451–460 of 539 posts
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It's better to believe this because it motivates to practice but it's definitely more nuanced than claiming there is no innate talent.
Any sources to explore the nuances ?
I would also suggest going through the references that they use in Peak and understanding the samples they use to extrapolate from.
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> Nihilism then?”. The Bible unabashedly says “yes, if you don’t have God” I am not trying to argue theology here, just giving another perspective. I was raised an an observant Catholic household, and I went every week from ages 5-19 and missed only a few times due to illness. But I never believed, I just don't have a spiritual bone in my body. None of what you quoted from Solomon about the impermanence of our materi…
> It is a colossal failure of imagination to think that without God people must believe nothing matters. I haven't ever talked to an unbeliever who believes nothing matters, though I've heard of nihilist philosophers. I suspect non-philosophers who believe in nihilism usually have something from which they're trying to escape; they're not being honest with themselves. Of course each moment matters - it's a time of li…
This kind of quite literally holier-than-thou pretension is a large reason why, despite being raised religious, I want nothing to do with it today. Especially Christianity.
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I’ve not read Atomic habits, but keep hearing it recommended. If it is appropriate for me to ask, how do you distinguish the motivation derived from the book and that from 3 days in hospital with extremely high blood pressure? I live with a fear of hypertension because of genetics. My diet and exercise (what I can control) is at front of mind and so far so good, but my high level of motivation is driven by knowing wh…
The book isn't about motivation, it's about steps that you can take that make creating new habits easier. In fact, the book tells you that motivation wanes quickly and we need to force ourselves to create determination instead
[0] https://www.worldcat.org/title/parable-of-the-sower/oclc/125...
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Going to assume that your use of "briefly" there is preceding your attempt at a short synopsis, rather than that your views have shifted again. Personally I'm depressingly cynical when it comes to Pinker's views, looking at, e.g., https://twitter.com/robinhanson/status/1496685550241292293 and then thinking about how now, given modern weaponry one man's decision could basically destroy all life on earth. A few billion…
Please tell me the chart in that twitter thread adjusts for deaths per capita. It looks like it doesn't.
Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid Introduced me to the beauty of logic and its limits. Also gave me solid mathematical thinking foundations. Pro tip: Try listening to Bach while you read about Bach.
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> It is a colossal failure of imagination to think that without God people must believe nothing matters. I haven't ever talked to an unbeliever who believes nothing matters, though I've heard of nihilist philosophers. I suspect non-philosophers who believe in nihilism usually have something from which they're trying to escape; they're not being honest with themselves. Of course each moment matters - it's a time of li…
“I suppose for those who consciously or subconsciously know they're guilty of sin, the idea of annihilation is far preferable to facing judgment for their sins in the past, so I can see how atheism would be an attractive option, ultimate meaninglessness notwithstanding.” This kind of quite literally holier-than-thou pretension is a large reason why, despite being raised religious, I want nothing to do with it today.…
Could you elaborate? I certainly didn't mean to imply I'm any better than someone in the position I described. I'm as much guilty of sin as anyone else.
I don't think it's pretentious either to say that all have sinned in some way or another. As Solzhenitsyn writes, the line between good and evil runs right through every human heart -- all are capable of great good and great evil.
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Personally for me Fountainhead by Ayn Rand was transformative. Creators need to be respected and identified. Great Leaders often have this knack of reading people and using them appropriately.
For me Fountainhead was not about leadership, Roark is not really a leader, right? That is more Dagny in Atlas Shrugged. For me Fountainhead is about that line where he doesn’t care about the honor or money of having build that housing project, it’s about him having build that housing project. And about staying true to yourself, and knowing who that self is. It’s about not just being accepting but being proud of your…
First and foremost: The Bible. Not the watered down "everybody goes to heaven" theology that most people subscribe to, but rather an evidence based approach that uses the Bible to interpret itself as it was designed to do. Secondarily, this book saved my life in the sense that it helped me understand my depression, a clinical depression so deep that my psychologist had never seen such a thing previously: Get Out of Y…
Love there's a passionate discussion/touch point about the Bible on this site. For anyone interested, biblehub.com is a tremendous resource to help deep-dive themes, passages, words, etc...
They have great commentary, beautiful artwork and are high quality overall. Leaving the link here for anyone interested: https://www.wordonfire.org/bible/#volumeii
Word of caution: if you are an Atheist, please remember that the Bible is a religious text, many verses are in parables and should not be taken literally. It is not a scientific textbook or a historical one either. It is also a _collection_ of books called the Canon. You must read it with an open heart and mind to get the most out of it!