#they dont just do the science bits but also how it would/could connect to spirituality and such

[carpsoup]

making an astronomy/meteoritics iterator oc when i know fuckall or at least just very basic things about those things was maybe a mistake. Looking up stuff for reference/inspo like haha i like your funny words magic man

[luobingmeis]

I think Undyne's determination has less to do with like something that happened in the past and more like the overlap between determination as an actual physical thing VS a spiritual thing. Whereas the amalgamates were injected with determination by Alphys, Undyne makes her OWN. You've killed her best friend. You're going to kill the love of her life. You're going to kill her mentor. You're going to kill everyone. You've killed HER. But she still has to stop you. Everyone is counting on her 1/2

Undyne's whole motif is letting the monsters of the Underground achieve their hopes and dreams. Theres a reason she is the boss fight in Waterfall, the most backstory rich area in the game. Hope and dreams have just as much weight as determination does, its what helps you defeat Asriel. And Undyne the Undying's design mimics Asriel's because in Genocide SHE is the heroine, SHE is the determined hero that defies death in order to save everyone she loves via the hopes and dreams of everyone (2/2)

Sorry I just really fucking love Undyne Undertale fhfhfndkdk she willingly letting herself be used in an experiment to help her people is Very Good tho too hmmmm

!!!!

sorry ur abt to get a whole essay i love undertale so much.........

(also i use a lot of !!! for emphasis, not bc i’m yelling omg)

(also i’m letting you know this is an incoherent mess, it is 2am here akjsdkjsdjk)

but you can definitely be right!!!! tbh your idea seems much more par for the course than the spaghetti im throwing at the wall

even then, though, it’s stll so interesting bc like!!!! undyne’s courage is undeniable, and her fight to protect the underground plays Such a huge role in her whole waterfall arc. and, in the spiritual sense, she is absolutely determined!! that just makes me WONDER though bc, like, canonically, monsters Are Not determined! they don’t have that threshold!

and then, in looking at determination in the spiritual sense, what exactly makes undyne different? is it that her desire to live and protect the underground unlocks that threshold needed for determination? at one point, could monsters be determined, but then their millennia trapped underground biologically/psychologically stripped them of that? so then could any monster in the underground, when facing high enough stakes, have that determination? or is it just undyne?

bc then i think about the other bosses in either route, like papyrus, mettaton, asgore, sans. where undyne is the monster/boss capable of possessing determination, sans is probably the one least likely to have any threshold for determination (this is bc his entire boss fight is him realizing he can no longer be an observer, he is literally the last line of defense between chara and the annihilation of all monsters). mettaton is complicated bc as a napstablook turned corporeal, i dont even know where to BEGIN with him. but then there’s papyrus and!! it feels like he should be capable of feeling determined. in both the pacifist and genocide route, he is so assured that the human has some internal goodness. while, in the genocide route, that hope could be translated to fear, that still makes me wonder: under what circumstances could a monster’s determination be unlocked? is it not solely life or death? does it require some ulterior motives (aka undyne’s whole character being protecting the underground)? and like!!! it’s just so fun to think about bc, say it is undyne’s spiritual determination being unlocked, it’s so interesting that she’s the one differentiated!! that even papyrus, a character brimming with good and happiness and love, doesn’t have that determination, but undyne, who has a similar type of passion and goodness within her, does!!!

with experiment undyne, i will admit my theory is very much uhh wild! and unhinged! and, while my theory is much more playing in the “what if’s” of the science of artificial determination, it still makes me wonder! especially in the boss fight herself. ever since i first saw her genocide boss fight, i’ve always been a bit fixated on her eye, specifically the one w/ the eye-patch that eventually seems to have Some type of arrow power. while this definitely could have just been A Design Choice (and one i stand by!!), undertale is a game that reveals its complete lore when the pacifist and genocide route are put together. thus, in a hypothetical situation, i don’t think it would be out of the question that undyne’s eye could still Do that even in a pacifist route.

but even then, there are holes to poke! such as why doesn’t she use it? if undyne has been injected with artificial determination, why is she, frankly, normal until it’s a matter of life and death?

(to cut to the punchline before i get into my bullshit: i think it’s bc, at first, it seemed as if the artificial determination just Didn’t Work and had no affect, when in reality it needed to be met with spiritual determination as well)

and, again, i know i’m playing with a lot of hypotheticals right now, and mostly this is me just kinda fun bullshit theorizing, but i think it could have something to do with the fact that she has the threshold for spiritual determination! the reason i even think that she would offer herself up to determination experimentation is bc of the loyalty and love she has for asgore and the underground. i would argue that she is just as invested in asgore’s plan as asgore himself is, and she obviously sees him as some type of father-figure. so that alone gives her this Drive to do whatever it takes for the underground to survive.

so, therefore, i think in regards to this hypothetical experiment undyne, i think it quite literally is that spiritual determination threshold combined with artificial determination

and for that, i quickly want to talk abt the amalgamates and why they tie into this:

the timeline: corpses/souls injected with determination --> no reaction --> corpses wake up and act normal --> ??? happens  --> (quickly leads to) amalgamates

and so then that once again raises the question: what differentiates undyne? 

i think, for that, we then have to consider another question: if most monsters do not have the physical determination to continue living after death, can that determination be given when they’re already dead? monsters in general already have no threshold for determination, so can that be artificially made if it never existed in the first place? 

bc while alphys’s experiment, iirc, was to see what happened when a soul was injected with determination, i think the other much needed question is if monster souls could even Handle determination

and, while we do not know specifically what went wrong with the amalgamates (aka like How did they melt together), we do know that their physical forms really were not able to handle the artificial determination, imo most likely bc they do not even have a threshold for spiritual determination

but undyne is, as you have noted, different!

so, frankly, i think you’re right! i think undyne does have an inherent spiritual determination. it’s uncommon in monsters, but her want to save the world is enough to leave her determined

however, i think That would have just been enough to keep her alive

i think it’s artificial determination that gave her that final form! to reference  back to the amalgamates, they were all creatures whose powers we had seen before, but different now and, specifically, more powerful. that very same thing could be said for undyne! her powers are, essentially, things we have seen before, but fucking to Max Intensity 

AND THEN!! AND THEN!!!!!

when you do kill heroine undyne, she doesn’t turn to dust first

she melts first, and then turns to dust!!!!!

and, honestly, it’s that small detail that sent me down this rabbit hole, bc the only ever time we’ve seen monsters melted together are the amalgamates!

i think the main difference between heroine undyne and the amalgamates is the fact that undyne, at first, had No Reaction to the determination at first bc, since she most likely already had this secret threshold for spiritual determination, it wasn’t the Biggest of changes. it wouldn’t have had such a drastic reaction on her physical form bc, even if she didn’t know it yet, it wasn’t an entirely foreign substance

the amalgamates, however, aka monsters who had no spiritual determination, could only handle the artificial determination for an unknown amount of time before their bodies began rejecting the chemicals and becoming..... that

of course, then, this leaves me with even more questions, such as could undyne sustain this final form? would her body eventually give out, overcome by determination? was this form only meant for life or death situations?

and uhhh i think this is the end!! if you made it this far and are thinking to urself “damn you’re really an english major when you write like this?? this isn’t even comprehensible” do not fret!! i know this theory is kinda a shitshow, and it’s one of those things where i can keep myself up all night thinking abt this and talking myself in circles bc there are some points that i think have strengths and other points that are probably pretty weak

basically though!! i see the connection between artificial determination and undyne through the fact that her form actually changes, the reveal of her legit power eye, the way her attacks have been altered, and the fact that she melts at the end (akin to the amalgamates’ appearances) before poofing into dust

this has been,,,, a shitshow i am so sorry i hope this was at least somewhat understandable ajkdsjkdsjk

[whetstonefires]

god i am OBSESSED with the idea of future sephiroth confronting gillian. does he already know she committed suicide when confronted by angeal and tries to plan around it or does he just. notice theres poison in her tea and. set it on fire or something. i have to admit i really enjoy sephiroths opinion on gillian in angels.

OH WOW this is a lot. Lol okay, I’m gonna put all these asks in one rather than stringing them out.

I’m not sure Sephiroth knows any details about what happened with Gillian, but he read the report where Zack presumably wrote down something about how Angeal seemed to have killed his own mom, and he got a sort of follow-up impression later from Angeal’s ghost on the general subject of suicide, so he knows what she did, very generally, and when, and what the fallout was.

I think this version of him is even more annoyed with her than he is in Angels in fact, because he knows for a fact her choice heavily influenced Angeal’s, so he’s going to tear into her about responsibility and abandonment and influence and stuff.

XD Probably going to get his own issues all over that one, too. Sephiroth...doesn’t compartmentalize well outside of his basic system of ‘all the feelings go in this box which I intend to leave closed and then someday die,’ which as we all know didn’t work out.

(I feel bad about Gillian in Angels, I totally had an opportunity to unfridge her and stuck her right back in the coldbox because I didn’t want to deal with her impact on the narrative beyond the established impact of fucking Angeal up worse, which I wanted to explore.)

ALSO elmyra is more put together right? like shes a functioning person? because i feel like her perspective on sephiroth and aerith stubbornly Not Acknowledging whatever the hell is going on would be really funny. at this rate im going to have to go hunt down playthroughs of ffvii and crisis core so i can write fanfic. i mean technically i could just write fanfic but it feels weird writing fic without having interacted with the source material at all 

Elmyra is a functioning adult yes but she is also very long in the habit of not prying into Aerith’s Weird. I honestly cannot guess what she’d do in that situation, we don’t see enough of her! I’d have to make it up.

...I feel like it’s likely being forcibly recontextualized would be likely to break her and Aerith out of their pattern of pretending nothing’s going on, since presumably Elmyra wasn’t in the habit of telling people a fraction as much about Aerith’s backstory as she unloads onto the party after her kid gets kidnapped by Turks.

And lmao I mean yes you can write fic based entirely on fic, this is a fandom where it’s pretty common, even. Personally I couldn’t bear to, I just didn’t feel I had a sufficient grasp. And I was right! The fandom incarnations are lacking. Once I had played through the OG I had so much more to say, and vastly more nuanced grasp of character.

Personally also I cannot endure game playthroughs? I get awful brain static trying. The pacing. The experience of being confronted with a UI that says I’m in control, but not having it. I die. But for people who enjoy them they should work fine!

Also last I checked the original FFVII was available on Steam for like $20? You could probably play it.

ALSO ALSO because my brain is a disaster of random connections i keep picturing an au of angels wherein both angeal and sephiroth have traveled back in time but they dont realize immediately that the other one is also back in time. because! i dont have any context or anything but if they ended up having the whole what would you want me to do if you went insane and tried to destroy the world conversation it would be hilarious. sephiroth, having every single mental breakdown imaginable: uh 

Hahaha AU crossing over one of my time travel AUs with the AU of my AU you previously proposed! Hmmmm yeah. I feel like they’d notice something was off before too long? But they might get to a version of the ‘what would you want me to do’ conversation lmao.

