It has to do with the function of intelligence, which is to discern reality from appearances. Now, if you were the devil, how would you nullify intelligence, or even turn it against itself? I can think of an easy way that doesn't even involve extensive lying, indoctrination, or exposure to college (but I repeat myself).
Rather, all you have to do is eliminate the distinction between appearance and reality, and voila, no intelligence! It reminds me of the neutron bomb, which destroys every living thing while leaving structures intact. It "only" kills people, while sparing the places they inhabit.
Now, I can think of three main institutions that function like a cognitive neutron bomb: the liberal news media, Hollywood, and public education. Each is all surface with no depth, or all appearances with no reality.
Isn't it ironic that we've lately been witnessing the Revenge of the Depth in two of these three institutions, what with the daily revelations of predation and depravity? In each case it involves someone who pretends to be one thing on the surface, but is someone else deep down. I think it's only a matter of time before academia has its turn in the pervnado barrel.
The surface is glib, shiny, and seductive. But you can't even know it's a surface except from the perspective of the depth. Eliminate the depth, and the surface is the depth. Several aphorisms come to mind, for example,
To feign knowledge of a subject, it is advisable to adopt its most recent interpretation.
Therefore,
The only man who saves himself from intellectual vulgarity is the man who ignores what it is fashionable to know.
Journalists are the worst of all, being that journalism is -- to paraphrase someone -- of and for the moment. There are, of course, exceptions, but journalism as such is the study and transmission of appearances. It used to be the function of history to sort it all out later.
To paraphrase someone else, journalism is the first rough draft of history. But now it's the first rough draft of rewritten history, AKA historical revisionism. Anyone can get the facts wrong, but to weave them into a grand narrative requires a historian.
In the real world, "noise" is what interferes with the transmission of information. But the news media is quite literally the noise media, insofar as they provide a kind of incessant noise between appearances and reality. They generate a flow of pseudo-information which is really a diabolical "higher noise." It has the appearance of information but is really the obfuscation of reality.
For which reason Iowahawk, of whom we are not worthy, says that Journalism is about covering important stories. With a pillow, until they stop moving. A professional journalist is someone who knows which stories to asphyxiate.
In another solid gold tweet, Jim Treacher says Modern journalism is all about deciding which facts the public shouldn't know because they might reflect badly on Democrats.
There is a deeper principle -- or lack thereof -- in all of this, but I got a late start and now I'm near out of time. It's one of the threads running through this other challenging book I'm reading called No God, No Science: Theology, Cosmology, Biology (not challenging because of the subject matter, but because of the presentation).
Here are a couple of clues as to what's going on deep down in the cosmos, beneath all the journalism, entertainment, education, and other lies:
Though we are led to think that the universe is the province of a special science such as astrophysics or astronomy, the cosmos (or universe) is an irreducibly metaphysical and theological idea.
But modernity has essentially destroyed the soul while leaving the cosmos (disclosed by and to the soul) standing. The cosmos is now like a shell, vacated of hierarchy, truth, meaning, and spiritual depth. Deep down it has become entirely flat, such that it can no longer even account for its own intelligibility. In other words, it can no longer host the soul that intuitively perceives its nonlocal wholeness-in-being. It is a ghost town minus the animating ghost.
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"The surface is glib, shiny, and seductive. But you can't even know it's a surface except from the perspective of the depth. Eliminate the depth, and the surface is the depth. Several aphorisms come to mind, for example,
To feign knowledge of a subject, it is advisable to adopt its most recent interpretation."
Yep. And what every Surfacist knows, is that Hierarchy is Enemy#...um... Enemy. Virtue, Morality, Knowledge, Marriage... all must be flattened.
Rather, all you have to do is eliminate the distinction between appearance and reality, and voila, no intelligence! It reminds me of the neutron bomb, which destroys every living thing while leaving structures intact. It "only" kills people, while sparing the places they inhabit.
...
I think it's only a matter of time before academia has its turn in the pervnado barrel.
This past weekend I read Moira Greyland's The Last Closet, her true story of having been raised by a pair of famous authors who were both gay pedophiles. Not a pleasant read, obviously, but worthwhile for gaining some insight into both the mentality of her parents and of the larger community that supported them and failed to protect the young people in its midst.
Relevant to the first point, she described her father as a man who, knowing himself to be a genius, believed he had no opinions, only facts. That is, every thought or feeling that he had must be true, because he was a genius. Having thus eliminated the distinction between appearance and reality, he was indeed utterly lacking in intelligence, such that he was incapable of taking care of himself. Unfortunately, he also destroyed the boundaries for his children and whatever young people ended up in his orbit; the effect was indeed very much like a neutron bomb.
Relevant to the second, his social sphere included plenty of academics...
I just read a biography of the "genius" Claude Shannon, the so-called father of information theory. Although not a bad man, utterly devoid of wisdom or depth.
All that intelligence, particularly in someone who has tremendous breadth, seems often to be wasted if not outright monstrous when there's no depth. A situation which could be remedied, if only the genius could understand the importance of remaining humble. No matter how smart a man is, he's no god.
My right hand touched my posterior in an unseemly way. I reported this to my manager. She placed my right hand on administrative leave, pending an investigation. Fortunately I am still able to work using my left hand.
Today I saw my manager's left hand and arm making furtive motions underneath her desk. She was unable to explain what she was up to. Something about a rash, but I didn't buy it. I reported this up the chain of command, and her left arm and hand are now suspended, while she get's a doctors note.
I am keeping a close eye on everyone. You just can't tell who or what is harboring salacious urges.
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