Illuminatus Trilogy

[Requia ☣]

Try hard lemonade :P

Not completely straight edged though, even social drinking disqualifies.

[e]

Alas and alack!  I am a failure.  Hard lemonade is okay, didn't care for it much.

If not completely tee-total, I imagine I'm still a great deal more "straight-edged" when it comes to controlled substances than most Discordians, nonetheless.

I should also point out that I'm not against using it if it's what you're into.  It's just not what I, myself, am into.  If you like pot, acid, e, getting drunk, so on, so forth, more power to you!  Do it and enjoy it.  I've often been at parties where I'm the only one sober.

[Payne]

Not getting inebriated is admirable, actually.  Alcohol cannabis, etc are the drugs of the CoN.


Says the permanantly drunk, occasionaly stoned, Scottish asshat.

[Verbal Mike]

Wait, doesn't straight-edge also mean No Sex?
*shudders*
Do as ye will, but I know I owe a lot to cannabis and wish everyone would at least have one good trip to know what it's about. So many people rule it out, I really don't get it. (But then, I used to be against alcohol and THC as well until a couple years ago, so I guess I do get it.)

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

After reading more into it (I'm about 1/5th into the second chapter), I do indeed like it very much.

I find that this tends to be the case with many people... Bob and Bob (according to Bob) were actually trying to experiment with "reprogramming" the minds of the readers.... People were programmed by culture to expect a story to read a particular way. The Point of View, character names etc were expected to follow a particular pattern. The Bob's thought they could create a different pattern, which people's brains might pick up.

It seems to work with some people and not work with some people. The people that pick it up seem to love it, other people just may not catch the pattern, I dunno... but some people hate it all the way to the end.

For me, it was a catalyst for what I perceive as great change in my life.

[Verbal Mike]

Well, for me personally I think it worked, but I still started hating it towards the end... It became dreadfully tedious at some point, after I got it and accepted it and internalized it... I found myself reading the last one-two hundred pages just to get to the end so I can say I read it all...

[Daruko]

For me, it was a catalyst for what I perceive as great change in my life.

Sweet.  Rat, have you read Cosmic Trigger?

[LMNO]

Rest assured that Rat has most likely read everything by RAW more than five times.


Also, I3! is a novel.  Read it if you want, if it bores you, put it down.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

For me, it was a catalyst for what I perceive as great change in my life.

Sweet.  Rat, have you read Cosmic Trigger?

I have read most of RAW's stuff... my future Father-in-Law has a huge occult library and owned most everything by RAW, Crowley and several other weirdos.

In my opinion, Cosmic Trigger and Prometheus Rising are the two key books to understanding Bob's point of view... in most of his other stuff, he mixes humor, fiction etc liberally and often I think intentionally tries to piss off the reader (LOL). But in those two books I think he provided his clearest arguments for Model Agnosticism.

Rest assured that Rat has most likely read everything by RAW more than five times.


Also, I3! is a novel.  Read it if you want, if it bores you, put it down.

TROOF on both counts...

Well almost Troof, there are some things written by RAW that I have never read.

[Cain]

Agreed.  Cosmic Trigger and Prometheus Rising are probably the most useful and interesting at the same time (also available for download either in the Library sub-forum, or else just ask me).  I've heard good things about Quantumn Psychology, but havent chanced across a copy yet, so I cannot comment. I may check some torrent sites and see if I get lucky.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Agreed.  Cosmic Trigger and Prometheus Rising are probably the most useful and interesting at the same time (also available for download either in the Library sub-forum, or else just ask me).  I've heard good things about Quantumn Psychology, but havent chanced across a copy yet, so I cannot comment. I may check some torrent sites and see if I get lucky.

Quantum Psychology is like a primer for Prometheus Rising, though its written as a group book which is kinda weird. However, I found the exercises listed in QP to really help me get the concept of what RAW was getting at.

I think the first one that smacked me in the head was one where he has one student hold up a news paper headline and stand far enough away from the second student, so that the second student cannot make out the headline. However, once the student is told what the words are... the words usually become quite clear and legible... in the mind of the observer. I think that was the first time I put any real stock in his argument that our brains made up data  and just fills in the unknowns with what it thinks is right.

I've done this experiment with printed signs that have very similar appearance and have told people that they say things which they do not... and the subject usually 'sees' what I told them it said, rather than what it says.

[Verbal Mike]

I haven't read QP but I noticed that effect with signs etc. I've experienced it often, especially with eavesdropping. I have this habit of trying yo recognize what languages people I overhear are speaking. When I'm looking for Hebrew I can catch Hebrew words in almost any language, though they aren't there. (Depending how badly I can eavesdrop at that moment.)
I also noticed I can read English and Hebrew backwards, sideways or in a mirror, with almost no effort, but when I try and read a language I'm not perfectly fluent in I have a hard time picking out letters and words...

[Daruko]

Wow, yeah, I forgot about the sign experiment... Thanks for reminding me.

It's kind of disappointing how many people stop at the Model Agnosticism though, without ever trying the experiments.  I mean, sure you've realized there is no single objective reality out there.  But now why wouldn't you want to go out and experience all those exotic amazing varieties of reality... now that you realize how flexible your reality can be, wouldn't you want to fuck with it? 

I'm not suggesting one has to... really it'd just be nice to know some more people in real life that are as eager as I am in doing it.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Wow, yeah, I forgot about the sign experiment... Thanks for reminding me.

It's kind of disappointing how many people stop at the Model Agnosticism though, without ever trying the experiments.  I mean, sure you've realized there is no single objective reality out there.  But now why wouldn't you want to go out and experience all those exotic amazing varieties of reality... now that you realize how flexible your reality can be, wouldn't you want to fuck with it? 

I'm not suggesting one has to... really it'd just be nice to know some more people in real life that are as eager as I am in doing it.

Well, you've probably come to a useful spot then... a lot of people here seem to grok at least the basics of Model Agnosticism... and some subset of those people are actively trying to break open their own head and occasionally others (usually through memes, but the Good Reverend Roger tends to the Stark Fist... or a 2x4).

In common parlance around here, you may hear it called 'changing the bars in your Black Iron Prison".

[Daruko]

I was thinking I might try throat singing while watching Alejandro Jodorowski's "Holy Mountain" upside down and listening to Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" played backwards.