Deep Dark Fears

[Skarekrow]

So I found these really great short comic-strips that I thought appropriate to give rise to a thread.
Along the same lines as the comics that I’m about to post…do you have any irrational or bizarre fears?
I entertain strange thoughts like this sometimes when I’m up in my head too much.
What do you think?

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[blacklight]

How did they get inside my head..? That's creepy...

 

[Odyne]

I used to write my dreams down in detail, when I wake up.
I stopped, because I was afraid they would become true..



/confession

 

[ZcM4xzkjgzCjytBc]

This guy is projecting...

 

[Eventhorizon]

Funny some of them.
It made me think. I suppose I have one fear these days. Its the fear that the world really is just a computer simulation. That I am someone who pissed someone else off in their life and they went home one day, booted up a world where they could torture me how ever they saw fit.

That or torture everyone in the world just in general. If true its never ending if they just keep playing it over and over.

Or... in a lab where they created AI by accident maybe. Everyone on this planet is conscious but no one is real. So we all have feelings but none of them matter because we arent real.

Or you died and a loved one recreated you in a computer program so they could feel like you are still part of their life. But the real you died long ago.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Oh and the fear of living past all the people I think of family and friends and being completely alone in the messed up world.

 

[Skarekrow]

Funny some of them.
It made me think. I suppose I have one fear these days. Its the fear that the world really is just a computer simulation. That I am someone who pissed someone else off in their life and they went home one day, booted up a world where they could torture me how ever they saw fit.

That or torture everyone in the world just in general. If true its never ending if they just keep playing it over and over.

Or... in a lab where they created AI by accident maybe. Everyone on this planet is conscious but no one is real. So we all have feelings but none of them matter because we arent real.

Or you died and a loved one recreated you in a computer program so they could feel like you are still part of their life. But the real you died long ago.

Kind of along these lines...
Solipsism

Solipsism ([SUP]i[/SUP]/ˈsɒlɨpsɪzəm/; from Latin solus, meaning "alone", and ipse, meaning "self")[SUP][1][/SUP] is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist outside the mind. As a metaphysical position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Kind of along these lines...
Solipsism

Solipsism ([SUP]i[/SUP]/ˈsɒlɨpsɪzəm/; from Latin solus, meaning "alone", and ipse, meaning "self")[SUP][1][/SUP] is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist outside the mind. As a metaphysical position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist.

Yeah thats a good one. I sometimes thought about this back when I was on the fence about whether a god existed or not. Why create people. Then I thought what if you were the only conscious thing you knew of? Perhaps humanity was created from loneliness. Or perhaps we are all just different aspects of one gods fractured mind.
Imagine bieng completely alone and destined to live eternity that way.. now that would suck

Coming from an introvert. ..

 

[Skarekrow]

Yeah thats a good one. I sometimes thought about this back when I was on the fence about whether a god existed or not. Why create people. Then I thought what if you were the only conscious thing you knew of? Perhaps humanity was created from loneliness. Or perhaps we are all just different aspects of one gods fractured mind.
Imagine bieng completely alone and destined to live eternity that way.. now that would suck

Coming from an introvert. ..

Was just reading about the idea of how consciousness creates reality…a Materialist would say the world does indeed exist as exactly what we see (though this we know is untrue if quantum theory is correct which is the prevailing theory over Newtonian Physics) or, if you believe as an Idealist then we are living in the reality created by God (or the universal consciousness)…if you take the position of the Solipsist, they would argue that nothing exists outside of our mind whatsoever…the tree would not indeed fall in the forest for a sound to be heard.
It sounds as if you are somewhere in between an idealist and solipsist…but you seem to flip-flop on God existing or not.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Was just reading about the idea of how consciousness creates reality…a Materialist would say the world does indeed exist as exactly what we see (though this we know is untrue if quantum theory is correct which is the prevailing theory over Newtonian Physics) or, if you believe as an Idealist then we are living in the reality created by God (or the universal consciousness)…if you take the position of the Solipsist, they would argue that nothing exists outside of our mind whatsoever…the tree would not indeed fall in the forest for a sound to be heard.
It sounds as if you are somewhere in between an idealist and solipsist…but you seem to flip-flop on God existing or not.

Its really a matter of defining god or what constitutes a god. I dont believe in any god written of in religious texts. Thats completely out of the question for me now. However I do leave the possibility open that our entire known reality may have been knowingly created by something. Its not that I believe that, just that I wont completely discount it as a possibility.

 

[Skarekrow]

Its really a matter of defining god or what constitutes a god. I dont believe in any god written of in religious texts. Thats completely out of the question for me now. However I do leave the possibility open that our entire known reality may have been knowingly created by something. Its not that I believe that, just that I wont completely discount it as a possibility.

