

Stop Holding Yourself Back: Transcending False Desires - WrennGo
http://www.criticalreadingskills.com/speaking/stop-holding-back-transcending-false-desires/

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ilaksh
Good point in that you do want to have an identity that accepts whatever kind
of difficulty is inherent in achieving your goals. I think this general idea
is a bit overstated and simplified though. You don't necessarily have to want
to suffer or enjoy every moment of practice. Some parts you can like a lot and
others you can hate. You just need to have a belief system around the endeavor
that accepts the suffering parts as worthwhile and necessary.

I also think the "Law of Equivalent Exchange" is a good general rule but again
an over-simplification. It also reflects a primitive and pessimistic worldview
which I believe can be very harmful. I have seen this type of worldview used
to justify Luddism or at least quite unwarranted ambivalence about technology.
I have also seen beliefs like that law justify things like war. Sometimes
there are positive ways forward which are not detrimental compromises against
an other.

For example not all technological progress needs to lead to "equivalent"
ecological destruction and not all cultural integration need to mean
"equivalent" genocide.

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WrennGo
I agree that the article is oversimplified and a bit overstated (you have to
think about who it's written for and the context it's in), though I disagree
with many of your more specific criticisms. You criticize, for example, the
Law of Equivalent Exchange as reflecting a primitive and pessimistic
worldview, and also as being something that can be used to justify Luddism and
ambivalence towards technology. But that's like blaming the shovel for digging
the hole. Sure, it was used to dig the hole, but that hole was going to be dug
either way (unless we take away ALL tools, including hands -- and THAT would
be some extreme Luddism). If people want to rationalize and justify their
prejudices, it hardly matters to them how they go about doing so -- as long as
they do do so. Also, win-win situations exist within the Law of Equivalent
Exchange -- it sounds like you think it could promote an overly position-based
worldview (as opposed to a principle-based one), and I agree that, untempered
with moderation, it could potentially lead to such a thing. However, if this
advice is taken with moderation (as I suspect it typically will be), I see no
harm in it, and actually some value in it.

-WrennGo

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ilaksh
Those worldviews are prevalent and that "law" is commonly used as one of the
core belief nodes supporting those worldviews.

Here's another example: tool selection by programmers. Many have a false
belief that a programming language that performs must be difficult to use or
require a lot of manual memory management or plumbing.

This false belief is also supported by that incorrect belief node about the
"law".

Also, you know you don't have to sign your name on comments, right? It says
your name at the top.

