I am Stupid: Recent Episodes
River M Kanies
Overcome nihilism and doomerism with an understanding of philosophical idealism. This framing requires fewer assumptions than standard physicalism/materialism, and provides more intuitive insight into some of life's greatest mysteries. Why is humility so important? Why does utopianism always seem to be dubious? Let's explore the limits of consciousness together.
Read my Essays on Substack: https://iamstupid.substack.com/
Connect with me on Twitter: @RiverKanies
My notes on the book "Rich Dad Poor Dad"
And on why I'm getting into investing, including probably real estate investing
What I've learned about intermittent fasting, and some other exercise/diet/supplement tips. I highly recommend Dr. Pelz's book 'Fast Like a Girl' for anyone curious about fasting, and especially for women who want to understand their hormonal cycle better
The last (and arguably best) Part of the book
though likely not the end of this series as there are copious appendices
Notes on Dr. Iain McGilchrists book 'The Matter with Things'
This is my new bible. I'm sharing these notes in hopes to encourage people to read the book, or dive deeper any specific topics of interest.
This is part 1 of the 3 part book, this is the beginning of a series of episodes
This is a conversation mostly about private family matters so if you're not in the family BUTT OUT!! Like what are you even doing here?? Skip this episode (lol)
My cousin and I discuss Satanism, death of a family member, femininity and masculinity, among other topics
Part two to the essay I got published with Essentia. Part one: https://www.essentiafoundation.org/simple-code-in-the-mind-of-god/reading/
The reading for that essay is ep 16
In this essay, I take the next step in inferring the philosophical implications of the ruliad by bringing things full circle through the lens of presentism
Solo episode where I review 3 of Dispenza's books
I'll be referencing his work regularly so this is meant to act as reference notes for future discussions
Video Version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntowztjf7EQ
Gabe on Twitter/X: @Gabeproulx
Gabe and River discuss topics related to idealism, consciousness, and the nature of reality. They explore River's paper on idealism and its connection to Stephen Wolfram's work, as well as Gabe's experiences with Kundalini awakening and his exploration of entropy. They discuss different perspectives on the Ruliad and consciousness, the nature of time and the past, and the value of embracing paradox and limitations. The role of chaos and order in consciousness is examined, along with the connection between information and relationships. The discussion also touches on the cyclical nature of materialism and the incompleteness of models. The relationship between quantum mechanics and consciousness is discussed, as well as the role of AI in the collective consciousness. The future of consciousness are also examined, along with the dream as a model of consciousness. The conversation explores the grand purpose of life and the practical implications of finding meaning and purpose.River's Work:CyberMonk App:iOS - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cybermo...web - https://app.cybermonk.art/android - [coming soon]
youtube timestamps (add 5 min to account for my intro):
00:00 Introduction03:30 River's Paper on Idealism and Wolfram's Work07:38 Gabe's Kundalini Awakening11:14 Entropy as an Artifact of Observers' Computational Bounds22:15 Reality: Exploring the Computational Space of all Conscious Experiences26:21 Computational Bounds and the Ruliad31:24 Observers Exist within the Ruliad as Perspectives33:19 Time as the Iteration through Permutations of Conscious Experience37:07 Photogrammetry as a Model of Models of Reality39:55 Seeing and Hearing in 2D, but Upsampling to 3D41:44 Embracing Paradox and the Value of Limitations43:54 Identifying not as the Query in the Infinite Database, but the Coder49:43 The Intersubjective Nature of Reality57:27 Ordering Chaos Through Dimensions01:00:36 Limits of Reductionism due to the Balance of Order and Chaos01:04:30 The Computational View vs. Reductionism01:06:52 Using Recursion to Colonize the Ruliad01:09:57 Quantum Physics as the Divine Spark01:13:16 Information and Models Must be Ordered Hierarchically01:23:14 The Trajectory of Consciousness01:25:48 The Role of AI in Consciousness01:31:05 Dreams Illustrate the Substrate Independence of Consciousness01:35:40 Assembly Theory01:37:55 The Learning Process of Reality01:41:54 Dreams as a Roadmap for the Future of Consciousness01:47:43 The Meaning of Existence01:51:28 The Death of Meaning, and Meaning on the Other Side of Nihilism01:52:45 Setting Collective Meaning01:57:37 Finding Meaning in Suffering02:02:03 AI as a Catalyst for Change02:07:51 The Only Free Will we have is what Perspective to Adopt02:12:32 Perspective is the Difference between Armageddon and the Millennium02:14:56 Polarities are Necessary02:15:51 Seeking to Catalyze Change for Others, Rather than Seeking to Change Them02:18:25 Embody Change Rather than Evangelize02:19:59 CyberMonk App02:21:22 Reality as a Conversation Between its Parts
My guest today is a proper idealist! Exploring this metaphysical territory on a journey not so different from my own... except the mormonism part lol
Guest: @Gabeproulx
Gabe's Essay on Essentia: https://www.essentiafoundation.org/entropy-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/reading/
Gabe's podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05o6YbgzEjs
Other Speakers: @tombomb666777 and @donaldsmann and some others chimed in
Original Twitter/X space: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1lPKqbEMEQwGb?s=20
Topics: AI heuristic imperatives, crypto governance, psychonaut adventures, aaaaand (drumroll) my super secret project to help people escape the psychological trappings of nihilistic materialism!
