All Habit Represents the Failure of Uncertainty
Audio = Stream from the bar; download from the dots
08/12/1991
Summary = See below
Condensed News Items = See below
News Item Gallery = jcap 1991-03-13 -0854
Transcript = None
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Summary
#854 * Aug 12, 1991 * – 1:00
Notes by TK
Kyroot to :16. Activity in the Secondary Level World is done under duress. Eventually everyone realizes they are not what they were advertised, not what they took themselves to be, yet nobody demands their money back. Parallel: religion is not what it promises; history is not what it promises. This is the essence of uncertainty of the Secondary Level World. Note that in general Life disapproves of habit.
The second law of uncertainty: all habit represents the failure of uncertainty. The joy is gone from a hobby that has become habitual. Old age is certainty. To struggle with the normal fresh uncertainty of the Secondary Level World will always produce something new.
The News
When philosophers get wet, they’ll sleep with anybody.
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Now we return to our normal schedule and bring you that ever popular feature, “The News — Not The Blues”: Today’s lead story says that while one group waited on the bus, the highways went on strike.
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Conversation Number Two Hundred And Sixteen: “Do you know the difference between being blissfully dumb and at least suspecting you could be less so?” “No, I don’t.” “Well, I guess that answers that!”
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A complaining revolutionist is a wounded revolutionist.
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Listing himself as a Broker Of Information, he said he dealt in both facts and his opinions, but added that on most days, he wouldn’t sell any of the former, and when I asked him why, he said he didn’t believe that most people knew what to do with facts, anyway. (He then demanded twenty dollars for his reply.)
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Like everything else in the secondary world, seriousness is just a hobby.
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“Pop,” cried the kid, “I’ve decided that my heroes will be those who’ve overcome the adversities with only peanutian abilities,” and the ole soreheaded dad marveled to himself over the numerous possibilities this presented.
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You could take the operational view that while the collective thought of man is never “right,” it’s always on the right track.
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One god said, “I can’t go on — I just can’t go on,” and some of his creatures shouted, “Sure you can — sure you can,” and he replied, “I’m glad you said that,” and they answered, “We’re glad we could be of help,” and the Big Guy countered, “No, I mean I’m glad for your sake.”
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One guy kissed history good-bye.
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In some realities, to “get ahead,” you’ve got to really get ahead. …(Consumer athletic tip for the day: A runner with a civilized mind always has the pack at his heels, since he carries the pack along with him.)
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In the secondary world, everybody’s hanging on by a thread; but then, Life uses threads in that domain to support multi-decked, intellectual bridges.
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Once the debate had been well into the serious and sweaty stage for some time, one chap asked to be momentarily excused while he went to “change brains.”
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When this one god realized he could no longer hit the high notes like he used to, he simply had a bunch of people shot.
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Civilized behavior around an out-of-control camp fire.
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One of the old park philosophers offered me his latest “wrap” on human affairs (offered he): “If all were well at everyone’s home, we could have less warfare in our streets.”
…(It might really be frightening if he, and too many others, knew what he was actually talking about.)
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“Papa, between humans, what could we call information that doesn’t become advice?” and the ole man replied, “How about, ‘rare’?”
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Dirty, Though Funny, Question Of The Day: Would you prefer to fall into the hands of those with no heart, or no intelligence? …(How about regarding your own captivity of yourself?)
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A man who won’t take words seriously will never get to be king…not in any cities around here, he won’t!
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Over near the city phone company I met a man who, once every thirty days or so, would swell up and begin to sweat green, smelly memories. He would then begin to wring his hands and say (to almost no one in particular), “Yeah, yeah, but if this is the end of the month, we’ll be O-kay.”
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Whenever you’re still experiencing any doubt as to the general level of intelligence ordinarily permitted, just remind yourself that there are many, many renowned historians who believe human life is regressing.
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Some of the people didn’t actually know what to say next, but did that stop them?!?! — What a people!
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One kid (in that precious way youngsters have of trying to challenge their father’s greater experience and imagination) said, “Come on now, Pop, admit it — can you in your wildest dreams picture Charlemagne doing sit-ups?”
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For revolutionist purposes, the danger of certain things is not in the thing, but in its reflection. …(We surely have not reached such a scuffy place that would cause any of you upstanding citizens to ever perceive your own civilized individuality as a…as a — “thing!”)
