joy.

• - Each of us will die. This is inevitable and a medical fact. You can suffer and suffer because of this, or you can make an effort on yourself and leave this topic once and for all. Don't live as if you will live forever. And don't live like you're going to die tomorrow. Consider both of these statements and you will find your own recipe. happy life.

• -If you wondered about the meaning of life, most likely it's just depression. What matters is not the specific "meaning of life", but the feeling that you live meaningfully. Do what you internally consider important. Don't forget to tell yourself about it. And don't chase success. If you just do what you feel is important, success will catch up with you.

• - Never waste your time and energy on those who do not care about you, or even worse, on those who do not love you. There are a lot of people in this world with whom to live life in joy. Just don't be closed and suspicious. Believe me, being open and kind, you have nothing to lose.

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Just a couple of years ago, he brought about the great Russian psychotherapeutic revolution. Every evening, the country turned on the TV and enthusiastically watched a real healing session: in front of an astonished audience, the doctor led the patient to spiritual recovery. Add to this the shelves of bestsellers written by him, which are in every bookstore. Now Kurpatov is a national psychotherapist of the whole country, the first and so far the only one. We caught up with him to learn about his recipe for success.

RULES OF DOCTOR KURPATOV

1. Never shift responsibility for what happens in your life onto someone else's shoulders. I understand that the temptation is great, but have pity on yourselves. Only at the moment when you internally make this decision - "I am the author of my failures and the creator of my successes", you will gain strength.
2. Accept the fact that the past cannot be changed, it is over. We are subject only to our future, which directly depends on what we are doing now, at every given, specific minute. Don't expect the future to smile at you, make sure that it can't help but smile at you.
3. Get rid of the illusion that you can change other people. Subconsciously, we all suffer from this naive delusion, and as a result, we suffer in the truest sense of the word. Only circumstances change people, everything else is just a delusion of perception. Let them be different, and at some point you will even begin to enjoy it.
4. This is sad news, but nothing can be done about it: others need us strong. Weak, tired, suffering, unhappy - no one needs us. If they pretend that things are somehow different, then they are simply misleading you. Don't give in! Agree with the absoluteness of this rule, exhale, shake yourself up, and you will understand that there is nothing to be upset about.
All our actions will have certain consequences. And, in fact, we always choose not what we will do, but what will be the result of our action. Therefore, before you do something stupid, think carefully about its consequences, and then there will be much less stupidity in your life.
5. Every normal person wants a comfortable pension, and the sooner the better, and preferably right now, right away. This is a chimera. And not because there can be no comfortable pension, but because a person needs to work. Realize this, and then your daily work will begin to bring you joy.
6. Each of us will die. This is inevitable and a medical fact. You can suffer and suffer because of this, or you can make an effort on yourself and leave this topic once and for all. Don't live as if you will live forever. And don't live like you're going to die tomorrow. Consider both of these statements, and you will find your own recipe for a happy life.
7. If you wondered about the meaning of life, most likely it's just depression. What matters is not the specific "meaning of life", but the feeling that you live meaningfully. Do what you internally consider important. Don't forget to tell yourself about it. And don't chase success. If you just do what you feel is important, success will catch up with you.
8. Never waste your time and energy on those who do not care about you, or even worse, on those who do not love you. There are a lot of people in this world with whom to live life in joy. Just don't be closed and suspicious. Believe me, being open and kind, you have nothing to lose.,

Read sometimes Dr. Kurpatov's books. In general, depending on the mood, he is a very good conversationalist.

Just a couple of years ago, he brought about the great Russian psychotherapeutic revolution. Every evening, the country turned on the TV and enthusiastically watched a real healing session: in front of an astonished audience, the doctor led the patient to spiritual recovery. Add to this the shelves of bestsellers written by him, which are in every bookstore. Now Kurpatov is a national psychotherapist of the whole country, the first and so far the only one. We caught up with him to learn about his recipe for success.

The media have awarded you the title of "people's psychotherapist" in absentia. What do you think about it?

