Hi Ruth, I think you may have point there...
marc > Hah! > I don't know why the blogger describes these observations as the > 'dirty truth'. > I would describe most of the things on this list (apart from the one > about anihilation) as 'reasons to be cheerful' > : ) > Ruth > > > -----Original Message----- > *From*: marc garrett <[email protected] > <mailto:marc%20garrett%20%[email protected]%3e>> > *Reply-To*: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected] > <mailto:netbehaviour%20for%20networked%20distributed%20creativity%20%[email protected]%3e>> > *To*: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected] > <mailto:netbehaviour%20for%20networked%20distributed%20creativity%20%[email protected]%3e>> > *Subject*: [NetBehaviour] If Ignorance is Bliss, What Should > Intellectuals Do? > *Date*: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:36:21 +0100 > > Found this on a blog & liked it :-) > > wishing all well. > > marc > > > If Ignorance is Bliss, What Should Intellectuals Do? > http://tinyurl.com/37lco5 > > I've been warned that the intellectual's life is somewhat disheartening > because we know too much. We are too aware of the flaws in life that > living loses its idealistic magic. For example, long-term atheists will > always have trouble ducking their heads under the water of spiritual > awakening--we are too rational. > > Since ignorance is indeed bliss, but willful ignorance is unheard of, > what is the intellectual to do? > > I suggest complete acceptance of the dirty truth. When our expectations > of life do not exceed its capacity, we will hopefully get the same > comforts of the person in fantasy-land. > > So, here are some admissions. Get ready to "suck it up" as they say: > > - Nobody will ever understand you completely. > - You can only speak for yourself. > - There will always be a major distortion between what you know, what > you will be able to communicate, and what people will then comprehend. > > > - There is no such thing as perfect trust. > - Life does have no intrinsic meaning. > - Much of my life is directed by things preceding me and therefore out > of my control. > - Your mind will always be polluted by public discourse (superego*). > - We impact everything, but yet we are often powerless to control. > - Discursive opinion will often not match reality. > - Perspectives and living are ephemeral and temporary. > - There is no perfect truth (save for maybe Math) > - You will always be irrational. > - Your emotions will always interfere with your sense of truth. > - Life is composed of layers of visible and invisible cliche's and story > lines > - We are ultimately subject to forces beyond us, natural selection, laws > of accelerating returns, etc. > - There is no perfect break from some vaguely deterministic path. > - What ppl tell you or how others view you will inevitbly affect you. > - No event or action is completely beneficial. > - You will always be an agent of some evil. > - You will never be beyond reproach. > - You will be the vehicle of stupid actions that are equally as inane as > the sins of others > - You will always have bias. > - Outside of science, nobody knows. like politics. etc. > - We will always have to act on incomplete knowledge. > - There is no absolutely good action > - You will never be able to do precisely what you want to do > - There is no true home > - You can never be truly authentic > - There will always be so much more beyond your awareness. > - Not everything is possible > - You will always be part of an existing process > - You can never truly break from the trajectory, maybe nudge it around, > but that'll ultimately be part of that trajectory > - Your weaknesses will always be betrayed by your actions at some point > - You will always be in some nature fake > - No event or meal or situation or conversation will be completely > satisfactory > - Nothing will every be completely satisfactory > - You will never be completely comfortable > - Something will always be itchy > - The gravity of life will always be subject to potential subjection of > risk to utter, stupid, and simple anniilation. Like a car accident. > - You will never have total control > - You won't be able to win them all. Someone will always hate you no > matter what. > - There is no perfect art > - There are other lives within you that will carry on their own > - You won't ever be beyond your own embarassment. > - You will never do the optimal thing > - There is no true external should. > - There will always be a kryptonite. > - You cannot escape your emotions. > - You cannot forget the past. > - Something will always haunt you. > - Nobody is beyond temptation > - Knowing and doing will always be different > > Added 4/11/04: > - You won't ever completely understand yourself or others. > - Some things you will never be able to get over. > - You will never rid the world of evil and cruelty > - You will never reach your full potential > > Added 4/12/04 > - You will always be subject to the needs of your containing vehicles: > physical body, relationships, family, house, nation, car, etc.. > - Because of the nature of time, everything that persists requires > maintenence. > > I wonder, though, what this whole list-making process says about me and > my current state. > > My form of blogging, with its emotionally-charged, intellectual stabs > into the air, is just a more complicated form of self-exposure. > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
