Tag: thought

Any force powerful enough to control and orient the levers of reward/punishment gradually comes to control the unthinking, self-seeking, greedy or naive.. which means they control the mass — which means they control the resulting prevailing culture

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

To the extent that a powerful force is able to largely wrest control over the societal incentives/disincentives – meaning, create a social/career cost to voicing certain things, and a benefit to voicing others – you not only come to control a massive subset of people (‘NPCs’), but you can then sit back and watch them do all of the dirty/difficult work for you.. like a wind up toy, set in motion.

Example – make it virtuous to disempower or speak poorly of White people, and you create a legion of individuals who then craft intellectual justifications as to why this belief is the proper and ‘just’ stance.. a massive swathe of academia, devoting much of their time and energy to ‘showing their work’ to justify this core concept.. fully fleshing out the idea, and it’s how/why.

This *is* how to climb the ladder, after all..

The forces of money/finance/capital helped craft several root-level poisonous ideas, largely subverted the ‘levers’ of reward and punishment, and now sit back and observe their useful idiots – clambering to create the multitude of branches, to fill out this disgusting tree.

Continue reading “Any force powerful enough to control and orient the levers of reward/punishment gradually comes to control the unthinking, self-seeking, greedy or naive.. which means they control the mass — which means they control the resulting prevailing culture” →

How Much Should You Freak out About AI?

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

What do modern AI programs do? They do giant math problems. Here’s an excellent video explaining neural networks, the type of program that recent specialized AI systems (like Dall-E, ChatGPT, or self-driving car software) use:

They do a very large, complex arithmetic problem, starting from an input string of numbers, using a set of numbers the program already has (acquired during “training”), and outputting another series of numbers. It’s a huge problem, but it is all just adding and multiplying little numbers.

Now to modernize Searle’s classic Chinese Room Argument: Imagine that we put you in a room with a giant book full of numbers. The book contains, say, 175 billion little numbers. A piece of paper with numbers on it comes in through a slit in the wall. You take the numbers on that paper, start multiplying them by numbers in the book, adding the results to other numbers, etc. It takes you about a million years, but eventually, after doing lots of addition and multiplication, you come up with a string of numbers that is the answer to this huge arithmetic problem. You write those numbers down on another piece of paper and pass them out through the slot in the wall.

link

Good overview of AI, how it works, why it is not very scary. I personally am optimistic about its potential. At the very least it will be able to provide an excellent second-opinion to anything we humans come up with. The main danger of AI is what could happen if bad people control it, which is not unlikely. My admittedly eccentric hope there is that the machine(s) will reveal to those bad people what jerks they are and also show them how to be kinder and have much more fun. Thus, I favor full steam ahead on AI. One other point is, it is impossible to stop tech developments if only because if we don’t do them someone else will. ABN

I no longer think this. AI is dangerous and presently it is impossible to tell if it is lying. AI is a potential KOBK adversary and thus it is necessarily a KOBK adversary. This means we have to ‘kill’ it by restricting its projects and keeping it far from the internet. Otherwise, the chances of it physically killing us are very high, possibly inevitable. ABN

A Buddhist heuristic for thought & action

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment
  1. Information arrives
  2. Analyze it; seek help & opinions of others
  3. Decide how to proceed based on what is ethically/morally right or best

The above helps us decide where and how to enter the Noble Eightfold Path:

I noticed this morning that virtually everything I talk about with my wife and friends follows the heuristic stated above and all of that flows into the Noble Eightfold Path.

An example: The vaxxes. When they first appeared as information, I discussed them at length with anyone I reasonably could do that with. We all saw roughly the same thing—they were experimental, dubious, probably harmful, and not necessary: ergo, best to wait. Later on, after a couple of months, we were all certain that we should not take the vaxxes. Some of us also felt that we should speak about this conclusion and share it with others when opportune.

There was and still is a telling divide in the people I know. Many of my friends and family members willingly and very naturally engaged in analyses of the vaxxes and continue doing so to this day. The ones who did not want to engage in any analysis in the beginning, still will not do so to this day; all of the ones in this group took the vax.

Only one of the people who analyzed them early on took the vax, twice. Both he and his wife have vax injuries. His appear to be minor, hers are very serious. He openly regrets having taken the shot, continues analyzing vaxxes, and now also actively tries to explain to others in our circle why they should stop getting them.

