Comment by bccdee
2 years ago
Yeah this is just a transition to a new form of neo-mysticism that they hope will be more satisfying than the last one—i.e. the idle speculation that a science-fictional transhumanist future will arrive any day now.
I wish them the best in discovering that you don't need elaborate symbolic fake candle ceremonies or fantasies of ascending to digital heaven to find an outlet for the human urge to collectively transcend the mundane. You can just, like, go to a music festival or a sports game or something. The sublime isn't actually supernatural. It's just an emotion. You don't need to flirt with supernaturalism to find it.
in the interest of pluralism and live/let-live though: I've found it more rewarding and interesting to learn and participate in some relatively ancient rituals than to track and attend sports games. I don't think these things need to be exclusive, and in fact it's kind of great that there's a diverse set of offerings that appeal to a diverse array of people. Of course, one hopes that we mostly recognize that we're mostly after the same or similar things, rather than talking derisively about "ball sports" or "candle ceremonies."
> Yeah this is just a transition to a new form of neo-mysticism that they hope will be more satisfying than the last one—i.e. the idle speculation that a science-fictional transhumanist future will arrive any day now.
I think just as significant a fraction of disillusioned silicon valley mindset people are swinging just as hard to the opposite pole of being basically anti-tech. I've seen a disquieting amount of Kaczynski-simping recently (and admit I may have laughed and joked along). Also, from what I've seen the renewed interest in traditional religion is fairly anti-tech -- more pointed towards medieval philosophy than the Omega Point.
> You can just, like, go to a music festival or a sports game or something
I think this is partly true (and I won't speak to music) but I will say that sports in the US are starting more are more to seem like a silicon valley/commercial product. And add to it that traditional religious institutions are in shambles.