Geir Isene – uncut View RSS

Follow me to my new blog: https://isene.org 22 Dec 2019 1:50 AM (5 years ago)

This site is kept open for archival purposes. There are lots of blog posts on everything from tech stuff to Scientology on this site. It will remain open for years to come.

But, my new home is at isene.org. That is where I continue blogging and sharing materials for your free use. You can subscribe at the bottom page over at isene.org to keep yourself updated on new posts.

Articles, books, my artwork and music is shared at one of the pages on my new website, and easily reached via isene.com.

Geir’s Geekery 10 Aug 2018 1:46 AM (6 years ago)

I have started the process of migrating from WordPress to Jekyll. And boy am I excited

Since Jekyll is a web site platform written in Ruby with lots of possibilities and extensions, I am right at home. No more writing posts in web forms or clicking around in admin panels – like with WordPress. With Jekyll, pages, posts and other content are simple text files on my laptop. I drop images in directories, fire up a script and my website gets updated with a swish!

First out is the geekier part of me. I have moved isene.org over to Jekyll and will move also my blogging over there with isene.com and isene.me pointing to the same site (maybe to different parts of the site… we’ll see).

Walk right over to isene.org and leave a comment or five on the Welcome post. Tell me what you think about my new home. Any home improvement tips?

Amar Tools reaches a milestone: The 1.0 release! 31 Jul 2018 12:25 AM (6 years ago)

After 15 years in the making, finally Amar Tools is ‘feature complete’ and deserving the 1.0 release mark.

The swiss army knife tool set for the Amar Role-Playing game is freely available on Github. Although created for the Amar RPG, these tools are useful for any fantasy RPG.

The online version is available here: http://www.isene.org/amar.html

A shortened version of the feature list:

• Generate random encounters in various terrains (day or night): The encounters are of various races, complete with random names, sex, stats and attitude towards the player characters. You can download the generated encounters as a text file. 
• Generate random human NPCs. All attributes, skills, weapons, armour, magic, etc. is detailed according to the Amar RPG rules. You can bookmark the URL for each NPC (for future references) and download a text file of the NPC. 
• Generate random settlements complete with inhabitants – castles, villages, towns or cities:
  • A realistic set of house types are generated and each house populated with residents. Each inhabitant are generated with name according to its race, sex, personality and general skill level in their trade. You can bookmark the URL for the generated settlement for later reference and download a text file as well.
  • A graphical map of relations between the inhabitants is generated along with a text file representing the same. You can bookmark and download both.

   

• Generate graphical and textual relationship maps for inhabitants of settlements you upload. 
• Generate a month of random weather. Choose any of the Amar months and detailed weather is created for that specific month – with special religious days and moon phases. If you are a Game Master of any other RPG, choose “Unspecified” as the month and 28 days of weather is created. You can download the weather as a nice PDF. 
• Generate random names for a whole range of races. 
• Make “open ended dice rolls” (used extensively throughout the Amar RPG).

Check out the online version to see all the other features.

Thanks to all contributors – players, game masters and others that have helped push the Amar Tools with more than 30K lines of code over this milstone mark.

RPG tool: Random weather generator 17 Jul 2018 2:32 PM (6 years ago)

Another tool got added to the Amar RPG tool box: A random weather generator. Like several of the other tools, this one is also quite usable for any Role-Playing Game. However, if you are a Game Master in Amar, you get to generate weather for any of the 13 months, with religious days and moon phases added. If you are playing another game world, simply choose “Unspecified” when selecting a month. Enjoy

Wrapping up Scientology 14 Jul 2018 6:32 AM (6 years ago)

Aaron Smith-Levin did a second interview with me on Scientology:

I think this would wrap up my talks and interviews on Scientology for now.

I also completed my page here on Scientology. This makes it easier to give those who want me to comment, answer questions or contribute to book projects, articles or school assignments one definite page to get all my views.

