“I’m still not entirely sure of who I am, and maybe this is not surprising for someone who likes to do a lot of thinking and a lot of doubting. But over the years I have gotten more and more sure of who I am not.”
Love getting a sneak-peek into the mind of Silvio!!
Silvio! I feel like I could have at least an hour conversation with you on each of these quasi-related topics. Your riff on good prophecies reminds me of a few things: the problematic nature of utopian thinking ("ends justifying the means") contrasted with the neuroaffective appeal of doomsaying ("negativity bias and threat sensitivity").
The idea of poetically granting agency to emergent systems ("Moloch") reminds me of Solzhenitsyn's inquiry in Gulag Archipelago (what I've gleaned from discussions though I haven't read it yet.)
And the question of being and identity - well, that is the conversation of our lifetime, isn't it? Though I love the Jacobi reference. It reminds me of via negativa type approaches to spirituality and the "neti-neti" ("not this, not this") meditation.
I especially like the "who I am" section Silvio. It's actually quite tragic how many people just follow what their parents expected for them and then wind up feeling lost, disconnected from themselves. Maybe we're all in the boat, and we just jump ship into our own waters when we're ready, some sooner, some later. I'm lifted up by the emerging energy of your questioning this, and I think you're right that sometimes we can only know what we are "not" in a given moment and have courage to exist in the gap before we know what we are—which is also always changing.
"Or that dancing will finally be banned on social media?" gets me every time haha!
I so relate to this idea of feeling compelled into a certain life path, even if it's well intentioned.
"I feel the same may be applied to trying to understand who we are: focus first on who we’re not, and the rest -- slowly but surely -- takes care of itself." Perfect thought to end on and one I'm thinking about now.
As someone who’s not entirely sure of who I am also, I know exactly where you’re coming from. I also was guilty of following someone else’s path for a long time. But I sense that we’re both on our own paths of real discovery.
Also love the reminder of Moloch. It got co-opted by the crypto community, in a way that feels disingenuous in 2023, but it’s a powerful reminder of everything we should seek to shield ourselves from. Complacency and inertia are strong, but the human will for beauty and truth are stronger.
Thank you for sharing a glimpse into your reflections
Very interesting reflections, Silvio. Both the Greek and the Hebrew prophets were basically truth-tellers unaffected by the "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome to which most of us succumb. There's no reason why you can't tell beautiful truths about our bright future--in fact, I look forward to it. I climbed out of the quicksand of "Slate Star Codex" after clicking on the link. I look forward to further developments in your journey of self-(re)discovery . . . my guess is deeds will be even more important than thoughts.
Loved all three mini-essays Silvio, especially the last one, that, as I mentioned, can deeply relate to and through the "invert" section you've given me a new way to look at my past 10 exploratory years :)
“I’m still not entirely sure of who I am, and maybe this is not surprising for someone who likes to do a lot of thinking and a lot of doubting. But over the years I have gotten more and more sure of who I am not.”
Love getting a sneak-peek into the mind of Silvio!!
Silvio! I feel like I could have at least an hour conversation with you on each of these quasi-related topics. Your riff on good prophecies reminds me of a few things: the problematic nature of utopian thinking ("ends justifying the means") contrasted with the neuroaffective appeal of doomsaying ("negativity bias and threat sensitivity").
The idea of poetically granting agency to emergent systems ("Moloch") reminds me of Solzhenitsyn's inquiry in Gulag Archipelago (what I've gleaned from discussions though I haven't read it yet.)
And the question of being and identity - well, that is the conversation of our lifetime, isn't it? Though I love the Jacobi reference. It reminds me of via negativa type approaches to spirituality and the "neti-neti" ("not this, not this") meditation.
As a futurist, I'm hoping for a longer essay on Think Good.
I especially like the "who I am" section Silvio. It's actually quite tragic how many people just follow what their parents expected for them and then wind up feeling lost, disconnected from themselves. Maybe we're all in the boat, and we just jump ship into our own waters when we're ready, some sooner, some later. I'm lifted up by the emerging energy of your questioning this, and I think you're right that sometimes we can only know what we are "not" in a given moment and have courage to exist in the gap before we know what we are—which is also always changing.
Love these brilliant mini essays. A wonderful trifecta :)
"Or that dancing will finally be banned on social media?" gets me every time haha!
I so relate to this idea of feeling compelled into a certain life path, even if it's well intentioned.
"I feel the same may be applied to trying to understand who we are: focus first on who we’re not, and the rest -- slowly but surely -- takes care of itself." Perfect thought to end on and one I'm thinking about now.
Really great thoughts Silvio.
As someone who’s not entirely sure of who I am also, I know exactly where you’re coming from. I also was guilty of following someone else’s path for a long time. But I sense that we’re both on our own paths of real discovery.
Also love the reminder of Moloch. It got co-opted by the crypto community, in a way that feels disingenuous in 2023, but it’s a powerful reminder of everything we should seek to shield ourselves from. Complacency and inertia are strong, but the human will for beauty and truth are stronger.
Thank you for sharing a glimpse into your reflections
Very interesting reflections, Silvio. Both the Greek and the Hebrew prophets were basically truth-tellers unaffected by the "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome to which most of us succumb. There's no reason why you can't tell beautiful truths about our bright future--in fact, I look forward to it. I climbed out of the quicksand of "Slate Star Codex" after clicking on the link. I look forward to further developments in your journey of self-(re)discovery . . . my guess is deeds will be even more important than thoughts.
Loved all three mini-essays Silvio, especially the last one, that, as I mentioned, can deeply relate to and through the "invert" section you've given me a new way to look at my past 10 exploratory years :)