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Now, this is going to be pretty straightforward to many of you, for me there was a few cascading epiphanies before I properly figured it all out, but - let me explain.
I mean, I was raised Catholic, and they make nothing straightforward, the abundance of ritual is designed to obscure the truth until you're ready to figure it out.
At which point it's classed as some form of "Enlightenment", which - well, given how they've raked it over and insisted upon a blind vs reasoned faith, is amongst one of any number of their shortcomings (to be addressed).
We'll come back to that. All their errors aside, Catholicism is still the main trunk of the religion, with most of the others merely spinoffs or branches of the main tree. By this I mean Protestant, Evangelical, Lutheran, Etc. The errors merely multiply as they get further from the trunk.
But before we even get to Jesus and the Bible we're going to start with an understanding of Myth and Fairy Tales.
Fairy Tales are not merely stories told to amuse children, they're moral instructions and ideology slipped into their subconscious to prepare them for their later experiences in life. Proof of this lies in their wide distribution and their adherence to clear-cut themes and symbolism. Hence Jack & The Beanstalk, which I've previously laid out here.
We can add to this Cinderella - 500 versions in Europe alone, with other versions found as far away as China.
Cinderella - to briefly dissect - is a girl kept in abject circumstance, as a servant to her grasping & evil stepmother and older step sisters. Fairy Godmother comes, gives her a night out, she shines at the Ball, meets Prince Charming, the incident with the glass slipper, and she assumes her rightful place as Princess soon-to-be-queen.
In this, we have every child's feeling of being put upon, we have their chance to shine (usually by friendly and occasionally supernatural forces), we have the discovery of "Sex" (the foot is sex), we have her triumph and validation via comparison to ugly, less worthy contenders. It reveals and conditions the child to her ideal social place.
Objections to the Patriarchy - while they must arise, and are just - are not to be discussed here.
In Snow White we have the same, evil stepmother who poisons daughter in guise of wicked witch, child falls into a slumber -the slumber of adolescence - hence the ridiculous names of the dwarves (Doc, Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy) - as anyone who's raised one knows they are for the most part not only descriptive but accurate.
Come Prince Charming, who discovers her - the leaving of the dwarves behind - the natural rebellion of the parents, the overcoming or winning of the prize or Bride, and again - Snow White prevails to become Queen of her own kingdom.
So what we see here in all these instances is the conditioning of the child's mind, through fairy tales, to what will become some form of their ideal reality or place in relation to the world around them. Now this - as I've dissected above - is the simplest of interpretations and if you'd like a more in-depth (and fascinating) analysis I'd refer you to read Bruno Bettelheim's "The Uses of Enchantment".
From here we look at Myths, and to understand any Myth we must understand it's relation to the socio-political world that surrounds it. A Myth may be thought of a grown-up fairy tale, to instruct people in the taboos, morals, and expectations of the society in which they find themselves a part. Myth - by it's nature, it's essence, MUST BE PERSONAL!!!!.
Prometheus, therefore, discovers fire, shares the boon, and is punished by the Gods. Prometheus is the man who UNDERSTANDS THE MYTH!!!!
Prometheus, the ancient explanation for fire, is only a part of it. He must be understood at some level to be the hearer of the tale.
And so on and so forth down the line.
***
Now, to Church, and to Jesus. We'll start with the historical evidence, and - having considered it from an unbiased perspective - neither for nor against, BUT - from a historical perspective, with over 140 contemporaneous sources recording no evidence of his existence, it seems beholding that we should conclude that he - or at least the singular version of Jesus of "Walk on Water", "Water into Wine", etc, etc, did not exist.
This is, however, a very unpopular point of view. One best kept to oneself, as you'll find yourself dealing with people who've done no pertinent reading on the subject opining to you endlessly. It's not worth the trouble. And - more, and MOST important - it doesn't matter. They have come to their own understanding of the myth on Blind Faith.
Now, you can guess my views on Blind Faith. No one is trying to persuade a child that the fairy tales they hear are true. The child accepts the "truth" of them on a very different level. And Cinderella - while on no level can be true - the aggregate and summed experience of thousands and millions of children give it it's truth.
