Thoughts on Bret Weinstein

[JagerIV]

I was watching Bret on a Jordan Peterson video, and something about him just screams super villian. His talk of "moving beyond genes" just screams supervillain and evilness. I don't really sense ill will from him, but something about him just gives this, evilness about him.

But, its hard to pinpoint exactly what is is, beyond something like an insane amount of arrogance.

 

[Abhorsen]

I was watching Bret on a Jordan Peterson video, and something about him just screams super villian. His talk of "moving beyond genes" just screams supervillain and evilness. I don't really sense ill will from him, but something about him just gives this, evilness about him.

But, its hard to pinpoint exactly what is is, beyond something like an insane amount of arrogance.

It's the Goatee. But no, him talking about moving beyond genes is because he's an evolutionary biologist, and sees a lot of things in those lights. Also, he did what few did and stood up to power when it was difficult and he was nearly alone.

 

[Yinko]

I get the complete opposite impression. He seems completely ineffectual. He's an ideas man who does not take into account the practicalities of the world, an idealist of sorts and one of those "left behind liberals".

 

[JagerIV]

Eh, listening to him talk about the moving beyond genes, he seems to be talking extremely radical ideas. Or talking out of both sides of his mouth.

Listening to his talk with Peterson, he shot down everything about working with human nature and pushed the need to move past it, without seemly being willing to put a finger on what exactly he meant.

He most reminds me of communists talking about communism of BLM talking about refund the police.

Communism is, as soft pedalled, european welfare state, but as one talks through things one fins that that no where near far enough for them. Likewise, BLM soft pedals Defund the police as reform.the police, but talking through police reform shows that reforming is not nearly far enough for them.

Leaving one to reasonably assume their program is as radical as it sounds on the tin.

Thus I get the same sense that when Bret says he wants to move beyond genes and our nature as "assassin robot spelling bees", he is exactly as radical as he says there.

He does seem to be frightfully blind and unfathunably arrogant. He still seems to have no idea why the monster he helped create turned on him, and is still hopelessly leftist.

 

[Abhorsen]

He does seem to be frightfully blind and unfathunably arrogant. He still seems to have no idea why the monster he helped create turned on him, and is still hopelessly leftist.

This I'll give you. He doesn't seem to know how people work, and thinks that human nature needs to change. But what he did do, when the pedal hit the metal, was stick up for what's right, and he listens to opposing view points, while calling out canceling. He's not a perfect person, and I don't agree with many of his long term views, but he did what he needed to when it mattered, and stuck up for american values like speech and choice.

 

[Yinko]

He doesn't seem to know how people work, and thinks that human nature needs to change.

Socialism, Humanism, Christianity, there are a lot of ideological influences that clearly influenced him to some degree to think that we have to rise above our genes.
The issue, of course, is that every time it's been tried in any meaningful way it's led to a laundry list of really bad things. You'd have to basically use either eugenics or genetic engineering to breed a sub-species of humanity with different "human nature" if you wanted to do that.
Except they would probably lose the genetic race, since our particular brand of bastardy is what led to the extinction of the other competing sub-species of human in the past.
That's ignoring the fact that if you change the foundational aspects of humanity then everything built on them will change in chaotic and unpredictable ways, meaning that even if you succeeded in actually changing human nature and letting those people survive the fact, you would probably end up with total social collapse as certain hidden facets of society ceased to exist.

Just a bad idea all around.

 

[JagerIV]

Which comes to the immensely frustrating lack of awareness he seems to have. He made that exact same argument when talking about will overcoming genes.

His example was if you took a bunch of spiders who became totally self aware and free willed to move beyond their genes, all the spiders would die out within the generation.

And then went right on to reiterate that humans had to move beyond their genes, after explaining in depth how it would rapidly destroy an organism that tried that!

He declares that humans are basically evil terminators, but then says it's an easy thing to move beyond and we can just choose not to be!?!?

Like, if we were a bunch of T-800s killing the humans for the good of skynet,

1) what is even the possibility of escaping our programmed task, and

2) why would we even want to? If I'm a T-800, killing humans is more or less fully in my self interest, and totally within my nature. Why would I even want to stop living up to my nature?

He seems to really make a lot of

1) factual, self evident thing, or at least reasonable thing.

2) ooga booga too

3) lefty crazyland utopianism.

He's definitely headstrong. I don't know, sometimes it also seems less courage and more fool hardiness. Like he's too arrogant and delusional to be as scared as he should be, which lessens the virtue of his heroism.

This is a man after all who went through evergreen, then moved to Portland, and wash absolutely shocked when things went to shit in portland, and seemed utterly in denial when Douglas Murray visited Portland in October and tried to impress upon him just how awful what was going on really was.

edited for spelling.

 

[Bear Ribs]

Which comes to the immensely frustrating lack of awareness he seems to have. He made that exact same argument when talking about will overcoming genes.

His example was if you took a bunch of spiders who became totally self aware and free willed to move beyond their genes, all the spiders would die out within the generation.

Huh? Portia spiders haven't died off.

 

[JagerIV]

Huh? Portia spiders haven't died off.

As, in they decide not to fulfill their genes desire and, well, put effort into breeding. Brets problem seems to boil down to the fact that people have a preference for their own children. Thus, my sense of an immense evil intent driving him, which he is also completely un self aware of just how awful he is. Let me see if I can find the exact point in the video.

This is about right

 

[Cherico]

every time we have tried to create a 'new man' it has ended badly.

People just need to accept that its ok to be human.

 

[Bear Ribs]

As, in they decide not to fulfill their genes desire and, well, put effort into breeding. Brets problem seems to boil down to the fact that people have a preference for their own children. Thus, my sense of an immense evil intent driving him, which he is also completely un self aware of just how awful he is. Let me see if I can find the exact point in the video.

This is about right

Okay so I came back to this several times because I found it nigh incomprehensible. Not the content, just the idea that a person would think it's worth saying.

His assertion was that if you don't reproduce you will go extinct... and this is somehow revolutionary and different? I'm pretty sure most three year olds have wrapped their heads around that.

 

[AnimalNoodles]

every time we have tried to create a 'new man' it has ended badly.

People just need to accept that its ok to be human.

Our entire culture is dominated by philosophies dedicated to trying to change reality by force of will. But reality has infinite power, and as our culture runs into reality, it will smash itself to pieces.

 

[Cherico]

Our entire culture is dominated by philosophies dedicated to trying to change reality by force of will. But reality has infinite power, and as our culture runs into reality, it will smash itself to pieces.

and we will be better for it, after all the sailor that works with the ocean goes much farther then one who fights the current at every turn.

 

[JagerIV]

Okay so I came back to this several times because I found it nigh incomprehensible. Not the content, just the idea that a person would think it's worth saying.

His assertion was that if you don't reproduce you will go extinct... and this is somehow revolutionary and different? I'm pretty sure most three year olds have wrapped their heads around that.

Which is why i waver between him just totally lacking self awareness or just not being all that bright, or being dishonest about just what his opinions are: he really as radical as he suggests and actually means we need to move beyond genes, as in biological life, but isnt willing to state that outright because he realizes how terrible that sounds.

So, stupid or evil basically. The standard communist problem.

 

[ParadiseLost]

Eugenics is inevitable. Iceland has practically wiped out down syndrome.

Other countries following is a when, not an if.

Things going further regarding genetic engineering is also a when, if not solely because it will be an arms race to discover a way to engineer 'better' humans.