it’s been a while…
So yeah, it has definitely been a while since I have posted anything. Partly because AT&T/SBC fucked over our internet access and phone lines and partly because I felt uninspired to come up with anything new (side note: Att&T/SBC sent me a rebate check for all the downtime so I guess they’re not total bastards). It’s that whole artist struggle of trying to create something from nothing. Part of the fun of this blog is to realize that what seems like old news to me is actually highly thought provoking and revolutionary to others. The really cool thing is my readership has grown. I have 10 registered user on this here blog and I get about 100 hits a day. After I wrote the Drum Corp World Peace article I got close to 1000 hits in one day!
Wow! I have to thank Lee for that since he pimped that article out to every drum corps related forum in the free world. I tip my hat to you.
So today I wanted to promote a favorite book of mine. If you are a fan of existentialism then this book will be right up your alley. The book is by Scott Adams (of Dilbert comic strip fame) and is titled God’s Debris. Just click the link and you can read it for yourself. Scott Adams and his publisher decided to give this book away for free in pdf format since they were having a hard time marketing it…
Frankly, this is the hardest book in the world to market. When it first came out in hardcover, booksellers couldn’t decide if it was fiction or nonfiction. Was it philosophy or religion? It’s a religion/science book written by a cartoonist, using hypnosis techniques in the writing. It’s a thought experiment. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever read. How do you sell something that can’t be explained?
I actually bought this book in hardcover when it came out. I am HUGE fan of the Dilbert books (not the comic books, the ones they sell in the buisness section) and when I found out he was writing a book without a comedic slant to it I was the first in line to buy it. Unfortunately, my copy was stolen last year. I was up in Concord for a Renegades camp and I left it in my backpack (along with 5 million drumsticks). I forgot to lock my car and all my cd’s and my backpack was gone. Good thing I remembered to bring in my laptop! In a way, I am almost happy that the book was in my backpack. In the back of my mind I envision this person cracking it open and having a thought provoking read. I’m nothing if not optimistic.
Anyway, writing like his reminds me of something that I always tell Alyssa. Smart, dumb, whatever…If you ask the right question, you can get an answer from anyone on any subject. For example, If you think you are so removed from the “Redneck” culture that you can’t have a philisophical conversation with them, all I have to say is you aren’t trying hard enough to create an understanding. This sort of thing is the basis for our capitalist society (along with a healthy dose of vanity). You can sell anything to anyone if you just market it right.
Warning: Really fucking preachy stuff ahead…
One of the big “truths” that I have stumbled upon is that life is pretty random (stating the obvious like I always do). For those of the notion that free will is something you have, you are sadly mistaken. Alyssa and I got into a conversation about the book “The Stranger” which I haven’t read but it is now on my list. She has a real problem with the overall reasoning in the book. Essentially, the main character killed someone because he is too hot. Most people would have a problem with that, but the problem occurs because we are bred into a society with rules of behavior. Society by sheer definition is a group of people that thrive together. Because they operate TOGETHER (key word), they are a unit, a system of rules. We assume that since we are all human, that we all know these rules, but that is not necessarily the case. Like any system, it has to be taught. If it turns out that the central character wasn’t taught these rules then it is perfectly acceptable that he killed someone because he was too hot. As humans, we are essentially just walking vanity personified. This is actually going to be the basis for my webshow (Credits teaser). We are the product of whatever rule system we were brought up to believe with the majority of the western world being of the Judeo-Christian morality.
The real big thing that I think we are all reaching for and we will someday realize is that the human race is pointless. It’s an extrememly hard thing to accept but the fate of our society depends on
1. Achieving this knowledge
2. Reacting to it in a way that doesn’t destory us.
I still think that as a society we are still very far from realizing that one tidbit of knowledge. We are too tied to our differences be it race or class or intelligence or whatever. As my wife always tells me, “once you learn something, you can’t unlearn it.” In a society that statement is magnified.
Now here’s the fun part…
Is the narrator flawed here? Have I just wrote all this just to have a little fun or was there a point?
hint…I am God
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May 9th, 2006 @ 5:56 pm
thanks for the book, i am glad. i love PDF format books, give me something to read on the go.