I think this Sephiroth would honestly give very intense and detailed instructions on how to shut him down and only then be like ‘why do you ask? what do you know.’

...if Angeal explained his timeline all the way up through Advent Children and DoC,  this version of Sephiroth would not take it well. 😞

also now im back around to thinking about angels and zack was first class when genesis started degrading so that's probably a ways off right? unless they find a way to avoid it entirely but. at least he'll be a bit less desperate when he defects? if he defects i guess but he's too dramatic to not defect. whats he supposed to do let angeal be the dramatic one?? also ALSO if angeal and sephiroth both traveled back in time i think that would make genesis the most stable member of their group. wild.

He was Second Class, actually! He’d been recommended for promotion but it hadn’t gone through. They ultimately moved him up to First for killing Angeal, if you can believe it. Ghoulish, huh?

Well, technically they mostly promoted him for killing Genesis, who was much more of a threat. But Genesis faked his death and Angeal didn’t, and it wasn’t not for killing Angeal. It was all the same mission. I have no idea how Zack copes so well.

But yeah, the officially released timeline for CC claims Angeal &co are only about four years older than Zack, but the timeframes presented in the actual games suggest Sephiroth should have died around age 25, which is far enough from 21 to make a difference, and fits their character designs better. So I’m treating them as being about eight years older, with Genesis as the oldest, so Angeal has about three and a half years to work with before degradation originally kicked in.

But the trigger for that wasn’t necessarily a certain amount of time, so he can’t count on that schedule.

What Angeal does have is a Lifestream-side perspective on how Genesis got healed the first time around, so he knows to focus on the spiritual end of things over Science, which he knows failed to help, and this ups his odds of doing something useful in a useful amount of time considerably.

XD Too dramatic not to defect. Well.

also back to the time travel au what would tseng even do about sephiroth kidnapping aerith?? like he was the main one watching her right?? hes just hanging out and then sephiroth??? oh now hes got aerith??? what is he doing??? whats tseng even supposed to do in that situation

I don’t believe they have the manpower to keep up a constant guard? Tseng certainly does do other things, they just. Check in on her sometimes.

I don’t think it was ever truly clarified in canon whether Tseng was covering for Aerith somehow all those years, finding some weird wiggle room in the phrasing of his orders so he could put off admitting he’d found her or taking her in indefinitely so long as he didn’t lose track of her and let her get away, or if Hojo knew where she was and was just like ‘whatever, I don’t need her back right now, just keep an eye on my specimen and make sure she doesn’t die or escape.’

So it’s hard to know what he would do when we don’t 100% know what his reasoning was for the things he already did, or what kind of oversight he’s dealing with! Tseng is a difficult character for that reason.

-

Also while I do like getting asks, you should feel free to mix the contact approach up a bit when you have this much to say! This was a lot of content for this format. 😂 Tumblr chat IMs still mostly work, and there’s a link to my Discord server from my author page on AO3, where we’d love to have you. (It was proposed for people to talk about my fic, but much more often we wind up talking ffvii meta lmao. This is like...the midpoint of those two subjects so.)

[save-the-spiral]

fellow wiz/tma fan here: if your wizards were in the TMA universe, what fears do you think they would serve?

(link to entities page on The Magnus Archives Wiki, comprised ENTIRELY of spoilers.)

This is completely incomprehensible unless you listen to like an entire like three seasons of podcast. Luckily, I have, because I’m HYPERFIXATING bitches. 

This is my full list of current OCs (aside from wicked beau wright, who is SO undeveloped I dont even KNOW), not all are developed, feel free to ask about them. I have a google doc to keep track or I FORGET. if anyone wants me to do npcs hit me up, im already planning one for the eleven w101 schools and 5 p101 classes.

ALSO I TURNED AROUND AT ONE POINT AND THOUGHT THE LAMP BEHIND ME WAS AN EYE. SO IM DOING GREAT. (ALSO HAD TO TURN A LIGHT ON AFTER A BIT)

WIZARD101

Irisi- The End. Her fear of ghosts, the undead, and the inevitability of death ruled her for a time. She had to overcome it, venture deep into previously resting tombs, entangle with mummies, wraiths, banshees, and simple ghosts. She found a fondness in learning their stories, and she watches her aging adoptive father, Alhazred, and wonders when he will turn into something that simply stops, or if he will linger, and they will chat.

Mahamari Jade- The Buried. Her life magic is nurtured by the earth, and that was a quick fall into allowing herself to be buried alive, to choke on the mud and clay. She had a fear of being confined into one role, and broke free. But now the rock and dirt fuel her magic, the worms nurture it, and she finds a detached peace in returning to the earth from whence she came.

Emrys Pyre- The Lonely. He has self isolated ever since his first great trauma, believing if he had not been a fool, had not dragged his younger sister along, he could have prevailed on his own. It is his deepest failing, and the Forsaken has hooked him deeply in his belief that he alone can survive.

Quyen Jade (Serpentine King)- The Hunt. While others prefer a more active chase in the hunt, there is an aspect of waiting. Not all predators can spend their days racing after the next meal. Lions sleep for most of their day, after all. Snakes as well, feasting only when necessary. When Quyen finds the necessary moment, and strikes, he never hesitates, and the venom and blood call to him.

Morelle RavenHunter- The Hunt. When slighted by the Ravens of Grizzleheim, she began to hunt them down, to prove a point. It is how she gained that name, Raven Hunter. She gave that name to her wife and child, as well.

Morae RavenHunter- The Slaughter. She is not an active avatar, one touched but not guided. Her chronic pain, caused by a sudden attack fueled only by bigotry and ignorance, haunts her. That, as well as her own organs waging war, causing pain, lead to a fear of that pain, a fear of sudden attacks. 

Ianthe RavenHunter- The Corruption. His magic has always taken well to fungus, to mushrooms that feed on decay. At first her fascination with pretty, bio-luminescent mushrooms drew her in, but how quickly we fall once we get a taste.

Leo Nightside- The End. For all he loves animals, finds them good companions, he is a necromancer. His respect for death only extends as far as he is willing to bend the rules. 

Noah DreamTamer- The Stranger. He has redefined himself so often he forgets who he was, doesn’t want to know the person he was born as. He loses people. He doesn’t remember her voice, how tall she was. He has to become someone he is not to continue on, and not simply stop in place and never move again, not even to breathe.

Haley RainTamer- The Vast. Her fear of heights is unrivaled, ever since a bad broomstick accident where she broke her wrist at age 10 or so. One day the sky will claim her, and until then, she will look up, practicing the magic of the storms that she allows herself to believe rule it.

Fledge- The Desolation. They are so angry, stolen from their home. They are willing to inflict that pain on any who stand in their way, to take short cuts, to technically get the job done to ‘save the spiral’. They find a certain dark joy in how the professors and students of Ravenwood Academy despair when they hear of the fight taking place outside of their own world.

Ursae- The Vast. Not the sky, but the sea. She is a mermaid, of Celestia. Not many know of the deep trenches, the branching and convoluted caves under the sea, the endless darkness. She survives there, and stares back out of the endless depths.

Kestrel RainbowWeaver- The Eye. She sits idly by, content in her passive inaction. She was locked away in a time vault in Dragonspyre, and escaped. Her current events became history books and scrolls. So now, she smiles vacantly from her blacksmithing shop, and asks for idle gossip, and learns about Wizard City.

Elissa Silvertusk- The Web. Taken in, pulled by her own lack of initiative. Her life changed from where it was before, being pulled and puppeted by her mother’s vindictive whims, until now she lives in the web’s embrace, following orders, content to allow someone else to do the worrying, and let herself be dragged along.

PIRATE101

Darling Alexander Dove- The Flesh. He has no concept of the sanctity of sentient bodies. He holds no respect. Of course, he derives no entertainment when his victims are dead, unable to struggle, unable to dance alongside him in a macabre display of skills and how prettily a blade can cut into skin, fur, feathers, and then deep into the muscle, the bone, the flesh itself. It takes a long time to recognize what has gripped him. 

Darcy ‘Rusty’ Rhode- The Stranger. She becomes who you expect. She is docile, dumb, ditsy. She giggles at what you say even when it is not funny. Her eyes glint with excitement at the simplest of things, cooing over you. She is just another dumb broad, a woman who flips her long hair and drawls out things, bats her eyes. She becomes someone you do not know when she strikes, kicking you down and then again, pulling out a pistol and winking as if it is a joke you were both in on when she fires right between your eyes.

Zenobia Ire- The Vast. She lost her parents to the storm. She grew up having a connection to it, fearing it, but the way the thunder in those vicious Grizzleheim storms would thrum through her body like knuckles rapping against the tight skin of a drum, it calls to her.

Carlyle Nightngale- The Spiral. He lies, of course. Easily. He is a man of science, but nonetheless, no one can know in this Pirating side of the Spiral. So he tells tall tales of witchdoctors, the same thing every one of these ‘hoodoo practictioners’ claim, even if it’s all a ruse so they all can practice their own spirituality or science in peace. He never tells people what he is doing, simply smiling until they think they are in on what doesn’t exist.

Vitale Florus- The Lonely. He has been consumed by his on insecurities, but even before that, he was one of the few humans alone in a sea of automatons. All he was raised by was cold machinery. So he sits, alone, and tends to a secret garden he knows would be destroyed if he let anyone know. It is easier to not speak to anyone else.

[love-on-your-wrist]

Analyzing Social Climb (pt.1)

K, so after finally getting back home and having actual WIFI in here, i decided to watch social climb again in its entirety and express some of my thoughts and observations i guess? Anyways lets go

The video starts with a 10-Second long animation of the band´s logo, and directly moves over to the visuals of a fancy-looking house. Over it, there is a bit of text and a headline:

                           “the TELEFOUNDATION presents

                              THOUGHT REFORM

           &THE CORPORATE GUIDE TO SOCIAL RECONDITIONING”

Now, let´s try and analyse this :D

What is Telefoundation?

On the internet, i wasnt able to find any mentions of the word, let alone a definition of the word, so i assumed it was the name of a fictional firm in the iDKHOW universe  But, i was able to find a similar word, “early television foundation” and also a link to something else here: http://www.cftf.org.uk/ if you want to take a look at that. The first one tho, it is a museum “dedicated to the preservation of the technology from the early days of television.“, as directly quoted from their website.

Furthermore, the website says: “Our website's mission is to preserve and make available to the public the history of early television, from the mechanical systems of the 1920s through the introduction of color televsion in the 1950s.“

Aha, so that museum just showcases different TVs from around 1945, how´s that connected to social climb and idkhow? I dont have an idea, but we know that the mv for social climb is a brainwashing propaganda video from 1977, broadcasted over television.

