Looking for the right books.

Hello ATS,

I decided to join after being reconnected to the 70s television program “In Search Of” via a thread about petroglyphs by member AthlonSavage. After reading that thread, I started watching the old series again, and wrote down an idea that I wanted to write about. That idea became a list, and I decided to become a member and write about the ideas on the list in threads, here at ATS.

My strongest areas of interest are in the fields of sociology, computer science, language and writing. I have been an avid reader from a very early age, and my favorite stuff has to do with science, myth, legend and folklore. I was deeply impressed as a young man by something that Carl Sagan said in an episode of his 'Cosmos' series, here is the quote,

“If I were to read a book a week for my entire adult lifetime, and I lived an ordinary adult lifetime, when I was all done, I would have read, maybe, a few thousand books; no more. In this library (ed. The New York public library), that's from about here (ed. he gestures to the stacks and begins to walk a short distance), to here (stops). But that's only a tenth of a percent or so, of all the books in the library”.

“The trick is, to know which ones to read. But they're all here”.

-Carl Sagan

www.youtube.com...

I would say that just about sums up what I have been doing with my spare time for the last many years: trying to find the right books. He never says exactly which ones they are.

I do have an interest in conspiracy theories, and during my process of trying to find the right writings, I discovered a few things. Although those things are what I would like to write about in threads, I thought that I would bring one up here, as it pertains to my personal interest in conspiracy theories, and my interests in general.

It has become my concern, after years of personal experience and research, that there is a war on for our stories. Having imbibed narratives from all over the world, I stumbled on to the same conclusion that others had. That is, that if one looks in to them deeply, one might find that the stories that make up the myth and folklore of every culture, work as scripts for people's lives. Like computer programs, people identify with these key cultural narratives in such a way that they 'act them out' in a very procedural manner, which is very good.

It might be said, that a person could look to the core stories that underlie their particular heritage to see what program they might be running, or if they are running a script from another culture; that's always interesting, as most folklore and myth have strong cultural overlaps.

People want to be tuned in to these stories, and they seek them out throughout their lives, because they provide guidance. They provide ethical and moral direction as needed. They allow a person to operate as an autonomous system within a greater system with ease and often elegance. Imagine all of the stories that an individual invests themselves in just to create a successful date, let alone, a lifelong relationship. We story ourselves through our lives, is what I am getting at.

So, a big personal interest of mine is in how these stories can be 'hacked', so to speak. I am interested in how their data structures can be altered intentionally to create a desired effect, in other words, how they can be 'weaponized'. And primarily, I am interested in data integrity, when it comes to the cultural narratives that construct our world, and how tweaking the integrity of the contents and context of a narrative can in turn tweak an entire culture.

Thanks for taking the time to read my introduction thread, I know that there are many others here at ATS that are just like me: looking for the right books. Thanks for having me, ATS, I hope to be of use.

Welcome to ATS.

I would start with the bible as far as things being twisted and "hacked " to have an effect on people to the point of control.
But,that's just my opinion.

Peace,
K

If you want to find core stories, look to the Bible. I know that statement will cause a lot of people to get tunnel vision and atheist rage, but look at all the stories that have come since - many of them are based on Bible stories, whether you believe them or don't.

I'm not sure what you mean by "weaponizing" books. There is plenty of weaponized information out there already, it's called propaganda. Insofar as the volume of data far exceeds one person's ability to absorb it, I would suggest people gravitate toward subject matter than interests them, which is what people do already. It's like choosing a career path. Not everyone can be a doctor AND an airline pilot AND a painter AND a welder AND a cop AND an actor AND ... get my point? You have to choose your path and be happy with it.

Again, maybe I missed the point of your post, so maybe you could be more specific?

Welcome.

What part do you see fairy tales having within societies? They are mostly read to or by younger children, so I'm guessing they play a large role in 'shaping' those children.

reply to post by Bybyots


Welcome to your new Addiction....enjoy the ride.....