This is a serious exaggeration. Folk psychotherapists in Russia today are the authors of women's detective stories and participants in various humorous programs. This is our average level of development psychological culture. It's the average. We have a very large gap between the rich and the poor, and the story is exactly the same in the field of psychological culture: most of the population does not understand anything about psychotherapy and wants to be treated by Baba Nyura, very few people, on the contrary, are well versed in psychology, but why? they try to sacralize this knowledge. When I first started promoting psychotherapy, friends and family tried to dissuade me from doing so, to the point of screaming. It was clear to everyone that as a result, my person would become the object of the most stupid attacks from both the “left” and the “right”. But it couldn't be otherwise. Baba Nyura's admirers water me because I'm talking about "incomprehensible", and high-browed comrades turn up their noses, reproaching me for being "unscientific". The latter, of course, touches me - apparently, the height of the forehead does not let them understand that this is not about scientific conference, but about a program addressed to the mass audience. You know, when Sergei Petrovich Kapitsa began to host the program "Obvious - Incredible", his father and, concurrently, Nobel laureate, the famous physicist Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa said to his son: "From now on, an academic career is closed to you." And so it happened. Sergei Petrovich, a member of the world's leading academies, was never elected an academician in his homeland. In general, the titles, given our national characteristics I don't claim. But if later someone respects me for what I do, just as I now respect Sergei Petrovich for what he did in his time, then I will be incredibly happy about it.

What were the main stages of your practice and how did your attitude to the subject change as you gained experience?

I decided to become a doctor at an unconscious age, at the age of four. I wanted to be "like a grandfather." A psychiatrist, "like dad", decided to become a five-year-old. I started psychotherapy at the age of eighteen. My father was then in charge of the department of neurosis at the Clinic of Psychiatry of the Military Medical Academy, where I began my practice. At first I used behavioral techniques, but in parallel, under the guidance of one of my teachers, I developed a theory of personality development. He studied the processes of mental adaptation in experiments on group isolation. As a result, in my fifth year at the academy, I wrote my first monograph, and in my sixth year, my second. The books "Philosophy of Psychology" and "Personal Development" are devoted to methodology, ways to think about a scientific subject, in my case - about the human psyche. Then, due to illness, I retired and got a job as a psychotherapist in a regular psychiatric hospital, in the Clinic of Neurosis. I.P. Pavlova. Here I was not in the mood for abstract theories, I led sixty-five patients in the crisis department at once. It was necessary to develop a psychotherapeutic model that would allow working quickly. Proceedings of I.P. Pavlova, A.A. Ukhtomsky, L.S. Vygotsky - scientific basis my practice. The result was the monograph "Guidelines for Systemic Behavioral Psychotherapy", which presents both the scientific basis of the doctor's work and the system of his psychotherapeutic practices. Then I was assigned to leadership position, I began to engage in the popularization of psychotherapy and completely went into circulation. Only this year it was possible to resume scientific work- I conduct seminars for specialists in psychotherapy and philosophy. To be honest, methodology, as the science of the formation of knowledge, fascinates me much more than psychotherapy.

How do you assess the state of our society today?

I wrote two books about this - "Myths big city"and" Psychology of the Big City ", but he did not say everything that he considered necessary. They are talking about our general diagnosis -" social stress disorder ". This disease is the result of chronic stress experienced by people who have moved from one country to another, in our case - from the USSR to Russian Federation. With all the ensuing consequences - a change in values ​​and priorities, ideas about life, social roles, and so on. If we sum up the statistics for all mental disorders - from schizophrenia to alcoholism and anorexia, then for every Russian there are one and a half mental disorders. As you might guess, one disease is enough for one head, and one and a half is already too much.

What do people really need?

What do we need to be happy? The answer is simple: love, understanding, support, reciprocity.

As it turned out, bread and circuses are clearly not enough for modern man. Having both, he begins with some kind of pathological frenzy to settle scores with life. By 2020, more people will die from suicide than from cancer, according to the World Health Organization. Already now in Russia, only according to official statistics, there are more suicides than victims of road accidents. What do we need to be happy? The answer is simple and unoriginal - there is not enough love, understanding, support, reciprocity, the feeling that you are valuable, needed.

What mistakes does a modern resident of a big city make?

We are in a rapid stream of superficial social connections - "hello-bye", the city dweller has an abyss of friends, meetings, contacts. Because of this, we have the illusion of limitless choice. It seems to us that before the second coming we can choose the one with whom, in the end, we will be happy. It seems to us that he is somewhere there, beyond the horizon, we will still process a few tons of "social slag" and find the one we need. This is the greatest delusion. If not in everyone, then in every second we can find "the one". Only you need to look for it not by sorting through the ranks of applicants, but by looking into the depths of this "first comer". True, this is serious mental work. And we don’t know how to work like that - and not because we don’t want to, but because we simply aren’t trained. We are naively waiting for a "happy meeting" before the onset of our complete loneliness.

