Tuesday, January 18, 2022

The Art Of War for internet arguments

The Art Of War for internet arguments A modern commentary of Sun Zi. I've been arguing with wing nuts, creationists, and conspiracy theorists as lomg as I've been on the internet. For most of that time, I used logic, patience, and step by step demonstrations of rational thinking. It never worked. They have strategies to defend against critical thinking. Strategies like Red Herrings, Straw Man arguments, and the Gish Gallop. These strategies are designed to make you play defense. Finally I've realized that the that only way to win is to turn the tables and put them on the defense.They want you to waste your time countering their stream of fallacies, because they know that;s the only way they can win. Don't fall in their trap. There are different ways to do this depending on the personality you are arguing with and the place you are doing it. Change your tactics and use whatever it takes to win. Taking the high road is equivalent to tying your hand behind your back. It may seem distasteful, but if we don't start winning this, the future will be Christo-fascist dictatorship and climate disaster. It's bad, but it can still get much worse. Maybe it's even too late to stop it from getting worse, but I think we can still have a chance if we can change enough minds to reach a critical mass of people who insist on seeing clearly. It's a big task, what with billions of dollars being pumped into propaganda outlets like Fox, but we have reality and science on our side, and if we play it right, we can do it. The propaganda is generalized to reach as many different kinds of people, but we have the advantage that we can tailor our tactics to the individual. If we each change one person's mind, pretty soon the enemies of reason will wither away in a war of attrition. Even if you don't change the mind of the person you are arguing with, there is usually an audience, and if you win in their eyes, you have made progress. That being said, let's see what the Art Of War can teach us about arguing on the internet.
Chapter 1 Laying Plans Sunzi said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected. This chapter starts out reminding us how imporatant it is to win this fight. If we can't stop our civilization from falling into superstition and conspiracy theories, the future looks very bleak. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
This book is written in such a way as to applicable in many different contexts, it just requires a bit of imagination. In this context, the moral law is the rules of the social media platform, heaven is current events and cultural zeitgeist.earth is the constraints imposed ny the nature of social media,you are the commander, and methods stands for the ways win friends and influence people.
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.
Don't be afraid to use deception, but remember that it can backfire. It's better to make it backfire on your opponent. the strategies presented are general strategies that need to become second nature. Chapter 8 will give specific strategies for the five personailty types.
Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.
It is our duty to keep larning and updating our internal models of reality. New techniques and methods are being developed all the time. This is our advantage. The far right is static. Their arguments and tactics and beliefs are unchangong. In fact they think that changing your mind based on new infrmation is a weakness. This is both an advantage and a weakness. It's an advantage in that they don't have to put any effort into updating their beliefs, and the same old arguments that they have been using for hundreds of years are by now streamlined and well honed. But it's also a weakness because even if they get new information they can't do anything with it lest they risk betraying their tribe, and when we update our knowledge and methods they are unable to respond withoit deviating from their script. 
Waging War 
Sunzi said: In the operations of war, where there are in the field a thousand swift chariots, as many heavy chariots, and a hundred thousand mail-clad soldiers, with provisions enough to carry them a thousand li, the expenditure at home and at the front, including entertainment of guests, small items such as glue and paint, and sums spent on chariots and armor, will reach the total of a thousand ounces of silver per day. Such is the cost of raising an army of 100,000 men. Any conflict is expensive. If it isn't money, then it is time and effort, or discomfort, adversity, or even persecution. You must decide if your mental health is being affected enough to outweigh the incremental improvement you may have on the world. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain. Now, when your weapons are dulled, your ardor damped, your strength exhausted and your treasure spent, other chieftains will spring up to take advantage of your extremity. Then no man, however wise, will be able to avert the consequences that must ensue. Thus, though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated with long delays. There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. He who hesitates is lost. Do something, even if it's not perfect. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on. The skillful soldier does not raise a second levy, neither are his supply-wagons loaded more than twice. Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy. Thus the army will have food enough for its needs. Poverty of the State exchequer causes an army to be maintained by contributions from a distance. Contributing to maintain an army at a distance causes the people to be impoverished. On the other hand, the proximity of an army causes prices to go up; and high prices cause the people's substance to be drained away. When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions. With this loss of substance and exhaustion of strength, the homes of the people will be stripped bare, and three-tenths of their income will be dissipated; while government expenses for broken chariots, worn-out horses, breast-plates and helmets, bows and arrows, spears and shields, protective mantles, draught-oxen and heavy wagons, will amount to four-tenths of its total revenue. Basically an admonishment to take this seriously. Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store. Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards. Therefore in chariot fighting, when ten or more chariots have been taken, those should be rewarded who took the first. Our own flags should be substituted for those of the enemy, and the chariots mingled and used in conjunction with ours. The captured soldiers should be kindly treated and kept. This is called, using the conquered foe to augment one's own strength. This section is often paraphrased as "treat the defeated enemy well and you can add his chariots to your own." It's better to win them over to your side that it is to utterly destroy them. You have to be able to feel out your opponent. Some people can never change their mind, but only utterly humiliate them when they deserve it, lest potential allies in the audience fear that you may do the same to them.A wise man decreases enemies and increases allies; a stupid man increases enemies and decreases allies. In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns. Thus it may be known that the leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril. The Law Of Diminishing Returns. Quit while you're ahead. Chapter 3 Attack By Strategem Sunzi said: In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. Start out using gentle methods of persuasion such as Deep Canvassing (targeted narrative persuasion) and Street Epistemology (Socratic questions combined with empathy and mirroring). If it's needed, you can escalate to more forceful methods of persuasion, such as those found at Changing Minds. Only intensify to insults, humiliation, and denigration if it's absolutely necessary. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities. The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege. The enemy's plan in this context is to make you look foolish while virtue signalling to his tribe. Preventing the junction of enemy forces is putting them in a postion where his allies can't pile on you. Besieging the city would be like going into the opposing group and making a hit and run comment. As always there can be other interpretations, depending on your experience and skillset.Another interpretation of besieging a city could be spamming or DOS attacks. The text is flexible and limited only by your imagination. In any case, the main point of this section is that to win without fighting is best. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field. With his forces intact he will dispute the mastery of the Empire, and thus, without losing a man, his triumph will be complete. This is the method of attacking by stratagem. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous, to divide our army into two. If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers, we can avoid the enemy; if quite unequal in every way, we can flee from him. Hence, though an obstinate fight may be made by a small force, in the end it must be captured by the larger force. I haven't yet figured out how to relate this to our context, but this is a living document and I expect to revise and expand it as we go, so check back later. Now the general is the bulwark of the State; if the bulwark is complete at all points; the State will be strong; if the bulwark is defective, the State will be weak. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army: (1) By commanding the army to advance, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot advance; or commanding the army to to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot retreat. This is called hobbling the army. (2) By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds. (3) By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers. But when the army is restless and distrustful, trouble is sure to come from the other feudal princes. This is simply bringing anarchy into the army, and flinging victory away. You have to know your limitations. Don't be a Dunning-Kruger. Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: (1) He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. (2) He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. (3) He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks. (4) He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. (5) He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign. These five are the way by which we know which side will win. Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle. General advice; self explanatory. 4 Tactical Dispositions Sunzi said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer without being able to do it. Keep studying logical fallcies and counter apologetics. Rational wiki is a good resource. Know when to hold em and know when to fold em. Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength. The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete. You can't win by only playing defense. Be inscrutable, unpredictable, and enigmatic. Don't give away any information about yourself. To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight and conquer and the whole Empire says, "Well done!" To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength; to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight; to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear. What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation for wisdom nor credit for courage. He wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated. Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory. Some people watch a debate and say "so and so clearly won", but did so and so really win? So and so won, but did he learn anything? The nature of debate is such that the so-called winner scoffs at the loser, and thus misses an opportunity to learn something. If the loser of the debate ends up learning something, while the winner does not then paradoxically he is the true winner. We should always strive to learn things. When we stop learning, we start dying. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success. In respect of military method, we have, firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity; thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances; fifthly, Victory. Measurement owes its existence to Earth; Estimation of quantity to Measurement; Calculation to Estimation of quantity; Balancing of chances to Calculation; and Victory to Balancing of chances. A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as a pound's weight placed in the scale against a single grain. The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep. Sometimes Master Sun repeats himself, but this usually means that it is important. 6 Energy Sunzi said: The control of a large force is the same principle as the control of a few men: it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers. Fighting with a large army under your command is nowise different from fighting with a small one: it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals. To ensure that your whole host may withstand the brunt of the enemy's attack and remain unshaken - this is effected by maneuvers direct and indirect. That the impact of your army may be like a grindstone dashed against an egg - this is effected by the science of weak points and strong. The principles in this book are flexible and adaptable. They can be used in battle, in martial arts, in debate, or anywhere there is any type of conflict or competition. They don't work very well in matters of love, though. Don't ask me how I know this. In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory. Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams; like the sun and moon, they end but to begin anew; like the four seasons, they pass away to return once more. There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard. There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted. In battle, there are not more than two methods of attack - the direct and the indirect; yet these two in combination give rise to an endless series of maneuvers. The direct and the indirect lead on to each other in turn. It is like moving in a circle - you never come to an end. Who can exhaust the possibilities of their combination? Master Sun's prose is getting a little flowery here, but that's just because he wants to stress how important this is. The onset of troops is like the rush of a torrent which will even roll stones along in its course. The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim. Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision. Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger. Momentum and timing are force multipliers. Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat. Simulated disorder postulates perfect discipline, simulated fear postulates courage; simulated weakness postulates strength. Hiding order beneath the cloak of disorder is simply a question of subdivision; concealing courage under a show of timidity presupposes a fund of latent energy; masking strength with weakness is to be effected by tactical dispositions. Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something, that the enemy may snatch at it. By holding out baits, he keeps him on the march; then with a body of picked men he lies in wait for him. Keep your head and conceal your status. The clever combatant looks to the effect of combined energy, and does not require too much from individuals. Hence his ability to pick out the right men and utilize combined energy. When he utilizes combined energy, his fighting men become as it were like unto rolling logs or stones. For it is the nature of a log or stone to remain motionless on level ground, and to move when on a slope; if four-cornered, to come to a standstill, but if round-shaped, to go rolling down. Thus the energy developed by good fighting men is as the momentum of a round stone rolled down a mountain thousands of feet in height. So much on the subject of energy. Chapter summary 6 Weak points and strong points Sunzi said: Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him. By holding out advantages to him, he can cause the enemy to approach of his own accord; or, by inflicting damage, he can make it impossible for the enemy to draw near. If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass him; if well supplied with food, he can starve him out; if quietly encamped, he can force him to move. You don't have to go looking for a fight, it will come to you. One of the main tactics of the far right and creationists is to think that all they need to do is become a troll in our groups and comment sections. If you make a statement that appeals to their strawman version of "The Left" they will be there. Just bide your time and wait in comfort and relaxation. Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; march swiftly to places where you are not expected. An army may march great distances without distress, if it marches through country where the enemy is not. You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. Hence that general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack. O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands. You may advance and be absolutely irresistible, if you make for the enemy's weak points; you may retire and be safe from pursuit if your movements are more rapid than those of the enemy. If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve. If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way. You've got to make a sock puppet account, complete with right wing memes and talking points. Then instead of trolling them directly, you play the game of "just asking questions." For example, say they are talking about what a wonderful Christian Trump is for putting so many Christians on the Supreme Court. You can say "But aren't they all Catholic? What if they make us pray to the saints and worship the Pope?" Or maybe they are talking about how smart they are for not getting vaccinated. You can ask "what if it's a Democrat conspiracy to kill us off so we can't vote?" The longer you can stay undercover, the more good you can do.

