Entries in the 'Science' Category

Why Do We Like Horror Movies?

547.02Comment: In 1896, Georges Méliès made the world’s first three-minute horror movie. It was called The House of the Devil. More than 120 years have passed since then, and millions of viewers, and maybe billions, adore horror movies. These movies rise to the top of the highest-grossing movies and bring huge revenues.

Scientists believe that we like horror movies because we want to feel an adrenaline rush but in a safe environment.

My Response: Naturally.

Question: Why do we need this adrenaline and all this horror?

Answer: Yes, look at the child. Bring him somewhere, to the zoo for example, and see how he will stand behind his mother, holding onto her skirt, and look out from there.

This is what it is. I remember back in Leningrad on Vasilievsky Island there was a cinema where they showed old movies. After the film, a smart-looking person would come out and give a little lecture about how we should understand the movie correctly.

Question: So, tell me, does a person need this feeling of horror? Why is he attracted to it all the time?

Answer: It shows him the opposite side of life. It is also interesting for a person to feel the comprehension of the border, beyond which there is something unknown and terrible that surrounds you and tries to bind you.

Question: Is it important for a person to approach this border?

Answer: Yes. It is important. We are always interested in understanding the edge, the border. This gives us a sense of where we are, again like the same child holding on to his mother’s skirt and peeking out from behind it.

Question: Does it say about a person that he is developed when he goes to this unknown and stops? Does a scientist have the same feeling? A scientist who is moving toward some kind of discovery: further and further, and something unknown is before him.

Answer: The unknown does not frighten the scientist. It does not frighten him, but fascinates him. There is some kind of fright in this, but not like in Frankenstein. This is different, I must reveal, understand, comprehend, and feel it. The scientist is trying to get beyond the limits of comprehension, beyond the shackles of our world.

Question: Does he want to go there? The child is hiding behind his mother, but does the scientist want to go there?

Answer: Yes. But all the same, both want to tickle the nerves.

All this, of course, excites the scientist very much.

Both, a small child who looks out from behind his mother’s skirt and a scientist who is trying to reveal something are children who want to know the truth. Although they are scared, the scientist also has this feeling, but he goes there.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 2/3/22

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Will Genetics Make Us Spiritual?

961.2Comment: Vladimir, a scientist, is asking: “Dear Michael Laitman, I have a question about the problem of genetic modification of people. You say that a person must go through the most difficult spiritual changes in himself all his life. And then genetics comes and says: ‘Let us carry out genome corrections, and we will have a person with spiritual qualities right away. And we will immediately correct all mankind in a leap and bring goodness to everyone.’ Isn’t that what Kabbalists dream of?”

My Response: Kabbalists dream that a person will change. But a person will change as a result of working on oneself, not on one’s genes.

Question: So must one work hard himself?

Answer: He must immerse himself in these changes, according to the formula “love your neighbor as yourself.” And then he will see what changes are taking place in him and what he is building, what new state of himself, the world, society, and the universe in general.

Question: So, you do not believe that genetics, by changing the genome, will be able to bring a person closer to the Creator and spirituality?

Answer: No.

Question: Not even close?

Answer: We will come closer to realizing this, but we will not fix anything. Correction will be only in the person himself when he allows nature to change him.

Question: But for this must he make an effort himself?

Answer: Yes.

Question: And is there no escape from this?

Answer: No.

Question: Not even artificial intelligence and all our technical devices will be able to help us?

Answer: Nothing!
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 4/20/23

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Will AI Enslave Us?

962.7Comment: Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a thousand other experts have signed an open letter to suspend development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI). They wrote:

“Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks, and we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us? Should we risk loss of control of our civilization? Such decisions must not be delegated to unelected tech leaders. Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable” (“Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter“).

These are the questions they are asking.

My Response: We have finally reached the point of discussing the rise of machines.

Question: Yes, we have seen it before. We used to destroy machines, and now we want to destroy artificial intelligence.

How do you feel about this? In general, is this fantasy so real that they could surpass us?

Answer: These people have stakes in this, Elon Musk and others. Therefore, I do not know about what they write. But, in general, of course, there will be competition.

