Annotations
Notes and asides reflecting the perspectives of various academic disciplines
Selfish Replicators
"We are survival machines - robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes." - Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, http://www.arn.org/docs/johnson/pj_robotrebellion.htm)
"We are vehicles for our DNA, we are hosts for DNA parasites which are our genes." - The World of Richard Dawkins
… a human being is the [...]
Shakti
In Hinduism, divine, feminine, creative power or force, from the Sanskrit.
From the point of view of certain schools of Hindu mysticism, all that exists is nothing but the play of shakti - the entire universe we live in and know is only the orgasmic daydream of some goddess or another.
The Shits & The Johnsons
In the metaphysics of science fiction author W.S. Burroughs, there are only two types of people in the world - Shits and Johnsons.
Johnsons mind their own business, and are generous, helpful and kind, with no thought of reward; Shits are infected by an alien virus called the "right virus" which makes them literally incapable [...]
Slave Race
"Human beings appear to be a slave race languishing on an isolated planet in a small galaxy. As such, the human race was once the only source of labor for an extraterrestrial civilization and remains a possession today. To keep control over its possession and to maintain Earth as something of a prison, that [...]
The Socratic Method
"THRASYMACHUS: What's that you're saying?
SOCRATES: Just what you said, I believe…. Haven't you admitted that the Rulers…. sometimes mistake their own best interests, and that at the same time it is right for the subjects to obey?…
THRASYMACHUS: Yes, I suppose so.
SOCRATES: Well, that amounts to admitting that it is right to do [...]
The Spiritual Body
"Satan's goal is to teach humans to regain the conscious control of their spirit bodies. Many do. Once this is achieved, these people can perceive the spirit world as well as the physical world. They can talk freely with demons, leave their physical bodies with their spirit bodies, and with full conscious awareness go [...]
Subversive activities
"If sex and creativity are often seen by dictators as subversive activities, it's because they lead to the knowledge that you own your own body (and with it, your voice) and that's the most revolutionary insight of all." - Erica Jong
Swallowing the Octopus
"This teen age girl, growing up in a California coastal town, was obviously pregnant - stomach starting to swell, morning sickness, etc. She, however, tearfully insisted to her mother that she couldn't possibly be pregnant. She had never "done it" with a boy and it just wasn't possible.
As time went on, however, the signs [...]
