"we are bombarded with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms."
63 2015-09-05 by terranlurker
In light of the discussions of crisis actors, hyper-real crises and false flags, I'm reminded of some salient quotes from Philip K Dick's fantastic essay "How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" (1978) (http://deoxy.org/pkd_how2build.htm)
"the problem is a real one, not a mere intellectual game. Because today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups—and the electronic hardware exists by which to deliver these pseudo-worlds right into the heads of the reader, the viewer, the listener. Sometimes when I watch my eleven-year-old daughter watch TV, I wonder what she is being taught. The problem of miscuing; consider that. A TV program produced for adults is viewed by a small child. Half of what is said and done in the TV drama is probably misunderstood by the child. Maybe it's all misunderstood. And the thing is, Just how authentic is the information anyhow, even if the child correctly understood it? What is the relationship between the average TV situation comedy to reality? What about the cop shows? Cars are continually swerving out of control, crashing, and catching fire. The police are always good and they always win. Do not ignore that point: The police always win. What a lesson that is. You should not fight authority, and even if you do, you will lose. The message here is, Be passive. And—cooperate. If Officer Baretta asks you for information, give it to him, because Officer Beratta is a good man and to be trusted. He loves you, and you should love him.
What is real? Because unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo-realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. I do not distrust their motives; I distrust their power."
"The authentic human being is one of us who instinctively knows what he should not do, and, in addition, he will balk at doing it. He will refuse to do it, even if this brings down dread consequences to him and to those whom he loves. This, to me, is the ultimately heroic trait of ordinary people; they say no to the tyrant and they calmly take the consequences of this resistance. Their deeds may be small, and almost always unnoticed, unmarked by history. Their names are not remembered, nor did these authentic humans expect their names to be remembered. I see their authenticity in an odd way: not in their willingness to perform great heroic deeds but in their quiet refusals. In essence, they cannot be compelled to be what they are not.
The power of spurious realities battering at us today—these deliberately manufactured fakes never penetrate to the heart of true human beings. I watch the children watching TV and at first I am afraid of what they are being taught, and then I realize, They can't be corrupted or destroyed. They watch, they listen, they understand, and, then, where and when it is necessary, they reject."
28 comments
13 LetsHackReality 2015-09-05
This, I believe, reflects a dangerous misunderstanding. The brain is a neural network; humans are programmable. A 'true human being' is built -- not born.
6 FloodGoose 2015-09-05
In today's world - yes. Long ago humans were born. Wild and free. And stinky. But still... born in the bush.
4 LetsHackReality 2015-09-05
Just a different set of programming -- programmed by nature. I suspect such a person would not be immune to television commercials, for example -- although the language barrier would be some protection.
3 terranlurker 2015-09-05
I see mankind and nature as being inseparable...I see a unity of life, of consciousness, of spirit. So I wouldn't consider it to be "programming"...it is when we are separated from nature that we are vulnerable to propaganda, to unreality. We seek substitutes for the natural way of life we evolved with and now, for the most part, lack.
1 y0teach 2015-09-05
Key word being "instinctively". In some cases instinct can be overcome if you remove an organism from its environment. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/16/snails-homing-instinct-overcome-move-20-metres-away
But I don't think instinct ever truly dies. Perhaps it lives on in certain genes. Just look at dogs...despite generations upon generations of domestication they can still awaken that inner wolf. Anyone read Jack London's The Call of the Wild? That's what I'm reminded of. Buck's an absolute badass.
1 cannibaloxfords 2015-09-05
reconnecting to nature doesn't guarantee anything. Many philosophies and esoteric teachings speak of the animalism of humans being the plague that leads to the whole rate race, survival of the fittest, me me me, etc and culture just strengthens the ego
Enlightenment is the answer
1 ronintetsuro 2015-09-05
Who we leave in charge of that enlightenment, however... that makes all the difference.
So far, we have chosen poorly.
2 cannibaloxfords 2015-09-05
the teachings are there via buddha, christ, mystics, and saints....its up to each individual to penetrate the inner depths and unravel enlightenment
2 terranlurker 2015-09-05
Over time, perhaps. Our brains are bombarded and conditioned through the ubiquitous assimilation of media/propaganda and social standards.
I think Dick is suggesting there is an inherent human quality - a quality that separates us from programmable AI - that realizes the unreality, that secretly and perhaps subtly pursues truth? Isn't that why some of us are here and talking about this now?
Edit to add: I agree with you that authentic human beings are built, but a building needs a foundation. I think human beings are born with that foundation of authenticity, and that's why it's possible to "wake up" to what's happening.