Any computer is a competitor of a thousand people it frees from work. So, there is nothing you can do about it. But we will not fight it as they did in England several hundred years ago by destroying machinery.

Question: You believe we should not destroy them?

Answer: No, we should not. You will achieve nothing. Progress must take place.

Question: But tell us, why are we given these opportunities to create such machines, such artificial intelligence?

Answer: To begin working on ourselves! By ourselves! So that we put these artificial machines in our place. Let them do all the work.

And we would work on ourselves, on changing our nature from egoistic to altruistic.

Question: So you believe all this progress, which is significant progress, artificial intelligence, and all progress in general, all the simplification of human labor and transitioning it to the machines, is happening so we can reflect on ourselves and start working on ourselves?

Answer: Yes, so we can stop working on the machines and can start working on ourselves.

Question: But was it not egoism that created this artificial intelligence?

Answer: Egoism created everything. Everything around us is egoism.

Comment: Yes, but it creates something that can destroy itself. That is what is interesting!

Answer: Nothing will destroy it. It only allows us to use our opportunities well, correctly.

Question: Are you talking about the correct use of egoism now?

Answer: Yes, so I do not see anything bad about it thus far. Later, we will realize egoism is an evil force of nature the Creator purposely created to show us its opposite side. And we will come to the realization of transformation, of correcting the ego to its next form—the quality of love and bestowal.

Question: Ultimately, you say you favor all this development that will lead us to this state?

Answer: Yes, I’m in favor of the robot uprising.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 4/20/23

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Will We Become Hostages of a Lone Geneticist?

592.01Question: Imagine that science and technology have reached such a level that a single specialist can independently carry out changes in the genome. Is it possible to trust such a weapon to a specialist doctor, no matter how good he may be?

Answer: I think we certainly cannot trust, and I think we will not reach such a state because nature is intelligent and its upper intelligence will not allow us to do this. So we will have to change ourselves.

Question: Do you believe that there will be such a specialist or specialists who will be like that, just turn a knob…?

Answer: No, they can spin as much as they want. They can think whatever they want about their great capabilities, but they will not succeed.

Question: Do you think they can succeed thanks to genetic engineering? What can be achieved with its help?

Answer: Of course, they will achieve some improvement.

Question: For people to be sick less, suffer less?

Answer: Yes, but to change a person, no way. Because whatever we say about good, evil, love, or hate, it is impossible. This can only be done if a person himself wishes to change. Moreover, he will wish for it finally and irrevocably and will ask for it. And the corresponding forces of nature will produce such a change in him.

Question: So no one interferes except the person who asks to be changed. Does he need to be brought to a state where he asks to be changed?

Answer: Yes, he must conclude that he, himself cannot, but that there is such a possibility in nature.

Question: Why does the conclusion that I cannot take millennia?

Answer: A person wants to do everything himself.

Question: Yes. Look, it is the same with genetic engineering and so on.

We want to do everything by ourselves. By ourselves! Millennia go by while man is trying to change everything itself. Today man is changing nature, destroying ecology as a result, and so on, just to come to this little thought?

Answer: Little?! This is a cardinal revolution within a person when he realizes that he cannot do anything with himself, but he needs to make changes precisely in himself. Then he turns to nature.

Comment: Yes, millions of books have been written, crazy wars have been going on for millennia, confiscations, and so on, just to come to this idea?!

Answer: It is the main, fundamental, basic in all of nature—that we are created egoists and must come to a state where we define ourselves as absolute egoists, that we harm the whole of nature, and if we want to change something, we must change ourselves. That is when there will be a change in the species, genus, humanity, and so on.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 4/20/23

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Kabbalah—The Source of Sciences

1.02Question: What came first: Kabbalah or science?

Answer: In principle, science came from Kabbalah, which was discovered by Adam more than 5,700 years ago. After him, Kabbalists appeared 20 generations before Abraham, before ancient Babylon, and then others appeared after Abraham.

Kabbalah gave us a system. Philosophy emerged from Kabbalah. As medieval German philosophers write, Aristotle and Plato took scientific knowledge from Kabbalists, developed it, and turned it into philosophies, which became the foundations of the sciences.