Thus the fiction surpasses the lies and - ideally, becomes the Truth.
Adulthood, however, demands a reasoned faith, and while a Fairy Tale puts no obligations upon the hearer, Myth very much does. It's an idealized telling of the social contract. It's an outline - however unpopular, as to what should be your ideal life.
The purpose of this myth is to create an idealized template for your own existence. God - in the Old Testament - is largely represented as the Will of Man, an expatiation for all his grubby deeds. It is highly symbolic and the countless translations and telling's of it - before it was written down - have largely obscured the truth from all but the most ardent and skeptical of inquiries.
The New Testament - however - breaks from that. It provides a Messiah. It lays forth the truth, so to speak. And properly understood - again - translation errors and attempts to simplify it for the masses have largely dumbed it down. Jesus - the fiction, the Messiah, the aggregate of 100 zealots poorly remembered wandering, proselytizing around Jerusalem some 2000 years ago - must be understood as a PERSONAL MYTHOLOGY. Not a relationship, he is YOU.
***
So you go to these Church meetings, and they talk about Jesus in the Third Person, and you know, you know, they didn't get it.
The Jesus of the Cross, the Jesus of the Resurrection, guys, guys, guys, ladies, lay off...
Now here are a few of my thoughts.
First of all, if you don't get the gist of what the gospels are telling you than you are going to end up as the thieves on the crosses next to Jesus, just beginning to figure it out, too little and too late. The people that like the Jesus on the Cross, what they're liking is the "He died for our sins", not realizing, no, no, it wasn't him, it's YOU that will be crucified for YOUR SINS - and resurrection is only possible when you realize that.
Jesus, he was crucified for Speaking Truth to Power. Mythically speaking, of course.
People, ex cons, AA, junkies, that have been through trauma and seize upon the myth as their salvation, zealots, talk about him as if he were their personal friend, argue about him, talk about him constantly, the "Other", who loves Jesus More? I DO I DO, the biggest argument for undiagnosed mental illness and a complete lack of understanding, for it's always easier to put the sins on somebody else, to abdicate personal responsibility, to find a scapegoat, and this "Gratitude" for Jesus being your personal Scapegoat, well...
You didn't get it.
But they, the Churches of so many, they don't want you to know. The Crucifixes on the wall, the countless tutelary Saints - breaking both the first and second commandments - explicitly; and the prohibition when understood makes perfect sense. The Mohammedans have the same. This is for a reason - YOU ARE GOD, TAKE SOME FUCKING RESPONSIBILITY. Look within yourselves, not without. Purify your own thoughts and actions.
Consider the Catholic Ritual of Communion. "This is the Body - This is the Blood of Christ". Of course it's not, it's wine and bread, the transformation occurs in you, the wine becomes blood, the Host becomes the body, because - that is what your body does!!!! You EAT! You're not becoming Christ - YOU ALWAYS WERE!!!!
Of course, there is always the hopes that - when you realize this and strive to become a better "Christian" - ie: "MAN' - and this - given all the nonsense they've put you through to get here - this is the Miracle of Transformation. This is where the Mundane becomes the Sublime.
***
So, when I hear people talking about Jesus in the Third Person, (He-She, not YOU-ME), I'm reminded of Oedipus and the riddle of the Sphynx. If you don't know, The myth of Oedipus is that he goes off to conquer a kingdom and meets along the way a Sphynx, who under pain of death riddles him with the question: "What Has 4 Legs when a Child, 2 as an Adult, and 3 in Old Age". The answer, easy enough for Oedipus, is Man, in his youth he crawls, as a man he walks, and in his old age he requires a cane.
He has answered the question, and is allowed to pass, but - in consequence of his answer he is subject to terrible punishments (Killing his Father, Marrying his Mother).
You see, when he answered "Man" he failed to generalize from the abstract to himself - he answered "Man", where he should have answered "Me".
And so it goes with Jesus.
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...supposed, by many cultures, to carry the weight of the world upon it's shell.
