Critique: Leo's video on the left is one of his worst...

[DocWatts]

@Epikur As regards the end of WW1, it's also worth pointing out that the revolution in Germany which toppled the Kaiser was literally one of the conditions for the Allies to start peace negotiations to end the war. The German military was close to collapsing by this point and millions of Germans were starving, so ending the war immediately was Germany's only hope of maintaining any degree of national sovereignty.

The alternative would have been a total military occupation of Germany, which of course didn't happen until the end of the next world war.

Unfortunately, this also had the unintended consequence of making it easier for the German military dictatorship to deceive the public that the primary reason Germany lost was due to being stabbed in the back by internal enemies.

This allowed German leadership to push conspiracy theories based on the kernal of truth claim that Allies troops never occupied German soil, in order to wash thier hands of responsibility for losing the war; unjustly transferring that responsibility for defeat to the new Weimar republic, which is one of the many factors that smothered it in the crib.

Edited October 26, 2022 by DocWatts

[DocWatts]

6 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@DocWatts Nice distinctions. Solid systems thinkin'.

You earn a Spiral cookie.

Thanks! Can't wait to ascend the flavors of my Spiral Cookie 

[trenton]

@DocWatts I have a lot of questions about how you learned all of this.

Are there books on politics that Leo should add to the book list? Do you follow sites other than actualized? Did you go to college and major in history, economics, or something else?

Did you take any online courses? Were they paid courses? What motivates you to do so much research? Should Leo make a video on how to do good research? I think he mentioned that a while back.

How do you get your news? I stopped following a lot of alternative news sources because they demonize way too much. In fact that demand for demonizing is so high that I could build voodoo dolls of republicans so people would practice dark magic on people like Donald Trump. I would be rich.

Another business idea I'm considering is building a university that points to the future of education. I would have to understand a lot more about the world for something like that to be successful. I like the impact of such an idea more than Trump voodoo dolls.

[Danioover9000]

@Phil777  Are you open to being conservative?

[DocWatts]

2 hours ago, trenton said:

@DocWatts I have a lot of questions about how you learned all of this.

Are there books on politics that Leo should add to the book list? Do you follow sites other than actualized? Did you go to college and major in history, economics, or something else?

Did you take any online courses? Were they paid courses? What motivates you to do so much research? Should Leo make a video on how to do good research? I think he mentioned that a while back.

How do you get your news? I stopped following a lot of alternative news sources because they demonize way too much. In fact that demand for demonizing is so high that I could build voodoo dolls of republicans so people would practice dark magic on people like Donald Trump. I would be rich.

Another business idea I'm considering is building a university that points to the future of education. I would have to understand a lot more about the world for something like that to be successful. I like the impact of such an idea more than Trump voodoo dolls.

Oh gosh, how do you summarize 5-10 years worth of learning and development in a few paragraphs? Well I'll give it the old college try.

I'm actually a software developer and artist, so while I did go to college, I'm self taught on %95 of this stuff. I would also recommend trying to become less reliant on Leo's vids and teachings over time, so that you develop your own path (Leo's content is great, but there's also things I disagree with him on, which is healthy and to be encouraged).

So I think at a Root level what helped me was putting effort into developing a handful of key areas: epistemology, sociological literacy, psychology, and mindfulness practices.

While I'll be happy to offer some recommendations for useful resources in those four areas I mentioned, it's important to note that for me at least it took a deliberate effort to develop more sophisticated forms of thinking over a period of years.

While reading books on each of these subjects is a great way to start, the eventual goal is to be able to embody this stuff as new ways of thinking. Even though this stuff will take some time to fully embody, don't let that dissuade you! Even a bit of sociological or epistemic literacy can go a long way.

Also don't try to cram this stuff, reading it at a resonable pace and engaging with it critically is what's important here.

Anyways, here are some resources to get you started.

(1) Epistomology - this of course refers to theory of knowledge, which in practical terms means learning methodologies and practices meant to assess the degree of validity for Truth claims in more sophisticated ways. Here are some books to get you started. I would call epistemology foundational because it's quite literally the foundation of all our other thoughts and beliefs about the world.

• The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn: will give you a more sophisticated understanding of the epistemology behind science, and is a great demonstration of how paradigms work
• Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff: explores epistemology by examining how metaphors structure our normal ways of thinking and interacting with the world. Is also a great resource for learning the Embodied nature of our minds.
• The Embodied Mind' by Fransisco Varella : explores the epistomic consequences of our minds being Embodied and embedded in an an environment. Deals with the ways that Reality is disclosed to human beings because of the types of creatures we are.
• Philosophy in the Flesh by George Lakoff : deconstructs bad epistomology of both enlightenment era philosophy and scientific reductionism
• Phenomology by Chad Engelland : introduction to a form of philosophy that builds epistemic awareness by paying very close attention to our direct experience. Has much in common with Eastern perspectives which emphasize mindfulness

I'll add more later in another post to keep this from turning into a novel.

