done4good

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Posts by done4good

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  45

  Why do we get TTATT and others don't?

  by quest81 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have thought about how ttatt came full circle for me.

  how the connecting the dots was simple and just made sense,.

  how silos of information are literally at our fingertips today.. why is it that the ones we love cannot get ttatt?.

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  done4good

  Yes, they are two different things.

  However, you cannot understand how mind control works without understanding how an individual responds to such manipulation. I know some here may disagree, (they may like to "believe" that there some book on mind control people study to learn how to do it or something), however that is not how mind control works.

  Mind control is largely a product of social evolution gone wrong. Tactics are tried, the ones that work, stick, and are replicated over and over. The reason why these tactics work, is due to how the human brain deals with dissonance. If someone is taught there will be consequences for not "believing" in some manner, (such as shunning, loss of family, friends, death, etc.), and they are also provided with some positive reasons for belief, (paradise earth, seeing dead loved ones again, etc.), they have strong motivation for believing. Evidence to the contrary will prove very uncomfortable to them, and actually give them stronger resolve to believe, since now they also have a strong desire to overcome the mental discomfort.This is where CD comes into play, and plays a significant role in the replication of this particularly nasty social meme.
  

  When this is replicated 8 million times over 140 years, there is a very powerful social meme at work, in aggregate.

  d4g
  
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  45

  Why do we get TTATT and others don't?

  by quest81 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have thought about how ttatt came full circle for me.

  how the connecting the dots was simple and just made sense,.

  how silos of information are literally at our fingertips today.. why is it that the ones we love cannot get ttatt?.

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  done4good

  Cognitive dissonance. If you understand how this works, (thoroughly), you understand:

  1. What "mind control" really is, (or more importantly, why it happens).

  2. Why the GB can make things up and still be "true believers".

  3. Why even very intelligent JWs cannot "see" what we see.

  4. Why you once believed.
  

  d4g
  
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  31

  Where is it said , not to independently do deep study of scripture

  by william draper in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i do believe it is written somewhere in jw literature .

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  done4good

  "Jehovah's people are the thinkingest people on the planet"

  Not to split hairs on this point, however that statement is clearly a platitude directed toward the R&F, to make them "feel good" about themselves and the organization. If he said the same about the GB itself, it would indeed be the height of arrogance and narcissism.
  

  Just making sure we are accurate here. This is the type of thing we get called on as "twisting" what the organization says.

  d4g
  
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  31

  Where is it said , not to independently do deep study of scripture

  by william draper in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i do believe it is written somewhere in jw literature .

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  done4good

  Stuckinarut2- As the famous ToMo3 once said: "the GB are the most thinkingest people on the planet"

  Did TM3 actually say that?

  d4g
  
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  76

  Active posters: What education have you had, what degrees do you possess?

  by EndofMysteries in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  from so many posts and conversations on here, you'd think over 1/2 the posters here possess doctorates in theology, physics, biology, etc.

  i'm curious aside from the books and research people have done here, what degrees they have.

  to start, i just got an aa and going straight through full time to an mba.

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  done4good

  Bachelor of Science - Telecommunications Management, 1994 (Was a very fortunate dub to have friends that were liberal enough to assist and push me to get this education, many friends from the time no so fortunate).
  

  M.Eng (Master of Engineering) - Networked Information Systems, 2015

  Plan to work on PhD in electrical engineering/computer science next year.

  d4g
  
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  27

  Ex-Christians being angry

  by Jonathan Drake in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know i'm angry.

  i was curious if others are too.

  i feel completely justified in my anger as well.

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  done4good

  Angry, no...more like righteously indignant towards.
  

  d4g
  
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  67

  How do you feel about religion as a whole?

  by FatherFirst in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it just seems to me religion in general primarily makes truly bad people worse, not genuinly good people better; and in many cases has even made good people do bad things in the name of their religion.

  just curious, a personal poll if you will.

  what are you guys' current views on religion as a whole?

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  done4good

  JeffT- I've pointed out what the churches have been doing for the homeless (among other things, but the homeless camps are a good example). You have countered that people don't need a religion to get together and accomplish good things. I agree they shouldn't need it. The trouble is, at least around here, they don't seem to actually DO something. There is lots and lots of talk, the problem gets studied from all angles and everybody agrees that we should give the homeless a home - in somebody else's neighborhood. The thing the churches do best is convince the faithful that some degree of personal sacrifice and/or inconvenience is necessary to do good.

  I agree that on a localized, practical level, religion may very well serve to enable some people to do good works that may otherwise be difficult to organize. They key word is difficult, and not impossible.

  Many things work well on a local level, (as the saying goes, think globally act locally), however realistically not all things scale well, and extrapolate linearly. On a large scale, (or the "whole", as the OP brings out), more harm is done than good by religion. One doesn't need look too far to back this up empirically.

  d4g
  
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  67

  How do you feel about religion as a whole?

  by FatherFirst in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it just seems to me religion in general primarily makes truly bad people worse, not genuinly good people better; and in many cases has even made good people do bad things in the name of their religion.

  just curious, a personal poll if you will.

  what are you guys' current views on religion as a whole?

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  done4good

  Religion has served its purpose for humans. At this point in human historical development, it works against progress, and probably for the most part has, since the beginning of the Age of Reason. I really am hard pressed to think of anything good for society that is not already done secularly, that religion currently provides. I am sorry, but the argument that "my church feeds the poor", is a weak one in modern society. The most effective programs are largely secular in nature.
  

  What religion does provide society that secularism does not by its nature is: bigotry, hatred, war, ignorance, etc.

  I have no need for it.

  d4g
  
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  36

  Has This Site Ever Hurt You In Your Journey Out Of The JW Religion?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this site has gone through many metamorphosis over the years.

  i believe it is a kinder, less edgy place tan it was a few years ago.

  i wonder how many people were helped versus turned off by this place.

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  done4good

  Sir82-"Trevorgate"

  There was a long time poster here named Trevor who made post after post about his wife who was dying of a terminal illness, There was a lot of emotional investment by a lot of posters. Some even went so far, I believe, to send him money for something or other (medical treatments?).

  Her condition improved, then went down, then up, then down, and so on. One day finally the wife died, and the board went into mourning.

  Soon thereafter, Trevor admitted it was all some sort of bizarre twisted joke. There was no wife, no illness, no nothing - he just made it up and played it out. Not only that, he kind of posted the reveal as a "you all are a bunch of idiotic suckers for believing it" post.

  I think it stretched over years.

  It was even worse than that. The fake wife was a new poster, (with her own identity on the board). She was a recent learner of the TTATT, hooked up with Trevor, they married, then yet another 3rd fake person was also added to the mix, (with her own identity on the board). She too learned TTATT, then the fake wife became sick, in and out of the hospital, then died.

  If I remember correctly, Nathan Natas somehow figured out that the whole thing was BS, and called Trevor on it. He took a lot of flack for this at first, by those who were sympathetic to the fake wife. Soon the whole thing was uncovered and Nathan was vindicated. Very, very, ugly, and many were emotionally attached to the whole thing. I am not that much of a touchy feely guy, and I stayed away from here for months because of it.

  d4g
  
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  7

  i will just set this right here.

  by Defianttruth in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-reasons-you-get-tricked-into-believing-stupid-things/

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  done4good

  A simple explanation as to why people respond to cognitive dissonance the way they do. A good read, and realistic.
  

  Vidiot-

  It actually made me kinda depressed.

  Cynically, I agree with you.

  d4g