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We don't control what we do.
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macgeek2006
Genius
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
 
2006-01-12, 23:49

I've made a profound discovery. We do not control what we do. You'll find that there are a few other people on this planet that have come to this realisation. And it's hard to say i've come to this realisation, because I have no control over the fact that I did, and I have no control over the fact that i'm saying that I did.

Life is a movie. There is nothing but the movie. No one is watching the movie. All there is, is a movie being played out.

I invite you to watch yourself as though you were someone else.

Really question the belief that you are controling what you are doing. Lift up your right arm, and then put it back down. Did you really have control over the fact that your right arm moved up and down. All of a sudden your going to stand up from your computer chair. Did you have control over that?

We do things, and then the mind thinks it was in control. But the effect comes before the thought. When you stand up. What happends is this:

1. You stand up.

2. Your mind says "Now, i'm going to stand up"

3. You think you had control over the fact that you stood up.

Take in the possiblity that this is a movie. When you're watching a movie, what is happening?

A movie is a story played out by actors, and inside the movie, the things that are happening are actually happening, and the characters are in control of what they are doing. When you get into the illusion that the movie you're watching is real, you will think that the characters on the screen are controling their actions, and inside the story they are.

Let's take Lord of the Rings for example. When Bilbo says "Gandalf my old friend, this will be a night to remember", inside the story he has control of what he's saying, just like inside our story we have control over what we're saying. But then you come out of the movie, and you see that Bilbo was just being played by an actor and Bilbo had no control over what he was going to say there.

That last bit was a bit confusing. Let me try to clear it up.

Bilbo is sitting there on the bench. INSIDE the story, he is controling his actions. But he's not really, because it's just a movie. He's ACTING a guy who's controling his actions. In other words, pretending to be someone that can control their actions.

Now think about this. When something happends. It couldn't have happened any other way, and the proof is, it didn't. Most people think that, for instance they had the choice of either buying a Power Mac G5 or a iMac G5, but they don't. They're going to buy the one they're going to buy no matter what. And they will have the illusion that it was in their control. Life never goes backward. It keeps moving, and what happends happends, and nobody on this earth has control over it. It's a movie being played. We are the actors, and the script is already written. The next time you're talking to somebody, I invite you to try and realise that the words are being spoken by a person standing there, and that your awareness doesn't really have anything to do with it.

Walk around the room, and realise that you are not moving your legs. Watch yourself from a third person view. You don't control what you do. Your actions, your words. Everything. You are not in control.

Some of you will get this, and some of you will not.

I hope you enjoy this.
 
sunrain
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Portlandia
 
2006-01-12, 23:52

Your ideas intrigue me, and I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter.

*cough*
 
billybobsky
BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope.
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Inner Swabia. If you have to ask twice, don't.
 
2006-01-12, 23:52

Congratulations, macgeek200X, you have just discovered the long argued and oft questioned existence or lack thereof of free will...

It took you 15 years, wow. That has to be a new record or something.
 
murbot
Hoonigan
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Canada
 
2006-01-12, 23:56

I wonder what would happends if you interacted with actual humans on a more regular basis.

I'm trying not to make fun of you for being home schooled, and also throwing in a few jabs about music and movies... but I guess it's already in the cards for me. I can't control myself.

Whatever happends, happends.
 
Blue Light Bandit
Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2006-01-12, 23:57

Quote:
Originally Posted by macgeek2006
Really question the belief that you are controling what you are doing.
Behaviorism. Look it up.

It was all the rage in cognitive science centuries ago until the mid 20th century. Since then, it's been widely considered bupkus.

Last edited by Blue Light Bandit : 2006-01-13 at 00:35.
 
thegelding
feeling my oats
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: there are nice people here...that makes me happy
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2006-01-13, 00:01

mmmmm...just wacked off....but used my left hand so i really didn't have control over what i did....

Some of you will get this, and some of you will not.

I hope you enjoy this. i did


g

crazy is not a rare human condition

everything is food if you chew hard enough
 
BlueRabbit
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
 
2006-01-13, 00:03



Calvin and Hobbes is awesome.
 