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In the city, all human dramas come in three acts (though only the first two seem essential).
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A viewer writes thusly-whusly: “While I have enjoyed your numerous reflections regarding the various vagaries of individual men, and the capricious moves of his larger institutions and cultures, I still am uncertain as to whether I should be taking your comments as being psychological or sociological; I do know one thing for certain — I shouldn’t be taking them seriously. No Offense Intended, Yours Sincerely, etc.”
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Without commenting on himself, man can comment on nothing, and without an opinion of himself, man can have no other opinion.
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In a thriving secondary world, every generation is from another world.
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Those who do not ultimately find their own mind to be their favorite hobby simply don’t have both oars in the attic.
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A traveler from another universe who enjoyed an unscheduled stop here after his bus broke down mused as he was leaving: the wonder that men didn’t seem to notice that most of their holidays were to celebrate the death of someone.
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While in a coma — everyone’s considerate. …(Alternate second verse: What normally passes for the “wisdom of age” in the city is in fact the equation, “Tiredness = Tolerance” in action.)
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In city, secondary affairs, is all ordinary knowledge limited to remembered experience? Is the difference between regular citizens and the revolutionist that the latter’s thinking is not so confined?
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During his summer break from his everyday duties, one of the ole park philosophers took his own son aside and gave him this piece of personal, private wisdom: “A man who writes a lot erases a lot,” and the lad replied, “But I met a man who doesn’t,” and his father shouted, “Don’t you go near that man!”
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Did you, figuratively speaking, ever ponder this: City gods never smile, while those out in the bushes are a riot.
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Over in this other quirky universe, there’s this law that dictates that anyone who says they’ve discovered a great secret is either still searching, or dead.
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One apparently well-worn city-ite says, “Studying the beliefs of others is almost as instructive as not studying them.”
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Disclaimer on the ticket stub read: “While the tent might remain the same, a different circus may be presented each evening.”
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One of the reasons some revolutionists become revolutionists is so they’ll stop complaining.
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Regarding his own mental “line-up,” this one chap says he’s adopted the “designated hitter” rule; he says it hasn’t helped all that much, but that whenever he reaches a point where he truly doesn’t know what he’s doing, at least there’s somebody new and stupid up at bat.
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One ole man’s advice to his kid was: “Never take an answer as an answer.”
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Fairy tales are only real and worthwhile as long as a man believes in them. (Corollary: So long as the horizon recedes and the sky expands, man must have myths.)
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Who will Life’s neural history remember? The ruler who captured ten thousand, or the thought that freed one?
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In the secondary market, the price of prattle is keyed to the cost of breath.
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Amidst what he hoped might be the final lap in his race, this one neural runner revealed, “I now clearly find two distinct views of every question: my view, and then my other view (pant, pant).”
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Remember, boys & girls, squirrels & drivers: Environmental influences on man exist only in the secondary world; and remember boys & girls — man made up the secondary world.
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Without Mary, the Lamb would not exist, and without the Lamb, Mary wouldn’t know whether she existed or not.
…(You can’t get much fairer than that!)
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The king exclaimed, “A man who won’t take a metaphor seriously will not be trusted with my daughter,” and with one voice, the entire village shouted back: “Giggle, snicker, and guffaw!” (…and Kyroot, the ole fablizer, did thus tell: Once upon a time in a kingdom somewhere away, lived a ruler who said, “The hardest thing for a sovereign to do is overthrow himself.”)
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One viewer wants to know when I’m going to talk about “the short cut.”
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In response to a number of inquiries we receive regarding certain terms used on the program, let me go ahead and clarify one of them away: Revolutionists’ “rules” are actually just real pushy suggestions.
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One reality got created on the basis of the Why Not? theory.
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One ole neural man told his synaptic son, “‘Tis acceptable to find that `Two plus two equals four,’ so long as the discovery was not made under duress.” …(After some twenty years had passed, the elder sent a card to the kid that said: “All secondary discoveries are made under duress. Love, Papa.”)
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In confidence, one god said he could tolerate almost anything from his creatures, except them taking themselves seriously.
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There is a joy in the pathless world wherein the revolutionist knows that it is his own feet that make any trail he finds. …..(…and Kyroot continued: It is the proper job of civilization to pave over the goo and paint in the center lines on the highways; it is the proper sport of the neural rebel to run off the road.)
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