Yes. Sure.
It doesn’t have to be the wrathful Abrahamic God of the Old Testament.
In fact, most of the scientists and philosophers who have tackled the question seem to think that there is indeed some sort of underlying consciousness that exists in our world. One could even say that we have proof through the PEAR labs at Princeton University that have measured the effect mass human emotion has on our world.
The events on Sept. 11th showed correlations all around the world even 5 hours before the event began with data with odds greater than a trillion to one in it’s favor.
So something is indeed being influenced…to what depth that influence goes hasn’t been shown…but there have indeed been people who seemingly could manipulate reality throughout history…it isn’t such a far stretch when you really get a good look at the science being done.

 

[Eventhorizon]

Yes. Sure.
It doesn’t have to be the wrathful Abrahamic God of the Old Testament.
In fact, most of the scientists and philosophers who have tackled the question seem to think that there is indeed some sort of underlying consciousness that exists in our world. One could even say that we have proof through the PEAR labs at Princeton University that have measured the effect mass human emotion has on our world.
The events on Sept. 11th showed correlations all around the world even 5 hours before the event began with data with odds greater than a trillion to one in it’s favor.
So something is indeed being influenced…to what depth that influence goes hasn’t been shown…but there have indeed been people who seemingly could manipulate reality throughout history…it isn’t such a far stretch when you really get a good look at the science being done.

I like to believe in the idea that human thought does do strange things like influence reality as we know it. Its disconcerting though because I think it lends to the idea reality is a construct. Im not sure what I do not like more. We are really an accident or the creation of something else.

The spike seen in the monitoring thing right before 911 is interesting. I Have intended to read more about it. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It would be people expecting something to happen before it did. Maybe a change was made to the program. ..

 

[Skarekrow]

I like to believe in the idea that human thought does do strange things like influence reality as we know it. Its disconcerting though because I think it lends to the idea reality is a construct. Im not sure what I do not like more. We are really an accident or the creation of something else.

The spike seen in the monitoring thing right before 911 is interesting. I Have intended to read more about it. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It would be people expecting something to happen before it did. Maybe a change was made to the program. ..

Well, with the results the PEAR labs have (here’s a link - http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/) gotten, it’s certainly implies that we can indeed predict that something will happen, we just don’t have the where and the who part of the equation yet. If I were someone who’s job it was to look for terrorist activity then you better bet your ass that I would have the minute by minute on the random number generators around the world.
We may not be able to say it’s here at this time by these guys…but we could say “High alert” and everyone could keep an extra close eye on things…that is totally feasible IMO.
So the idea being floated right now is that we are participatory in nature to reality but we do also seem to have some influence. They have proven that humans can tell when someone is watching them….some blind people can “see" emotional states of people they are around…they have done tests that show humans have a certain amount of what we call precognition (normal range around 5 seconds)…may actually play an intricate role in our lives…from survival to picking a mate.
So some believe that we must have a God to hold up the structure of reality…he would be the supreme observer creating reality by sheer will.
You can step outside your mind and see yourself observing yourself…and you can do this again and again an infinite number of times or you will reach the underlying nature of reality where consciousness bubbles up from the complex nature of the universe.
Supposedly, if you have a large enough system…it will one day along it’s journey as it grows in size and complexity - become conscious…there are some very complex mathematical equations that go along with it but basically it said, our universe must be conscious…our planet may even hold some semblance of consciousness as well.
We are are far too egotistical in our thinking and reasoning concerning our place in the universe…for all we know, each one of us may represent some lowly atoms in the mind of the universe…given our senses to sense for the consciousness that we are an extension of.
You know I think that there is something after we die…I think the reason that people still follow religions and cults etc. is because everyone has this innate underlying knowledge of where we came from and where we are going…it makes sense to not allow people this knowledge because it would dramatically change the way we behaved and learned here on Earth…one could say that by allowing us to be what we are now; an egotistical human consciousness that feels separate from God…from each-other…even from itself in some cases - that gave us free will.
Free will to choose good over evil…love over hatred…and yes, that is a whole other debate in itself - but I also think that we were all given varying levels of empathy to have the realization of what is good and what is not. In all the NDE stories I have ever read, the underlying message is the golden rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Even a psychopath without empathy can make sense of the rule for the survival of the species.
Anyhow…rambling...

 

[Skarekrow]

[video=youtube;0WNKIJfy2ao]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0WNKIJfy2ao[/video]

Here’s a good one on similar subject matter.