FFL
Fishhead Family Reunited
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Slightly Off Center
 
2006-01-13, 00:03

dude... now you've done it, you went and woke up the murbot...
I don't think that was in the script.

Now, quit staring at the shadows on the cave wall and get some sleep!
 
BarracksSi
BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope.
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Washington, DC
 
2006-01-13, 00:03

I can control whether I go to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.

Home schooled? Wow. This is why any kids of mine will actually go out into the world and learn about people without my leash to hold them back.
 
billybobsky
BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope.
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Inner Swabia. If you have to ask twice, don't.
 
2006-01-13, 00:04

gotta love references to plato's cave...
 
FFL
Fishhead Family Reunited
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Slightly Off Center
 
2006-01-13, 00:06

Quote:
Originally Posted by BarracksSi
Home schooled? Wow. This is why any kids of mine will actually go out into the world and learn about people without my leash to hold them back.
Yes, this is what happends when you home-school.
 
SledgeHammer
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2006-01-13, 00:19

"Okay. That means that— our whole solar system— could be, like— one tiny atom in the fingernail of some other giant being. This is too much! That means— one tiny atom in my fingernail could be..."
"Could be one little, tiny universe."
 
FFL
Fishhead Family Reunited
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Slightly Off Center
 
2006-01-13, 00:21

That's another problem with home schooling. You can't get the really good weed...
 
BarracksSi
BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope.
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Washington, DC
 
2006-01-13, 00:29

I sincerely believe that I wouldn't have met nearly the same variety of people if I had been home schooled. Why should I only spend time with people that I want to be with? I deal with plenty of people every day that aren't the kinds of people I enjoy or respect, but at least I know how to tolerate them well enough.
 
Bean
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Los Angeles, Ca.
 
2006-01-13, 00:33

Puff, puff then pass! You puff to much and this is what happens. Must be some good stuff!! :smokey:
 
MCQ
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NY
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2006-01-13, 01:48

Quote:
Originally Posted by macgeek2006
I invite you to watch yourself as though you were someone else.
I invite you to be anything more than Genius.
 
T-Man
The Hoarding Packrat™
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
 
2006-01-13, 06:46

Quote:
Originally Posted by FFL
Yes, this is what happends when you home-school.
Yeah, you get away from the a**holes and jerks and can actually live a little, think, and get things done faster.
 
scratt
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: M-F: Thailand Weekends : F1 2010 - Various Tracks!
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2006-01-13, 07:19

I started typing this and then realised that I decided to write this after my hands had typed it, which begs the question, how the hell did I know that I was going to get this confused and go round and round in circles typing what can only be described as complete tosh. This is not a post at all.. My hands are just typing away tip tappetty tap and I really have no idea what I am saying. I gues I will have to go back and read it again later so that I can actually figure out what my hands are doing while I am sitting here staring blankly at the screen.. God life is boring. I wish I got a chance to have a thought sometimes, or even control what is going on. But here I am a passenger in this mass of arms and legs and a stomach just eating pizza, smoking spliffs and snorting lines oblivious to anything other than the fact that I am trapped in this head.. I'm bored now.. You get the drift...

'Remember, measure life by the moments that take your breath away, not by how many breaths you take'
Extreme Sports Cafe | ESC's blog | scratt's blog | @thescratt
 
HezMah19
Formerly "jmahe19"
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Australia
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2006-01-13, 07:22

Quote:
Originally Posted by scratt
(snip)
 
Mikester
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: London, UK
 
2006-01-13, 07:24

Wow man, it's like...The Matrix.

Hello, Mr Anderson...
 
omem
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Portugal
 
2006-01-13, 07:44

We chose our actions just as the bacterias do. You watch bacterias on the microscope and you think they have personal will or do you see them just reacting to whatever they are reacting to? I don't think I'm making myself clear but in the end I think it's all like a russian doll. If seen from really far away, we're just a stain on the Earth. A stain of bacteries and microbes destroying everything, reacting to its surroundings.

It's hard to fundament something in enlish when you're not english. Also, I'm hungry and out of pacience today.