RPG tool: Random relationship map for citizens of a town 13 Jul 2018 11:53 AM (6 years ago)

I’m on a roll. Decided to add yet another tool to the Amar Role-Playing Game. You now get a randomly generated relationship map between the citizens whenever you generate a fantasy village, town or city.

You can also download your generated village/town/city as a text file, edit it as you wish and upload your edited file to get a random relationship map for your new settlement. Check out the tools here: Tools for the Amar RPG.

You will get a map like this:

Click the image to zoom in.

Be aware, for larger settlements, the map becomes chaotic.

Source code for all the Amar RPG tools is freely avalable on Github.

RPG Random Town Generator 10 Jul 2018 6:26 AM (6 years ago)

The Amar Role-Playing Game has got yet another tool: a random town generator. It doesn’t draw a map for you, but it will save contless hours populating villages, towns and cities. You will get a realistic distribution of house types, shops and trades. Each house is populated with residents – complete with name, age, sex, main skill level and basic personality.

Whereas this tool is created for the Amar RPG, it will save time for Game Masters of any fantasy RPG in creating settlements for a game campaign.

Source code for all the Amar RPG tools is avalable on Github.

Amar RPG: New tools 2 Jul 2018 12:23 PM (6 years ago)

The Amar Role-Playing Game has got two new tools lately.

To understand what Amar RPG is, check out its extensive wiki.

The new tools are a random names generator and an “Open ended dice roller“. The random names generator will give you ten names of the race you pick (from human male and female names to dwarves, elves, trolls and more).

If you are a Game Master for an Amar RPG campaign, you now have a better swiss army knife at your disposal.

Coming up is something even more time-saving. I won’t reveal just yet what it is, but I can tell you that it will save hours upon hours of preparations – even if you are playing other Role-Playing Game systems.

OnePageBook #11: Recruitment – Effective tips to hire the right person 25 Jun 2018 8:53 AM (6 years ago)

After 8 years of heading a recruitment company I wrote the Interview Handbook. After another two years of daily interviews, I quit the company in order to cater for my inner nerd.

I then did 12 years in the IT business before Brendan and I started the comapny “Å” (A-Circle.no) in 2012.

Everything got simpler. And simpler. And simpler. To the point where I can now revisit my 10 years in the recruitment business and boil everything down to one page. So here it is, The OnePageBook, Recruitment:

Amazon ebook
Downloadable pdf

“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it.” (Henry David Thoreau)

Cleaning your room, processes and ITIL 12 Jun 2018 7:25 AM (6 years ago)

• ITIL: A formalized way of delivering IT services
• Processes: The structured actions taken between an input and an output
• Cleaning your room: Tidying and removing dirt from your room before the guests arrive

If you never ever clean your room, wash the dishes or your clothes, water the plants or make dinner, the gap between your skills and your mother’s skills in these areas will keep widening. Your skills will be handicapped by your mother’s empathy and care.

If you establish processes in an organization that is supposed to take care of issues and problems for the employees, it wil handicap their abilities to handle this themselves.

In the ITIL framework, you are supposed to establish some 27 processes to cater for every part of IT service delivery in an organization. One such process is Problem Management. The purpose of this process is to handle the underlying cause of one or more issues so that it doesn’t happen again. When this is turned into a process where a subset of employees gets to be experts at detecting problems, conduct root causes analysis and solve the problems, the gap between the skills of these guys and the rest keeps widening. The process will handicap the employees problem solving skills.

Problem solving should be a skill exercized by every employee. It should be part of the company’s culture, their DNA. Everyone should jump at the opportunity to solve problems they encounter. It will hone their skills and keep them valuable as efficient problem solvers. Those who encounter a specific problem has more initial data about it and can usually solve it quicker… if they have excellent problem solving skills.

Don’t relegate important skills sets to only certain processes. Help everyone exercize and fine-tune their skills in fire-fighting, problem solving, change management, customer handling, documentation and strategic thinking.

