If you haven't already, watch Black Mirror on Netflix. It does a good job (I think) of taking these kinds of questions and applying them to our technology-riddled near future. In one episode, people can choose to have their consciousness saved in the "cloud" and literally have their mind live on after their body dies. Very good series imho.
Tom Davison Yeah! The episode isn't as pessimistic as the movie though, it's actually really heartwarming. Probably the best one of the series. But I don't want to spoil it! lol I recommend you watch the series when you get a chance. :)
The Internet, connects people, which facilitates friendships and shares ideas. We can now have friends the world over with the greatest of ease. Waging war and other such things will become as unthinkable as bombing the people a block from our house. We must, as always, use good judgement and stand strong against evil.
This is what I think is the absolute best thing about the internet, it's why 'internet freedom' is so imperative to maintain although with giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon etc gaining such a influence, things could well become insidious.
I attempted to compose a speech regarding the current state of American education and what is not working for the millennial generation and the current one when it comes to the classroom-feeling out where the lack of empathy is occurring and where the disconnects lie considering the rising statistics of depression, anxiety and lack of wellbeing for school students; I thought maybe that I would have a few, direct bullet points, and quickly realized that there is so much to consider when discussing these concerns, as there are new ones with each generation, and that many are observed and even recycled. However, I came to the conclusion that the millennial generation, particularly within the last ten-fifteen years has witnessed something completely unique, and that has been baring witness to this reliance and use of technology. (I personally, literally saw this illustrated and played out in a classroom: chalkboards being used in my first years in grade school, moving to white boards, to overhead projectors in middle school. By the time I was graduating high school, most every student had a smart phone in their hands.) I was so glad to check in the other day to hear you explain the idea that the world has not taken one second to consider how this has affected the human experience. This was the exact sentiment that I drew for this speech, declaring that this process has undoubtedly borne influence, whether it be positive or negative, and that there, unfortunately, has not been an investigation into this so much, because this has largely been taken to as apart of life; it's been a re-wiring. I concluded that it might be dangerous for us to not consider these things and to take a step back...the idea that the well being of students may be declining is a sign that we are maybe taking care of work before we are taking care of one another. I could not leave out this component when I was considering the experience that students have had in the recent years. This is a very, very important conversation; awesome upload.
There's an israeli playwright who wrote on the subject. He referred tv because it was like 30 years ago. But i remember watching the play a teenager and it stuck with me.
Tom. I enjoyed this. Just my opinion... The internet is a double-edged sword, a powerful technological tool which might cause negative and positive results. The success, in usage, is to maintain a healthy balance with real-time management. Escapism is a pit-fall for some individuals which put them into a continuous loop, which might cause a type of addiction. (A kind of Plato's Cave) I feel one should strive to maintain human contact with people, place or things. 'No man is an island.' Meaning. Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others.
To me, Plato's cave in it's simplest form is representative of how our reality is shaped and defined by the information available to us. If you use the news media as a lense to examine this idea, it's really incredible how much that basic principle governs our lives. Have you ever read anything by Noam Chomsky? It's actually very relatable to what you were saying in this video, particularly about how society can be ruled by the one controlling the illusion or the shadows on the wall. When talking about the internet, which is such a massive creature, I actually think Plato's cave is especially comparable to social media, because as many of us know, social media has a way of creating an echo chamber of values and beliefs that can be extraordinarily misleading. So what you perceive as a general snapshot into social thought and opinion are actually just shadows on the wall, with little correlation to the reality outside of the cave. I think looking at it more broadly, there are also simple things we have been taught to value because our culture or society values them. An easy example would be aspirations like getting a good job or finding 'the one', but also on a super basic level, the very things that are considered 'normal' and so never really get scrutinised. Sometimes I sit back and think, wow. Why DO we do this? These are another form of shadows on the wall; we've accepted them without ever having consciously really scrutinised them. I love the esoteric of the cave being like the human consciousness. Everything we've ever observed about human discovery throughout history fits in with Plato's conception of those humans within the cave. It seems people aren't capable of easily assimilating radical changes to their reality; it's been the cause of outright war, suppression of information and other forms of social control. But I do firmly believe that there is more beyond the realms of our reality that we can currently comprehend, so as much as it's within my power to stay open, I will. Love philosophical Thursdays! Apologies for the essay :)
when I was in year 4 and still didn't know I was a infj I found out that I had a talent in philosophy I was able to point out things others couldn't two years later when I was in year 6 I was selected to enter a group with some of my other class mates to do philosophy in this group we did a starter which was labeling furniture this sparked a debate when I asked but what is a chair you can sit on a table so is a table a chair this resulted in me walking to the nearest table and sitting on it to prove my point that was one of my faverote memories from year 6 as I still do have a passion for philosophy despite it not actually being on the high school curriculum meaning I haven't had many discussions with my classmates about it.
