Episode 186: Meeting at the Center: The Wedge, Part Two
whatshot 9 snips
Mar 12, 2025
The hosts dive deep into the concept of the wedge, exploring the spectrum of understanding reality through intuition and intellect. Personal experiences clash with abstract statistics, revealing the philosophical tensions in self-perception. They challenge conventional thought on belief and divine nature, while also discussing the inherent value of art beyond utility. UFO phenomena are examined as a contest of competing realities, emphasizing how societal beliefs shape our understanding of the supernatural and interpretations of truth.
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insights INSIGHT
Inside vs. Outside
Abstract, generalized explanations can clash with direct experience.
Trusting one's own experience can be more accurate than relying on statistics.
question_answer ANECDOTE
I Ching Counsel
Phil Ford uses the I Ching and trusts its counsel for important decisions.
He values subjective experience over general skepticism.
insights INSIGHT
Intuition vs. Intellect
Intuition perceives individual differences, while intellect generalizes.
Connecting with the outside world through intuition is key.
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The Mothman Prophecies is a non-fiction book by John A. Keel that documents his investigation into the strange events that occurred in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, from November 1966 to December 1967. The book focuses on the sightings of a winged apparition known as the Mothman, as well as other paranormal phenomena such as UFO sightings, mysterious lights, and animal mutilations. Keel, a journalist and ufologist, became deeply involved in the mystery, collecting witness statements and trying to make sense of the various layers of weirdness that characterized the events. The book culminates with the tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge, which killed over fifty people and seemed to end the Mothman sightings. The narrative is characterized by Keel's personal involvement and his struggles to find connections between the disparate events[2][3][4].
The View From the Cheap Seats
Neil Gaiman
The View from the Cheap Seats is a captivating collection of over sixty nonfiction essays by Neil Gaiman, covering a wide range of subjects such as literature, art, music, and personal reflections. The book offers a glimpse into Gaiman's thoughts on storytelling, libraries, and the power of fiction, blending humor, introspection, and heartfelt stories.
Technosis
Technosis
Erik Davis
Passport to Magonia
From Folklore to Flying Saucers
Jacques Vallée
Ethics
R. H. M. Elwes
Baruch Spinoza
Written between 1661 and 1675 and published posthumously in 1677, *Ethics* is a comprehensive philosophical work divided into five parts. It addresses the nature of God, concluding that God is intrinsic to the universe rather than outside it. The treatise dissects the human mind and body, explores the notion of free will and good and evil, and analyzes the origin and strength of emotions. Spinoza argues that reason is the sole means to achieve virtue and freedom from emotional bondage. The work is characterized by its use of Euclid's step-by-step logical method to prove various propositions[3][5].
After Affinitude
After Affinitude
None
Kantan Meyasu
In this episode, JF and Phil continue their conversation on the wedge, their figure for the epistemological divide between approaching reality from the heart and exploring it with the mind. As the discussion unfolds, the wedge begins to reveal itself not as a rigid binary but as a spectrum—one that stretches from ultimate thickness to ultimate thinness. Could thinking, then, may be the art of navigating this epistemic gradient, seeking the sweet spot where the self meets the world, each on the other's terms?
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