One of those things will be moderated, but not the other...

I anticipate a lot of unnecessary and distracting aggravating text formatting on the one hand, and a none-too-gradual devolution into "name-calling" on the other. :down:

I agree, I'm just pointing out that brevity is a grammatical skill that can be learned; I would say it's a sign of intelligence, but not wisdom. But the wise are often brief. Brevity is seductive because it suggests wisdom, regardless of whether there is wisdom behind the brief statement.

Brevity is seductive.

Reading through the thread, I think it's premise is being demonstrated pretty well, especially in relation to those of you who's views I know pretty well. Great topic, @spirit-salamander.

:cheer: I love jokes, especially in the middle of serious threads.

That makes sense, but actually I realize I responded too quickly...what I wanted to intimate, as maybe a half-joke, was that you are attempting to represent a new counter-culture with your critique of the old counter-culture..."they've screwed us over ever since", etc...I'll see myself out...

that have screwed us over ever since. — Tom Storm

Is this a new "counter culture"?

But, I do think that such questions may be cast aside, especially if many see knowledge as having been reached. — Jack Cummins

Late to the party as always, and haven't read the rest of the thread...

I think this is just the rub; you appear to be concerned that philosophical questions will fall away somehow, but what you say here is exactly why they will ultimately not do so. Knowledge is slippery and seems to often slip away on accident; It's almost like a venus fly trap; just when knowledge appears to arrive at the fake bud, the trap closes.

In our current physicalist world, it may take years of painful slippery fly-trap deaths for us to realize this hubristic error. And I almost think that we need to go through all these painful deaths if we're ever going to see our mistake.

I've become hopelessly addicted to this youtube channel of this dude and his buddy "Poison" who traverse across Europe as hobos:

One of the greatest bands of all time:

Dunno if any of these jokes will land, but

The Dithyramblers - Bluegrass band meets Kiss and Gogol Bordello
Pat Mastelotto Plays An Ostinato - King Crimson cover band that only plays 90's Crimson
Uncle Laura - freak folk/harsh noise

Maybe I can dig up some freebies.

I have a running list of fictional band names reserved for potential future use in various capacities...nice list though!

Cool

Care to respond to the thread?

You don't even know me brah...

Isn't "nothing-but" a pretty well-defined scope?

There seems to be a common will to fundamentalism — Janus

Yes. And depending on the prevalent fundamentalism of the time, you may be metaphorically or literally burned at the stake for not falling in line.

Wallows is still here as @Shawn.

It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet. — T Clark

This acutely reminds me of something else, but I can't think what. I'll get back to you.

Like all Ravel, it's not as easy as it looks/sounds.

Oceansize is a band that I don't expect a lot of people to like; I'm not going to argue that they're one of the best because they're an acquired taste. Talk Talk is sort of the same, although I'm a little more fundamentalist with them; I could probably map out a dubious philosophical argument for why Laughing Stock is one of the best albums of all time. But at the end of the day, it's still an acquired taste. On the other hand, there's probably more of a cult following for Talk Talk; I'm not alone in my opinion on them.

@180 Proof

Jumping in without even knowing what this thread is since I was randomly summoned, but...

My love of PKD can be summed up in this quote from him (written in a diary not intended for anyone's eyes):

"I am a fictionalizing philosopher, not a novelist; my novel and story-writing ability is employed as a means to formulate my perception. The core of my writing is not art but truth. Thus what I tell is the truth, yet I can do nothing to alleviate it, either by deed or explanation. Yet this seems somehow to help a certain kind of sensitive troubled person, for whom I speak. I think I understand the common ingredient in those whom my writing helps: they cannot or will not blunt their own intimations about the irrational, mysterious nature of reality, and, for them, my corpus of writing is one long ratiocination regarding this inexplicable reality, an investigation and presentation, analysis and response and personal history. My audience will always be limited to those people." - In Pursuit of VALIS: Selections from the Exegesis

@Desperado

What do you enjoy in life?

