Sailing the Seas of Thought On charitable interpretation, resonance, and the Jazz of Ideas
I am an inveterate ‘sharer’. The shares that I take most pleasure in1 are ideas: papers, lectures, book extracts, podcasts, tweets. I see this in terms of missionary zeal: I derive pleasure from spreading the word. But the recipient does not always share my enthusiasm. Sometimes this is because I’ve overlooked some error or ulterior motive that a more patient observer would detect. I attribute much of this to a tendency for charitable interpretation. I fill out ideas with the help of memory and imagination; I smooth off the sharp edges. And even though I’m aware of this phenomenon, I miss flaws in what I share, seeing then only after someone else points them out2. But the overlooked flaws — which so often provoke irritation — are not always in the share itself, but in its source.
Thoran: stir-friend beans and carrots with grated coconut A Kerala staple
Thoran is a type of stir-fried vegetable dish common in Kerala. Similar dishes are found all over South India. You basically stir fry the vegetables in oil seasoned with mustard seeds, onions, curry leaves, and other spices, and add some grated coconut toward the end. I normally eyeball the proportions, so this is an approximate recipe.
Spy vs Psi Psychotronics, Gateway Experiences, and Orbitals of Consciousness
The image below is from a paper uploaded to the virtual “reading room” of a certain well-known intelligence agency.
I came across this paper on the “psychotronic universe” as the indirect result of googling for the phrase “a reconciliation of opposites” along with “consciousness”. The first result was something from the agency.