Kevin Beal

Give it up dude. Even if you're right, who cares? They didn't give your very well crafted argument about how the sub forum should be named it's due consideration, possibly. So what? Why is it so important that you would risk alienating yourself like this? I would suggest that you pick your battles.

Maybe because it benefits the bitcoin economy as a whole thus (potentially) raising the USD exchange rate and making the bitcoins they mine more valuable. And there was only one goose who laid the golden egg. There are a bunch of asics. Also, Wesley already stated: Also, just nitpicking, but I think that it's actually incorrect to call ASIC's "miners", since all the ASICS do is perform a very specific hashing algorithm really fucking quickly (SHA256). As I understand it, actual miners send those math problems over to the ASIC where the result (the proof of work) is sent back to the miner where the miner gets the reward (assuming it's integrated into the blockchain).

RTR and On Truth are good too because they include some basic epistemology in the beginning, providing a way to falsify the propositions in the books. That way there is a first principles, philosophical basis for the later analysis of these self knowledge topics. And when you start from first principles it's a lot harder to shake you from that core of understanding. I would definitely go with the books, but some noteworthy and related podcasts that come to mind are: FDR2129 How To Keep Your True Self FDR1993 Self-Knowledge, Identity and Freedom FDR1638 The Ghosts of Self Knowledge FDR1470 Self-Esteem FDR957 Overcoming Self Abuse Also, I think dream interpretations are good too in that they promote metaphorical thinking and tools for connecting with the associations we are already making unconsciously. And as Freud says "dreams are the royal road to the unconscious", revealing the things that are occurring inside of us that we could potentially be conscious of.

That's not what I said. I am saying that dreams and money exist subjectively in a manner completely different than rocks and trees. The "exist" is implying causality, not material substance / physical reality / ontological objectivity / whatever you want to call it. The answer in one phrase: human subjectivity. My perception of a tiger in the tall grass, while not actually representing reality (it was just a trick of the eyes), causes me to run away. The ontologically objective parts of this phenomenon are electrical / chemical signals in the brain, sweating, running away, things like this. That doesn't really explain a whole lot about the event. An account that takes into account subjective events is necessary. The turning of the earth causes me the subjective experience, a perception that the sun is setting behind the horizon. That's objectively existing events causing subjectively existing events. My false belief that the sun is circling around the earth causes me to talk to other people in terms of the sun circling the earth. That's subjective events causing objective events. Your challenge assumes that "exist" is the same as "objective ontology". And maybe this is true, but then you have to account for consciousness, dreams, money, etc in a way that makes them ontologically objective and causal in the respect that they have an objective ontology. The consequence of saying that me running away from from the tiger is only causal in the ontologically objective sense is that you cannot say that it was a subjective perception or belief or desire that caused me to run away. It was electrical signals in my brain that caused it. Once you do that, you have a ton of logical problems that need sorting out. I guess that's where this new "component of reality": information comes from. But this doesn't actually solve the problem because "information" is ontologically subjective in the exact same sense that money and dreams are. The 1's and 0's in a computer (for example) do not exist. Electrical currents over tiny metal strips connected to a CPU exist. The information that is supposed to represent is only information to human minds. Without human minds to subjectively experience it, money, "information", dreams, beliefs, pains, perceptions, etc all do not exist. "Information" is especially problematic because it means literally anything you want it to mean. You can represent functionally the grains of sand on a beach as an algorithm. That's why simulations of things are possible. But simulations are not the things they simulate. Likewise, subjectively experienced meaning is not the thing the meaning is derived from. Money is not fibers and inks, colors are not wavelengths, a story is not a collection of pages. These things are represented as existing functionally by human minds.

But they don't. They really really don't. Pieces of paper with certain inks exist in reality. "Money" is an institutional abstraction that only "exists" insofar as thinking minds represent it as existing. That's why pieces of paper and bytes on a computer are the same thing regarding their status as "money". This is covered in the video.

There's so much to the dream that it's definitely worth revisiting multiple times. I haven't spoken to either of my parents in 4 years, but I'm not entirely deFOOed, no. I suspect that will take a little while longer.

This is easily solved by changing the word "exist" to describe things which act causally upon reality rather than things with a physical, material existence. My perception that a tiger is on the other side of that brush has caused me to sweat. That perception exists in an ontologically subjective sense (see my previous post). There is absolutely no need to invent any other "components of reality". It's just semantics, not quantum mechanics or magic or whatever.

