The Psychology and traits of a Sociopath

A Sociopath is simply someone with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). These are a set of individuals who find it nearly impossible to empathize or sympathize. With very little conscience and a lack of understanding of the feelings of others, they are comfortable perpetuating harm to others, playing mind games and displaying extremely negative behaviors unscrupulously and without any form of guilt. This has led many to believe the Sociopath has a deformed or smaller sized Amygdala (an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain’s medial temporal lobe and shown to play a key role in the processing of emotions) like the Psychopath. This is certainly not true. Still in comparing the Sociopath with the Psychopath, think of it this way: you know how both the Sociopath and the Psychopath are heartless? It turns out the Sociopath is the good one.

According to the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-5), people with ASPD engage in very aggressive behaviors without remorse, and may even harm themselves in the process without care or concern for their safety. This disorder can hardly be diagnosed during childhood until the individual is around the ages of 15 to 18, this is when a full and conclusive diagnosis can be made. Yet, during childhood, the little Sociopath may be prone to deceits and manipulation of peers and parents, incessant lying, bullying, killing and maiming of animals and pets for fun, etc, nevertheless, full diagnosis can only be done much later.

However, certain traits are often used in spotting a Sociopath. One of them is the fact that they usually deal in extremes. They exhibit extreme behaviors like dominance, charm, charisma, etc, which feels a bit unsettling and even slightly scary. Also, when these individuals watch someone else being harmed, say in a movie or real life, they feel neither compassion nor sympathy for the victim(s); instead they just may find humor in this and a sick twisted form of pleasure that stamps an ironic smile on their faces. Coupled with this, is the extremely positive or negative words they say.

On the ‘positive’ side, they make lofty promises and tell you how you are the ‘best thing in their life’, and how they will ‘always’ do this and that for you. They often assume an overly optimistic, enthusiastic and vivacious attitude. All to these are aimed at making their victims fall for their tricks or fall in love with them. This gives them a sense of control and dominance.

On the ‘negative’ side, they say extremely harmful things to hurt you. While other people may insult you, they will hit below the belt. Poking holes at your very insecurities, they say words that cut like a knife. Everything is a weapon: secrets shared in confidence, your greatest fears and insecurities, are weaponized and used as verbal assorts to cause maximum pain with no remorse.

Furthermore, Sociopaths display extreme behaviors like inflicting serious harm for revenge; sometimes for pleasure. In their laughter and smiles, you sense something malicious and slightly evil. They can also be extremely charming and witty. This is often how they sucker people into their snares and manipulate them into gaining their trust or confidence in a business deal or relationship. They can easily move from showering you with flattery and high praise, to dishing out verbal, physical and emotional assault in one sitting as soon as agitated and at the end of the day, find a way to blame it all on you. Note that while a normal individual may do this as a result of provocation, the Sociopath will do this without any sense of guilt or remorse, coupled with the deliberate use of extremely harmful words and/or actions and end up putting all the blame on you. A Sociopath never accepts blame.

Interestingly, most Sociopaths do not realize that they have this disorder. Certainly, they are aware that they are quite selfish and mean, but they tell themselves they are simply tough and toughness is vital in life. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world” they say and “in life it’s kill or be killed.” They do this to justify their personality, as well as side with people whose character and psychological makeup bears resemblance to theirs like the villain in a movie, gang members or criminals in the street whom they often show admiration for.

It is, therefore, important to look out for some of these behavioral patterns in individuals before you find yourself entangled with a Sociopath. One way of having an overall sense of whether or not you are dealing with kind of individual is definitely how you feel around them. In the presence of a Sociopath you feel fear. In your gut you feel like you’re in the presence of a predator. Something in you just wants to leave- end it all- whether a business deal, friendship or an intimate relationship. You feel like you are standing next to a snake and they can seriously harm you at anytime.

Therefore, inasmuch as you’re captivated by their larger than life personality and wit, if your instinct tells you to beware, beware!

References

1. American Psychiatric Association: DSM-5

2. Science Daily

3. healthline.com

Habits

The study of the human mind has many facets, as one would expect. For now, we’ll stick to what makes humans habit forming and how habits are formed:

Whenever a thought is had, or that thought is followed by an action; a neural pathway is created in the brain by a series of neurons. Because of this phenomenon, it makes it easier for that neural path to be followed again and again. It’s like folding a piece of paper; it leaves a crease on it that makes that area easier to fold than a new one. This is how habits are formed, and this is why a thought we have or action(s) we take tend to easily reoccur and most likely do. The more those particular neurons are activated and those pathways followed through the repetition of an action or thought, the more likely and easily they reoccur in the future. So the next time you find yourself sitting on the same spot or seat at that restaurant, or wondering why you keep using that particular mug for your coffee; remember it all started the first time you made that choice, and now all your lazy brain wants to is repeat; certainly easier than reinventing .