My guest today is a neuroscientist in training with an incredible personal story of healing through unconventional means, we discuss the connection between body and mind in the material realm as well as the metaphysical. Guest: The Lonely Pomegranate @MrX0000001 ; original rec: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1vOxwjbAlmvJB?s=20
many do not know that astrology is a neoplatonic model of the universe; and as such, it resonates with my metaphysics project for many reasons, guest @glassdelusions, original rec: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1YpKkwOoVXoKj?s=20
Guest @DiscoOrpheus, an absolute final boss. Consider this the season finale! Original rec: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1kvJpvrLBboKE ; relevant tweet thread: https://twitter.com/riverkanies/status/1702370464671105532?s=46
Bunch of random rabbit holes, some vague conclusions, mostly consensus on the importance of social capital (religious)
Further down the rabbit hole of exploring optimal governance possibilities, Original rec: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1ynJOaMZrVyKR , Guests: @PepeFisher @HDPbilly
Collaboration with @Sola_Requiem, Original Twitter/X space rec: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1ZkKzXYVOPyJv
Original recording available on Twitter(X):
https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1jMJgLkardkxL?s=20
skip to 1min 45sec in
@HDPbilly (his Twitter/X handle) joins me to discuss Curtis Yarvin's (aka Moldbug's) vision for a crypto-tech-empowered governmental system. You can read Yarvin's proposal on his substack:
https://graymirror.substack.com/p/optimal-autonomous-organizations
and he has more content on his original blog:
https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/2008/11/patchwork-positive-vision-part-1/
for crypto nerds we also mention Urbit, which it just so happens Yarvin is the original founder of: https://urbit.org/
Listen to the recording on Twitter(X):
https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1BRKjZwRMpLKw
Skip first minute and a half, spaces are live so it takes a minute to get started.
We discuss the opportunity to use idealism as the metaphysical foundation to develop a new ideology called Naturalism. We go deep into the implications of idealism. In the near future we will dive deeper into the space of possible ideologies and discuss the benefits of Naturalism in more depth.
Follow me and Meta:
@RiverKanies
@MetaPrime001
Other guests who joined in:
@DiscoOrpheus (co-hosts the sunday spaces aswell)
@HermesMercury20
If you follow us and get on twitter between 2-4pm Eastern time you can catch us in the weekly space (@SeveriansScar also co-hosts that)
James Rockmoore and Andrew Rozario join me to discuss Bitcoin, the the decentralized revolution, and related topics
Timestamps:
Sec 1 - 0:00:00 - introductions: journeys through theology and into Bitcoin
Sec 2 - 0:34:42 - what is money? Fiat vs BTC, what is the state?
Sec 3 - 1: 06:51 - separation of money and state, efficiency, crypto governance - links to OAO and patchwork below
Sec 4 - 1:42:17 - out-competing the state, AI dystopia
Sec 4.2 - 2:02:57 - (optional) musings and ramblings, speculation and betting
Sec 5 - 2:13:08 - security, why River doesn’t hold BTC yet
Sec 6 - 2:24:00 - the empire, crackdowns, geopolitics, the revolution
Guests Info:
James’ channel https://youtube.com/@freetheory
Andrew https://castinglifefilms.com/film/
Further reading for sec 3:
OAOs (optimal autonomous organizations) - https://open.substack.com/pub/graymirror/p/optimal-autonomous-organizations?r=1oifxr&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Patchwork: Re-imagining the state - https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/2008/11/patchwork-positive-vision-part-1/
Video Version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTQaFf7bwu4
This episode is simply the audio version of Dr. Zinner's interview with me, I encourage everyone to watch the video version and check out his YouTube channel
Dr. Zinner has done interviews with numerous well known intellectuals, including Gregory Chaitin, who is mentioned in this episode. Here's a link to Dr. Zinner's interview with Chaitin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht3jxGPhHo8&t=5s
Colin sits down with me to compare and contrast different perspectives on christianity ranging from fundamentalist to idealist. We go deep on topics such as eternal truths and the creation myth
Kastrup discussing christianity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc_W4dAgiGI&t=6082s
Uncle Wayne sits down with me to discuss what money is and how it works. We explore how money and power interplay in an inflationary/fiat system. We go pretty deep into understanding real estate in particular
Essay reading that can be thought of as pt2 or v2 for ep10 Emergent Idealism essay
Wolfram's explanation of the Ruliad: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2021/11/the-concept-of-the-ruliad/
Kastrup's interpretation of quantum mechanics through the lens of idealism: https://youtu.be/LQ5Jx-twm1Q
Thanks to Dr. Samuel Zinner for helping me out on this. Here's an interesting interview he did with Gregory Chaitin along a similar vain: https://www.youtube.com/live/ht3jxGPhHo8
Dr. Zinner unofficially approved my essay for publication, we'll see if the Essentia Foundation accepts this one
Christopher Scott Huffman joins me again. We discuss at a high level concerns with some of the progressive narratives, beginning to recognize some patterns that suggest sinister motives of the powers that be. Why is the family unit being attacked? Is the empire collapsing?
