It's remarkable to observe how deeply the scientistic mental frame has penetrated our thinking nowadays. Even people who are decent and do want to hear what others have to say have adopted a kind of machine learning approach to their own consciousness. It's as if they regard their worldview as a sort of computer model in which they "consume data" from others and incorporate it into their preprogrammed system of ideas and beliefs, instead of listening to others on their own terms and maybe learning some new insight or truth. This way of "thinking" is ultimately as counterproductive as the smug know-it-allness of the Harris type, because it undermines the capacity for inner growth. I see it all the time when I talk to people. I'm in the middle of expressing some idea and their eyes light up, like they've already formulated a response in which they've assimilated what I'm saying into their model, and they can't wait to show off how smart their "data analytics" sounds, and so they're no longer even listening to me. It's a polite sort of close-mindedness, but close-minded nonetheless, and reflects the poverty of intelligence in modern society.
A pretty astute insight here, and well expressed. Thanks, Harry. Perhaps the AI metaphor has creeped into the social media set and populated itself, thereby establishing the conditions for hackability. A good reason to keep trying to promote the mythical, storytelling mind, the analogical mind. I don't think that's hackable. One must sell one's soul to the machine model to be hackable... and soon enough one becomes 1 of 7 or 1 of 8B.
"Some kind of default"? Right you are that he lacks self-awareness. It seems strange that "factory setting" should be his metaphor for biology. He can change a factory setting (we all have to do this with some things we buy) but he can't alter his biology. He seems to think that he can switch from the "factory setting" to his own setting. What he needs to do--and was not doing since as an argumentative teenager--is to find ways to use culture to modify his instincts. Of course, for the male, confrontation and an adversarial stance are biological, the notorious rowdiness of boys. Men learn how to modify that stance and find better, persuasive ways to get what they want. This fellow should work on the necessary modifications.
One might conclude that a few rounds in the ring and learning to take a real punch might be the right corrective for this fella. (For those who don't know, Allen writes a fascinating Substack on boxing.) When I was growing up, if you behaved like Harris, you'd probably wind up with a bloody nose. There is something in his soft, cultivated smugness that suggests he's never had a whooping. His adversarial stance has a whiff of Lululemon to it. It's like he's jumping around a gentrified splash pad, throwing water in your face and laughing at you because he knows no one can stop him without winding up with assault charges. Everyone just has to leave the playground. And of course it's not just Harris who behaves this way, which is why I'm taking the trouble to show how the leaders of the new atheist movement are simply poor role models.
This piece may sound mean. But it’s not. Normally, I find Harris irritating and mildly repulsive. But this piece showed me I should just pity him.
Why?
Because Sam Harris has no right hemisphere. Or, if he does, it’s held prisoner, Cask of Amontillado style, by his left. His poor wife and kids. (Paging Dr. Iain McGhilchrist...)
Thanks for these takedowns. They’re intelligent enough to induce sympathy, not more anger.
Thanks RDM! I'm aware I'm walking a fine line here. And I admit to taking some snarky digs here and there. I'm trying to have some fun with the genre, and I'm aware it may put some folks off. I'm glad you're picking up on the pathological element, the diagnosis, as it were. We truly ought to feel pity, though I have trouble getting there myself--I think mostly because I encounter followers who behave this way in abundance. They're mean and smug is the trouble. Consequently, I'm attempting here to equip myself and others with a perspective that might help when confronted by these folk.
It's remarkable to observe how deeply the scientistic mental frame has penetrated our thinking nowadays. Even people who are decent and do want to hear what others have to say have adopted a kind of machine learning approach to their own consciousness. It's as if they regard their worldview as a sort of computer model in which they "consume data" from others and incorporate it into their preprogrammed system of ideas and beliefs, instead of listening to others on their own terms and maybe learning some new insight or truth. This way of "thinking" is ultimately as counterproductive as the smug know-it-allness of the Harris type, because it undermines the capacity for inner growth. I see it all the time when I talk to people. I'm in the middle of expressing some idea and their eyes light up, like they've already formulated a response in which they've assimilated what I'm saying into their model, and they can't wait to show off how smart their "data analytics" sounds, and so they're no longer even listening to me. It's a polite sort of close-mindedness, but close-minded nonetheless, and reflects the poverty of intelligence in modern society.
A pretty astute insight here, and well expressed. Thanks, Harry. Perhaps the AI metaphor has creeped into the social media set and populated itself, thereby establishing the conditions for hackability. A good reason to keep trying to promote the mythical, storytelling mind, the analogical mind. I don't think that's hackable. One must sell one's soul to the machine model to be hackable... and soon enough one becomes 1 of 7 or 1 of 8B.
Thanks, Asa. The hackable brains of "useless eater" machines! The storytelling mind does need to make a comeback. Big time.
"Some kind of default"? Right you are that he lacks self-awareness. It seems strange that "factory setting" should be his metaphor for biology. He can change a factory setting (we all have to do this with some things we buy) but he can't alter his biology. He seems to think that he can switch from the "factory setting" to his own setting. What he needs to do--and was not doing since as an argumentative teenager--is to find ways to use culture to modify his instincts. Of course, for the male, confrontation and an adversarial stance are biological, the notorious rowdiness of boys. Men learn how to modify that stance and find better, persuasive ways to get what they want. This fellow should work on the necessary modifications.
One might conclude that a few rounds in the ring and learning to take a real punch might be the right corrective for this fella. (For those who don't know, Allen writes a fascinating Substack on boxing.) When I was growing up, if you behaved like Harris, you'd probably wind up with a bloody nose. There is something in his soft, cultivated smugness that suggests he's never had a whooping. His adversarial stance has a whiff of Lululemon to it. It's like he's jumping around a gentrified splash pad, throwing water in your face and laughing at you because he knows no one can stop him without winding up with assault charges. Everyone just has to leave the playground. And of course it's not just Harris who behaves this way, which is why I'm taking the trouble to show how the leaders of the new atheist movement are simply poor role models.
Very amusing response, a kid in a splash pond, cultivated smugness. Yes, maybe a bloody nose would help.
This piece may sound mean. But it’s not. Normally, I find Harris irritating and mildly repulsive. But this piece showed me I should just pity him.
Why?
Because Sam Harris has no right hemisphere. Or, if he does, it’s held prisoner, Cask of Amontillado style, by his left. His poor wife and kids. (Paging Dr. Iain McGhilchrist...)
Thanks for these takedowns. They’re intelligent enough to induce sympathy, not more anger.
Thanks RDM! I'm aware I'm walking a fine line here. And I admit to taking some snarky digs here and there. I'm trying to have some fun with the genre, and I'm aware it may put some folks off. I'm glad you're picking up on the pathological element, the diagnosis, as it were. We truly ought to feel pity, though I have trouble getting there myself--I think mostly because I encounter followers who behave this way in abundance. They're mean and smug is the trouble. Consequently, I'm attempting here to equip myself and others with a perspective that might help when confronted by these folk.