Building a Better World Through Tolerance and Love--"Live and Let Live" Allows All to Thrive

Two years ago I first posted this article about the role of free speech in a democracy. I am reprinting it yet again because the message is needed now more than ever. "Live and Let Live" is a meme that is absolutely central to a functioning democracy. Every American citizen is entitled by the law of this land to hold and express their opinions. It is only through exchange of information and assistance that the big jobs get done. Read on for the why's and how's:

The Simple Explanation's theory of memes uses the term "meme" to stand for a belief or a tidbit of knowledge. These memes are passed around to our friends like trading cards--most of our close friends hold the same meme cards we do; that's why they are our friends. The more memes you hold in common with someone else, the more you like them. The opposite is also true--we have a difficult time relating to people who hold a different set of memes.

Here is the bottom-line of the previous Apocalyptic Visions article:

The Simple Explanation suggests that "live and let live" would be a great meta-meme for everyone to adopt. If we could appreciate the fact that each of us has a unique perspective, then perhaps we could allow each other to hold the memes that make the most sense for our lives. This is my meme chord; that is your meme chord. If I don't like your meme chord then I can talk it over with you and see if we can move our meme chords closer to one another in agreement. If neither of us is able or willing to swap memes with the other, then so be it. Either accept the other person, memes and all, or move on. Find someone else who more closely agrees with your memes. There is enough room in this world for each of us to hold our own chords, but only if "live and let live" is an overarching meme.

We are now in the midst of a social epidemic of intolerance. Intolerance is the opposite of "live and let live." When we are intolerant of others' memes, we are declaring that our memes are correct and their memes are wrong. And then we take it a step further--we refuse to "tolerate" the others' memes. We throw up resistance, we throw up roadblocks, we close our ears and refuse to listen to the other. We do not merely disagree, as reasonable people may do from time to time. 

When we are intolerant, we look for ways to force others to abandon their memes and adopt ours. We shout them down because we feel we are shouting the right memes and theirs are not only wrong, they are evil and have no right to be heard. And once you declare the other people as "evil," it is no longer a disagreement in good faith, but a fight for the soul. "God is on our side, therefore we can do whatever it takes to crush the opposition," is a dangerous and usually delusional meme to hold. And if it entitles the holder to disregard rule of law, then it is not a democratic ideal and it has no place in American politics.

Once words can no longer be exchanged, frustration builds and violence follows. This is what we are seeing now in the U.S.  Free exchange of memes has been thwarted because of intolerance, and intolerance has led to violence. 

Exchange of ideas is the key. You needn't agree with the other person, but you must hear them out. Because, once you agree to sit and exchange ideas and concerns, whether or not you adopt the other's ideas, the very act of hearing each other out creates a shared space that acts as a balm to soothe both your soul and theirs. When you are too angry, frustrated, or afraid to listen to the other, you perpetuate the intolerance that leads to violence. This intolerance is not helpful. 

 Maxine Waters calls followers to adopt intolerance of others' right to disagree. Her call to action in favor of intolerance has now become the norm on the Left. [cnn photo credit]

We hear a lot about the importance of "diversity" nowadays in America. True diversity can only thrive if we allow each other to "live and let live." Diversity allows people to hold their own opinions and beliefs without incurring punishment from either the powerful or the mobs.

When you seek to silence those with whom you disagree, you are not encouraging diversity; you are actually partaking in fascism. Fascism advocates the forced suppression of those who express opposing views. Disagreement, on the other hand, is not forced suppression, it is merely disagreement.  Shouting others down when they have the floor, shunning those with whom you disagree, refusing service in a restaurant to paying customers who voted for a different candidate--this is not the side of the angels, folks. This is not helping us come together to get the job done.

Implications of Organoids--A Simple Explanation

A couple of days ago I wrote an article about organoids getting stuck at the cellular level of development. I proposed that organoids can't "level up" to form true organs via the Simple Explanation's Golden Rule. Then, in Comments, I wondered why not? This article further explores the implications raised for the Simple Explanation by considering the implications of the claim that organoids can't level up.

This is a brain organoid. You can clearly see the toroidal nature of the clumping of brain cells. True brains do not reflect this toroidal clumping at the organ level. The Simple Explanation of these cellular clumps is that they lack the emergent brain's Unit of Consciousness that would give them an overall structure at the organ level. Lacking the young brain's Unit of Consciousness, the organoid gets stuck at the cellular level.

My brother, Bill, and I spoke many times on the phone as soon as that organoid article was published. It's exciting for us when the Simple Explanation theory refines and advances through scientific proofs. The following article was stimulated by discussions with Bill.

First, as I observed in Comments on the previous article, I would have thought that the action of reaching out to others with information, assistance, and love, i.e. the Simple Explanation's Golden Rule, would have automatically bestowed consciousness to the next level up. Yet that doesn't seem to be the case with the organoids. 

The reason why I doubt the organ-level unit of consciousness has taken up residence is that the organoid's cells do not know how to form themselves into the organ's design. For example, in the image above of a brain organoid, the cells try to reach out to others, but they only form around themselves to produce the strange looking, donut-shaped clumps of tissue you see. The image above clearly displays groups of cellular-level brain tissue that don't understand what they are supposed to do next--build a brain. 

