Some of you here are familiar with the writings of Eliezer Yudowsky, I know. In one post on Less Wrong he discusses the joy of finding things out, knowing things that other people have already figured out but had remained a mystery to YOU until their discovery. Theres a joy in figuring things out, in making the mysterious unmysterious to oneself, the "joy of the merely real."
I'd like to discuss a similar concept.
Mystery isn't just related to known unknowns, the sort of things that are covered by things you don't understand but know someone else understands. It's also related to unknown unknowns, the sort of things you never expected, the stuff that horror, terrifying and wonderous, is made of.
The Joy in the Merely Weird is when you discover something awesome, terrifying, horrible, or just plain strange about the universe. Automatically your brain tries to push through it, to normalized it, make it bland and uninteresting, not so much by EXPLAINING IT COMPLETELY like Joy in the Merely Real brings out, but just the desensitization of knowing it exists. Like if someone found Dragons, and after a while most people would grow tired of hearing about dragons, even though they /just found out/ this really cool weird thing existed, it becomes mere with that superficial knowledge. Pushing through that brain switch trying to turn off the awesome lands you in the Joy in the Merely Weird.
And the best thing about Weird is that it's EVERYWHERE. Our brains have been so desensitized and channelized into ignoring Weird that we ignore it quite well. When I NOTICE the weird, theres a great joy in knowing it's there, even if I don't understand it, and I've never seen it in person, just KNOWING by some means that it's there makes me joyful.
For example, I've never seen a Collosal squid in person, much less alive, but I get the utmost joy in knowing even if I never see one, they exist, that theres a massive cephlapod the size of a city bus swimming around in the Antarctic Ocean with massive CLAWS on it's suckers. Even if I can't experience the Weird directly, knowing it exist is so good. I get such a kick out of hearing you all talk about your Weird. It's my extended mind, it's in my head and connected to it via our collective experience. And while the mystery isn't broken completely, it's still there (What Weird? WHY Weird?) just knowing that much is so important.
So, yes, it keeps us from drowning in the pressure of the Mudane. Not that reality is mundane, oh no, reality is full of Weird. Yudowsky would dissagree with me on that, that it's guilding reality, but I say no it's not. It's almost like this "having to know everything" (which I share to a fault) puts a tarnish on things, sometime. Whats the old saying, something like, can't see the forest for the trees? I don't object to demystification, just, why can't there be joy in Weird as well? Why can't there be both joy in Weird (knowing it exists) and The Real (knowing how it works)?
I'm bringing weird back. You better believe it.
Also, fuck you,
~Kai
Thanks, Kai. i really liked that.
:)
does this joy extend in any sense for you to the weird that you know is out there that you know you will never even know exists?
i get some strange joy from that, too, even if more ....elusive?....less tangible?
like the giant squid you mention that we'll never witness first hand. we know it's there, and it's weird, and it's big, and knowing that makes you smile that funny smile when you almost uncontrollably just have to say, 'wow'.
but sometimes i think about the immensity of the Cosmos, and how i can't possibly fathom the depth of unknown there is out there, and that there is weird out there that is bigger and more alien than i could ever imagine, let alone witness. i get a joy out of that, too. less concrete, but...
Quote from: Iptuous on February 23, 2011, 04:40:45 AM
Thanks, Kai. i really liked that.
:)
does this joy extend in any sense for you to the weird that you know is out there that you know you will never even know exists?
i get some strange joy from that, too, even if more ....elusive?....less tangible?
like the giant squid you mention that we'll never witness first hand. we know it's there, and it's weird, and it's big, and knowing that makes you smile that funny smile when you almost uncontrollably just have to say, 'wow'.
but sometimes i think about the immensity of the Cosmos, and how i can't possibly fathom the depth of unknown there is out there, and that there is weird out there that is bigger and more alien than i could ever imagine, let alone witness. i get a joy out of that, too. less concrete, but...
That's just the assurance that no matter how much you indulge in the Weird, the Universe will never run out of Weird.
Love this one, Kai. Keep it weird.
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb163/wompcabal/forum/INTERMITTENSNOMINATION.png)
Love it.
The day the world runs out of things that make me go, "Oh, WOW..." please push me under a bus, I'm done.
Oh hell yes Kai!
Quote from: Iptuous on February 23, 2011, 04:40:45 AM
Thanks, Kai. i really liked that.
:)
does this joy extend in any sense for you to the weird that you know is out there that you know you will never even know exists?
i get some strange joy from that, too, even if more ....elusive?....less tangible?
like the giant squid you mention that we'll never witness first hand. we know it's there, and it's weird, and it's big, and knowing that makes you smile that funny smile when you almost uncontrollably just have to say, 'wow'.
but sometimes i think about the immensity of the Cosmos, and how i can't possibly fathom the depth of unknown there is out there, and that there is weird out there that is bigger and more alien than i could ever imagine, let alone witness. i get a joy out of that, too. less concrete, but...
Well, yeah. That concept is harder to explain to people.
Mystery is both dangerous and alluring to humans. Mystery is both erotic, and often deadly. So, the mystery that will never be solved, can't even be fathomed in any terms that would make it known, those are the ultimate in allure and terror. It's what Lovecraft played on in his stories. At the same time it's like vapor, hard to even think about.
Quote from: Lord Cataplanga on February 23, 2011, 05:14:35 AM
That's just the assurance that no matter how much you indulge in the Weird, the Universe will never run out of Weird.
Yes. And when I say it's EVERYWHERE, I mean everywhere. Jesus should have said, "The Weird is within you, and all around you". It would have been more poignant.
:mittens:
:mittens:
This one's for you, Kai.
(http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/beauty.png)
Also:
Fuck you, Kai.