Webinar series

From metawiki
Sit back, relax, and have your mind blown

The metaculture Webinar Series divides the complete philosophy into a series of presentations and discussions by category.

Wiki Book Club

This allows the wiki to be tackled in a "Book Club" style, reading a manageable section on a single topic and then meeting to discuss. Should your book club wish to read the metaculture wiki without the webinars, this outline would serve as an appropriate roadmap.

Before each session you should read all of the pages in the list, and watch the associated videos. For topics that you are very familiar with you may choose to skip some of the videos, especially the longer ones. The 1.25x speed setting can help as well. The webinars will assume you have read all the pages and are familiar with the concepts presented in the videos.

Focus on Connections

Due to the broad range of topics being covered, discussion will focus on the core philosophical tenets and unique perspectives of the belief system, the rhetorical and persuasive advantages of this approach, and how each subject relates to the holistic view of the universe presented by metaculture. The goal is to bridge the gap between common understandings of these subjects and the best available evidence. So read the Wikipedia links if you don't yet have the common understanding!

Enlightenment or Your Money Back!

At the end of this free 10-part webinar series, you are guaranteed to achieve a new sense of scientific and spiritual enlightenment that you never had before. If the webinar series fails to achieve this goal, you will be issued a full refund and sincere apology.

metaculture Mondays Start March 11, 2024 @ 8:30PM Eastern

Sign up here to receive the webinar registration links for this and future webinars. metaculture Mondays repeats every 2 weeks (3/11, 3/25, 4/8, 4/22, 5/6, 5/20, 6/3, 6/17, 7/1, 7/15).

1 Introduction

Fractals, fractals, fractals

Start with an introduction to the metaculture belief system, explaining the primary goals, expected benefits, and reasons behind the undertaking.

Questions to Ponder

2 Metaphysics and Theology

Freedom of Religion

Since one of the primary goals is the resolution of cognitive dissonance caused by science and religion, the metaphysical and theological assumptions are a logical place to start.

Questions to Ponder

3 Empirical Ethics

Ethics

The goal of our ethics and what humans consider "good" is encoded in our brains by evolution. Therefore, the pursuit of happiness and well-being is the objective goal of our actions.

The way we interpret these instincts becomes the generating equation that creates the pattern of our life choices.

Questions to Ponder

4 Gödel, Feedback Loops and Fractals

Self-referential

When self-reference is introduced into any mathematical system, strange (loop) things start to happen.

Questions to Ponder

5 Consciousness and the Mind/Body Relationship

Brainy

A crash course in how the brain works, with a particular emphasis on the hard problem of consciousness, the mind/brain relationship, and how understanding the activity of neural networks can help us understand our own behavior.

Questions to Ponder

  • Do you believe that the mind is purely material? Or is it something separate?
  • What activities put you in a flow state? When do you feel most mindful?
  • Does the universe have consciousness?
  • Do you believe we have free will? Can we control our actions with our thoughts?
  • What is a time you have changed your environment to aid your willpower?
  • Do you believe in the similarity of subjective experiences? Is your perception of color the same as others?
  • What is your solution to the hard problem of consciousness?

6 Brain and Behavior

More brainy

Exploring the other areas related to psychology, with a particular emphasis on the things that determine our life choices and behaviors.

Questions to Ponder

  • At what point in our development do we truly become self-aware?
  • Are animals self-aware? Which ones?
  • What are some examples of modern conflicting ideas that cause the most cognitive dissonance?
  • What is an example of a time when you had cognitive dissonance and how was it resolved?
  • What is the thing with the most motivational salience to you?
  • Is there a habit that you have tried to quit? Were you successful? What strategy did you employ?
  • When was a time that delaying gratification paid off for you?
  • What temptation is your weakness? What do you do to mitigate that?
  • What's your favorite emotion other than happiness/joy? What is your least favorite?
  • What is a strategy you employ to break out of a negative emotional state?
  • Have you ever been cured by a placebo?
  • Can the placebo effect be elicited using rituals?
  • If you had to create a new placebo ritual, what would it be?

7 Creation, Evolution, and Metaphor Mapping

Fractal Trinity

Exploring how the application of the fractal metaphor and principles of self-organization can help people understand the nature of complex systems like evolution, as well as illustrating the natural analogs for spiritual allegories.

Questions to Ponder

8 Flavors of Modern B.S.

Spot the grift

Reason and critical thinking are vital skills in late stage capitalism, where you can be grifted by anyone in the world at any time, and many of the schemes are legal. Developing new social norms will be necessary to counter these trends.

9 Politics, Government and Economics

You should vote

Evidence-based best practices for creating a society that is effective at maximizing happiness and well-being for its citizens and fulfilling the utilitarian ethos.

10 Best Practices For Life

Love is a best practice

The rest of the webinar series will focus on the application of science and evidence to maximizing happiness and well-being in society to every aspect of future culture. When the best practices section has been fully developed, each of these bullets could become its own session.

For the initial webinar, it will focus on the need to develop an authoritative guide for making effective life choices that is continually updated based on the best available evidence, so people don't have to figure everything out for themselves amidst a sea of misinformation.