Many ancient scientists write that they studied with Kabbalists. After all, back then, man aspired to enquire about the general nature that is not in his five animalistic sense organs. Today it sounds fantastic that a person was first drawn to know the meaning of his life; he was very close to nature, and this was what interested him. And then people went into egoistic development and into all kinds of technologies, and they adhered to this right up to our time. But now we are returning to the same position again, to the same first explorers of our world.

The study of our world is the most fundamental; it determines what we live for, what the material world is, and in what we exist.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What Is Science?” 3/6/11

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Scientific Principles of Kabbalah

265If a person develops in himself an additional sensory organ—the organ of bestowal instead of reception—and begins to feel outside of himself in a completely different attitude to nature, then he already explores it with the help of bestowal, but following the same principles as the sciences of our world: research, repetition, recording, reproduction, and the perception of reality.

He passes it on to others, and they also investigate and see the same results. Based on the fact that this reality is attained by many, it is perceived as existing and thus forms part of science.

It is difficult to convey to what extent Kabbalah expands the perception of what kind of world we live in, how we relate to this world, and how we explore it. That is, it begins to show us how subjective we are and are limited even in our sciences and in everything.

It is impossible to convey, and it is not necessary to. Kabbalists do not want to do this. They do not flirt with scientists; it is useless. If I do not have any sensory organ, how can I talk about what can be perceived in it? It seems to me incredible, fantastic, and false.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. What is Science?” 3/28/11

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Study the Plan of Nature

60.01Nature has its own plan of development. But have we developed according to our plans until today? All of the plans that we build are collapsing. What plans does nature have? Let us get to know them, attain them, and have a look at them. It is always worth knowing at least the thing we exist in.

We cannot do anything with the surrounding nature, we are part of it. Even when we think we want something, it is also from this very nature. We cannot exit it, and I cannot exit out of myself. No matter how hard I try, I am still inside of my nature.

So what is this internal program according to which I change all the time? I need to understand this; otherwise, this program pushes me to who knows what. If I get to know it, it is quite possible that in accordance with it I will develop comfortably and in a good way. I will feel good, and everyone will feel good. It is time for humanity to stop being so clueless.

The wisdom of Kabbalah speaks about this. Therefore, it is now being revealed and calling us, first of all, to study nature, not how to subordinate it to ourselves, but how to subordinate ourselves to it.

There is nothing complicated about it. There are only two forces in nature—the force of reception and the force of bestowal. The force of bestowal is the upper force that created us and animates everything. The force of reception is the force of all created beings, and in a human it is the biggest of all. Humans use it absolutely unreasonably and use all of nature and everyone around them to their own detriment.

It means that we need to learn from nature how to optimally use both forces given to us. If we see how it does it, we will be fine. Call nature the Creator, call it nature; it does not matter. That is, Kabbalah is the most natural, integral, and global wisdom about nature.

Comment: But it is described in a very difficult way. Not everyone will be able to understand it.

My Response: I do not think physics and other sciences describe everything much easier. On the contrary, Kabbalah is a simple wisdom because it describes everything in feelings that are understandable to everyone. When you begin to operate with what Kabbalah says, then you experience these actions on yourself. They become the closest to you, the most real and most tangible, since they are just inside you.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Illusion of the World” 2/1/11

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Healthy Egoism

547.05Comment: You said you cannot convey a full picture of the entire system to external people who are not engaged in Kabbalah because it is against the plan of creation.

Answer: They will not understand anything! How can they understand what I am telling them given their current qualities? Or how can they even somewhat agree with it, even purely theoretically? And then what? It would destroy their egoism, destroy everything they know, everything they do.

In their eyes Einstein will suddenly turn into a little boy, as would other scientists across multiple disciplines look completely superficial and shallow. And what is next?

Why humiliate people? I respect them for their serious contribution, for their commitment. They realize their healthy egoism and strive to know and attain as much as possible. This still develops various paths to the Creator. Science is increasingly approaching a premonition of the upper force.