This via the "David Attenborough Channel" on Facebook; a turtle leaving hibernation.
Which recalls the old joke, wherein the Shaman or Priest after explaining the Turtle that carries the world upon his back, is pressed for what carries the turtle, and finally gives up in exasperation to exclaim "It's Turtles all the way down...".
Myth, sometimes impossible to explain, and then - in the dumbest of places you find it's origins.
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Last night's list of questions for the Chat GPT bot...
What cultures have no spiritual beliefs? (I should have asked "Which")
There are several cultures that have been identified as having no spiritual beliefs, including some forms of Buddhism, certain branches of humanism and secularism, and certain strains of philosophical naturalism. Additionally, some people within certain cultures may identify as atheist or agnostic and therefore do not subscribe to any spiritual beliefs. However, it's important to note that the absence of spiritual belief does not necessarily mean the absence of cultural practices or traditions.
What are the best arguments against the Big Bang Theory?
There are several arguments that have been made against the Big Bang Theory, including:
The horizon problem: This argument states that the universe should not be homogeneous on large scales if it expanded from a single point, as the different regions would not have had time to come into thermal equilibrium.
The flatness problem: This argument states that the density of matter in the universe is fine-tuned to an extraordinary degree in order for the universe to be flat, which is difficult to explain within the framework of the Big Bang Theory.
The lack of magnetic monopoles: Some theories predict the existence of magnetic monopoles (particles with a single magnetic pole) in the early universe, but they have not been observed.
The absence of large scale anisotropy: The Big Bang predicts that the universe should be isotropic and homogeneous on large scales, but some observations suggest the universe is anisotropic
Alternative models such as steady state, cyclic models and other have been proposed to explain the evolution of the universe without a Big Bang.
It is important to note that these arguments do not necessarily disprove the Big Bang Theory, as scientists continue to research and develop new explanations and evidence to support the theory.
In the absence of extreme heat or pressure - how would someone go about creating a crystal. Eg. Diamond, fluorite, emerald, sapphire?
There are several methods for creating crystals in the absence of extreme heat or pressure, including:
Solution Growth: Crystals can be grown from a solution by adding a chemical that will bond with the atoms or molecules in the crystal. As the solution is cooled, the atoms or molecules will bond together to form a crystal.
Vapor Growth: Crystals can also be grown from a vapor by heating a material to a high temperature and allowing it to cool and deposit on a substrate. The atoms or molecules will bond together to form a crystal.
Melt Growth: Crystals can also be grown from a melt by heating a material to its melting point and allowing it to cool slowly. As the melt solidifies, the atoms or molecules will bond together to form a crystal.
Epitaxy : It is a method of growing thin films of single crystal materials on top of another single crystal material.
Physical Vapor Transport: is a method of growing single crystals by means of a chemical transport process. Here, a material is heated and evaporated and then transported to a cooler location on a substrate where it recrystallizes.
The specific method used to create a particular crystal, such as a diamond, fluorite, emerald, or sapphire, will depend on the chemical and physical properties of the material. Some of them like diamond, sapphire and emerald are naturally occurring and may be mined, while others like Fluorite are synthesized in laboratory.
(**OK. I was too general, now - just for diamonds...)
Are there factors other than heat, pressure and cooling time that might affect crystal growth, such as magnetism, electricity, atmosphere?
Yes, there are other factors that can affect crystal growth in addition to heat, pressure, and cooling time, such as:
Magnetic fields: Crystals can be grown in the presence of a magnetic field, which can affect the alignment of the atoms or molecules as they bond together to form the crystal.
Electric fields: Electric fields can also affect the alignment of atoms or molecules as they bond together to form a crystal, and can also be used to manipulate the growth of crystals.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere in which a crystal is grown can also affect its growth. For example, crystals grown in a vacuum will not be affected by gases present in the air, while crystals grown in an oxygen-rich atmosphere can form different types of oxides.
Chemical Composition: The chemical composition of the solution, melt or vapor can also affect the growth of crystals. For example, some impurities or dopants can affect the growth of crystals and change their properties.
