Read on Twitter
1/
About the Great Mass Safety Delusion of 2020, I have had so many utterly frustrated people asking me,
“How do we reverse this?”
(For more on what I mean by the Mass Delusion of 2020, see this subtweet. https://twitter.com/MarkChangizi/status/1339282595394297860?s=20 )
About the Great Mass Safety Delusion of 2020, I have had so many utterly frustrated people asking me,
“How do we reverse this?”
(For more on what I mean by the Mass Delusion of 2020, see this subtweet. https://twitter.com/MarkChangizi/status/1339282595394297860?s=20 )
2/
Indeed. A solution to the problem of the human susceptibility to mass delusions is the
— Societal Holy Grail —
Mass delusions underlie the greatest failures of civilization: revolutions, dictatorships, totalitarianism, genocides, and the rich varieties of democide.
Indeed. A solution to the problem of the human susceptibility to mass delusions is the
— Societal Holy Grail —
Mass delusions underlie the greatest failures of civilization: revolutions, dictatorships, totalitarianism, genocides, and the rich varieties of democide.
3/
Finding the Societal Holy Grail is as difficult as it is important:
- (a) COMPLEX. The problem concerns complex networks of highly intelligent, reputation-seeking individuals, with organizations, governments, militaries, and media thrown into the mix. Not pretty.
Finding the Societal Holy Grail is as difficult as it is important:
- (a) COMPLEX. The problem concerns complex networks of highly intelligent, reputation-seeking individuals, with organizations, governments, militaries, and media thrown into the mix. Not pretty.
4/
- (b) MULTDISCIPLINARY. It requires a considerable grasp of an extremely wide variety of areas, including evolved human psychology, socio-emotional signaling, evolved reputation accounting mechanisms, cultural evolution, graph theory, computation, economics, and much more.
- (b) MULTDISCIPLINARY. It requires a considerable grasp of an extremely wide variety of areas, including evolved human psychology, socio-emotional signaling, evolved reputation accounting mechanisms, cultural evolution, graph theory, computation, economics, and much more.
5/
- (c) HOLISTIC. A historian won’t solve this. A physicist won’t solve this. An epidemiologist definitely won’t solve this. Specialization will be a handicap. Big picture problems need big picture thinkers.
- (c) HOLISTIC. A historian won’t solve this. A physicist won’t solve this. An epidemiologist definitely won’t solve this. Specialization will be a handicap. Big picture problems need big picture thinkers.
6/
- (d) HARD. We know it’s hard because there are so many examples where either the mass delusion never did get undone, or came undone only through “rivers of blood” (see the earlier subtweet from MacKay).
- (d) HARD. We know it’s hard because there are so many examples where either the mass delusion never did get undone, or came undone only through “rivers of blood” (see the earlier subtweet from MacKay).
7/
The Delusion of 2020 has given new urgency to the search for the Holy Grail.
Prior to 2020, most in the West had the feeling we had risen above that. The great wars and Communism are behind us. The big examples of mass delusions/dictatorships are far-away and non-Western.
The Delusion of 2020 has given new urgency to the search for the Holy Grail.
Prior to 2020, most in the West had the feeling we had risen above that. The great wars and Communism are behind us. The big examples of mass delusions/dictatorships are far-away and non-Western.
8/
Classical liberalism is the antidote to totalitarianism and mass delusions.
Or so it was believed.
I am certainly of the mind that classical liberalism is a necessary part of it.
But we see clearly now that classical liberalism is not sufficient.
Classical liberalism is the antidote to totalitarianism and mass delusions.
Or so it was believed.
I am certainly of the mind that classical liberalism is a necessary part of it.
But we see clearly now that classical liberalism is not sufficient.
9/
The Societal Holy Grail appears to be just as relevant today in our modern, “advanced” state as ever.
Maybe more than ever. Why?
For potentially the first time in human history, a mass delusion came to encompass a large majority of the entire world (of seven billion).
The Societal Holy Grail appears to be just as relevant today in our modern, “advanced” state as ever.
Maybe more than ever. Why?
For potentially the first time in human history, a mass delusion came to encompass a large majority of the entire world (of seven billion).
10/
The U.S. is filled with folks whose escaped nations “run” by mass delusions.
For for the Great Mass Safety Illusion of 2020, there is almost nowhere to escape to.
Again, research on the Societal Holy Grail is more important than ever.
The U.S. is filled with folks whose escaped nations “run” by mass delusions.
For for the Great Mass Safety Illusion of 2020, there is almost nowhere to escape to.
Again, research on the Societal Holy Grail is more important than ever.
11/
So, my current answer to the Holy Grail question I mentioned I am commonly asked, “How do we reverse this?” is,
I don’t know.
I don’t think anyone knows.
Sad, but there it is.
