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Nihilist penguin

Today I came across several posts on social media featuring the new internet sensation "The Nihilist penguin". Some posts had the picture of the penguin facing a mountains. Whereas some posted a short clip of a penguin walking towards the mountains.



The clip or picture is from a documentary from 2007 and is going viral in 2026. That's how the internet works. Anything can go viral at any point of time without context.

The scientific documentary claimed that the penguin may have an illness or infection which altered its abilities to identify the safety. Because of the condition the penguin fails to navigate to the safety (ie, following the group and going to the sea) and heads straight to death (walking towards mountains at least 70km away where there will be no food). But internet has its own theories. The popular most is that the penguin is Nihilist. He is fed up of following the group, wants to break free even if it leads to death.

While the scientific evidence is the correct one, I would like to give a thought towards the Nihilist theory. Without knowing anything about the clip, when I first watched it, I felt what the internet said. I was relating to my own life choices while watching the clip. I had walked away from comfort because I was tired to living by others' rules. I have chosen paths which were not taken by many. I had tried my hands at certain things which I knew were not going to give me the desired outcomes.

The Nihilist penguin trend may disappear after a few days, but I am glad that it gave a food for thought. 

[Note: The image is AI generated]

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