What is Thought Reform?

thought reform is another word for brainwashing used by Robert Jay Lifton, one of the first phsychologists to study both brainwashing and mindcontrol. Lifton was a US-american phsychatrist and author in the 60s. 1970 he was accepted as a teacher at washington school of psychatry. Later, he released his books called “Home from the War: Vietnam Veterans. Neither Victims nor Executioners (1973), and The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide” (1986), of which the publishing years bring us near to the time in which the iDKHOW story takes place.

returning back to ´thought reform´, Lifton offered 8 steps/methods of manipulating minds. I have copied them off http://changingminds.org/techniques/conversion/lifton_thought_reform.htm  for anybody interested:

#1 Milieu control

All communication with outside world is limited, either being strictly filtered or completely cut off. Whether it is a monastery or a behind-closed-doors cult, isolation from the ideas, examples and distractions of the outside world turns the individuals attention to the only remaining form of stimulation, which is the ideology that is being inculcated in them.

This even works at the intrapersonal level, and individuals are discouraged from thinking incorrect thoughts, which may be termed evil, selfish, immoral and so on.

#2 Mystical manipulation

A part of the teaching is that the group has a higher purpose than others outside the group. This may be altruistic, such as saving the world or helping people in need. It may also be selfish, for example that group members will be saved when others outside the group will perish.

All things are then attributed and linked to this higher purpose. Coincidences (which actually may be deliberately engineered) are portrayed as symbolic events. Attention is given to the problems of out-group people and attributed to their not being in the group. Revelations are attributed to spiritual causes.

This association of events is used as evidence that the group truly is special and exclusive.

#3 Confession

Individuals are encouraged to confess past 'sins' (as defined by the group). This creates a tension between the person's actions and their stated belief that the action is bad, particularly if the statement is made publicly. The consistency principle thus leads the person to fully adopt the belief that the sin is bad and to distance themselves from repeating it.

Discussion of inner fears and anxieties, as well as confessing sins is exposing vulnerabilities and requires the person to place trust in the group and hence bond with them. When we bond with others, they become our friends, and we will tend to adopt their beliefs more easily.

This effect may be exaggerated with intense sessions where deep thoughts and feelings are regularly surfaced. This also has the effect of exhausting people, making them more open to suggestion.

#4 Self-sanctification through purity

Individuals are encouraged to constantly push towards an ultimate and unattainable perfection. This may be rewarded with promotion within the group to higher levels, for example by giving them a new status name (acolyte, traveller, master, etc.) or by giving them new authority within the group.

The unattainability of the ultimate perfection is used to induce guilt and show the person to be sinful and hence sustain the requirement for confession and obedience to those higher than them in the groups order of perfection.

Not being perfect may be seen as deserving of punishment, which may be meted out by the higher members of the group or even by the person themselves, who are taught that such atonement and self-flagellation is a valuable method of reaching higher levels of perfection.

#5 Aura of sacred science

The beliefs and regulations of the group are framed as perfect, absolute and non-negotiable. The dogma of the group is presented as scientifically correct or otherwise unquestionable.

Rules and processes are therefore to be followed without question, and any transgression is a sin and hence requires atonement or other forms of punishment, as does consideration of any alternative viewpoints.

#6 Loaded language

New words and language are created to explain the new and profound meanings that have been discovered. Existing words are also hijacked and given new and different meaning.

This is particularly effective due to the way we think a lot though language. The consequence of this is that the person who controls the meaning of words also controls how people think. In this way, black-and-white thinking is embedded in the language, such that wrong-doers are framed as terrible and evil, whilst those who do right (as defined by the group) are perfect and marvellous.

The meaning of words are kept hidden both from the outside world, giving a sense of exclusivity. The meaning of special words may also be revealed in careful illuminatory rituals, where people who are being elevated within the order are given the power of understanding this new language.

#7 Doctrine over person

The importance of the group is elevated over the importance of the individual in all ways. Along with this comes the importance of the the group's ideas and rules over personal beliefs and values.

Past experiences, beliefs and values can all thus be cast as being invalid if they conflict with group rules. In fact this conflict can be used as a reason for confession of sins. Likewise, the beliefs, values and words of those outside the group are equally invalid.

#8 Dispensed existence

There is a very sharp line between the group and the outside world. Insiders are to be saved and elevated, whilst outsiders are doomed to failure and loss (which may be eternal).

Who is an outsider or insider is chosen by the group. Thus, any person within the group may be damned at any time. There are no rights of membership except, perhaps, for the leader.

People who leave the group are singled out as particularly evil, weak, lost or otherwise to be despised or pitied. Rather than being ignored or hidden, they are used as examples of how anyone who leaves will be looked down upon and publicly denigrated.

People thus have a constant fear of being cast out, and consequently work hard to be accepted and not be ejected from the group. Outsiders who try to persuade the person to leave are doubly feared.

Dispensation also goes into all aspects of living within the group. Any and all aspects of existence within the group is subject to scrutiny and control. There is no privacy and, ultimately, no free will.

Most of these methods are intigrated into the social climb music video, showing an elite, almost cult-like group of people most liekly cut off of the rest of the world, etc. i think #3 could also be a reference to the song “modern day cain” by iDKHOW, of which (for example) the pre-chorus is:

“So now you've done a little wrong And you need to be forgiven By the Vicar and the company you keep And then you conjure up a fiction To get the pretty girl to listen“

and also the main chorus that is:

“This is the sin That I will confess to release myself From consequence And everyone can tell“

in which method #3: Confession is mentioned directly. (Oh boi, i think we gettin to the point now, but after 2 hours just straight out researching and writing the first two explanations/theories i kinda dont know how to formulate the next section. i´ll take a short break.)

What is Social Reconditioning?

As i did my research on the internet, the term “social conditioning” seemed to have appeared way more often in results, and doesn´t seem to differ that heavily from social reconditioning, so let me explain it first. Social conditioning is  the definition of training someone to behave in a manner that is generally approved from society and/or peer groups in society. “Manifestations of social conditioning are vast, but they are generally categorized as social patterns and social structures including nationalism, education, employment, entertainment, popular culture, religion, spirituality and family life. The social structure in which an individual finds him or herself influences and can determine their social actions and responses. “ (Wikipedia)

So now that we´ve got that figured out, what would Social Reconditioning mean? I myself would explain it as having to adjust from one specific social pattern/structure to another. an example i provide is a soldier coming back home from the war and having to adjust into the general city-life from the strict life in an army. The “corporate guide to social reconditioning” is most likely to be a book in the iDKHOW universe abouthow to fit into a generally acepted form of society again. But what other social structure, or rather group of people is it, that one has to recover from?

 This is what i think is worth mentioning in this wikipedia article:

“Propaganda.

Edward Bernays, Freud's nephew and the father of propaganda and public relations, used many of his uncle's theories in order to create new methods in marketing. In Propaganda, he published that "If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, it is now possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without them knowing it".[4] He used the herd theory in order to create public relations, thus conditioning the public to need particular goods from certain manufacturers. In the same publication he stated, "A single factory, potentially capable of supplying a whole continent with its particular product, cannot afford to wait until the public asks for its product; it must maintain constant touch, through advertising and propaganda, with the vast public in order to assure itself the continuous demand which alone will make its costly plant profitable."[4] His theories and applications in social conditioning continue throughout his work. “

In Summary/Conclusion

Social climb is a propaganda/brainwash video

It is from the late 70s (1977 to be exact)

The band iDKHOW is in it, joined by Whiteshadow (the white skull person with the mask), possibly meaning that Bamd has time-traveled into 1977

Social climb is very likely to be referencing Modern Day Cain, and probably MDCs music video

The propagande video might be advertising or warning the public about a cult-like group of elite people

Which are a Illuminati-like organization, if not Illuminati itself

speaking from scenes like the one at 1:19, where the Pattern on the table undoubtedly is a pyramid with an eye in the middle, having the letter i,d,k,h,b,t,f and m in each rectangle in the first row

if i get any more stuff facts about the actual video into this i might as well make a second part out of this

[beautiful-w1tches]

What it means to me to practice Chaos Magic...

Disclaimer: my belief is my belief, open for discussion but NOT prosecution. If you have nothing nice to say do not say anything at all. I am however, open to learning new things so feel free to share information.

First an introduction as to why it resonates with me. I was raised in the stereotypical "good Christian home", my parents were firm believers in Big G and I was too, but my parents were both also firm believers in science. My mother taught me that miracles are just science we dont understand yet, and Big G can do miracles because he knows the code of the universe; he created it.

That's where I started to wonder, if the man upstairs can know the code of the universe, maybe I can too. Then the more i learned about science and the Christian ideology, the less I understood why people still believed in Big G. It was the whole "If he promotes love and life why does he let bad things happen?" argument. Then I began to study the teachings and ideology and texts of OTHER world religions, that's when my eyes started to open. Every religion on the planet has basically the same guidelines: Love your fellow man, enhance your spirituality/connection with a diety.

But the problem I saw was the many humanoid gods, none of them resonated with me. I didnt feel a connection to any, save for a few gods that represented ideas I could appreciate (Worshipping a sun god, for instance, I can understand because we need the sun to survive. Or worshipping a god of death, because death is a little less scary when you think you can understand it).

Then I experienced ego death, which changed my thinking.

I realized that this universe is not a home for beings and animals and planets and stars, and its not a bubble the gods can stand outside and watch over. The universe IS. The universe is everything inside of it, just as my stomach is still a part of me, I am still a part of the universe. The rocks, trees, air in your lungs, every person you have ever known, is all the same. They're all in you and you're in all of them, because just like the cells in a body, we are all a part of the same system. You are just the universe experiencing what it is like to be human.

Once I realized this, I decided to make a full circle back to learning the rules of the universe so that I may use them to my liking. And seeing as I myself am a part of the universe, and I am really just the universe trying to learn as much about itself as it can, magic did not seem like too far fetched of an idea; if I knew the rules of the universe anything is possible right?

That's when I tried connecting to the occult, creepy, and mysterious. I wanted to access the knowlege of the universe that many people were too scared to look for. Finding a community of witches from all over the world and all walks of life on the internet was a huge step for me, and through years of refining my craft and continuing to learn about the universe, I finally realized why humans made humanoid gods.

Humanoid gods are the easiest for us to understand, maybe you dont actually believe in Posiden, but you have an altar to him because he represents the idea that water is the bringer of life and you feel a deeper connection to the sea than you've ever had to people. Maybe you believe in the history of Greece and your personal studies have shown you that they were right all along. Whatever the reason, it's easier for people to connect with an image of someone humanoid than it is to connect with a glass of ice water.

I began to have visions of something humanoid when I was about 17, and it came at the strangest times and on occasion would not go away for hours at a time. I called her She for a while, I didnt know much about her except a few things:

-She appeared before something strange happened

-I called her She because the body shape was humanoid-feminine

-She had no voice, but her hair flowed from the top of her head like smoke from a raging fire, and her skin was never the same color.

