Post "A very decent proposal" by "MSsecretpod"

Sower

I understand the sentiment of wondering why if life is so improbable, it happened here and now. But if you think about it, the only places in time and space were beings can ask that very question is on those one in a billion planets that have the right conditions to for consciousness to emerge. That is to say that it could be more of an issue of perspective 😳😳

Rorschach

Owen Benjamin has a pretty cool "hidden in plain sight" theory on the big bang

@Omo, It's difficult for me to understand your position. Surely Sadhguru is not the first guru and he definitely won't be the last.. but to compare him to anyone else or to try to take away what I've gained from his teachings is absolutely bananas. I've gained so much simply through just meditation and actually dedicating myself to one practice. I'm not sure if you've tried certain things and failed, and given up, which is why you feel this way, but I can't imagine anyone in the euphoric blissful state of ecstacy wanting to belittle another person. Osho, Yogananda, Sadhguru... surely anyone can dwell on the negative and talk negatively about their methods and their practices. For me, I found Sadhguru after I had already been a seeker for 5 years. I had some unique experiences here and there in meditation, but I don't think I had the missing piece to the puzzle that I was looking for. I still cannot tell you what that missing piece was, but sadhguru introduced me to a practice that I simply followed and have experienced incredible results. He's a wise man, and though the internet hates him for whatever the reason, it's likely the group of people that are quick to judge, the group of people that claim they seek the infinite, but only claim to seek the infinite. In any case, here's a link to the practice that started to fundamentally changed my life and my understanding of life. I can't make sense of it, I can't say why it works, and I don't even know what is happening to me when my body seemingly autonomously lines itself up into the perfect posture before shooting me into the stars in absolute bliss, but here it is. It didn't happen overnight, but you will definitely feel short term positive benefits. Once you can get thoughts to stop entirely and just be one with the practice, that's when the magic truly happens. It takes practice and dedication. Do it first thing when you wake up in the morning, and do it again right before you lay down for the night. Millions of people have had their lives transformed by this simple practice. You will not get answers by closing your eyes and being teleported to the stars, but hopefully you see that there's way more to this life than you originally thought was possible. I love you guys. https://youtu.be/EwQkfoKxRvo

Frank. I am very very interesting in learning practices, and esoteric knowledge. I have a burning desire within me to learn yoga. Can you possibly teach me?

Abuelito

I agree with your sentiments but the person who helps you down the path is just a symbol through which you look. He is the Folgers coffee of “gurus”, but it is only through dilute teachings and cultivation of a public persona that he became popular enough for Frank to find those ideas and presumably explore deeply enough to find what he was looking for. Not here to crap on you brother, just don’t want Frank’s progress to be damaged.

Nathan

Sadhguru is the shit. I love his youtube videos "youth and truth" I just joined the patron I never would have thought you guys were talking about things like meditation and Sadhguru lol I'm hyped.

Omo

Dude Sadhguru is absolute trash. Maybe he's good for an introduction to this stuff but almost all Hindu gurus are conmen peddling the same ideas over and over. What you've personally experienced sounds incredible and legit, but don't tie it to Sadhguru.

Matt-- I don't know if you've organically stumbled upon this dude in your research, but I strongly suggest that you check out Sadhguru. He's an Indian-born guru, like an actual guru. I was super skeptical at first, but I read his book "Mystics Musings" and that sparked my interest a little bit further, so I went to an Isha-sponsored yoga gathering and was officially initiated. Since then, I've received a meditation practice that's very simple that's produced otherworldly results once you get that voice in your head to quiet down. Bliss unlike any other bliss you could ever imagine, though it takes practice and discipline. The dude is very powerful, man. It might not answer the question of how or why, but it will definitely get you closer to connecting with the infinite. I genuinely feel like I've touched the divine source, though I wouldn't say that it answered any of the hard questions I had about it. I am a little bit more at peace with the question, though. Get the book! It's Q&A format and a very entertaining read. Sadhguru is the man.

Sounds legit to me. Haven't read GEB in a few years so maybe this will jog my memory of it. I remember it being a great read that helps one see the interconnectedness of things, so that alone makes it worth the read.

Swazi_Too_Kluck

This shits is funny af when your micro doseing.. you need Shane there lol

Yoo I'm in, I'll scoop the book up and read along

Stephen Pinker talking about GEB: https://quillette.com/2021/10/18/podcast-169-harvard-professor-steven-pinker-on-how-to-think-rationally-the-monty-hall-problem-kurt-godel-and-the-case-for-objective-truth/

Didnt know the paytch was so righteous

This is the content I'm here for

I have had this book on my shelf for 5+ years and never took the time. I take this as the universe telling me it I will benefit in finally picking it up. Love the idea of Matt going through such a book and letting me feel not so dumb when I don't understand half of it. Started it this morning!