While it may initially seem that this stuff is kind of esoteric and far removed from politics, I assure you that it will be helpful in giving you a strong epistemic foundation that will make it easier to approach other areas (such as psychology and politics) in more sophisticated ways. The end goal is to be able to relate to your fellow human beings in more complex and compassionate ways, and this foundation will be super useful to have in your pocket as you move on to sociology and psychology. At the end of the day you'll want to approach these subjects and politics from a Construct Aware perspective, which requires a solid foundation in epistomology.

Edited October 27, 2022 by DocWatts

[DocWatts]

@trenton continuing my earlier post. I'll also try to keep these other ones shorter and more curated.

(2) Sociology: in short, good sociology involves applying systems thinking to complex societal structures. Here are some good works on the topic:

• Sex, Ecology, Spirituality by Ken Wilber : Was actually debating whether this would be a better fit here or in the epistomology section, since it deals with both. Put it here because while Wilber's magnum opus deals with a wide range of topics, it's also one of the best resources you'll find for gaining a broad understanding of the various social paradigms that are active in our culture
• Guns, Germs, and Steel; Collapse; Upheaval by Jared Diamond : these three books are some some of the best social systems thinking you'll find that's still accessible enough for an average educated person to pick up and get value out of. If you pick up nothing else from this section, pick up Jared Diamond's works.
• The Listening Society and Nordic Ideology by Hanzi Freinacht: an introduction and articulation of metamodernism, which is an emerging socio-cultural paradigm that attempts to contextualize and find value in the cultural paradigms that shape society 
• A Theory of Justice by John Rawls : a landmark work of 20th century political philosophy, this book takes an extremely nuanced and thoughtful stance for how we should think about inequality and the distribution of resources in complex societies
• Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Podcast (Blueprint for Armageddon, Ghosts of the Osfront, Supernova in the East) : a podcast recommendation rather than a book! Dan Carlin does a great job of teaching 20th century history in a way that's highly informative and engaging. His great strength is being able to demonstrate a high degree of empathy for the various peoples and cultures that find themselves on different sides of a conflict.

Edited October 27, 2022 by DocWatts

[Mohammad]

I disagree with some of the points that Leo make in this series. But at the same time I learned something new. And I agree with some of the stuff he says. You just need to listen to Leo with healthy skepticism. He thinks he is always right, but he is not of course! In my opinion, he is right most of the time, at least much more than other people! But someone else can say the same about me or anyone else.

My point: yes, sometimes Leo is just wrong! He has an ego still, egos can be wrong, but that does not mean he is not a good teacher.

[Mohammad]

On 10/24/2022 at 4:10 PM, Leo Gura said:

Nothing I said contradicts that.

The world would also be better if we all drove hydrogen cars. But it ain't gonna happen in our lifetimes and it would be smart to understand why rather than whine about it and throw cans of soup like children.

Totally agree! I'm a vegetarian, but I also believe vegan community can be so stupid sometimes! Emotional and blinded.

See the big picture. Try to understand. Don't always judge in 10 seconds.

[trenton]

@DocWatts I listened to a couple of small clips from the podcasts. They were pretty amazing. The hopelessness of a meaningless death in opposition to a tyrant hits pretty hard when judging those who didn't oppose Hitler, Stalin, and other powerful people. Those who opposed the tyrants simply disappeared without expressing themselves.

If I compare this to what is happening with Putin, it is getting harder to hide this practice with the advance of technology. News stories about people falling from windows spread all over, news stations get cut off when they start criticizing Putin, the world wide web makes it easier to see through the lies and so on. It seems to be more obvious what Putin is doing than it was when Stalin was doing it. People are disappearing, but not without a trace.

At least I don't have a problem admitting that I would most likely be a Nazi if I were born in radically different circumstances.

[Danioover9000]

   For context, this is the video in question that's being complained about:

    What are your thoughts of the video though?

[King Merk]

All these leftists being triggered by Leo’s critics of the left are hilarious

Drowning in their own ideology

His two recent videos illuminating the limitations of the left were amazing extensions of his conscious politics videos 

Edited October 28, 2022 by King Merk

[Bobby_2021]

On 10/23/2022 at 4:35 PM, Phil777 said:

well as soy

Ew

On 10/23/2022 at 4:35 PM, Phil777 said:

get 600 calories of beef, you need to feed beef cattle approx. 24000 kcal of grain.

