I'm surprised he even has a son. Maybe conception was pre this insane quest for immortality, which now takes up every minute of his entire waking day. No relationship can be sustained with someone so completely self-obssessed, and unable to give of their time and emotions, and I expect there are probably quite a few fame-whores, but no real, significant other.
What I see in Bryan Johnson is a man terrified of death.
If this atheist were to expand his mind, as much as he expands his ever-growing to-do list of rituals and elixirs, he may come to understand that we are spiritual beings here only briefly, to learn from, and experience, the human condition.
I don't know why you would ever want to permanently tether yourself to this lower earthly plane.
There is a great phrase that says "there are no atheists in foxholes".
Maybe at the end, if he's lucky, he will go out uttering the famous last words of Steve Jobs who said only "Wow. Oh wow. Oh wow" - perhaps in response to the moment our true nature is revealed.
Great timing, as I decided to pop onto Substack and take a break from reading my copy of The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy. Light, but fun.
Science fiction and fantasy are more or less the same thing. Real sci-fi in the fullest sense of the term has only been found in the works of H.G. Wells and Stanislaw Lem. You'd find Lem's reaction to the existence of Anglo-American sci-fi to be fascinating. Doing his own thing in Poland in isolation - including writing the best sci-fi out there - he was sent the novels by the popular sci-fi authors and discovered, to his disappointment, that they were basically just adolescent fairy tales that had nothing to do with actual science. (He made a noteworthy exception for Ubik, by Philip K. Dick) The sci-fi world got butthurt by it, and it was the big sci-fi drama of the 70s.
Science is most certainly magic, and anyone who says otherwise has a murky comprehension of history. But what I'm wondering is: is AI the final One Ring? Or is it Sauron's spirit seeking the ring? Much as it relates to these LOTR themes, it is also kind of its own thing, though its role in the quest for immortality is obvious.
"And for Tolkien, sorcery was defined as using some means, whether magical or not, to bend the natural order to ones own desire for the sake of power."
But didn't Gandalf also use sorcery? Yes, he rejected the One Ring, but he was still a wizard, and used sorcery in aid of the good - not in pursuit of power. It seems that Tolkien believed there is some legitimate/not evil role for sorcery.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
This is the pattern of POWER and AUTHORITY, as very well detailed by René Guenon in his book of same name.
Essentially, there should be a balance, otherwise you become a slave to power (the genie in the lamp problem). And often in order to get more power one sacrifices authority and integrity.
Very well noticed, I’ve been following this guy on twitter and in my opinion he is the apex of the techno-pagan transhumanist.
I do not agree with the solution proposed. Knowledge of fairy tales is only beneficial so far.
German romanticists had a profound knowledge of them, yet their ultimate system (Steiner’s Antroposophy) is actually a shadow of christianism.
The solution is knowledge of the bible. Not necessarily direct reading of the book but good catechism. Anyway, bible stories contain more of everything compared to fairy tales.
I wonder if Bryan Johnson has read any Heinlein, especially Time Enough For Love. Heinlein was a weirdo, but he was smart and knew that immortality wouldn't be all rainbows and sunshine
Well said! I've recognized for awhile that sci-fi and fantasy are closely related -- the main difference is reliance on either magic or technology, which play the same role.
LotR is a modern epic, like Gilgamesh, and it too has perennial lessons. What really stands out about the Ring is its commentary on the nature of Power itself, and how the only way to defeat Power is to neutralize it, otherwise you'll be corrupted in time.
Having recently embraced the concept of reincarnation, mortality becomes far easier to accept, knowing this is just the latest life in a long chain of being, making mistakes, learning and growing.
I'm surprised he even has a son. Maybe conception was pre this insane quest for immortality, which now takes up every minute of his entire waking day. No relationship can be sustained with someone so completely self-obssessed, and unable to give of their time and emotions, and I expect there are probably quite a few fame-whores, but no real, significant other.
What I see in Bryan Johnson is a man terrified of death.
If this atheist were to expand his mind, as much as he expands his ever-growing to-do list of rituals and elixirs, he may come to understand that we are spiritual beings here only briefly, to learn from, and experience, the human condition.
I don't know why you would ever want to permanently tether yourself to this lower earthly plane.
There is a great phrase that says "there are no atheists in foxholes".
Maybe at the end, if he's lucky, he will go out uttering the famous last words of Steve Jobs who said only "Wow. Oh wow. Oh wow" - perhaps in response to the moment our true nature is revealed.
I mean who could not like an essay the mentions Gilgamesh?
Everything ultimately comes back to Order and Chaos. Their attempt to subvert the natural Order spreads Chaos.
Samwise knows.
I can't stand his nail polish
Great timing, as I decided to pop onto Substack and take a break from reading my copy of The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy. Light, but fun.
Science fiction and fantasy are more or less the same thing. Real sci-fi in the fullest sense of the term has only been found in the works of H.G. Wells and Stanislaw Lem. You'd find Lem's reaction to the existence of Anglo-American sci-fi to be fascinating. Doing his own thing in Poland in isolation - including writing the best sci-fi out there - he was sent the novels by the popular sci-fi authors and discovered, to his disappointment, that they were basically just adolescent fairy tales that had nothing to do with actual science. (He made a noteworthy exception for Ubik, by Philip K. Dick) The sci-fi world got butthurt by it, and it was the big sci-fi drama of the 70s.
Science is most certainly magic, and anyone who says otherwise has a murky comprehension of history. But what I'm wondering is: is AI the final One Ring? Or is it Sauron's spirit seeking the ring? Much as it relates to these LOTR themes, it is also kind of its own thing, though its role in the quest for immortality is obvious.
"And for Tolkien, sorcery was defined as using some means, whether magical or not, to bend the natural order to ones own desire for the sake of power."
But didn't Gandalf also use sorcery? Yes, he rejected the One Ring, but he was still a wizard, and used sorcery in aid of the good - not in pursuit of power. It seems that Tolkien believed there is some legitimate/not evil role for sorcery.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
This is the pattern of POWER and AUTHORITY, as very well detailed by René Guenon in his book of same name.
Essentially, there should be a balance, otherwise you become a slave to power (the genie in the lamp problem). And often in order to get more power one sacrifices authority and integrity.
Very well noticed, I’ve been following this guy on twitter and in my opinion he is the apex of the techno-pagan transhumanist.
I do not agree with the solution proposed. Knowledge of fairy tales is only beneficial so far.
German romanticists had a profound knowledge of them, yet their ultimate system (Steiner’s Antroposophy) is actually a shadow of christianism.
The solution is knowledge of the bible. Not necessarily direct reading of the book but good catechism. Anyway, bible stories contain more of everything compared to fairy tales.
I wonder if Bryan Johnson has read any Heinlein, especially Time Enough For Love. Heinlein was a weirdo, but he was smart and knew that immortality wouldn't be all rainbows and sunshine
Well said! I've recognized for awhile that sci-fi and fantasy are closely related -- the main difference is reliance on either magic or technology, which play the same role.
LotR is a modern epic, like Gilgamesh, and it too has perennial lessons. What really stands out about the Ring is its commentary on the nature of Power itself, and how the only way to defeat Power is to neutralize it, otherwise you'll be corrupted in time.
Having recently embraced the concept of reincarnation, mortality becomes far easier to accept, knowing this is just the latest life in a long chain of being, making mistakes, learning and growing.
Wasn’t Gilgamesh a Smurf?
Have you ever read “The Witchcraft of Ulua” by Clark Ashton Smith? It’s a good one and this essay reminded me of it.