The Egg - A Short Story

Closely related, especially given the context of consciousness, one of my favorite stories: "The Egg" ( [LINK] , or if you prefer read by Kurzgesagt: [VIDEO] ).

Jean de Florette (1986) and its conclusion Manon des Sources (1986), great 80s French movies, top notch cast you would even recognize in the US. Also Le château de ma mère (1990) and La gloire de mon père (1990). I haven’t watched the second pair since I was a small boy, but I remember being captivated. A complete tangent is this Kurzgesagt video on YouTube where they consider the possibility that you will be every human and live every life. I can’t stop thinking about it. [VIDEO]

> People aren't "gifted" with technology I used the words "humans having been gifted digital technology" as I am a marxist and I believe that all the technologies and scientific knowledge that we reverse engineer from nature is gifted to us by a higher power. Others talk about the brilliance of human minds, yet since I see us as a part of nature, there's no distinction in that for me. Another reason I say it that way is because unfortunately the 'great man theory/myth' still reigns supreme in the tech industry [1]. I think though that this 'brilliant mind' story that is commonly told in the west seems to have often justified detrimental and destructive human supremacy/domination over the rest of nature (also leading us to the edge of the cliff now with global warming). Anyways, I think that we all tell ourselves different stories and this is one of mine. This is another story I tell myself because it is ridiculously beautiful to me: [LINK] or Kurzgesagt version: [VIDEO] > I was privileged enough to have my mother sacrifice everything(her property, her life, her family and her homeland) to pull me out of a warzone to provide for me so I would be in a position to be able to build these skills. That sounds incredibly difficult and distressing for her (and possibly for you too). Thank you for sharing this personal story here. > Just calling the whole thing privilege is such a disservice to all she had to sacrifice for me to be able to be in this position. That isn't what I am ref

The Egg is one of my life long favorite histories. kurzgesagt did a video animation of it a few years ago [VIDEO]

A perspective that may be interesting to you - all those successful around you are you, as well as the billions less fortunate - they are also you. "The Egg" [VIDEO]

Kurzgesagt's short video is great too, it's (quasi-)verbatim, but the music, animation and narration makes it quite poignant. The idea behind the story is quite fascinating to me. If simulationists are right, it's as good or better of a "why" as "origin seeking" IMO. Not that I believe one way or the other, I just think the idea's interesting to ponder on. [VIDEO]

Since we're linking to The Egg, we should also link to the animated narration of it by Kurzgesagt: [VIDEO]

I’ve taken mushrooms quite a few times. With a light dose, it’s just been mild, being silly and giggling at colors and nature. Pleasant, but just kind of a fun drug honestly. With a moderate dose, you tend to be introspective and consider your own life and relationships in different ways. Feels like therapy to be honest. Hard work. Emotionally draining. There’s usually a lesson at the end. Overall it is good for me and makes me a better, more empathetic person. With higher doses in a so-called bad trip, it’s sometimes been just extremely confusing and not at all fun, to the extent that I’d forget my own name or what I’ve taken and basically just all memories. It’s very frustrating to be in that state, constantly trying not to fly away but not able to ground yourself. It’s a little disturbing, but not horrific. I think the reason for this is that I am afraid to lose my ego, or die, and I would actually benefit from a slightly higher dose so I'm unable to resist. With really high doses though, it’s been a truly beautiful, enlightening experience. I still think of it sometimes. It’s very difficult to really explain in words, but it feels like kind of extreme empathy with all life. Buddhists would call it going egoless. I just felt very at peace: we all live, we all die, and it’s all okay. I’m not particularly religious or spiritual at all but that experience really changed me. It feels like life is in all these different forms, and you just happen to be one particular variation