FEAR

FEAR is the admission that you are afraid of something perceived as threatening. Dissect a conversation and you will see who is in control, and who is really threatened, and WHY.

Interesting comments on the MEME THEME...

PSYCHOHISTORY

In his Foundation Trilogy (later to be extended in additional books), the
prolific science fiction/fact writer Isaac Asimov told a story of a small
group of people who secretly steered the course of history using technology
that we would now recognize as an outgrowth of memetics. By recognizing
group psychology and the effect of various memes on populations, they were
able (Asimov creates) to shorten the intergalactic Dark Ages by millennia.

Is such a thing possible? We are seeing the beginnings of attempts at
memetic engineering today. Advertisers are designing memes that are
becoming fairly effective at penetrating populations, in hope that they
will carry with them a message influencing consumer buying behavior. Have
you heard someone say "I love ya, man!" lately? Anheuser-Busch is delighted
if you have.

More broadly, I'm seeing a steady trickle of organizations copying and
mutating successful Profit Viruses (MLMs) and Power Viruses (cults). It's
an interesting question whether the population as a whole will ever build
up an "immunity" to this kind of thing, or whether the
evolutionary-psychology buttons of lust, power, fear, and so on are too
powerful to overcome.

Who knows? There may have been a small group of Illuminati steering us for
millennia past without us even knowing...

from: http://www.memecentral.com/mu/mu0005.htm

 

selfish gene theory

The gene-centered view of evolution, gene selection theory or selfish gene theory holds that natural selection acts through differential survival of competing genes, increasing the frequency of those alleles whose phenotypic effects successfully promote their own propagation. According to this theory, adaptations are the phenotypic effects through which genes achieve their propagation.

memes and memplexes

Memeplexes have been employed recently in attempts to understand religion. In the case of Christianity, the idea suggests, the Christian memeplex "evolved" based upon the Jewish religious teachings, among others, to eventually form the Catholic church, followed by various schisms leading to the Eastern Orthodox churches and various Protestant churches. In this process, various theologians, political leaders, writers, and religious visionaries have added and deleted individual memes from the Christian memeplex resulting in the formation of new but related memeplexes, or (religions/sects). The process of schism, like evolution, is ongoing, and as a result smaller and less differentiated memeplexes have arisen within the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. The same process could be said to be occurring in the case of many sets of belief.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memeplex

 

Inspiration and Free Minds

New article of mine on Inspiration:

 

http://www.freeminds.org/Inspiration.htm

 

I'm not big on inspirational dailies (last one was Far Side), but as of last week I now get Seth Grodin's blogcast. I quote him from today, in reference to his prediction of changes in society due to the internet:

 

You're not going to win a Pulitzer Prize

What an opportunity (for someone) to start taking advantage of the huge pool of talent and passion that is moving online, and to work to raise the bar. We don't need more gossip sites from celebrity magazine editors. We need to identify and reward voices that push hard against the status quo, that report eagerly and accurately and that speak truth to power.

Here's what we're going to miss, and quite soon: the cost of having a printing press and the money to run one meant that there were newspapers with gravitas. Newspapers that invested for the long haul, that stood for something, that spoke up. When you can launch a blog for nothing and disappear quite easily if it doesn't work, the gravitas is a lot more difficult to find. When the newspapers are gone (and it's happening a lot faster than the people in the industry are able to admit) that's what we're going to miss the most.

The opportunity, then, is to organize and network and identify and reward that activity when it happens online. Not because the site is owned by a paper or because the founder has connections to the old media. No, because they're doing work that matters.

I think what Grodin means is a branding of a collective. When people work in tandem to produce community, coupled with tolerance for dissent and a vision for the future, the demands of cooperation will necessitate policies insuring their continued stability and trustworthiness. People will come to trust you, and believe in your vision.

For an example of a great writing style, take a look at this article re: Gary Larson's The Far Side. In my opinion, it is a work of art. Note the richness and depth of the content, cloaked in a satirist' wit:

"The Far Side" was eventually picked up by 1,900 newspapers and translated into 17 languages. Twice the Dayton Daily News inadvertently translated it into "Dennis the Menace," by switching the captions on the side-by-side panels. (It didn't do much for "The Far Side," but greatly improved "Dennis the Menace," as in the cartoon in which Dennis tells his doting mother, "I see your little, petrified skull ... labeled and resting on a shelf somewhere," a line that had been intended for a Neolithic fortune-teller.)

If you want to read some home-grown examples of art in words, read our own CoCo's Blog, and Gary's Armageddon Okies. How could I pass up this talent?

No one is a fool for assuming something as factual--until it requires a greater commitment to that fact, and one proceeds to ignore the damning evidence otherwise. A Dogzism

 

word of the day: mind-hacking

 

It's admittedly a rare gift to produce a paragraph in which whole clumps of words could be removed without noticeably affecting the sense, if any. -- Dick Cavett

the failure of seeking perfection

For those seeking moral perfection and a perfect society, a free market is not the answer. In the course of history, the search for perfect societies - that is, the failure to acknowledge human imperfection - almost always ended in one or another form of theocracy, authoritarianism, or violent anarchy. But for those who seek to work with human flaws of every stripe, and to increase the sum total of individual happiness, the free market, combined with political freedom, is the best way.  - Ayaan Hirsi Ali

a free market

It is possible there would be less suffering in a world in which man desired harmony and contentment more than competition and achievement. But that world does not exist. We are the product of our ancient struggle to survive. And we deny our instincts at great peril. If the market is not free, it must be controlled - and controlled by someone or some group. When confronted with our natural human desire to achieve, an enlightened craving for equality soon turns to enforced equality. Self-generating incentives for moral behavior are replaced by edicts and punishments. Carrots give way to sticks. - Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion

Why Not?