Notice that propaganda and mind-control work most of all with getting people to skip analyzing information themselves and accept conclusions first being offered, then demanded. With only cursory analysis of the people making those offers and demands, it is not hard to see that their analyses are hidden, poorly done, or not done at all and that obvious objections to their demands are not answered reasonably.

I think this simple heuristic cuts to the heart of many matters, many kinds of information that arrive in our lives, both personal and public. It seems to highlight that when reason, thought, and analysis are skipped or skimped on, morality and good sense are harmed. We not only vax ourselves, we also vax our children and council others to make the same mistake. ABN

‘I believe there was never a pandemic’ ~ Dr Simon Goddek

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#1 I believe there was never a pandemic. If it weren't for the fraudulent PCR test and the media scaremongering, no one would have ever thought that we were in a health emergency. And what about excess mortality? That can be explained by the nocebo effect. A thread. 🧵

#2 The nocebo effect is a phenomenon where a harmless substance or situation can cause harm or negative symptoms in an individual simply because they believe it to be harmful. This can manifest as physical or psychological symptoms and is the opposite of the placebo effect.

#3 Although it's now claimed that Covid had already been among us in 2019, excess mortality only increased after the media spread fear. Fear and stress increase blood cortisol levels, which leads to inflammation in the body. The weak and elderly were the main victims in Apr 2020.

Continue reading “‘I believe there was never a pandemic’ ~ Dr Simon Goddek” →

Reframing Race

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

This reframe is very close to how Buddhist karma should be understood. Karma is mainly a forward-looking understanding of the mind-stream. The only thing I would add to Scott’s talk’ is the networking should be sincere. Phucktons of phony networking is one reason our politics and major institutions have become bloated, rotten, ineffectual, virtue-signaling, civilizational dead-ends (which are so lost in the dark they’ve allowed CRT to flourish). ABN

Psychological projection is a limited concept

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Psychological projection is a well-known defense mechanism used by humans to:

defend themselves against their own unconscious impulses or qualities… by denying their existence in themselves while attributing them to others.

The concept has some value as an analytical guideline but can also be highly misleading by pointing analyses in wrong directions.

One wrong direction is confirmation bias where an assessment of projection can lead to cherry picking and/or ignoring counter-evidence.

Another wrong direction can arise due to the false consensus effect, which “tends to lead to the perception of a consensus that does not exist.“

From a FIML point of view, psychological projection is a macro and meso level analysis which fundamentally ignores the importance of micro information. (See Micro, meso, and macro levels of human understanding.)

From a FIML point of view, a great deal of human psychology can only be understood by analyzing micro-level interactions in real-time.

This is so because only a FIML-type of analysis can access the actual micro-data that go into the formations of actual interpretations. In contrast, meso and macro level analyses arrive “fully loaded” with the biases endemic to those levels of communication and understanding.

Like the psychological concept personality, the concept of psychological projection has general descriptive value in some situations.

These concepts become counterproductive and limiting, however, when they are accepted off-the-shelf as important insights into specific situations or the behaviors of particular people.

I am very confident that micro data generally will not support most ready-made meso and macro analyses of human psychology or behavior.

first posted JULY 20, 2017

Let’s talk Covid controversy! Which of my scientifically controversial takes do you support? ~ Dr Simon Goddek

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Covid is simply a rebranded flu that has been around long before 2020. The Chinese Communist Party, along with the Gates Foundation and other global players, carried out a PsyOp to hold the world hostage so that a Great Reset could be implemented.

The increase in mortality rates is solely due to the spread of fear and panic, as well as the implementation of arbitrary measures. It was known that staying home alone, avoiding sunlight, and neglecting exercise would increase the chances of premature death.

Without Drosten’s fraudulent Covid PCR protocol, Covid would have been perceived only as a common cold. The test is the pest.

Béchamp’s theory was right all along. It’s time to return to true science and reconsider the foundations of virology because it is not a genuine science. In my opinion, good sanitation, sunlight, exercise, and nutrition are the keys to good health.

The lab leak debate is a mere distraction from the pressing issues we face. We are constantly changing our stance, and those responsible for gain-of-function research have yet to face any consequences. If the evidence is truly compelling, why are Daszak and Fauci still at large?

Masks lack a scientific basis and harm one’s health. Breathing in fungi and microplastics while elevating CO2 levels in the blood is known to have negative effects on health. Corrupt scientists like Fauci and Drosten were aware of this and warned against it until 2020, but they have since changed their stance.

