Sunday is here. What meme sticks to the craw today? (craw NOT claw; Get Smart)
It was something Putin said. Did he actually say that it is dangerous to tell people that they are exceptional. Was this right? Did I hear him right? Do I really understand what is he trying to say?!
This is in the context of the Syrian conflict and I kinda of know exactly what he is trying to do. I don't really want to talk about Syria. There are already too many voices in that choir. Or is it a Greek choral? A classic tragedy. Focus. Stay on target. Stay on target. Wait to be blown up by Vadar or was it Vater, mein Vater, Das Leader oder Leder. OK. Focus.
What Putin warns against is what America is! We believe that we, all of us are exceptional. I know that statistically this is not possible because if we were to actually choose a set of metrics that predicts an exceptional person, it would fail. The metrics would not be able to predict anything.
There is a story of a very successful man, but he wanted a tutor. He was determined to brush up on his smarts and take all those tests that he skipped while on the way to success. Being a successful man, he is surrounded by quants and their statistics. They keep telling him it is random but he knows, KNOWS that his success was not random. So he plans on taking the SAT, and any other metrics that will prove to himself and them that his success was not a fluke, not a random nucleation.
For the record, I am a randomist acolyte. I have not been given an official title within the Order. I am more in the style of old western preacher, maybe like Pale Rider or High Plains Drifter. I don't really understand the Random Book, but I understand enough to preach the locals.
Do you see, at least the non-Math part, the psychology part? If you become successful like Putin, you've had to scratch and craw your way to the top against all those other people. They MUST be inferior if I am to be superior. But no one thinks like this. Right?
Americans at least in public preach that we are all superior, and we should all take on as much risk as possible so that we can be... superior? Superior to whom? (all this risk taking of course benefits the System) There is no way before hand to identify who will become successful. The system will ALWAYS be more complex than the players. Do we understand this? If we could become an alien Watcher race with all the technology and maturity of an older race, who is not directly perturbing the system, but is only watching passively, then perhaps we could identify at one moment's time, who will probably become the leader of the tribe of hominids. Maybe. Even then it would be difficult. And maybe this physics work in strange ways and the act of even observing, changes the state of the system and that is why we have not had any alien contact. They know this principle. Perhaps by observing, just observing radio waves leaking from our solar system, they would risk perturbing the our systems enough to end it before it could become mature. OK. Stay on topic. Focus.
What I'm trying to get at is that Putin's advice is sound. Does that surprise you after what I just said? His advice is good advice for himself and all those who are in "leadership" and "successful" position. They must really guard themselves against the idea that they are truly exceptional people. (Trump card; Hitler believed he was exceptional, and he was. Look at all that he accomplished). And we must constantly remind ourselves that we are exceptional people.
In reality, statistically, we are just ordinary, plain, God's people, or earth people. Each one of us living in Xanth with some bit of magic. Or are we all like Magic (The Gathering TM) cards? Yes. In a way. There are no forbidden cards though, because the system doesn't allow for really power cards. Those would terminate that game too fast. Instead we each try to make decks with ourselves. Trying desperately to find the archetype, the pattern of individual that when put together will be an unbeatable deck. Focus.
Please listen to Putin, but immediately forget what he says. Also immediately forget what I write here. OK? Let the information wash over you. Use your own magic in the way that is best for you. Keep trying to form your band of adventurers with that odd mixture of magic user, fighter, and thief. Just remember that I am also out here playing and to be careful not to really hurt anyone in our games.
Syria is an opportunity meme. Putin is not exceptional. Assad is not exceptional. Obama is not exceptional. They are just channeling cards. But Putin is right. Wildcards spurting magic does a lot of damage. The traditional deck used to control these wildcards are not working. We need new decks, novel archetypes. We have so many different players for our Magic game. We have so many different quest and adventures to go on. Just remember to be careful and don't really hurt anyone.
(Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
最高执行权力来自群众的授权，而不是从一些闹剧水产仪式
العليا السلطة التنفيذية تستمد من ولاية من الجماهير، وليس من بعض مراسم المائية هزلية.)
