An amazing aspect of the internet is that it has democratized information filtration. Whereas in the past information flowed outwards from a few, very powerful, sources, it now flows freely in all directions. Many people have noted this phenomena, even praised it for the miracle that it is, but there is a darker side to the extreme diversity of information filtration, something called ‘comfirmational bias’. This is the tendency we have to look information that already supports a view we currently hold, and it’s not something that’s easy (or even completely possible) to overcome.

This past year I’ve gotten most of my news and information from my facebook and twitter streams, my youtube subscriptions… always feeling as if I was getting ‘the other side’ of the story. I suppose you could call it a mental oversight that, at first, I failed to realize that there is never only two sides to a story. Through the internet I’ve found large groups of loose associations through digital media to people who share similar values to mine, which is great, and has opened my eyes to many new ideas.

However, I tend to agree with more of these ideas than not, and I don’t think this is a good thing. I think a large chunk of the information I expose myself to should be information I disagree with. There are multiple reasons for this, namely:
1. Understanding another’s position is an invaluable tool in conversation, and
2. It’s important to recieve information that has been filtered through an entirely different set of biases than a person is used to. The fact of the matter is that no matter how biased a source for information is, the information is still there, and when we seek a diverse  base of source-biases, we are forced to use our critical thinking capacities as we learn, rather than passively re-inforcing our same old thought-patterns.

What catalyzed perspective shift? I’ve been doing a lot of painting at my day job lately, and was looking for something to listen to on my iPod that might make me feel like I was not wasting my day. I searched iTunes for ‘philosophy’, and on iTunesU I found a lecture series called ‘Modern Philosophy’. I downloaded the batch and started listening.

What I didn’t notice, until I started listening, was that this lecture series was given at RTS (The Reformed Theological Seminary).  I’m about halfway through the series, and now I know why Marx never wrote anything worth thinking about…. because he was a godless statist, of course! But jokes and sillyness like that aside, I really have learned a lot about modern philosophy that I did not know, and I actually appreciated sorting through the perspective that professor Ronald Nash projects onto the philosophies of these great thinkers. People I’d never actually heard of like Kant and Hegel, or those I had like Marx, Nietzsche, or Rousseau (all of whom were near-worthless idiots, according to Nash :D).

Nash is an expert on these people’s philosophies, but the ever-present, transparent Christian bias that goes completely unnoticed by Nash and his students (even as he rails on the logical contradictions in certain philosophies while continuing to fall back on a logically contradictory version of Christianity) is an brain churning example of information filtration that stimulates the neurons to no end. It’s interesting to learn about philosophy from someone I fundamentally disagree with, because as I listen and absorb the real information he’s putting forward, I’m forced to use my critical thinking facilities to understand which statements are based on reality, and which the Christian delusion Nash holds so dear to his heart, as he makes casual reference to the impending Rapture, the unsaved, and joking ‘amen’s’ and ‘halleljia’s’ from his enthusiastic students.

Having never heard a lot of this information before, it was nice to hear it from a bible believing Christian. I can’t wait to hear some more perspectives.

I recently heard about a report that discovered when people listen to someone we percieve as an ‘expert’ in a given field, our critical thinking capacities all but shut down. I have no tests to back this up, but I think if we are listening to experts who have valid insights and information, but also have fundamental disagreements with our own personal philosophies, and therefore constantly arriving at different conclusions than we would, our critical thinking faculties may not be so dormant.

songs:
Eleanor Rigby (4centers Dubstep Remix)
A-Skillz – Strawberry Jam Forever

http://theinfinityes.com
http://thezeitgeistmovement.com
http://thevenusproject.com

i was a guest once more on ‘useless thoughts and unremarkable opinions’ (episiode 34), where Jack and I may have been a little rough on the wonderful co-host linda, and i am very very sorry:
http://jacknemo.podomatic.com/

and i was also invited onto V-Radio to talk about my video’s on the zeitgeist movement, namely, ‘Capitalism? Epic Fail!’, along with fellow z-filmmakers tom vine and doug mallette :
listen here

also might as well throw in another reminder for peeps to check out my new other youtube channel (for video’s of my FACE and talking and music):
http://youtube.com/theinfinityes

Inspired in part by the book, ‘The Chalice and The Blade’ by Riane Eisler. This video is a collaborative effort between Ife Aziz (http://www.youtube.com/PepperMintLIfe) and Aaron Moritz made possible through the internet, which allowed us to reach out, empathize, and share ideas with one another. On many fronts, the fact that this video exists is a testament to the reality of what it puts forth; ultimately, a challenge to the theory that humans are hardwired for competition and aggression, rather than co-operation, and empathy.

