@ Meraki
The whole essence of the book is that our biological, evolutionary programming determines our actions to a VERY large, probably unanimous degree. It's not something we, Man or Women, can 'choose' to follow or abide by.
...
Anyway, you say it's a motivation, I say it's a biological blueprint which no measure of intellect and awareness can allow you to escape.
From the book p11 :
All of this happens subconsciously, automatically, without any participation by the intellect.
In general, the intellect can never play anything more than a supporting role. All it can do is support a
decision that instinct’s already made. If instinct’s decided that it wants you to bang a certain female,
your intellect will find a way to get her into bed. However, there are cases where the intellect can
adjust or neutralizes motivations created by instinct. In the example I just mentioned, if you know that
the woman you want has a tough-looking boyfriend, then your intellect will counter your reproductive
instinct with your self-preservation instinct. The more powerful and developed someone’s intellect
is, the more effectively he can neutralize instincts that create dangerous motivations. We call these
people “rational,” or sometimes “a pain in the ass,” and say they’re disciplined and can control their
emotions. The weaker a person’s intellect, the harder it is for him to fight his desires, and the closer
he is to other animals. We call these people “emotional,” “impulsive,” “eccentric,” or “stupid.”
This is why knowledge is power ...
@Kidd :
He got the Duracell spiel ONCE...and no further interpretations were necessary.
He wanted to know it with all his heart, he was desperate to find it. And he was SHOWN the matrix. That's got to count as a much bigger imprint than just reading books, more so if readers just want to entertain themselves...
He TOOK ACTION. He began EXPERIMENTING within the environment.
The way he could walk confidently in the matrix and beat it is that he found his purpose, and had all the tools he needed at his disposal (be it really fast training programs, weapons, and the confidence, courage, will ... and no more day to day life)
That's got to be different with people struggling with meaningless day to day lives, coz they impersonate not only Neo, but also Morpheus (pushing themselves, believing in themselves), Trinity (loving themselves) ... having to watch out for inner Cypher, ...
Some people get stuck in this hamster wheel of information...they lose themselves in trying to understand something completely from as many angles that possibly exist. This is usually counterproductive because if you do something long enough it becomes a HABIT. So then you become all knowing with no practical application. All show and no go.
This is where biographies like pimp, your examples, and examples from the books come in (IMO), as opposed to just theories. Real-life results (even if not my own) trigger the situations / questioning / reasoning in my mind, the same way I could have lived it.
Plus examples from my own life who fit, or who don't fit but now I know why thanks to your help.
I'm all for knowing what you're dealing with, fellas...but seriously...how many different ways are you gonna need to hear/see/read it to finally accept it and get to the PROBLEM SOLVING PART?
I'll +1 Rolan :
I agree 100% that, which is why this is the last book I'm reading on the subject, although I've actually not read most of the books recommended here.
It's the only book on the subject I read since Chinweizu, so one year exactly. (I don't think it's too much.). AND THE LAST ONE. I will read this one again and again. I might only have waited for this book to come ...
Plus, between reading the same book (Pimp comes in mind for you, or 21C SAP for Slim Titan, or Pimposophies) over and over, and reading 5-6 books from 4 authors, I'll take the latter without a doubt. I'm quite infidel it seems ....
I like new acquaintances, watching the full spectrum ... even though Oleg really is the best book ever (there I said it) !!! I finally found a book that completely fits me.
I figure I'm not the one targeted (the shoe fits only a little bit, not all the way), but still wanted to answer out of respect. And hopefully good insights.
Btw, that's not the thread to put your Oleg reviews