Therefore, I do not want to interfere in any way. Because if they learn about Kabbalah, they will not be able to do anything! They will instantly forget it! The system of egoistic self-defense will instantly kick in, and that is it: “I’m back to my scientific niche, I do not want to know anything!”
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Kabbalah, Science, Middle Class” 12/29/12

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Grasp the Feeling of The Creator

527.03In physics, there are phenomena that based on some alternative possibilities and research, we come to the conclusion that something exists, but we cannot determine it even indirectly. We have the same problem with the Creator. People guess and make assumptions about Him, and on these bases philosophies, religions, and what not arise!

What is this force that determines, creates, and brings everything to life? We cannot feel this either in our bodily senses or with artificially created instruments. We cannot! We do not have such a measuring tool or some kind of scanner or X-ray.

Kabbalah directs a person to create a device within oneself that will enable the person to sense the Creator, tune oneself to this phenomenon, this force, this field, and by continuously changing oneself to come closer and closer to it. You need to work tirelessly on yourself and then it will happen.

It is said that after you make certain quantitative and qualitative efforts which are called Igati (came), you will reveal Him, which is called Matsati (found). And that is it!

The only problem is that we do not know exactly what kind of efforts there are. And for that we have been given a group and all the conditions that Kabbalists write about.

In principle, Kabbalah exists only to help a person not be confused, but to apply the right amount of effort in the right place and as efficiently as possible.

And then, when you grasp the tail of the feeling of the Creator, and you already have it, you begin to move forward along it. You grab the end of the rope and climb up. The main task of Kabbalists is to bring us to the first contact in order to grasp the feeling of the Creator.

Therefore, every day you need to change and be afraid that you are losing time. After all, here you are racing against time.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. How to Change Every Second” 7/14/12

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Expand Your Organs of Perception

131As a result of the breakage of the common soul, its descent and mixing of all kinds of broken parts even at the spiritual level, all kinds of analyses, clarifications, and scrutinies of these parts take place in us, and therefore a person is often in such states when he does not know what is happening to him; someone seems to be leading him, performing actions for him, he somehow automatically goes through life and suddenly there is some kind of an accident, fate, fatalism.

What to do? Being only in the sensation of our world, we do not understand anything. For this reason, there are some people who feel that they are supposedly messengers of the higher worlds. This is how their egoism sets them up: you are special, from somewhere out there, take care of yourself, you have a purpose, etc.

This has been known for centuries. Where did all the beliefs come from? Some eccentric jumped out of bed early in the morning and ran through the city, shouting that he had an epiphany. And it went on and on for thousands of years.

But all this comes to its logical end. Today we are in a state of clarifying these things.

According to Kabbalah, everything is explained very simply, according to absolute laws, not as mysticism, only higher physics. The difference between Kabbalah and all religions, beliefs, and even sciences is that it is very realistic. It is not limited, not rigid, and not closed, like other sciences, where scientists are blinded in their characteristics.

They do not understand that they are limited in their perception of the world by their qualities, and they believe that what they see exists. If they had expanded their senses and their organs of perception, they would have seen more. They do not have a mechanism for expanding the boundaries of their perception. This is the limitation of the sciences, their dead end.

Kabbalah is good because it says: “Indeed, we have only what we see, what we can clearly explore, with repetition, with experience, with many people, and so on, but within the limits of those boundaries that give us existing knowledge.

However, these limits can be expanded. Let us say you have such a framework, you see the world through some diopters, another through others, and a third through the third ones. Let us describe the world through all these diopters and see how we can change our vision, that is, our perception, and whether we can expand it. If we can, that is great.”

In such a way we get 125 degrees of attaining the universe, the world. Moreover, not only attainment of its image, but also in-depth opening, i.e., qualitative attainment.

We do not just expand the world by zooming in on stars with a telescope or magnifying microorganisms through microscopes. We change ourselves! You begin to see the world qualitatively, deep into the n-dimensional space.

Then you see its governance, internal connections, meaning, and everything else. But again, it is realistic, scientific, and is confirmed by those who are engaged in expanding their perception.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Perception of the reality of a schizophrenic” 6/9/12

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