The next step in our collective evolution:

http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com

http://www.thevenusproject.com

songs:
Saul Williams – Bloodletting
Bonobo – All In Forms
Pretty Lights – Still Rockin’
Dave Matthews Band – Grux
Dave Matthews Band – Shake Me Like a Monkey

But they are used to it. That doesn’t make it right, but it makes it easier, for me, mentally to accept. But today. On my walk home I walk past a church, and outside, I saw a kid, pegged him to be about my age, little younger maybe (late teens early twenty’s), clean clothes. I nodded to him and he started talking. As I took one headphone out of my ear I heard ‘…listen to me for a minute?’. I nodded.

He briefly told me that he was 15, that the day before his father had kicked him out of the house, the youth shelters were full so he spent last night outside (it’s already started snowing up here in semi-northern canada). By the time he was done talking I think he could see something in my face, because he immediately looked down and away. He didn’t even ask me for money, but I stammered an explanation ‘I have no money on me… I don’t really know what else I can do for you.’

This was a lie. I had $45 in my wallet. No. I have $45 in my wallet. It’s my last $45 until friday when I get paid again, unless I rack up some more on the credit card. But the look on his face when he knew I was rejecting him — before I even did… fucking tore my heart out. I literally got a little bit teary eyed walking home, because even if I need my money, I have a floor he could sleep on. I could’ve given him some food. Hell, I could’ve at least asked if he wanted to come in from the cold and smoke a joint or something.

These are all the things that were running through my head as I finished my walk home. I didn’t start the music again. I felt, and still feel guilty, with every moment that passes, because this happened less than half an hour ago. I know that if I went back there I could probably find him and do something.

But no, I’m trying to find comfort in an online post.

You know what it is? I think I’m scared. Of that kid. Or anyone, I guess.

I just don’t understand how someone as well meaning as me can lie to and ignore someone like that. If actions speak louder than words than my actions don’t speak well of me, in my eyes. I also don’t understand why I have to be scared of someone asking for help. My fears aren’t completely unfounded, but let’s be honest, I could see in this kids face that he really needed help. That he hated asking for it. He wasn’t used to it like all the other homeless people I meet. That familiar resigned look was not present in his eyes. I think he might have been lying, about his age, maybe the whole story, but it doesn’t matter. Nobody who isn’t desperate does what he did. Looked the way he did.

He didn’t really nod or say anything, just kept looking at the ground, frowning. I felt like I could watch his faith in humanity slipping from his grasp as I became the god knows how many-ith person to tell him ‘no’. I was simultaneously watching the system crush his spirit, and being the perpetuator of the system in this instance.

With everything I talk about egalitarian values and I make stupid videos about capitalism or whateverthefuck to ‘raise awareness’. And I’m not saying I don’t enjoy doing those things, and the fact that people enjoy them is just amazing to me, but when it comes down to it, when a real human being reached out to me for help today, I said no.

And I still feel a catch in the back of my throat, typing that out. Maybe the question I should be asking myself is not ‘who the fuck am I?’ but ‘who the fuck do I want to be?’

AH3 (RBEConcepts on youtube) included me in his TVP messengers part 5 video. :)

Everything plastic or rubber is made of oil. Oil fuels our transport, our trade, our economy. Our entire civilization is based on the use of fossil fuels for both energy and materials.

There are ways to fix these problems, but since we’re barely even attempting to implement them, the problems associate with depleting oil are escalating.

9. Bio Engineering:

We’re learning so much about how our bodies function at such a fast rate, that the applications seem almost science fiction, like the recently developed ‘bionic eye’ for blind people, a small camera either implanted into the eye socket or word on glasses that wirelessly sends a signal to an implant behind your ear, which interfaces with your brain to produce an image (see video here). If we can replace an eye, why not a heart? Or a brain (after transferring the data, of course)?

We are experimenting with being able to switch genes on and off. We are learning to literally grow tissues, or even entire organs in a lab, and implant them. We are learning to reverse the biological processes of aging. We are on the brink of attaining an unprecedented amount of control over our biology and the biology of our descendants. This raises many questions that are unique to our times and deserve a lot of discussion.

8. The Emerging Global Police State:

International Bankers, largely based in and in control of the United States and the other central UN nations are quietly imposing new laws that restrict people’s freedoms ad create an environment of fear, which leads to submission. But people will only accept so much, sometimes all too many of their freedoms to be taken away before being pushed to the brink, but there always is a brink. And the confused, power-hungry, fear mongers are always pushing the limits.

The illusion of freedom and democracy that has enshrouded the western world is dissipating due to many of the other factors listed here.

7. Technological Unemployment:

It started when tractors replaced farm workers. Then the people who built the tractors were replaced by automated factories. So everyone moved to the service industry, but now we have ATM’s and automated restaurants and waiters and vending machines.