So it behooves us to be a little careful about our choices and actions as we’ll likely repeat them in the future due to what is known as “neural plasticity”- the ability of the brain to learn and readjust (chemically and/or physically) due to the repetition of an action or thought. Like we’ve been thought, actions create habits, habits create character, and character creates destiny.

Hate to end this on a ‘preachy’ note. I hope I don’t make a habit of it…

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”

~Aristotle

A lack of darkness

Disclaimer: This might bore you to sleep but here we go…

According to Oxford Languages, Sleep is defined as a condition of body and mind that typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the eyes are closed, the posterior muscles are relaxed, the activity of the brain altered, and consciousness of the surrounding practically suspended. That being said, this article will quickly describe some other elements relating to the subject matter and how this incredible ‘elixir of life’ have come under great threat due to modernity and ignorance.

Several scientific research have found that humans require a minimum and an average of 7 and 8 hours of sleep every night, respectively, for proper cognitive and health functions. Also, it’s been found that men who only have 5 to 6 hours of sleep per night have, on average, the level of testosterone of men ten years their senior. This means that for men, a lack of sleep will age you by a decade. Not to be alarmist, but the shorter your sleep as a human being, the shorter your life, according to research.

Concerning sleep itself, there are two principle types viz REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and Non-REM. Non-REM is divided into four stages creatively called stages 1 to 4. Stages 3 and 4 of this deep sleep induces body replenishment, better cardiovascular and cognitive functions, etc. Interestingly, however, the body will resist getting into this deep stage of sleep if it senses any sort of threat like when you sleep in an unfamiliar environment. As such, only half your brain will be asleep as we have mostly evolved amidst predators hence this precautionary adaptation.

The REM sleep is the dream sleep. An MRI scan of the brain in this state looks almost exactly like it does when we are awake due to the intense activity of the brain even though we are deeply asleep. This activity is especially at the back of the brain responsible for vision, the hippocampus which regulates memory and even the top mid part of the brain in charge of movement. Therefore, one might ask: in dreams we see, imagine and remember a lot of things but why don’t we move outwardly in expression of these activities? This is due to muscle incarceration induced by the brain to prevent the activities in your mind while you dream from being acted out in real like. This is for your safety as the danger of acting out your dreams is apparent. The anomaly of sleepwalking will be discussed in a future post.

Furthermore, the fundamental utility in dreaming is that it helps us in the formation of long term memories. When chemical and electrical impulses fire through a set of neurons (loosely speaking), this creates short term memories. When we sleep and especially when in REM sleep (dream sleep), the myelin sheets of the neurons are coated more and stronger cell connections are formed inducing a more solid and long term memories. This is partly why dreams are a juxtaposition of randomness. As a bonus idea: the more emotional memories created in wake state binds way more thoroughly in dream state leaving a lasting memory. This is why after watching a horror movie you are likely to replay it in you dream; and also why traumas are hard to forget.

The health importance of maintaining a regular sleep routine cannot be overstated as a balanced circadian rhythm is invaluable. What also happens when we sleep, apart from the ‘data saving’ mechanism, is that since during wake state and due to the activities of the brain all through the day, toxins are produced. The reality is that wakefulness is low level brain damage and it is when we sleep and especially during the 3-4 Non REM stages that these toxins are eradicated from the brain. Cancer causing pathogens which build up on a daily basis are also obliterated. The combined effects is a prevention of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease which destroys memory and other brain functions, as well as cancer prevention. Insufficient sleep is now linked to cancer of the bowel, breast, prostate, etc.

Research has categorically classified lack of sleep as the catalyst of all cause mortality due to the myriad number of health problems it produces including obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and brain diseases. And with regards to obesity, it’s been found that people who sleep 4-5 hours a day or less are drawn to unhealthy food as the appetite/hunger hormones are warped. The hormone ghrelin is responsible for the sensation of hunger while leptin triggers the sensation of being full. When people lack sleep, these get out of wack and these individuals aren’t just hungry at night but gravitate towards junks which they consume in excess as lectin is suppressed longer than it should. This increases the risk of diabetes, obesity and heart diseases overtime.