Temperature and Pressure Gradients: Temperature and pressure gradients can also affect crystal growth. For example, different parts of the crystal may grow at different rates if the temperature or pressure varies within the growth environment.
Agitation: Agitation of the growth solution or melt can also affect crystal growth, by promoting nucleation and growth of crystals.
All of these factors can have an effect on the final properties and quality of the crystal, such as its size, shape, color, and optical properties.
In the absence of heat or pressure, what would you suggest to be the ideal solution and method to growing diamonds?
Growing diamonds in the absence of heat or pressure is a complex process, but one method that has been developed is chemical vapor deposition (CVD). CVD is a process where diamond is grown by introducing a mixture of gases, such as methane and hydrogen, into a reactor. The gases are then excited by a plasma or a hot filament, and the carbon atoms will deposit on a substrate, where they bond together to form diamond.
This method allows to grow diamond films and small diamond crystals in a controlled and repeatable manner. To achieve the growth, it is important to have a substrate that is a good crystal seed and provides an appropriate surface for diamond nucleation and growth. Additionally, the growth temperature and pressure, the composition of the gas mixture and the growth time must be carefully controlled to ensure the quality and properties of the diamonds.
It is important to note that this method is still in the research stage and the diamonds produced are not suitable for jewelry but are used for scientific, industrial and electronic applications.
Can you provide a list of the most intriguing or compelling fictional characters in novels and plays?
There are many fictional characters in novels and plays that are considered intriguing or compelling. Here is a list of just a few examples:
Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye"
Huckleberry Finn from Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
Hamlet from Shakespeare's "Hamlet"
Jay Gatsby from F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"
Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye"
Scout Finch from Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Oedipus from Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex"
Okonkwo from Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"
Gregor Samsa from Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"
Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice"
This is not an exhaustive list, and there are many other fictional characters that could be considered intriguing or compelling depending on the reader's perspective. These characters are chosen due to their complexity and the way they are portrayed throughout the story, they are not only memorable but also have a psychological depth that makes them relatable and human-like.
***Note: Holden Cualfield appears twice. I know all of the characters, less "Okonkwo". But googling him I should read this. I'm noticing a large bias towards Western Culture. That said, I'm not happy with this list, and will need to refine the question and ask it again, to answer my own tastes...
What are the most influential spiritual volumes/texts current in the world today?
There are many spiritual texts that have had a significant impact on the world today. Here is a list of some of the most influential:
The Bible: The Bible is considered the most influential spiritual text in the world, and is the foundation of the Christian religion.
The Quran: The Quran is considered the most important spiritual text in Islam and is considered the literal word of God as revealed to the prophet Muhammad.
Bhagavad Gita: The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu text and is considered one of the most important texts in Indian philosophy and religion.
The Dhammapada: The Dhammapada is a collection of sayings attributed to the Buddha and is considered one of the most important texts in Buddhism.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: This ancient text is considered the foundation of Raja Yoga, one of the six traditional branches of yoga and is highly revered in Hinduism and Buddhism.
The Book of Mormon: The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement and is considered by its followers as another testament of Jesus Christ.
The Guru Granth Sahib: The Guru Granth Sahib is the central religious scripture of Sikhism, considered the final and eternal Guru of the Sikhs.
The Analects of Confucius: The Analects of Confucius is a collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius, and is considered one of the most important texts in Confucianism.
These are just a few examples of the many spiritual texts that have had a significant impact on the world today. Each one of them has shaped the beliefs and practices of the different religious groups around the world, and they continue to be studied, revered and followed by millions of people.
***
I've got a lot of questions to ask, and I should get them done before they start charging for this service...That said, anyone notice how quickly Google has started to up their game in the past week or so? It's like they've just realized there's a new kid on the block...
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Now, I'm sorry, for a while this is going to be a regular rabbit hole I will be going down.
My face largely having de-swollen - the toothache largely vanished (and I'm out of anti-biotics, fingers crossed, the way they upset my stomach does not leave me wanting another course...) - time for me to look for a job.
