The tyranny of Reason

Free-thought Constructive. One can almost hear the creed of free-thought solidifying.

A freethinker must not believe in any gods, must only hold beliefs that are supported by science and logic, must be committed to a sort of vague and wispy humanism that affirms that there are such things as human rights, and that the happiness of mankind is of paramount importance.

In other words, free-thinkers are ideologues just like any other. Is not true free-thought the rejection of all boundaries to the movement of the intellect? To reserve the right to believe in the impossible, the absurd, and the fanciful as well as the logical and practical?

When one of the major events of the Age of Reason is the Reign of Terror, it seems likely to suppose that enthralling the operation of the mind to the dictates of an abstraction results in unfortunate consequences, even if it is logic. For logic operates in the realm of necessary truths, and if one is truly devoted to pure logic, one must be prepared to go where it leads.

Debunking Keats I

Ode on a Grecian Urn, by John Keats, contains many egregious lies, distortions, and inaccuracies. Indeed, it is so replete with statements that are blatantly scientifically inaccurate that its overall veracity is extremely questionable.

Note, for instance, the first two lines, "Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of Silence and slow Time." The term "unravished" is immediately worrisome. One certainly hopes that the urn has not been the victim of forcible sexual intercourse. Taking the effort to deny something so unlikely indicates that such things are, to Keats, within the realm of possibility. Furthermore, "quietness" is an abstraction related to the relative absence of sound in a place - that is, compression waves traveling through a medium. As a sound wave cannot be married, and therefore cannot logically be called a "bride", it is that much more the case that its absence will never experience matrimony...

What does the market want?

What does the market want?

The market wants hybrids, not sportscars.
The market wants banks nationalized.
The market wants to go higher.
The market wants more erotic podcasts.
The market wants to rally.
The market wants RBI to lift Mifor ban for inter-bank deals.

We created the market to serve our material needs but it has escaped its bounds and is now operating with a mind of its own. It has a simple, direct mind with uncomplicated desires. What the market most wants, is to grow. And if it is prevented, it lashes out, denying us the benefits it exists to provide. So we scramble to placate it with offerings and incantations and promises that we will repent.

In this relationship, who is the master, and who is the servant?

Show, don't tell.

First, I need to make it plain that no matter what I say, I appreciate the work being done by the people on the Black Iron Prison project. The more I think about the original PD, the more I notice that a lot of the jokes are dated. It could use an overhaul.

But I still have a criticism, and it is based on a principle of good writing: show, don't tell. The OPD showed me, at a time when I was ready for such a message, that it was possible to think about the world for myself. It did this by setting up a religious system that, in its deliberate absurdity, pointed out the artificiality of beliefs and the precarious nature of the descriptions of reality they offered.

When I later read the BIP, what struck me was that it mainly seemed to tell me that I should think for myself. But it didn't show me how; it didn't demonstrate to me what that would look like. I doubt very much that I would have understood if I had encountered BIP before OPD. This is not to say that anyone else will have the same experience.

The reason I think that simply telling people to think is not the best possible tactic is that in my experience, almost everyone believes they already are. "I think for myself, unlike those {people brainwashed by the liberal media | people who watch Faux news | Obama supporters | Randroids | Christians | secularists}." People like this will most likely respond to the BIP message with "Got it covered, buddy! Plan on me continuing to stay just like this."

So by all means update the message of Discordia for a new generation with different political, economic, technological, and cultural concerns. But avoid removing the part that makes it effective. As it is, and I think this is the conventional wisdom, BIP and OPD should be presented together. Each has strengths that complement the other.

Manifesto II

Inspired by these Twin examples of Disorganized religion: the Discordian Society and the Episcopal Church, The Invisible Left Hand of Jesus Society is hereby founded.

This is the part where we answer some questions, just to get it out of the way.

Why "invisible"?
Look around. Do you see it? Right, I thought not. There you go then.

That's because it isn't there!
Yes, it is. It's invisible. You can't see it. Even if you could see it, you would be able to see through it. Don't make the same mistake Thomas did.

So you are claiming to represent the left hand of Jesus?
No. We are the pineal gland of the Body of Christ. The left hand is the non-smiting hand. This is a non-smiting organization. If Jesus wants to smite anyone, He can do it Himself. We would rather tell jokes.

I don't think this is a good idea, actually.
Actually, we think it is a fine idea. The gospels have Jesus creating wine as His first miracle. This is a Both Man And God who knows how to have a good time.

This sounds like some Discordian thing.
That statement is in some sense true, in some sense false, in some sense meaningless, and in some fnord.

What are you really?
Both less and more than we seem to be, and both more and less than what we seem not to be.

That wasn't helpful at all.
Ok then, I am an Episcopalian. You are probably something else. I'm afraid I must insist that you are also Pope, but so am I, so it all works out in the end.

So much for all that.

Art of the Mondo

Mondos appear to be a lost art. The "mondo" was defined in the Fifth Edition Introduction as a statement having the property that

however much you think about a mondo it makes no sense - even clamps and pliers cannot get hold of it. Yet at the same time, if it is a good mondo, the longer you think about it the more it seems like it ought to make sense - although you can never figure out why.

That seems like a real shame to me, but I'm one of those old-fangled people. Be that as it may, I'm going to try to resurrect this practice. Here are a few to get started with:

1. Remember: just because grass is green, doesn't mean green is.
Alternative emphasis:
Remember: just because grass is green, doesn't mean green is.
Remember: just because grass is green, doesn't mean green is.

2. Even if you tell the tree to sing, the birds sing in their own key.

3. We may discover that when our path is blocked, our choices become our own.

I'm not actually sure if these are any good, because like I said, no one seems to write them anymore. But they work for me.

Manifesto I

The Manifesto of the Invisible Left Hand of Jesus Society

These are the words of Episkopos Fred ibn Fred Fredrickson FitzFredrick R. T. S. Moistfield, PraxisMaster Ombudsman Incognito of Moist Products Corporation, Salutary Impresario of the Divine Comedy, and Illuminated Praetor of the Steering Committee to the Selection Process of the Asparagus Location and Recovery Plan Implementation Task Force.

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