I also want to say the last time I said something slightly philosophical in school ( if being a sheep is following trends and not being a sheep is a trend by not being a sheep are you in fact a sheep) my English teacher said that s to meta I also said this when we where discussing fables and there morals because that's what every person who was 12 at the time should of done. =p
Hi Tom, thank you for the wonderful interesting topic. I read some of the comments and it just makes you realise that reality is relative. I think people can't seem to get that. But it's a really thought provoking topic you talked about. Thank you, I look forward to your future "philosophical Thursdays" and other videos. :)
I think platos cave example was to illustrate that humans are creatures of habit and perception. That we stick to what we use to and choose comfort over the unknown . When someone challenges our way of life that puts us in painful cognitive bias we subconsciously use any means to obliterate the thought instead of entertaining . Bc it's painful to keep to conflicting thoughts within ur head at one time
That's interesting! but it depends on how you define reality... Internet discussions, online financial transactions and CZcams videos are made by real people and can affect our lives and what we call our reality.
I think we are all one having a human experience. Too many people are caught up in their personal reality to see the bigger picture. I can sense that some of society is waking up to the false narratives and dangers to our health/wellbeing. When I go out in public everyone is on their phone and you can see children having the same type of behavior. There are positive and negative things about technology for sure. Sooo many people rely on technology for everything now. Imagine if it all went away overnight, how would society be able to function?!
This is interesting! Great analogy. If the internet is platos cave then the countryside is socrates playground 😊. The basics remain always.. philosophy is the ability to look beyond the tangible. We also tend to associate a lot of meaning to things and lose the fact that it goes back to basic principles.
Glad other infj's are in to philosophy! I have had this exact thought for a while, it seems fitting to the Cave since the internet literally is moving images on a wall (screen). It is equivalent to looking at a map and thinking you have experienced the terrain - surely no pictures/video/VR are equivalent to existence in the real world? Even if the experience can be recreated, you are not *there* physically. It internet is not even a social experience, I question: if everyone on the internet was an advanced computer program (that could pass the Turing test) and I was the only human would my experience be any different to how it is now? (perhaps fewer videos, unless you are a bot Tom?!)
I miss these videos Tom
If you haven't already, watch Black Mirror on Netflix. It does a good job (I think) of taking these kinds of questions and applying them to our technology-riddled near future. In one episode, people can choose to have their consciousness saved in the "cloud" and literally have their mind live on after their body dies. Very good series imho.
Cool, wasn't there a Johnny Depp movie with a similar story line, Transcendence?
Tom Davison Yeah! The episode isn't as pessimistic as the movie though, it's actually really heartwarming. Probably the best one of the series. But I don't want to spoil it! lol I recommend you watch the series when you get a chance. :)
The Internet, connects people, which facilitates friendships and shares ideas. We can now have friends the world over with the greatest of ease. Waging war and other such things will become as unthinkable as bombing the people a block from our house. We must, as always, use good judgement and stand strong against evil.
This is what I think is the absolute best thing about the internet, it's why 'internet freedom' is so imperative to maintain although with giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon etc gaining such a influence, things could well become insidious.
I attempted to compose a speech regarding the current state of American education and what is not working for the millennial generation and the current one when it comes to the classroom-feeling out where the lack of empathy is occurring and where the disconnects lie considering the rising statistics of depression, anxiety and lack of wellbeing for school students; I thought maybe that I would have a few, direct bullet points, and quickly realized that there is so much to consider when discussing these concerns, as there are new ones with each generation, and that many are observed and even recycled. However, I came to the conclusion that the millennial generation, particularly within the last ten-fifteen years has witnessed something completely unique, and that has been baring witness to this reliance and use of technology. (I personally, literally saw this illustrated and played out in a classroom: chalkboards being used in my first years in grade school, moving to white boards, to overhead projectors in middle school. By the time I was graduating high school, most every student had a smart phone in their hands.)
I was so glad to check in the other day to hear you explain the idea that the world has not taken one second to consider how this has affected the human experience. This was the exact sentiment that I drew for this speech, declaring that this process has undoubtedly borne influence, whether it be positive or negative, and that there, unfortunately, has not been an investigation into this so much, because this has largely been taken to as apart of life; it's been a re-wiring. I concluded that it might be dangerous for us to not consider these things and to take a step back...the idea that the well being of students may be declining is a sign that we are maybe taking care of work before we are taking care of one another. I could not leave out this component when I was considering the experience that students have had in the recent years.
This is a very, very important conversation; awesome upload.
There's an israeli playwright who wrote on the subject. He referred tv because it was like 30 years ago. But i remember watching the play a teenager and it stuck with me.
THANK YOU. This was so inspiring!!