Des

Originally posted by kdog1982
Welcome to ATS.

I would start with the bible as far as things being twisted and "hacked " to have an effect on people to the point of control.
But,that's just my opinion.

Peace,
K

I see your point with regard to how, for example, the Roman Catholic church up until Martin Luther twisted and suppressed the Bible for their own agenda. What I meant was that Bible stories have been retold countless ways - David v. Goliath, the underdog prevails, etc. It's been used both ways.

Also, if you're into SciFi, read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - and the rest of the series. Ender's Game is FINALLY being made into a movie. I just hope they don't butcher it too badly.

Originally posted by kdog1982
Welcome to ATS.

I would start with the bible as far as things being twisted and "hacked " to have an effect on people to the point of control.
But,that's just my opinion.

Peace,
K

Absolutely, I agree with you on that one. It seems the Bible even casts it's spell on folks that have worked to rationalize their way out of the narrative; for instance, the thread I saw the other day where a member no longer believed in hell but was afraid of going there anyway. Very interesting.

It seems that the Bible is becoming less and less the go-to set of instructions for operating in society.

I know it may seem old hat, but with everyone migrating to the web, I am really interested in what instruction sets they do decide to use, and which ones they seem to be encouraged to use.

Seems they are always cobbled together from existing cultural narrative models, only with intentional twists designed to get specific results.

Thanks for posting.

reply to post by AwakeinNM

Also, if you're into SciFi, read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - and the rest of the series. Ender's Game is FINALLY being made into a movie. I just hope they don't butcher it too badly.

I am, heavily, and I have read it. That's a great book, well known as being so good you can pass it off to non-sci-fi friends and they will love it.

I do mean propaganda, in the deepest sense you can imagine. I am really excited to see how it all pans out now that so many folks look to the web for what they once sought after mostly in books and favorite shared stories.

Originally posted by DaesDaemar
Welcome.

What part do you see fairy tales having within societies? They are mostly read to or by younger children, so I'm guessing they play a large role in 'shaping' those children.

Yes, that's it, in the most fundamental sense. But those children grow up just like the characters in the fairy tales. If you think about it fairy tales are most often stories about adults that are told to children. The children take over the telling when they grow up and so it goes. In my opinion they are the cornerstone of any society.

I would say that if almost all adults thought about it they would find themselves in, and be able to identify with some character within, some fairy tale, folk-tale or legend that they know.

I really hate to say this because it's going against ever fiber of my reason for living,but the longer I walk this earth,as I watch my children grow,they are honest, respectable people because of what I learned,the basics of religion,the core value that I have passed on to them minus all the bull crap.
It is those core values that are important not the the belief system that was created.

Sorry,I tend to wonder off............

Any ways,try this book out.

Mass Control: Engineering Human Consciousness

books.google.com...=onepage&q&f=false

Welcome!

Some here are pointing you towards the Bible.

If you are wondering WHY it is because the Bible is a supernatural book.

Several years ago I experienced a supernatural encounter with God when I opened a bible.

Several others here on ATS have had similar experiences.

The prophecies in the bible are irrefutable proof that the Bible is in fact divinely inspired.

The laws of probability have proved that to be true.

The Bible is proven as the word of God by the fulfillment of Bible prophesies. It is mathematically impossible for all of these prophesies to have just happened by chance. This proves that the people that wrote the Bible were inspired by God, for only God could accurately foretell the future, in detail 100% of the time, and at the same time encourage mankind to obey Him.

Source

Here is another reason to read the Bible:

There is ONE huge, misunderstood "super-conspiracy" that explains every smaller conspiracy and ties them all together.

The Bible is the missing link between all conspiracy theories.

"After forty years of patient study of the crises which faces humanity, I arrived at a very simple conclusion-all conspiracies are Satanic! " Eustace Mullins

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reply to post by Murgatroid

The laws of probability have proved that to be true.

