A critique of the BIP

[Cramulus]

http://www.principiadiscordia.com/bip/28.php




"hey!" said Golden Rod. "This pamphlet is just a bunch of complaining! I mean, they've spotted a lot of problems but where are the solutions?"

Nopants scowled. "You're waiting for them to tell you the answers?" He guffawed. "And what makes you think you can trust them anyway?"

"Well I sure can't trust you," said Golden Rod.

Nopants smirked.

[Brotep]

Um... maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but that seems to be sort of contradictory. It would be pointless for the BIP to say "Think for yourself, schmuck!" immediately followed with "now think about this." Then the reader would be all like "LOL, you're trying to tell me what to think right after telling me to think for myself! Fail!" and then they would find out who the authors were and poop on their heads.

Don't tell me you're afraid of a little head-poop.

That's all the BIP needs to be. Going any further runs a very high risk of spoiling the whole point of independent thought.

I for one think it could use a few outrageous claims and spurious arguments.

[Cainad (dec.)]

Um... maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but that seems to be sort of contradictory. It would be pointless for the BIP to say "Think for yourself, schmuck!" immediately followed with "now think about this." Then the reader would be all like "LOL, you're trying to tell me what to think right after telling me to think for myself! Fail!" and then they would find out who the authors were and poop on their heads.

Don't tell me you're afraid of a little head-poop.

I'm not the one at risk of having my head pooped on. But in any case, the BIP should be a catalyst for thoughtful introspection and discussion, not pooping. We have the forum for that.

That's all the BIP needs to be. Going any further runs a very high risk of spoiling the whole point of independent thought.

I for one think it could use a few outrageous claims and spurious arguments.

I suppose that, since it was originally known as PD '06, there's something to be said for putting in some silly, over-the-top claims. However, it really isn't the same as the PD by any means; it's not even analogous to it. The PD established the goofball religion flavor of Discordianism, and I don't think the BIP would gain anything by going that route. I think it's better for it to be relatively plain about its claims than to invite arguments with dummies who mistook the jokes for the actual message.

[Brotep]

I'm not the one at risk of having my head pooped on.

Head-poop by proxy, then.

But in any case, the BIP should be a catalyst for thoughtful introspection and discussion, not pooping. We have the forum for that.

So, you don't consider pooping a valid and integral component of thoughtful reflection?

I suppose that, since it was originally known as PD '06, there's something to be said for putting in some silly, over-the-top claims. However, it really isn't the same as the PD by any means; it's not even analogous to it. The PD established the goofball religion flavor of Discordianism, and I don't think the BIP would gain anything by going that route. I think it's better for it to be relatively plain about its claims than to invite arguments with dummies who mistook the jokes for the actual message.

So the primary goal of the project is/was accessibility, to reach as many people as possible?  Fair.  But I'm thinking most of the people who come here already have some familiarity with Discordianism.

[AFK]

I suppose that, since it was originally known as PD '06, there's something to be said for putting in some silly, over-the-top claims. However, it really isn't the same as the PD by any means; it's not even analogous to it. The PD established the goofball religion flavor of Discordianism, and I don't think the BIP would gain anything by going that route. I think it's better for it to be relatively plain about its claims than to invite arguments with dummies who mistook the jokes for the actual message.

So the primary goal of the project is/was accessibility, to reach as many people as possible?  Fair.  But I'm thinking most of the people who come here already have some familiarity with Discordianism.

In my mind, no.  (anyone else who was involved feel free to correct me if I go astray)  What you describe would essentially be "preaching to the choir".  That wasn't the aim.  The aim was to grow the choir, not just with other Discordians who weren't at PD.COM, but also people who don't know Discordianism.  I don't feel like the goal was so much to literally spread Discordianism, but more to spread the ideas held by Discordianism. 

So we wanted to spread the "Think For Yourself" meme, not because it was a good Discordian meme.  But, because it was a good meme, that happened to be Discordian.  In my view, it is less important whether or not one ends up literally self-identifying as a Discordian after they read the BIP and whatever else we turn them onto.  It is more important to get more people to understand all of the influences around them that they've been blind to.  Because when you can tap into and turn on that awareness, more possibilities open up.  The map you were using was giving you limited movement on only a small part of the territory. 

[LMNO]

The "Primary Goal", when it was first proposed, was born out of a general tone of the board that the PD was "out of date":  It was a 50-year-old book written by a bunch of hippies with 5 (or so) good ideas, and dressed up in jokes that either aren't relevant, aren't funny, or that we've heard umpteen times.

So, a few of us proposed a board contest, to "re-write the PD" in modern terms, as the current roster of PD members saw Discordia.

As you can probably tell, the general attitude at this board at the time was Gallows Humor, Trolling, Science, Politics, and Mockery*.

So, there were a lot of essays written.  One of them made a reference to the PKD phrase "Black Iron Prison", and it stuck.  I took a large chuck of those essays, and threw them together in Microsoft Word.  Someone else grabbed it, added a couple of graphics, and turned it into a PDF.  The rest kind of snowballed.


So, in answer to your question, the BIP was created to remake Discordia in the PD.com 2006 Image.  





















*This is only a partial list.  What the PD "was" can be found in the '06 archives.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Yes! A different 'holy book' by a different Cabal.

[Cainad (dec.)]

But in any case, the BIP should be a catalyst for thoughtful introspection and discussion, not pooping. We have the forum for that.

So, you don't consider pooping a valid and integral component of thoughtful reflection?

It's 1 part thoughtful and 3 parts emotional*. So, no, not really. There are times when it's very appropriate, and other times where it doesn't result in anything but a bunch of foul moods.





*obviously, I totally made that up and it is not up for discussion

[Adios]

Um... maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but that seems to be sort of contradictory. It would be pointless for the BIP to say "Think for yourself, schmuck!" immediately followed with "now think about this." Then the reader would be all like "LOL, you're trying to tell me what to think right after telling me to think for myself! Fail!" and then they would find out who the authors were and poop on their heads.

Don't tell me you're afraid of a little head-poop.

That's all the BIP needs to be. Going any further runs a very high risk of spoiling the whole point of independent thought.

I for one think it could use a few outrageous claims and spurious arguments.

Wouldn't your argument carry more weight if you wrote a contributary peice?

Hawk,
thinking for himself ITT.

[Brotep]

[pooping is] 1 part thoughtful and 3 parts emotional*. So, no, not really. There are times when it's very appropriate, and other times where it doesn't result in anything but a bunch of foul moods.

While that is true, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that pooping is like nuclear weapons: It's not about using it, it's about having it.
In my book, a willingness to poop on anything constitutes a valuable kind of open-mindedness.

*obviously, I totally made that up and it is not up for discussion

Oh, shit.  Should I have been using asterisks this whole time?  I guess that explains a lot.*

*from the Book of Anton Who Is Not Actually Named Anton, ch. 2, v. 1

Wouldn't your argument carry more weight if you wrote a contributary peice?

Possibly.  But I don't really care.  Besides, as it is written in the Book of Anton Who Is Not Actually Named Anton, "If you should feel like cobbling together my quotations into a proper document entitled the Book of Anton Who Is Not Actually Named Anton, then I certainly won't get in your way as long as I reap the profits."*

*ibid., ch. 1, v. 2

Hawk,
thinking for himself ITT.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.  Cute.

[Adios]