"You see things: you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never are: and say 'Why not?'"
by George Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah

Alpha Males

Alpha male is a term used in describing any group or society of animals that live closely together and have a dominant leader. Alpha dog is often used in both domesticated breeds of dogs and in wolf societies to express the leadership characteristics of the dog to which all other dogs defer. There are also alpha females or leading females in many pack animal societies (including human societies), with the alpha female having dominance over all females in the pack and possibly some of the lower beta males or omega males.

In human societies alpha male can mean very different things. Some use the term to mean the guy who seems most at ease with women and can essentially marry or date any woman of his choice. In this sense the alpha male is often good-looking, has a great build, and may have a relatively high socioeconomic status. These distinctions may be less noticed in human groups like high school settings. Generally the alpha male (or a group of alpha males) are the cutest guys, usually muscle-bound, sometimes the "jocks," while beta males may be less assured around females and may participate in less "male" activities.

The guys who join math teams or play chess at lunch are usually the beta males and may be thought less attractive by girls. It should be noted that "nerds" (and here we use the term fondly and affectionately), are becoming increasingly popular. As long-term mates or "boyfriends," they stereotypically on average tend to be nicer and more respectful toward girls. This article also does not imply that all attractive males are necessarily alpha. Alpha males are more about exhibiting traits that are essentially masculine or "macho." Many attractive males are beta to the core when it comes to relating with people.

In work settings, the alpha male may be a natural leader, exuding confidence. But he also may be contentious, demanding and difficult to work with. This is thought to be in part due to the alpha male attempting to retain his stature, however unconsciously, as alpha. Being the top salesperson, the quickest worker, the most aggressive boss may contribute to remaining at the top, and the alpha male has a tendency to respond aggressively to any attempts by others to outshine him.

This is true in non-human settings too. The alpha male is continually being tested to see if he remains dominant and may need to stage pitched fights with upcoming males in a group to remain "top dog." In the human setting, the alpha male usually doesn't fight physically, but instead acts with language, brusque or dismissive behavior, or with other tactics to remain at the top.

Though leaders in a company are excellent to have, alpha male characteristics in the workplace may not always be seen as positive. Aggression and disregard for others are not necessarily inspiring. Some people better lead by being "beta" and having good communication skills, sensitivity toward others, and downplaying their strengths so they can showcase the strengths of others.

In adult social settings, alpha males again may be judged not so much by aggression, but by their ability to get the most attractive women as mates. This is the primary reason for alpha behavior in other animals.

The alpha male in adult society is likely to be confident, attractive, and wealthy. Questions remain as to whether the alpha male can retain mates, since relationships often require ability to compromise, to discuss feelings and to be sensitive. Some alpha males have these characteristics typically thought of as beta, but many of them lack such traits. You can certainly point to prominent alpha males in our society who seem to have poor track records with women, either involving themselves in a succession of failed relationships or marrying one woman after another, with no marriage lasting for very long.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-alpha-male.htm

Theodore Jaracz aware of molestation issue in 2001 before Dateline

Well I hope I survive this one, biting the big one:

 

Theodore Jaracz aware of molestation issue in 2001 before Dateline

 

 

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/164271/1.ashx

 

Randy Watters

 

I learn the most from people who others pay no attention to.

 

Herding

Some religions are merely corporations started by alpha males who desire power. Such males are charismatic and have learned the art of using fear, coercion and guilt to get you to do their bidding. Herding people with such high-level weapons is obscene.

 

 

DUNE by Frank Herbert

I will not fear

Fear is the mindkiller,

Fear is the little death

That brings total Oblivion

I will permit my fear to pass

Over me and through me

And where it has gone

I will turn the inner eye

Nothing will be there

Only I will remain.

 

one

i was alone in the beginning,

I will be alone in the end.

I need answer to no one else.

Randy

knowledge...

Is your relationship with God about "knowing things"?

something's missing here...

Nat Geo's 'Inside a Cult': Would you drink the kool-aid?

"Cults are different because they cross the lines of propriety. They are renegades to society and basic human rights, mostly women and children, and are unified by their leaders' hubris, hucksterism and sheer strength of mind power.

"The leaders are God's con men. They are usually always male, charismatic, some are very attractive; they communicate and express their prophecies and beliefs with utter conviction. 

"They are masters of manipulating the broken, the weak, gullible, psychologically damaged and feeble-minded around them in their zeal for what they purport as their rightful leadership as the anointed God-human deity in the presence of their flocks. "

- from National Geographic

El Porto Sunrise

Gary Busselman sez:

I've found the best way to deal with relatives who are shunning me is from a reasonable distance. 100 miles seems to be about right.

Sarcasm is reserved for friends and the friendly.

Believing Witnesses see me as a ridiculer, an opposer, and that's what I am. I actually don't ridicule, I just write Watch Tower policies and practices and they look ridiculous without any help from me.