The "alien mindset" of a race

[Incenjucar]

SO on an unrelated note: what's the deal with Incomprehensible Horrors from Beyond the Gulf of Reason all having tentacles? I mean every last frickin one of 'em... tentacles! For the love of Eris, WHY ALWAYS WITH THE TENTACLES?!

And slime, don't forget slime.

I figure it's because of Lovecraft, possibly a, er, sensual suggestiveness (which tends to make one feel awkward), the fact that tentacles are akin to tongues, perhaps, and the fact that, with some exceptions, a tentacle is the least common sort of physical structure us land dwellers see. We're used to joints, which add some predictability to things.

Edit: Also a resemblance to entrails in both style and texture.

 

[Sejs]

Anab - or, to take a note from Mage the Ascention: comprehending the Correspondance Point.

Here and There are artificial constructs of the mind, erected in order to help you cope, and maintained by unconscious, consentual self-delusion that's shared by all creatures. The reality of the situation is that all matter, energy, time and space is simultaneously coexistant within the same point of location. That point of location constitues the whole of reality; there is no Here, but Here. There you are, sitting in your chair in front of your computer, but at the same time, you are also across the room. And in China. And in Deep Space. And everywhere else, all at the same time - there is no Where, where you Are Not. All because spacial relations are a lie. They're like the training wheels on reality. Once you fully understand the Correspondance Point, can percieve the Correspondance Point, and learn the Hows and Whys of the Correspondance Point, well then they doors are open! You can percieve anywhere... or everywhere if you think you can take it all in... you can move without crossing intervening space, because you know there IS no intervening space, and so on.

^_^

 

[Incenjucar]

The joys of playing fourth-dimensional-ascendant beings are endless. Especially in a freeform setting. You get to say "Of course I know how you're going to die, it already happened." and other such.

 

[Dogbrain]

2) Watching a 'Holy Man' of my choice being tortued horribly would be more amusing than watching Passion of Christ -- I could just quip up "Falwell!"

Actually, in your case, it would be "Randi".

3) I've had Christians tell me that such already IS my fate all my life, so I'm not really impressed.

And this was incontrovertible proof of your fate? What kept it from bothering you? I'll tell you: Specifically because you do NOT consider it to be true. Thus, your response is a cheap dodge, no disproof at all.

 

[Dogbrain]

Having lived on the fringe of the fringe of society (I was "the guy with a job" in my circle) for about a decade, I can tell you from observing others that there very well may be no limit to the capacity of the human mind to dive into self-delusion, regardless of any amount of contradicting "evidence". In other words, when presented with a simultaneously "incontrovertable" and "suicide-inducing" whatsis, the majority of people would pack it away. They would blank it out. They would "see" it as something different. They would "get over it". They would say that somehow, something other than a complete picture was given. This is how we survive as a species.

Unfortunately, the majority of people are of the delusion that "normal" human beings have a good grip on reality. This has actually been disproven, to some extent. Real-world, peer-reviewed, repeatable and repeated studies have shown that "normal" individuals routinely and repeatably overestimate their abilities and capacity. That is, they have an unrealistic and inflated view of themselves. Those with "low self-esteem" (the ones who are "abnormal") score much more accurately in tests of estimated ability vs. measured ability. The amazing thing is that, the greater the incompetence in a field, the greater the overestimation of personal ability in that field!

Therefore, I'd say that the majority of human beings, as they are "sane", would invoke these delusional measures to defend themselves, and would do so successfully. It would only be the abnormal who would make the mistake of accepting these "facts" and thus ensure their own destruction.

We need delusion to get through the day. We need an incomplete picture to make any decision. An enormous amount of our sensory brain regions is NOT involved in "sensing" the input. It's involved in EXCLUDING information. If all people noticed everything at all times, if they were truly perceptive, they would have a very hard time living in our society. Imagine what it would be like if you were aware of the feeling of your clothes on your skin at all times. Imagine what it would be like if you could not look at a word without reading it--you just couldn't shut down that part of your brain. Imagine what it would be like if you heard and noticed every tiny sound around you. (Some of us don't have to imagine it, but it can take decades to develop intentional filter mechanisms, if they ever appear at all.) We are, as a species, well-adapted to IGNORING information and not bothering to incorporate "knowledge" into our world views if there is no apparent pressing need to do so.

That is why I opine that there is probably no such thing as "knowledge so terrible that merely knowing it will destroy all humanity".

 

[Evilhalfling]

For examples of knowledge inspiring madness -
There is a Lovcraft short storty where a machine is built that sheds a special 'light' that allows the scientist to see multiple unseen dimensions, where hidious things swim through the air ignoring the constraints of a 3-d world, such as walls and gravity.
They ate him of course.

But assume that a person was allowed to see these things, but not interact directly with them. He would also loose the ability to distiguish between worlds. He would be forever hiding, talking to things that weren't there and trying to walk through walls. Functionally insane -

 

[CyberSpyder]

For examples of knowledge inspiring madness -
But assume that a person was allowed to see these things, but not interact directly with them. He would also loose the ability to distiguish between worlds. He would be forever hiding, talking to things that weren't there and trying to walk through walls. Functionally insane -

Not if he was still able to see and communicate with other people - and there's no clear reason why he wouldn't be. He could then explain how it was that he came to his illuminated state, and since it would be a real occurance, it would be verifiable.

 

[WayneLigon]

I mean honestly - what possible nature could God have that would cause EVERYONE who knew to commit suicide. Not just everyone of a single race, every single person who figures it out. It's a nice idea, but humanity contains individuals who can persuade themselves that any number of facts aren't true. What possible impact could a 'proof' have on them?

That's kinda the point of the story, that there could be a truth so utterly simple and provable even by children or the insane that they would just go 'well, time to move on', regardless of the culture or individuality.

 

[ml3]

Hey, I'd like to chime in here.

Now, I haven't read every entry in this thread so I hope I'm not duplicating what anyone already said.

My thinking on alien mind sets is not so much the aesthetics of perception but the mechanics. Picture a race that does not perceive linear time but sees it as a latice work of fourth dimensional probabilities. You can simplify that into human terms by saying that they could see all possible outcomes simultaneously. You can play that as a creature who is always prepared because it knows the most likely outcome. But the actual mechanics of seeing all times at once and not getting lost in the torrent has got to be an alien mind set.

What about a creature that can perceive five or more dimensions, or only two? Or a being that can feel light and shadow as textures and not just sense the temp changes. Or can understand 500 people talking at once. Or can taste thoughts rather than read them. Or communicates solely through scent glands.

I don't know if any of that will make a brain actually explode, but consider the throbbing at your temples when you're just trying to figure out your taxes. There has to be a pressure limit to the human skull

 

[Dogbrain]

That's kinda the point of the story, that there could be a truth so utterly simple and provable even by children or the insane that they would just go 'well, time to move on', regardless of the culture or individuality.

Then tell it to us.

I say that there MUST BE invisible pink unicorns. I have every bit as much evidence that such things MUST exist as you do that such "knowledge" MUST exist.

Given a sufficiently large infinite universe (no, that's not nonsense), such a thing might exist, but there is no valid argument that it necessarily does exist. To accept it is to accept it without the ability to demonstrate the validity of that acceptance.