3 LetsHackReality 2015-09-05
Maybe. Or maybe it's because the illusion is incomplete and imperfect. If not for a few flaws, "glitches in the Matrix", I would have lived to an old age without suspecting anything.
3 terranlurker 2015-09-05
I've wanted to start a new thread asking what turned people on to "conspiracy theorizing"...I guess we can start here. What were these glitches in the matrix, if you don't mind me asking?
3 LetsHackReality 2015-09-05
Those threads come up from time to time; might be time for another!
The coup in Ukraine is what did it for me. I was in Belarus at the time, and I was trying to keep up with news on cnn.com, bbc.com, etc. To my confusion, my Russian friends there literally laughed and pointed at my news. That was really jarring for me, but I somewhat dismissed it as the effects of "Russian propaganda".
They had planted the seed though. Over the next few days, though, I watched "my" news more critically than usual and noticed inconsistencies. I noticed sub-stories being twisted or not covered at all... or actively buried with stories that didn't make sense.
And not just one western news source. All of em. They appeared to be lying, in concert. Took a few days, a few weeks, a few months... like catching a cheating spouse in a pattern of lies. Just little mistakes here and then it occurred to me... If you want to lie to your own people, you have to convince them that the truth is a lie. They had to pound it into us -- Russian propaganda, Russian propaganda, Russian propaganda...
And then the epiphany: Western media keeps us in an artificial reality bubble.
And then everything started making a lot more sense.
3 terranlurker 2015-09-05
Western media keeps us in an artificial reality bubble
Absolutely. A couple months ago I was eating breakfast at a chain hotel. There were four TVs in the room, one in each corner. They were all playing the news. Every single story was about rape, murder or terrorism. I looked around and saw the vacant, horrified stares of the dozen or so people around me. They were glued to the TVs, downloading fear. They'd go on to think about those news stories, talk about them, have their opinions and worldviews colored by them. The whole thing felt absurd and unreal, like a Kafka-esque bad dream.
3 LetsHackReality 2015-09-05
And me, at the other table, laughing my ass off.
2 ronintetsuro 2015-09-05
I have to give some credence to the theory that all this fear being foisted upon the American public is being upverted into a reality that is desired by the elites.
Fear is what causes police shootings and the subsequent fallout. Fear is what causes Christian government workers to refuse to do their jobs properly. Fear is what keeps the arms industry in business.
Fear is basically the lubricant that the American economy depends on. It's all totally insane once you get a higher level view of how the world works and America's TRUE place in it.
2 terranlurker 2015-09-05
Fear is absolutely a lubricant for the economy. Well said. I think its also being used for social conditioning; fear is used as part of the dialectic. For example, Christian government workers refuse to do their job, media ridicules them, public sides against them and then society moves towards more tolerance for alternative lifestyles and ridicules Christians, especially fundamentalists.
1 ronintetsuro 2015-09-05
“We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.”
--William Casey, CIA Director 1981-1987
5 Ihopeitsround 2015-09-05
Really enjoyed this OP! I too am empowered by the whispers of billions of martyrs who have bled and died on this rock to appease the darkness; they will not have died in vain.
4 MurrueLaFlaga 2015-09-05
You mentioned crisis actors, and for some reason, I felt compelled to share this video. I know it's a tad bit unrelated, but predictive programming is definitely a thing...
Also, thanks for the post.
2 konspirate 2015-09-05
I need to watch "The Game" again. Thanks, good link.
3 JohnConnorChronicles 2015-09-05
Even though many of us seem to have a few screws loose (who could blame us in such a crazy world?) I feel like many of us are trying to be "the authentic human being" PKD is writing about here
5 Putin_loves_cats 2015-09-05
-Jiddu Krishnamurti
5 terranlurker 2015-09-05
Well said. Krishnamurti is/was a real life Morpheus. I love this particular video gleaned from his lectures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mgi5Ke7uADM
"What we are trying with all these discussions and talks here is to see if we cannot radically bring about a transformation in the mind. Not accept things are they are"
2 Putin_loves_cats 2015-09-05
Excellent video. Thanks for linking!
3 y0teach 2015-09-05
I've read probably a dozen of Philip K Dick's books. He's a quirky but outstanding talent. So many movies are based on his books (Total Recall, Minority Report, Blade Runner, A Scanner Darkly, The Adjustment Bureau, to name a few). They all have similar dystopic/"we live in a Matrix" themes. This essay explicates many of his thematic points/social commentary.
2 FloodGoose 2015-09-05
The word 'sophisticated' should be replaced with 'deranged.'
4 terranlurker 2015-09-05
Deranged AND sophisticated. We cannot underestimate them.
0 FloodGoose 2015-09-05
Okay.