Annotations
Notes and asides reflecting the perspectives of various academic disciplines
The Mind Parasites
"I suspect that these mind vampires specialize in finding races who have almost reached this point of evolution, who are on the brink of achieving a new power, and then feeding on them until they have destroyed them. It is not their actual intention to destroy – because once they have done this, they are [...]
Misdirection and Reinforcement
"If the phenomenon is forcing us through a learning curve, then it has no choice but to mislead us. When Skinner designs a machine that feeds a rat only when the right lever is depressed, this is extremely misleading for the rat. But if the rat doesn't depress the correct lever, he becomes extremely hungry. [...]
Models
"We assume that the universe is real, that it exists quite independently of human thought about it. But when we come to dealing with this universe, to human manipulation and improvement of it, we are not able to come to grips directly with this reality. We can only take in the sensory impressions reaching us [...]
Monotheistic Dualism
"Monotheistic dualism that separates God from everything else presents an almost whimsical picture of a God who is a supreme egoist creating the universe for the express purpose of being worshipped - rewarding those who do it properly (according to his rules) and punishing those who don't. That this is reminiscent of all authoritarian power [...]
The Mother Universe
QUANTUM FLUCTUATION
Perhaps the closest modern parallel to the "Barbelo" may be found in the inflationary model, or the idea that our universe - and the big bang which produced it - emerged as the result of a "quantum fluctuation" in some sort of primieval cosmic vaccum.
In quantum physical terms, a vacuum is [...]
Multiple Personality Disorder
"Perhaps the most bizarre example of compartmentalization is the psychopathology referred to as multiple personality disorder, in which one body seems to be carrying around a number of distinct personalities. Some of them are sometimes cognizant of the existence of some of the others. The drama within this person becomes "Who is in control?" [...]