-Sometimes, She has an eye, not really an eye, but more an opening or a tear in her face

After living with these visions for a bit, I equated it to something my puny human brain could understand. This is a representation of Conciousness. You know how you meet people that say "I dont believe in god, I'm not like religious, but i think theres an energy in everything ya know?" Well, I think I just met that energy. Then she started to speak to me, but it wasnt really words. If I am being honest, she sounds more like a guttural screech with an undertone of whispers. But yet when I hear the sounds, it still resonates a thought inside my head. Technically this is speach, right?

I call her Chaos now, bcause that's all the universe is. Chaos and Order, Yin and Yang, light and dark. I hate when people use the terms "good and bad" in association with Yin and Yang. Yin is not nessecarily good, Yin is just the light parts of existence. And even then, Yin still has a little bit of Yang in it. And just as Yin is not good, Yang is not bad; just the dark to the light. And just like before, Yang even has a little bit of Yin in it.

Chaos is Yang, if you understand my analogy.

If you're wondering how I decided She was Yang and not Yin, it's because Yang is usually represented in texts and images as being female or feminine. And besides, I as a woman know how much chaotic power I hold. So my "deity" (even though I told myself I wouldnt worship an image) ended up being Chaos. However the imagery of my deity was probably just something my brain made up to cope with the knowlege I accumulated. Whatever it is, all i know is life is strange and I'm fuckin rolling with it.

And that is why my practice is the way it is right now, because I know if I know the rules of the universe, I can use magic. But it is only magic to those who do not understand, to me my practice is science.

Apologies for the long post, inbox and asks are open for further discussion.

[sfpcschool]

Interview with Computing and Stories Summit presenters

SFPC is hosting the first Computing and Stories Summit on June 1st, 2017. Here's an interview with the organizers and presenters: Amy Wibowo, Jie Qi, Jenna Register, Natalie Freed, Linda Liukas and Taeyoon Choi.

Tell us a little about yourself, how did your interest in computing begin?

Jenna: Little was it known to me that I have been a computer programmer since a very young age. I fell in love with problems like the Towers of Hanoi, Mastermind, and logic puzzles. I found my way into “hacking” my computer games to cheat in some outrageous ways. I even read an entire book on recursion and math… without ever knowing what Computer Science was. When I was required to take my first CS course in college as part of my Brain and Cognitive Sciences degree, I fell in love. I switched everything that I was doing just so I could code. Just so I could finally feel understood by myself. For me, programming is the source of my spirituality. I understand myself through my code!

Taeyoon: As a kid, I was fascinated by computers. I think the first computer I encountered was Macintosh Plus. It had a chatbot that I could interact with. The conversation itself was limited but I liked the idea that I could engage with a computer intimately. I was really into the Internet community as a youth, connecting people over distance. I learned to use digital production tools (mostly photo and video editing) in an art school. I often felt limited by the commercial production tools, I felt like my expression was constrained in the filters and features of the tools. In the mid 2000s, I learned about hackers and new media artists working with software and hardware in playful ways. During my residency at Eyebeam in 2008, I met many friends (Zach Lieberman who I continue to work with on SFPC, the openFrameworks community, Hannah Perner-Wilson, Dan Torop, Geraldine Juárez and more) and their practice demonstrated that I can take liberty to use computers and electronics for creative expression.

Shift Register by Taeyoon Choi, photo courtesy of the artist

Linda: My dad brought home a computer in early 90s and told us there’s nothing we can do with the computer that can’t be reversed. As a result, me and my siblings had a very curious and fearless attitude towards computers and computing - and probably also managed to remove the operating system and dad’s important work files a few times.. I never thought my career would be in technology, but now in hindsight working with education & computing connect all the dots for me.

Natalie: When I was a kid my dad brought home a couple of old Macintoshes for us to play with. My siblings and I spent hours upon hours drawing in Kid Pix. I still love that program, and its great origin story! I also used my computer to make maps and write short stories. I had no clue what computer programming was until my dad, a programmer himself, encouraged me to take a C++ class in high school. I was very unhappy in that class - it was mostly boys and as a shy kid who liked to blend in, I felt out of place. I also wasn’t super interested in the class project of making a computer game. Fortunately I gave programming another shot in college and fell in love, ending up majoring in computer science. It’s magical that you can create things with words and with the logic of language! And the kinds of abstraction you can play with make my brain really happy. Now I teach programming, and also use it as a creative tool to explore concepts and to build tools for making other things.

Stab Bound Books, by Natalie Freed. Photo courtesy of the artist

Amy: As a kid, I loved drawing in MS paint, creating 3D worlds in Corel 3D, making games in Visual Basic, and making Sailor Moon fan websites in HTML in Notepad. I loved making stuff outside of the computer as well (painting, cross stitch, embroidery), so computers and programming to me seemed like just another way to express my creativity.

Jie: I took my first programming course in high school (AP computer science) and did so poorly I ended up dropping the course halfway and thought that programming is *definitely* not for me (other people in the course seemed to glide through and were winning state competitions!). However, in college, I did an internship with Ayah Bdeir and got into electronics and another internship with Leah Buechley and discovered that code could be combined with arts and crafts to bring artworks to life. That’s when I finally “got it” and fell in love with the magical things I could make with programming and electronics.

Picture from Jie Qi’s project “Electronic Popables”, photo courtesy of Jie Qi

What are the creative challenges you are currently encountering in your practice?

Taeyoon: I find it important to connect my work with the history of art, and technology often gets in the way. I find it a challenge to make art that’s timeless as well as current and relevant. There’s often lots of excitement about what is ‘new’ in technology. For example, recently there’s a lot of excitement about A.I. and VR. A few years ago, there was a lot of excitement about 3D printing. And some time ago, there was a lot of excitement about interactivity. But there’s a sense of futility in these short-lived excitement. When I see people wearing VR headsets, I often think of Kasier Panorama. Kaiser panorama is a mechanical contraption where you look into the viewfinder to see a moving diorama, a miniature of Paris or Berlin. It was popular around the turn of the 19th century, lost popularity over the years and then came back to popularity for a brief period right before silent film became mainstream. In a sense, the ‘new’ technologies tend to repeat the excitement and exhaustion, like Kasier Panorama. For me, technology is both the medium and subject of my art.

Jenna: In order to be creative in my research field, I need to have the hard skills. I can dream up Turing Complete systems for monkeys to use, or functional programming languages that model the human mind… but I need to be able to successfully (and mathematically) write my models. Additionally, I am finding it harder and harder to communicate the work that I do to outside ears. I love sharing the basics of my work, but when it comes to explaining my current interests in a concise way, it requires A LOT of creativity to explain the abstraction.

Data Structures: STACKS, video by Jenna Register

Linda: I think kids are the most efficient learners of all times and it requires a lot of honesty to write and illustrate for them. I don’t want to make things cartoonish or use narratives that they will feel dishonest later in life. At the same time I think it’s important to shield a bit of the complexities to make subjects approachable.

Natalie: I’ve always admired and enjoyed spending time around artists, but didn’t think of myself as one. I’ve recently been realizing that for some of my projects, it would be incredibly useful to learn more about how artists evaluate their own work and think about their process. It feels like there are lenses through which to look at making that are not in my current toolkit. This is actually an exciting realization because I like that feeling of disorientation when you’re learning about something really new to you. One example is that I’m used to a prototyping process that is *relatively* linear and predictable, not one that involves throwing out 90% of what I try! And as a teacher and maker I value process a lot, but I’m not used to thinking that it’s allowed to be integral to the final piece.

Video of “Telescrapbook”, by Jie Qi and Natalie Freed

Jie: The most challenging for me is simply finding the time to explore far far outside of my domain. Lately I’ve been working a lot on toolkits and teaching and explaining-- which is fun and satisfying. But I’m also excited to explore and push my own technical and creative boundaries as well, and miss this different kind of joy. So perhaps giving myself permission and time to really play is my biggest creative challenge right now.

Amy: It's a fun and exciting creative challenge to explain concepts like machine learning, compilers, and operating systems in a way that middle schoolers will find interesting and accessible, in a way that's not condescending or dumbed down. Also, how to build a company that does social good and is ethical, in a monetarily sustainable way.

Why is it important to make computer science and engineering a more welcoming and diverse field?

Taeyoon: The mainstream culture of computer science and engineering is exclusionary. There’s a stereotypes of (typically white men) leaders in the field. In fact, it’s not true. Traditionally, women and queer engineers have pioneered many important aspects of computing and technology. Also, the real workforce and academics who are developing computing, are not homogenous. I think a lot about ways of revealing the complexities of the cultural bias around technology. If we can create counter-narrative to the mainstream image (of white or male – artists / engineers / entrepreneurs) , we can help shape a culture around technology that’s less biased and unfair, ultimately more inclusive for people who are not represented as leaders in the field.

Jenna: I recently returned from a conference where there were 300 women out of 8000 attendees. That is 3.75% female (unsure about Trans individuals). The conference was for GPUs, so very close to hardware (less women the closer to the hardware you get!). But it was a shocking experience. But besides an obvious inequality like this, here is my answer: Problem Solving is Empowering. I find that learning to think logically, and gaining the independent thinking that comes along with programming is empowering. And I want to help those who feel disempowered to find their strengths through STEM.

Excerpt from “How Do Calculators Even” by Amy Wibowo

Linda: I’m writing the book series thinking of what would have made me excited about computing as a kid. A lot of the materials out there today lack this empathy - and that’s why it’s important to have more diversity in the educational field, also going forward.

Natalie: Based on my own experience, my students’ experiences, and my research, I am convinced that many people who would really enjoy computer science miss out on the chance to learn about it. They might get initially turned off by an unwelcoming experience, only get exposure to a narrow application of it that doesn’t match their interests, or leave because of a toxic learning or work environment. I’ve found so much joy and empowerment in this field, and I deeply believe others should have that opportunity as well. Also, technological change has an enormous impact on society. We need all kinds of people deciding what direction that takes.

Art and Algorithms exercise from Linda Liukas’ “Hello Ruby”, photo courtesy of the artist

Jie: Computer science and engineering are such powerful levers to impact and (hopefully!) improve the world. However, change is rarely about just the technology but rather needs a whole community around it to make sure that the technology itself makes sense and is accessible. Unless we bring more diverse perspectives into the field, people who feel welcome and empathize with problems and see solutions that actually work for *their* community -- ones that the current tech community does not sense-- we cannot see the full extent of how much positive change we can create.

Who are your role model? Tell us about people you look up and feel constantly inspired by?

Linda: I love Sophia Coppola, Tove Jansson and Björk, artists with a strong inner world that they’ve projected consistently, but creatively throughout the years.

Taeyoon: I look up to people who take their work seriously and take on a very long term projects. Recently, I invited Barbara London, who was a curator at MoMA for decades, bringing new media art, video art and sound art, into the museum. Her persistence was admirable. I also think about artists and activists who embed themselves in communities and institutions. There are many, I can’t think of one person right now.

