Thread by @jposhaughnessy

1/ For those joining me later today for this @interintellect_ salon with @bronwynwilliams some quotes to ponder to frame why it's so important that we have clowns that can act as "Holy Fools."

interintellect.com/salon/clowns-a…

2/ “In Russian folklore there is an archetype called yurodivy, or the “Holy Fool.” The Holy Fool is a social misfit—eccentric, off-putting, sometimes even crazy—who nonetheless has access to the truth...The Holy Fool is a truth-teller because he is an outcast.”
~@Gladwell

3/ "Against the assault of Laughter nothing can stand.
"
~Mark Twain

4/ We know instantly if the humor hit the mark, and comics like Bruce lead the way:

“The only honest art form is laughter, comedy. You can't fake it...try to fake three laughs in an hour -- ha ha ha ha ha -- they'll take you away, man. You can’t.”
~Lenny Bruce

5/ But you're taking big risks if you don't get it just right

"My way of joking is to tell the truth."
~G.B. Shaw

"If you’re going to tell people the truth, be funny or they’ll kill you."
~Billy Wilder

You are taking a BIG risk if you're not well received

6/ And lots and lots of courage

“They can speak truth and even open insults and be heard with positive pleasure… For truth has a genuine power to please if it manages not to give offence, but this is something the gods have granted only to fools.”
~Erasmus

7/ Ricky Gervais, Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock are not only very smart, they are FEARLESS, and that ain't easy, but they often say out loud what many people are thinking. In doing so, they are giving people permission to relax and feel that they're not alone

8/ And that will lead us to our discussion of Prophets. One of the most basic parts of HumanOS is the need for the illusion of control. We WANT to believe people who offer certainty about the future.

But the ancient Greeks were way ahead of us in devising an ironic myth

9/ Cassandra was a Trojan priestess of Apollo in Greek mythology cursed to utter true prophecies, but never to be believed. Perhaps a not so subtle commentary on *other* prophecies, where people believed but the Prophet was false.

10/ Many prophecies led to the forming of major religions and faiths, even when the prohespy was for the end of the world. When the date came and went, many adherents not only didn't abandon the prohespy, they DOUBLED DOWN on their belief.

11/ we'll discuss several examples of why this is so, but think of it as a "hack" that hijacks HumanOS and offers certainty in a very chaotic, uncertain world. For much of our existence, the reason for almost everything was "The Gods did it."

12/ the Enlightenment brought the Scientific Method into the mix, but instead of changing people's beliefs and minds, led to an orgy of violence against the "heretics," which led normal folks to not openly question the religious Establishment.

Who could blame them?

13/ We finally hit a fairly peaceful truth between unfalsifiable beliefs and scientific theories that have a great deal of support, but remain open to question and error-correction. Beliefs are a bit more lasting do to our overwhelming need for an illusion of control.

14/ We'll also discuss memes, that are a lot older in human society than many know and exert a powerful control of the minds that the lodge in--these memes bring people together in tribes that reinforce the beliefs transported by memes and offer "certainty" to the group.

15/ which will bring us back around to the need for truth tellers, holy fools and comedians who might just get people to rethink things, but then again

16/ Really looking forward to the discussion. Thanks for inviting me @TheAnnaGat and @bronwynwilliams, excited for this topic.