Equanimity with Human Governance

1:44:27 PMInfiniteSpirepoutine is a master chess player, but his bossy children won't let him play!
1:48:34 PMpoutineI just would rather read or enrich my child than play strangers on IRC in chess during the couple of hours I have with him a day
1:48:46 PMpoutineand during the work day I have shit to do
1:48:53 PMInfiniteSpireThey don't enslave you, you want to be enslaved! Free will.
1:49:38 PMInfiniteSpirepoutine: What's your quick summary of Trump?
1:50:12 PMInfiniteSpireYou're smart, so you should be anti-Trump, but you have a few signals that indicate you could be one of those smart, self-deceivers who supports Trump because of your 'race', gender, or because you've been propagandized by right-wing media.
1:51:12 PMpoutineMy quick summary of all levels of the US government is that I am powerless to change them, and nothing I say on IRC is going to lead to any changes within my lifespan. So I will work within the confines of the system to better myself and do what is required to be successful
1:51:35 PMpoutineI am a non-participant in any government activities like voting, city council meetings, etc
1:52:41 PMInfiniteSpireInteresting.
1:52:51 PMpoutinestupid people use politics as a "smarter" alternative to sports, you have your team with the red jersey, the one with the blue jersey and everything one side does is shit while everything your side does is perfect, it's all a waste of time
1:52:54 PMInfiniteSpireI'm detecting some libertarian disposition.
1:53:28 PMInfiniteSpirepoutine: Working to reform politics is probably pound-for-pound one of the most important thing you can do for your children.
1:53:52 PMpoutineInfiniteSpire, my child will likely not live his life out in the US, we can freely move within the EU, and Canada is a possibility
1:53:59 PMInfiniteSpireThey are facing a world of AI propaganda, civilization destabilizing climate change, and massive wealth inequality.
1:54:17 PMInfiniteSpirepoutine: It will probably be necessary to leave the US if the GOP wins in three weeks.
1:54:25 PMInfiniteSpireClimate change is a global problem, of course.
1:54:47 PMInfiniteSpireIn one reasonable model of climate change, 600 million people emigrate from the Middle East.
1:54:52 PMInfiniteSpireA lot of them are going to head to the EU.
1:55:01 PMInfiniteSpireThis will make for a strong push for the revival of European fascism of the 1930s.
1:55:06 PMInfiniteSpireYou can't escape this.
1:55:17 PMInfiniteSpireIt's necessary for you to be involved in governance of your species.
1:55:34 PMInfiniteSpireWhile not letting it overwhelm you/consume you, while pursuing practical issues with your children, e.g. shelter.
1:55:44 PMInfiniteSpireThe 600 million migration is by 2060.
1:55:50 PMInfiniteSpireIn that particular model.
1:55:56 PMInfiniteSpireBut this was before the update from last week.
1:56:09 PMInfiniteSpireA 600 million migration will almost surely lead to a world war.
1:56:13 PMInfiniteSpireThis time with nuclear weapons.
1:56:28 PMInfiniteSpireImproving politics is a necessary trait for a smart parent who cares about their children.
1:57:01 PMInfiniteSpireThe AI propaganda fueling the ascendant post-truth movement is a global phenomenon that will spread to the entire West.
1:57:15 PMInfiniteSpireFrance nearly elected a Putin puppet a year ago.
1:57:22 PMInfiniteSpireGermany is under constant siege by Russian propaganda.
1:57:34 PMInfiniteSpireSweden dropped flyers on its 6 million residents saying to prepare for war.
1:57:45 PMpoutineInfiniteSpire, What have you done personally to change the system?
1:58:14 PMInfiniteSpireSelf-educated, preventing myself from spreading the disease, and talking with others to help them resist.
1:58:20 PMInfiniteSpireThat is what my 1/n share looks like.
1:58:27 PMInfiniteSpireIf everybody did what I am doing, there would be no problem.
1:58:40 PMInfiniteSpireNow, many people aren't goin to do what they should do, and so we need people to go beyond 1/n.
1:58:45 PMInfiniteSpireBut, the primary ethical threshold is always 1/n.
1:58:52 PMInfiniteSpireYou get bonus points for going beyond that.
1:59:13 PMInfiniteSpirepoutine: Your feeling crushed is the goal of this political movement.
1:59:16 PMInfiniteSpireYou seem unclear about that.
1:59:17 PMpoutineyour 1/n impact is immaterial and inconsequential, nothing said on #atheism will ever reach the ears of anyone important or in charge
1:59:25 PMInfiniteSpireYou seem confused.
1:59:39 PMInfiniteSpireThe *express goal* of the Russian model of unreality is to crush your spirit.
1:59:41 PMInfiniteSpireWhy?
1:59:53 PMInfiniteSpireIt prevents effective resistance movements from forming and staying together.
2:00:04 PMInfiniteSpireYour expressions of 'realism', as you perceive them, are actually expressions of defeat.
2:00:11 PMInfiniteSpireYou need to retool your perspectives on this topic.
2:00:18 PMInfiniteSpirehttps://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/russia-putin-revolutionizing-information-w...