Barbara London, photo courtesy of the Grolsch ArtBoom Festival

Jie: There are so many. But for the most part, I really admire who are both amazing through what they do and maintain a kindness, humility and generosity that invites everyone in. To name a few, Ayah Bdeir (founder and CEO of littleBits) is my entrepreneur role model-- for growing something from bits in a shoebox to an entire movement, fueled by her unique faith and energy. Leah Buechley and Edith Ackermann are my research role models and taught me how to contribute academic research without getting caught up in the machinery. Andrew “bunnie” Huang who has taught me so much about navigating freedom. Finally Sally Rosenthal who has a magical knack for making things happen with firmness, warmth and empathy.

Natalie: So many it’s hard to begin, but Edith Ackermann comes strongly to mind. She was incredibly rigorous about studying play without ever losing her own sense of humor, play, and mischief. She could see the “soul” of your project and would tell you about it, bluntly but somehow in the most warm and inspiring way imaginable. Also, my mom read us Claude Ponti books growing up and his surreal, detailed worlds full of imagined creatures have stuck with me.

“Imagination” from Linda Liukas’ “Hello Ruby”

Jenna: Quite frankly (nobody make fun of me!): All of you! I am so thrilled to get to meet you all. I have not yet come across others who want to inspire through art, technology, fun, and childlike wonder. I couldn’t be happier.

Amy: Simone Giertz is my hero for bringing a sense of fun and play to technology, and for emphasizing that it's ok to build things that are useless. Also, just like Jenna said, all of you! I’m honored to be with so many people whose work I admire!

Data Structures: Hash Tables, video by Jenna Register

What was the last project (art, comic, technology or whatever) you saw that blew your mind?

Taeyoon: I went to the Frieze Art Fair in NYC and saw some great things. I really liked slow moving sculptures by Robert Breer and Andreas Angelidakis’s video art ‘Domesticated Mountain’. I also read a story by a South Korean novelist Han Kang, which I thought was very moving. I’ve been reading Beasts of Burden by Sunaura Taylor, which is an incredible book about disability and animal rights.

Jie: There’s a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne called “The Artist of the Beautiful” about a young watchmaker that makes magical machines in his workshop. The (very emotional) creative process really resonated with me.

Natalie: At the last Autodesk Pier 9 showcase, I ran across Neil Mendoza’s “Fish Hammer Actuation Device.” A camera over a fish tank tracked a goldfish’s movements, which were then transmitted to a hammer moving on a circular track. When the goldfish stayed in the same place for long enough, the hammer would come down and, depending on its position, might smash a tiny piece of furniture placed in its path. I was so delighted by this piece. Something about how completely oblivious the fish was to the destruction it was causing!

Linda: I’m reading Robert Irwin’s Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees and it's helped me understand and navigate a good part of this year.

“Hello Ruby” Skidit Festarit, photo by Otso Kaijaluoto

Jenna: My very best friend is working on a comic to help herself and others overcome their PTSD. The comic is a superhero world, where your “inner demons” manifest in the outside world. We illustrate people as superheroes fighting off demons like Insecurity, Depression, etc. We hope to make illustrations for people who are working through healing, to remind Survivors that they are, in fact, Warriors.

Amy: When the SFMOMA reopened recently, I was blown away by a wall mural designed by Sol Lewitt. As a conceptual artist, he didn’t paint the mural but instead, contributed instructions for how to paint it, which were written in a way that reminded me of Logo Turtle programming. Algorithms as art!

Electrocutie Hardware Kit by Amy Wibowo

* We are thankful to our sponsors including SFPC, Hello Ruby, The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, Paul Ford and Processing Foundation. We are actively looking for sponsors. Please contact taeyoon@sfpc.io if you are interested in supporting this event. 

[thoughtsandsensibilities]

Buckle up, bitches.

Themes I plan to cover over the next couple of years, of course in addition to my regular cynical observatory posts. This is solely a quick overview of topics floating around in my head at the moment that may do a bit more good on paper. It is in no way a prescriptive list and is liable to change whenever the fuck i feel like it; interests and world outlooks may shift and suddenly I may wake up a pussy and write about increasing corporation taxes to fund welfare...pfft. Don’t worry if nothing interests you yet, as I read more and form more bullshit opinions, the list will grow. Stay tuned! (they are in no sensical order, suck it up)

hard power on the international political stage

corruption and conspiracy (within governments but a focus on supragovernmental dependencies)

religion: its formation and subsequent redundancy. why was it created? the arrogance of man? the need for an explanation? fear of the unknown, of death? to account for a sense of powerlessness?

the concept of god as well as theories on the creation of the universe

the concept of a soul, and the propect of an afterlife. Why was religion made up? (dont bs me about being anti-religious, cos they are all shots in the dark trying to placate the arrogance of man and give meaning). 

the moral aspect of feeding gullible, ignorant people a string of lies about a false god (even if you have a religion the idea that millions if not billions around the world are being taught ‘blasphemy’ should piss you off, and you know you are right) vs the benefits that faith has in some peoples lives

climate change (from an environmental and economic perspective)

climate change (political perspective: disparity of impacts, lack of sufficient motivation and consequences of public goods in general),

development of societies throughout history: their cause and philosophy - what characterised success in ancient civilisation

economic and political dependency in a post-colonial world: reference to world systems theory

the occupied and downtrodden India, negative shit that remains and how it will transform

institutions in society eg marriage/family, government, the economy, education, and religion: their role and creation

terrorism in the modern world and how it can be explained by a constructivist understanding

my issue with the USA: how the world would be better off without it

US foreign policy: a monkey with rabies could do a better job

dictators through history

Cambodian genocide, the Holocaust and cases of ethnic cleansing due to a superiority complex

Rwandan and Somalian genocides - how did we fuck up so badly?

top 5 champions and cunts through history: who did the most long term good/damage to human development + what was it about them that made them so great (yes, the evil ones were great)

top 5 champions and cunts over the last 100yrs (non-dictators): how we are still cleaning up their pile of shit + what was it about them that made them so influential (have more personality info on recent individuals)

humanitarian intervention: necessary, evil or necessary evil. RoP??

China: from copper to gold then to lead... what happened here yo? (pre-1850)

China in the last century: phoenix from the ashes of famine and turmoil... what happened here yo? (post-1850)

Focus on social and economic reforms in China: Mau and the swinging 60s in China (the peak of my wit folks, if you got it then played, if not then thank fuck i am here and wait for the post you dumbass)... what happened here yo?

concepts of self and metaphysics: yes we are going to go there...

the development trap: economic stagnation causes and cures

what the fuck is happening in the middle east and why is it so?

cold war: what was going on behind the scenes? teleconnections?

residual effects of the cold war - what kind of power dynamic did it leave in its wake 

analysis of global governance - polarity of power

globalisation: everything about it - I see it as the dominant force shaping the c.20th

behavioural science - the role of parenting and experiences vs the role of the genotype

free market economy ideas - why they came about, a bit on their application in a modern macroeconomic context and a contrast to Keynesian and neoliberal schools of thought

the issue with aid - reincarnation of western imperialism

the hegemony of western powers

issues with corruption in the WB, IMF, WTO, UN, OECD + national foreign aid packets (remember 90s Malaysia Dam)

the new world order: my take on the hypothesised world government, reasons for existing

control of financial markets by NWO since 500AD

control of wars and central banking by NWO

are you sure about the NWO and why if they didnt exist at some point, the need to establish such an organisation would negate any doubt.

the analysis of and comparison between economic reforms in Central and South America and the corresponding economic impacts

MI6, CIA, Mossad, KGB... hmmm somethings fishy here boss

putin, putin, putin, putin, putin. the man, the myth, the legend. his story and the story of russian oil. 

the oil market since 2012, russian economic collapse as wel as OPEC struggles

medicine through time - Hypocrates, Galen, Vesuvius, Pasteur, Koch... etc.

Nazi Germany: how?!?! again specific analysis of hitler’s character

the concept of communication and globalisation when applied to ancient civilisations

sport in today's commercialised world - it has lost all its appeal for me.

British government - the horrible history! would be interesting to engage with the culture of laissez-faire in a conservative government

look at the formation of the first health service in 1948, what led to that point. universal suffrage? growth of moral responsibility? pussies.

how dumb and undemocratic American politics is -  you will be shocked (gerrymandering, vote exclusion, state voting, Russian involvement). get your fat ass down from high horse you fuckup of a country. remember you are only where you are cos you were a pussy in both wars, not standing up to tyranny and then basically shorting the world economy. you were nothing until a huge influx of investment built up your tertiary and quarternary sectors... just saying. 

why the fat people of America voted the cunt Trump into the Oval: right place right time? blame isis? blame terrorism? blame fear? blame bigotry?

the future of consumer tech as i see it

my opinion of Europe and the Euro - dead af.

the French revolution of 1789: why do i think it is important in the context of world history

the aftermaths and culture shocks of post-war periods

Margaret Thatcher and her glorious work moving Britain out of the evil clutches of socialism: why she was right and lefties are soft dummies

colonialism through the c.18th and c.19th

cost cutting in the public sector... just give me 25yrs and i will have costs down 50%. 5 election cycles... oh well - the issue of government inefficiency and political inertia 

why an authoritarian regime may be necessary in the developmental stages of a country

terms of trade fucking the little guys: global bully tactics...

why care about animals, or the environment... can we not just adjust and figure out a solution if and when shit hits the fan?

the art of persuasion and likeability

advertising - are you selling a product or a brand? a feeling or a culture?

the law - origins? are there big disparities between countries? simple moral code

tax law? overcomplicated, how tax gets avoided

criminality across the world, who controls drugs trade

accusations of hard drug trade being facilitated by MI6 for political and monetary control - up to 60% of cocaine and opium coming into the UK during c.20th was assisted by individuals within the government through MI6. CIA and cocaine during second half of centrury.

cannabis culture and historical legal status 

cannabis medical uses... you will be surprised

cannabis legalisation... 420420420420420 - why it is the way the world is moving? why the drug was illegal in the first place when it is a softer substitute to alcohol and why it has remained so? subtextual racism, corrupt political parties, big pharma lobbying, UK is governed by old money with backwards, conservative ideas.

intelligence - what causes it and can you practise to become smarter?investigation into the theory that length and number of neurones dictating intelligence

the power of the mind: the sectors of the brain, ‘mind over matter’

natural aptitude: be that physical or mental - why are you good at certain things and not others?

theory of evolution... my thoughts on the theory and its disappointing reception within the scientific community

the solar system - stars and their formation

big bang theory, string theory, n theory, relativity and special relativity

the concept of infinity and its application

the theory of multiple dimensions running on adjacent temporal pathways

ancient romans and greeks - their forms government (king, democracy, republic, empire)

the agriculturalisation of society - ancient egypt, ancient mayans - benefits but also costs

the agricultural and industrial revolutions in Britain and Europe.

the british empire at its peak

why cunt USA became dominant superpower - political hegemony

why cunt USA became economic giant after WWII

why the US is the cause of a majority of issues facing the world today

the dark ages and the black death

early transcontinental trade - silk road

ottoman empire - these guys are underrated in terms of academic and cultural interest, no longer!

moguls and Ghengis Khan - probably one of the scariest and most fearsome dudes to ever walk this earth. a born fighter. prompted the construction of the GW. kinda my hero. 

the physical formation of the earth - Pangea, astroid? Yellowstone, oh shit! a few wacky theories including magnetism, the moon, Jupiter's moons

extraterrestrial life. we know it is there. no way for it not to be.

eastern religions - polytheist, emphasis on connection with supernatural, more spiritual

what made a religion popular around its inception

how does religion maintain following? what is it about feeling part of something bigger than yourself, something intangible yet set firmly in reality...

qu’ran - the most violent of all scripture or just repeated misinterpretation? it is an interesting line of enquiry, and this accumulated knowledge squashed a surprising amount of misinformed opinions i have encountered over the past few years; of particular relevance now.

the UN millennium development goals failure + general lack of altrustic tendencies as a society - why are we such dicks to our fellow human beings and strategies to reduce the level of dickishness.

