3 ms·

At the time of this letter, Aldous Huxley was very into 'Animal Magnetism' and Hypnotism (read his novel 'Island' to see his utopian vision for such things). He

At the time of this letter, Aldous Huxley was very into 'Animal Magnetism' and Hypnotism (read his novel 'Island' to see his utopian vision for such things). He seems to somewhat overrate their potence. 65 years later Animal Magnetism is long forgotten and hypnotism is slightly helpful for giving up smoking or being a bit less angry. I feel sorry for past thinkers who could only stumble upon ideas from books and digest them one at a time, rather than instantly find the history and connections and evidence and counter-arguments for an idea as we can now.

monochr 12y ago
Yes, what a horrid fate to have the weeks and months needed to think ideas through. How horrible to go to a library to find what you need. The sheer inhumanity of going 20 minutes without compulsively checking a glowing screen because you feel restless.
- thekingofspain 12y ago
  This comment is equally useful as its predecessor!
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- codeulike 12y ago
  Yes, what a horrid fate to have the weeks and months needed to think ideas through. Thing is, thinking ideas through on your own sometimes doesn't help much. For ideas to really develop, they need dialogue, and experimentation and evidence, and for people to communicate with each other. IMHO People who are left to think about things on their own for too long can become defensive and obsessed with their own ideas and end up in dead ends, like Huxley did with his ideas about drug-enhanced hypnotism. The internet is like a Large Hadron Collider for Ideas. How horrible to go to a library to find what you need. Well, frankly yes I find the notion of going to a physical location to find out simple bits of knowledge pretty horrible. You really shouldn't underestimate the immense potential we now have to access knowledge very quickly. Its fashionable to disparage it but frankly I think its a wonder of the modern world. The sheer inhumanity of going 20 minutes without compulsively checking a glowing screen because you feel restless "Haha they made a handheld device that contains all human knowledge and now we make fun of each other for looking at it too much" https://twitter.com/Arr/status/309565153924505601 https://twitter.com/Arr/status/309565153924505601

monochr 12y ago

Yes, what a horrid fate to have the weeks and months needed to think ideas through. How horrible to go to a library to find what you need. The sheer inhumanity of going 20 minutes without compulsively checking a glowing screen because you feel restless.

thekingofspain 12y ago
This comment is equally useful as its predecessor!
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
codeulike 12y ago
Yes, what a horrid fate to have the weeks and months needed to think ideas through. Thing is, thinking ideas through on your own sometimes doesn't help much. For ideas to really develop, they need dialogue, and experimentation and evidence, and for people to communicate with each other. IMHO People who are left to think about things on their own for too long can become defensive and obsessed with their own ideas and end up in dead ends, like Huxley did with his ideas about drug-enhanced hypnotism. The internet is like a Large Hadron Collider for Ideas. How horrible to go to a library to find what you need. Well, frankly yes I find the notion of going to a physical location to find out simple bits of knowledge pretty horrible. You really shouldn't underestimate the immense potential we now have to access knowledge very quickly. Its fashionable to disparage it but frankly I think its a wonder of the modern world. The sheer inhumanity of going 20 minutes without compulsively checking a glowing screen because you feel restless "Haha they made a handheld device that contains all human knowledge and now we make fun of each other for looking at it too much" https://twitter.com/Arr/status/309565153924505601 https://twitter.com/Arr/status/309565153924505601