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Robert Anton Wilson
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This well produced edit of various Robert Anton Wilson clips leads the viewer through a chain of logic that helps explain how each of us creates our own apparent reality.
Robert Anton Wilson calls the personal apparent reality a reality tunnel. This holds a remarkable similarity to a description of reality offered by Kurt Vonnegut.
Kurt Vonnegut suggests that reality resembles a vast and magnificent mountain range. Parallel to this mountain range runs a railroad track. A train pulling a string of boxcars moves down the track.
Inside each of the boxcars a person sits tied in a chair.
There are no windows in the boxcar.
The only way the person inside can see out is through a long tube fixed in position aiming in the general direction of the mountain range.
The movement of the train represents the movement of time.
The small view of the mountain range visible through the tube represents our view of reality.
However, the kicker becomes that each person can make up their own mind as to what they see actually means.
Each person comes to conclusions about reality based upon a very small sample of actual reality.
Parents, teachers, religious authorities and political leaders all attempt to enforce their conclusions upon those under their care and influence.
We choose to believe one conclusion or another based on a variety of individual fears and emotions.
Our actions become based upon our belief in these conclusions.
Then we argue about the strength of our beliefs.
We each insist that our delivered prepackaged conclusion is the only accurate version of reality. All we have to rationalize and defend our actions becomes the strength of our beliefs.
We demonstrate the strength of our beliefs by affirming the willingness to die for our beliefs.
We come to blows in life and death contests.
These life and death contests do not concern the factuality of the conclusions but only the strength of our belief in the conclusions.
The factuality of the conclusions cannot be proved.
We can only prove the strength of our beliefs. We can only prove that we are willing to die for our beliefs.
Robert Anton Wilson, Kurt Vonnegut and others recognized the insanity of this. They explained the nature of this insanity in a variety of ways in an effort to wake people up.
Wake up.
Robert Anton Wilson and Kurt Vonnegut spent their lives trying to wake us up.
Please do not allow Robert Anton Wilson and Kurt Vonnegut to have lived their lives in vain.
Tags: Appropriate Technology, Arts, Peace
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August 11th, 2007 at 9:04 am
It’s a pleasure to listen to this man, Robert Anton Wilson. I feel peacefully content with his words because I “see” it as Ultimate Truth which has reason and makes sense.