[umua-wuma]

we need to start a ayahuasca launchpad based science experiment, what about timetravel? i am also a good shamaness with cigerete :p i was more interested in smoking rolled up bits of paper in chemistry class than the lesson (just didnt understand a thing whatsoever) smoking since 14 then :p dayum at least i still look supermodel (always will :p) timetravel ? :3 LikeShow More Reactions Comment Comments Jo Potts Jo Potts first part: physics isn't the gateway into timetravel. physics is confused about that Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts http://www.sci-news.com/ its a good place for ideas Breaking Science News | Sci-News.com Science news: astronomy, archaeology, paleontology, health, physics, space exploration and other topics. sci-news.com Like · Reply · Remove Preview · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts schrodingers cat is always in fact 2 or three cats. but its always 'cat' but its in fact more. Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts doppelganger/impersonation/phantasmagoria phenmonea is somehow related to schrodingers cat(s) Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts http://www.sci-news.com/.../science-gold-nano-spirals... gold nano/whatever spirals protect against 'identity theft' ~ gold 'nano/replace spirals can be used to create new identities, false/imagined identities other worlds, false worlds, that appear in...See more Gold Nano-Spirals Could Protect Against Identity Theft | Nanotechnologies |… sci-news.com Like · Reply · Remove Preview · 1 · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts *(of our choosing) Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts hyperspace = hidden dimension, one day we wake up from this greyness of reality, into this ~ ~ ~perfection colourful love land of our perfectness ~our being unique individual~ all needs is love to happen <3 Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts every symbolic moment in our lives spirals entheogenically together and add up and leads into this Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts if you can read between the lines and see the subtext in all those moments people are laughing, laughing it seems at this invibislble, yet group precieved hyper-object, then you can understand ~ ~something ~ ~ deep here : ) Like · Reply · 1 · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and it can be utilized to grapple jump into a timehole Like · Reply · 1 · 3 hrs Tabby Divine La Brea Tabby Divine La Brea Spirals are also a symbol of hypnosis Like · Reply · 3 hrs Tabby Divine La Brea Tabby Divine La Brea the trance state Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts blessed DNA by strange people and healers can at the same time be lasso'ed and spun into the spiral and we can then jump into the spiral and go backwards into the past Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and at the samee time turn that into a megic phlegm and 'spin' the plhegm onto innocent onlookers Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts which will then create a decades long spouting of pseudo-science from the science professionals Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts on social/video/google/plantform ;) yyou know darling Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and we can just pretend its sorcery to the shamans who notice Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts ;) Like · Reply · 3 hrs Tabby Divine La Brea Tabby Divine La Brea and a symbol for the loom Image may contain: one or more people and indoor Like · Reply · 3 hrs Tabby Divine La Brea Tabby Divine La Brea which weaves the tapestry of things Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts yeah!ok ok yep Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and with symbolgy and costume and acts and gesture culture will unknowningly move at the same time into the past Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts yes i think music can take us there too Like · Reply · 3 hrs Tabby Divine La Brea Tabby Divine La Brea No automatic alt text available. Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts but as the portal opens music should just magically start pouring out of it into our direction Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts yes, only the music will/would be from, and belonging to different time Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts the only glitch i found so far, is that it only works when it comes from a different culture, where party vibe is strong :) Like · Reply · 3 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts i was one of the few people who understoond the terence timewave and spiritually saw its overlay in a hyperspace-object and what is really meant, and also why everything fell silent and it was never talked about of explained again after dec 21st :) Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts its also somehow linked to the paranormal, such as who is the lady in the basement of the nags head pub? with the crooked sholders? who is the lady crouching in the corner of the highgate cafe? Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and what curtains have to do with film escape scenes Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts why people will knowingly walk into danger when they were perfectly warned, and the honest individual told she is a witch Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts its possible to breate on smoke, to almost never breathe and still have full breathe and never gasp or ever cough Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and across all time all those who are connected by the smoke are connected at the 'same time' yet time and place is different Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts hence infinity is no a theory, but since even the idea of it exists, then always in reality it also exists Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts so, did someone 'take your life' and is living your life somewhere else in another time, because they came to the same conclusion at the same time about this same thing Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and did the lives switch with one knowing, or neither knowing? Like · Reply �� 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts the magic-phelegm-nanocoloured-time spiral then needs heat to power itself Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and altare computers will then start becoming more dense and stronger in matter and will sink and the scientists will notice that... Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and their beep song will change to be closer together Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts creating shaking and cold Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts which cools the nanocomputer refrigertaors Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and creates further spinning of mechanisms Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts which start spinning and spiralling other energies in other places and time which we feel but dont fully see (unless i suppose your vision is really good and you can see through walls and things) Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and the other peoples are then vaguely aware, but are happier than before going about moving into this other reality also Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts changing around us and itself, as it warps, and it does seem to warp, into this other world of another time Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts but i am stuck at this point in my time-system macgine Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts but already it has made things rise from before, and if you didn't notice you/or others may know soon that things from different seemingly lost worlds from the past will start to 'rise' from below Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and meet, rather than be approached Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and then you can be half-or seeming so, in that world, and also a curtain into this world Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts but others are then walking around in another dream, that still perfectly corresponds to your own experience Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts with doppelgangers intact still and puppets in place Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts in the future Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and movement is possible in a dream-wonder-land Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts some of the people who still live in that other time will know, or notice, so magic not referred to as illusion is needed Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts that is something else Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts then is finding a need and a way to be in some time-tract and how to stay there Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts because of the need for an interval and/or a lapse Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts Search Results lapse laps/...See more Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts hence the word meaning of lapse, to slip backward, and all that humans talk about is the future and to not be bad llike the past , but by winding into the future, the past can be healed, and then spiral with a warp backwards into the past, as the lapse is projected via the symbolic imagery of planet earth and the unknown Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts so that the past is also healed to be in again, as the DNA blessed spirals are blessed again and spiral back from the past into the moment we experience Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts the two energetic forces meet each other in time, creatiing that timehole, the two energies/whatever its called need to meet however, and be aware of each's beingness Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts for that wormhole/timehole to form Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts but that already happened, Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts but that hovers behind us Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts but the nature, and plant world, and huywm, animal life creates a backdrop and sensation and tactile pleasure experience and a screen that is never called a mirror, but is more projected forwards from behind each individual and also time/space Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts with the movement of the stars and planets and galaxies creating these time tracts Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts timelapse slowness gives slower options when navigating the time, even if it seems so-called normal speed, giving extra space for escape and danger evasion Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and altering the continium away from things not wanted Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts the dead people are living, around us just as much as we are living, Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts there was a reason the cinema poster i saw that day of audrey hepburn lit up and her eyes started glowing and she started smiling, and the poster and person was alive and moving and communicating with me, the day i started the acting classes in the room with the mirrors and curtains and wall-pole Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts because with the act, there are two layers going on, 'the act' and 'the real' Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and slips, and lapse can be induced to other people Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts but not 'just like that' because they are always a part of the act itself too, even if they did not notice Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts and that also can , or has to be cleverly, cleverly tricked by the looks, and approach and social mannerism and costume to pass off the other reality onto other people Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts that causes them to laugh, and slip up on this 'invisible' hyper laughter 'thing' Like · Reply · 2 hrs Jo Potts Jo Potts any social 'class' that people refer to can be included as a given, as with easy tricks that are from other times, others understand what you, or me, or anyone are from a different perspective, for instance certain people being convinved i am part of a royal family Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts hence a phantasm is made Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts with also a false doppelganger, who perhaps lives your life Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts but who is near identitcal Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts but both characters are then 'just slightly off'' Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts creating this 'trip up' or 'slip up' in the personality timestream Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts please add some comments hehe Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts interwoven, yet, dispirate Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts from each other Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and the two move in the same space, but illogically unaware of various moments between them, yet bizarrely, intangiably co-present within the same nano-movement of the time spiral which is seen and believed to be one, but is in fact two, but believed to be the same, yet the doppelgangers do realise it is not that way Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and then the boxes of the two/three hide secrets, which know each other, but cannot be talked about Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and then, the further they impersonate each other, the more that slip/or error/glitch slips into the unconcious of the time and its situations and the life qualities oddly syncronise Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts but with a weirder, quality that leads everyone back to the same person, with "something slightly off" or "too normal to be true" type qualities Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts causing the mother essence her greatest joys and also strangest pains Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and its envelopment into the hypnogigic state Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and into the dreamworld Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts which is when the magic gold or luminesent identity spiral is needed Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts eek :D Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts at that point it can be part-custom made, affecting the time of the past before you get there, so that lapse of space-illusion does not occur, but that the personality illusion does but is real Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and the self is not caught out, until the hypnogogia becomes more overwhelming Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and it sinks into that world, as its 'matter' has been dragged there Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts because the particles lapse also Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts lapsed* Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts the problem is that this idea worked xD Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and things like strange videos from 1919, become videos from 1991, but the scenes change organically into the future in the film in impossible ways re-enacted by people from the past, disguised as present-day doppelgangers Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts and the world collides, also in the dreamspace via the above ^ Like · Reply · 1 hr Jo Potts Jo Potts the lapse seems trivial at this point, but the lexicon admits it, and it is momemtarialy noticed as something worthwhile, catching of the senses, but why, unknowlingly Like · Reply · 51 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and certain places and peoples of intents hoover it up from that point Like · Reply · 50 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts as their thing thing they needed, like a free lunch Like · Reply · 49 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts " quote unquote ", but however Like · Reply · 49 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts this is strangely integral to the time 'call it machine' Like · Reply · 49 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and causes odd change in behaviour that need the doppelganger act to be played into by those various people to keep the 'system' in play, as then, which is why a third puppet is present and also apresent, and then 'seen' as , or rather, co-alesces into the schrodingers cat (but there actually are multiple?) theorem, cats cannot always be the explaination, but there is a blank questionmark in their place instead :) Like · Reply · 45 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and always that imposteration/doppleganger effect is masterfully played into by these various other people Like · Reply · 44 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts even though they were never ever once told to by the dopplegangers Like · Reply · 44 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and strangely enough its really healing too :) yay Like · Reply · 43 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts because the dopplegangers are good people and they are played into and coped, but not always mimiced.... Like · Reply · 43 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts copied* Like · Reply · 42 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts but then, Like · Reply · 42 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts further mimicry is always tempting, and subtly 'along the line' somewhere seems to create this 'trip up' even when the temporal mazes totally mismatch Like · Reply · 41 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts but the environment will then respond in all manner of ways to fill in the gaps... Like · Reply · 40 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and causes certain shudders and chills down the spine, as various people realise something is amiss Like · Reply · 40 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts but almost nobody can place their finger on it Like · Reply · 39 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and why it became that way is then the subject of discovery, giving a new bend or projectied course into the past, Like · Reply · 38 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts but it happened in times too fast, for the usual events to properly unfold Like · Reply · 38 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and the doppleganger presence in the theatre crowd is dreamily misrepresented from the past, and expertly, but not perfectly integrated, and something that isn't a schism, but has a small quality from that occours, whilst the world around does change into another zone of time, or metaphyical hauntings of past times (say i dunno, anytime potentiatally) re-emerge faster than they should Like · Reply · 33 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and i noticed, puzzingly in fact that this moment then creates more doppelgangers who share the same idea, appearing in puzzlingly odd situations, as unfathomable life scenarios can't quite be deciphered, sort of like, a quantum link, with basically infiinite qualities, even infniity itself, as a time quality, emerge... Like · Reply · 29 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts but sometimes that infiniteness does not emerge without this part Like · Reply · 28 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and social cohesion is uneasy then, because that small, seeming unuseful change was noticed, and even made into a wave on a surface, but who was seen doing it was all-but-irrelevant, were it not for the idea of what was being seen, and that no-names were given in the first place, but the doppleganer double was noticed Like · Reply · 21 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts but because it is them, the questionmark character, the identity is placed within a context of questionmark in the first place, and an unknown but all-too-familiar feeling arises, amongst usually other strange beliefs that are also all to weirdly accompanied by genuine phenemological presences, reality constructs and natural science, and then one or more of the characters can make the time machine for themselves Like · Reply · 16 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and psyehdelic people often pick up on this pacticular part of the energy modulation Like · Reply · 16 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and its like an artists moment, of life, and living, and health for some nice reason here :D Like · Reply · 15 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts does this make sense? because something about it can do amazing stuff and yeah Like · Reply · 14 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts so maybe there is a meaning to the saying: "a lapse in time saves mine" "a stitch in time saves nine" Like · Reply · 13 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts or not, because the time machine just has to work :D Like · Reply · 12 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and the language is only as useful as you could also be miming words to make it happen, yet others hear you speak Like · Reply · 11 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts the preoccupation with 'length' of time, gives a mysterious quality to it, but rather, instead people are placed quite differently in time itself, so that the doppleganger effect, even if they 'are not present' causes a kind of glitch about 'it, itself' Like · Reply · 8 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts because also the question is raised, but does the other doppleganger know? and are they, in a type of communication? but cannot be satifactoraily answered Like · Reply · 7 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and that really freaks people out, almost to hysteria, because the effects can be felt tangiably and in their memory all around them Like · Reply · 6 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and there is a type of phatasmagorical presence, like a ghost-like presence then inside their thoughts, as if they can't get this person our of their head, and the images, and characters do not line up, as if something is amiss Like · Reply · 5 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts which sort of animates and also re-animates the imposters/interlopers/dopplegangers Like · Reply · 3 mins Jo Potts Jo Potts and without the identity spiral they can be seen as highly questionable, suspicious to the extreme and deceptive because the lapse, but also the disparity of the time-cohesiveness does not lineup correctly and this gives a skip, a double presence, or also just a half-literal, quasi-literal movement into the past in various form