What does the future hold for us, given the main questions you are being asked?

My forecast is devoid of optimism. The twentieth century was unanimously recognized by psychologists as the "age of anxiety", the number of neuroses increased twenty-four times. The 21st is already being called the "century of depression", one in five suffer from it, and this is only the beginning. Man is a creature that lives in information environment, and this environment is becoming more and more aggressive. From year to year, giant waves cover a person. First radio, then television, then mobile communications, which made you accessible to everyone, the Internet, which made everything accessible to you. If we do not realize this and do not develop means of protection against this information expansion, we will simply be flattened.

Is the fashion for the services of psychiatrists sufficiently developed in our country? How to find a good specialist?

The attitude towards psychologists and psychotherapists among people who have not yet visited them is twice as good as that of those who have already been to them.

Fashion may be developed, but there is no system yet, and the qualifications of most psi-specialists, unfortunately, leave much to be desired. In 2003, we conducted a large study - we studied people's attitudes towards psychology and psychotherapy. It turned out that the attitude towards psychologists and psychotherapists among people who have not yet visited them is twice as good as that of those who have already been to them. Unfortunately, the specialists themselves today discredit our profession. But this is inevitable - the cost of growth. My first broadcast coincided with the day when the official Russian psychotherapy was only ten years old. For any field of science and practice, this is kindergarten age. I'm sure that good specialists somewhere already there, and there are many of them. But I can only vouch for the doctors of my clinic, whom I trained personally.

Don't you feel lonely from the fact that all people are at your fingertips for you?

In fact, loneliness is not when you understand everything, loneliness is when you have no one to talk about it with.

Do your skills help you?

Of course, I do not "treat" myself, it would be somehow strange, it seems to me. Does my knowledge of what a person is and how his psyche functions help me? Of course it helps. If a professional builder builds a dacha for himself, I think he simply cannot but use his knowledge of construction. Building a life is also a job that can be done with more or less efficiency. It all depends on how well you understand it.

What is your day?

I work: in St. Petersburg - I write and speak, in Moscow there is no time left for "writing". When people ask me about my hobby, the only thing that comes to mind is my family: wife Lilya and daughter Sonya. I don't "write" with them, and I don't even "speak" very much, but I try to "be" more.

Dr. Kurpatov's rules

• Never shift responsibility for what happens in your life onto someone else's shoulders. I understand that the temptation is great, but have pity on yourselves. Only at the moment when you internally make this decision - "I am the author of my failures and the creator of my successes", you will gain strength.
• Accept the fact that the past cannot be changed, it is over. We are subject only to our future, which directly depends on what we are doing now, at every given, specific minute. Don't expect the future to smile at you, make sure that it can't help but smile at you.
• Get rid of the illusion that you can change other people. Subconsciously, we all suffer from this naive delusion, and as a result, we suffer in the truest sense of the word. Only circumstances change people, everything else is just a delusion of perception. Let them be different, and at some point you will even begin to enjoy it.
• This is sad news, but nothing can be done about it: others need us strong. Weak, tired, suffering, unhappy - no one needs us. If they pretend that things are somehow different, then they are simply misleading you. Don't give in! Agree with the absoluteness of this rule, exhale, shake yourself up, and you will understand that there is nothing to be upset about.
• All our actions will have certain consequences. And, in fact, we always choose not what we will do, but what will be the result of our action. Therefore, before you do something stupid, think carefully about its consequences, and then there will be much less stupidity in your life.
• Every normal person wants a comfortable retirement, and the sooner the better, and preferably right now, right away. This is a chimera. And not because there can be no comfortable pension, but because a person needs to work. Realize this, and then your daily work will begin to bring you joy.
• Each of us will die. This is inevitable and a medical fact. You can suffer and suffer because of this, or you can make an effort on yourself and leave this topic once and for all. Don't live as if you will live forever. And don't live like you're going to die tomorrow. Consider both of these statements, and you will find your own recipe for a happy life.
• If you've wondered about the meaning of life, chances are it's just depression. What matters is not the specific "meaning of life", but the feeling that you live meaningfully. Do what you internally consider important. Don't forget to tell yourself about it. And don't chase success. If you just do what you feel is important, success will catch up with you.
• Never waste your time and energy on those who do not care about you, or even worse, on those who do not love you. There are a lot of people in this world with whom to live life in joy. Just don't be closed and suspicious. Believe me, being open and kind, you have nothing to lose.
• Read sometimes Dr. Kurpatov's books. In general, depending on the mood, he is a very good conversationalist.