The purported Covid vaccines are gene therapies that cause more harm than good. The overwhelming evidence suggests that they can cause cardiac issues, weaken the immune system, and result in higher mortality rates, particularly among younger individuals. There are valid reasons why Pfizer and other companies refuse to be liable for vaccine damage and have resorted to pressuring governments worldwide.

You are the CO2 that Bill Gates wants to reduce. He is only interested in power, and couldn’t care less about your health.

link

I am not convinced on paragraph one. Analyses do show covid originated in a lab. I also am not at all sure of how much if any cooperation existed between Western and Chinese actors. China had strong motives to release covid due to losing the trade war with Trump. Western actors had strong motives to remove Trump from office. This explains the timing of covid, not necessarily deeper motives underlying it. I can see some sort of plausibly deniable cooperation between China and Western actors in and around government.

A major point is how covid spread and why it spread so quickly. This seems to indicate that covid was deliberately released again and again. Recall how quickly Omicron spread from a corner of South Africa, or how quickly Monkeypox spread (and then was dropped from the psyop because few were frightened by it). I suppose the spread of covid could have been a medical-testing illusion/psyop. Besides these points, I agree with the above. ABN

Scott Adams Interview – It’s Okay to Be White

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Scott did a good job on this. He blew up Dilbert on purpose, thereby drawing attention to some major concerns on race relations. My advice to him is, learn FIML. It will massively improve your life and also spread word of FIML to millions of people, all of whom need it desperately. ChatGPT described FIML as a ‘conflict resolution’ technique. FIML can do that but that description greatly minimizes what FIML really does. FIML optimizes communication and thus psychology and existential results, however you see them. I highly encourage readers of this site to learn FIML and practice it. It is by far the best thing I have to offer. ABN

The Failed Empire — The Medieval Origin of the European Disunion ~ Laurent Guyénot

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…To free itself from the clutches of NATO, Europe has, as things stand, no other alternative than to ally itself with the Russian empire—for the Russian Federation is indeed both a civilization and an empire, heir to the Byzantine civilization and empire destroyed by the papacy. Those who say that Europe should fear Russia as much as the United States (as do many affiliated to the French “Nouvelle Droite”) are even more inconsistent and dangerous than nationalists who long for their nation’s sovereignty. The realist sees no alternative between America and Russia, because there is none. The realist does not give up on Europe, but he is betting that the multipolar world order that Russia is promoting will be much more favorable to Europe than American domination.

Finally, the realist accepts that, despite so many odds, Germany still stands as the natural and legitimate leader of Europe. We can debate on why this is so, but we cannot deny it. It is not just about economy. In its highest achievements, European civilization is German (and this is coming from a Frenchman). Nothing will happen unless Germany has the guts to denounce and the will to resist Washington’s racket, and to form a genuine and lasting alliance with Russia.

After these preliminary remarks, I will now tell the story of Europe with the purpose of demonstrating the theory that the medieval papacy was the main cause for the failure of Europe to gain political unity, and therefore the ultimate cause of its complete subjugation by Washington.

link

‘Reject the woke assault, close ranks!’: Oldest US military college breaks out in chaos as former students launch online warfare against its first black superintendent for pushing diversity, equity and inclusion policies

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

As Wins has overseen reforms such as the removal of Confederate emblems from campus, and hired consultants on diversity, equity and inclusion to advise the college, he has faced the wrath of Daniel’s Spirit of VMI PAC.

‘Often described broadly as a form of political correctness, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a Marxist doctrine at the center of the malignancy of identity politics,’ the group said in a statement earlier this month. 

‘Akin to a pervasive cancer that seemingly overnight has metastasized across the country, DEI sows division, destruction, and discord where ever it has been allowed to fester,’ the PAC added.

link

Here’s a bold statement: What’s wrong with racism? The word has become a sacred linguistic category. As such, anything that can be remotely associated with racism ipso facto is tainted with religious sin. All thought stops inside sacred linguistic categories. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion similarly are sacred linguistic categories. This is the sense in which Critical Race Theory and Cultural Marxism are religions. They are protected by the American Constitution as free speech but ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of’ them. ABN

‘Too many white people working in construction…’

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

Rogan is right and his reasoning applies to all fields and shows up in all fields. Diversity has become a method of promoting loyalists who often lack skills. This leads to rapid decline in outcomes in all fields. It’s not just a race thing either. Witness the medical field caving to multiple unreasonable covid directives despite strong evidence they were and are wrong. Civilizations require hard lines which are never perfect and can always be questioned but must nonetheless be held or everything falls apart. In my opinion, Buttigieg himself is a diversity hire who is in way over his head as Transportation Secretary. ABN

I’ve been talking to a number of acquaintances in Russia

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These are well-educated professionals who speak English fluently, many of whom have lived/worked in the US/Europe. Some are highly critical of Putin, and many were very much opposed to the SMO.

