Tag: thought

Ithaca College follows other schools in futile attempt to ‘dismantle white supremacy’ by segregating white staff

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Here is an article about it.

At the heart of all of this lies semiotics and semiotic codes. You cannot work out some vague problem of “racism” by dismantling and clashing an assortment of semiotic codes. In Buddhist terms, this is like two delusive selves battling each other for uncertain goals, or many delusive groups (which resemble delusive selves) battling each other for uncertain goals. If the goals appear somehow certain, they will undoubtedly be idealistic which means nothing more than based entirely on simplified semiotic codes, often projected into the future. Ideologies based entirely on simplified semiotics, like communism or equity, always fail because they are not only wrong as is but also grossly oversimplified. As such they are fantasies that enthrall individuals and groups that have a poor understanding of group semiotics. Notice that the allure of such ideologies often becomes passionate and violent. These emotions are strong semiotic signals that replace reason, logic, clarity, and practicable goals. Semiotics are not easy to understand. Semiotic codes are even harder to understand because it is hard to stand outside of them. In many ways, trans ideologies, confusions and fantasies are similar to racial ones. In extreme cases, when trans fantasies go beyond harmless playfulness, the biological semiotics of sexuality are harmfully altered–even in children–to fulfill a delusion. Should we try that with races? ABN

Belief, knowledge, and well-being

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Belief means you are mostly convinced but not completely sure. Knowledge is more certain. These two words can be used as follows—I believe the universe probably started with the Big Bang, but I know the earth revolves around the sun.

We derive a degree of intellectual well-being from the beliefs and knowledge afforded us by modern science and engineering. But knowing that the earth revolves around the sun or that the Big Bang is the most likely explanation we now have does not provide us with very much emotional or psychological well-being.

We need more, or we need something different, to achieve a deep state of emotional well-being.

To achieve a deep state of emotional well-being we need to know that we can really believe at least one other person. That person should be our primary interlocutor, the person we deal with the most. If we cannot believe that person and/or they cannot believe us, we can’t achieve a deep state of emotional well-being.

To the best of my knowledge, there exists no common communication system (or even uncommon one) that allows us to deeply know and believe someone else, except the FIML system.

The reason this is so is all other human communication systems rely too much on implication, interpretation, and assumed shared beliefs.

When you do any of those things with your primary interlocutor you will necessarily make mistakes and/or be uncertain about what they are saying or how they are understanding you. Mistakes and uncertainty create shadowy feelings and wrong or multiple interpretations in the mind. Rather than have a clear knowledge of what your partner thinks or understands, you will be guessing.

Even if you are right every time you guess (and this is not possible), you will still have no way of being certain. You will not know if you are right or not. And your partner will have the same problem with you.

Emotional well-being depends on the quality of our communication with our primary interlocutor. There are substitutes—careers, religions, political causes, money, power, sex, etc.—but none of these will ever equal the emotional well-being that comes from very high-quality communication with your primary interlocutor. To have high-quality communication, you and your partner must have a system that removes doubt and uncertainty and replaces them with knowledge and belief.

first posted JULY 12, 2012

Maybe Neanderthals never really became extinct

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…Given the changes in culture and the evidence in our own genes, the new timeline could further bolster a leading theory for the end of the Neanderthals: mating with humans.

Breeding with the larger human population could have meant that, over time, Neanderthals were “effectively swallowed into our gene pool,” Djakovic said.

“When you combine that with what we know now — that most people living on Earth have Neanderthal DNA — you could make the argument that they never really went extinct, in a certain sense.”

link

Jeff Nyquist on Russian strategy, weaponry, and timeline in Ukraine war

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link to video, 32 min

The greatest foreign policy mistake in the world has been the West not forming an alliance with Russia or at least good relations. The fall of the Soviet Union was the best time to do that but Western forces raped Russia instead. Since that time 30 years have past, all wasted with bullshit against Russia even down to the micro-politics of Washington, DC and the lies of Russiagate. I place almost all blame on USA and the EU. Forming an alliance with Russia–a Top of the World alliance including Japan, Korea, and others–would have prevented the very dangerous situation we are in today and also guaranteed prosperity for all parties. ABN

Mattias Desmet: The Attempt to Burn Me at the Stake

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In recent weeks, an offensive has been launched against me in the Flemish media. I’ve been accused of being a liar, a far-right extremist, a conspiracy theorist, controlled opposition, and of indoctrinating my students. I’ve quietly listened to every voice that felt called to make itself heard. And I have the impression that everyone who had something to say has now done so.

Now I’m going to say a word for myself.

