#perception

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A tweet or something from: claytoncubitt

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel," the opening line of Gibson's Neuromancer, describes such different things when it was published in 1984 vs 2024

On the left, there is a box, full of white and black spots, the "no signal" visual, ever-moving noise of old TV (you can pretty much hear the hiss if you are of that age!) - But on the right, there is a plain blue-filled box, no noise, just endless calm blue.

A tweet or something from: claytoncubitt 3h "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel," the opening line of Gibson's Neuromancer, describes such different things when it was published in 1984 vs 2024 On the left there is a box, full of white and black spots, the "no signal" visual, ever moving noise of old TV (you can pretty much hear the hiss if you are of that age!) - But on the right, there is a plain blue filled box, no noise, just endless calm blue.

The late philosopher Daniel Dennett, in his book Consciousness Explained, wrote about his “multiple drafts model” of consciousness which includes the idea that our perceptions are driven partly by what we expect based on past experiences. I may have experienced this today.

The first photo, below, is one that I saw on social media a few months ago. The second photo is a screenshot of an article I saw this morning. When I saw the article associated with the second photo, I misread the caption as “Smartest otter…” instead of “Smallest otter….” I think it happened because of my memory of the smart otter in the first photo.

Photo of an otter in a muddy bog and a caption reading, “Smallest otter….”
Photo of a group of armed men with a sign that reads, “lotters will be shoot on sight” which was intended to read, “looters will be shot on sight.” Below is a photo of an otter wearing a French beret with the satirical caption, “l’Otters are not afraid.”

quoted Mindfulness in Plain English by Henepola Gunaratana

Henepola Gunaratana: Mindfulness in Plain English (AudiobookFormat, 2016, Audible Studios)

With over a quarter of a million copies sold, Mindfulness in Plain English is one …

Meditating your way through the ups and downs of daily life is the whole point of vipassana. This kind of practice is extremely rigorous and demanding, but it engenders a state of mental flexibility that is beyond comparison. A meditator keeps his mind open every second. He is constantly investigating life, inspecting his own experience, viewing existence in a detached and inquisitive way. Thus, he is constantly open to truth in any form, from any source, and at any time. This is the state of mind you need for liberation.

It is said that one may attain enlightenment at any moment if the mind is kept in a state of meditative readiness. The tiniest, most ordinary perception can be the stimulus: a view of the moon, the cry of a bird, the sound of the wind in the trees. It’s not so important what is perceived as the way in which you attend to that perception. That state of open readiness is essential. It could happen to you right now if you are ready. The tactile sensation of this book in your fingers could be the cue. The sound of these words in your head might be enough. You could attain enlightenment right now, if you are ready.

— Mindfulness in Plain English by 

What a wake-up call!

#mindfulness #enlightenment #awakening #awareness #meditation #Buddhism #vipassana #perception #attention