On Belief

 It's quite amazing how LLMs find the threads and provide interesting analysis and metaphorizations. 

Analysis of Belief Entries by Entry Number

- 0010: Belief and Film – People entering a theater must have their disbeliefs suspended for the strongest belief in the film’s power to take hold.
- 0039: Blind Faith – Shared collective belief, such as when thousands project the same "film" on the same screen, can result in a state of blind faith where no individual differences are perceived.
- 0069: Secular Belief – It is observed that even within secular cultures, people simultaneously believe in many different things without making a public issue of them.
- 0075: Science as Religion – The sources suggest that even science can become a religion for some.
- 0108: Quiet Faith – Uncertainty is described as the "dark matter of the universe," functioning as a "quiet faith" or a silent internal reaction.
- 0127 / 0355: Conviction and Skepticism – To possess true conviction requires the individual to actively suspend skepticism.
- 0130: Religious Dogma – History indicates that for many, being guided by religious dogma is acceptable and occasionally the only viable solution for social guidance.
- 0132: Power of Quiet Faith – A "quiet faith" is characterized as superior because it is not advertised and therefore not subjected to the attempts of others to shoot it down.
- 0137: Nature of Faith – Faith is defined as the opposite of evidence; it is the comfort of pretending to know even when one does not.
- 0138: God and Worldview – "God" is described as the structural support for an individual's personal view of the universe.
- 0143: Deciding Belief – Looking at the "long view" of existence is what helps a person decide whether or not to believe in God.
- 0144: Spiritual Principles – The sources argue that the existence of a physical God is moot compared to the importance of having a guiding spiritual principle.
- 0145: Limits of Religion – Religion attempts to explain the unknown but fails to explain the explanation itself, as facts might "explain it away".
- 0147: Religious Conviction vs. Conscience – Religious conviction is not strictly necessary for moral living; a conscience alone can suffice.
- 0261: Verisimilitude vs. Truth – Belief is often driven not by what is true, but by what sounds true; the "verisimilitude of truth" is frequently accepted as absolute.
- 0313: Faith as Wild Card – In the game of life and existence, faith is identified as a "wild card".
- 0333: Faith vs. Knowledge – Asking "why" highlights a knowledge gap, while saying "why not" places blind faith before knowledge.
- 0394: Defending Positions – The sources warn not to "believe too much," as defending a position for too long can interfere with the actual needs of one's life.
- 0454: Belief and Perception – Human perception is biased; people tend to see what they believe they should see, often finding patterns like religious palimpsests in random objects.
- 0455: Metageographical Faith – Faith and tradition are not bound by political boundaries but are metageographical, possessing the power to reshape those boundaries.
- 0506: Presence vs. Person – One source expresses a lack of belief in a specific "God" while still "swearing to god" that something is there.
- 0521: Surface Identities – Religion is sometimes used as a "surface identity" rather than a deeply held internal conviction.
- 0545: Scripture and Stasis – Scripture is viewed as a tool to provide stasis and comfort in a rapidly changing world.
- 0588: Randomness – One can choose to place their faith in randomness, which requires only the patience to wait for outcomes.
- 0615: Tribal Belief Systems – Tribes are defined as self-sustaining belief systems that hoard resources and power over specific geographical regions.
- 0621: Communal Belief – The communal experience of believing and acting on the same ideas is credited with making massive human achievements, like cathedrals, possible.
- 0700: Belief and Truth – Truth is described as a by-product of belief; if a small percentage of a population disbelieves something, it becomes "less true" in a social sense.
- 0807: Consensus Ascription – Many people do not ardently believe in their actions but are merely ascribing to a consensus to fit into a group.
- 0814: Preaching to the Choir – The internal mechanisms of belief sometimes function like "circuit breakers" to keep feedback loops from overheating, allowing one to "preach to their own choir" to maintain stability.
- 0855: Belief in the Unfinished – There is a specific truth found in the belief that everything is in a state of being unfinished.
- 1003: Myths and Doubt – Myths remain prevalent because even the "shadows of doubt" are still shadows of something.
- 1094: Inchoacism – This is defined as the specific belief that everything is a work-in-progress.
- 1191: Gaps in Perception – In the absence of sensory perception, conspiracy theories and supernatural beliefs tend to prevail.
- 1262: Knowledge vs. Belonging – People sometimes choose to hide knowledge behind beliefs because it feels right to support what is "wrong" just to maintain a sense of belonging.
- 1408: Belief vs. Empiricism – The TV set is an example of a technology that was made possible through empirical practice, whereas mere beliefs could never have created it.
- 1530: Faith in the Hidden – Spiritual paths are predicated on faith that certain truths are merely hidden from view by the "illusion of space and time".
- 1636: Innovation and Faith – Real innovation is described as an act of faith, as it often requires putting profit at risk.
- 1746: Agnostic Beliefs – Beliefs are described as agnostic by nature, shifting imperceptibly over time.
- 1950: Reset Points – At a "reset" point in life, what an individual truly wants is more faith in anything, as resolutions are a form of faith in one’s own follow-through.
- 2015: Meaning and Belief – If meaning is missing, the individual is encouraged to simply create it and believe it; fake news exploits this by providing recognizable info to strengthen a sense of meaning.
- 2059: Open Options – Belief in anything is still a form of belief; it is a way to keep one’s options open.
- 2065: Thinking vs. Believing – The sources suggest that individuals should do more thinking and writing and less believing, as this provides the time necessary to change one’s mind.
- 2080: Fixanation – This term describes a persistent delusion of belief that elected officials can solve all social problems in an individual's favor.
- 2109: Belief without Dogma – One does not have to subscribe to a formal religion to believe; belief does not require dogma.
- 2121: Atmospheric Belief – A distinction is made where belief is atmospheric, whereas fact is the "feel of gravity".
- 2174: Faith in Interconnection – Real creativity requires an intense faith in the power of things being interconnected.
- 2212: Settling for Belief – It is suggested that we often do not choose what to believe but rather settle for believing.
- 2345: Gravity of Beliefs – The "gravity of beliefs" is described as a force that could potentially have morphic resonance.
- 2369: God as Guardian – A belief in God is defined as the sense that "someone or something is looking out for you".
- 2377: Believing vs. Conspiring – Individuals are encouraged to believe in something even if others won't, as a way to avoid becoming part of a conspiracy.
- 2402: Resilience of Faith – Faith is noted as something that cannot be destroyed, though people will try.
- 2423: Belief in Fairness – The act of having a child involves a belief that life's fairness will be in that child's favor forever.
- 2467: Belief as Constant – For the majority of people, belief of any kind acts as a constant that provides stability in their lives.
- 2468: Belief and Usability – Believing in something makes it usable, and things that are more usable become more believable.
- 2783: Believing vs. Going Along – A sharp distinction is made: going along with a crowd or an idea is not the same as truly believing in it.
- 2813: Collective Belief – Collective belief is said to "trump reality"; if a society decides something is good relative to a past standard, that belief becomes the functional truth.
- 2874: Transformation and Faith – Whether a new idea can transform a situation in the long term depends entirely on faith; if faith is lost, one must seek new ideas.
- 3088: Blindness of Belief – If belief were a drug, its most dangerous side-effect would be blindness.
- 3304: Intellect vs. Religious Ideas – Some individuals reject intellect entirely because of their religious ideas or scriptures.
- 3353: Resilience of the Religious – The religious are described as the "most special people in the world" because faith provides a total cohesive framework and resilient internal structure for understanding reality.