Situ-Wei Zhong xian

I’m in!

I can’t read so I’m on board

Thank you, shaman

Chance

As the son of an anthroposophical (witch) doctor of chiropractic, raised in Waldorf schools, then public high school, then got a degree in anthropology/sociology from a prestigious liberal arts school, I’m fucking here for it Matt. I hate hard science so much so listening to a fellow dumb brother ruminate on it and apply that instinctive curiosity… please follow thru shaman

Jon O

Do your thing bud. I couldn't stay focused for even these 20 minutes though.

Jam Central Station

The word Solo is basically just a penis with an S at the beginning

Liquid Sunshine

This rules

I'm so down!!

I'll read it

Animal farm?

I’m in, but can the 48 laws of power be next?

All in

Keep the conscious flow running dude. See what fruits come from it, perhaps we can feast off of your knowledge , oh great shaman

Post your notes! We are in!

Large Marge

Quit trying to manifest gay shit you fantasy sports playing dog-brained slut

Check out the creature from Jekyll island, it's about how the federal reserve was created how corrupt the fed and big banks are Paradigm shift kinda book

Hosk (damnedmelody)

Second half of these comments is cancer. It’s one thing to challenge someone’s beliefs that you tune in each week to hear, it’s another to disrespect the mans efforts to gain knowledge and get others interested in doing the same.

Nerd

Gropes™

I recently turned gay, so this book club is perfect timing

I I like this idea

Matt love you man and this will be sick but im a physics and computer science student and the physics stuff was super painful to hear. It would be cooler and easier than you might think if you do go through learning math and physics though, you’d probably have a lot of funny and cool insights. either way anyone who thinks books are gay are in fact the true gays u rule keep it up 👍🏽

I'm there this shit better have an audiobook

Tell me why easily

Matthew

Podcast is ending called it

The manic spiral epoche has begun brothers

Lol damn bro. Ruthless.

Tyler

I’m going to start listening to it! Great idea! Love you dog!

Been reading alot of the stuff you've been exploring atm. Totally understood what you were trying to explain to billy and shane but I can understand from their perspective why it sounded so wild LOL.. need to get them to read believing is seeing bro it was revelatory to me

I love the solo eps. I'll listen regardless

We've got ourselves an edge lord, people.

Art is open to criticism. Even my favorite band has an album or two that I hate. You should practice critical thought and discerning taste, not just act like a pig in shit whenever they toss you even the slightest effort.

jokester900

I really like the idea shaman, the serpent bros did a few of these "reads" . i really liked it, read summary, throw in a joke or explain what it means. You could be good at it bro

NoFamousFranco

Sorry, I'm here for misogyny and gay jokes. This stuff makes my dick soft.

miles wright

The boys need more kusk dawg

Primer ... Prime-errrrrrrrrrrr dick up bruh! This sounds great dawg. As a fuckin idiot and lover of all shit that you read (I have tried, very hard), but I am sick of being an athiest so hard core just cause some priests used my holes for donut filling. So how about ya do the podcast, I do the listening and maybe some squats for the lady; can't have her leaving like I did the church---a-Oh! Any who, full support here General Matty! Appreciate the talk, but fuck anyone that listens to anything and then just bitches about it. Much love to the fox-hole brethren.

not gonna pretend a dude that's fried his brains to the point of schizophrenia is intelligent or interesting. but go off, not like you have an actual job.

PunchDrunkUK

Yes Matt! Les goooooooooooooo

You 're a little fuck face bud

..

This retard. Just go away McSchaub you’re useless without the autist wrangler next to you.

LarryTheUberDriverLawsuitPending

Do whatever you want dude, just keep it separate from the regular cast. Not everyone is into listening to a comedian trying to be smart.

It's nuclear Matt like nuke-lear ....saying nucelar makes you sound retarded.

Anthony Whipple

I think most of us are interested in any solo content you put out. Do whatever you want! This topic is amazing. Wouldn't be bad a idea to title these Matt's New Thing and every week you just talk about what you've been reading and researching

Trucker Jim

I’m in!

Is the GTA bike gang still a thing? I remember Matt mentioning that some months ago.

