It's like this: blood flows though the brain, in and out with little resistance. Unless you have some sort of occlusion. Similarly, ideas also flow in and out of the brain---like watching a movie. But better than a movie. The free flow of ideas constitutes the present. If nothing sticks, we experience the eternal unfolding of the present.
But sticky ideas, by some unknown mechanism, perhaps inertia, develop viscosity and get stuck in brain. Once stuck, the ideas remain and repeat themselves. These are the ideas that take us away from our present and into a different pseduo-reality of the sticky idea. But sticky ideas, unlike sticky rice, are generally not tasty and certainly don't pair well with fresh mango.
I wonder if Christopher Hitchens liked the mango, or tropical fruit in general? Who knows. I was listening to a prior recorded interview of his in the last century on some podcast. I was struck by what I sensed were many sticky ideas coming from him. He was passionate and assured of them in a way that struck my 21st Century ears as somewhat odd. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but aside from religious fundamentalist, the 21st Century seems to be characterized by the lack of viscous ideas. Ideas and ideologies have faded into irony. Of course, I don't watch Fox News or MSNBC, and I haven't watched any of the recent Presidential debates. Maybe I would be singing a different tune if I did. But I'm perfectly happy in my 5W-30W world and so is my Toyota.
Except when I have a panic attack. In a panic attack the ideas are very viscous. They are the visitors that don't leave despite all the hints we have given them that they have overstayed their welcome. Ideas in a panic attack repeat themselves and represent a false reality. No, you are not dying. No you are not having a heart attack or stroke. You simply have an idea stuck in your brain. No big deal. That's what WD-40 is for, right?
Maybe all ideologues lived in a constant state of panic. Karl Marx seemed to have a pretty lame life. Workers of the World Unite, Dammit! If not, you are causing me a great deal of anxiety. But I digress. Let me digress even more. I wonder if eventually they are going to come up with some next generation FMRI that can actually isolate the location of the stuck idea in the brain and then some heparin can be applied to liberate it.
That brings us to the issue of Roko's Basilisk. Whatever. But if you want more read here. If you don't, thank the God that is not Great that you have escaped its vile clutches. Speaking of vile clutches, its snowing outside. Do you know what that means? It means someone is trying to put you into its vile clutches:
I'm Mister Snow
I'm Mister Icicle
I'm Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
I'm too much!
But let me give you a present. For the present, like the present is a present. And the present, with its lack of viscosity, is always a present, presently.
Have a blessed Tuesday night, ya all!
But sticky ideas, by some unknown mechanism, perhaps inertia, develop viscosity and get stuck in brain. Once stuck, the ideas remain and repeat themselves. These are the ideas that take us away from our present and into a different pseduo-reality of the sticky idea. But sticky ideas, unlike sticky rice, are generally not tasty and certainly don't pair well with fresh mango.
I wonder if Christopher Hitchens liked the mango, or tropical fruit in general? Who knows. I was listening to a prior recorded interview of his in the last century on some podcast. I was struck by what I sensed were many sticky ideas coming from him. He was passionate and assured of them in a way that struck my 21st Century ears as somewhat odd. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but aside from religious fundamentalist, the 21st Century seems to be characterized by the lack of viscous ideas. Ideas and ideologies have faded into irony. Of course, I don't watch Fox News or MSNBC, and I haven't watched any of the recent Presidential debates. Maybe I would be singing a different tune if I did. But I'm perfectly happy in my 5W-30W world and so is my Toyota.
Except when I have a panic attack. In a panic attack the ideas are very viscous. They are the visitors that don't leave despite all the hints we have given them that they have overstayed their welcome. Ideas in a panic attack repeat themselves and represent a false reality. No, you are not dying. No you are not having a heart attack or stroke. You simply have an idea stuck in your brain. No big deal. That's what WD-40 is for, right?
Maybe all ideologues lived in a constant state of panic. Karl Marx seemed to have a pretty lame life. Workers of the World Unite, Dammit! If not, you are causing me a great deal of anxiety. But I digress. Let me digress even more. I wonder if eventually they are going to come up with some next generation FMRI that can actually isolate the location of the stuck idea in the brain and then some heparin can be applied to liberate it.
That brings us to the issue of Roko's Basilisk. Whatever. But if you want more read here. If you don't, thank the God that is not Great that you have escaped its vile clutches. Speaking of vile clutches, its snowing outside. Do you know what that means? It means someone is trying to put you into its vile clutches:
I'm Mister Snow
I'm Mister Icicle
I'm Mister Ten Below
Friends call me Snow Miser
What ever I touch
Turns to snow in my clutch
I'm too much!
But let me give you a present. For the present, like the present is a present. And the present, with its lack of viscosity, is always a present, presently.
Have a blessed Tuesday night, ya all!
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