Considering the innumerable health benefits of a quality and lasting sleep, it is shocking and next to tragic that modernity and technology has conspired to erode this treasure from humanity. The invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison was certainly a bright idea; but have, ironically, eclipsed the glorious beauty of darkness in its ability to induce sleep by triggering the release of Melatonin hormone by the brain. Indoor and outdoor lights keep our homes and streets constantly bright turning night to day and leading to a delay in sleep inducement. The nail in the coffin is the endless streaming and other distractions from our gadgets at nights which eat into our sleep time on a daily basis leading to a compounding effect of health deterioration on a global scale.

The solution to this fatal phenomenon lies in content and is quite apparent: take out the lights at night and sleep at a specific time for at least 7 hours daily. We are lucky to have a technological advancement in medicine playing tug of war against the morbid effects of this nonsensical habit of sleeplessness, yet prevention trumps cure always. Sleep is not the cousin of death as some ignorantly allude, but the elixir of life. Good night and sleep tight!

Zombies- A glimpse into the future of humanity.

Countless things are wrong with the world, and many more things can go wrong. Many of the current global issues are difficult to solve, especially those that can lead to the end of civilization. The goal of the World Bank, for example, is to end poverty, but whether or not this goal is achieved, humanity will continue to survive. Climate change is worrisome, but then, global climate historically have always shown extreme behavior and yet manages to bounce back to what can be considered normal. But there’s a serious threat quietly lurking underneath us: Fungi. These fellas are from an entirely different kingdom (they are neither plants nor animals) and with just a single mutation, holds within themselves the insidious ability to turn us into Zombies.

We have survived the pandemic and created vaccines to curb further threats. We are making slow but steady moves to monitor and control the growth of AI such as ChatGPT; but we should also look closely at Fungi for while viruses make us sick, fungi can do worse. Research has found that certain fungi get into the circulatory system of ants, penetrate their brains and flood it with Hallucinogens. This gives them the ability to control the ants’ will and direct their behavior. They also feed on the host to live and then replace the eaten flesh with theirs thereby preventing decomposition and keeping the host alive, but simply as a puppet.

However, as many biologists know and would argue, a typical fungus can’t survive a temperature above 95 degrees within its host. This means we’re safe as we’ve been for the longest time. Doesn’t it? Well, yes. We’re safe…for now. But what if the world get a bit warmer (as has been the trend of late) and evolution causes one or more of the fungi (Ergot, Cordyceps, Candida, Anascumycetyr or Aspirigelas) to have a genetic mutation that allow them tolerate such high temperatures? What if they then get into our bodies, travel to our brains and colonize them. We will emerge as billions of puppets under the control of some marionettes with invaded minds, and with a single central goal: spread the infection to every last human being. It gets worse.

There are no treatments for this. There is no cure. The possibility of a solution does not even exist. So, if this scenario was to play out; if the earth gets warmer and those genes mutate, and few infections are detected here and there: a few hundreds, then thousands, then millions, and then billions, what will become of humanity? Well, it’s Game Over.

Reference:

Jagatia A “The fungus that make zombie ants could use biological clocks to control their minds” May 2007.

Histrionic Personality Disorder: A brief look

I can bet you a million pounds that you’ve most likely met someone whom from the instant when you met them were overly intimate, friendly, elaborate hugger and probably gave you too little space to process the fact that they’re a stranger you just met. I present to you a Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) patient. This is a rather interesting disorder so I’ll just litter the couple of paragraphs following this with some HPD traits so it’s easy for you to spot when you come across one. Here we go.

The most basic can be deduced from the word ‘Histrionic’ which means overly dramatic or theatrical, as well as emotional. When you meet these individuals, after careful observation, you find an overwhelming need to be the center of attention, and are willing to do anything to fill that emotional void. This can be seen through very provocative outfits they wear for both male and female attention, loudness when conversing in public places, inappropriate sexual gestures at the wrong time and place such offices or public settings, and so on. Any psychologist worth his salt knows that any behavior in excess is covering up for something. In this case, similar with the Narcissist, is a huge self esteem, self love and self acceptance issue that makes them chase after it externally. This deficiency is usually ingrained in their childhood but that’s a ribbit hole which I’m too lazy to dive into for now…

More-so, these angels of ours tend to meet people for the first time and bizarrely act like they’re a long lost friend with tight hugs, caressing the hands, and go as far as referring to them by their first names; whether it’s their professor, CEO or the Queen. This need for instant love, closure and intimacy from obvious strangers sits in the fact that they must be the center of attention even if they were just a tag along for the meeting. It’s their idea of paradise when the spotlight is on them thereby making everyone else an audience. This nectar they sip mostly through social media where more likes and eyeballs feels like heaven and less feels like hell; and as fickle as this is so are their emotions and self esteem.