Part two of my conversation with Don, we discuss the work of Iain McGilchrist and related themes
Iain McGilchrist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-SgOwc6Pe4
Bernardo Kastrup's book on Carl Jung
https://www.bernardokastrup.com/2021/02/decoding-jungs-metaphysics-prelude.html
Don joins me to discuss why psychopaths rule the world
More information on what Don was referencing (channelling, higher dimensional beings, etc...) can be found at this link:
https://cassiopaea.org/
Lee Miller joins me for round two to discuss how and why the usage of words changes over time, and how that relates to the Moloch Problem. We must be able to see things from the point of view of those we disagree with most, and bridge the language gaps and the ideological gaps, if we are to defeat Moloch (the true enemy)
The Moloch Problem
https://youtu.be/VcVfceTsD0A
Max Tegmark explains in more detail the Moloch problem in various forms (with a focus on AI) and some of the ways humanity has managed to fight back so far
Pride is the Demon Seed at the root of all sin, but the temptation towards pride necessarily exists in all motivation. I go through the seven deadly sins and discuss how each relates to pride. I then discuss related implications and start to lay the groundwork for a number of future topics including the control paradox and the therapy problem
Reading of an essay describing my worldview as a form of philosophical Idealism, which I'm calling Emergent Idealism. I'm submitting this to the Essentia Foundation: https://www.essentiafoundation.org/
Curt Jaimungal interviewing Bernardo Kastrup on Analytic Idealism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAB21FAXCDE
Thanks again to my previous guest (Christopher Scott Huffman) for introducing me to Bernardo Kastrup's work!
Christopher and I compare and contrast various worldviews including: catholicism, fundamentalism, materialism, and my worldview... that doesn't have a name as far as I know... let's go with "Experiential Emergentism" for now
Christopher's site: https://www.artbychristopher.com/
Curt Jaimungal and Bernardo Kastrup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAB21FAXCDE
Erich Fromm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_from_Freedom
Julian of Norwich: https://www.amazon.com/Julian-Norwich-Showings-Uncovering-Revelations/dp/1642970360
My tech talk on cellular automata https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3mqchO3MM0
Lee and I compare and contrast the Jewish and agnostic worldviews with my worldview. We discuss finding meaning in suffering as an individual and as a people; and towards the end, we explore some interpretations of anti-semitism.
Auntie Tanya joins me to discuss pride, specifically intellectual pride with a focus on my struggles with it. We talk about how we can choose to "worship the God of Humility" and the benefits to that
In part two I dive deep into the insights we can draw from Aella's story and her worldview and how it relates to my work
Lex's Interview with Aella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFSrxSBrgSc
Timestamps:
- 0:32 - The God Button
- 2:05 - Emotion + Reason
- 3:10 - Beauty from Suffering
Book: The Will to Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Aella is a great case study for looking at the beauty and meaning to be found in a journey of overcoming hardship. If you find this interesting I dive deeper in part 2
Lex's Interview with Aella:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFSrxSBrgSc
Timestamps:
- 0:32 - The God Button
- 2:05 - Emotion + Reason
- 3:10 - Beauty from Suffering
I dive deep into the science of happiness and suffering. Hedonic adaptation is a concept I introduced in ep2 but didn't really explain. Understanding hedonic adaptation is core to understanding the utopian trap and ultimately to understanding my approach to confronting the current meaning crisis. This episode was done freeform, that's why it's so much longer than the others
My take on the symbolic worldview. I believe that by embracing a symbolic worldview we can overcome the materialistic worldview, and in doing so, we can beat the meaning crisis.
Luke Smith - He explains why he moved out of the city and joined an Orthodox community
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxozmaGISOI
Jonathan Pageau
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXnef2Ltklg
Song only: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5K0znZXIo4
Discussion of what utopianism is, why it is the standard in modern society, and why it inevitably leads to nihilism. Utopianism can take form on a grand scale, as with communism for instance; but it can also take form on a personal scale, as with alcoholism
This is a reading of an essay which lays the ground work for the language I'll be using and the approach I'll be taking in this podcast. I plan to do more freeform discussions and bring on guests in the future, but I'd like to lay some ground work first.