Text: Ekaterina Lushchitskaya, Maxim Medvedev, Alexey Lovtsov.
Photo: Vladimir Drozdin, Lev Karavanov, Sergey Ryleev

Exactly one month later, Andrey Kurpatov's new bestseller "The Fourth World War". With the kind permission of the publishing house "Capital" and the author "Snob" begins the publication of excerpts from this book

No need to be super intelligent
artificial intelligence to understand:
move towards the greatest event
in human history and not prepare for it
- just stupid.

Max Tegmark,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In 2016, I began publishing a series of articles (, ) on the Snob portal under common name"The Fourth World War". They were devoted to our imminent and by no means cloudless future.

At the turn of the century, humanity faced a new reality - the "third information wave" (Alvin Toffler), the "fourth technological revolution" (Klaus Schwab), the "technological singularity" (Ray Kurzweil).

That is, our civilization is being transformed, and in a fundamental way. But what do we know about the risks, about the possible consequences of these changes? Do we take them seriously?

My articles were then received generally positively: hundreds of thousands of views, many friendly reviews. However, there was also a very characteristic background, I would even say, “darling”. They say that the “doctor from TV” intimidates everyone here, but there is no threat: technology, the information boom and artificial intelligence are all fine, and there is nothing to panic about.

Someone said that my "prophecies" are a matter of such a distant future that it is even ridiculous to think about it. Someone argued that in the real world of programmers and artificial intelligence specialists “everything is generally different” and there is nothing for “psychologists” to climb with futuristic forecasts. Someone claimed that I was completely a retrograde, a Luddite, an opponent of progress and civilization.

Book cover

But to consider me a Luddite is just as absurd as to call me that same “psychologist” (after all, I am a psychiatrist, which is far from the same thing). New technologies are wonderful, I really think so. However, it is extremely stupid, in my opinion, to develop technologies that radically change our environment, without taking into account possible consequences for the product of this very environment, that is, for you and me.

We are flesh from flesh - the environment that surrounds us: and not only physical and chemical, but also linguistic, cultural, psychological, ideological, that is, actually informational.

There is nothing “ours” in us, we are completely made of the environment around us. I admit that this is hard to accept for those who believe in "spiritual growth", "divine plan" and preach "self-love", but this is the truth.

Yes, it has changed, but earlier these changes concerned only the content: people's ideas about the world were transformed, cultural patterns evolved, etc. Now the very structure of the information environment is changing.

Moreover, humanity has already experienced similar structural “phase transitions”: the invention of writing, the printing press, the telegraph, radio, cinematography. And such “transitions” have always been followed, in fact, by a new era in the history of mankind.

But look how these epochs shrink: from the moment of the appearance of writing to the printing press - thousands of years, from the press to the telegraph - hundreds, then - tens.

Now new ways of disseminating information appear almost every year: the Internet, Email, Internet search engines, mobile Internet, social networks, etc., etc.

It can be stated with full confidence that never before in the history of mankind have structural changes in the information field been as grandiose and significant as they are now.

Information technology, robotization and uberization, as well as artificial intelligence itself, are turning into a kind of exoskeleton of our brain, and this naturally leads to the inevitable atrophy of the intellectual function.

Photo: AKG Images / East News

With brains as with muscles: if some third-party aggregate performs their function, then they slowly but surely dry out.

Because of social networks, the effect of constant connection (“always connected”), aggressive competition between content producers, digital addiction and other new “evils”, not only the quantity, but also the quality of the information we consume has changed.

This fundamental transformation of the environment inevitably leads to our own changes. But due to cognitive distortions, we subjectively underestimate the significance of what is happening: we began to get used to changes quickly, but we do not see our own changes, because there is nothing to compare with - all of humanity is changing at once.

Many, however, feel that "something went wrong." The changes seem to be positive, but the background is no, it’s kind of strange: it’s getting harder to decide on goals, life prospects look somehow vague (if they are visible at all), a feeling of hopelessness is growing, relationships between people are becoming more and more superficial and formal.

“Technology will systematically change our understanding of what it means to be human, what it means to be in society, and what it means to be political. We are indeed going through a paradigm shift. It is wonderful in all that it gives us, but at the same time it leads to the unreliability of existing structures, which lose their value and significance. Therefore, this new mode of being requires a new world order.”