It was something Putin said. Did he actually say that it is dangerous to tell people that they are exceptional. Was this right? Did I hear him right? Do I really understand what is he trying to say?!
This is in the context of the Syrian conflict and I kinda of know exactly what he is trying to do. I don't really want to talk about Syria. There are already too many voices in that choir. Or is it a Greek choral? A classic tragedy. Focus. Stay on target. Stay on target. Wait to be blown up by Vadar or was it Vater, mein Vater, Das Leader oder Leder. OK. Focus.
What Putin warns against is what America is! We believe that we, all of us are exceptional. I know that statistically this is not possible because if we were to actually choose a set of metrics that predicts an exceptional person, it would fail. The metrics would not be able to predict anything.
There is a story of a very successful man, but he wanted a tutor. He was determined to brush up on his smarts and take all those tests that he skipped while on the way to success. Being a successful man, he is surrounded by quants and their statistics. They keep telling him it is random but he knows, KNOWS that his success was not random. So he plans on taking the SAT, and any other metrics that will prove to himself and them that his success was not a fluke, not a random nucleation.
For the record, I am a randomist acolyte. I have not been given an official title within the Order. I am more in the style of old western preacher, maybe like Pale Rider or High Plains Drifter. I don't really understand the Random Book, but I understand enough to preach the locals.
Do you see, at least the non-Math part, the psychology part? If you become successful like Putin, you've had to scratch and craw your way to the top against all those other people. They MUST be inferior if I am to be superior. But no one thinks like this. Right?
Americans at least in public preach that we are all superior, and we should all take on as much risk as possible so that we can be... superior? Superior to whom? (all this risk taking of course benefits the System) There is no way before hand to identify who will become successful. The system will ALWAYS be more complex than the players. Do we understand this? If we could become an alien Watcher race with all the technology and maturity of an older race, who is not directly perturbing the system, but is only watching passively, then perhaps we could identify at one moment's time, who will probably become the leader of the tribe of hominids. Maybe. Even then it would be difficult. And maybe this physics work in strange ways and the act of even observing, changes the state of the system and that is why we have not had any alien contact. They know this principle. Perhaps by observing, just observing radio waves leaking from our solar system, they would risk perturbing the our systems enough to end it before it could become mature. OK. Stay on topic. Focus.
What I'm trying to get at is that Putin's advice is sound. Does that surprise you after what I just said? His advice is good advice for himself and all those who are in "leadership" and "successful" position. They must really guard themselves against the idea that they are truly exceptional people. (Trump card; Hitler believed he was exceptional, and he was. Look at all that he accomplished). And we must constantly remind ourselves that we are exceptional people.
In reality, statistically, we are just ordinary, plain, God's people, or earth people. Each one of us living in Xanth with some bit of magic. Or are we all like Magic (The Gathering TM) cards? Yes. In a way. There are no forbidden cards though, because the system doesn't allow for really power cards. Those would terminate that game too fast. Instead we each try to make decks with ourselves. Trying desperately to find the archetype, the pattern of individual that when put together will be an unbeatable deck. Focus.
Please listen to Putin, but immediately forget what he says. Also immediately forget what I write here. OK? Let the information wash over you. Use your own magic in the way that is best for you. Keep trying to form your band of adventurers with that odd mixture of magic user, fighter, and thief. Just remember that I am also out here playing and to be careful not to really hurt anyone in our games.
Syria is an opportunity meme. Putin is not exceptional. Assad is not exceptional. Obama is not exceptional. They are just channeling cards. But Putin is right. Wildcards spurting magic does a lot of damage. The traditional deck used to control these wildcards are not working. We need new decks, novel archetypes. We have so many different players for our Magic game. We have so many different quest and adventures to go on. Just remember to be careful and don't really hurt anyone.
(Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
最高执行权力来自群众的授权，而不是从一些闹剧水产仪式
العليا السلطة التنفيذية تستمد من ولاية من الجماهير، وليس من بعض مراسم المائية هزلية.)
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