I've argued for years that personal outrage is a limited resource and encouraged people to spend theirs wisely. If there's a really effective means of coerced learned helplessness, I think it's this.
What I used to think was that the best way to control people was to scare them and then convince them you had the solution to their fears--a form of mass-gaslighting. I've since realized I was mistaken, and that the most reliable method is to psychologically pummel people into a state of confused bewilderment and then speak loudly. If there's a term I could use to describe public sentiment these days, it's confused bewilderment. All of this has parallels to the worst kinds of interpersonal victimization.
This change in media, public participation and political maneuvering coincides with remarkable progress in AI technology. This may not be directly related, but after Cambridge Analytica I have my doubts.
The Great Filter theory has some appeal. I'm thinking that if it's valid, it looks something like this; smart enough to become really dangerous and ignorant enough to maintain competitive priorities instead of collaborative/superordinate ones. And here we are. And capitalism really does suck.
I've argued for years that personal outrage is a limited resource and encouraged people to spend theirs wisely. If there's a really effective means of coerced learned helplessness, I think it's this.
What I used to think was that the best way to control people was to scare them and then convince them you had the solution to their fears--a form of mass-gaslighting. I've since realized I was mistaken, and that the most reliable method is to psychologically pummel people into a state of confused bewilderment and then speak loudly. If there's a term I could use to describe public sentiment these days, it's confused bewilderment. All of this has parallels to the worst kinds of interpersonal victimization.
This change in media, public participation and political maneuvering coincides with remarkable progress in AI technology. This may not be directly related, but after Cambridge Analytica I have my doubts.
The Great Filter theory has some appeal. I'm thinking that if it's valid, it looks something like this; smart enough to become really dangerous and ignorant enough to maintain competitive priorities instead of collaborative/superordinate ones. And here we are. And capitalism really does suck.
Thanks for the nod, Weldon.