Free – why science hasn’t disproved free will 8 Jun 2018 7:26 AM (6 years ago)

It’s a short book by Alfred Mele, a Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University. Mele was the director of the Big Questions in Free Will Project (2010-2013) and has authored several books and a large amount of articles on the subject.

Mele tackles the main scientific studies proclaiming that free will is an illusion. He takes them down, one by one, showing that they all suffer from several logical fallacies. But they have one fallacy in common, the Black Swan fallacy. That you have only seen white swans does not rule out the existence of black swans. That scientific experiments have not proven the existence of an agent of free will does not preclude the existence of free will. Some experiments doesn’t even look in the right places.

It’s an important book on the subject.

I take another route in my exploration of free will – a more principled approach if you will. And lately, I have revisited my “proof against determinism” and focused more on Alan Turing’s work. Looking at the Universe itself as one great computational device, Turing’s proof of the “halting problem” shows that there cannot be a Theory of Everything – there cannot be any all encompassing theory that will show everything as true or false. This is of course in line with Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems, but it seems to be a more direct route in proving that the universe cannot be deterministic. Which in turn leaves existence open for free will.

The AMAR app for Android 24 May 2018 10:51 AM (6 years ago)

It was time for me to create an app. With an autobiography published in 2013, a bunch of OnePageBooks on Amazon, artwork on 500px, music on Spotify, just short of 50 projects on GitHub – the next natural check-off on my bucket list was an app. OK, a simple Android app viewing the AMAR NPCg site as a tool for Game Masters of the AMAR Role-Playing Game. But an app nontheless. As usual with stuff I create, it’s free. Get it on Google Play:

http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.isene.amarnpcg

Feel free to test it and give it 5 stars

The rational skeptic world view 22 May 2018 3:15 AM (6 years ago)

Humans have always tried to make sense of the world we live in. We have always tried to come up with simple explanations that covers what we see. From the four elements and a flat earth inside a dome to a spherical earth and a heliocentric world view, our view of the world has evolved. But the quest has always been to come up with a complete and consistent model that will explain all of existence. Just like Newton’s classical physics. He viewed the world as clockwork obeying a complete and consistent set of physical laws. And when those laws didn’t quite fit the bill, Einstein extended this quest with his theories of relativity. His goal was to come up with a grand unifying theory that could be encompassed in an equation no longer than two inches.

Einstein’s famous discussion with Niels Bohr where the former exclaimed “God does not play dice” was his rejection of the spookiness of quantum mechanics. This branch of physics seemed to destroy the quest to unearth a model for an ultimately orderly and rational, complete and consistent world.

And despite the hints like Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, the Double Slit Experiment and Bell’s theorem, some physicists still believe in a deterministic world where everything is neatly explained and codified.

Graphics by Geir Isene

Had they only looked to mathematical philosophy and seen the same quest fail there. At the start of the 20th century, there was this adventure in mathematics where the major thinkers of that field tried to codify all of mathematics into neat axioms and rules to rule’em all. But alas, Kurt Gödel shot it all down with his Incompleteness Theorems. And decidedly so. There cannot be any complex axiomatic system that is both complete and consistent. And to those who would like to believe that the universe we can observe is all that can be, mathematics is a subset of our universe. And as the universe is then a superset of mathematics, then the universe itself cannot be both consistent and complete. And that has some profound implications that I will cover in a OnePageBook sometime in the future.

Now, what prompted me to again delve into this? I was inteviewed by Aaron Smith-Levin the other day, and one of the comments on the resulting Youtube video read:

“Geir, so much of your world view hinges on the “law” a system cannot be both complete and stable, including the large conclusion that humans are spiritual beings, have you ever questioned the conclusion on systems, and if the conclusion about systems were the opposite, would you conclude you are not a spiritual being? If you were not a spiritual being, would you feel you should adapt the rational skeptic world view?”

