Gary & Mark

Lusid
Lusid
Jul 10, 2017 · 4 min read
To the fucking moon, bitch.

Gary : Hey Mark, whatcha doin ?
Mark : Oh hi, Gary. Nothin much, really. Just chillin.

Both the children sat on the couch in the balcony. Lots of food and beverages around. So you can tell that they’re in a very chill-conducive environment. Gary was in a ‘fuck this shit’ kinda mood.

Gary : So do you ever think of dumb people?
Mark : Like the clinically dumb or just in general?
Gary : Ya just stupid people dude.
Mark : Of course man. I come across atleast one dumb person everyday. And I’m not talking about you.
Gary : None taken.

Mark : Anyways, why do you ask?
Gary : Nothin serious man. I just had this thought. Dumb people also must think we are dumb, right? So how do you prove to them that we’re not dumb? Is there like a brain scan we can take?
Mark : Dunno man. I guess the IQ test should give an indication of your stupidity level.
Gary : Oh right. D’you ever take it by the way?
Mark : Ya my mom made me take it when I was 12.
Gary : And what were the results?
Mark : Dunno man. She never told me.
Gary : What? Why not?
……
Gary : Oh.
Mark : Yeah bro.

And that was it. Gary finally realised that his best friend Mark was a dumbo. How could he have not known about it all this time? Was he himself also dumb? But how could he? He feels smart all the time. There has to be an explanation somewhere. He was filled with so many questions. But first, he took a selfie. They spent the next hour playing Call Of Duty and sipping iced coke in silence. They also ate some cake. That was good. Very good.

Gary : So yeah man…about dumb people…
Mark : Not this again.
Gary : Dumb people in a mental bubble…how do you convince them of it? And how do you get them out?
Mark : Dude, seriously? I just wanna relax my brain. We’ve been playing for an hour straight.
Gary : Fuck you. Talk to me.
Mark : Well…you can do nothin. People get stuck in mental bubbles. Period.
Gary : Don’t be so defeatist bro. Cmon say it.
Mark : You wanna get serious? Ok then.
Gary : Ohhhh snap! Shit just got real. Here come the insights…
Mark : People eat insects.
Gary : What The Fuck ?
Mark : Just hear me out.
Gary : Ok.


How can you define a mental bubble?

Any kind of thinking or action that is not based on truth. So if they get emotional/irrational and believe something that is false as true, they are in a mental bubble. Truth is clarity. The more truths you’re able to grasp and internalize, the more clearly you can operate in the world. Anybody whose actions are based out of falsity are in a mental bubble, knowingly or unknowingly. It may also happen that people who are not even aware of the essential truths are in mental bubbles. Your thoughts and actions have to spring from atleast a minimum number of truths. This number is the threshold of mental bubblery. Anybody who crosses this threshold is a rational human being capable of contributing to progress in a healthy way.

How can you know objectively if you’re in a mental bubble?

If your thoughts(perception) and actions(life) are True(T) rather than False(F) according to the universally accepted set of axioms(laws of universe) then you’re not in a mental bubble. Basically if you’re saying stuff that’s not true then you’re in a mental bubble. The most important thing here is that truth should be mathematically calculable and logically derivable from the set of axioms. Otherwise you have no way of identifying whether you’re in a mental bubble or not.

How can you get out of a mental bubble?

Identify the truths. Absorb them. It helps to have these discussions with other people that are out of the mental bubble you might be in.

How do I deal with irrational people?

I start off by feeling unfortunate for them. In my head, they are living their life with a mental handicap. They are unable to see the truth. And my job is not to pry open their eyes to see my reality. That’s ego-centred thinking. I try to empathise and stay away from unconstructive conversations. Purpose, prospect of death and a sense of urgency will help you evade these black-holes of time and mental energy. Tim Ferriss has a question that is very useful in this regard.

What can I learn from the people I hate the most?

Having said all this, I believe that a person’s self-control and ego can be put to great test by putting him/her in a room full of dumb people. There’s an old saying that goes along the lines of ‘…it’s how you treat those weaker than you that defines your character…’ And I couldn’t agree more. At a fundamental level, I think this is what democracy and free speech are based on. By the end of world war 2, the United States was the only country left with nuclear weapons. So it was in the right state to set the terms of peace for the rest of the world. Bless you, America. An open framework for expression of ideas and opinions is crucial for coming out and staying out of mental bubbles.

Mark : And that’s all I have to say about that.
Gary : Bro that was wicked.
Mark : Thanks John.
Gary : ??? I’m Gary.
Mark : Nice one, John.
Gary : This guy is retarded.

End Scene.

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