Trying to find the proof you refer to from your source that is saying reincarnation is a lie.

Heb. 9:27 reads: "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."

That clearly proves there is no reincarnation after our death for we will die only once.

But there are other clear passages that prove the same: "For when a few years are finished, I shall go the way of no return." (Job 16:22 NKJV)
"He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return" (Psa. 78:39, NIV).

www.evangelicaloutreach.org...

????????????

reply to post by kdog1982

Here ya go...

The chances of just 48 out of the 456 prophecies being fulfilled in one person are 1 in 10 to the 157 power.

That's — 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

"All this illustrates why it is absolutely impossible for anyone to have fulfilled the Messianic prophecies by chance. In fact, a leading authority on the probability theory, Emile Borel states that once we go past one chance in 10 to the 50th power, the probabilities are so small it's impossible to think they will ever occur."

LINK

"...once we go past one chance in 10 to the 50th power, the probabilities are so small it's impossible to think they will ever occur....Mathematicians generally agree that, statistically, any odds beyond 1 in 1050 have a zero probability of ever happening.... This is Borel's law in action which was derived by mathematician Emil Borel....

Here is one last illustration of the immensity of the number 10 to the 157th power and why the science of probability shows we are dealing with the miraculous… Imagine one ant traveling at the speed of only one inch every 15 billion years. If he could only carry one atom at a time, how many atoms could he move in 10 to the 157th power of years?

He would, even at that incredibly slow speed, be able to move all the atoms in 600,000 trillion trillion trillion trillion universes the size for our universe, a distance of 30 billion light years! Again, by the laws of probability, all of this means that it is simply impossible for 48 prophecies to be fulfilled by chance. LINK

reply to post by Bybyots

The trick is, to know which ones to read. But they're all here”.

-Carl Sagan

Do we have his list of the "ones to read" ?

Of writing books there is no end and knowledge is much weariness to the (flesh)--- King Solomon (paraphrased)

I say study is much weariness to the soul not the flesh. But reading a good book about a subject that interests you is hard to beat. Over a lifetime that is a lot of books. I know.

Thing is to learn how the writers of books get the knowledge that they do to write the books. Especially when it comes to spirituality and wisdom. Knowledge handed down is fine to some extent but like others have well said it is of men and tainted or corrupt. The key is to find the source. The well spring from which all wisdom flows. It is not in a book, it is within.

try william cooper, fritz springmeier, and steve quayle read those guys!!

Hello and welcome!

reply to post by Bybyots
Welcome to ATS

I'm also fascinated by the relationship between fiction and reality. It's like we're in some sort of whacked out recursive feedback loop where every reiteration is like a subtle alteration of our lives. The source of the creativity is something that is deeply enchanting and anyone who's tapped that source can be left with a sense that it somehow, some way exists independently and symbiotically of, and with, us.

Do we exist in its universe or does it exist in ours? Does the question matter?? Could it be that ideas exist prior to expression? I don't know, but it can be an easy way to pass a few moments trying to think about it. All the way through the 90s I carried an idea for a book. I still have a few thousand words and illustrations to go with it. The idea lost its urgency and evaporated...in 2010 I read a book that was almost identical in plot, character and structure. It sort of gave me the heebie jeebies lol

It's like Paul McCartney 'dreaming' the song Yesterday and feeling guilty that he'd subconsciously 'stolen' it. He's also a good example of myths being woven into reality. After all, how many millions of lives have been somehow effected by the words and melody of that song? How many moments in time have been seasoned and moulded by it? And yet it supposedly appeared from nowhere...a dream - a cool example of the creative source tossing stones in the pool of human existence.

Another example has circled my thoughts for years. It was on a TV documentary from the 90s about the invention of TV. A teenage boy was ploughing fields and somehow contrived to foresee the usefulness of pixels when looking at the furrows of the field. It's like ideas are zinging around the human consciousness until the right mind receives it...half-speculating and half-romanticising.

hey where are you from?