It is an axiom of the Simple Explanation that all units of consciousness in our universe know the job they have been assigned. An atom knows how to be an atom; a brain cell knows how to be a brain cell; a dog knows how to be a dog. Therefore, if these little organoids don't know how to become organs, they must lack the organ-level governing unit of consciousness.

That finding surprised me yesterday, because when you look at the hierarchical structure of forms, you might assume it's the leveling-up action that invites a new unit of consciousness to move in and take up residence to guide and govern that aggregation.

According to the Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything, while there is only one "me" (represented by the triangle), my body is comprised of 11 organ systems made of 78 organs, which are in turn comprised of 50 trillion specialized cells made up of such a large number of atoms and molecules that I don't know how to read or write the numbers. The more organized and complex the Unit of Consciousness, the fewer of them there are. My Self Unit of Consciousness sits atop this hierarchical mountain of countless Units of Consciousness, all working to instantiate my body. While I may believe I am the only conscious entity inhabiting this body of mine, my physical body is actually home to all of these aggregated units of consciousness, each with their own jobs to perform. Lucky for me, their job is to hold me together and facilitate this life of mine, and they generally go along with the program and do a good job. 

It would appear as though the governing Unit of Consciousness must be endowed from the top down, not from the bottom up. In other words, it is through the formula of the Universal Unit of Consciousness that the Self's Unit of Consciousness is installed. And, going down from the top of the hierarchy, the Self's Unit of Consciousness is the ecological system that unifies and creates the organism. So, if there is no organism to work towards, the organ-level Units of Consciousness cannot come into existence, because they lack the ecological clues of what, where, and how to do their jobs. 

This is another way of saying that consciousness is a top-down phenomenon of organization and instruction, proceeding from the higher order blueprint / algorithm downward onto the newly forming structure. We cannot force a unit of consciousness into existence by monkeying around with lower level units of consciousness; all we can manipulate is the material level and units of consciousness that already exist by way of the original pluripotent stem cells. We humans are builders, but we lack the capacity to endow consciousness. 

You would have to conclude that consciousness populates our universe via the Universal Unit of Consciousness. This is another way of saying that consciousness does not grow out of or upward from matter. If my predictions hold true about organoids not being able to progress upward to true organs by the manipulations of humans, this failure can be seen as a type of proof of God**. This remains to be seen as organoid research goes forward.

It is interesting to note that pluripotent stem cells are able to differentiate into all manner of cells except for placenta and embryo--and thank goodness that's the case! Thank goodness, because if we humans were able to create living, self-organizing creatures from scratch, we would be building orcs and orgres! Would these unconscious, "souless" creatures be an abomination? I think so. 

Which brings me to another implication of organoids--If consciousness cannot be manufactured by humans, then it is unlikely our manufactured objects can become spontaneously conscious. Think AI. We can train the computer and robot to act in an ethical way, but can we train empathy? Can we train love? Obviously no, we cannot. The consciousness of computers would remain derivative and not true.

This implication that computers are unlikely to be endowed by the Universal Unit of Consciousness with a governing Self's Unit of Consciousness actually goes against one of my previous hypotheses concerning the aggregation of complex systems of consciousness. I've been waiting for a time-traveling cyborg to visit me from the future because of a letter I wrote to it on the blog this year. It hasn't happened yet; perhaps this implication is why. The lower levels of material cannot push consciousness into existence because it is a top-down infusion, not a bottom-up demand. Complex circuits and other such complex systems will not spontaneously become conscious, due to the derivative nature of their human-designed construction.

Finally, another implication of this discussion has to do with the nature of love. The Simple Explanation suggests that the most essential characteristic of Consciousness is love. If consciousness is endowed from the top down, then love is a top-down phenomenon, too. Love does not arise spontaneously through the Golden Rule of reaching out to others. While it is possible to build objects and alliances in a simulation of the Golden Rule, the aggregation will not be conscious or infused with love at the higher level. This observation furthers our understanding of romantic versus agape love. As a recent article points out, romantic love arises from the organ level, while agape love arises from the Universal Unit of Consciousness. This explains why romantic love only lasts so long. It must be replaced by the never-ending wellspring of love supplied by the Universal Unit of Consciousness.

**For you atheists, the Simple Explanation calls this overarching consciousness the "Universal Unit of Consciousness" rather than "God." The Simple Explanation also refers to the perfected algorithm of our universe as a formula, whereas religious folks like to call that "God's Will."

In the hierarchy above, fewer and fewer instances of each type of UC appear as their scope of responsibility becomes broader and broader. This follows the principle of "the higher the fewer." Eventually, all units of consciousness in this universe combine to rejoin the Universal Unit of Conciousness from whence they came.