Wow. That is an awesome dream. I think it's interesting that you related the swamp scene to your potential defoo. A swamp is a tough slog to walk through. And having your kayak flip over is to be drowning while you figure out how to get yourself right side up again, but why is it wooden? That's interesting... Also, the beak shape of the flowers suggests they aren't yet in full bloom since flowers usually flare outward to invite pollinators. A sign of something good to come? The rebels in the video are liberators. To defoo is a kind of liberation. Taking back your mind and kicking out the introjects our parents placed there to trigger self attack and unnecessary doubt. It seems apt to me that the only doubt you expressed about your dream was about the intentions of the liberators, who not only never harmed you, but did as you asked when you asked them to let your father breathe. I'm going to make a prediction based on your dream. It may be entirely false, but did it come as a surprise in the moment when you called your father on his bullshit? Maybe surprise about how much you had to say or the intensity of it? If so, that might explain the toilet scene. The toilets appear out of nowhere and relieve the liberators' of their waste. Not to mention that you are uncertain and afraid at the time. You start out in a cage and after escaping a monster end up in a position where you have some control. I have no idea about the weapon monster. It is interesting though that the part missing from him is an eye slit. Could the evil you mentioned you suffered have something to do with a blind, big, impenetrable, overwhelmingly powerful attacker? I'm sorry that you had a childhood / parents that the decision whether or not to defoo is even coming up. I hope that you are in therapy to help you through the tough time now and ahead. And if you want to, I'd be happy to talk about it with you over skype (my handle is on my profile).

I think what we've got at the moment is perfect. Probably not so good to go the snarky route with that one (like I was suggesting). It's a serious topic ripe for some rigorous debate, truth bombs and sharing men's (and women's) lived experiences. And I suspect it will be one of the most popular sub forums in little time.

I think you've got a hell of a lot of courage for doing that. I think it's a considerate response on her part, but I think the only way you can know is through her actions, rather than her words. Some things I think are worth looking out for are whether or not she initiates these kinds of conversations, if she asks for updates on what you think and feel since last time, things like that. It's a very vulnerable position to be in to always initiate and I personally would resent it if I felt like that was my job in the relationship. And also, it sounded like a big part of what you wanted was acknowledgment that she had played a huge role in the traumas you experienced, and it sounds like she wasn't willing to do that. If that's something you really want, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect given what you've written about your childhood. Maybe it's a sign of great things to come, and I might be jealous of you if it worked out that way, but my concern would be that I would compromise on my own needs for the sake of "making it work". If you want culpability on the part of your mother, I think that's not unreasonable. Also, about the tapping. I actually do that to self soothe sometimes. The posts here are essentially an advertisement, which annoys me, but if you're dealing with stress, it's not a terrible way to self soothe. Definitely beats cutting, or drinking, or masturbating. Nothing wrong with masturbation, just it takes a while, you feel numb afterward and if you're a guy, more than once a day can make things a little,... uncomfortable.

This is profound and insightful. Thank you.

"A safe place for the patriarchy to come together and conspire against all womyn kind" "the he-man woman haters club (now accepting female listeners!)" "What about the menz? Find out here!"

Thank you for the thoughtful reply And I know what you mean about the light at the end of the tunnel. When I get especially overwhelmed in therapy with what I'm feeling (usually sorrow or longing), I ask myself if all of this work in the moment is going to pay off somehow in the future. Because if it's not going to help me in future relationships or be able to connect with someone especially deep (like a future lover), then I really don't want to suffer. It feels like I'm just being a masochist. I think, ultimately, that it is worth it, and not just because I keep doing it. I can't point out any clear causal connection, but I've noticed that my capacity to empathize with other people has increased, and I'm better able to differentiate what's mine and what's theirs. Because I know how tragedies are supposed to feel and when someone says something tragic without acknowledging the pain they felt (or suppress), then I know it's not mine (at least not primarily). And I think that's super important, if only to lessen the chances of someone's humiliating behavior getting a hook in me and causing me to self attack. But also in connecting with other people that I find it worthwhile to work out conflicts with, so I don't get too overwhelmed with the uncertainty of things. What do you do when that light goes dim? After almost 4 years of therapy, I still don't have any kind of definitive answer.

[insert snarky response] (I'm too tired right now to deal with this)

Soon there will be an interface where you can contribute any extra / missing podcast data you want. It would be reviewed by me or someone else and then added to the database. There are currently a lot of timestamps saved which will be all be added at once. Although if that point in the show hasn't been loaded yet, skipping to that point may not be possible (still researching that).

