Would love to hear Daniel's thoughts on topics such as nuclear energy, permaculture & regenerative agriculture, the decay of fiat money, Austrian economics, anarcho-capitalism, The Sovereign Individual thesis and, of course, #Bitcoin... nostr:npub15vzuezfxscdamew8rwakl5u5hdxw5mh47huxgq4jf879e6cvugsqjck4um, nostr:npub1cqm6dztalp4l6n04f9k20c333xftgangjla337736dr6faz9na0qf2hjec, nostr:npub1gdu7w6l6w65qhrdeaf6eyywepwe7v7ezqtugsrxy7hl7ypjsvxksd76nak, nostr:npub1jt97tpsul3fp8hvf7zn0vzzysmu9umcrel4hpgflg4vnsytyxwuqt8la9y - maybe one (or more) of you guys could get him on your pod? I reckon getting Daniel + nostr:npub1s05p3ha7en49dv8429tkk07nnfa9pcwczkf5x5qrdraqshxdje9sq6eyhe both in on a discussion would be especially 🔥 👀
“Spiritual experiences are just clear perception; perception that is not totally distorted. In which, the interconnectedness of everything with everything else; and the uniqueness of everything, are both apparent.”
― Daniel Schmachtenberger
Source (a long podcast, but it's worth it):
https://youtu.be/LSx8j8lSewA?si=ocXdSFIoSHzyg0zq
#philosophy #spirituality
Discussion
I’d like to hear your thoughts on those topics. Those all seem like great interests and seeing them in one list I suspect you’re actively synthesizing something from the lot.
I haven't synthesized them all into one big thesis as such, especially since I haven't delved into some of those subjects (i.e. permaculture and regenerative agriculture) that deeply, yet. But here's something that sort of tries to "bridge the gap" between many of these topics (it is a WIP though and I haven't updated it in over a year):
https://medium.com/@mckontext/unified-creation-energy-theory-ucet-8814041ed94c
On a grander scale, I see the divide between the State and the Individual (or, perhaps, the Tribe) already occurring as per The Sovereign Individual and I do believe it will continue. I also think that these very small city states and/or tribes that may emerge in the near future would perhaps help bring accountability back to governance, as would a Bitcoin standard (which, in and of itself, is largely in tune with the Austrian views on economics).
I see anarcho-capitalism as being a "natural state" of the economy under these circumstances, towards which the system would evolve.
Nuclear energy would probably be a large part of how we could sustain ourselves with little to no negative externalities (but again, I'm not that well-versed on the subject).
Regenerative agriculture and permaculture, would, I hope, be ways of efficiently, healthily and sustainably feeding ourselves and also regaining the spiritual connection with the land, plants, animals.
The game-theoretical problem, i.e. the prisoner's dilemma, as Schmachtenberger puts it, is perhaps my biggest question mark. Can Bitcoin fix this? I'm not entirely sure. But I do think it can make a whole lot of difference in moving us in the right direction, at the very minimum. Fixing the incentives/money is one thing. Secondary effect of fixing the incentives is that people will be able to value what is actually valuable (their friends and family, nature, art, beauty, all of what is REALLY important, literally priceless). Another part of what Bitcoin fixes is that it moves the monetary premium (i.e. prices) that we have assigned to physical objects, land, shares, etc. into the digital realm, thus disincentivizing violence. When violence is no longer profitable (or at least as profitable), co-operation will become more profitable. An honest, public, immutable ledger for monetary transactions will help co-operation to occur in an honest manner.
But IDK. I'm certainly not immune to having biases and/or blindspots, which is why Schmachtenberger would perhaps be a great person to steelman an argument AGAINST Bitcoin. He seems to have a good understanding of the systemic mechanisms behind how the world works.
I reckon I'll have to give this episode another listen sooner or later to fully digest everything he's saying.
thanks for breaking it down. remember looking at your blog because of that diagram containing the zen symbol, always sending me back to my youth reading Hesse.
I do have some experience with permaculture although never seen anyone make even close to the money farming in this way than a one minute speculation in the Bitcoin market or other securities can close out. just vastly different time scales. supposedly the practice does produce better quality food and serve as a bridge environment to wildlife which theoretically could be captured in land value. It definitely is more labor intensive and lower yield while more diverse.
I’m fairly allergic to game theory as I was brought up with a family tradition that could be considered almost puritan regarding their view of gambling. The best deal being where everyone walks away happy to deal another day, while outsize wins are severely frowned upon while losses are expected to endure scrutiny.
The state being seen as an adversary rather than an arbiter only really denotes failure of function such is symptomatic with corruption and cronyism when I go to vote or think about policy proposals.
Hmm. I've never read Hesse. Might have to check him out.
Regarding permaculture: yeah, here's where the difference between prices and values comes into play...
Game theory doesn't really have anything to do with gambling (well, I guess it could, if you wanted to use it in that context). It does have to do with economic calculations though, as well as survival.
"Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents" - Wikipedia
you’ll most likely enjoy Hesse. was formative.
there might be a way to extract more value from permaculture than regular agriculture. one permaculture practitioner was able to command higher prices for his chickens once word got around and people asked for “the chickens that roost in trees”. this was such a novel descriptor that worked wonders for word of mouth marketing yet that is what chickens do if given the chance.
am familiar with the “rational agents” definition for parties engaging in game theory. though reasoning individuals make up a society and reasoning requires the exchange of information, even dialogue. game theory predicates on gambling on the opposing party’s ignorance to derive value or seeming advantage. this is my main issue of incompatibility with rational agents disrupting society for profit. it is very effective at accomplishing this with punitive measures inextricably imposed without a determination of guilt or innocence as in the prisoner’s dilemma. it’s the perfect survival strategy in a totalitarian system where the house always wins.
Yeah that's my basic idea regarding permaculture, quality and prices as well: in reality, a rational human being, granted a position where he can afford to choose, would rather go for the tomato that is maybe 5X the price but comes with the least amount of external costs, as well as higher nutrient density, rather than the tomato that is sprayed with pesticides and genetically modified to produce "yield" not nutrients per tomato... like, it's common sense, really.
The decay of fiat money only creates inorganic demand for such low quality "food" that we are all so accustomed to today. Real demand, under a truly capitalist system would look much different, I reckon.
Regarding game theory: yes, perhaps this is the biggest flaw with that sort of thinking, as well as with Schmachtenberger's points:
Yes, Earth is finite. There are many resources on Earth that are finite. HOWEVER, the energy that is out there, available for us to use and modify (in a responsible manner), is, for all intents and purposes - infinite - at least from a human civilization perspective. The Sun is infinite. Thermal energy is infinite. Nuclear energy also (probably) infinite. So in that sense, the "whoever cuts the forest down quickest wins because someone is going to cut down the forest anyway" argument doesn't really hold water anymore IMO.
great points. really enjoyed this discussion. much appreciated.
(to anyone else reading this, at least from my side, what I wrote were insights gained at that very moment thinking about these topics which I did not have possession of previously)
Same! Thank you for sharing your thoughts :)