Ironically, when it comes to relationships, theirs are often riddled with negative outcomes; and friendships, especially friendships with the same sex also tend not to last. This is due to their general inability to understand appropriate relationship dynamics so they constantly cross lines. I shouldn’t fail to mention that these are most the party girl or party boy types, as they tend to become deeply uncomfortable when they’re not the life and soul of the party.

Sadly, while most HPD sufferers exhibit most of these traits most of us tend not to notice this mental problem but simply wrap them up in blanket words such as ‘she’s too dramatic,’ or ‘he’s too angry or extra.’ But this should be taken seriously and they would profit from being convinced to see a professional who’d help shrink to normal that excessive need for attention most likely instigated by negligent parents or guardians in their childhood. Of course it’s normal to carelessly exhibit one or two of these dysfunctional behaviors now and again, but not too much.

Pursuit of power

In the game of life, we think, while growing up, and for most people even presently, that money is the answer to everything. While you might be tempted to point at or, like me, fault King Solomon for this argument, remember he said this while on the throne. The traditional roadmap is get an education, earn a living, save up enough to acquire a few assets, retire rich. But, this is not the ultimate road map or key to the game. By ‘this’ I’m talking about money. Your ultimate goal, I think, should not be all about acquiring money, as cool as it appears to be on the surface; your ultimate goal is to have power. This is, as a matter of fact, what money also contributes in giving to you. But the bulk of this said power doesn’t come from money, it comes from people: Yes, your fellow humans.

For centuries, even before the invention of money, the top dog in the hierarchy hasn’t just been the one with loads of resources beneath him, but the guy with the most people under his control: both the people and by extension, the resources they own. And in your rise to the top in life, why you should aim for this is that everything you’ll ever need in your life, to own or to get done, is under the influence or ownership of someone else. So, invariably, the more ‘friends’ you have, and influence you have over a vast number of people, the closer you are to these resources and to getting whatever you want.

But this is easier said than done. Humans are complex, emotional and fickle. Nonetheless, are still worth having by your corner. Not just anyone, of course. Those that are useful for what you intend to achieve. This is by no means an encouragement to have a copious number of friends. Far from it. It is an encouragement to be strategic in your choices. To judge people’s quality and value vis-à-vis how much they can contribute to your life and then go for them, or not, but by no means alienate, or even worse, antagonize people unnecessarily. The world is in such a way that agony, tragedy and suffering are, at its current stage, a part of its default settings. This means that we should minimize these by consciously choosing viable partners for cooperation, while minimizing opponents and enemies as far as competition. And since people just might not be so easy to get along with and show numerous flaws, the fact remains that you need them and would have to find a way to get along with them. Everyone’s flawed including yourself so don’t be too quick to dismiss a future asset due to his or her present faults.

Mind you, I’m not encouraging anyone to be a suck up. There are very few things I hate as much as that. I’m just saying somethings in life you just have to swallow if the upside is outrageously big as far as having some sort of individuals by your corner. So, basic works have to be done and you cannot be lazy about it. Constantly keeping in touch and appearing interested in them and what they have going on. Being an interesting person also is something else you need to work on. This will make other people want to spend time with you. I’m not saying smile all the time, no no. People are somewhat skeptical of fake and goofy individuals. But that lady whose expression of excitement is quite moderate but who is particularly excited around you, this is way more charming and flattering. Practice this attitude with those whom you want to win over.

“Act as if the things that you’re doing will be repeated endlessly in a manner that moves up instead of down.” This idea espoused by John Piaget (famed the father of cognitive psychology) indicates simply and also that the individual, while pursuing her personal agenda, must do it and live in such a way that is not only good for her competitive advantage, but also fits and suitable for cooperation and social harmony. So it goes like: make ever sociopolitical move you want to make and gain power as much as you can wield, but only to the limit and constraint of it not leading to the harm of others, generally speaking. This is to prevent tyranny and abuse of power as was seen in the lives of political wizards (or should I say Demons) such as Mao, Stalin, and towards the later stages of the political life of President Linden Johnson. So here lies a moral caveat.

