Belly Button Lint

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Tag: manipulation

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    the master manipulator archetype

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    1–2 minutes

    Directors, like Christopher Nolan, use the master manipulator as the protagonist. This "hero" sells illusions within illusions for their own ends, be they benign or catastrophic.

    Blockbuster directors not only reflect society but shape it. They function as "cultural engineers" equivalent to industrial engineers building highways or spreading electricity.

    The heavy work undertaken is to sell the vision of values (propaganda) that supposes a deeper reality than the shallow, vapid, consumerism we encounter daily.

    Anyone who can provide depth, even if illusory, offers vitality to an otherwise flattened reality: sans-God we still crave a deeper order, even if it is conspiracy-laden, tech-fueled nonsense.

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    Captured by our creation

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    1–2 minutes

    Believing in an institution empowers it, making it more credible. As you turn its edicts into dictates, you further enable its authority.
    A reversal occurs: for the sake of our goals, we are captured by the thing we created, aligning ourselves under it, renouncing our agency to shape it, and proclaiming it should shape all.

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    The Goal of Sweetness

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    1–2 minutes

    Sweetness’s goal is to get you to do its bidding. A berry’s color (red or blue) draws your attention for you to carry its seeds.
    The reward might be worth the price, but knowing the price upfront is vital before taking a bite because some attractive lures (red or blue) are also signs of poison.

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    Consciousness Luddite

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    1–2 minutes

    When we begin to understand consciousness, we will turn it into a tool. We will create with it, harness it, enslave it, and manipulate it.
    Which is not understanding consciousness; it is using it. Can we leap this phase into wisdom?