Like · Reply · 1 min

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What Sheryl Sandberg can teach you about loss, grief, and resilience

Image: Ambar del moral / mashable

There’s something comforting about Sheryl Sandberg’s voice on the phone. It’s calm, self-assured, and sweet.

Yet there are also tremors of vulnerability in the Facebook COO’s voice, hints of the grief and longing she has grappled with ever since the sudden death of her husband Dave Goldberg in May 2015.

SEE ALSO: What the words of a dying doctor taught me about life’s meaning

“Living with this is a daily thing,” she says. “There are days I do better and days I do worse. There are days I keep the promises I make to myself to feel grateful, and there are days I don’t. In the better moments, even when I feel grief, I can remember that my kids are still alive. I can remember that Dave would have wanted them to be happy. I can remember how lucky I am to have friends and family. I would never say that those are all the moments, because they’re not.”

Sandberg and I are discussing her new book, part memoir and part operating manual for surviving the hardest moments in our lives. It lays bare some of Sandberg’s most painful experiences, the kind that were no doubt harrowing to relive.

Sheryl Sandberg and her late husband Dave Goldberg.

Image: Sheryl sandberg

I cried a lot reading Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy. So much that I began marking the margins in ink with small tear drops so I could go back to the most moving passages. There were too many to track.

So perhaps I was inclined to hear humanity in Sandberg’s voice; others say they sense calculation and distance. Here’s my advice: Suspend your skepticism of Sandberg, if only to read Option B. It has essential wisdom on how to treat people who are grieving, on how to find resilience in your darkest moments.

Sandberg likes to talk about kicking “elephants” the things we all know but are too embarrassed to say out of the room. So let’s address the biggest one every review of Option B has to face: Why should you take advice on life’s worst experiences from a billionaire tech executive?

Sandberg has created the Option B community to help people find connections amidst loss and trauma.

Image: optionb.org

Sandberg doesn’t have the soulfulness of Oprah Winfrey, who uses her brand to nudge followers along the path of spiritual enlightenment. Nor is she from Momastery founder Glennon Doyle Melton’s school of being disarmingly honest.

Rightly or wrongly, people have come to expect that level of intimacy when a public figure brands their personal experiences, which is what may have lead to suspicion about Sandberg’s motives.

That wariness isn’t helped by the glaring blindspots on display in her first book, Lean In, a tome on workplace equality that didn’t truly grasp the nature of women’s challenges outside of corporate boardrooms.

Sandberg also happens to help lead the tech company responsible for transforming the way we communicate and get information. When Facebook is hit with complaints about viral fake news influencing elections, or live video gone horribly wrong, the Facebook groups founded by Sandberg, Lean In and now Option B, subtly defend the company. They’re offering a powerful counter-narrative about how the platform helps people make life-changing connections.

In short, Sandberg is a complicated public figure. You’d be right to have reservations about her writing and its ultimate purpose. But none of that skepticism changes what Sandberg and her co-author Adam Grant, the University of Pennsylvania psychologist, have done with Option B. They’ve taken her deeply personal story and pressed it into service. Her account is the book’s workhorse.

It’s the terrible fate that makes you curious enough to read thousands of words about the social science research that just might help you cope with tragedy.

This impulse of hers to share what she’s learned with the hope that it helps others seems to be innate, even irrepressible. It’s earnest and eager, qualities that aren’t cool these days, but ones that are necessary if alleviating suffering becomes part of your life’s mission.

Sandberg and Goldberg at their wedding.

Image: sheryl sandberg

As someone who studies trauma and resilience research closely, I know that people who experience tragedy often yearn to find greater purpose and meaning in what they’ve endured. Still, I was stunned by Sandberg’s willingness to dive headlong into sharing tender emotions and memories so soon after Goldberg’s death.

When I asked her why she took this on in the midst of learning the contours of her own anguish, parenting two young bereaved children, and helping to run Facebook, Sandberg recalled the terrifying confinement of grief.

“[I]t wasnt just this really overwhelming grief, but it was, you know, a real feeling of isolation,” she says. “The easy conversations I used to have with parents when I dropped off my kids at school … felt gone. And people kind of looked at me like I was a deer in headlights. So as much as I was trying to overcome grief, I was also feeling more and more and more alone.”

Thirty days after Goldberg’s death, she turned (of course) to Facebook with the equivalent of a primal scream. “You can give in to the void, the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even breathe,” she wrote. “Or you can try to find meaning.”

Once she saw friends and strangers connecting in the comments and in real life to comfort her and each other, Sandberg realized she could be a conduit. Her suffering could amount to more than private moments of hell. The legacy of Goldberg’s life and death could become invaluable to people struggling with their own pain.

“Really I would give anything to go back and live one day with Dave Goldberg knowing what I know now,” she says. “But I cannot do that, I dont have that choice. If I can just give a little bit of that working with Adam [on the book], that has meaning for me, and I think when you face the abyss of grief, the void, the boot on your chest, you want something positive to come out of it.”

Really I would give anything to go back and live one day with Dave Goldberg knowing what I know now. But I dont have that choice.

So writing Option B became an urgent next step.

Sandberg borrowed the name from a good friend who, in the weeks after Goldberg’s death, lovingly told her: “Option A is not available. So let’s just kick the shit out Option B.”

By marrying anecdote and scientific research, the book provides a pathway for doing just that. Sandberg and Grant explain that resilience isn’t something we come by automatically when we face tragedy. It’s more like a muscle that needs strengthening and conditioning, and they point to practical and proven tools like journaling, gratitude lists, and cognitive behavioral therapy that help reframe how we respond to adversity.

Some may balk at the book’s invocation of positive psychology founder Martin Seligman, whose research on pessimism and optimism is sometimes criticized for focusing on your attitude toward hardship. After all, a positive mindset only goes so far when you’re subjected to chronic societal, institutional, or family trauma, such as police violence, incarceration, and emotional or physical abuse.

Sandberg seems to get that. She peppers the chapters with policy prescriptions that reflect how suffering can take a disproportionate toll because of gender, race, ethnicity, and income, among other factors.

The book is also filled with anecdotes and insights from people of diverse backgrounds who demonstrate the many ways we can respond to heartbreak with resilience.

It’s clear Sandberg has learned from criticism of Lean In, and understood the value of looking far and wide for relatable, realistic perspectives.

SEE ALSO: You use this word to help you through hard times without even knowing it

Option B covers a lot of ground. It moves from advice on how to talk to a grieving person to research on gratitude, self-compassion, and post-traumatic growth to insights about reclaiming joy in the shadow of loss, how to raise resilient children, what resilient communities look like, and why we need more emotionally honest workplaces.

That ambitious scope, however, may be the book’s greatest weakness. It can occasionally feel like a grab bag of observations, scientific findings, and heartfelt stories.

There is relatively little discussion of mental health conditions that you might experience after loss or trauma, like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. You won’t find much on talk therapy or courses of medication, strategies that are just as valid in helping to create resilience as writing a gratitude list or allowing yourself to feel small doses of joy, both coping skills that Sandberg recommends.