So, my current answer to the Holy Grail question I mentioned I am commonly asked, “How do we reverse this?” is,
I don’t know.
I don’t think anyone knows.
Sad, but there it is.
12/
I believe, however, we — @DrTimBarber and I — have the beginnings of a promising framework moving forward in the direction of finding the Societal Holy Grail.
I believe, however, we — @DrTimBarber and I — have the beginnings of a promising framework moving forward in the direction of finding the Societal Holy Grail.
13/
(i) SOCIO- EMOTIONAL SIGNALING
To understand these mass movements and mass delusions first requires a theory about the mechanisms undergirding how reputations rise and fall based on the resolution of disagreements.
(i) SOCIO- EMOTIONAL SIGNALING
To understand these mass movements and mass delusions first requires a theory about the mechanisms undergirding how reputations rise and fall based on the resolution of disagreements.
14/
Surprisingly, our system of emotional expressions IS the mechanism undergirding reputation transfers.
We’ve been working on this aspect for the last decade, and that work will appear in our upcoming book, UNMASKED: Why We Express Emotions.
https://www.changizi.com/emotionbook.html
Surprisingly, our system of emotional expressions IS the mechanism undergirding reputation transfers.
We’ve been working on this aspect for the last decade, and that work will appear in our upcoming book, UNMASKED: Why We Express Emotions.
https://www.changizi.com/emotionbook.html
15/
(ii) DECENTRALIZED SOCIAL CURRENCY PRESERVATION
But the next step needed is understanding the mechanisms underlying how these transfers of reputation “wealth” get preserved in a social network. This is the world of “narratives” and mechanisms for converging to the truth.
(ii) DECENTRALIZED SOCIAL CURRENCY PRESERVATION
But the next step needed is understanding the mechanisms underlying how these transfers of reputation “wealth” get preserved in a social network. This is the world of “narratives” and mechanisms for converging to the truth.
16/
We believe we have the beginnings of a framework for this, one that will lead to an eventual rigorous theory with broad explanatory power, including prescriptive advice on how to reverse mass delusions, and how to inhibit them in the first place.
We believe we have the beginnings of a framework for this, one that will lead to an eventual rigorous theory with broad explanatory power, including prescriptive advice on how to reverse mass delusions, and how to inhibit them in the first place.
17/
... and doing so consistent with classical liberalism, civil liberties, and so on.
THAT’S the challenge!
If one’s theory prescribed draconian authoritarian measures to avoid mass delusions, that would be fighting rivers of blood with rivers of blood.
... and doing so consistent with classical liberalism, civil liberties, and so on.
THAT’S the challenge!
If one’s theory prescribed draconian authoritarian measures to avoid mass delusions, that would be fighting rivers of blood with rivers of blood.
18/
I hint in the direction of our framework for (ii) in this subtweet. https://twitter.com/MarkChangizi/status/1335969651315118081?s=20
I hint in the direction of our framework for (ii) in this subtweet. https://twitter.com/MarkChangizi/status/1335969651315118081?s=20
19/
So, I don’t have an answer to the Societal Holy Grail.
But I’ve been working on ideas crucial for solving it for some time (including varieties of other research directions that generally help).
And have the beginnings of a promising needed next stage.
So, I don’t have an answer to the Societal Holy Grail.
But I’ve been working on ideas crucial for solving it for some time (including varieties of other research directions that generally help).
And have the beginnings of a promising needed next stage.
20/
As the new research continues, I’ll try to conveyviews of it from various angles.
Your feedback through the last nine months has been most useful.
There are no experts in this.
We need research so that there’s something to even be an expert on!
As the new research continues, I’ll try to conveyviews of it from various angles.
Your feedback through the last nine months has been most useful.
There are no experts in this.
We need research so that there’s something to even be an expert on!
21/
I would appreciate any support you could manage.
It’s what makes independent research possible.
Support in this case would include
(1) subscribing to my YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHmody2xNMCuWf3h-TVRwOwH857PxJuYt
(2) following me at Instagram
https://instagram.com/markchangizi/channel/…
I would appreciate any support you could manage.
It’s what makes independent research possible.
Support in this case would include
(1) subscribing to my YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHmody2xNMCuWf3h-TVRwOwH857PxJuYt
(2) following me at Instagram
https://instagram.com/markchangizi/channel/…
(3) buying one of my books
https://www.changizi.com/books.html
(4) including my novel, Human 3.0, partly on mass delusions
https://www.changizi.com/store/p1/human30.html
(5) or getting a pair of colorblindness or vein finder glasses from my company http://VinoOptics.com
https://www.changizi.com/books.html
(4) including my novel, Human 3.0, partly on mass delusions
https://www.changizi.com/store/p1/human30.html
(5) or getting a pair of colorblindness or vein finder glasses from my company http://VinoOptics.com
