The Algorithm of Your Life is somewhat under your control. If you stop eating you will lose weight. If you eat, you might continue to live. Everyone who lived eventually died. But death may not be inevitable - if, say, my conciousness gets uploaded into a machine. Then again, machines are mortal. In another respect, every moment of my conciousness is built off the previous moments. So, time is the evolution of my brain's interactions. How egocentric! How egocentric of me to think the culmination of my specific experiences are the only ones that matter. Right now, I'm typing on a macbook keyboard which was engineered by Apple - and thus heavily influenced by the creative ideas of Steve Jobs. He's dead, but his ideas live. Humanity is a giant being where each of us is like a brain cell with temporary influence on a global brain. Is your algorithm to do as little as possible while getting the most out of it? Or are you part of the group who strive and push for a metaphorical juice that may not be worth the squeeze - such as musician, researcher, or poet? Breakthroughs and discoveries have changed and shaped humanity. They made you who you are. If the algorithm of your life involves getting the most pleasure you can - then you need to start caring about things beyond your immediate control. You need to think about stuff. You must disagree with popular opinions, but you also need to listen to them.
Here is a quote from Blowin' in the Wind, by Bob Dylan,
"Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head - And pretend that he just doesn't see?"
Stop pretending you don't see. Do not mute pain.
The Selfish are the living demons who plague our world - and they are only able to capitalize on the folly of society when your algorithm is focused on solely: you. The Good cannot stop The Selfish by turning the other cheek again and again. Do not accept their evil; actively abhor foul representation. Being brave doesn't make you an asshole, however cowards bothered by disagreement cannot tell the difference.
Disagree, and learn. Grow. Live!
Someone once snidely informed me, "You know, no good deed is truly selfless" - but no one seems to understand the opposite is also true, "You know, no selfish deed is purely evil."
Maybe there are higher-order beings that affect our lives, but arguments about deities are improvable and impractical. Then again, quantum theory is making gods seem plausible with what Einstein called "spooky action at a distance." And, as a musician, I have trouble remaining a non-believer as torrents of ideas feel like they are coming from somewhere beyond. If you ever hear me freestyle, understand that I don't know what it is I'll say, which makes me an audience of my own performance.
If supernatural beings affect our fate, I bet 1 % are good, 1 % are evil, and the other 98% are watching Supernatural TikTok swimming in the celestial pool of indifference.
I listen to news. I don't eat meat - but continue to eat seafood, and am conflicted. The algorithm of my life is constantly evolving, questioning, and criticizing my own stances.
It's hard. I've worked my ass off for the past 6 years developing media with a philosophical edge. Now I'm starting to get tempted by the idea of an 8-hour work day where I receive praises and raises for making the rich richer. And at some point, I won't be able to keep TweakedProductions.com moving forward unless it becomes the monetized engine it needs to be.
But, at least I will die knowing I championed an effort that may generate a wake of harmony in humanity.
But, then again, maybe I'll become a deathless cyborg.
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