To which I answered:

“The proof that complex axiomatic systems cannot be both consistent and complete is among the most solid mathematical achievements in human history. It’s irrefutable. So is the double slit experiment, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and Bell’s theorem. There is nothing rational about refuting any of these. They all point in the direction of consciousness being non-physical. Read my OnePageBook in free will for details: https://isene.me/2017/07/17/free-will-do-you-really-have-a-choice/”

Just like the old, classical Newtonian world view was naive, I believe the modern “rational skeptic world view” to be equally naive.

As for the rest of the interview, here it is:

Thanks to Scientology 13 May 2018 6:53 AM (6 years ago)

I would like to express my gratitude to Scientology and what I have learned from my 25 years as a Scientologist. Since it is now 9 years since I left the organization and 12 years since I completed the highest Scientology level, OT 8, I can calmly reflect on what gains I got from it. There are many years since I stopped considering myself a Scientologist. I am of no religion, of no particular faith. I am somewhat anarchistic at heart, not believing in any set methods and always trying to look at simpler truths. The scientific method is perhaps the most successful of human methodology, but even that has its limitations.

Some Scientology gains are short, fleeting, impermanent. Some are more lasting, and some have grown stronger over the years. The short-lived gains are uninteresting. The lasting gains have helped me throughout my life.

Perhaps my most fundamental gain from Scientology is leaving Scientology. Graduating with a sense of simplicity and on a quest for ever more simple solutions. It has taught me to trust my own senses, to reflect on my own actions and personality and to self-correct. A self-scepticism based on a healthy doubt and interest in finding out deeper truths. I am calmer from Scientology and much better at not giving a fuck about stuff that really doesn’t matter. Life is less serious.

An interesting tidbit is that I used to have nightmares. Several times per month I would wake up from one sweating. During just a few days, when I did OT 8 back in 2006, they completely disappeared and for 12 years I’ve had none. Given that I would have no nightmares only 1 out of ten months before, the probability that it is pure luck that I didn’t have one since is less than picking out one particular particle of matter in the whole observable universe. So I can with confidence say that this was a gain specifically from OT 8.

I am currently learning how to “Lose without a loss” – to be able to lose in a situation and not carry on a loss afterwards. And I’m getting quite good at it. It’s incidentally an exercise that will ultimately help me when I die, as that is the ultimate loss in life.

Scientology is a polarizing subject. Most people who care to discuss the subject view it as a black-or-white proposition. It quickly degenerates into a good vs bad, either-or, Republicans vs Democrats, Cowboys vs Indians or US/them discussion (pun intended). I view it differently. There are good and bad in everything, and while the Church of Scientology is a fascistic cult, I have gotten invaluable gains from my years studying and applying the subject. Maybe I could have gotten the same or even better elsewhere. I wouldn’t know. I only know what I did get, and I’m grateful for that.

Snowflakes are dancing 11 May 2018 3:14 AM (6 years ago)

I have been a serious contributor to the HP Forum for the past 15 years, having contributed software, prototyping and ideas for a number of calculator models – especially the HP-41. The Forum is a part of the HP Museum – a resource dedicated to Hewlett Packard’s range of calculator products.

Lately something interesting happened, something that validates the OnePageBook “And?”. I got banned from the forum with this message:

A few weeks back, I referred to the “Do What the Fuck You Want to Public License“, twice. That got one of the moderators on the forum all riled up. He didn’t ban me but was fuming. Then, when another member posted his reimplementation of the Brainfuck programming language, I replied that he would get in trouble with the moderators for posting that. Now THAT got me banned – with the message above. The moderator then went postal and started manually deleting all my close to 600 contributions to the forum, missing only 8 posts along the way.

Now this wasn’t the first time the moderator had blown up. He has a history of being toxic with escalating conflicts with users in public. While that moderator has some clear anger issues, the root cause is that the forum owner, Dave Hicks has kept him as a moderator, even after a major debacle back in 2015 when the moderator went full frontal on another major contributing member. There has also been several deletions of whole threads of work – just because someone was offended by some words in there.

Snowflake n.
A very sensitive person. Someone who is easily hurt or offended by the statements or actions of others.

Don’t be a snowflake.

All this made me realize that I cannot trust posting any serious contributions to that forum. Who knows whan another random moderator would go batshit and start deleting my work.

I tried my best to resolve this back channel, but the moderators kept ignoring my messages. Then I was suddenly unbanned, but my posts were put in a censorship queue. Every new post were to be reviewed by a moderator before it got posted. A post where I criticized the forum owner got blocked. It included a message I sent to Dave just before:

As I posted in one of the queued posts, I cannot trust posting anything of value to this forum anymore. And with all my contributions permanently gone and with the level of censorship going on, there is no reason for me to remain. I saw Dave’s rant about Thomas and account deletions, but since I have basically been deleted from this forum, I would like to let you off easy: Rather than facing a few hours of work to retreive my posts, you will now go ahead and permanently delete my account and all the remaining posts of mine – along with the moderator thread discussing me. I am not mad or angry. I am not even disappointed. But as I said, Dave has lost my respect and I cannot trust the forum. I request the deletion of my account in accordance with GDPR. This is final. There is no regrets or need for any cooling period. Please send me an e-mail to g@isene.com confirming the action. If I ever want to join the forum again, I will do so with a fresh account.

Dave then went on the forum saying I had been “mad at him since 2015”. While that is untrue, it only confirms my decision.

So, what can I learn from this? First of all, integrity trumps snowflakes. Secondly, it has helped me exercizing enjoying debacles. And thirdly, I should remember not to be too terse or succinct in my communication as it could be interpreted as harsh or angry – when I am really just trying to be efficient. Maybe more emoticons would help?

Alternative places to discuss HP calculators:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hpcalculatorclub/
• Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/hpcalc/

OnePageBook #10: Impress! 1 May 2018 10:47 AM (7 years ago)

The one essential tip.

This OnePageBook will help boost your self confidence, productivity and quality of life.

Amazon ebook
Downloadable pdf

“If there hadn’t been women we’d still be squatting in a cave eating raw meat, because we made civilization in order to impress our girlfriends.” (Orson Welles)

OnePageBook #9: Your Kick-Ass CV 25 Apr 2018 9:34 AM (7 years ago)

Make your résumé really stand out.

This OnePageBook helps you write an outstanding Curriculum Vitae or Résumé.

Amazon ebook
Downloadable pdf

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” (Confucius)

OnePageBook #8: And…? 17 Apr 2018 7:36 AM (7 years ago)

What are you going to do about it?

This OnePageBook is about you taking responsibility for your life – past, present and future.

Amazon ebook
Downloadable pdf

“I decided I can’t pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it.” (Serena Williams)

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” (Kenji Miyazawa)

“Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” (Chuck Palahniuk)

“You’re never served more than you can handle” (Anette Iren Isene)

Good bye USA 29 Mar 2018 11:34 AM (7 years ago)

I am not sure whether the US population has become markedly dumber in recent years or it is simply more visible now through social media. But the amount of moronic memes and general stupidity from Americans visible on social media is staggering.

From the rise of Flat Earthers to a wide range of nutty conspiracy theories, religious fanaticism, right wing extremism and rejection of science.

The US is clearly in rapid decline. We are seeing a nation imploding from lack of intelligence, empathy and responsibility. The current political polaization is but a symptom. Trump is a symptom.

And I believe the social media – predomenantly created in the US – has been a catalyst for the US decline. Call it karma, call it our Great Filter. But whatever it is, the rest of the world may be wise to start planning the future without the former super-power.

Good bye USA. It was nice while it lasted.

Conservatism 18 Mar 2018 7:30 AM (7 years ago)

Conservatism is about conservation. It is about limiting change.

From the multitude of conversations I’ve had about the right side of politics, it seemss clear to me that the further to the right a person is, the more he or she is driven by fear. Fear of the government, fear or limitations or having freedoms or rights taken away. Fear of other cultures or unfamiliar sexual orientations – the Us versus Them. