{"id":163914,"date":"2025-09-27T20:27:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T04:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=163914"},"modified":"2025-09-28T10:27:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T18:27:00","slug":"understanding-the-illusion-of-understanding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=163914","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the illusion of understanding"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Pinsof writes<\/a>: The information we find interesting is mostly bullshit. Our appetite for information does not naturally guide us toward truth and wisdom, but toward gossip, flattery, shibboleths, and propaganda. We shop around for beliefs in much the same way we shop around for clothes, searching for whatever makes us look sharp and fashionable.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019re fascinated by ideas that are special. Our attention is captured by the hottest takes and the boldest pronouncements. We want to stake out unique positions that no one else has taken, or discover secrets that no one else knows about, so that when we convince people we\u2019re right and in the know, we get to look cooler than everyone else.<\/p>\n

But on the other hand, we want ideas that are plausible. We\u2019re attracted to the appearance of rigor and credibility (if not the real thing), because we need to actually convince people the information is true\u2014or at least, worth taking seriously. If we fail to convince anyone we\u2019re right, then we won\u2019t look superior to anyone, and we might end up looking stupid, gullible, or crazy.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re faced with a trade-off between specialness and plausibility. The need for specialness pulls us toward weirder and more outlandish beliefs, while the need for plausibility pulls us toward more obvious and commonsensical beliefs. Contrarians favor the former end of the trade-off. Normies favor the latter end of the trade-off.<\/p>\n

But is there any way to avoid the trade-off altogether\u2014to have our cake and eat it? Can we say stuff that\u2019s special and plausible at the same time? I think we can.<\/p>\n

Enter the deepity. A deepity is a statement with two interpretations: one that is bold, provocative, and earth-shattering, and another that is boring, obvious, or banal. This allows us to have it both ways. When we\u2019re trying to be special, we can lean on the bold interpretation. When we\u2019re trying to convince people we\u2019re right, we can pivot to the boring interpretation…<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dissect some other examples.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we think, we become.\u201d – the Buddha
\nInteresting interpretation. If you think you\u2019re Abraham Lincoln, you will become Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. Thoughts cause behavior. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf a thing loves, it is infinite.\u201d – William Blake
\nInteresting interpretation. If you love someone, you achieve immortality or become a black hole or something. <\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. If you love someone, that is really, really cool.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future influences the present as much as the past.\u201d – Friedrich Nietzsche
\nInteresting interpretation. Something that happens at time 2 can retroactively cause something to happen at time 1.<\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. People sometimes think about the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything happens for a reason.\u201d
\nInteresting interpretation. Things happen because a supernatural being or cosmic spirit wanted them to happen.<\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. Things have causes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the universe, atomically.\u201d – Neil deGrasse Tyson
\nInteresting interpretation. We are bound together by a spirit of universal love, warmly embraced by Mother Earth, and suffused with cosmic significance.<\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. We\u2019re humans. We\u2019re made of chemicals. The chemicals are made of atoms. We\u2019re in the universe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe power of intention is the power to manifest, to create\u2026\u201d – Wayne Dyer
\nInteresting interpretation. Intentions can magically get you whatever you want.<\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. Intentions often cause you to do the thing you intended.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.\u201d – Khalil Gibran
\nInteresting interpretation. Pain is the only way to understand reality.<\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. Pain teaches you something, and what it teaches you is: don\u2019t do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowledge is power.\u201d – Francis Bacon
\nInteresting interpretation. Reading lots of books will magically turn you into Xi Xinpeng. <\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. Knowledge is often helpful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future is inside us. It\u2019s not anywhere else.\u201d – Radiohead
\nInteresting interpretation. We can magically control the future without having to deal with conflicts, compromises, limitations, constraints, inertia, coordination problems, or unpredictable events.<\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. Our goals are inside us. They\u2019re not anywhere else.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of us can manifest the properties of a field of consciousness that transcends space, time, and causality.\u201d – Stanislav Grof
\nInteresting interpretation. We can have thoughts that do not come before or after other thoughts, do not occur inside our heads, and have no causes or effects.<\/p>\n

Boring interpretation. We can imagine stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Pinsof writes: The information we find interesting is mostly bullshit. Our appetite for information does not naturally guide us toward truth and wisdom, but toward gossip, flattery, shibboleths, and propaganda. We shop around for beliefs in much the same … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42922],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guru"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t