Overall, if you keep this to heart and consciously practice the art of winning the right friends, you will be a man of power. Most people perceive power the wrong way: in some kind of mystical way of military authority to command. A thousand times no. Well, just no. Here’s an ancient riddle to explain this: three great men sit in a room: a king, a priest and a rich man. In there midst stands an assassin with a sword. Each of these great men bid the assassin to kill the other two great men. Who lives and who dies? Power is simply the ability to readily get what you want when you want it, and as although money can help you get a lot, great friends by your corner will help you have a lot more with minimal effort or expenditure. The only price you would have to pay is that (initial) habit you have developed of winning them over and getting them to like you and/or seeing you as useful enough to be liked, for the less sentimental individuals. In other words seducing them, and as soon as an individual is seduced, they loose themselves to the will of the loved one. This here lies great power for the taking, so take it.

I’m dying to hear a rebuttal.

The genius of “First Principles Reasoning”: The Physics point of view

Over the years, humanity and the human mind have evolved incredibly well in finding solutions to problems. This is necessary for our survival and our ability to thrive on this strange and hostile rock called earth. And so far, it is obvious that we have achieved a lot, thanks to the evolution of our brains, particularly our Cortex which is vital for logic, imagination and planning, problem solving and technological innovations.

However, we are also very much creatures of habits. This is so due to how easy it is for the brain to, after creating a neural pathway as a result of a thought or action (executed or viewed), stick to this, rather than always creating new paths and consequently different thoughts or actions. Also, due to the presence of a type of Neurons called Motor Neurons, we are able to watch other people’s activities and physically (biologically) react like we are the ones doing them. Due to this phenomenon, we, as a society, have generally become very imitative. It is even said that if you give men the freedom to do whatever they want to do, they will simply end up imitating one another. This party explains the concept of things ‘going viral’ and the mass majority of people sticking to trends and idolizing a few opinionated individuals referred to as Influencers.

Nonetheless, the aim of this article is to expose this human idiosyncrasy, and sometimes idiocy, and posit that there is a different and better way of thinking which is thinking in First Principles: reasoning in line with the most elementary/basic known truth of an idea or concept, and then thinking upwards from there logically; as opposed to reasoning by analogy and dogmas. This is how concepts in the Sciences, particularly physics are derived. Of course, it is undeniable that this has yielded great utility in terms of scientific innovations, solutions and technologies.

In contrast to this, we know of the particularly underdeveloped countries and places where superstitions, dogmas and an unreasonable and stubborn hold on traditions introduced centuries ago by less educated individuals, rule the day and keep them stuck in darkness, misery and poverty. Mind you, we can hold on to a few aspects of culture for sentimental reasons, but not those that we need to rethink, renovate and even change. Time is ticking and the universe is expanding, therefore, we too must be open minded and open to changes.

Therefore, to apply this First Principles way of reasoning has to do with simply keeping every previous notion and things you’ve been told about a particular idea, concept or thing aside for a minute and think about it in line with its most basic truth (it’s first principle), then logically connect it to another basic truth to see what it equates to, then on and on until your problem is solved; the complexity is simplified and demystified; and/or idea is generated. This was the pattern of thinking imbibed by Elon Musk that brought us Tesla Motors.

It was generally believed that Electric cars are impossible, and even if possible, would be extremely expensive partly due to the ‘fact’ that batteries are too expensive to manufacture, particularly the ones with the capacity to power a car though long distances.

As fate would have it, Mr Musk happened to be the sort of man who shunned dogmas and reasoned in first Principles. Elon asked, “why do batteries have to be very expensive?” He then went ahead to analyze all the components and elements in a battery pack such as Lithium ion, and their prices in the stock market, etc, and then decided to manufacture his own car batteries from scratch which was not only feasible but cheap. Consequently, we now have fairly priced commercially available Teslas on the road, not to mention that they are self driving. These and more is the result of reasoning in first principles rather than by analogy, superstition, dogma and hearsay.

In a nutshell, first principles simply involves “boiling problems down to their most fundamental truths.”

A Negro soldier

The birds have returned to their nests
Let me return back to you
Let our hearts meet as they did before I left
And in your warm embrace beat together
In that rhythm, that beautiful rhythm
that makes a heaven of this cursed earth

I have stood in the middle of an endless winter
And watched my heart turn cold
as I paint the priestly earth red
with the blood of men I know nothing about
I have stood in the middle of an endless winter
And felt the gentle snow fall
on my bare camouflaged skin which burned
With endless desire for you, Like the deserts in my motherland.

Very soon the white man will yell again
With words whose tone I understand;
whose meaning I know nothing about
Although I do not need big words
I know kill means kill
and I must obey, as a solder… a slave

I saw the look in his eyes before he died,
I saw his strong white hand loose its grip
My friend, Badu, watched him too
as his cold dead eyes stared at us
Our fingers almost interlocked as I took his rifle away from him
A little slower than I took his life
I saw the contrast in the process:
My warm black fingers
matched his cold white ones. Another solder have fallen by my hands.

