Person holding one belief is more likely to hold another belief

Furthermore person holding one belief is more likely to connect with another person holding the same belief — and then to agree with them on some other belief

It’s quite astounding how similar two humans can become

 

The memetic inheritance of beliefs of others is a classical problem of conformism

We learn from those around us

The more of certain belief is around us — the more we are influenced by it

AND we don’t want to disappoint those around us either

 

The problem of RELATED beliefs is the problem of DEPTH and CRITICAL THINKING

You of course have certain criterion for taking on a belief, or not taking

It could be testing, it could be critique,

Or it could be relation to some other belief

It’s great if the relation is causal

It’s fallacious if relation is merely superficial — such as both of those beliefs sharing ideology, sharing the premise

If the premise is correct, and both those beliefs follow from it — then both those beliefs are correct

But if the premise is incorrect — then it might be (but doesn’t have to be) that BOTH those beliefs are wrong

But you won’t know

Because you didn’t critique the reasons for holding this belief. You just bundled it together with some other belief you held

 

And this is how MISCONCEPTIONS and MISINFORMATION and DELUSIONS can compound indefinitely

Compound for as long as the entity, meme, CANCER reaches such scale that it now kills it’s host

The host can no longer support it

The society can no longer support the dysfunction of it’s fragment

The society collapses, and has to rebuild

 

This is why we need diversity of opinions

So that any single perspective never settles too comfortably

Even if it’s a righteous one

No belief is perfect. No perspective is THE objective one. Therefore it is always ripe for improvement

Which is why we must suffer it being attacked, suffer it being slandered and desecrated and violated and roughened up

But if it’s good — it will prevail

But if it’s not good, not a useful model to guide individuals or society — then it will die out

 

And thank god we can trust competition to subject our comfortable beliefs to trial

We like our beliefs

But we like our BENEFITS more

You can’t always trust the man to abandon useless beliefs, not if he likes believing it more than he likes his life

But when incentive becomes compelling enough — you can trust most man to verify their beliefs and do what’s best for them

 

Indeed competition and cooperation is this unending tension, which must balance itself

Competition is the unilateral striving for the superior solution, superior outcome

Cooperation is the reconciliation of perspectives to exploit the synergistic potentialities

Sometimes one is more desirable, sometimes other

 

And thus when beliefs, dogmas, become a bit too homogenous — you can trust an equal reaction in opposite direction

The synergy of coming together with a common new approach to life and society has resulted in this energy, this movement — and that is now compelling a counterbalancing energy — which by definition must compete with it

The tension will rise

Potentially spiral out of control

Potentially be destructive to both sides

But what will be the aftermath?

Synthesis

A superior set of ideas

 

The process is of course faster if we’re all critical thinkers

If already on individual levels we test one another like fire tests gold

This typically doesn’t happen — and like-minded individuals bunch up — and eventually become uncritical conformists — and eventually the initial idea grows into a cancerous abnormality (as previously described)

But in a free society this force is counterbalanced by another

And they compete — for the ultimate synthesis of superior ideas

 

…FOR AS LONG as there’s NOT SOME HIGHER FOCE MEDDLING in the process

In any way favouring either side

Thus distorting this natural self-balancing self-correcting mechanism

If it exists — then the game becomes played at yet higher level

This higher force itself has now became ideological — and will have to be matched by another force

And the only problem is that the greater the scale becomes — the slower the self-correction is

The organism becomes bloated and ponderous and plodding and rigid

And the greater the scale — the fewer there are competing organisms, to subject it to stress and force it’s adaptation and evolution and self-correction

In such case it can take a very… VERY long time, before the correction, before the improvement.

 

Therefore individual is always the foundation

The ultimate flexible, adaptable, supple unit

If it doesn’t work on an individual level — it won’t work at scale

And this is why the best way to protect yourself from collective madness and mind-viruses is by being A CRITICAL THINKER, and A PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUAL

And this is ALSO the best way to actually make an impact on the whole