This thread is also good: https://board.freedomainradio.com/topic/39051-therapist-recommendations/

Hi Marcus. Welcome to the boards The next thing is to take what you're learning into the real world. Anarchism is "without rulers", and being that you can't really do much about our political masters, that leaves what is in a lot of ways much more core and important, which are the fascists in our own personal lives. It would be a shame if you accepted the moral and practical reality of anarchism only to surround yourself with fascists, or being a fascist to yourself. The tagline for the show is "the logic of personal and political liberty" (personal first). The goal that I have in listening to the show and applying the principles in my own life is to live free, free from political masters, free from abusive people, exploitive narcissists, and free from self attack, self loathing, shame. When I first realized just how much I didn't know and how fractally wrong I was about the reality I lived in, I spent several years reevaluating all of the values, and goals that I had and built myself back up, starting from first principles, a philosophical core from which I would not easily be shaken. In starting out any serious inquiry, you've gotta start from what you already know. Socrates says "know thyself". For me, this involved a lot of therapy, journaling, dream interpretation, epistemology, ethics, and talking to other people going through the same process. On the other side is certainty.

Yes if it's convenient and no if it's convenient. (It's a wonderful mystery of creation.)

Both Barbar and Stardusk are on the left and Barbar has claimed that it is a left right issue and that more regulation is necessary.

Haha. I can't decide! I don't know. And that's probably because the only difference is trivial. The state is just a new god.

You are being obtuse in order to avoid an obvious conclusion. I could not address what you are saying without repeating myself (again). You are afraid, as was predicted by the OP.

Hi Alejandro! Welcome to the boards Stop being such a dick to yourself!! You're afraid and overwhelmed by things in your life. I am too. And I'm sure Stef is too. That doesn't make you a coward or a pussy or anything like that. Lying to yourself about the things you fear in order to avoid dealing with it is what is cowardly. If a lion charges at me, it is not cowardice to get the fuck out of there are quickly as I can. Fear is important. Fear is necessary. Fear is supposed to keep you away from danger. Cutting yourself off from your own fear is inviting dangerous situations. What if your fear were the wisest and most important part of your life right now? What would that change? If Stef called you a pussy for being afraid to tackle big issues, he'd have me and a lot of other people to deal with

It sounds like the javascript side is by far the most amount of work for a project like this. It comes off like you are asking someone to do most of your work for you with no compensation. I doubt someone experienced enough to know how much work that is is going to be interested in an offer like that. I don't mean to be a jerk or rain on your parade or anything, really. It's just that I don't think you understand how much you are asking of someone. And you didn't put forward any reason to do it beyond the fact that I would be working with some nice guys. What makes this MMO better than the others out there? I don't know what "ancap-style sandbox world" means. What's the value proposition?

My darn kid keeps telling me that he's hungry and I keep tellin' him to figure it out. The fact that he knows exactly what choices the homeless man will make, why he will make them, the fact that he gave him choice in the first place, that he engineered a system where those destructive choices were appealing, that he gave him suppression and repression, that he gave him parents bad enough to dramatically increase his chances of becoming homeless. It doesn't actually matter how much choice you give the man when the entire universe is set up in a particular way by your god's design. This is like telling me that I can point a gun at a guy and tell him to make a choice and then condemn him for his choice because he chose it. All those natural deaths become murders when you say a god designed it. You die of a freak disease. God murdered you in a slow and painful manner. He tortured billions of people then. He is the most evil entity that ever could exist. You don't read. I told you exactly how it's a false argument. And I choose to address the issue the way I would like to. I'm sorry you feel ganged up on, but I find what you're saying incredibly offensive. God is not responsible because of free will!?!?! Come on guy. This is a bad joke of an argument. I'm sure you're a nice guy, but what you're saying...