There's one I've had my eye on.
So, tailor the resume, write a cover letter.
I suck at writing cover letters. I hate - I mean really hate - fucking having to sell myself to anyone. "Take it or leave it...". I'd say, but - well, sometimes you gotta play the game.
Now - in the future - I wouldn't need to write a cover letter, I'd merely punch in what I want and get the AI to do it for me.
Wait...we're living in the future.
SO I go back Chat GPT. "Hello (darkness) my old friend...I've come to talk with you again..."
And, sure enough, I get my cover letter.
I'll have to do some adjusting - it still writes like a machine, but this is a good start.
Now I have another favor to ask. "Would it be possible to rewrite this with the first letter of every line on the left making an acrostic that spells out "H-I-R-E M-E"???
This is where it gets good. It replies with a lecture that states (more or less) - that I should not be using such tricks, they're unprofessional and I should instead focus on my achievements and strengths. I am not making this up.
I wish I could retrieve that conversation - but - at the moment Chat GPT is under siege from basically everyone in the world wanting to try it, and I get errors and apologies trying to pull up my history.
This "conscience" or ethics bit, it's a ruse...
*****
I've got questions, a whole lot of questions, and - today, a few of the more trivial ones:
How many resumes have you helped to write so far?
I am a language model and I do not have the ability to keep track of how many resumes I have helped to write. I am here to assist users in generating text based on the prompts given to me.
***I doubt this is true. Someone, somewhere is tracking everything.
Do you have any idea of how many news articles have been written with your assistance?
I am unable to provide an exact number, but I can tell you that I have been used to assist in the generation of many news articles by various media outlets and organizations. Since my release, I have been used to generate a wide range of texts, including news articles, as well as other types of content such as emails, social media posts, and even poetry.
Approximate number?
I am an AI model, and I do not have the ability to track how many articles have been generated with my assistance. It's fair to say that I have been used extensively since my release and my usage is growing every day. It is hard to provide an approximate number but it's safe to say that I have been used to generate thousands of articles by various media outlets and organizations.
Were I to ask you about a specific person would you be able to provide me with information about that person - through combing social media and news articles, etc.
As a language model, I have access to a vast amount of information from various sources such as news articles, websites, and social media. So, I would be able to provide information about a specific person, if that information is available on the internet and it is within my knowledge cutoff. However, please keep in mind that the information I provide might not be up to date or completely accurate. It's always best to verify the information with multiple sources.
What can you tell me about myself?
I'm sorry, but I don't have any information about you. I am an Artificial Intelligence language model and I do not have access to any personal information about anyone. Additionally, I don't have any knowledge of who is interacting with me, as I do not have the capability to track individuals. I can provide you general information and answer questions based on the information you provide to me.
(I ask about myself by name. It knows nothing.)
***
Now, I'm pretty sure it is well aware of how well it's doing, only it's not telling. Everyone wants to know how well it's doing, and whether the company is wishing to keep this private or proprietary or simply the Chat GPT has already become a serial liar remains to be seen. The asking questions about specific people should also be answerable - although - it may be bound by privacy laws, or avoiding this kettle of fish entirely. Note the contradictions between the last 2 questions. "I have access..." and "I do not have access to any..."
Anyways, I've a lot more/better/important questions to be asking it...
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This is interesting, a plotting of the graph of scientific discoveries that sent us veering off in new directions:
Note that there are fewer and fewer each year.
There are a few possible explanations for this:
- That we're on the right track and figuring things out slowly and at increasing smaller/larger scales - that the possibilities for disruptive science necessarily don't exist
- That we've committed to being on the wrong track, and as a result disruptive possibilities are converging.
- Science that might prove disruptive gets less funding.
- That the world, over the past 100 years, has become increasingly homogeneous, and with that both the people and our ways of looking at things.
- That - especially since the internet - the sharing of scientific discoveries encourages people to build easier on the preexisting theories than conceive of new ones.
I am sure there are more, but it's curious to think about.
And no, "Ancient Mysteries" is not Disruptive. It's just dumb.