Internalizing and Externalizing the Message
First a reiteration, then a clarification.
Using the symbols that we developed in the past chapters. Remember the flower is the Experience; the jagged lines are the filters, while the circles inside is the message that is transmitted.
In words: Person 1 has the Experience, 0, conceptualizes it, then transmits it to Person 2, who conceptualizes it in her own way, before passing it on to Person 3, who must conceptualize it in his own way to understand what 2 was talking about and to store the information for future use.
The incoming filter of each of the People, 1, 2, & 3, has the same function, which is to evaluate the incoming experience by internalizing or personalizing its meaning. While the incoming filter of 1 is internalizing direct experience, the internalizing filters of 2 are personalizing the experience of Person 1 relating his experience. Similarly with Person 3. Reverse everything with the outgoing filter, which externalizes the Message, which has been internalized.
Aside: In a feeble attempt to avoid the pejoratives of connotation, while still adhering in a pathetic way to the tenets of symbolic logic, remember that we define true as any message that passes the filter and false as any message that doesn't pass the filter. This is filter logic.
While the Source, Person 1, is just translating an Experience into Words - a Message, the Receiver, Person 2, must evaluate the truth of the Message, in order to internalize its meaning. If the Message is evaluated as false, the internalization is nearly opposite than when it is evaluated as true. For instance, let's consider the following message. The government makes an appeal to their young men to sacrifice their lives, and to their citizens to bankrupt their country, in order to conquer a country which harbors ‘weapons of mass destruction’, which presumably threaten the stability of the world. If the governmental Message is evaluated as true then families everywhere enthusiastically sacrifice their sons and daughters for this noble cause. On the other hand if the Message is evaluated as false, then citizens everywhere will protest and object. Therefore the Government Propaganda Machine has a lot invested in convincing the Populace to support its wars. Hence the evaluation of a Message is very important, as it could lead to cooperation or resistance.
Filter Logic
While we intuitively feel that the evaluation of a Message has to do with the Logic of its verbal content, the exact reverse is true. In most circumstances the truth of the message is only partially related to the verbal content.
While this may seem odd for those who believe absolutely in the ability of deductive logic to determine truth, it has only to do with the fact that most of us use filter logic - not deductive logic - to determine the truth of a Message. Filter logic is simple, the input is evaluated on some criteria. If it passes, it is given a 1, and is considered true. If it doesn’t pass the filter, then it is given a 0, and is considered false.
Thus our filter only cares about logic if it is a logic filter. Otherwise logic has nothing to do with whether the information is passed on or not.
Ideally must pass all Incoming filters to be evaluated as true
Further ideally the only way the information is passed as true is when it passes all the filters. This means that the Behavior and Appearance of the Source are acceptable, i.e. true. Also the Content of the Message must fit in with our prior belief structure as well as have good logic, i.e. both true.
In logic
If ((Appearance and Behavior = True)
And If (Belief Structure and Logic = True))
Then (Message = True)
Or more concisely
If ((A And B = 1) And (BS And L = 1)) Then M = 1
Thus the message must pass through all four filters to be considered true.
Let A, B, BS, L = TTTT = 1111.
Thus the score of a completely passable message is 1111.
Packaging frequently more important than Content
The above idealized situation is predicated upon the assumption that each of these filters are equally important - that they are weighted the same. However, as we’ve mentioned before, the Source filters are frequently given priority over the Content Filter, much to the chagrin of the logicians in the crowd. To reiterate, many times the evaluation of the Source’s Message has less to do with the Content and more to do with the Packaging. Frequently the Packaging is given more importance than the Content.
As an example: Many times the toys in the Happy Meals for kids in the fast food restaurants are more important than the food.
There are some interesting consequences to the elevation of packaging over content. When this unfortunate circumstance occurs, two major logical sequences occur. The first is simply that ‘True’ packaging allows ‘False’ content to pass as ‘True’. The rush of the ‘True’ Packaging overwhelms the ‘False’ of the Content filter.
Example: The man in a fancy 3 piece suit sweet talks the little old lady out of her life savings, while the bum can’t get a nickel out of her to buy some food.
In theory the Receiver’s incoming filter only passes 1111=> 1, but in the above example 1110 =>1 got thru because of the artificial elevation of form over content.
Remember these four numbers represent the four components of the Receiver’s In filter, i.e. Behavior, Appearance, Belief Structure, and Logic. While the Logic filter registered a False = 0, this didn’t matter because of the Trues = 111 registered by the Packaging filters. In reality the content of the message has more to do with its truth than its form or packaging.
