Conspiracy theories I think is a funny story. We used to believe in God. Now that we don't, we are left wondering who is pulling on the strings. 'Cause God might not be felt as much on individual level, but her influence on the societal scale is a bit harder to dismiss.*
By the way, those so-called "peak experiences" look very much like the individual experiences of God. Of course, not everyone has them (I don't). But we can explain them (and God) rationally. Or scientifically, if you will.
"God does not proclaim Himself. He is everybody's secret, but the intellect of the sage has found Him." ~Katha-Upanishad
* I mean I used to believe in democracy until I had to face the truth -- something Socrates realized from the start -- that democracy can't work as advertised. It depends on most people understanding social and economic policy and, as matter of fact, they don't. They'd vote for Hitler, then kill and die for him by millions, and then everyone would be looking at the smoldering ruins and wondering what the f*ck just happened? Not for long of course. Not until it happens again.
“How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! ‘Violence is everywhere!’ I cry, but you do not come to save.
Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery?
I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4)
The more thing change, the more they stay the same. If democratic (or otherwise) societies are not imploding, it's only because something/somebody is carefully pulling on strings, holding them together. Many feel it, of course, and suspect malice... of course.
System 1 is a raw neural network, these day also known as machine-learning AI. It is also the underwater part of the iceberg -- a neural network supercomputer that operates autonomously in our subconsciousness, learning statistical models and applying them to make inferences about our environment. It gives us things like intuition, creativity, our sense of beauty and, ultimately, it makes our choices -- we always choose what we _feel_ is the best course of actions, and that feeling is the result of the subconscious AI evaluating available options against the life-time of experience.
Ironically, it is System 2 that remains a mystery. How do we understand rationally? Although we achieve understanding through conscious effort, most people apparently lack the introspection to explain how they do it! Here is my take (and yes, this is how I do it -- it's not verbal, it's visual):
Conspiracy theories I think is a funny story. We used to believe in God. Now that we don't, we are left wondering who is pulling on the strings. 'Cause God might not be felt as much on individual level, but her influence on the societal scale is a bit harder to dismiss.*
By the way, those so-called "peak experiences" look very much like the individual experiences of God. Of course, not everyone has them (I don't). But we can explain them (and God) rationally. Or scientifically, if you will.
"God does not proclaim Himself. He is everybody's secret, but the intellect of the sage has found Him." ~Katha-Upanishad
https://open.substack.com/pub/silkfire/p/ep7-the-nature-of-god
* I mean I used to believe in democracy until I had to face the truth -- something Socrates realized from the start -- that democracy can't work as advertised. It depends on most people understanding social and economic policy and, as matter of fact, they don't. They'd vote for Hitler, then kill and die for him by millions, and then everyone would be looking at the smoldering ruins and wondering what the f*ck just happened? Not for long of course. Not until it happens again.
“How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! ‘Violence is everywhere!’ I cry, but you do not come to save.
Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery?
I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4)
The more thing change, the more they stay the same. If democratic (or otherwise) societies are not imploding, it's only because something/somebody is carefully pulling on strings, holding them together. Many feel it, of course, and suspect malice... of course.
System 1 is a raw neural network, these day also known as machine-learning AI. It is also the underwater part of the iceberg -- a neural network supercomputer that operates autonomously in our subconsciousness, learning statistical models and applying them to make inferences about our environment. It gives us things like intuition, creativity, our sense of beauty and, ultimately, it makes our choices -- we always choose what we _feel_ is the best course of actions, and that feeling is the result of the subconscious AI evaluating available options against the life-time of experience.
Ironically, it is System 2 that remains a mystery. How do we understand rationally? Although we achieve understanding through conscious effort, most people apparently lack the introspection to explain how they do it! Here is my take (and yes, this is how I do it -- it's not verbal, it's visual):
https://open.substack.com/pub/silkfire/p/ep-4-what-this-is-all-about
You sound EXACTLY like my husband.