5 ms·

You might get lucky and someone will bend your ear about Terence McKenna and Machine Elves

warent 5y ago
Dismissing someone with a mind full of unique and creative ideas is generally a bad idea. It's okay to disagree but it's completely unnecessary for us to stand on an ivory tower staring down on people we don't understand
- okareaman 5y ago
  Another case where I didn't get my tone across - I admire McKenna and have listened to quite a bit of his stuff. He's close to being a genius if he isn't one. However, I didn't really sync up with the machine elve threads.
- anm89 5y ago
  Nothing in there says that he's dismissing McKenna in any way. Also you could make this claim about literally any person in any situation. Not all people are worth listening just because what they have to say is "unique". People who think vaccines are being used to implant microchips have quite the "unique" and creative perspective. That doesn't mean they deserve to be taken seriously.
- brailsafe 5y ago
  I don't know how unique the ideas that people put out in these conversations end up being
- sammalloy 5y ago
  > Dismissing someone with a mind full of unique and creative ideas is generally a bad idea As someone who smoked a joint with Terence, I can tell you why people dismiss him. He went totally over the edge with the "Timewave Zero" software nonsense. Aside from that, he was surprisingly pretty grounded.
TheAceOfHearts 5y ago
Terence McKenna would often say all sorts of crazy-sounding things but he never struck me as someone who took himself too seriously. Here's a short clip [0] which I believe perfectly captures his essence; at the end you can hear him laugh at himself and his story. Edit: I've enjoyed listening to many hours of Terence McKenna speaking, but I wouldn't recommend swallowing all of his pills. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHFC1BB2gOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHFC1BB2gOU
- mistermann 5y ago
  And also beautiful things: https://youtu.be/Q-J09gk0mJk https://youtu.be/Q-J09gk0mJk
- dorkmind 5y ago
  What is the Tao-drug connection? I feel like this is a case of Orientalism where Western drug culture is getting in the way of popular perception of Taoism, especially Chuang Tzu. Why aren't intellectual snobs trading in-jokes about Taoism and Zen and Mahayana Buddhism and the Diamond Sutra? It's like they ceded a huge swath of territory to the stoners, and for no good reason, I might add. Why is there no popular Taoist movement? Why was it marginalized in the hippie movement? Why did intellectuals allow the hippies to control the perception of Taoism? Chuang Tzu is just so fundamental. I can't see how you can go wrong adding it to a standard Western education. YOUR LIFE HAS A LIMIT but knowledge has none. If you use what is limited to pursue what has no limit, you will be in danger. If you understand this and still strive for knowledge, you will be in danger for certain! If you do good, stay away from fame. If you do evil, stay away from punishments. Follow the middle; go by what is constant, and you can stay in one piece, keep yourself alive, look after your parents, and live out your years.
  - 52-6F-62 5y ago
    Hippies are marginalized? I thought all of that movement has been more or less mainstreamed over the past forty years. This isn’t exactly Crowley’s England.
    - 5y ago

Dismissing someone with a mind full of unique and creative ideas is generally a bad idea. It's okay to disagree but it's completely unnecessary for us to stand on an ivory tower staring down on people we don't understand

okareaman 5y ago
Another case where I didn't get my tone across - I admire McKenna and have listened to quite a bit of his stuff. He's close to being a genius if he isn't one. However, I didn't really sync up with the machine elve threads.
anm89 5y ago
Nothing in there says that he's dismissing McKenna in any way. Also you could make this claim about literally any person in any situation. Not all people are worth listening just because what they have to say is "unique". People who think vaccines are being used to implant microchips have quite the "unique" and creative perspective. That doesn't mean they deserve to be taken seriously.
brailsafe 5y ago
I don't know how unique the ideas that people put out in these conversations end up being
sammalloy 5y ago
> Dismissing someone with a mind full of unique and creative ideas is generally a bad idea As someone who smoked a joint with Terence, I can tell you why people dismiss him. He went totally over the edge with the "Timewave Zero" software nonsense. Aside from that, he was surprisingly pretty grounded.

TheAceOfHearts 5y ago

Terence McKenna would often say all sorts of crazy-sounding things but he never struck me as someone who took himself too seriously. Here's a short clip [0] which I believe perfectly captures his essence; at the end you can hear him laugh at himself and his story. Edit: I've enjoyed listening to many hours of Terence McKenna speaking, but I wouldn't recommend swallowing all of his pills. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHFC1BB2gOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHFC1BB2gOU

mistermann 5y ago
And also beautiful things: https://youtu.be/Q-J09gk0mJk https://youtu.be/Q-J09gk0mJk
dorkmind 5y ago
What is the Tao-drug connection? I feel like this is a case of Orientalism where Western drug culture is getting in the way of popular perception of Taoism, especially Chuang Tzu. Why aren't intellectual snobs trading in-jokes about Taoism and Zen and Mahayana Buddhism and the Diamond Sutra? It's like they ceded a huge swath of territory to the stoners, and for no good reason, I might add. Why is there no popular Taoist movement? Why was it marginalized in the hippie movement? Why did intellectuals allow the hippies to control the perception of Taoism? Chuang Tzu is just so fundamental. I can't see how you can go wrong adding it to a standard Western education. YOUR LIFE HAS A LIMIT but knowledge has none. If you use what is limited to pursue what has no limit, you will be in danger. If you understand this and still strive for knowledge, you will be in danger for certain! If you do good, stay away from fame. If you do evil, stay away from punishments. Follow the middle; go by what is constant, and you can stay in one piece, keep yourself alive, look after your parents, and live out your years.
- 52-6F-62 5y ago
  Hippies are marginalized? I thought all of that movement has been more or less mainstreamed over the past forty years. This isn’t exactly Crowley’s England.
  - 5y ago