I have a theory of depression that I've been working with that I want to share with you. Yes, you reading this right now. This is for you By depression, I do not mean sorrow or despair or dread. I mean that numbing of emotional connection, a desire for isolation esp. accompanied by apathy, lethargy and cynicism. Some Background I was chronically depressed from a young age until a couple years ago. I grew up in a very isolated and awkward, emotionally fragile household. I got bullied at school and often at home by my older sister. I was also often anxious, though rarely to the point of a panic attack. I was never taught a lot of basic skills and habits as a child and my anxiety carried into my adulthood as I awkwardly bumped my way through necessary social and adult life. I thought that I was pretty much doomed to a terrible life until I saw that Stef seemed genuinely happy. That was really strange and exciting for me, and I took his advice and got into therapy. Strange Pattern In therapy, I would often bring my anxieties and depression into the sessions with me (as you would expect), and I started to notice something that was very confusing for me. I call it "emotional amnesia", where I would completely forget about things I was previously excited about, or I would feel depressed in the present about something and my therapist would point out that the other day, that thing brought me joy and excitement. I was surprised that I had forgotten or that it had shifted by that much, but still I was depressed about it. It was kind of strange to me, but I didn't pay it much attention because it didn't seem to change anything that I remember feeling differently before. It was almost as if all my memories of my past and my hopes for the future were covered in a dark cloud. I hated everything and it was difficult to work with because I had little motivation to work through it. That was not the only reason, or the core reason I should say, as I later found out. The Theory I don't actually know that this is original to me. I probably picked it up from a bunch of different places. But what I've come to realize is that depression is an avoidance of anxiety and overwhelm. Which is why depression and anxiety are never far apart. Anxiety is terrible for the body. All that cortisol in your system can really fuck things up. And that's why depression is numbing. It's feeling disconnected from yourself, from your feelings because it's just so exhausting to feel so consistently anxious for long periods. And that's why it comes with lethargy. And aside from depression accompanying a lack of motivation and disappointment or dread about the future, it's also really hard to work through, because to work through it is to feel that anxiety and overwhelm again. And even if you aren't conscious of it, your body and unconscious know how bad anxiety is on the body (and the psyche for that matter). Caged animals start out really anxious, being at the whim of someone as they have to suddenly cope with a small space, not understanding what's going on. And then after a while that anxiety turns into depression. The anxiety is too much that they would rather adopt a strategy that could make them much easier prey, even welcoming death. Dealing With Depression is Important Depression is not any kind of cure for anxiety, obviously. It doesn't make anxiety go away, except insofar as the circumstances triggering your anxiety go away if you isolate yourself. If you are constantly bed ridden with some illness that won't go away because you keep getting exposed to the source of that illness, you are going to miss out on a lot of opportunities, not least of which: connecting with other people. What Changes? I think the most important thing that changes once you realize how depression works is that you know that you are disconnected and you can figure out why. The depression blocks two important things: the good and the bad. By feeling less anxiety and stress, it comes at the cost of forgetting the things for which you can genuinely feel grateful for. The solution that I've found extremely helpful is a combination of two things: First, that I consider what anxious situation I am primarily avoiding so that I can do something, anything to address it. I trust that I'm not just some crazy anxious mess of a person and that my anxiety is there to inform me. And in that anxiety I've found that it can tell me a whole lot about the situation I'm in, and even how to address it. Second, by remembering how far I've come, what opportunities are now available to me in my life now that I have philosophy and self knowledge. By realizing just how fortunate and lucky I am to be living in such a time as this, that I was not born in Saudi Arabia, that I'm not a dung beetle rather than a human! And it's true that it's amazing and wonderful and if you don't see it yet, you may well later. I think that both are equally important things. If you don't get that anxiety triggering thing out of your life, it's probably not going to go away on it's own, and if it does, it's probably not soon enough. Motivation Motivation is tricky. So many people want to tell themselves lies in order to motivate themselves. That's like the entire business model for people like Deepak Chopra. It's a thriving industry selling these people lies so that they can continue to live their own dissociated "lives". The temptation that I have, and has not worked out for me, is to say to myself "if I can only accomplish X, I will finally be happy", but what happens is that I accomplish X and if I feel happy about it, it's fleeting, at best. Because what's left to sustain it? It's always the next thing, and that next thing just isn't going to do it for me either. How could it? I am completely unconvinced that this strategy works anymore and instead I'm convinced that (assuming I'm not some evil guy) there is enough goodness and fortune in my life (if only the potential at this point) to create and sustain some level of gratitude. I am so incredibly fucking grateful that I found philosophy, oh my god! The reason I think that's important is that, in addition to being true, the stakes don't feel as high. I can make mistakes without feeling like it will mean I know nothing, or that I'm hopelessly incompetent, or that I'm a phony, or whatever other self loathing kinds of judgments about myself that I could make. Thank all powerful atheismo that I am not a farmer from the 16th century, knee deep in manure, waking up before the sun comes up to do tedious manual labor for 12 hours every single day. Or being a slave, or living during the inquisition, or losing my whole family to smallpox. Compared to that, my own anxieties don't seem like such a big deal. Dealing with depression is dealing with anxiety, which is dealing with the circumstances in your life. Anyway, that's what I think. What do you think? Am I totally off? Am I missing something important? Is this helpful?