Re: virus: Strange attractors and meta-religions (was God and Level-3)

Tim Rhodes (proftim@speakeasy.org)
Mon, 31 Mar 1997 11:16:48 -0800 (PST)


On Sun, 30 Mar 1997, David McFadzean wrote:

> If I keep asking "why" for my goals I eventually end up with "to have
> a meaningful life" which I equate with "making a difference", "changing
> the world" and "creating the future". If I ask "why" again I come to
> the same answer, not unlike a strange attractor in a chaotic system.
>
> Does anyone here have a different strange attractor? I imagine their
> are many possible ones, e.g. "to become one with the universe", "to
> serve God", "to accumulate as many toys as possible", maybe even
> "to feel good". Maybe these core motivations are the primary difference
> between groups of people, let's call them "meta-religions".

I don't disagree with you, but I would guess that the reason you keep
being drawn back to the strange attractors of "having a meaningful life",
"changing the world" and "creating the future" or even "to serve God" is
that those are where the payoff is. These are the things that tickle your
limbic system (or, in my words, make you "feel good").

-Prof. Tim