2:00:27 PMInfiniteSpireAt the NATO summit in Wales last week, General Philip Breedlove, the military alliance’s top commander, made a bold declaration. Russia, he said, is waging “the most amazing information warfare blitzkrieg we have ever seen in the history of information warfare.”
2:00:29 PMInfiniteSpireThis is from 2014.
2:00:31 PMInfiniteSpireIt's currently 2018.
2:00:41 PMInfiniteSpireThe invention of Novorossiya is a sign of Russia’s domestic system of information manipulation going global. Today’s Russia has been shaped by political technologists—the viziers of the system who, like so many post-modern Prosperos, conjure up puppet political parties and the simulacra of civic movements to keep the nation distracted as Putin’s clique consolidates power. In the philosophy of these political technologists, information precedes essence. “I remember creating the idea of the ‘Putin majority’ and hey, presto, it appeared in real life,” Gleb Pavlovsky, a political technologist who worked on Putin's election campaigns but has since left the Kremlin, told me recently. “Or the idea that ‘there is no alternative to Putin.’ We invented that. And suddenly there really was no alternative.”
2:00:59 PMInfiniteSpireThey manufacture the reality they wish to have, and you're expressing it.
2:01:11 PMInfiniteSpireAgain, this is not a sign of wisdom or strength on your part, but one of defeat.
2:01:21 PMpoutineI am given technical projects, with near arbitrary constraints, my goal is always to deliver something that works within those constraints, that also solves a problem, or many problems. I imagine myself as within one constructs with similar arbitrary sets of constraints, that I have to work with in order to solve a personal goal (satisfaction, fulfillment from life, financial independence, care for those around me)
2:01:28 PMInfiniteSpireThe goal is for you to engage human governance without being consumed by it, while pursuing other goals.
2:01:42 PMpoutinechanging all the constraints is a silly goal
2:02:01 PMInfiniteSpireI don't understand these last two posts.
2:02:42 PMInfiniteSpirepoutine: Why do you not get involved?
2:02:50 PMInfiniteSpireYou've already said so: "it's pointless".
2:03:16 PMInfiniteSpireWhat if you could be involved, doing your (1 + e) / n share without being bothered by it?
2:03:19 PMpoutineInfiniteSpire, You can't take back time dedicated to a fruitless cause, there is no eternal life for me, nor would I want it
2:03:22 PMInfiniteSpireThat would be strictly better.
2:03:46 PMInfiniteSpireDo you agree an agent doing (1 + e) / n share is better than 0, assuming no other costs?
2:04:07 PMInfiniteSpireSo, you're not actually saying "it's pointless".
2:04:12 PMInfiniteSpireThis is what you don't yet understand, but that I do.
2:04:15 PMpoutineI think 0 is the logical share
2:04:19 PMInfiniteSpireWhich I gained from educating myself.
2:04:43 PMInfiniteSpireWhat you're saying is, "I don't know how to do my (1 + e) / n share without feeling really defeated, angry, and sad."
2:04:54 PMInfiniteSpireAnd I agree, that is difficult.
2:04:56 PMInfiniteSpireThat's your challenge.
2:05:19 PMInfiniteSpireIf you figure out how to do that, you will help yourself, others, and your children.
2:05:24 PMInfiniteSpireThere are various things that can help you.
2:05:54 PMInfiniteSpireOne thing you'll be doing is demonstrating to your children the practice of staying calm while dealing with difficulty.
2:06:00 PMInfiniteSpireThis might the most useful thing a parent can teach their child.
2:06:02 PMInfiniteSpirehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equanimity
2:06:15 PMInfiniteSpire"Equanimity (Latin: æquanimitas, having an even mind; aequus even; animus mind/soul) is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind. The virtue and value of equanimity is extolled and advocated by a number of major religions and ancient philosophies."
2:07:07 PMInfiniteSpire"Daddy, why do you spend 15 minutes a day moving your body like that?"
2:07:30 PMInfiniteSpire"Honey, it helps my body stay healthy and I'm more capable of enjoying and managing life."
2:07:39 PMInfiniteSpire"Daddy, do we need to do similar exercises for our mind?"
2:07:55 PMInfiniteSpire"Yes, honey. Working on challenging problems without retreating from the emotions they cause is one of the primary forms of exercise for our mind."
2:08:11 PMInfiniteSpire"One of the best ways to do exercise like this for our mind is on difficult topics that have a lot of impact, for example, human governance."
2:09:03 PMInfiniteSpire"Daddy, I really love you. I release you to play 15 of chess." #reciprocity
2:09:09 PMInfiniteSpire15 min*
2:09:45 PMInfiniteSpireThe ethical standard of deontology, poutine, for example, is not that you change the world.
2:10:03 PMInfiniteSpireThe ethical standard of deontology is to act as if when your action is scaled to the entire system, it's desirable/good/stable.
2:10:15 PMInfiniteSpireThis is why the 1/n threshold is the correct basis for ethical action.
2:10:21 PMInfiniteSpireHowever, if you're special, and you can do more, then do more.