We heard our master yell again!

Commentary:

This short free verse clearly needs no further elucidation as it, in plain words, paints the picture of an African solder taken away from home and forced to fight a white man’s (European) war while he desperately misses his lover back home, as well as his motherland.

A perspective on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the future

Let’s define this stuff:

Artificial Intelligence, according to Merriam Webster, is defined as a branch of Computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers; the capacity of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior.

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend via zoom who went on and on about how humanity will essentially turn to gods through a successful AI-human symbiosis. “The possibilities are endless,” he said. I just sat back contemplating. ‘Possibilities’ is like a spectrum, so what if we land on the (severely) negative side? I think it’s rather sensible to (when it come to situations as precarious as this) err on the side of extreme caution.

In line with this, lately, I find myself reanalyzing the conversation between Joe Rogan and Elon Musk on the subject. Apparently, aside from running great companies such as SpaceX, the Boring Company and Tesla, Elon Musk is also the founder of a Neurotechnogy company known as Neuralink, and during a lengthy conversation on the podcast, indicated that Neuralink Corporation has developed a small device which is roughly an inche in diameter and will replace a small portion of the human skull which will be carefully removed using a sophisticated robot (for precision) and have the tiny wires underneath it fused with that section of the human brain connecting with the neurons. This implantable Brain-machine Interface (BMI) will therefore have a far greater bandwidth and a more direct and far greater access to the internet without the limitation of using just thumbs, which results in very slow and limited outputs.

Frankly, the logic is quite sound because…well, let me take a sec to categorize in simple terms the human brain: it is made of the ancient brain known as the Brain stem for mostly autonomous and essential activities like the regulation of breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, etc; then, on top of this is the Limbic system, known as the reptilian brain, which deals mostly with emotions, memory, and so on; followed by the cortex which is the highest chamber that does the planning, calculations and all the smart stuff. Now, this Neuralink is meant to serve as a forth chamber: a tertiary part of the brain which happens to be man made (AI). This will have the potential to produce superhuman results. This is what to expect for the future.

Moreover, according to Musk, we are already sort of Cyborgs (Cybernetic Organisms) due to our dependence and constant use of our smart phones, iPads, PCs, serving as extensions of our brains in recording huge memories which we retrieve and bring to our consciousness at will. Also, performance of complex calculations, retrieving information from the net at will, and employing the assistance of AIs such as Siri or Alexa whenever needed, and so on.

“Museum piece…our ancestors were finite.”

The problem, as stated, is that our output bandwidth is slow (using fingers and thumbs to type; compressing complex ideas into words yet prone to misinterpretations). As such, the only difference will be that this AI will become one with us, able to understand our thoughts in searching the web, retrieving memories in their exact images, performing complex calculations and even telepathically sending and receiving information among one another without the old and mundane act of talking.

Truly, the possibilities are endless, and the future will certainly be strange, or at least different. The problem with making devices that are sentient, extremely intelligent and able to learn and improve is that overtime, Artificial intelligence will grow more and more, and human intelligence will (overall) become less and less proportionally and in quality. If we continue on this ambitious journey, one thing is guaranteed: we certainly won’t be able to control them. I believe Gods intension was for man to produce his kind (mankind) and not a god! This was why Mr Musk suggests that we fuse with them —join them since we certainly can’t beat them. This, in my opinion, is the lesser of two evils, but evil nonetheless; or at least dangerous. I’m picturing a bunch of aliens staring down at us thinking “good luck humans, the future is yours—you and your goddamn machines!”

Freedom 2.0: Mental Fluidity…

This very concept, at first glance, can be seen in various lights. On a base level, one can see it as the opposite of having a rigid mind or mentality. Well, yes and no. Yes, because broadly it has to do with a form of flexibility in thinking; considering other alternatives and using different formulas in planning, strategizing and solving problems. No, because it’s simply beyond rigidity in mental processes. We can make references to quite a few ‘rigid,’ stubborn and dogmatic individuals whom, interestingly, their beliefs, philosophies and/or actions in situations where everyone else ran, changed, compromised (tail between legs); whose indefatigable doggedness considered unusual, unconventional and even novel, led to well needed victory or freedom.

Therefore, we can certainly look at this concept in a broader and more nuanced view. It was the doggedness of Nelson Mandela that inevitably led to the dismantling of the Apartheid regime in South Africa on April 27, 1994. His laudable courage and stubbornness against all odds led to the desired change, yet he was unconstitutional in his ways—a different breed altogether. We certainly can’t consider him as mentally rigid.