May 9th, 2006 @ 6:19 pm
the God box stuff again? something just to be thought provoking and confuse the shit outta me? lol
May 9th, 2006 @ 9:37 pm
First I have a problem with you using a fictional book that you HAVEN’T read as your example of humanity. That being said…
As you know, I have a real problem with the idea that we don’t have free will. No, I can’t prove that it exists, but on the same hand you can’t prove that it doesn’t. Remember the lack of proof does not equate to it doesn’t exist. I applaud you on trying to base this like a scientist (based on observation). The idea being our actions are controlled by 1. our genes and 2. the circumstances around us that we can’t control. But can’t there be another factor that controls our actions- eg. free will?
I mean really look at the factors. We can have people with similar genes and put them in the same circumstances, yet they still come out different. What is the difference here? While you explain it away as being slightly different circumstances or slightly different genes, I say it depends on hoe we react to the situation.
For example, take two hypothetical brothers. Their parents are alcoholics. One brother becomes an alcoholic and the other doesn’t. Why? I would argue that one sees their parents as a negative influence- not wanting to be like them, he vows to never become an alcoholic and never does. The second brother, however, sees it as no big deal, so he becomes an alcoholic too. I call this free will. You point to it as being some discrepancy in genes or circumstances (yet you won’t be able to point out the exact discrepancy).
Yes I realize that I can’t prove free will beyond a shadow of a doubt, but as I said before you can’t prove the non-existence of it either. So that being said, why is someone “sadly mistaken” if they believe in free will?
Well I’ve rambled on for too long about what I’m sure is a minor point, so I’ll quit the argument for now.
June 1st, 2006 @ 12:13 pm
Do you think it might be possible that free will is something that also needs to be taught?
In our culture, we’re brought up, at least in lip service, to be individuals working together. From a very young age we’re told that it’s okay to think for yourself, “you can be anything you want to be,” etc. We are, of course, surprised by the results (rebellious teenagers being one big result I can think of. Note that I did not put “murder” in this category.) and do what we can to regulate them later in life.
But what about other, more restrictive cultures? Maybe their free will doesn’t span quite the span of our free will. Are there are some aspects of their lives that changing is simply *not* an option, perhaps by extreme religious or social pressure (ie, if you wear something that reveals your legs, you will be killed)?
Maybe free will has a definition that excludes these things? I don’t really know. It’s really easy to talk about, but what *is* it?
June 1st, 2006 @ 12:22 pm
That’s just the thing, I don’t believe “free will” as a concept we can use to control our lives is something that exsists, let alone can be taught. How do I know that my “free will teacher” isn’t just teaching me her version of free will? We are forever bound by the past. The past is always dictating what is to come in the future. If you think you can predict how a certain situation is going to transpire, you are really just drawing upon your own experiences to have a conclusion. Our understanding of life is descriptive, not prescriptive therefore, any notion of free will is negated. Free will, as a concept, is a crutch to help people cope with the path their life and experience has given them. At times the coping is really great and at other times it’s the worst thing they have ever felt, but alas, it was always going to happen that way. Call it destiny if you wish.
June 1st, 2006 @ 8:40 pm
You know I actually really like Linda’s idea that free will is something that can be learned (or just attained though time). It is very hard to look at a baby and say it has free will. But I look at adults and see that they all react to the same stimuli differently. I know Chris will say this is just because of what has happened in their past. But remember you can’t prove the lack of free will any more than I can prove it. And if I am just deluding myself, really what is the harm? This “delusion” allows me to believe in things like love, and what can be more pure than that? Call me a sap, but I believe that love is the saving grace for humanity, but I digress…
Anyway, my point that I was trying to get across in my last entry is that something as abstract as “free will” can never be proved or disproved. This, by definition, makes both sides equally right and wrong. But for sure, Linda is right. Before we can even discuss the idea of free will any further we should have a set definition of it.
But I think I won’t post in this area anymore- Chris and I have nearly come to blows on this subject, and I really don’t have the will currently to fight this one out.
Oh and Valiant- no I’m not taking a dump while I’m typing this time- but now that you mention it… I think I need to go
June 2nd, 2006 @ 12:46 am
Posting on a messageboard while taking a dump…
Alyssa, you have opened up new horizons for me.
June 2nd, 2006 @ 6:30 pm
Yey for pooping and typing at the same time!