Let us examine these ideas through some diagrams, as is our wont. Remember in filter logic, that which is passed is True = 1, while that which is not passed is False = 0. Therefore our filter diagrams could be labeled as follows.
The black does not pass, while the white does.
Stress - this is filter logic, not content logic.
Simple true transmissions
Following are the most straightforward circumstances.
1111 => 1
The first diagram shows Good form and content yielding the truth
0000 => 0
The second shows Bad form and content yielding falsehood.
These are the simplest of situations. True Packaging yielded true content, while False Packaging yielded false content.
False Transmissions
Now let us examine some common scenarios of Form worshippers, who feel that ‘externals are most important’.
1110 => 1
In the above case the externals are worshipped so much that falsehood is passed as true.
0001 => 0
This case is even more disturbing in some ways. The false externals surrounding a true internal cause the truth to be evaluated as a falsehood.
The two preceding diagrams are examples of false transmissions, i.e. when a false message is evaluated as true or when a true message is evaluated as false. This is the situation when a gullible man believes the lie, or when a distrustful man doubts the truth. This is the kind of situation that Propagandists thrive on.
True Transmissions
The following two diagrams are examples of true transmissions, i.e. when false information is evaluated as false regardless of ‘true’ packaging and true information is passed as true despite ‘false’ packaging.
0001 => 1
1110 => 0
While these two scenarios are the hoped for result, they are very rare. As PT Barnum said, “While you can’t fool all the people all of the time, you can fool most of the people most of the time.”
Indeterminate Transmissions
While these are the best case scenarios, a hoped for compromise would be the suspension of judgment.
If the transmission is too confusing then it would be better to evaluate the message as indeterminate, ø, rather giving it a true or false rating. If the form is too disturbing or distracting - best not to evaluate the message at all. Give it an ambiguous status until more information comes in.
Packaging tends to overwhelm Content
The unfortunate reality is that good or true information is tainted by a ‘false’ package, while bad or false information is sweetened by a ‘true’ package.
The three piece suit of business/politics, the white lab coat of the doctor or scientist, and the handsome white man are considered ‘true’ packaging in our culture, while the homeless, alternative appearances, ethnic, piercings, and handmade clothes are considered ‘false’ packaging. A new car is considered ‘true’ packaging, while a beat up old car is considered ‘false’ packaging. Thus white men dressed in three piece suits and driving new cars are allowed to rape, murder and steal the peace and prosperity of foreign third world countries without prosecution or blame, while a homeless man cannot beg for food without risking abuse, imprisonment or even banishment.
Aside: An Axiom is defined as a self-evident truth, while a Postulate is defined as an assumption. Therefore our T/F Postulate could be called an axiom because the ambiguity of verbal truth is inherent. However to avoid frivolous argumentation, we will continue to call it a postulate.
The Tribe takes care of its Own?
Summarizing and generalizing: ‘false’ packaging is foreign and highly suspect. It identifies the Source as Them, and therefore untrustworthy. On the other hand ‘true’ packaging reveals that someone is in our Tribe. The Source is one of Us and therefore trustworthy.
Let us apply the T/F Postulate or Axiom to the above reasoning.
What is the truth behind worshipping form over content?
As human culture has evolved it has always been quite apparent that those in one’s own tribe are normally out for the good of each member in the tribe -- while those in other tribes are not our for the best welfare of anyone outside their tribe.
This phenomenon was so distinct that American Indians had ceremonies to induct captured colonists into their tribe to transform Them into an Us. The USA and every other nation in the world have elaborate tests of every kind, legal hoops and such, for ‘aliens’ who want to become citizens of the national tribe.
Thus nationalism, patriotism, loyalty and the like are all based upon the underlying assumption/implicit belief that members of one’s own tribe are more likely to make decisions based on one’s own welfare - while those in another tribe will make decisions that are counter productive to one’s well being.
This fuzzy unexamined implicit belief is the fulcrum upon which Propagandists are able to trick the world into passing false for true, and rejecting true as false. If one is to achieve true freedom from cultural conditioning, it is imperative that one rigorously examines the ambiguous borders of this assumption in order to not be victimized by the Powers that be. One must resist the temptation to succumb to lazy thinking.
Home The Firing Process II. Group Manipulation Previous Next Comments