The source of this concept: Mental fluidity, can be linked to one of the branches that stem from the concept known as Cognitive Flexibility, which, broadly speaking, can be described as the ability to adjust one’s thinking from an old situation to a new one, as well as the ability to shun thinking processes that have become old or habitual for new ones, including getting rid of old beliefs and habits for new and more suitable ones as the situation requires. More so, it has to do with the ability to simultaneously consider multiple aspects of a thought at once. But specific to this article, Mental fluidity, as a subset, here and now, deals with the mundane, overall, day-today perception, organization, and strategic implementations of actions in a way that best adapts to changes and suit situations.

Certainly, we know that the young are generally more unconventional. They have a penchant to despise conventions and take so much pleasure in flouting them. This forces them to take a new delta and fosters creativity, innovations and inventions. But the problem is that as we age, the need for comfort and predictability, and the sense of safety there in, leaves us in a psychological trap and our minds become more rigid and fossilized. We become less creative, extremely predictable, boring!

According to Robert Greene, in his book: The 33 Strategies of War, the fall of Napoleon began as the great general started loosing his taste for novel strategies and fluid maneuvers, and instead, ‘succumbed to the growing weight of his accumulating years.’ This led him to simply and conveniently rely more on the size of his army and their level of weaponry than anything else. This was the beginning of his end.

To ensure that we maintain a great level of mental fluidity even as the years go bye, and remain very creative, innovative, adaptable and exciting, we must consciously fight this psychological aging process to a larger extent than we do the physical. It is important to note that a mind that is flexible, unorthodox, full of tricks and maneuvers will keep you a lot younger than anything else. Decide to break old habits and pick up new ones; take actions contrary to how you’ve always acted or functioned; keep things fresh, new and exciting. Fight the tendency to maintain old and outdated conventions personally and in business. This, according to Robert Greene, is a way of Practicing a kind of unconventional warfare on your mind. This, among other benefits, will make you supremely and eternally creative and exciting.

References:

Greene R. (2006) The 33 strategies of war. Viking Penguin. ISBN: 1-4295-7706-1. P742-764.

Willing A. (1962) Cognitive complexity and Cognitive flexibility. Sociometry. 24(4): 405-414.

On DEATH and the Life within.

As a specie, we have the unique ability to contemplate the future. Now, to a large extent this can generally be considered (by us) as a good thing. Due to our incredible imaginative power, we can envision a fantastic future with endless possibilities. Particularly as children, the thought of finally growing up into adulthood left us in awe. Parents, teachers and other adults told us we can be anything we want to be. Mind you, “Anything” in the mind of a child went beyond engineer, musician, writer, architect or even governor. It was a universal set that included (and even gave preference to) a superhero or villain taking over the world with countless minions; mad scientist causing inordinate global chaos; Superman with incredible strength and an ability to fly; beautiful princess or queen full of wealth, splendor, attended by fairies and married to the most handsome prince or ruler with whom they live happily ever after. This is, of course, encouraged and even cultivated by story books and the media for such age groups, and the belief in this endless possibilities was deeply instilled into our subconscious.

However, as we grow into our teenage years and are faced with daily tasks and challenges, we realize that life is a little less rosy and we just might not end up the superhuman we wish we could. We are now sensible and old enough to see the weaknesses, frailties and fallibilities of the adults we idolized as children. There is an encroaching decrepitude on our parents and we are forced to accept the reality that life is simply harsh—at least compared to how we thought it was as children.

Nonetheless, as adults, while we have learned to an extent to see things for what they are (face reality) there still lingers one gigantic aspect of reality we simply refuse to confront: our inevitable demise—Death. Who can blame us? The thought of riding the pale horse is such an unpleasant, sordid and distasteful adventure that we would rather not think about it. This has brought us so much fear and displeasure as humans, that in the past we had to create various myths, religions and the concept of life after death in order to ameliorate this fear and create a form of relief. So much so that a lot of people were willing to live particularly awful lives if it guaranteed them a ticket to another (perhaps never ending) life after death.