I think I have some right to respond to a story about myself. Members of the media apparently disagree. As eagerly as they speak of me, they have obstinately refused to speak to me. But isn’t it a fundamental precept of humanity—that everyone has the right to tell their side of the story?

Granted, the media has had a certain inhibition about me for some time. For example, there was an uncomfortable silence in the press when my book The Psychology of Totalitarianism was translated into ten languages ​​earlier this year and sold tens of thousands of copies.

Why such silence? Perhaps for this reason: people might start to take seriously the idea that the corona crisis was primarily a psycho-social phenomenon that marked the transition to a technocratic system, a system in which the government would attempt to claim decision-making rights over its citizens and, step by step, take control of all private space.

link

Consider this in light of global game theory. Top players–USA, China, Russia, maybe India–do not know what their adversaries have or are capable of doing. Which of them will be first to make a quantum computer that can break all current digital passwords. Or which of them has some other weapon or means of global control. Since none of them–and there could be other top players–knows what their adversaries have or are capable of, all of them are forced to engage in some form of unrestricted warfare. You could say there is nothing new in that, all of history has had that condition and that would be true enough, but the speed of technological change today makes it different. Today, it is a much more dangerous game with stakes higher than they have ever been before. The heart of this KOBK geopolitical game is zero-sum, unrestricted war in the face of profound and dire uncertainty. This the deep reason almost anyone with a significant voice is silenced or behaves with apparent (or real) confusion and ignorance. Desmet, and those of us who have listened to him, knows something very dangerous is looming. Consider what he says in light of the conditions facing the top global players. It seems clear to me that there is no escape for them from this game. Top players cannot form trusted alliances with each other because they cannot have anything even approaching perfect knowledge of their partners. Therefore, all of them are forced into a melee of unrestricted war. Including unrestricted warfare against their own citizens. That is what is happening now and not something else. ABN

The importance of free speech and the danger of censorship

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“Official-government-sponsored-covid-and-covid-vaccine-plus-no-early-treatment-science” was pure shit and proves censorship does nothing good for our society and never will. The ignorant and tragic dominance of covid shit pseudoscience from a historical and philosophical perspective should end forevermore the argument that the public cannot deal with real information or that they have to be led by their betters or that what they see and hear must be curated. Voices that support any of that nonsense are not your friends and do not have your good in mind. The lesson from covid is UNIVERSAL for all subjects: censorship is bad and is always going to be bad. Hail the First Amendment in All Its Glory & Wisdom.

I cite covid shit science because the contrast is so glaring and immediate and felt deeply by all of us. The universality of the lessons we learned from covid censorship should never be forgotten but etched in stone. Our power and capacity to speak and listen freely must never be abridged. ABN

Vladimir Putin’s Speech 09/30/22: Signing of treaties on accession of Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and Zaporozhye and Kherson regions to Russia

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, citizens of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, residents of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, deputies of the State Duma, senators of the Russian Federation,

As you know, referendums have been held in the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. The ballots have been counted and the results have been announced. The people have made their unequivocal choice.

Today we will sign treaties on the accession of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lugansk People’s Republic, Zaporozhye Region and Kherson Region to the Russian Federation. I have no doubt that the Federal Assembly will support the constitutional laws on the accession to Russia and the establishment of four new regions, our new constituent entities of the Russian Federation, because this is the will of millions of people.

link

I have not have time to read this yet, but will do so and may comment after that. The other day we posted a short summary of this speech. We all should read at least that much. It has long been my contention that the greatest foreign policy failure in the world has been the failure of the West to form an alliance with Russia, or at least good relations. I still believe that today. One of the central reasons I liked Donald Trump early on was his desire to get along with Russia. Following the destruction of Nord Stream, the chance of the West establishing healthy relations with Russia has shrunk to near nothing. We face the prospect of WW3 instead. In that event, China will not side with us. What a terrible state we are in today, all due to greed, hubris, and ignorance. ABN

UPDATE: Full speech translated into English beyond the fold. I am posting it so it won’t be lost or too hard to find. I have bolded a few sentences and paragraphs that are central to what Putin is saying. I highly recommend reading the entire speech. It is not that long and provides an extremely important analysis of the world today in Putin’s own words. At the end of his speech I have posted a short critique, which imo is worth reading. ABN

Continue reading “Vladimir Putin’s Speech 09/30/22: Signing of treaties on accession of Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and Zaporozhye and Kherson regions to Russia” →

How to really know another person

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link to spotify

link to to other links

So often, we think we know what other people are thinking. But researchers have found that our attempts at reading other people go wrong more often than we realize. This week, we talk with psychologist Tessa West about what we can all do to read people more accurately.

link

This podcast provides a global view of a fundamental problem with human communication—we often do not understand each other. It also provides a global view of why mind-reading doesn’t work, no matter how you do it. The global-view conclusion of the podcast is the best way to know what someone is thinking is ask them.

