i am your ENEMY

[Pope Lecherous]

Hey, I also "feel" that the earth is flat and the sun orbits the earth.  Any good reason I should pretend that's true?

I don't know whether you're criticizing the game or the idea that time has already occurred.  It's understandable to easily dismiss the game.  As far as time goes, early people explained it by God/magic.  I'm trying to understand it in the context of string theory.  Have i just completely not comprehended that aspect of the 4th dimension according to string theory or do you reject string theory as patently ridiculous?  Or do you just reject theories?

[LMNO]

Actually, come to think of it, I'm rejecting the notion that you even remotely understand string theory.

[Pope Lecherous]

Actually, come to think of it, I'm rejecting the notion that you even remotely understand string theory.

Most definitely. Forget i mentioned string theory. I want to move on. Let's say that our lives are predetermined. Or don't LMNO.  Roger pretty much made his view clear while holding back the level of insult i expected.  I appreciate the civility Roger.  I was able to understand how you felt about the issue and your statement was clear and concise.

[LMNO]

Our lives are not predetermined.  Why should I presume that?

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Actually, come to think of it, I'm rejecting the notion that you even remotely understand string theory.

Most definitely. Forget i mentioned string theory. I want to move on. Let's say that our lives are predetermined. Or don't LMNO.  Roger pretty much made his view clear while holding back the level of insult i expected.  I appreciate the civility Roger.  I was able to understand how you felt about the issue and your statement was clear and concise.

Actually, that was more self-preservation than anything else.  I had this GIANT SCREAM halfway up my throat, and it was all I could do to hold it in.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Our lives are not predetermined.  Why should I presume that?

I certainly don't, on account of Papa Hemmingway.

[Pope Lecherous]

Our lives are not predetermined.  Why should I presume that?

There is no reason to.  If it were, the game would be pointless because if life were predetermined there would be no reason to play.  Obviously the choices we make matter.  The point of the game is to return optimal results for your choices in accordance to some self determined utility.  The entire sensation of being removed from experiencing time moment to moment and observing the present from outside of time is what i'm trying to convey and failing.  There is no term for it.

[Pope Lecherous]

Actually, come to think of it, I'm rejecting the notion that you even remotely understand string theory.

Most definitely. Forget i mentioned string theory. I want to move on. Let's say that our lives are predetermined. Or don't LMNO.  Roger pretty much made his view clear while holding back the level of insult i expected.  I appreciate the civility Roger.  I was able to understand how you felt about the issue and your statement was clear and concise.

Actually, that was more self-preservation than anything else.  I had this GIANT SCREAM halfway up my throat, and it was all I could do to hold it in.

I'll try not to make your head explode with rage.  I'd really like to explore this concept with you guys.

[LMNO]

If our lives are not predetermined, then time is not a closed loop.  End of argument.

I know it looks really pretty in the isolation of your stoned brain, but it has no connection with the universe as we know it, and so it's not really worth talking about, unless you're planning to write a sci-fi story around the concept.

[Pope Lecherous]

If our lives are not predetermined, then time is not a closed loop.  End of argument.

I know it looks really pretty in the isolation of your stoned brain, but it has no connection with the universe as we know it, and so it's not really worth talking about, unless you're planning to write a sci-fi story around the concept.

I don't have the vocabulary to rectify the apparent contradiction between a defined 4th dimensional space and time not being prewritten.  Insult me if you like but i'm not a stoner not by anyone's standards.

[LMNO]

I only understand this system while high. 

This happens every time i smoke marijuana.

No insult meant, I was merely going off your assertion that these thoughts happen when you get stoned.

[Pope Lecherous]

I only understand this system while high. 

This happens every time i smoke marijuana.

No insult meant, I was merely going off your assertion that these thoughts happen when you get stoned.

My bad, i'm paranoid by nature so i often imagine harsher tones.  That's one of the reasons i am not a stoner.  It's an occasional treat for me and it does wonders for the pain from the wreckage of a body the Marine Corps has left me with... and i got off easy.

String theory entered the equation because the concept in the video i linked is the closest thing to a scientific analogy i could find.  It's also popular (most people on this forum have probably come across it) and simple for the layman to understand.

[The Wizard Joseph]

Greetings Blackfoot.

The problem of free will and predetermination is very simple to solve from within our experience.  It is a difference that makes no difference.  Whether or not the determination of you existence is a fact the perceptions of daily life tend toward simple cause and effect and free will.  There is no need to waste your time wondering if there's a destiny or direction. If there is then your experiences of it will still be limited to the sense of free will.  If drugs alter this for you, well, that's pretty neat. Don't set a life plan to it.  The mis-perception of a destined future tends to lead to really dumb decisions because it feels good for some reason. 

I think that the reason has to do with the removal of PERSONAL responsibility from the equation if the future is pre-written.

[Pope Lecherous]

Greetings Blackfoot.

The problem of free will and predetermination is very simple to solve from within our experience.  It is a difference that makes no difference.  Whether or not the determination of you existence is a fact the perceptions of daily life tend toward simple cause and effect and free will.  There is no need to waste your time wondering if there's a destiny or direction. If there is then your experiences of it will still be limited to the sense of free will.

Thanks for the feedback.  That is definitely the most logical conclusion one can draw.  Given the context of the video it would be impossible to (permanently) transcend the limitations of our consciousness, i just enjoy the sense of having what feels like a peek at a higher level of being.  Unfortunately, it seems like we don't even have the mental framework to be able to comprehend this potential form of existence.

If drugs alter this for you, well, that's pretty neat. Don't set a life plan to it.  The mis-perception of a destined future tends to lead to really dumb decisions because it feels good for some reason. 

I think that the reason has to do with the removal of PERSONAL responsibility from the equation if the future is pre-written.

The Game is certainly seductive in this way.  If i could induce it in others that would be something, if only so they know what the fuck i'm talking about.  But that's where the contradiction lies.  The Game simultaneously suggests time is written and unwritten.

ETA: That also leads back to entheogen theory of religion and also the popularity of believing in and giving one's life over to Fate... and the epic tales of people fighting against their destiny

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Dude,  all I can think of every time you say "The Game" is those stupid seduction schemes. Like "The Rules" for lonely basement-dwelling guys, as opposed to 30-year-old virgin women who live with their mothers and 14 cats.