In more modern times, however, a lot of people have chosen not to think about death. Various forms of drugs, inebriation, and other pleasure seeking habits are used as a form of escapism to quell this deep seated (mostly on an unconscious level and semi-paralyzing) fear of death. Also, this is rather exacerbated by the media where movies are inundated with killings and deaths up to the point of caricature and that has been made to feel rather cartoonish. As such, because we are always distant from the actual grim and visceral reality of death (mostly occurring in hospitals [a safe distance from our actual homes]), we have unconsciously chosen to deny it; mostly dancing around the thought. This, of course, ends when a loved one dies and that gut wrenching feeling ensures, the clouds above becomes dark and we cringe as we are forced to confront this godless inhuman reality—theirs and (especially) our own inevitable mortality. As we contemplate their demise and begin to greatly miss them, we start to savor every memory of them and, perhaps, wish we had spent more time with them, been nicer…for there goes a person (a part of our life) we will never ever see again!

The point is, fear of any form is paralyzing, including (if not especially) the fear of death. Still this is an anxiety most of us have failed to acknowledge. The more we deny and repress the thought, the more this deep rooted shadow limits our experience of life. We become overly inward minded and our minds ruminate anxious, depressive, critical and negative thoughts which rises to our most lucid consciousness in form of negative internal monologues. This leads to self absorption and narcissistic insecurities. This stems from our unwillingness (not inability) to consciously and daily accept, anticipate and embrace our inevitable mortality.

This is no pleasant, natural or easy feat, but the result of it is like having your head finally above water after being submerged all your life—you start to truly live. Like many who have had a serious brush with death and have become keenly aware of how real and close it is to them (and to us all, as a matter of fact) there is a permanent sense of gratitude for each breath, heightening pleasure for each experience, a higher regard and value for life due to its impermanence, unmistakable boldness and calm, and sense of urgency in every endeavor as a result of the consciousness that death might occur at anytime.

This is the paradox of Life within Death—well, the consciousness and acceptance of it. And this is so because until we stop the denial and embrace our common mortality (as is wittily referred to by the writer Robert Green whose works inspired and gave impetus to this article), and embrace this reality consciously, daily and wholeheartedly, we will remain, to a large extent, petrified, paralyzed and limited in our experience of the fullness of life—never truly live, as a result of this repressed anxiety which will not let us be.

Freedom…

Several thousand years ago, humans simply lived as Nomads. We roamed about from mountains to valleys and plains; Crossed rivers, climbed trees and dug tunnels in the bid to hunt for animals and to survive and feed our young. We kept on wandering across deserts, hunting and gathering, and always on the move until we slowly but inevitably started living in Settlements and cultivating our food. The New pattern of living was a lot easier and more comfortable. We were also left with a sense of control having discovered that we can cultivate the land and wait. Then, after a while, like magic, we will harvest what we have planted. So, there was enough time to construct more permanent settlements and shelters, avoid the risk of moving aimlessly from place to place in the din of roaring Lions, laughing Hyenas that petrified us, and we were able to better socialize and protect our young communally.

Nonetheless, having spent such a long time in our evolutionary process as primates moving from one place to another necessitated by the odious task of survival, the realization by our bigger brains that we could cultivate our own crops (which reduces the risk of consuming poisonous plants among other things) and as such create more permanent and stable shelters to keep us safe; and the implementation of this, brought another less than palatable sentiment. Deep within, even though we then lived as a clan and had never been safer, we still felt like there was something missing— our freedom. Somehow, being stuck or restricted to a particular ‘residence’ indefinitely made us feel stifled and conjured suffocation for deep within we were still Nomads.

This phenomenon has morphed centuries later as we habitually embraced this way of life until it became more or less one of the characteristics of humans. Food, clothing and (permanent) Shelter seems to always top the list. Therefore, the concept of freedom has, over the centuries, become more psychological: the very feeling that there are options open to us, and that there is a future with numerous prospects translates into something like the feeling of an open field in the Savanna.

Conversely, the feeling that we have limited or no options, narrowed or eroded possibilities and prospects, is unbearable to the human psyche. This can cause us to loose all forms of emotional intelligence and overreact at the very moment when patience and quiet strategic thinking is sacrosanct. The mind is at its best when it’s focused. This enhances your ability to see fragile and easy-to-miss options and even game out future moves while the erratic and narrow minded, with brains drowned in emotions, can only contemplate hopelessness which to them is a solid reason to give up.

Therefore, before you surmise that you have been totally enveloped and have no choice but to topple the king, here is a story between now and then illustrating a classic double bind:

“A long time ago, a Zen master sat face to face with one of his disciples. After staring at the student for a while while holding a stick, he told the boy, ‘if you tell me this stick is real, I’ll beat you with it. If you tell me this stick is not real, I’ll beat you with it. If you say nothing, I’ll beat you with this stick.’ The disciple looked at the master for a few seconds, then, look a few steps closer to him, grabbed the stick and broke it.”