I very much endorse everything I heard at the global level. I hope that readers of ABN will see that FIML is a granular level of asking another person what they think. FIML works especially well on the micro level of human subjectivity, which is always unique, always idiosyncratic. If you can follow the reasoning and conclusions of West on the linked podcast, I hope you will be able to see that FIML works with these same basic problems in intimate relations. FIML practice greatly improves intimate relations while at the same time greatly increasing our understanding of our own and our partner’s psychology. FIML does what it does so well it can be thought of as a form of psychotherapy. ABN

Military thought experiment Part 4: Did China already do it?

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In Military thought experiment Part 1, I described how a force of 10,000 military operatives could conquer a nation of 100 million within a few generations and without most people even noticing.

Key factors in the success of that operation were ruthlessness, deceit, long-term planning, plausible deniability, and the use of “subtle weapons” such as poison. physical maiming, propaganda, educational misdirection, medical malpractice, and character assassination.

Plausible deniability for each and every attack (including the overall attack) is of paramount importance for the success of such an operation. Each individual attack must be deniable or excusable as a mistake if discovered, and best of all never be discovered. Of course, no one but the inner circle must know of the ultimate plan: to conquer a nation of 100 million with just 10,000 operatives.

Has China’s Communist Party already done a similar attack against the rest of the world? Is Covid-19 but the first open onslaught?

Strong similarities with the plot described in Part 1 are plausible deniability, ruthlessness, and use of a “subtle” biological weapon, Covid-19.

Other similarities are the prominent uses propaganda, IP theft, strict control of operatives stationed in USA, educational misdirection, and character assassination.

An attack of the magnitude of Covid-19 would not have been done without well-formed plans for a variety potential followup attacks.

As evidence mounts that Covid-19 may cause long-lasting debilitation even in mild cases, the acutely critical nature of our present predicament should be obvious and alarming.

From a military standpoint, notice the value of plausible deniability, ruthlessness, and “subtle” or asymmetric weaponry:

  • The plausible deniability of the covid attack has left us paralyzed. Squabbling over school openings, masks, and who is to blame for missteps are keeping us from facing reality. I hope our president and military leaders are not being fooled as much as the public. I can understand why informing the public of how serious the situation is might do more harm than good.
  • The ruthlessness of the attack comprises the lion’s share of its effectiveness because most people cannot imagine such a thing.
  • The use of a “subtle” weapon like covid has stretched the umbrella of plausible deniability for over a half-year and counting.

Some questions and concerns for military planners:

Clearly economic pressure from us is not going to win the day, though it will contribute. China has itself deliberately ruined Hong Kong, while cementing deals with Russia and Iran with an eye, probably, to moving their financial capital from Hong Kong to Shanghai. Their deals with Russia show the foolishness of our entangling ourselves in the “collusion delusion” for three years rather than forming a valuable alliance with Russia, as wise heads had advised.

How will we protect ourselves against a second or third bioweapon attack? Vaccines take a long time to develop. If China has already vaccinated its people against their followup bioweapons, what will we do? How long will we wait before reacting? How long will we be fooled by yet another creeping plague of plausible deniability?

Notice that few Westerners even noticed that China was engaged in clandestine military operations to destroy them. Even worse, the West educated, financed, and provided technology, even military technology, to the CCP, often for free.

This shows that secrecy and ruthlessness when played in concert with guile and long-term divide-and-conquer strategies are extremely effective means to weaken and overpower even very powerful adversaries.

By promoting Western allies though bribes and favoritism, over several decades China undermined the West while laying the groundwork for a full-scale bioweapon attack. When the time was right for the attack—when they knew they had lost the trade war—they were already in position to launch the largest military assault the world has ever seen.

Note 07/25/20: Why we can be reasonably certain China manufactured Covid-19 and released it deliberately

There are two important facts about contagious deadly viruses that show with reasonable certainty that China manufactured Covid-19 and released it deliberately, thus knowingly poisoning the world.

  1. Deadly viruses rarely jump species. When they do, the new host
    almost always dies or recovers and there is no contagion beyond the one or two individuals who were initially infected.
  2. Viruses rarely become highly contagious quickly, thus the odds that covid came naturally from bats and quickly became highly contagious are small.