(way off the original topic btw)

 

[Eventhorizon]

Well, with the results the PEAR labs have (here’s a link - http://www.princeton.edu/~pear/) gotten, it’s certainly implies that we can indeed predict that something will happen, we just don’t have the where and the who part of the equation yet. If I were someone who’s job it was to look for terrorist activity then you better bet your ass that I would have the minute by minute on the random number generators around the world.
We may not be able to say it’s here at this time by these guys…but we could say “High alert” and everyone could keep an extra close eye on things…that is totally feasible IMO.
So the idea being floated right now is that we are participatory in nature to reality but we do also seem to have some influence. They have proven that humans can tell when someone is watching them….some blind people can “see" emotional states of people they are around…they have done tests that show humans have a certain amount of what we call precognition (normal range around 5 seconds)…may actually play an intricate role in our lives…from survival to picking a mate.
So some believe that we must have a God to hold up the structure of reality…he would be the supreme observer creating reality by sheer will.
You can step outside your mind and see yourself observing yourself…and you can do this again and again an infinite number of times or you will reach the underlying nature of reality where consciousness bubbles up from the complex nature of the universe.
Supposedly, if you have a large enough system…it will one day along it’s journey as it grows in size and complexity - become conscious…there are some very complex mathematical equations that go along with it but basically it said, our universe must be conscious…our planet may even hold some semblance of consciousness as well.
We are are far too egotistical in our thinking and reasoning concerning our place in the universe…for all we know, each one of us may represent some lowly atoms in the mind of the universe…given our senses to sense for the consciousness that we are an extension of.
You know I think that there is something after we die…I think the reason that people still follow religions and cults etc. is because everyone has this innate underlying knowledge of where we came from and where we are going…it makes sense to not allow people this knowledge because it would dramatically change the way we behaved and learned here on Earth…one could say that by allowing us to be what we are now; an egotistical human consciousness that feels separate from God…from each-other…even from itself in some cases - that gave us free will.
Free will to choose good over evil…love over hatred…and yes, that is a whole other debate in itself - but I also think that we were all given varying levels of empathy to have the realization of what is good and what is not. In all the NDE stories I have ever read, the underlying message is the golden rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Even a psychopath without empathy can make sense of the rule for the survival of the species.
Anyhow…rambling...

Good thoughts. I only question the "given" part. Given free will etc...
Maybe we were given any number of things. But why and by what. It makes more sense to me that a kid playing with his xbox 10, 000 did it rather than some magical being who through sheer force of will caused itself to exist.

Ha ha. Well I guess we will either know one day or not.

 

[Skarekrow]

Good thoughts. I only question the "given" part. Given free will etc...
Maybe we were given any number of things. But why and by what. It makes more sense to me that a kid playing with his xbox 10, 000 did it rather than some magical being who through sheer force of will caused itself to exist.

Ha ha. Well I guess we will either know one day or not.

If God does exist then he either always has and we just cannot grasp this concept with our minds…or God spontaneously popped into existence either with the Big Bang (if you believe the universe is all there is) or He caused the Big Bang and came into existence some other way.
This sort of explains it….it’s the basic idea that given a big enough and complex enough system - consciousness must arise.
http://www.wired.com/2013/11/christof-koch-panpsychism-consciousness/all/

 

[Skarekrow]

@Eventhorizon

I just wanted to clarify my own position here…I DO believe in God…but I do not think that God is some golden being with flowing robes and a beard…surely God would choose not to have a beard, because they get fucking annoying.

To me, that is the one thing that will always remain a mystery until death…we can know a lot of things in this life…but short of a mystical being appearing and claiming the title I don’t think we can know that.

And when I say- “given free will” I don’t mean it in the way I think you think I do.
If there is a God….and if that God created and controls the universe then surely we could have also been made in a “lesser” manner…without self-awareness…without the ability to shape our own reality within the reality of the universe…but for whatever reason we were made to have self-reflection and the capacity to make our own choices…with that power comes a deeper understanding of love and the connections we make with one another…that also gives us the ability to completely go against God if we should want to.

You see…I was the same way for a while…I couldn’t understand why a force such as God would allow all the BS to go on in the world.
But that is with the assumption that this is the Abrahamic Biblical wrathful deity that seemingly kills humans with no regard whatsoever…turns innocent women into pillars of salt…that is some Buuullllshiiiit. Don’t even get me started on Job.

But change your assumption that that isn’t what God is….that God does have our best intentions in mind, but in order for free will to actually be a choice we must first have a certain amount of power over our reality…with that power comes a certain amount of trust and responsibility too. (we have the power to destroy and create)

If you don’t assume that God is going to judge you and punish/reward you accordingly then the whole universe make infinitely more sense.
This is all…assuming that there is a God and not just a universal consciousness…i.e. the combined sentient consciousness of all living (perhaps not living) things in the universe.

That could very well be the case which would lean more toward the many universes theory of reality…that every choice possible is made in another universe somewhere…the reason for our existence in this universe is quite simple according to this theory…it’s because this universe had just the right conditions for life to form and consciousness to arise. You see, there are countless universes where life did not form…and countless one’s where the conditions are just right…thus life is only conditional on the statistical number game of chance.

Now that we are thoroughly off topic… here’s a picture of a pill bug -