Book Club: Angel Tech

[LMNO]

Knowing that, I may start intentionally throwing in stuff that has nothing to do with the book, just to fuck with you.

[Rococo Modem Basilisk]

I can't help but imagine that A.A. did that himself. Isn't that RAW's modus operandi too?

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

Hm. I am beginning to wonder if it will be more efficent to read the book, or to read LMNO's commentary and everyone else's reactions to it. It seems like the meat of the book has been summarized, with minimal anti-wording rage.

The book you talk about is not the book you read. 

[Cain]

The bit in Angel Tech where Antero Alli saves the Vatican from the fake Illuminati by dropping a nuclear bomb over an area of unstable exotic energy to reset the timeline is pretty good.

[Rococo Modem Basilisk]

Hm. I am beginning to wonder if it will be more efficent to read the book, or to read LMNO's commentary and everyone else's reactions to it. It seems like the meat of the book has been summarized, with minimal anti-wording rage.

The book you talk about is not the book you read. 

But may be precisely as useful. Or, some cases, moreso.

[LMNO]

The bit in Angel Tech where Antero Alli saves the Vatican from the fake Illuminati by dropping a nuclear bomb over an area of unstable exotic energy to reset the timeline is pretty good.

I know, right?  But to me, the single most unforgettable part is when he admits be being Keyser Soze.

[Cain]

I dunno, it would've been better if we didn't know that Keyser Soze was originally dreamt up by three bored publishing assistants with too much spare time, access to every crime novel in existence, and a computer.

[Bu🤠ns]

Thanks, LMNO, i appreciate your taking time for this.

[Triple Zero]

The bit in Angel Tech where Antero Alli saves the Vatican from the fake Illuminati by dropping a nuclear bomb over an area of unstable exotic energy to reset the timeline is pretty good.

I know, right?  But to me, the single most unforgettable part is when he admits be being Keyser Soze.

The bit about him "charging his sigil" from the balcony all over St Peter's Square was a littlebit much, though.

[Kai]

I dunno, it would've been better if we didn't know that Keyser Soze was originally dreamt up by three bored publishing assistants with too much spare time, access to every crime novel in existence, and a computer.

OH OH yeah! And when one of them finally got so jaded and decided to go to the meeting place anyway, he found out every conspiracy ever made was true. Well, at least the participants THOUGHt they were true.

[LMNO]

"Fourth Gear Social Intelligence is defined through the manner by which we relate with others."

Because our first three gears determine how we react to external stimuli, we review them briefly.  "1) First Gear is THE BODY. 2) Second Gear are BELIEFS. 3) Third Gear, THE INTELLECT."  Wait – Second Gear is "beliefs"?  I think I missed something.  I thought second gear was "territory" or "hierarchy" or something like that.  I'm not sure how "beliefs" tie in.

Well, no time to discuss that because we're breaking 4th gear into three parts: "Socially, there are three major phases of personality development: 1) Big Kids (or Adolescents) 2) Adults and 3) The Process of Collectivization... The Big Kid phase, hereafter referred to as Adolescence, is essentially self-indulgent, egotistical and narcissistic due to its wild and experimental nature. This also seems to apply to any adolescent entity, be it a group, corporation, nation or spiritual movement... Characterized by high flux, adolescent phases often appear 'socially irresponsible'." The summation is a bit sophomoric, but I like how he applies it to groups and organizations... In a way, he is giving a nod to mass psychology... there is an implication, however, that if groups can work on Fourth Gear principles, perhaps the previous gears can be applied, as well.  Something to think about.

He sort of bounces past the second part (Adults) by saying they are concerned with linear time due to the Death Realization.  Without explaining this further (really?  Linear time is the big idea for what it means to be an adult?), he goes straight on to Collectivization, which are things like political parties, religious groups, fetish clubs, and LARP-ing.  Of course, therein lies danger: "In time, the personalities of individual group members can tend to dissipate their unique and singular characteristics in favor of the more standardized, homogenous blend of that collective's lowest common denominator."  Which relates back to the point that if groups have a Fourth Gear, they may have lower Gear Settings that are necessary to have in order to "belong." 

Thankfully, it appears we may get some clarity.  The reason Adolescence is needed is to jump into as many social situations as possible, and seeing if people like us for whom we are, or for whom they want us to be.  We do this naturally, thought hormonal surges, and consciously; through it all, we make and break personal relationships.  "If friendship is only based in emotional support, ego-stroking or personal attraction, it falls apart whenever these conditions are withdrawn. Perhaps, a true friend is someone who, somehow, encourages us to be completely ourselves and occasionally challenges our "act" in order to touch our hearts. 'Opposition is Friendship.' - William Blake".

A.A. then takes an interesting stance, and seems to take the position that parts 2 and 3 of Gear Four are not that desirable.  He advises consciously prolonging Adolescence, and even comes up with a word for it so as to make us feel better: "Neoteny" (although you biology students might blanch at the term).  "Neoteny is catalyzed through a careful, non-judgmental study of adolescent characteristics and their acceptance and integration in a creative lifestyle. The spirit of experimentation so crucial to Adolescence necessitates a certain daring...Neoteny is dependent upon improvisatory skills of quick, in-the-moment adjustments to new information."  He then defines an ideal adulthood as a process of refining the Neoteny rather than abandoning it.  I tend to agree with him, but I do find it interesting when he says, "it can be approached consciously or as a robot for DNA. When we are ready to style our own domestic advance, we are more free to bypass the generic models passed down by DNA as our Ancestral Gestalt...that group-mind made up of generations of our genetic heritage."  Interesting because he seems to be establishing a battle between our minds and our genes.  Cue the "Cartesian Duality" headslap.

Oooh.  It's time to talk about sex!  And imprinting!  And totally re-defining what the term "imprinting" means!  That is, your sexual tastes can be re-imprinted fairly easily. "The classic way to erase the old imprint and initiate a new one is in being celibate for about three months or more and then engaging sexually only under preferred conditions."  Anyone want to try this out and see if they can "turn gay" and back again?  Whoops, time to move along to something that isn't complete bullshit.  Let's move on to collectivization.

After a brief acknowledgement that we are pack animals, and that to belong in a pack we need to follow certain game rules, we get to the crux of the matter: "Collectivization begins with sacrificing individual differences for the morality of a particular collective over ones sense of 'right and wrong'." So-called "cult" behavior, then, is simply a codified state of human nature.  Amusingly, A.A. teeters on the edge of his own trap, as his language tries to be fair to conformists-and non-conformists alike, but ultimately draws a circle around the cool kids: Others generate enough inner pressure so as not to feel obliged to conform to external sources. These are the "odd balls" unable to fit the mold of any collectively defined morality... those rare individuals who have chosen a greater solitude and, as a result, continue to run against the grain of collectively defined truths, while forging their paths to the beat of different drummers."

Ah, if only we could all be as free and enlightened as them.  We're in luck!  The next section teaches us how to fix our problems!

[Cramulus]

I'm enjoying your analysis, LMNO

[LMNO]

Honestly, I thought that this was what we all were gonna do when we suggested a book club.  I was just starting to do this for PWC when Mack exposed his dickishness and killed any desire I had to do any further analysis.

[fomenter]

i think you are nailing it on the head lmno, i doubt i would have the patience to make a so detailed report..

i gave up on macks book after he showed up and haven't read this one in twenty years  so i haven't been making many comments...

[Cain]

I didn't read the book.