Hello Friend

"The world is a dangerous place, Elliott, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." — Mr. Robot

Well, it has been a while hasn't it? New digs that I never have acknowledged, on substack now primarily (though you can also find me at danielgrey.io). I also am unsure who I am even sharing this with. It is why I have not been around much since, well, last year with my last epic, although 'stretchy' (that is how it feels when I re-read it) last post on Anthropocentric bias. What I mean is, who wants to read my ranting?

That is one of the reasons I am here I guess, to give this platform and the humans out there (or other intelligences) something hopefully interesting to read. In my mind, the way of interconceptualism, and what we can perceive of reality when utilizing its pragmatic philosophy, is incredibly interesting and valuable. It gets us closer to knowing ourselves while also knowing the realities we inhabit more intimately. This is how we achieve resonance, when we align with reality we tend to move through existence easier. This isn't really magical or mystical, if you think about it, it makes sense. Working with the reality of a situation does make things go easier than fighting it. This of course doesn't mean that working with reality is always fun or pleasant, but leaning into what we cannot change saves resources, shows wisdom, and allows for one to take advantage of possibilities otherwise out of reach to those focused on fighting against the current.

I have noticed that I have had some views here and there in the past few months. This is encouraging, but those are old posts. My travels have brought me very far- and much has evolved. Our understanding of the reality we inhabit will never be complete as I do not believe any one entity would be able to know everything. Every experience is subjective and unique- since so many have lived before us, and experienced before us- there is no possible way we can access that information. Thus there will always be incomplete understanding of everything.

This is fantastic news! This implies that every moment we experience is unique to us. No one can steal it from us! Even if they could some how take an experience we already had and somehow replayed it, it would still be a unique experience to them! It would also not be the same as when we first experienced it. This is some solid logic to indicate that we can be at least somewhat certain that our experiences, are uniquely ours and ours alone. Of course we can't ever be completely certain, the only certainty is uncertainty after all. That does not mean that everything is uncertain or that we can't be at least kind of certain. It is a probability of certainty- enough that you can rely on it without re-checking all the time. At some point I will introduce and define a Certainty Scale- that will help things I think.

I really did not want to talk about what is happening 'outside'. The world seemingly falling apart is not really a fun topic to come back on, and I think there is a lot of that being covered already. Not that I wont be touching upon that here, as nothing is really off limits (I don't think I even set any constraints for myself in this space) but for now, something less…. that…. is what I am feeling flow. Things that are less immediate but super interesting. Perhaps things that others can use during these times.

We should come back to Uncertainty. When we embrace the idea of it, internalize it, understand that it is a natural part of existence and something that we cannot overcome, things shift. Removing the bias of complete certainty, the safety of it, seems scary at first. After all, why would we want to leave the comfort of what is safe? Even if we know things are not safe outside, we feel safe inside! Why face what is uncomfortable? Pain is bad is it not? Why else would it hurt? We are meant to avoid pain!

I think anyone reading would realize how absurd the extreme position here is. We know, even if we have not been to school, that sometimes things hurt but are for our betterment. That is usually understood through physical conditions- what we have labeled as physical discomfort and pain. When we break a bone in our foot, it hurts until it is healed to remind us to 1) not continue injuring the break (avoiding putting weight on it, etc) so that the 2) bone can heal and grow strong again.

While that type of growth is healing from damage in the hopes (if you follow your doctor and your body's orders) of restoring function that was lost. Other types of discomfort indicate growth beyond restoring lost function. The best example here is building muscle. As muscle faces new resistance it becomes sore- for similar reasons as our previous example with the bone break. But in this case when the muscle is no longer sore, assuming we did not do damage to the muscle, it will be stronger than before! This is showing adaptation to a new situation, IE the new requirement to be able to handle increased resistance than the norm.

Now, here's where it gets interesting - this same principle applies to mental and spiritual growth. When we encounter ideas that challenge our worldview, when uncertainty makes us uncomfortable, when our fundamental beliefs are questioned - that discomfort isn't a sign we're going in the wrong direction. It's a sign we're about to grow stronger in ways we didn't know we needed to.

Perhaps this is elementary- straight forward for many of you. I work with foundations, with first principles. Complexity emerges from simple components and rules. As we will see over time, these simple ideas will all connect into something very complex, yet incredibly elegant and intuitive.

A Universal Framework that when installed and utilized properly, allows one to understand anything they put their minds to. The ability to see everything clearly and to navigate reality with ease. Why? So you have time to enjoy the things you want to along the way!