Tom. I enjoyed this. Just my opinion... The internet is a double-edged sword, a powerful technological tool which might cause negative and positive results. The success, in usage, is to maintain a healthy balance with real-time management. Escapism is a pit-fall for some individuals which put them into a continuous loop, which might cause a type of addiction. (A kind of Plato's Cave) I feel one should strive to maintain human contact with people, place or things. 'No man is an island.' Meaning. Human beings do not thrive when isolated from others.
this was sick. I wanted to write my thesis on Plato's allegory of the cave and the holographic universe (simulation hypothesis) for a bit.
To me, Plato's cave in it's simplest form is representative of how our reality is shaped and defined by the information available to us. If you use the news media as a lense to examine this idea, it's really incredible how much that basic principle governs our lives. Have you ever read anything by Noam Chomsky? It's actually very relatable to what you were saying in this video, particularly about how society can be ruled by the one controlling the illusion or the shadows on the wall.
When talking about the internet, which is such a massive creature, I actually think Plato's cave is especially comparable to social media, because as many of us know, social media has a way of creating an echo chamber of values and beliefs that can be extraordinarily misleading. So what you perceive as a general snapshot into social thought and opinion are actually just shadows on the wall, with little correlation to the reality outside of the cave.
I think looking at it more broadly, there are also simple things we have been taught to value because our culture or society values them. An easy example would be aspirations like getting a good job or finding 'the one', but also on a super basic level, the very things that are considered 'normal' and so never really get scrutinised. Sometimes I sit back and think, wow. Why DO we do this? These are another form of shadows on the wall; we've accepted them without ever having consciously really scrutinised them.
I love the esoteric of the cave being like the human consciousness. Everything we've ever observed about human discovery throughout history fits in with Plato's conception of those humans within the cave. It seems people aren't capable of easily assimilating radical changes to their reality; it's been the cause of outright war, suppression of information and other forms of social control. But I do firmly believe that there is more beyond the realms of our reality that we can currently comprehend, so as much as it's within my power to stay open, I will.
Love philosophical Thursdays! Apologies for the essay :)
What was Plato’s religion and worldview?
when I was in year 4 and still didn't know I was a infj I found out that I had a talent in philosophy I was able to point out things others couldn't two years later when I was in year 6 I was selected to enter a group with some of my other class mates to do philosophy in this group we did a starter which was labeling furniture this sparked a debate when I asked but what is a chair you can sit on a table so is a table a chair this resulted in me walking to the nearest table and sitting on it to prove my point that was one of my faverote memories from year 6 as I still do have a passion for philosophy despite it not actually being on the high school curriculum meaning I haven't had many discussions with my classmates about it.
I also want to say the last time I said something slightly philosophical in school ( if being a sheep is following trends and not being a sheep is a trend by not being a sheep are you in fact a sheep) my English teacher said that s to meta I also said this when we where discussing fables and there morals because that's what every person who was 12 at the time should of done. =p
There are some 7 billion caves and a different light show in each one
Hi Tom, thank you for the wonderful interesting topic. I read some of the comments and it just makes you realise that reality is relative. I think people can't seem to get that. But it's a really thought provoking topic you talked about. Thank you, I look forward to your future "philosophical Thursdays" and other videos. :)
I think platos cave example was to illustrate that humans are creatures of habit and perception. That we stick to what we use to and choose comfort over the unknown . When someone challenges our way of life that puts us in painful cognitive bias we subconsciously use any means to obliterate the thought instead of entertaining . Bc it's painful to keep to conflicting thoughts within ur head at one time
love this. keep going with these, if you want to.. I think about these things sometimes. But I drive myself crazy and force myself out of the cycle
That's interesting! but it depends on how you define reality... Internet discussions, online financial transactions and CZcams videos are made by real people and can affect our lives and what we call our reality.
I think we are all one having a human experience. Too many people are caught up in their personal reality to see the bigger picture. I can sense that some of society is waking up to the false narratives and dangers to our health/wellbeing. When I go out in public everyone is on their phone and you can see children having the same type of behavior. There are positive and negative things about technology for sure. Sooo many people rely on technology for everything now. Imagine if it all went away overnight, how would society be able to function?!
I think defining our relationship to technology could well be the defining question of our time.
This is interesting! Great analogy. If the internet is platos cave then the countryside is socrates playground 😊. The basics remain always.. philosophy is the ability to look beyond the tangible. We also tend to associate a lot of meaning to things and lose the fact that it goes back to basic principles.
Glad other infj's are in to philosophy! I have had this exact thought for a while, it seems fitting to the Cave since the internet literally is moving images on a wall (screen).
It is equivalent to looking at a map and thinking you have experienced the terrain - surely no pictures/video/VR are equivalent to existence in the real world? Even if the experience can be recreated, you are not *there* physically.
It internet is not even a social experience, I question: if everyone on the internet was an advanced computer program (that could pass the Turing test) and I was the only human would my experience be any different to how it is now? (perhaps fewer videos, unless you are a bot Tom?!)
Tom, my roommate and I are both INFJs and would love to chat with you sometime!