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>> I've been working on how to formulate that idea clearly for a while. It is a problem that goes well beyond physics. It's a really fundamental thing in psych

>> I've been working on how to formulate that idea clearly for a while. It is a problem that goes well beyond physics. It's a really fundamental thing in psychology. The solution is something like the destruction of the ego, and many people who push hard enough to be a PhD tend toward larger ego to start with. Meditation and practicing martial arts can help. Apparently psychedelics can as well. It's a real pain because if you try to tell someone their ego is preventing them from seeing things clearly... Well that's going to trigger the same problem. So yes, it's good to find ways to articulate the message so it can get through to those that suffer from it the most.

btilly 2y ago
The problem is that we need an ego to be healthy. Attempts to destroy it can wind up compromising your mental health. The first part of the solution is to be careful what's in your ego. See https://paulgraham.com/identity.html https://paulgraham.com/identity.html on this topic. See https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-ten-commandments-of-egoless-programming/ https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-ten-commandments-of-egoles... for how careful choices in what we value in ourselves, can lead to thinking better. This of course still leaves us with an identity. For that I've found that gratitude can help us deal with pain. And so targeted gratitude can help us avoid cognitive dissonance when we otherwise would be overrun by it. Sadly, neither skill is widely taught in our society.
- andsoitis 2y ago
  > The problem is that we need an ego to be healthy. Attempts to destroy it can wind up compromising your mental health. You only need to destroy it temporarily. When you do it using certain tools or techniques, it will reconstitute by itself once the effect of the tool or technique has passed. This temporary ego death can open your eyes without creating a permanent void where your ego used to be.
  - btilly 2y ago
    Anecdotally I've seen such claims, but have seen mixed results as well. I've also encountered people who clearly had an ego about how little ego they had. Yes, it was just as ridiculous as it sounds. I've never seen anything that looks like solid research on the topic.

btilly 2y ago

The problem is that we need an ego to be healthy. Attempts to destroy it can wind up compromising your mental health. The first part of the solution is to be careful what's in your ego. See https://paulgraham.com/identity.html https://paulgraham.com/identity.html on this topic. See https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-ten-commandments-of-egoless-programming/ https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-ten-commandments-of-egoles... for how careful choices in what we value in ourselves, can lead to thinking better. This of course still leaves us with an identity. For that I've found that gratitude can help us deal with pain. And so targeted gratitude can help us avoid cognitive dissonance when we otherwise would be overrun by it. Sadly, neither skill is widely taught in our society.

andsoitis 2y ago
> The problem is that we need an ego to be healthy. Attempts to destroy it can wind up compromising your mental health. You only need to destroy it temporarily. When you do it using certain tools or techniques, it will reconstitute by itself once the effect of the tool or technique has passed. This temporary ego death can open your eyes without creating a permanent void where your ego used to be.
- btilly 2y ago
  Anecdotally I've seen such claims, but have seen mixed results as well. I've also encountered people who clearly had an ego about how little ego they had. Yes, it was just as ridiculous as it sounds. I've never seen anything that looks like solid research on the topic.