No.. they can feed off non arable grasslands or byproducts from food factories.

The inefficiency of meat production is only happening in third world countries. Meat production can be done extremely efficiently when done using good organisation. 

On 10/23/2022 at 4:35 PM, Phil777 said:

Furthermore, I get that people don't vote primarily on policy but on "vibe". Yes. But vibe is something that can change, it's so ethereal and it costs nothing. So to portray this misunderstanding as this unsolvable problem is not justified.

I agree to some degree. But this takes more work from progressives. Have progressive leaders say stuff like "we need to return back to the glory days" and then implement UBI. 

[King Merk]

On 23/10/2022 at 4:05 AM, Phil777 said:

Finally your analysis of vegans is simply laughable. You have no idea what you are talking about. Humans did not primarily live off of meat at all. If you had any idea about this topic you would know that. 

You saying humans haven’t primarily lived off of meat for the last 200,000+ years is simply laughable.

If you had any idea about this topic you would know this.

[Phil777]

15 hours ago, King Merk said:

You saying humans haven’t primarily lived off of meat for the last 200,000+ years is simply laughable.

If you had any idea about this topic you would know this.

@King Merk

They ate significant amounts of meat. Yes. But most of their calories came from plants. As a non civilized human, meat is essential to get certain micronutrients and enough protein. I give you that.

Today things are different as you can probably imagine.

[Phil777]

@Bobby_2021 come on, soy is great.

e.g. tofu is cheap, healthy, packed full of protein and not plastered with antinutrients and omega 6 like most factory farmed meats (about 98 percent of meat is low quality factory farmed garbage). It takes on whatever spice you stir it in. It's great.

Does it taste as good as a grass fed Ripeye? Nah, and that's fine.

Yeah, if you want what's best for the animal and for the consumer of it's flesh, it should eat grass and the byproducts of plant agriculture (leaves, stems etc.). And hey if you manage to efficiently do that, raising a happy, grass fed cow, amazing.

The reality is that 98 percent of meat is factory farmed, where they get nothing but soy and corn. I grand you they also eat parts of these plants that we humans cannot digest which softens the disparity I mentioned in my initial post significantly.

[Phil777]

@DocWatts thanks man. You are dropping some serious value in this threat. Will check out your book recommendations??

[Phil777]

@Danioover9000

Am I open to being conservative? 

In theory I am open to it. But I never really adapt conservative positions for a number of reasons.

I am interested in the truth and what gets me the best results for my goals and ambitions. For the first endeavour, radical open mindedness and non dogmatic thinking is a must so most conservative positions immediately collapse when looked at through this lens.

And when it comes to being successful and reaching my goals, being adaptable and evolving with immerging knowledge and technology is crucial. Conservatism doesn't really bring much to the table in the context of success and navigating an ever changing society and marketplace. 

In summary, I am open to it, it just naturally doesn't happen that I ever seriously adapt any conservative positions. The only time it may look like I am being conservative is when I am in opposition to "progressive" insanity like transgender females (biologically male) in sports competitions with other women.

The number one value of conservatism for me to polish the change coming from progressives, pressure test it and expose any bs. For example the DailyWire documentary "what is a woman" had some solid points and it exposed a lot of nonsense in the LGBTQ movement. 

[Gidiot]

@Thought Art yes the hamster wheel must turn and you must like it. Whether it’s important or valuable is useless haha what a joke, humanity is doomed

[abundance]

On 10/25/2022 at 10:19 PM, Leo Gura said:

If you wanna be practical here, you should take note that the excesses of the left have driven the right wing to near insanity, terrorism, and civil war. Yet you keep pushing. And you call that Tier 2? You keep pushing and you will get a fascist into office who will set us back 30 years.

Tier 2 is all about Spiral Wizardry, which is exactly what my video series demonstrated.

In a nutshell the problem with leftists is that they do not understand the need for Spiral Wizardry. That's it.

Violence and insanity has always been a staple of the American right.

While I agree that it is prudent to understand their worldview it isn't the job of the left to capitulate to their reactionary whims. The same people losing their shit over gays and blm are the same types of people who would have violently opposed the Civil Rights movements of the 1960's. 

 

[Leo Gura]

@abundance Not taking responsibility for polarization and conflict is a Tier 1 attitude. If you want to rise to Tier 2 you will have to take responsibility for such things and adjust your behavior.