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"Just snap out of it"
Sep. 30th, 2013 11:26 pmYou know how a lot of people keep telling depressed people to "just snap out of it"? And how that's impossible? Well let me explain both why idiots likely say that, and why it is impossible, in one argument.
Basically, these idiots have, at some level of belief, this fucked-up notion that the mind is stored somewhere else, like in the mythical "soul," and that the mind remotely controls the body. This is stupid, because there is no evidence, much less proof, that there is such a thing as a soul.
The mind is a function of the brain, which is a self-programming computer made of meat. Like any computer, there can be bugs in the software; and since human brains are self-programming, that makes a lot of opportunity for bugs. It also means that the brain has to make its own software patches and bug fixes. Which is possible - it's called meta-programming - but less than 1% of people know that this is possible; even fewer would have any desire to meta-program even if they knew it was possible. And less than 0.01% of the human population attempts meta-programming. Even fewer people are successful at it. And then there are the people who could not understand the concept of meta-programming, let alone attempt it.
Then too, if there are problems with the hardware of the computer, that will impair its functioning. So if there are issues with the brain's meat, there will be issues with the mind.
Trying to cure depression by "just snapping out of it" is just as effective as trying to get a frozen computer program to respond by yelling at it. And unlike digital computers, it is impossible to turn humans off and then back on again. Well, it IS, but it solves nothing, since the brain's programming is etched into its hardware. And even if it solved temporary type issues along the lines of things like freezing up, you cannot solve programming bugs that way. And we do not yet have a way to upgrade our brain's hardware. So if a certain program has a bug that always makes the system freeze up every time it runs, well... that's a permanent problem.
Also, as a friend of mine who DOES believe in souls (lj user="fayanora">) points out, the soul is not the same thing as the mind. She personally believes that the soul has its own mind and lives vicariously through us, and that it can only make suggestions but the meat has to listen to the soul. And she says "A. There are various levels of listening to the soul. B. Most people listen to their soul either never, or sporadically." She agrees with me that the mind is entirely in the meat, however. She explained her view like this: "Imagine someone has created a video game where your sim's character is determined by a mix of built-in rules and its experiences. All you, the player, can do is talk to your sim. Whether the sim listens to you or not is entirely up to it; it doesn't matter whether you whisper or scream, if will either listen to you or not because of its own free will. The human mind is to the human soul as that sim is to the player."
So repeat after me: THE MIND IS IN THE MEAT. THE MIND IS A SELF-PROGRAMMING COMPUTER AND IS MADE OF MEAT. IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE PROGRAMMING, REPROGRAMMING IS POSSIBLE BUT IMPROBABLE AND DIFFICULT. SOMETIMES REPROGRAMMING IS IMPOSSIBLE. IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE MEAT, FUNCTIONALITY WILL BE AFFECTED. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO "JUST SNAP OUT OF" MENTAL ILLNESS!
Basically, these idiots have, at some level of belief, this fucked-up notion that the mind is stored somewhere else, like in the mythical "soul," and that the mind remotely controls the body. This is stupid, because there is no evidence, much less proof, that there is such a thing as a soul.
The mind is a function of the brain, which is a self-programming computer made of meat. Like any computer, there can be bugs in the software; and since human brains are self-programming, that makes a lot of opportunity for bugs. It also means that the brain has to make its own software patches and bug fixes. Which is possible - it's called meta-programming - but less than 1% of people know that this is possible; even fewer would have any desire to meta-program even if they knew it was possible. And less than 0.01% of the human population attempts meta-programming. Even fewer people are successful at it. And then there are the people who could not understand the concept of meta-programming, let alone attempt it.
Then too, if there are problems with the hardware of the computer, that will impair its functioning. So if there are issues with the brain's meat, there will be issues with the mind.
Trying to cure depression by "just snapping out of it" is just as effective as trying to get a frozen computer program to respond by yelling at it. And unlike digital computers, it is impossible to turn humans off and then back on again. Well, it IS, but it solves nothing, since the brain's programming is etched into its hardware. And even if it solved temporary type issues along the lines of things like freezing up, you cannot solve programming bugs that way. And we do not yet have a way to upgrade our brain's hardware. So if a certain program has a bug that always makes the system freeze up every time it runs, well... that's a permanent problem.
Also, as a friend of mine who DOES believe in souls (lj user="fayanora">) points out, the soul is not the same thing as the mind. She personally believes that the soul has its own mind and lives vicariously through us, and that it can only make suggestions but the meat has to listen to the soul. And she says "A. There are various levels of listening to the soul. B. Most people listen to their soul either never, or sporadically." She agrees with me that the mind is entirely in the meat, however. She explained her view like this: "Imagine someone has created a video game where your sim's character is determined by a mix of built-in rules and its experiences. All you, the player, can do is talk to your sim. Whether the sim listens to you or not is entirely up to it; it doesn't matter whether you whisper or scream, if will either listen to you or not because of its own free will. The human mind is to the human soul as that sim is to the player."
So repeat after me: THE MIND IS IN THE MEAT. THE MIND IS A SELF-PROGRAMMING COMPUTER AND IS MADE OF MEAT. IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE PROGRAMMING, REPROGRAMMING IS POSSIBLE BUT IMPROBABLE AND DIFFICULT. SOMETIMES REPROGRAMMING IS IMPOSSIBLE. IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE MEAT, FUNCTIONALITY WILL BE AFFECTED. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO "JUST SNAP OUT OF" MENTAL ILLNESS!