Nishan Shah,

Digital Culture Center of Lüneburg University

Do these vague sensations reflect the true scale of change? I doubt. Yes, and there are more questions than answers... We still do not understand what, in fact, these changes are, what will happen to us next, how our society will change.

In any case, calculating the possible risks associated with technological and digital “improvement of life” is an important task.

medical example

At one time, we interfered with natural selection, saving people's lives with the help of antibiotics and painkillers during surgical operations. We treat cancer well, prosthetics and transplantology are actively developing.

Incredible advances have been made in in vitro fertilization, pregnancy preservation and neonatal medicine, and infant mortality has become literally minimal.

Modern antipsychotics and antidepressants allow people suffering from mental disorders to lead a full life.

The success is simply incredible: there are more people on the planet now than in its entire history, and the average human life expectancy has more than doubled in the last century alone.

For those of us who would have been culled by evolution, modern medicine is saving us. In the human genome there is an accumulation of predispositions to the widest range of diseases.

But this prosperity itself causes problems that it is not yet clear how to solve: superbugs, the growth of the pathogenicity of viruses and the emergence of new ones, the growth of mental disorders and congenital pathologies. And this, of course, is not a complete list ...

For those of us who would have been culled by evolution, modern medicine is saving us. In the human genome there is an accumulation of predispositions to the widest range of diseases. And therefore already now the birth of a child without pathologies and more or less resistant to diseases is something beyond fantasy.

Yes, the achievements of medicine are wonderful (they make me especially happy, because I would certainly have been among the individuals culled by evolution long ago). But this medal also has a downside.

Doctors think about the consequences of their intervention in natural selection. They are aware of the risks and are working with a vengeance on virology, immunology and gene therapy. But I have not seen anyone who is as seriously concerned about the consequences of a fundamental transformation of the information environment.

There are a few researchers who openly talk about possible risks, but their voices, unfortunately, are either ignored or do not look convincing enough. And the general reaction of society and its various institutions fits perfectly into the formula with which I started: stupidity, laziness and complacency.

Not much time has passed since the publication of my “snobish” series of articles, and the number of “critics” has already significantly decreased.

What seemed like some completely distant future - drones, 3D printers that allow you to work with almost any material, chips in human heads, detailed personalization of a person according to his behavior on the Web, etc. - all this is already, so to speak, at the door.

We are not talking about some "nuances", but about a systemic problem: we face not only technological risks, but also economic, socio-political, existential ones.

• Technological risks are associated primarily with the possibility of uncontrolled development of artificial intelligence.
• Economic risks are associated with mass unemployment due to the full automation of production, which will lead to a systemic crisis in the modern economic model.
• Socio-political risks are both a possible cyber war and the emergence of totalitarian states (quasi-states) controlled by BigData owners.
• Existential risks in the coming digital world are associated with the loss of humanity in its traditional sense, as well as with the intellectual degradation of society.

Each of these areas is developed by independent experts, in the university environment and research companies. There is an active discussion, but, unfortunately, there is no general picture yet.

In this book, I will try to talk about the problems associated with the advent of the "fourth industrial revolution", solemnly proclaimed at the Davos Economic Forum by its permanent president, Klaus Schwab.

Yes, when representatives of a giant multinational business enthusiastically tell us about the coming happiness, I prefer to talk about reality. We must assess how these risks are interconnected and what is the likelihood that they will cause a domino effect.

And, of course, I will add my “fly in the ointment” to this mournful list. Even trying on the role of a futurologist, I cannot stop being a psychiatrist, and in my professional opinion, the most serious problem of the new time will be the deformation of the human psyche.

Very little attention is usually paid to this aspect, this “weak link”, but it is this “link”, as it seems to me, that will launch the very chain of dominoes falling on each other.

But about all the bones in order ...

Continued on Snob next week.

1 Here is just a small list of them: HIV, human infection with avian influenza, hemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, etc.), new types of viral hepatitis, etc.

Dormitory Feb 5, 08

– There was no “suddenly”. It was a terribly long, progressive, step-by-step process. Five years ago, I headed the St. Petersburg City Psychological Center, designed to organize the work of all municipal psychotherapists in St. Petersburg. And then I faced so many obstacles that I had a feeling of paralysis: there is no place to work, no rates, opening a new office is a problem, and as soon as it opens, it immediately becomes so busy that the doctor does not have time for anyone. I agreed with patients, including journalists - they gave me the opportunity to write a column in the newspaper, for free, about various mental states. Just for the sake of promoting psychotherapy, which is marginal in our country, but all over the world has long been helping people survive. After that, I began to write books, but no one published them. Then all this began to be sold, bought, republished in Moscow, local clients appeared - people of not the last analysis.