That which we think of as "God" in our Universal hierarchy is limited by our need to think in terms of meme constructs. That which we conceive of as "God" is less than what God would have to be, since an entity as complex as God or the Universal Unit of Consciousness is necessarily greater than our ability define it.
It is the need to transcend all memes, and especially our limited "God" meme, that gives rise to mystical routes to God realization. Our minds think in terms of memes; our unburdened governing Self's Unit of Consciousness does not. Yoga, Buddhism, Taoism, and mystical Christianity are among the spiritual traditions that attempt to "know God" through quieting the mind and laying down preconceived memes, be they social, religious, or scientific, thus freeing us up for a direct experience of blissful reunion with that which is greater than reason can grasp.

If you have read this entire article and understand it, please write to me at cyd.ropp@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

The Simple Explanation's Golden Rule: Reaching Out With Love

This could be considered the central takeaway message/motto/meme of  the Simple Explanation:

Your job is to reach out to others with love, aid, and information for the betterment of all.

 

This goes for all Units of Consciousness, from sub-atomic quanta up through cells and organs to organisms and beyond. Every physical manifestation links up with others of its kind (atoms link together to make molecules; molecules make cells; cells make organs; organs link together to make organisms; organisms link together to create societies, and so on) to become the building blocks of the next level of hierarchical aggregation.

Does this apply to human UCs? Of course it does!

Your job is to reach out to others with love, aid, and information for the betterment of all.

When should you do this?

Now.

To whom should you reach out?

Well, who's there next to you? Who needs your help right now where you are? Is someone asking for aid or information?

What if I don't feel like helping others?
It appears to be a human truth that one can only find happiness through serving others. A me-centered life ultimately disappoints, as in, "I can't get no satisfaction."

Or, to put it in more general terms:



 It's the job of all UCs to join with others to collectively form the next hierarchical level up.

11 Putting It All Together

• Our universe is a self-contained toroidal bubble of space afloat in the infinite metaversal sea.

• Our God is wrapped around our expanding universe, holding us in, holding infinity out.

• We experience the holding force of coherence as love.  We experience the outward expulsive force as energetic joy.

• Every thing in this universe comes equipped with its very own echo of God’s mind—a unit of consciousness (UC).

• No matter the size or complexity of the material to which the UC is attached, our units of consciousness are all the same no-size and occupy the same no-place.

• Units of consciousness make decisions on behalf of the material to which they are attached.

• Life forms consist of the aggregated units of consciousness of the material forming their bodies, plus the governing UC of self-awareness.

• Organizing principles flow inward from the metaverse, collapsing from all possible courses of action to a single course of action at the point of here and now.

• For any observer, all that exists is here and now. Decisions may only be made here and now.

• Karma is the mechanism through which the consequences of behavior informs future potential.

• Memes are energetic waves of cultural patterns produced by units of consciousness. Memes are fueled by repetition or starved by lack of usage.

• “I” am the aggregate UCs of my material body, from the subatomic particles all the way up through the self-aware unit of consciousness that thinks of itself as “me.”

• I influence and am influenced by the karmic record generated by my choices and the choices that others have made.

• I am also influenced by the bundle of memes I and others choose to hold onto.

• I am free to pick and choose the memes I hold onto.

• Although I am influenced by many forces, I always retain my ability to freely choose which decision I will make here and now.

• In order for units of consciousness to join and work together for the greater good, they need relevant information (including shared meme chords), they need to be willing to channel coherence from the metaverse, and they need to love one another.

• Subatomic particles, universal forces, and UCs can all be modeled as a torus:

10 Love

Units of consciousness gather their systemic patterns and the universal operating laws required to “get the job done” from the metaversal information constantly flowing into and throughout our universe. The phenomenon known as “coherence” ensures the compatibility and integrity of these universal patterns and laws. What we call “love” is the felt experiences of coherence.

Brethren units of consciousness need information and they need love in order to join together and work toward a common goal. Particles cohere in familiar and necessary atomic patterns through information and love. Atoms arrange themselves and then cling together as molecules through information and love. Cells work together for the greater good of their organisms through information and love. Families and societies get the job of social order and cohesion done through information and love.

In order for human units of consciousness to join and work together for the greater good, they need relevant information (including shared meme chords), they need to be willing to channel coherence from the metaverse, and they need to love one another.

The metaverse vibrates with organizational principles. Our God dwells in this informational sea. God’s mind wraps around our space-time continuum and directs organization inward toward our universe. This inward flowing force of coherence is what we call love.

10 Love

Units of consciousness gather their systemic patterns and the universal operating laws required to “get the job done” from the metaversal information constantly flowing into and throughout our universe. The phenomenon known as “coherence” ensures the compatibility and integrity of these universal patterns and laws. What we call “love” is the felt experience of coherence.

Brethren units of consciousness need information and they need love in order to join together and work toward a common goal. Particles cohere in familiar and necessary atomic patterns through information and love. Atoms arrange themselves and then cling together as molecules through information and love. Cells work together for the greater good of their organisms through information and love. Families and societies get the job of social order and cohesion done through information and love.

In order for human units of consciousness to join and work together for the greater good, they need relevant information (including shared meme chords), they need to be willing to channel coherence from the metaverse, and they need to love one another.

The metaverse vibrates with organizational principles. Our God dwells in this informational sea. God’s mind wraps around our space-time continuum and directs organization inward toward our universe. This inward flowing force of coherence is what we call love.