Cassie Heart
@cassie
It's easy to dole out shibboleths and rally the troops with phrases a Markov chain can generate (I've even experimented with this to disturbing success), but a Markov chain can't write a business plan, wax philosophical about an issue, or speak from the heart
Derek Hall
@hderek22
Please @saymore Cassie
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John Hoang
@jhoang
⭐ Threadstarter
Why is it so easy to signal things like wokeness, left-leaning, or right-leaning, but so hard to signal the pursuit of meaning, building something that will last, or that you're a hopeless romantic?
Bias 🫧 b/ias
@bias
Widespread performances are easy to emulate
John Hoang
@jhoang
So true.
Trish🫧
@trish
Propaganda
dominic
@dominic
It’s hard to believe someone re: deeper emotions when you can’t see their face
Evan Hudson
@evan-hudson
Choice of headgear and accessories is key- for example, a beret and candelabra, or deep sea diving helmet and speargun will help you stand out from the crowd and find your tribe.
Good luck on your quest, fellow traveler.
czar
@czar
Audience
Ferj
@ferj
Political ideologies are easy to signal because all you have to do is speak the same language, share the same articles, and carry the same values of the desired in-group of your choice.
Embracing tribalism is just an easier way to develop our sense of identity, which influences what we end up signaling to the world.
John Hoang
@jhoang
Damn, this means we haven’t created a language for meaning. We don’t write articles because no one values meaning.
John Hoang
@jhoang
What do you wear?
Evan Hudson
@evan-hudson
“Your vibe attracts your tribe”
John Hoang
@jhoang
Haha love the tinfoil hat
moreReese
@morereese
I’d imagine it’s a theater vs drama thing (in a James Carse sense). The former has a script and is largely meant to be performed, with winners and losers, right and wrong. The latter is a present-moment, first-person experience that unfolds indefinitely.
moreReese
@morereese
True mainstream rhetoric is limiting wrt what can be expressed within the narrow confines of it. But IMO language is all about meaning. Written language in particular is one of the richest sets of symbols we have for sense-making, and, second to action perhaps, one of the primary means through which value is expressed.
Connor McCormick q/dau
@nor
I keep getting surprised by the epic wisdom and creativity of this giraffe
moreReese
@morereese
the compliment is much appreciated, thank you. i'm but a meager jiraffe on the internet acting as a memetic facade to an insecure, intellectually curious human irl trying to find their way and make meaning in this wild world. and, if i get lucky, make the world a better and more self-aware place while doing it.
John Hoang
@jhoang
I totally agree. We can create new words. I do think it’s difficult right now to express simply what it is that I find meaningful.
moreReese
@morereese
Have you tried capturing what you find meaningful in raw, stream-of-conscience words? Even if it comes out complex and seemingly incoherent?
fwiw, expressing simply what I find meaningful is one of the most challenging endeavors. Finding meaning and expressing it (especially simply) takes loads of courage and work.
John Hoang
@jhoang
Super interesting point! There is definitely a difference in the lived experience between these two mindsets. Maybe the signal can be found in that difference.
John Hoang
@jhoang
I started a few years ago, but I am still very much a beginner. My current idea is that the best vehicle to express what I find meaningful is through story.
Ben Adamsky
@ba
The former is easy while the latter takes work, and most people don't want to do the work (see "the man in the arena")
sean
@seanhart.eth
I guess the answer is finding a scenius.
moreReese
@morereese
Right on. That's great intuition (and probably worth following if it calls you). At the risk of sounding like a hack, story is how people have made sense of the world for thousands of years. Great stories are much more effective vehicles for communicating meaning than raw facts and data.
Bias 🫧 b/ias
@bias
Looks like there ain’t much difference between this jiraffe and my lowly little bias here
Evan Hudson
@evan-hudson
Stylish and functional
Cassie Heart
@cassie
What part?
John Hoang
@jhoang
Yea, but I’m having trouble with the format. I want to go for a participatory story rather than one that’s just passively enjoyed like watching a movie. A story that plays out in real time with something very real at stake. If this sparks any ideas, I’d love to know.
Maybe Im Wasabi〽️
@maybeimwasabi
To add to @morereese's point: life is ambiguous, confusing. Meaning and long-term views add to that ambiguity. Our little human brains want clarity, certainty, black and white - and so extreme views provide that direction many hopelessly seek in other parts of their lives.
John Hoang
@jhoang
This ties into something I’ve been watching. Our culture provides that clarity but it hasn’t yet adapted. Culture gets updated through the imitation of heroes or those that face the ambiguity.