[EthanWiner]

That's when you know that they know deep down their position isn't defensible and they don't actually know or have an explanation for what they're talking about. Very sad.

I agree with this completely. I think most really do know they're wrong, but they want very badly to believe in magic.

--Ethan

 

[Steve Eddy]

Y'ever watch Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth when it aired on PBS back in the late 80s?

se

 

[bigshot]

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!

 

[xnor]

Is that the slogan of modern journalism?

 

[jcx]

I think its been around for a while
 

When Hearst Artist Frederic Remington, cabled from Cuba in 1897 that "there will be no war," William Randolph Hearst cabled back: "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war."

 

[krismusic]

That has to be one of the most interesting posts I have read. If you manage to put those principles into practice you must be a good guy to encounter in real life.

 

[ab initio]

Great video! Thanks for the video Ethan, and thanks for pointing it out to us manveru!
 
Cheers

 

[Gignac]

I agree with this completely. I think most really do know they're wrong, but they want very badly to believe in magic.

--Ethan

Really, really enjoying this video - I'm probably going to have to watch it a couple of times, but it's quite straightforward and easy to follow.
 
Very pleased to find something here which actually makes logical sense, I was getting a little tired of all of the chest-pounding and flowery language.
 
This is very much a reason why I haven't done much in the way of writing reviews, I had an inclination to use the language that is so prevalent here instead of presenting any sort of accuracy in my descriptions.
 
Much obliged!

 

[manveru]

That has to be one of the most interesting posts I have read. If you manage to put those principles into practice you must be a good guy to encounter in real life.

 
Well, I try. You may or may not be surprised how violently most average people react to these sorts of things. I think it's due to the nature of the types of people who would be interested in a thread like this in the first place that that hasn't really happened here thus far.

For me personally, it all relates back to the fact that free will does not exist. And not only that, but  the seemingly near species-wide delusion that it does is a deeply fundamental part of human culture which has very real and destructive consequences. As far as I can tell at this point in time, belief in free will is either a direct cause, a necessary precondition, or somehow related to almost every social problem imaginable. Most importantly though, it means that the problems we face both as individuals and as a species are not "just the way things are" or due to "nature." They are the results of a chain of cause and effect which if altered has the potential to make this universe a saner, safer, happier place to exist. Ever since I realized this about two years ago, I've learned and continue to learn a lot about both myself and the world around me.

 

[krismusic]

Hi manveru. Yep it's all kicking off here http://www.head-fi.org/t/697929/please-stop-burning-in-your-earphones/60#post_10143024 !
Your post is pretty deep for a headphone forum. I'm intrigued. If you do not believe in free will then what do you think defines our behaviour?

 

[manveru]

Hi manveru. Yep it's all kicking off here http://www.head-fi.org/t/697929/please-stop-burning-in-your-earphones/60#post_10143024 !
Your post is pretty deep for a headphone forum. I'm intrigued. If you do not believe in free will then what do you think defines our behaviour?

 
It's only because we're not talking about headphones anymore, haha.
 
There is a huge amount of detail, examples, ramifications, and related topics which could go into understanding that question, more than would make sense or be possible to try and sum up in a single post. To try and put it into a nutshell though, human beings are physical objects, and physical objects behave according to the laws of physics. At it's core, it is as simple as that.
 
That one sentence is far from explaining everything, and I can already anticipate every counter-argument and objection I've ever heard as a result of this vagueness. However, I don't want to get carried away or go into too great of detail unless it's asked or brought up in conversation, so I'll just leave it at within this specific post.
 
I also would like to start out by saying that in no way in any of my posts have I thought or tried to give off the vibe that I am omniscient and think I know everything and am a messiah. I'm just telling what I've learned from my experiences in life so far on a subject which is widely unrecognized and hardly ever talked about. I think that my life and the lives of every person on this planet are not at all as good as they could be, and the more people begin to realize certain things, the more hope there is that that could ever change. That's why I bring up things like this whenever I can see it's relevancy and am not among self-defeatingly hostile company.

 

[krismusic]

to try and put it into a nutshell though, human beings are physical objects, and physical objects behave according to the laws of physics. At it's core, it is as simple as that.

I do like that. Never thought of it like that before.
I half expected a reply based on religion. I am much more interested in what you came back with.
Don't worry. I'm not going to make you my guru!
Nice to have a conversation with someone with interesting ideas though.

 

[manveru]

I half expected a reply based on religion.

 
I know just what you mean, haha.
 

Don't worry. I'm not going to make you my guru!

 
Haha, I was just speaking kind of in general in case anyone else was reading. A lot of people have perceived me as having some kind of weird egotistical ulterior motive which causes massive misunderstandings and mental blocks right from the get go. Understandable if you've been conditioned your whole life to think that there is such a thing as an "ego."
 

Nice to have a conversation with someone with interesting ideas though.

 

 

[krismusic]

 

[BlindInOneEar]

Rezzing this dead thread simply because I think this forum can never have enough common sense in it.