Occultus Forma Discordia - Draft: Request For Comments

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

As is often the way with our Dear Lady, I was inspired to write a bit and then completely forgot about the concept (http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=13364.msg426809#msg426809). However, I was inspired a bit today to continue down this path of discussing the secrets of a model of Discordianism. I'm looking for comments on the topic, the style, the specifics... everything. I thought I would post the Introduction and the Chapter I just wrote, since there was some cleanup after my earlier post and it should make it easier for critiquing etc. (Yes, Please Critique).

Ok, so without further ado, first the Introduction then Chapter One:
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Occultus Forma Discordia
A Treatise on the Secrets of a Model of Discordianism

Introduction

This is not The Truth of Discordianism. If you are looking for The Truth of Discordianism, you are a very silly person. This is not The Secret of Discordianism; if such a thing exists, you need to find it yourself. This is not even necessarily a True version of the Discordian vision as held by Omar, Mal-2, RAW or any other master of mayhem from the Early Days of Her Return. This is a treatise on an interpretation of some secrets of a model of Discordianism; particularly the model of Discordianism currently being used by a loose cabal of Chaoates which you have voluntarily stumbled into. Let The Reader Beware, but Do As Thou Will.

If you don't like what is written in these pages, then stop reading them. If you don't agree with these interpretations of models, then don't use them. If you simply want to run around spewing memes (more about memes in a minute), then by all means don't let us stop you, but you'll probably want to do it somewhere else. However, if you want to join our game, if you want to play with our toys, then assume, at least for the moment, that our game of Order hides a bigger game of Disorder. You can play or not, it's your choice. Do As Thou Will.

This document is designed to introduce you to a general interpretation of a model. The model uses markers that you might be familiar with. However, don't confuse the marker with what the marker represents. A Fnord by any other name could still be a fnord (and a bit harder to trace back to Known Naughty NincomPOEEs). If you don't agree with the goals of the game (and the rules we're making up), then you probably won't want to play. So, before we waste any more of your time, let's talk about our game:

We are a tribe of philosophers, hackers, theologians, magicians, scientists, artists, clowns, and similar maniacs who are intrigued with the possibility of modifying the thought processes of individuals... with our without their knowledge. If you firmly believe that the Principia Discordia is a "happy, hippy, everyone should love and accepts each other" kind of book, this view offers a different perspective. Discordia appears to have many facets. Sometimes, Eris rode on the back of Ares chariot, laughing and delighting in the chaos of war. If you don't want to explore that aspect of Chaos (as well as all the others), then take the blue pill and scamper off to some other Discordian forum. This doesn't mean you're wrong or right, it only means that you're not interested in the game being played here. Do as Thou Will.

If you are of the opinion that Robert Anton Wilson, Mal-2 or Omar KNEW the truth... then you should probably go play elsewhere. Most of us have immense respect for those Chaoates that came before us, but we do not consider their word Truth or their ideas sacrosanct. Those great tricksters would be the first to tell you that neither they, nor their writings were to be considered as Sacred Cows. In Discordia there exists one Sacred Chao and she doesn't like competition.

This treatise is an introduction to our game, our ideas, our metaphors and our concepts. It is not written in E-Prime, though everything we write should be considered as perception and possibility... never as truth or fact. If you can't grasp this, then you're probably not up for the sort of games we play. If you don't like what you've read so far, then stop reading. This isn't Truth, it isn't FACT. We don't want your "You don't sound very Discordian" responses. The art of Discordia exists in both Order and Disorder; they are not enemies, only opposites.

If however, you are interested then we shall lay upon you some secrets of the models of Discordianism. We'll take you beyond Memes, Metaphors and Malaclypse, we'll hone you to a fine point with which to prick the bum of the complacent, the self-satisfied, the Greyfaced, the Hunchbrain, the Pink, the Norm or whatever other name you want to call THEM.

It's up to you, Do as Thou Will.

Ratatosk, Squirrel of Discord
Chatterer of the Words of Eris
Muncher of the ChaoAcorn
POEE of the Great Googlie Mooglie Cabal

Unus

A Fnord By Any Other Name is a Meme

Discordianism is rife with memes, or small units of cultural information. Memes can act as tribal identifiers, such as those used by Freemasons to identify other members of their society. They can act as cultural training, such as the Rosary and the "Lord's Prayer" used by Catholics. They can be ritual in nature, spreading only among those who are initiated, or have reached a specific age (or stage) in their life. They can also be viral, spreading through simple contact. The Internet has become a breeding ground for such memes, such a LOLCATZ or the constant stream of quizzes seen on LiveJournal, Facebook, MySpace and other cultural gathering places. Memes can become recursive. Many of the community sites I mentioned are often filled with "What Harry Potter Character Are You?"; "What Tarot Card Are You?"; "What *Insert Meme* Are You?"... memes about memes, or metamemes.

Since memes are small units of cultural information, it is possible to use them as a vehicle to surreptitiously inject information into a culture as well. For a Discordian, this sort of meme offers some real potential. Injecting new or different information into a culture can result in chaos, chaos can lead to growth... or at least some quality lulz.

