A glimpse of the real world out there. Some ideas on how much UN-learning is necessary to see the Matrix.

1. How
I
shot
Santa
Claus.
@benjaminjoffe
|
INCITEment
|
2012.12.14

2. Howdy!
• 12
years
abroad
across
8
countries
• 9
years
self-­‐employed
• Work
with
early-­‐stage
startups
• Lots
of
Fme
to
travel,
read
and
think
Just
a
regular
guy

3. I
started
with
a
fairly
restricted
field
of
vision

4. Then
gradually
realized
a
few
things
were
not
so
true…
even
my
parents
did
not
know
everything
about
everything

5. From
then
on
it
was
down
the
rabbit
hole…

6. Despite
the
Eiffel
tower,
Zidane
and
200
sorts
of
cheese,
France
was
not
the
best
country
in
the
world,
none
was.
Our
point
of
view
was
just
one
point
of
view.

7. I
found
out
various
things
I
(and
people
around
me)
believed
was
in
fact
not
true,
such
as
who
invented
the
movable
type.

8. I
was
told
at
school
it
was
Gutenberg.
Everything
that
maXered
was
invented
in
Europe
for
sure.
Turned
out
it
wasn’t.

9. I
moved
to
Asia
and
discovered
Asia’s
fronFers
varied
depending
on
who
you
talked
to.

10. Even
“Asia”
seen
as
a
conFnent
was
debatable…

11. That
just
took
me
further
down
the
rabbit
hole.

12. I
found
out
school
did
not
prepare
me
for
work
life…

13. And
that
companies
I
worked
for
did
not
care
much
for
me…

14. I
also
figured
I
had
no
guide
for
relaFonships

15. Do
you
know
this
show?

16. Karl
hates
to
travel.
They
thought
it
would
be
hilarious
to
send
him
around
the
world.
It
is
hilarious.
And
he
hates
it.

17. Which
superpower
would
you
like
to
have?

18. Karl
wants
to
be
Bullshit
Man
Flying
in
to
fight
BS
hXp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lRIQGU2RRk

19. Un-­‐learning
Having
Bullshit
Man
around
would
be
great.
He
would
avoid
us
spending
inordinate
amounts
of
Fme
UN-­‐LEARNING
the
hogwash
we
were
taught.

20. Have
you
heard
of
this
book?

21. Maybe
you
heard
of
these
revoluFons.

22. Both
are
connected.
The
book
is
the
manual
for
the
revoluFons.

23. Do
you
know
where
PR
comes
from?
Why
women
can
smoke?
All
Edward
Bernays’
work.

24. If
you
watched
those
movies
(NOT
“The
Social
Network”),
you
know
a
bit
more
about
the
world
we
live
in.
Both
were
supposed
to
be
dystopias!

25. If
the
nature
of
money,
the
FED
and
how
banks
became
what
they
are
interests
you,
this
is
the
one
book
to
read.
You’ll
feel
strange
aker.

26. Who
controls
all
this?
One
quesFon
you
might
ask.
I
don’t
have
a
definite
answer
but
I’m
working
on
it.
As
I
think
we
all
should
do.

27. Understanding
ManipulaFon
There
are
also
micro-­‐levels
of
manipulaFon
and
lies.

28. To
understand
fortune
telling,
those
are
preXy
good.

29. Milgram
Experiment
To
understand
how
humans
are
influenced
by
authority,
this
is
the
reference
work.

30. The
shocking
results:
65%
of
subjects
go
“all
the
way”
(=
death)
because
they
are
told
to
and
because
experimenters
told
them
they
won’t
be
held
responsible.

31. ManipulaFon
or
pracFcal
modern
philosophy?

32. What
I
don’t
believe
in
anymore
• Mass
media
(mostly
trivia
and
lies)
• Pop
culture
(mostly
shit)
• Money
(monkey
money)
• Current
Western
elecBon
systems
(masquerade)
• Official
history
(propaganda)
• Most
revoluBons
(crowd
&
media
manipulaFon)
I
am
a
realist,
with
some
dose
of
opFmism.
Notably,
I
believe
people
can
wake
up,
one
by
one.

33. The
world
we
live
in
We
live
in
a
world
between
“Brave
New
World”
(class
society,
comfort,
sex,
soma),
1984
(police
state,
fake
enemy,
fake
sense
of
wealth,
doublespeak)
and
“The
Iron
Heel”
(class
repression,
robber
barons)

34. Peddling
NarraFves
&
Images
• Hollywood
• TV
• Disney
• Porn
We
are
trained
to
believe
in
those
by
repeFFon.

35. Primed
for
Disappointment
• Sets
unrealisBc
expectaBons
• It’s
all
visual
• “Live
happily
ever
aker”
is
the
hard
part
The
resulFng
frustraFon/dissaFsfacFon
makes
us
feel
inadequate,
pushing
us
to
buy
stuff
and
pop
pills
to
feel
beXer.

36. SemanFc
Prisons
• Words
constrain
our
thinking
• Examples
– “Patriot”
Act?
– RevoluFonary
vs.
Rebel
– “Bullshit”
– “Awesome”
– “Let’s
have
fun”
This
bit
is
harder
to
understand.
EssenFally,
our
words
limit
our
thinking
to
crude
forms
and
prevent
us
from
grasping
the
nuance
of
situaFons
and
emoFons.

37. I
recommend
these
two
books
to
understand
this.

38. What
I
believe
about
people
• AcBons
speak
louder
than
words
• People
do
their
best,
but
are
oken
unaware,
misguided
or
weak
• Majority
are
by-­‐standers
to
the
world,
a
small
numbers
acFvely
good
or
bad
People
are
generally
well-­‐intenFoned
(when
not
scared,
then
they
turn
selfish)
but
too
oken
misguided
and
passive

39. Twilight
of
the
Idols
• Importance
of
dissent
• DoubFng
authoriFes
(“idols”)
• Using
criFcal
thinking
– Asking
WHY,
WHY,
WHY,
WHY,
WHY
(Toyota)
– MoFves
&
circumstances
behind
acFons
The
way
forward
could
be
to
train
our
criFcal
thinking.
Applying
Toyota’s
“Five
Why”
to
all
situaFons.
Being
brave
enough
to
express
concern
and
dissent
from
the
majority,
even
alone.

40. On Work
• Most
people
are
capable
but
not
in
the
right
job
for
them
• Staying
in
the
wrong
work
=
Opportunity
cost
• Skills
+
Fun
+
Purpose
is
what
maXers
• It’s
the
“Startup
of
You”.
Learn,
network,
create.

41. On Love
ATTRACTION
(lots
of
people,
many
incompa1ble)
LIFE
COMPATIBILITY
(many
we
are
not
a6racted
to)
COMMITMENT
To
end
on
a
different
note,
here
is
what
I
understand
of
love.
The
Western-­‐style
“passion”
is
the
aXracFon
part,
while
the
“CompaFbility”
part
is
prevalent
in
India.
Add
those
two
and
Commitment,
and
you
might
have
the
winning
formula.

42. We
all
have
it
in
us!
Join
Bullshit
Man
in
his
fight
for
truth
&
freedom!
@benjaminjoffe
benjamin@plus8star.com