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

How to hurt someone without feeling guilty

The parents and therapist play hot potato with whose fault it is the kid is messed up. (Displacement of responsibility )

Until a consensus is reached that "numerous" things caused it. (Diffusion of responsibility )

Then they label the child, as to strip the child's humanity away, because now they are defective.(Dehumanization of the enemy)

But they are defective in a certain way...making them not unique..a part of this whole defective collective of diagnosed children. (Deindividuation)

Then once the child has been diagnosed and made "aware" of their problem, behavioral therapists try to train the children how not to be BAD anymore. When the child can not comply with the wanted protocol, due to all the previous emotional turmoil of being labeled etc... they are blamed as resisting treatment. (Attribution of blame to victims)

Until finally nothing the child says is taken seriously because they are just a BAD and defective child, and everyone knows defective children aren't in their right minds, so why listen to their crazy tales. (Graduated desensitization)

This is all done in a "medical" system sanctioned by the US government, thus making it socially acceptable child abuse. (Hygenic Positioning)


Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The magical tree

Imagine that you are in a balloon high in the air, looking down at a tree. You grew up in the desert and you've never seen a tree or even heard of one. Looking down at the tree, all you can see is the leaves. You can't see the trunk or any of it's branches. For all you know, each of those leaves might be a separate individual. Looking closer, you notice that each leaf is a little bit different from each other. Now you're sure that they are all different individuals. You look at one particular leaf a little closer. This leaf is clearly unique; in fact it really is an amazing leaf. All the things that make this leaf a leaf are the same in all the leaves, and yet each is slightly different. The leaf right next to your leaf is different, and one next to that one is a tiny bit more different. The further away from your leaf you look, the more different they become, until you see that the leaves on one side of the tree are completely different from those on the other side. But each leaf was only a tiny bit different to the one next to it. Someone next to you says "That's an old tree. It's been growing many, many years." The thought that this mighty thing with it's many parts has grown like this all on it's own seems wondrous to you. You ask your companion to take you down to the ground so that you can study the tree more closely, but he says "we can't do that because this tree doesn't grow through air. This tree grows through time. It is the great tree of life."

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Why you should support Single-payer Healthcare

I work two jobs and both of them involve a lot of driving. Even though I feel like I'm always working, I'm still pretty broke. I have a little more than a hundred dollars in the bank and there is no way I'm giving that to a greedy health insurance CEO. Even if I bought into the health insurance scam, I know that there would be a large deductible. If I had the money to pay the deductible, then I wouldn't need insurance anyway, would I?
So I know that if I get hurt in a car accident, my options are either die quickly, or spend the rest of my life giving every cent I make to someone who neither needs it nor deserves it. If I see that I am headed towards a serious crash, then I will hit the accelerator instead of the brake to ensure that I die. That's not to say I will drive more recklessly, in fact I'm a very cautious driver. But I know that a serious injury will ruin my life and I would be better off dead. If I happen to accidentally take you out too, then I'm sorry, but don't worry, because I did pay my car insurance, and I'm sure they will be overjoyed to help you in any way they can.
You probably think I'm either crazy or stupid, but we both know that I am not the only person caught in this dilemma. So the next time you get behind the wheel, you better hope that the guy in the other car makes enough money to buy health insurance. Of course I'm exagerating; I wouldn't do that. But you don't know whether there might be others who would.

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Real Conspiracy vs Fake Conspiracy


There are many conspiracy theories going around, each one more absurd than the last. The real conspiracy is that all these fake conspiracies are designed to discredit anyone who knows what the real conspiracies are. I shall give you examples.

Fake Conspiracy: they don't want us to know that we never went to the Moon because the Earth is flat.

Real Conspiracy: they don't want us to understand basic science so that we will vote Republican.

Fake Conspiracy: Hillary Clinton is running a child prostitution ring under a pizza parlor.

Real Conspiracy: The NRA is is scaring you with fears of gun control so that their backers can keep selling more and more guns, no matter how many kids die in school shootings.

Fake Conspiracy: Big Agro is injecting our food with GMOs so that we will be poisoned.

Real Conspiracy: Organic food is a marketing gimmick to get you to spend more money for less food. The USA has the safest food supply in the history of ever. If every farm went organic there would be mass starvation the likes of which have never been seen before.


Fake Conspiracy: Doctors know that vaccines cause autism, but they make more money from selling vaccines.

Real Conspiracy: Drug companies actually make a LOT more money from gullible parents that don't vaccinate their kids. Vaccines are cheap.


Fake Conspiracy: Climate Change is hoax so that greedy scientists can make more money.

Real Conspiracy: Oil Companies promote this myth so that SUV drivers can convince themselves that they are not really greedy selfish babies.