My Apple Gear: iMac G5 1.8GHz 17'' + iPod photo 40GB + iPod shuffle (green) + BlackBook 2.4GHz
Apple Communities: LiveJournal | Last.fm
My sites: Glassjaw.net | HeadAutomatica.net
 
BuonRotto
Not sayin', just sayin'
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
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2006-01-13, 08:17

As someone who has recovered from depression in no small part thanks to cognitive therapy, I can tell you that you do control your actions and reactions to everything even if they're instinctual. It can be tough to catch your thoughts and eventually modify them of course. I am of the opinion that people who don't think they can control their actions are people who just don't want to take responsibility for them.

(Cue Oingo Boingo's "Only a Lad")

Hope nobody minds if I simply take the original post at face value, though I know better.
 
curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
 
2006-01-13, 08:23

Quote:
Originally Posted by macgeek2006
I've made a profound discovery.
<commences looking for evidence of this profound discovery...>
Quote:

We do not control what we do.
All your base are belong to us.
Quote:
You'll find that there are a few other people on this planet that have come to this realisation. And it's hard to say i've come to this realisation, because I have no control over the fact that I did, and I have no control over the fact that i'm saying that I did.
The Force is a powerful ally against the weak-minded.
Quote:
Life is a movie. There is nothing but the movie. No one is watching the movie. All there is, is a movie being played out.
Some people have a Roger Corman movie, some have a Woody Allen movie, some have a Peter Jackson movie, some have a Dirty Sanchez movie.
Quote:
I invite you to watch yourself as though you were someone else.
Do I get to pick who? Can I be the giant gorilla? How about 007? Both would get more chicks.
Quote:
Really question the belief that you are controling what you are doing.
Ah, but are you just imagining that you're actually questioning your belief?
Quote:
Lift up your right arm, and then put it back down. Did you really have control over the fact that your right arm moved up and down. All of a sudden your going to stand up from your computer chair. Did you have control over that?
I have a better version that will trip you right out, dude...
Stand in a doorway with your arms at your sides. Now keep your arms straight but slowly push them sideways until you are pressing them against the doorframe trying to lift them higher. Continue to press up and out in an attempt to move your straight arms through the doorframe until they would reach a T.
Now here's the weird-absence-of-control part... get ready to have your mind totally blown...
Step out of the doorframe into the room and relax your arms back to your sides.
You will feel your arms lifting by themselves!!1!
No way you were controlling that, dude!
It's a sign that we're all puppets!
Or not.
Quote:

We do things, and then the mind thinks it was in control. But the effect comes before the thought. When you stand up. What happends is this:
<Robed Kenobi gestures with hand>
Quote:
1. You stand up.

2. Your mind says "Now, i'm going to stand up"

3. You think you had control over the fact that you stood up.
These aren't the droids you're looking for. They can go about their business.
Quote:

Take in the possiblity that this is a movie. When you're watching a movie, what is happening?
Is there popcorn involved? Is it a date flick with a hot chick?
Quote:

A movie is a story played out by actors, and inside the movie, the things that are happening are actually happening, and the characters are in control of what they are doing. When you get into the illusion that the movie you're watching is real, you will think that the characters on the screen are controling their actions, and inside the story they are.
Wait. Are you saying that movies aren't real? Way to spoil the magic, jerk.
Quote:

Let's take Lord of the Rings for example. When Bilbo says "Gandalf my old friend, this will be a night to remember", inside the story he has control of what he's saying, just like inside our story we have control over what we're saying. But then you come out of the movie, and you see that Bilbo was just being played by an actor and Bilbo had no control over what he was going to say there.
But that's because that Agent Smith guy from the Matrix was actually controlling them all while dressed as king elf, right?
Quote:

That last bit was a bit confusing. Let me try to clear it up.
Do or do not, there is no try.
Quote:

Bilbo is sitting there on the bench. INSIDE the story, he is controling his actions. But he's not really, because it's just a movie. He's ACTING a guy who's controling his actions. In other words, pretending to be someone that can control their actions.
Ah... Peter Jackson is actually controlling the actions. Got it.
Quote:

Now think about this. When something happends.
WTF? Are you sure? About the when, the something, or the happends?
Quote:
It couldn't have happened any other way, and the proof is, it didn't.
"Paging Mr. Schrodinger, your cat is ready."
Quote:
Most people think that, for instance they had the choice of either buying a Power Mac G5 or a iMac G5, but they don't.
Actually, something less than 4% of all computer users would even think of this in the first place, and some don't want a G5 anymore.
Quote:
They're going to buy the one they're going to buy no matter what. And they will have the illusion that it was in their control. Life never goes backward.
Then why is there a Reverse gear in cars, and a button on tape decks, huh?
And explain that whole resetting clocks backwards every fall or in every new timezone while flying, huh? We go backwards a lot.
Quote:
It keeps moving, and what happends happends, and nobody on this earth has control over it.
Leave the aliens out of this.
Quote:
It's a movie being played. We are the actors, and the script is already written. The next time you're talking to somebody, I invite you to try and realise that the words are being spoken by a person standing there, and that your awareness doesn't really have anything to do with it.

Walk around the room, and realise that you are not moving your legs.
Wait, are talking about the Michael Jackson moonwalking thing now?
Quote:
Watch yourself from a third person view. You don't control what you do. Your actions, your words. Everything. You are not in control.
More with the Jedi Mind tricks...
Quote:

Some of you will get this, and some of you will not.
Some of you will only think you got it, but you only think that because Peter Jackson is in control and scripted that thought.
Quote:

I hope you enjoy this.
</still looking for evidence of this profound discovery...>

Last edited by curiousuburb : 2006-01-13 at 08:33.
 
Oompa Loompa
Awaiting Email Confirmation
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Lovely Loompaland
 
2006-01-13, 08:44

WHOOOAhoopseee, macgeek2006!... coffee anyone, yes I would like some...

The skeptical hypothesis that one is a brain in a vat with systematically delusory experience is modelled on the Cartesian Evil Genius hypothesis, according to which one is a victim of thoroughgoing error induced by a God-like deceiver. The skeptic argues that one does not know that the brain-in-a-vat hypothesis is false, since if the hypothesis were true, one's experience would be just as it actually is. Therefore, according to the skeptic, one does not know any propositions about the external world (propositions which would be false if the vat hypothesis were true).

Hilary Putnam provided an apparent refutation of a version of the brain-in-a-vat hypothesis, based upon semantic externalism. This is the view that the meanings and truth conditions of one's sentences, and the contents of one's intentional mental states, depend upon the character of one's external, causal environment... hmmmmblah.

Last edited by Oompa Loompa : 2006-01-13 at 09:02.
 
HezMah19
Formerly "jmahe19"
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Australia
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2006-01-13, 08:45

ahahahahahahahahaahahaha
 
Bryson
Rocket Surgeon
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Canadark
 
2006-01-13, 09:02

I, however, do control what I do. There's a knack to it.



 
InactionMan
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2006-01-13, 09:31

I'm a Google link!

This is the first thing I thought of. Plato's Cave works too, but my god we're in trouble if MacGeek is the Philosopher King.
 
Moogs
Hates the Infotainment
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: NSA Archives
 
2006-01-13, 09:36

Macgeek either:

a) Is in high school and just discovered the mysterious world of philosophy, somehow convincing himself that very few people have considered the things he just wrote about (even though millions upon millions have over the centuries).

b) Did something he's not proud of, and in his quest for self-reconciliation has found a nifty way to dodge responsibility...

c) Got a hold of some bad ganja

d) Doesn't understand how the brain and nervous system works.

e) Hasn't yet read the Star Trek guide to parallel universes


f) All of the above

...into the light of a dark black night.
 
scratt
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: M-F: Thailand Weekends : F1 2010 - Various Tracks!
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2006-01-13, 09:36

Everyone... Here is a picture of macgeek2006...
I got this by tapping into the global tin foil hat network...

It explains a lot....


'Remember, measure life by the moments that take your breath away, not by how many breaths you take'
Extreme Sports Cafe | ESC's blog | scratt's blog | @thescratt
 
Oompa Loompa
Awaiting Email Confirmation
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Lovely Loompaland
 
2006-01-13, 09:49



Maybe it would help if he'd just get this damn cloth off of his head.


Last edited by Oompa Loompa : 2006-01-13 at 09:54.
 
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