Stated another way, two improbable events happening in rapid succession like that are unlikely to be naturally occurring.

What is more likely is China’s Communist Party made or acquired the bioweapon Covid-19 and released it on the world.*

Note 08/01/20: It was best strategy to allow the virus to spread early and widely in China itself.

A point often missed in analyses of the pandemic is once the virus spread outside of China, a worldwide pandemic that would also include all of China was inevitable. Thus, it was good military strategy to allow it to spread within China early and widely. The quicker and wider the initial spreading the more certain the pandemic would affect the whole world, and especially USA. This strategy would also cause China to be hit first and thus able to recover soonest.

Furthermore, this strategy provided China with some plausible deniability. Additionally, from their point of view, killing off even several million of their weakest people would not be considered an important loss.

*Another point regarding Note 07/25/20 above: the SARS epidemic of 2002-04 killed only about 800 people worldwide. It probably did jump from civets to bats to humans (unless it was a trial run for covid19) and if so illustrates the rarity of a virus becoming highly contagious soon after jumping to a new host species.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

the above was first posted JULY 11, 2020

UPDATE 09/18/22: As of today, we now know that an Omicron-type of virus appeared in China in 2017-2018 and circulated widely in China and surrounding regions, thus conferring covid immunity to large portions of those populations. The same virus also circulated worldwide before late 2019, similarly conferring immunity in other parts of the world though to a lesser extent.

As of today, we now know that the Western response to covid has been so harmful, unscientific, and wrong that it appears to have been a deliberate act of war against Western peoples. Who may have done this we still do not know, but this fact alone is strong evidence for a powerful, secret cabal that manipulates all Western nations simultaneously. This Western response to a large degree provides some kind of plausible deniability to China. A possible explanation is actors in China and the West colluded to release covid. Supporting evidence is China did covid theater in early 2020 with people falling dead in the streets and the West bought it. The West also bought Chinese lockdowns and panic.

Be that as it may, in the West today we see an abundance of evidence that the vaccines, which weirdly cause our bodies to make the most deadly part of the virus, are causing more harm than good and that the harm they cause may continue for decades and even persist into future generations. An important thing to remember when discussing this kind of military thought experiment is almost everything is kept secret. The violence is hidden through the use of poisons and other such weapons. The leadership is not known. The strategy is never announced. Notice that today we do not even know who controls the office of the president of USA, why we are on the verge of WW3, why our economy is being so badly mismanaged and more. ABN

Free energy principle & interpersonal psychology

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To be very brief, Karl Friston’s “free energy principle” says that the brain is an “inference machine” or “prediction machine” that uses Bayesian probability reasoning and is motivated to act by an inference seeming not true or “surprising” to it.

More can be found here and here.

The free energy principle is a straightforward way to explain what FIML (note: this link will lead to recent posts and reposts, including this one, but just scroll down a bit for more)  practice does, how it does it, and why it works differently than any other form of psychotherapy and in many significant ways why it works better.

A psychological “complex,” “neurosis,” “personality disorder,” or “persistent thought,” call it what you will, affects human behavior by being or having become a nexus of thoughts, ideas, perceptions, feelings, interconnected neurons and chemistry.

The same is true for any personality trait or skill, including very positive ones.

In Friston’s free energy terms, the psychological elements described above are surrounded by Markov blankets.

That means they are isolated or protected systems with their own variables. These protected systems (protected by Markov blankets) are hard to change because they have their own sets of rules and habitual inputs and outputs.

And that makes them stubborn candidates for most forms of psychotherapy, especially psychotherapy that requires a therapist. One reason for this is time & expense. A second reason is it is difficult for the patient to change without therapeutically experiencing for themself the complex or trait in real-world situations.

The key here is therapeutic experience in the real-world of the unwanted trait or complex that requires change.

The third reason most psychotherapies are ineffective is very subtle incisiveness in real-time is needed to penetrate psychological Markov blankets.

What FIML does is penetrate the Markov blanket enshrouding a complex with a series of small pricks. Each prick in the blanket is small, but each prick also allows some of the valence (gas) inside the blanket to escape.

FIML slowly punctures the Markov blanket with many small pricks, eventually causing it to collapse.

Once it has collapsed, the energies that were trapped inside it can be used for other things. In this way FIML optimizes even non-neurotic psychology by removing pockets of inefficiency held within psychological Markov blankets.

By using only small pricks to penetrate Markov blankets, FIML allows people to gradually and painlessly see what needs to be changed, why, and how to do it. Since FIML works in real-time real-world situations, even very small insights can bring about large changes.

first posted NOVEMBER 23, 2019