@Jack Cummins As for going into more detail like you suggested:

For my two picks, I'll mention that these are probably my two favorite records of all time, but for that reason, I rarely listen to them. Frames by Oceansize I've probably listened to thousands of times over the past 12 years or so, and it doesn't really get old, but that being said, I don't really listen to that genre of music any more. But it's still one of the greatest for me. Laughing Stock by Talk Talk, on the other hand, is almost a spiritual revelation for me...it's a mountain top that I don't dare to climb often, if that makes sense. It's a sacred album that demands proper respect and devotion. As such, I probably listen to it about once a year. I listened to it more frequently when I first got into it, but I would say I've still only listened to it about 40 times or so over the course of 11 years. One key aspect of that record is that it's so dense that I hear several new things that I never noticed each time I listen. And it goes without saying it's a headphones record; the platonic ideal of one, really.

I'm probably "young" for TPF, but the older I get, the harder it is for me to find music that astounds me. This record makes the cut. I'm also a big Pharoah fan.

:cry:

You're moving the goalposts, which, as I'm sure you're aware, is a rookie move. You get a free pass because you're a guest speaker; if you were not, you would be laughed off the stage.

What is your reason for wanting to do so? — Echarmion

A friend of mine hired me to write music for a series of short films which he plans to mint as NFTs. I love working with him, so it was a no-brainer. If they sell, I'll be paid in ETH. This inevitably led me to researching the NFT world. At first I was philosophically against everything about it, but I suddenly (out of nowhere) came up with my own concept for an NFT that I really love.

Creating new life and suffering via the untested genetic experiments of sexual reproduction feels natural. Creating life engineered to be happy – and repairing the victims of previous genetic experiments – invites charges of “hubris”. Antinatalists might say that bringing any new sentient beings into this god-forsaken world is hubristic. But if we accept that the future belongs to life lovers, then who shows greater humility:
(1) prospective parents who trust that quasi-random genetic shuffling will produce a benign outcome?
(2) responsible (trans)humans who ensure their children are designed to be healthy and happy? — David Pearce

With all due respect, you have no understanding of what it means to be human. You aren't using any logical arguments in defense of your position, so I won't use any either.

I'm very aware of the environmental impact of crypto. The reality is that anything involving computing power affects the environment, including this forum (and yes, the surge in crypto is affecting it in a much larger way). I'm certainly not convinced that crypto is the future, but I'm also not convinced otherwise. With that in mind, there are cryptocurrencies that are taking environmental issues into consideration. The future is unwritten and uncertain. Today's crypto-blows to the environment may be balanced by tomorrow's crypto-bandages. Or not. Who's to say? The market is so volatile.

So anyway, back to me; should I mint an NFT or nah?

A friend and collaborator of mine hired me to write music for a series of three short films that he's going to mint as NFT's. I didn't even know about NFT's until this, and now I'm fascinated, weirded out, kind of disgusted, but also kind of sucked into it. To the point that I bought a little Ethereum and have plans to mint my own NFT soon...but I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. What makes me really want to do it is my concept for the series I might do; it fits in well with NFT's in general and it's something that doesn't compromise my artistic integrity, lol. But I'm still on the fence about all of it, but I've definitely gotten sucked into the whole world recently. Any thoughts? Criticisms? Am I horrible person for potentially jumping into this fray?

The only way to develop a scientific knowledge of consciousness is to adopt the experimental method. — David Pearce

Are you familiar with Rudolf Steiner? I have plenty of reservations about him, but would be curious if you have any thoughts. It's interesting to note that, despite his eccentricities, perhaps the main thing he put forth that still is working (arguably) well is biodynamics.

Transhumanism can treat our endogenous opioid addiction by ensuring that gradients of lifelong bliss are genetically hardwired. — David Pearce

I'm admittedly a bit behind on transhumanist thought (so why am I posting here?) but the idea of being able to hardwire gradients of bliss smacks of hubris to me. I think of Owen Barfield's analogy of the scientific method in which he describes "engine knowledge" vs. "driver knowledge". A car mechanic understands how the engine works, and what needs to be fixed in order for the motor to work (scientist). A driver of the car understands why the engine needs to work properly: to take the driver from point A to point B. There are countless reasons why a driver might need to go from point A to point B. The driver is not a scientist, by the way; maybe an artist, or maybe a humble average Joe who just wants to provide for his family. Who is wiser? [can provide reference to this Barfield analogy, will just take a few minutes of digging].

In my mind, you have engine knowledge. I have driver knowledge.

I will persist! I have friends who I respect who love Bartok.

@180 Proof

Not bad:



Still not bowled over yet though.

Got any Bartok recs? I always have trouble getting into him; his music feels very rigid to me. Granted Ravel is possibly my favorite classical composer, so I know it's just a different aesthetic.