– Can you name any of these influential clients?

- Well, of course not. Professional ethics does not allow. Take my word for it, these were influential people ... and in need of psychological help, because the degree of influence of a person is most often directly proportional to his frustration. Both the rich and the poor are seriously injured in our country ... They brought me to television, purely in a friendly way. They started talking about the fact that a psychologist can do something on television. And then TNT ordered the first pilot, which was filmed in 2003. Everyone said: Kurpatov is not the host, they won’t watch it, it’s boring. I do not deny that this is not a spectacle. But it is quite fascinating if you sit down and delve into it. Among the professionals, my colleagues, there is mass hysteria: behind every negative response one reads: “Why not me?!” Yes, for God's sake, please, am I disturbing someone?! We left TNT and started working with a production company. My departure was due to the fact that the TNT channel offered to work with decoy patients, artists. I would be ready to agree, I am a non-conflict person, although the authenticity of all the stories was originally laid down in the project. They recorded one program with fake ones - nothing happens, I myself see that you don’t believe anything. Then I left, the format remained at the disposal of TNT - well, where are all these psychotherapists who could do just as well? I don’t watch them, unfortunately ... Then we turned to one production company, with which we soon parted, because we - me and the creators of the program who left with me - were not satisfied with its services. After that, the company began to conduct auditions for psychologists - and nothing came of it either. This professional jealousy of some colleagues is incomprehensible to me: I don’t block anyone’s path, earn a professional and human name, start working - nothing supernatural. From the outside, everything is easy and, as you put it, suddenly ...

And with the Domashny channel - this cooperation arose thanks to Alexander Rodnyansky, many thanks to him. Formally, the reason for the disappearance of my program is an expired contract.

Why didn't you restart it?

- The channel, it seems to me, does not really imagine what to do with Dr. Kurpatov. A discrepancy between our ideas about the program was revealed. It seems to me that this should be a conversation. The channel wants a certain slot of medical programs to appear, in which I would act not as an interlocutor, not as a therapist, but as a presenter, showman, partly technical character ... This is not part of my tasks.

– What is included?

Best of the day

– Demonstration of the possibilities of psychotherapy. However, I do not at all claim that watching my programs is healing.

- People no less influential are turning to you now, for sure, than five years ago ...

– They do, and quite high-ranking ones. But I don't practice right now. The daily program, on which only four people work besides me, leaves no time to eat, let alone hold a reception.

“Well, what if the Most High-Ranking calls?” He also has one hundred percent chronic stress ...

- A rhetorical question. He won't call.

- Why?

– Professional knowledge. I know a little about people. He won't call, that's all.

- But if the practice resumes, will you charge a lot for a consultation?

– I am not a cheap doctor, and my work costs money.

- Without psychotherapy, without you in particular, the country will not be able to return to normal?

“This is going to sound terribly brazen, but no.

otziv
Lina 01.06.2006 12:33:38

Chitaju knigi doktpra Kurpatova.Mne nravitsa,mne pomogaet.So svoimi problemami ne budesh vechno pristavatj k znakomim i druzjam,u nih svoih polno.A bivet,tak toshno,hotj volkom voj. nahodish novie answer. Thanks!

ENOUGH
People 09.06.2006 05:39:25

DON'T E.. BRAIN TO PEOPLE

about Kurpatov's program
Lilia 09.06.2006 12:34:56

My name is Lily. I’ll watch Kurpatov’s program and find myself in each of his interlocutors, and each time I get an answer to my questions. THANK YOU.

5+
Galina, Estonia 16.06.2006 02:16:22

I watch and read A. Kurpatov. A very necessary, smart, talented psychologist. If there were more Kurpatov’s programs, people would live easier! Thanks to him!

The bond of marriage
solo 16.07.2006 08:03:24

Regarding one of the programs (12.07.06)
If you think about it, the programs are useful and interesting. It was surprising that the doctor did not answer the question of which of the two conflicting parties was to the right. But for the answer to this question, they first of all came to the program. He does not answer and asks his own question:
"Why do people get married?"
And everything would be fine, but ... His answer is "To have the most close person"- also not an answer. A seal in a passport does not make a person the closest. But really, why do people get married in our time?
I've been trying to answer this question since I've been married for many years. And I can't. And who can?