Fake Conspiracy: airplanes are producing chemtrails full of mind altering chemicals, and hundreds of thousands of pilots, mechanics, and stewardesses are so involved that they won't even tell their families.

Real Conspiracy: Lead is an actual mind altering chemical that lowers IQ and increases violent tendencies. Violence and lower IQs mean more people in jail and more money for the Privatized Prison industry. That is why Flint and East Chicago still have lead in the water.

Sunday, March 19, 2017

The Butchers Knife

The King was inspecting the royal kitchen and he came to the section where the meat was butchered. He watched the first butcher quickly convert a slab of meat into a pile of chops. "Very good!" said the king, "how long have you been working here?"
The first butcher replied, "I have been here five years. I have sharpened my knife so many times that it is now an inch smaller than when I got it." The king nodded his approval and moved on to the second butcher.
"I see that your knife has been sharpened many times. How long have you been here?" he asked the second butcher.
"your Highness is very observant," said the second butcher. "I have been here ten years. I can de-bone a chicken in 30 seconds without wasting any meat."
The king told his assistant to give the man a raise.
Coming near to the end of his tour the king saw the final butcher and told his assistant "this man is either very lazy or very inexperienced. I don't want him here. Get rid of him."
The third butcher was shocked. He fell to his knees and begged the king to tell him why he was being fired.
The king said "the first butcher has been here 5 years and his knife has been sharpened so many times it is an inch shorter. The second butcher has been here 10 years and his knife is half gone. Your knife is brand new. You must be a very bad butcher."
The sad butcher told the king, "Your Highness, I have been here 20 years. My knife skillfully slices through the meat and no longer touches bone or tendon, therefore it never goes dull. Why should I sharpen a knife that isn't dull?"
The moral of the story is left as an exercise for the reader.

Tuesday, January 03, 2017

Memetic Engineering

The Right Wing in the United States have convinced the religious that they represent "Christian Values”. They are trying to divide us so that we never get too strong. We need to mirror their strategies and undermine the GOPs shaky alliance with Christianity. I propose that we use modern philosophical tools such as “Street Epistemology” and “intuition pumps” to channel thinking of the religious to be more antagonistic towards vulture capitalism (incidently, a position closer to that of Jesus). These skills require practice, so get out there and do it.
Toxic memes are unlikely to be eliminated any time soon, but they can be replaced with less virulent strains. Then they can be directed to perform alternate functions or to be less destructive. A major goal would be to see the return of Black liberation theology to its default position in the African-American community, replacing the heretical pyramid scheme that is the “Prosperity Gospel”. Another goal is helping the White working class realize how they have been duped and used to keep the working class from uniting and becoming stronger. Rehabilitating the image of labor unions may be a good first step here. These can be called forms of “memetic engineering”. It is our patriotic duty to become Memetic Engineers. (Facebook style picture memes are a respected tool in our arsenal, but any contagious idea can be used for memetic engineering) . Once we systematize the tools and methods , we can spread the meta-meme of how to do memetic engineering to other groups and slowly change the world.


study materials

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrard_Winstanley#The_New_Law_of_Righteousness

http://www.hsv.com/editorials/davidbrin/dbrin2.htm

http://coolhaus.de/art-of-controversy/

http://www.aleph.se/Trans/Cultural/Memetics/meme_lex.html

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_capitalism

http://www.diggers.org/diggers/religion_winstanley.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJsD-3jtXz0

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZf8JOv0Nm8

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

An Artificial Plague

There is an artificially induced plague of mental illness rising to epidemic levels in our country. It's no secret that rich people own the media; how many poor people do you know that own a radio station or TV network? They have used the methods of marketing, cognitive neuro-science and mob psychology to turn ordinary conservatives into reactionary madmen. It seems an extreme measure just to promote an agenda, but wealth addiction is a powerful vice.
  Perhaps you have had conversations on a blog or other social media discussing the facts of a certain issue, and all of a sudden a voice chimes in with a comment along the lines of "Because liberals are stoopid". Maybe you paused and wondered how this person thinks this non sequitur is relevant to your hitherto non-partisan discussion. It is because this person every issue as black and white; you either think exactly the same as him or you are diametrically opposite. I know it's difficult, and I'm not very good at it myself, but please try to be kind to this victim of cognitive manipulation.
   One of the most visible symptoms of this illness is called "Psychological Projection". Here are some example sentences followed by their unspoken sub-text:

"Sandyhook was a false-flag to have an excuse to take away the guns of white people" because he would have no problem using a false-flag to take away the guns of minorities if he could.

