"PC" stands for Player Character. This is a term that originated in tabletop roleplaying games, but is now mostly used in videogames. A Player Character is a character the player controls directly. These sort of characters drive the plot and do stuff in the world that changes the world. PCs are contrasted by NPCs (Non-Player Characters). NPCs are only there to give the PCs something to do and generally have a limited amount of actions they can do. A shopkeeper NPC, for example, only serves to sell stuff to the players and won't help you slay the dragon in any meaningful way.
In HPMOR, Harry uses PC and NPC as a way to distinguish between people who are willing to deviate from their role and people who aren't.
I hope that clears things up a bit.
So what would be the term for those of us who never fitted into a role in the first place?
"Cryonics has a 95% chance of failure, by my estimation; it would be downright /embarrassing/ to die on the day before real immortality is discovered. Thus, I want to improve my general health and longevity."
That thought has gotten me through three weeks of gradually increasing exercise and diet improvement (I'm eating an apple right now) - but my enthusiasm is starting to flag. So I'm looking for new thoughts that will help me keep going, and keep improving. A few possibilities that I've thought of:
Pride: "If I'm so smart, then I should be able to do /better/ than those other people who don't even know about Bayesian updates, let alone the existence of akrasia..."
Sloth: "If I stop now, it's going to be /so much/ harder and more painful to start up again, instead of just keeping on keeping on..."
Desire: "I already like hiking and camping - if I keep this up, I'll be able to carry enough weight to finally take that long trip I've occasionally considered..."
Curiosity: "I'm as geeky a nerd as you can find. I wonder how far I can hack my own body?"
Pride again: "I already keep a hiker's first-aid kit in my pocket, and make other preparations for events that happen rarely. How stupid do I have to be not to put at least that much effort into making my everyday life easier?"
Does anyone have any experience in such self-motivation? Does this set of mental tricks seem like a sufficiently viable approach? Are there any other approaches that seem worth a shot?