Reading the Sequences made me feel, on the gut level, things like: “reality already exists, and your clever words are not going to change it retroactively”. After reading the Sequences, most of the online debates, including many that previously seemed interesting and I was participating at them, now feel like watching retarded people doing the same elementary mistakes over and over again. Before this, I didn’t fully realise how much even the typical smart person is incapable of distinguishing between the map and the territory (i.e. their own thoughts and social consensus vs. the actual reality). Now it seems like people try to magically change reality by yelling at it loudly enough; and the smart ones keep doing the same thing as the stupid ones, only yelling more sophisicated words.
Somehow being explained why and how my brain loves those treats makes them less attractive.
It’s probably a shift in perspective, that winning online pigeon chess only feels good if you are not aware of the kind of game you were playing. Learning about the fact makes further pigeon chess games feel low-status.
Reading the Sequences made me feel, on the gut level, things like: “reality already exists, and your clever words are not going to change it retroactively”. After reading the Sequences, most of the online debates, including many that previously seemed interesting and I was participating at them, now feel like watching retarded people doing the same elementary mistakes over and over again. Before this, I didn’t fully realise how much even the typical smart person is incapable of distinguishing between the map and the territory (i.e. their own thoughts and social consensus vs. the actual reality). Now it seems like people try to magically change reality by yelling at it loudly enough; and the smart ones keep doing the same thing as the stupid ones, only yelling more sophisicated words.
Babbler reality has a strong pull because it doles out tasty treats.
Somehow being explained why and how my brain loves those treats makes them less attractive.
It’s probably a shift in perspective, that winning online pigeon chess only feels good if you are not aware of the kind of game you were playing. Learning about the fact makes further pigeon chess games feel low-status.