Can you please make a public Spotify playlist, I wanna hear what you are listening to atm

How about a beezer audiobook and commentary

I assume a shaman like yourself fucks with panpsychism Matt? Because it accounts somewhat for the "meaningless symbols vs complex patterns", the symbols aren't really meaningless, all matter is conscious. Sam Harris' wife wrote a short book called Conscious where she was like "I'm a sceptic but scientists increasingly think this is how it might be". Love the book club idea tho, ordered the golden braid. Also re self exploration of consciousness The Mind Illuminated is sick, breaks down the Theravada Buddhist path to enlightenment as a workbook combined with easy to understand modern neuroscience. Plus the married author guy just went through a prostitution scandal so you know he's the man.

Please do this

Hollow Logs

we didn't choose the cow, the cow chose us.

1.Study the subject. 2. Teach it to a child. (See if you can explain it to dumb person where they understand.) Remove all jargon and long words.Brevity. You should be able to sum it up in 2 or 3 sentences. 3. Identify your lack of understanding. Anything you can't explain simply, you don't understand. Study the material more. 4. Organize your thoughts, and make a story out of the whole idea.

Will Wickham

A real brain-tickler

Look into Feynman's Learning/Teaching method.

You keep coming up to the Incompleteness Theorem. It's simple: You can never completely prove any set of mathematical or scientific axioms because you need an additional dimension or term that isn't included in the theory to compare /verify your theory. It's infinitely recursive. You can use a set of weights to measure another set of weights, but you need ANOTHER set of weights to calibrate the ones you are using to measure with.

Ryan

Hyped !!!

Jay Williams

I highly recommend the book "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. I won't say more about the plot other than, a talking gorilla might make you take a deep look at yourself, society, and it might make you wanna be a better dawg like it did for me.

Matt get to the point when you talk about this crap that you read. You ramble big words that you remember from a book and everyone stops listening cause it takes too long to get to the point

Excited to read my first big boy book

I’m in

Nathan Clark

This is awesome, you should check out the worm at the core by Sheldon Solomon as well.

I've had this book for years and haven't finished it. I'm really looking forward to this.

I'm definitely up for reading along. I have had this book on my shelf for a while now, but have always been too intimidated to actually start it. Listening and reading to what you and the dawgs have to say about it will give some good motivation to stick to it, I bet.

Heading up the volcano and starting up my day right with some solo MCCUSKIEEEEESSSS

Matt maps the universe cast...let's fucking go

Fucking stoked on it McCuskerooo

Large Marge

Hey Bill

The interactive book club sounds fantastic, you have very good solo podcasts, you a Shaman

Jack Anderson

Hell yeah I love the idea of Matt’s secret book club. Can you let us know the books before you start them in case we want to read along?

Very insightful post McCusker

T K

I've had the GEB book on my reading pile for years and haven't got to it.

DEREKvs TheWorld

I'm gay

Matt LOVES Math

Absolutely brilliant Matt need something like this in my life at the moment love it

Matt & Dawgs Secret Book Club

I haven't read GEB but I did read "I Am a Strange Loop," which Hofstadter wrote partly due to the reaction and misconceptions about GEB. Hofstadter suggests that there are certain shared properties of all self-referential systems, like consciousness and mathematics. The genius of Godel was how he showed that ANY logical system capable of basic arithmetic will invariably contain statements about the system itself which are semantically true, but syntactically impossible to formulate. Hofstadter then ties this to our own perceptual system, and our ability to regard ourselves, creating these "Strange Loops" of meta-cognition which is the "I" of conscious experience. I still think this is an unsatisfactory explanation. Nowhere in this looping phenomenon can we account for what philosophers call "qualia"--the subjective experience attendant to consciousness. A lot of these academic egg-heads like Daniel Dennett try to deny that there is any mystery to it, but then big-brain kings (BBKs) like Edward Witten and Thomas Nagel are out there slowing down their roll and reminding them that a strictly material explanation of conscious experience will not suffice. It's all an astonishing mystery.

Always been intimidated to read GBE, I remember first hearing about it in Jon ronsons book 'the Psychopath test'. Also about innovating I work for a company that was researching innovative behaviours in organisations, this lit review is awesome and we actually used it to steer some company policies and comms, highly recommend you read it: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242102530_Characteristics_Behaviours_of_Innovative_People_in_Organisations

Right and stars work because that very specific value for gravity existed prior to stars, and that's what the particles/stars had to deal with to exist. If it was slightly different we'd maybe see a different form of a star that came to be by the different laws of a different type of gravity. The idea of our existence being unlikely comes about by erroneously thinking we were meant to be from the beginning, rather than thinking of it as a series of separate and unrelated occurrences that happened to lead to our current state of affairs . Also I don't know what I'm talking about, so there's that.

