Scientists use quantum device to slow chemical process by factor of 100B

It makes it very clear how society and its technology is being steered by the military. Most people are under the impression that scientists etc are free to decide how best to uncover truth. But no, this is not a free investigation - it is directed.

> You live in a highly curated society brought to you by, for an incredibly long period of time, military advances making its way into civilian life.

I agree. But the military is in service to money and power, just like everything else. They are there for specific jobs, including funding the technology they want.

> Because not being natural is kinda of literally the whole point of society itself: we removed ourselves from "the natural order of things" because that allowed us to kick progress into higher gear.

What "we"? What choices did anyone make? This is all forced behaviour.

> Especially since, and this is something people seem to forget, the US military actually works for the US. Unlike congress or the NSA, it doesn't give a shit about oppressing fellow Americans, it literally funds projects it knows will benefit progress.

Why would the military not be subject to the laws of money and power, as opposed to other agencies? None of these institutions are there for our benefit. They are there to control.

You might like the subjugation, and feel comforted by the fact some powerful force is running things, preserving you from all the fears they tell you are out there. Personally I would like to experience reality without the manipulations and orchestrations of all these governance institutions. This is also known as freedom. But then, people are so trained and invested in this nonsense, as if it was some sort of God, they would be unable to function if this strong guidance were taken away.

(To your very last sentence, I'd venture that kind of fees like the Socratic method :-)

But to the rest of the post, can you elaborate? Are you suggesting relaxing the skepticism / logic muscle and reaction for a while, and reading to see where it goes? I'd be willing to discuss that approach, though I'm also aware that's exactly what my cousin pishing deepak chopra keeps saying :-P.

In the finite time we have on this earth, how does one choose where and when to relax the filters, as opposed to saying "this is not bringing value, there are better materials to ingest?".

And the other context, which I feel we still haven't addressed is - lateral to whether there is any advanced and isolated value in reading Plato, do we really feel it's a good suggestion to get somebody introduced to concepts? I still feel there are way better ways to get somebody introduced to core ideas, and then advanced readers who want to zero-in, experience the original material and immerse themselves into context of the times (and the good / bad / ugly / archaic thay goes with it), can certainly choose to do so.

Thx again!