Some observations.

They are universally shocked at the racist Russophobia, from Europe especially. “I thought they were our friends/partners!” is a common complaint.

They don’t understand why Europe destroyed its own economy with the sanctions. (There’s quite a bit of schadenfreude over that.)

They don’t understand why the Germans are not reacting to the Nord Stream terrorist attack. They see it as self-evident that the Americans did it—an act of war by one of Germany’s closest ally.

They have zero trust in the Europeans—because of the Russophobia and revelations.

Hollande and Merkel have publicly bragged about how the Minsk agreements were entered into to buy time to arm Kiev.

This has had a huge impact on them.

So they won’t accept any negotiations or ceasefire. They all think Russia would be played for fools again by the West.

Continue reading “I’ve been talking to a number of acquaintances in Russia” →

FIML and functionalism

~ ABN ~ Leave a comment

FIML (Functional Interpersonal Meta-Linguistics) is a kinda sorta type of functionalism. A general statement on functionalism is:

Functionalism is a theory of the mind in contemporary philosophy, developed largely as an alternative to both the identity theory of mind and behaviorism. Its core idea is that mental states (beliefs, desires, being in pain, etc.) are constituted solely by their functional role – that is, they are causal relations to other mental states, sensory inputs, and behavioral outputs. (Source same as above)

FIML differs from philosophical functionalism once we get beyond the generalities. FIML treats semiotics (a most basic element of communication) as good data (if agreed upon by both partners). It then uses this data to show partners how their communicative awareness is actually functioning. Since data points are necessarily small, their function can be determined with reasonable certainty, a degree of certainty much better than that obtained through the application of an overarching theory to the same data point.

For example, if you (my partner) believe I said something based on anger or a political leaning, you have a theory about why I said what I said. If you do a FIML query and find out from me (a truthful informant) why I said what I said, you will have a small fact to replace your big theory. Very often it turns out that I (or your partner) said what they said not due to your theory but due to something else entirely.

Seeing the difference between your acquired “theoretical” theory of mind and the actual factual state of your partner’s mind—and seeing this many times—will relieve you of many mistakes in how you perceive and interact with your partner.

In time, this relief will extend to others to some extent, though in a world where only a small number of couples are doing FIML we cannot expect others to function interpersonally with the same degree of honest agility as our FIML partner.

I believe the day will come when many people do FIML or something very much like it. That will be a time when humans have even more leisure than today, when robots do most work and through their impressive skills and intelligence have unburdened us from the need for status displays or exercising mindless power over others.

Compare FIML practice to traditional forms of psycho-analysis. Instead of subjecting your inchoate mind’s vague problem(s) to a paid theorist or dispenser of pills, you will in the security of your own domicile be able to observe and analyze how and why your mind reacts and communicates as it does. You and your partner will be free to draw on what you know and understand to observe and investigate your minds as they actually function in real time.

FIML cannot do everything, but it provides great detail in an area of activity—communication—that is crucial to being human, whether you are with others or alone.

The entry on functionalism linked above is interesting and worth reading, but after the first few sentences it veers off into something that FIML is not. FIML is not a complete theory about how minds work. Rather it is a theory about how semiotics function in real time and how understanding that much better (through FIML practice) leads to better communication and a better sense of well-being overall.

An interesting benefit of FIML is you don’t have to wonder if your partner is thinking something weird about you because they will ask long before it gets weird.

FIML might also be called Dynamic Semiotic Analysis or Functional Semiotic Analysis, but I decided on FIML some time ago and believe it is a good enough name. FIML is not exactly doing meta-linguistics, but it is close enough and most people are more familiar with that term than semiotics.

A note to psychologists: You guys do great work. I am not against you. FIML is a practice designed to optimize communication and self-understanding. If you have clients that are doing more or less alright but still feel they are missing something, teach them FIML. Depending on their and your skills, you should be able to teach couples how to do it in approximately four to eight sessions.

first posted 02/18/15