Sandberg and Goldberg in 2004.

Image: sheryl sandberg

The book closes with an invitation for readers to join the Option B community in order to “connect with others who are coping with challenges like yours.” It should also include that website’s link to its roundup of organizations that support trauma survivors, in addition to the numbers for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and Crisis Text Line.

This book has the power to help heal, but in doing so, can bring you to the edge of your own fears. Sometimes, no matter how meaningfully meant, words on a page aren’t enough to help us take a step back from that terror.

Still, there is much to praise about Option B‘s emphasis on translating scientific research into advice people can explore and adopt. What’s doubly impressive about Sandberg’s decision to write it: she must have known it required opening herself up to feedback that far exceeds the usual literary criticism.

One writer, for example, lauded the book but argued that Sandberg tackled the problem of grief “almost as if it were a failing business to be turned around.” Expect to hear a lot more of that kind of commentary. It’s an easy criticism to make, and it devalues what Sandberg has accomplished.

We love when Silicon Valley and its ambassadors make our lives more convenient; we’d rather not see the seams of their handiwork. What we want instead, especially from women of Sandberg’s stature, is a never-ending well of authenticity.

When women become technical, wonky or dispassionate, (ahem, Hillary Clinton), we seem to have less use for them. Suddenly they are suspect. But consider how we were willing to forgive Steve Jobs, who was so famously unfeeling that he invariably parked his car in Apple’s disabled spots, and then elevate him as a cultural icon and genius.

When I ask Sandberg about skepticism of her efforts, she deflects for a bit. She talks about the success of the Lean In movement and the tough lessons she learned from that book, then lands on the anecdote she wants to share.

A friend’s child who is quite sick has recently spent a lot of time on Option B reading people’s stories and realizing he doesn’t have to feel isolated.

If that child,” she says, “… if he felt less alone because weve helped build something that helped connect him to people not everyone has to love it, but I would make that decision every day.

That’s good enough for me. I hope it’s good enough for you too.

WATCH: Lady Gaga FaceTimed with Prince William to discuss a very important issue

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What Sheryl Sandberg can teach you about loss, grief, and resilience

Image: Ambar del moral / mashable

There’s something comforting about Sheryl Sandberg’s voice on the phone. It’s calm, self-assured, and sweet.

Yet there are also tremors of vulnerability in the Facebook COO’s voice, hints of the grief and longing she has grappled with ever since the sudden death of her husband Dave Goldberg in May 2015.

SEE ALSO: What the words of a dying doctor taught me about life’s meaning

“Living with this is a daily thing,” she says. “There are days I do better and days I do worse. There are days I keep the promises I make to myself to feel grateful, and there are days I don’t. In the better moments, even when I feel grief, I can remember that my kids are still alive. I can remember that Dave would have wanted them to be happy. I can remember how lucky I am to have friends and family. I would never say that those are all the moments, because they’re not.”

Sandberg and I are discussing her new book, part memoir and part operating manual for surviving the hardest moments in our lives. It lays bare some of Sandberg’s most painful experiences, the kind that were no doubt harrowing to relive.

Sheryl Sandberg and her late husband Dave Goldberg.

Image: Sheryl sandberg

I cried a lot reading Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy. So much that I began marking the margins in ink with small tear drops so I could go back to the most moving passages. There were too many to track.

So perhaps I was inclined to hear humanity in Sandberg’s voice; others say they sense calculation and distance. Here’s my advice: Suspend your skepticism of Sandberg, if only to read Option B. It has essential wisdom on how to treat people who are grieving, on how to find resilience in your darkest moments.

Sandberg likes to talk about kicking “elephants” the things we all know but are too embarrassed to say out of the room. So let’s address the biggest one every review of Option B has to face: Why should you take advice on life’s worst experiences from a billionaire tech executive?

Sandberg has created the Option B community to help people find connections amidst loss and trauma.

Image: optionb.org

Sandberg doesn’t have the soulfulness of Oprah Winfrey, who uses her brand to nudge followers along the path of spiritual enlightenment. Nor is she from Momastery founder Glennon Doyle Melton’s school of being disarmingly honest.

Rightly or wrongly, people have come to expect that level of intimacy when a public figure brands their personal experiences, which is what may have lead to suspicion about Sandberg’s motives.

That wariness isn’t helped by the glaring blindspots on display in her first book, Lean In, a tome on workplace equality that didn’t truly grasp the nature of women’s challenges outside of corporate boardrooms.

Sandberg also happens to help lead the tech company responsible for transforming the way we communicate and get information. When Facebook is hit with complaints about viral fake news influencing elections, or live video gone horribly wrong, the Facebook groups founded by Sandberg, Lean In and now Option B, subtly defend the company. They’re offering a powerful counter-narrative about how the platform helps people make life-changing connections.

In short, Sandberg is a complicated public figure. You’d be right to have reservations about her writing and its ultimate purpose. But none of that skepticism changes what Sandberg and her co-author Adam Grant, the University of Pennsylvania psychologist, have done with Option B. They’ve taken her deeply personal story and pressed it into service. Her account is the book’s workhorse.

It’s the terrible fate that makes you curious enough to read thousands of words about the social science research that just might help you cope with tragedy.

This impulse of hers to share what she’s learned with the hope that it helps others seems to be innate, even irrepressible. It’s earnest and eager, qualities that aren’t cool these days, but ones that are necessary if alleviating suffering becomes part of your life’s mission.

Sandberg and Goldberg at their wedding.

Image: sheryl sandberg

As someone who studies trauma and resilience research closely, I know that people who experience tragedy often yearn to find greater purpose and meaning in what they’ve endured. Still, I was stunned by Sandberg’s willingness to dive headlong into sharing tender emotions and memories so soon after Goldberg’s death.

When I asked her why she took this on in the midst of learning the contours of her own anguish, parenting two young bereaved children, and helping to run Facebook, Sandberg recalled the terrifying confinement of grief.

“[I]t wasnt just this really overwhelming grief, but it was, you know, a real feeling of isolation,” she says. “The easy conversations I used to have with parents when I dropped off my kids at school … felt gone. And people kind of looked at me like I was a deer in headlights. So as much as I was trying to overcome grief, I was also feeling more and more and more alone.”

Thirty days after Goldberg’s death, she turned (of course) to Facebook with the equivalent of a primal scream. “You can give in to the void, the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even breathe,” she wrote. “Or you can try to find meaning.”

Once she saw friends and strangers connecting in the comments and in real life to comfort her and each other, Sandberg realized she could be a conduit. Her suffering could amount to more than private moments of hell. The legacy of Goldberg’s life and death could become invaluable to people struggling with their own pain.

“Really I would give anything to go back and live one day with Dave Goldberg knowing what I know now,” she says. “But I cannot do that, I dont have that choice. If I can just give a little bit of that working with Adam [on the book], that has meaning for me, and I think when you face the abyss of grief, the void, the boot on your chest, you want something positive to come out of it.”

Really I would give anything to go back and live one day with Dave Goldberg knowing what I know now. But I dont have that choice.

So writing Option B became an urgent next step.

Sandberg borrowed the name from a good friend who, in the weeks after Goldberg’s death, lovingly told her: “Option A is not available. So let’s just kick the shit out Option B.”

By marrying anecdote and scientific research, the book provides a pathway for doing just that. Sandberg and Grant explain that resilience isn’t something we come by automatically when we face tragedy. It’s more like a muscle that needs strengthening and conditioning, and they point to practical and proven tools like journaling, gratitude lists, and cognitive behavioral therapy that help reframe how we respond to adversity.

Some may balk at the book’s invocation of positive psychology founder Martin Seligman, whose research on pessimism and optimism is sometimes criticized for focusing on your attitude toward hardship. After all, a positive mindset only goes so far when you’re subjected to chronic societal, institutional, or family trauma, such as police violence, incarceration, and emotional or physical abuse.

Sandberg seems to get that. She peppers the chapters with policy prescriptions that reflect how suffering can take a disproportionate toll because of gender, race, ethnicity, and income, among other factors.

The book is also filled with anecdotes and insights from people of diverse backgrounds who demonstrate the many ways we can respond to heartbreak with resilience.

It’s clear Sandberg has learned from criticism of Lean In, and understood the value of looking far and wide for relatable, realistic perspectives.

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Option B covers a lot of ground. It moves from advice on how to talk to a grieving person to research on gratitude, self-compassion, and post-traumatic growth to insights about reclaiming joy in the shadow of loss, how to raise resilient children, what resilient communities look like, and why we need more emotionally honest workplaces.

That ambitious scope, however, may be the book’s greatest weakness. It can occasionally feel like a grab bag of observations, scientific findings, and heartfelt stories.

There is relatively little discussion of mental health conditions that you might experience after loss or trauma, like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress. You won’t find much on talk therapy or courses of medication, strategies that are just as valid in helping to create resilience as writing a gratitude list or allowing yourself to feel small doses of joy, both coping skills that Sandberg recommends.

Sandberg and Goldberg in 2004.

Image: sheryl sandberg

The book closes with an invitation for readers to join the Option B community in order to “connect with others who are coping with challenges like yours.” It should also include that website’s link to its roundup of organizations that support trauma survivors, in addition to the numbers for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and Crisis Text Line.

This book has the power to help heal, but in doing so, can bring you to the edge of your own fears. Sometimes, no matter how meaningfully meant, words on a page aren’t enough to help us take a step back from that terror.

Still, there is much to praise about Option B‘s emphasis on translating scientific research into advice people can explore and adopt. What’s doubly impressive about Sandberg’s decision to write it: she must have known it required opening herself up to feedback that far exceeds the usual literary criticism.

One writer, for example, lauded the book but argued that Sandberg tackled the problem of grief “almost as if it were a failing business to be turned around.” Expect to hear a lot more of that kind of commentary. It’s an easy criticism to make, and it devalues what Sandberg has accomplished.

We love when Silicon Valley and its ambassadors make our lives more convenient; we’d rather not see the seams of their handiwork. What we want instead, especially from women of Sandberg’s stature, is a never-ending well of authenticity.

When women become technical, wonky or dispassionate, (ahem, Hillary Clinton), we seem to have less use for them. Suddenly they are suspect. But consider how we were willing to forgive Steve Jobs, who was so famously unfeeling that he invariably parked his car in Apple’s disabled spots, and then elevate him as a cultural icon and genius.

When I ask Sandberg about skepticism of her efforts, she deflects for a bit. She talks about the success of the Lean In movement and the tough lessons she learned from that book, then lands on the anecdote she wants to share.

A friend’s child who is quite sick has recently spent a lot of time on Option B reading people’s stories and realizing he doesn’t have to feel isolated.

If that child,” she says, “… if he felt less alone because weve helped build something that helped connect him to people not everyone has to love it, but I would make that decision every day.

That’s good enough for me. I hope it’s good enough for you too.

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