"Obamacare means death panels for your mother" because he would like death panels for people not like him.

"Climate change is a lie so scientists can get more money" because lying to get more money is his version of the American dream.

"Evolution is a lie so that scientists can deny Jesus" because lying FOR Jesus is de rigueur.

"liberals are always nominating activist judges" because that's what they've always done so that must be what everyone does.

Or how about the classic "VOTER FRAUD!" because because Democrats are to stupid to commit election fraud like Republicans

So you see, in his world, everyone who is not ultra-conservative is obviously a far-left radical that wants to destroy everything he holds dear, and every scientist seeking consensus is obviously a greedy atheist with an agenda. Have pity on the poor deluded child.

Monday, April 25, 2016

Pan-Galactic Deism


I had a religious experience yesterday. It was a profound feeling deep in my brain, and now I understand the religious experience a little better, and I will try to be a little nicer to believers.
I suspect most christians and muslims don't understand what it means to truly believe. Belief can only come from inside, not outside. You can't be coerced, tricked, or debated into believing, you either believe or you don't. I listened to and talked with christians for years and they never came up with any evidence that I would consider convincing, but alone in my room, with no outside influence, I became a believer.
So now, overnight, I believe in god, but not your god. My god doesn't talk to us, and it's unlikely we will ever meet him. My god is he who was here first. He came upon a star with little balls of mud circling around it. On three of these mud-balls he planted seeds. Two of them withered, but the third ball flourished and evolved into a beautiful bouquet of life. So Earth is gods Chia Pet.
  If he even ever notices us, perhaps all he sees is a weed trying to take over his Chia Pet, so un-important he doesn't even bother to pull us out by the roots.
 That being said, Humans have a noble history and a glorious future among the stars. We, here and now, are the history of that future, and it is our duty to strive toward that future as rapidly and painlessly as possible. Alone, with only Science as our greatest tool, we fought our way from the caves to the modern civilization we have now. Everything we have achieved, we have achieved on our own with no outside help. That is something to be proud of.

It has come to my attention that some of the few people who have read this post have misunderstood the intent. I am merely trying to express that an experience can be profound and powerful, even if it only exists in your head.Have empathy for those who can't tell the difference

Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Happy Birthday Douglas


I came to be a fan of Douglas Adams a bit late. Occasionally I would encounter a friend at the bookstore (back when there were such things) and he would ask if I ever read Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. Well I've always been a bit of a sci-fi snob (I've seen most Star Trek films but only 2 of the 7 Star Wars) so I muttered something about comedy not having any place in science fiction. Then one day I was watching a Dr Who rerun, and I noticed it was written by that Adams fellow, and it was a good episode. So I promised myself I would check this guy out after all. Sometime later I ran across a used copy of Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency; I was baffled but hooked. I then read everything I could get my hands on.
So I told my friend he was right and when could we expect another book from him. That's when I found out he had died a short time earlier. Just my luck to have a new favorite and to never have the joy of a new work from him. So long, Douiglas, and thanks for all the laughs.

Monday, December 01, 2014

Do you suffer from cognitive dissonance? Too bad

Anyone who has looked into libertarianism, or even anyone who has plodded thier way through one of Ayn Rand's tedious novels, must have realized that this "philosophy" is at odds with any kind of virtue one might be able to extract from the meanderings and fallacies of the Bible or Koran. Indeed, any thinking individual must have by now come to the realization that the primitive beliefs of ancient men have been superceded by the reality of scientific investigation. Rand, however, makes her atheism an integral part of her world view. The preachers and pundits who espouse this doctrine of "greed is good" attempt to convince all of their fans that there is no contradiction between loving thy neighbor and cutting his benefits. At first this seems incongruous, but I think I have the discovered the key passage in the Bible: 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12. Of course I don't think anything from this tripe is relevant in our day and age, but if you are a believer perhaps you should take a look. Maybe something will click in your head. I'm not holding my breath, though.

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