The fact, is that in any industry, the more we automate the work (ie; assign it to machines rather than humans), the more efficiently the work is done. Machines are stealing our jobs (and they’re better at them, too)!!!! That’s why we can’t keep people employed. There isn’t enough work for them to do, and since they can’t work, they can’t spend, so companies has to cut costs, fire more people, further diminish the purchasing power of the individual. You see the diminishing returns here. This type of loop cannot be sustained.

We’ve ignored this (shifted people to new industries) for almost 80 years, and it’s finally starting to catch up to us (there really isn’t much work left for us to do).

6. Between 10% and 20% of the World’s Population is Starving:

and the global wealth gap is widening, which will only increase this number. As Citibank stated in their leaked internal memo, while they have successfully achieved the accumulation of power through monetary means, government, unfortunately still remains a one person one vote power structure. This clearly shows the mindset of the super-wealthy, who could easily afford to feed everyone on the planet, but choose, instead, due to their conditioning, to allow people to starve, tacitly allowing millions of deaths every day.

I wonder how far they think they can push it, before people start to say enough is enough. I know I’m already saying it. And so are a lot of other people.

5. AI:

Many parts of the brain have been modeled. Neural networks have been simulated. We don’t yet have all the processing power and neural models available to ‘build a brain’, but the pieces are falling together, if you pay attention to the news in that area. Ray Kurzweil projects we will have human level machine intelligence by 2029.

If a robot has the ability to react, discuss, argue that it is conscious and can feel, who would we be to say that it doesn’t? What if it has had the memories of a loved one transferred into it? The philosophical and intellectual debate this poses over what it means to be ‘alive’ or ‘conscious’ has the ability to fundamentally alter our perspectives on what it means to be a human. If that’s not revolutionary I don’t know what is.

4. Environmental Crisis:

Whether global warming is man made or not, we need to take care of our planet and our environment holistically. Failure to do this will inevitably result in environmental catastrophe. When this happens, something big is going to need to change.

3. The Flopping Global Economy:

The world-wide debt balloon is bursting. There are signs of it everywhere, world leaders are meeting to discuss it, and coming up with no real answers, just empty targets that won’t be met, and wouldn’t help even if they were met. A market economy is based on growth, but we only have one planet. It and the amount of resources on it are not growing, so we can’t keep using them at an accelerated rate.

The fact is that we live in a global Ponzi scheme, an upsidedown pyramid that is about to tip one way or the other. We need an ‘economic’ system that is based on the holistic management of the entire earth, it’s life, and it’s resources.

2. Nanotechnology:

Nanotechnology brings the promise of being able to manipulate matter at the level of molecules. In Eric Drexler’s Engine’s of Creation, a seminal book on Nanotech, he describes nano-scale assemblers that would have the ability to arrange matter in any way (ie; make apple pie from thin air, simply by re arranging the molecules). How is the economy going to work when everyone can have any material possessions they want at only the cost of raw materials?

Nanotechnology also carries with it the promise of being able to upgrade our human bodies. More efficient neurons, better red blood cells, better internal defense systems for healing cuts and bruises.

Nanotechnology takes it’s cue from our own molecular machinery (cells and the like), yet allows us to manipulate and improve upon it. It will likely also function as a catalyst for both AI, and is intermingled with Bio Engineering, in my opinion.

1. The Internet, ie: The Freedom and Spread of Information:

Hey guess what everyone? The United States and every member of it’s empire and most of the rest of the world is living in a Police State (see #8). We are not free, not in action, not in the choice of our governments or money masters.

But we all know that. We haven’t all been tricked, and we’re telling each other about what’s happening. We’re working right in front of their faces to remove them from power. Until about ten years ago, they were very effective at controlling public opinion. We all thought what the TV told us to, we all thought what was on TV was real. Now we know it’s just reality television, a drama played out for our amusement and distraction.

How do we know? Because we’re making our own videos, we’re learning how to think from each other, rather than from a single source, and that is unfortunate for anyone who wants things to stay the same. The printing press caused a revolution due to it’s ability to spread information. The internet does this on a scale many orders of magnitude larger, so should we expect that the resulting revolution will also be on a scale many orders of magnitutde larger?

Any one of these things has the potential to start a monumental revolution, either of the mind, or of our external environment. The fact that they are all happening at the same time is why I feel confident in saying that something big is coming.

What should we do about it? Well, if you ask me, I like the direction of the Zeitgeist Movement. To me it seems like the most reasonable option we have left.

http://litemind.com/thinking-traps/
http://litemind.com/thinking-traps-2/

and so does almost everyone I talk to. So if you’re looking for some introspection, give the list a lookover and ask yourself honestly whether or not you are being caught in these thought traps.