Book squad. Let’s do this. Ordering on Amazon rn, shaman. This is right up my alley. An interesting idea if you want this to be truly interactive is to make it a zoom cast that the book club dawgz can take part in. Might get some stimulating conversation or some incredibly dumb theorizing. Even if that’s not what you’re going for with this, I’ll still enjoy the book club solo cast.

Let’s fuckin go, Matt. We don’t deserve it. We pay for it, but we don’t deserve it.

I’m too dumb for any of this shit but I will support you Matthew. Just sprinkle in some Asian jokes and lfg baby.

Matt McCusker family hour dude hell yeah!

GODEL ESCHER BACH is a hitttter

Try being gender fluid for a month, non-binary November is right around the corner. I’m literally a dragon.

Be our math shaman

Let’s do it fuck it. micro dose book club

Tommy DeStefano

That’s funny

Tommy DeStefano

“Some how without any notes, pretty sick” Matt on Matt

Jack

Zoned out after 6 minutes 15 seconds. I tried.

Ryan

I’m on board for all of it. You do a good job making these metaphysical topics approachable. I’ve really enjoyed psychnaw, too.

This is a great idea

AQ

You gotta follow through with this stuff Matt. It’s some of the most interesting pods that I listen to. I want you on the Sam Harris/Brian Greene level before 2024

Weimerica

Yuus

Colton

There’s a time for goofin’ and there’s a time for serious ape man talk, and the Shaman is a perfect Yin + Yang combo of the two.

Huge mathematical philosophy push. Just picked up the book

IceHamJello

Cant wait for the Gruden comments

Hosk (damnedmelody)

I’m here for the psych naw book club. The comments here disputing your book’s theory is interesting too. Good work brother Matt

You better follow through, dude. I like this idea.

John Weatherington

Shaman Matt the idea is amazing man, can't wait to tune in. Hopefully I can play some GTA with the DAWGGGZ. My bday is in November so that would be the sickk.

I was gunna say pretty much exactly this. I opened the comments, this is the first and only one I saw and read. So, yea, this.

I liked petty thief and degenerate Matt more than mindfreak Matt.

Count me in for the book club.

Jake

Damn son you’re deep into the philosophies. Respect to your knowledge that goes over our heads 🧠

Boyd Rendell

I'm in. I'd like to blow my mind with one of Shane Gillis' friends. Plus I ain't the best reader.

Jake

I think you’re funny no matter what you do shaman, but if you’re spitting math philosophy and astrology to others that are as open minded and have a wide of grasp on those topics as you it might not be funny, it might be a little much for the dawgs who just want to laugh. On the other hand you really love this shit and seeing people do what they love is always nice too. Luh you dawgs be good.

Do it up familia. This should be interesting.

Gonna need to get more stoned for this one

Jeemar

If you are interested in more of the philosophy of logic and mathematics I would recommend "An Introduction to Godel's Theorems" by Peter Smith after you read Godel Escher Bach - it's fairly technical but really helped me understand the structures and limitations of modern day mathematics. The incompleteness theorem has so many interesting outcomes, but the book above is a structural proof that reveals the nature of mathematics and how disconnected it really is from our "physical reality". Love the pod, will def do a re-readthrough of GEB with you!

How far we've come from matt getting nervous talking to the cast when shane would leave the room.

Hosk (damnedmelody)

Haven’t listened yet, but based on the comments this is going to be fire

F

the 'fine tuning' argument about the universal constants is classic survivorship bias, read nick bostram's work on the anthropic principle. if the multiverse theory is correct then none of this is applicable

MediocreDude

I mean if shit was different yea there would be no life as we know it, but how would we know something like life couldn't exist. Nature is fine tuned to our existence because we are fine tuned to nature, why couldn't a different species tune itself to a different reality. A variant of our existence with a stronger gravity might not have stars, but what do we not have because we do have stars?

Large Marge

Hey Matt what's your favorite Neil Young song mine is Thrasher but it was Cortez the Killer when I was young and on weed

CisGenderSam

The many universe theory explains this, shaman. Those probabilities can only be calculated for our universe, which is the one of many other inhospitables that cannot produce sentient beings to reflect upon their existence. There are myriad parallel universes in which the physics follow the likely statistics, but no sentient beings can exist there to analyze themselves. And since these many universes can never interact, we may never be able to do experiments to prove it completely. I think I got this from Krause. Can’t wait to book up and follow along, king.

Robert Plank

Sounds like you’re just talking about individuation from Carl jung

Hank

Just joined yesterday Matt is bro god

Thanks for the heads up

CatGoneWrong

Hey look, dad finally came back from the store after all these years but... he's missing that milk and he's talking about a podcast. And I'm almost certain he's wearing a Manhud.