Since I have been on my Christmas Break, I have only just started getting back into the thick of my research. Thus, this week's post will be on a related interest of mine. Rationality and luminosity.
I have been attempting to find order from chaos within. I have always known myself quite well but there are times when, and I'm sure you will have had a similar moment, I have thought "What was I thinking?!" having just done or remembered something incredibly stupid or damaging. I have often wondered when I would get around to finding out. I started my path to luminosity through rationality when I began reading "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" by Less Wrong who took the pen name from the website which is "a collaborative blog devoted to improving the art of human rationality". From that website I discovered Alicorn who had written a series of blog posts about luminosity and a subsequent rational fanfiction of Twilight called "Luminosity" .
These encouraged me to really being to explore who I am and how I do things. To examine my motives and actions and be able to explain to anyone why I do the things I do and think the things I think. Living this way prevents one from lying to oneself in order to imagine they or the world around them is they way they want instead of the way it is. If you too want to explore this, I would suggest reading the stories first to understand what I means to live like this - to stand out because you refuse to gloss over the parts of reality you don't want. The world is chaotic but not really as irrational as it seems.
By saying "gloss over reality" here I don't necessarily mean in a politically active sense in fact I tend to ignore politics because every side glosses over their reality and never say what they really mean - even taking an opposition to politics means you a glossing over the reality that democracy has to please the masses; I try to take each case individually on merit instead of generalising. It could be as simple as packing a first aid kit in the car, not because you know you will need it on that trip but because you know that things happen and it is better to be prepared for the worst instead of saying to yourself "by packing the first aid kit I'm tempting fate and someone will get hurt so I shouldn't pack it" just like thinking that if you take an umbrella with you, it is more likely to rain, or by not going to the doctor, you're not really sick and the problem will go away by itself - twisted and irrational logic.
By accepting the reality that everyone gets sick at some time or another, that it will rain unpredictably in England and that people can get hurt doing the safest things, you can prepare for these realities and maybe avoid the worst.
This seems like a really great way to become more appreciative of who you are as a person rather than who you feel you should be presenting yourself as to others. I also approve of taking precautions, as opposed to succumbing to 'magical thinking'.
ReplyDeleteKeep up with the logical processes and rationality and you will progress with greater speed and clarity of purpose than a lot of other people.