For some history, take a ride through the Principia Discordia and see how many cultural memes you can find. This may include obvious memes like FNORD, or not quite as obvious ones like "Plant your seeds, keep prices low" (the latter is a type of meme sometimes called a "One Sentence Meme Bomb" around these parts). Since Fnord is such a popular meme among Discordians, let's drag out a spotlight and see if we can see the fnords.

Fnord appears rarely in the PD and without explanation (as it does in much Discordian literature). It was popularized, in large part, by Robert Anton Wilson's "Illuminatus Trilogy" where Fnord was a meme used to keep people in a state of unease. This is an interesting example of cultural memes feeding cultural memes. Fnord was a Meme for Discordians, and RAW turned Fnord into a meme about memes (for Discordians). One unfortunate side effect is that fnord is now one of the most easily identified Discordian memes in existence. Where it once evoked confusion by showing up without excuse, explanation or the grace to be embarrassed by its lack thereof... its Wikipedia entry is now a single Google click away, and confusion is replaced by "Oh, it's the Discordians again." This, unfortunately, takes much of the usefulness away from Fnord as a meme to stir Confusion. It's now useful as a public identifier, but when we're engaged in Guerrilla Memeological Warfare, identifying ourselves to the public may directly conflict with our goals. The value of Fnord now, exists mainly as a training tool, a living example of a viral meme in action. Studying its success helps us to craft new memes that are less obvious and perhaps more suited to our purposes. So don't be surprised when you notice a lack of fnords in speech, posts and plans here... some Discordians in our little cabal consider Fnord a liability at this point, because its so easily identifiable. Once fnords marked a document, user, geek or artist as being from our tribe.... Today, however, fnord has become a scapegoat for trolls, cabbages and pinks, who think that by uttering it, they will fend off any criticism of whatever bullshit they just tried to feed someone. Discordians, generally don't mind criticism and often their bullshit can stand up to inspection without a need to hide behind "LOL I IS DISCOJIAN!!!" So when the cabbages get lumped in with us, because they've figured out Fnord... it can easily frustrate carefully laid Thuddite traps and thus piss off the Discordian who spent weeks building fake accounts and setting up a multi-vector attack.

So, if you're gonna hang out here, you'll find that many of the popular Discordian memes tend to be set aside by the general populace, in favor of developing new Fnords for the next generation of Hunchbrains. Think of memes as a virus which we inject into the general populace. Just as with our bodies, the virus will have some success, but the organism will eventually build up AntiMeme-bodies to the viral meme. So we must craft a new viral meme to inject the organism with next time. Memeological Warfare is not pretty, but it's a key part of Discordian "Weapons of Mass Distraction". Society, particularly the parts which have access to the Internet might be said to have "Fnord/23/Pineal Gland/Flax" antibodies... these memes may still find susceptible carriers, but for best results, newer memes are necessary.

We encourage all members of this cabal to "Think for yourself" and come up with your own useful viral memes to use as fnords, rather than confusing the symbol (Fnord) with the thing being symbolized (Viral memes). Fnord is a symbol on our map, the symbol is not the thing it represents.

Yea Verraily Maybe

[Cramulus]

, tosk!

feedback:

I think the beginning is a bit heavy on the warnings and brushoffs. Like the line: "If you are of the opinion that Robert Anton Wilson, Mal-2 or Omar KNEW the truth... then you should probably go play elsewhere." -- are you steering them away from Discordia or the document? It does seem like many of them are your target audience.

I like the note on e-prime.


I really enjoy your dissection of FNORD. I think that's a really useful explanation for it's present role in Discordja. If you're going to deconstruct other Discordian topics, I'm eager to read more.

Do you have a table of contents yet? Or a general idea of what stuff you're going to discuss?

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

, tosk!

feedback:

I think the beginning is a bit heavy on the warnings and brushoffs. Like the line: "If you are of the opinion that Robert Anton Wilson, Mal-2 or Omar KNEW the truth… then you should probably go play elsewhere." -- are you steering them away from Discordia or the document? It does seem like many of them are your target audience.

Good point. I'm trying to walk the line between "If you want to be a Bobite, that's your call..." and "We're likely to challenge any notions, including those writ by Uncle Bob"... In fact, that may be a much better line of wording than what I had.

Much thanks Cram

I really enjoy your dissection of FNORD. I think that's a really useful explanation for it's present role in Discordja. If you're going to deconstruct other Discordian topics, I'm eager to read more.

Do you have a table of contents yet? Or a general idea of what stuff you're going to discuss?

Whatever Eris inspires...

Though, currently I'm thinking a section on personal application of Discordianism ala BiP and then the same concepts applied to modifying society (changing cogs in The Machine).

Thoughts, moar ideas etc?

[Pope Lecherous]

someone that has no knowledge of Discordianism at all may believe that it's primarily about memetics and us engaging in meme warfare.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

someone that has no knowledge of Discordianism at all may believe that it's primarily about memetics and us engaging in meme warfare.

Well, the intent was for existing Children of Discord that may be stuck in a Dadaist sort of Discordian paradigm. While I think that Dada is fine, if that's what someone wants to play... it tends to be a different game than what most of the folks here seem to be trying to play. Though, I would say that Discordianism has always been about memetic warfare... in some sense.

[LMNO]

We need an emoticon that's a stamp that says, "for internal use only".