My standard answer to this is -- given the neural reference frame of nihilism -- is why not try some grand social experiments. There is no Purpose, so causing harm in the short term, or for that matter long term, ultimately doesn't matter.
-----Original Message----- From: Friam <friam-boun...@redfish.com> On Behalf Of glen Sent: Friday, August 2, 2024 8:12 AM To: friam@redfish.com Subject: [FRIAM] why musk bought twitter This guy does what I think is a good job demonstrating that Elno's stated reasons (free speech, liberal bias, censorship) for buying Twitter were false: The Problem With Elon Musk https://youtu.be/WYQxG4KEzvo?si=oXumcC8aqsYMTzdC&t=1487 Sure, we can project whatever fantasies we want into the mind of an oligarch like Elno. But if we're trying to do a good job, find an explanation that's "hard to vary" (ala Deutsch), we're left empty handed. However Timothy Snyder provides us with something I think's intriguing; and it reflects various other arguments I've made, here, about TESCREAL <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TESCREAL>. Here's where I heard Snyder's setup: The New Paganism: How the Postmodern Became the Premodern https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nr2Q2zGNC8 Appended below is Claude's summary of the talk. But the essence is that these people "believe" (somehow) they can "take it with them" in a similar way to the pagans (e.g. Vikings, Egyptians, etc.) believing they could hoard their stuff and somehow have access to it in the next life. This reflects well, I think, Musk's objectives for SpaceX, Tesla, breeding children, etc. It's somewhere between believing in souls, one's legacy, and spreading humanity (not biology, of course, but humanity) throughout the universe. My guess is most of our Oligarchs will give lip service to spiritual beliefs like Christianity or whatever, but are actually more atheistic in their ephemerides. But if you spend enough time arguing about atheism, you consistently find people (even atheistic people) asking for Purpose (with a capital P). Why are we here? What should we be doing? Etc. Despite our overwhelming rationalism/justificationism, many (most?) of us still seek that grand arch. And those of us who are *lucky* enough to be extraordinarily successful (in whatever domain) are at the most risk for this irrational/fideistic, paganist, TESCREAL Purpose. I think it's a relatively strong hypothesis for why Musk bought Twitter. Claude's summary: > - Snyder argues that conventional explanations based on rationality and > interests fail to adequately explain the rise of right-wing populist > movements and figures like Trump, Putin, and Musk. Instead, he proposes > analyzing these phenomena through the lens of what he calls "neopaganism." > > - He identifies four key dimensions of neopaganism: value, sacrifice, > charisma, and oracular truth. > > - On value, he argues today's oligarchs hoard wealth as if they can "take it > with them" after death, similar to pagan burial practices. > > - On sacrifice, he contends oligarchs are sacrificing the earth itself > through climate change, taking the world down with them. Putin's invasion of > Ukraine also has a sacrificial logic. > > - Charismatic leaders tell big lies to create an alternate reality their > followers live inside. Trump and Putin exemplify this. > > - Modern technology, especially smartphones, function as pagan "oracles" - > sources of addictive but often deceptive truth that make us more stupid over > time. > > - Snyder believes the humanities are crucial for reflecting on these issues > and finding a way out of our current crisis. A narrow, failed rationality has > enabled these destructive dynamics. What's needed is a richer, more > reflective notion of human freedom. > > In summary, Snyder argues we need to understand the pagan-like irrationality > and destructiveness driving our world today in order to have any hope of > countering it. The humanities provide essential resources for this task. -- ꙮ Mɥǝu ǝlǝdɥɐuʇs ɟᴉƃɥʇ' ʇɥǝ ƃɹɐss snɟɟǝɹs˙ ꙮ -. --- - / ...- .- .-.. .. -.. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom https://bit.ly/virtualfriam to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ archives: 5/2017 thru present https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/
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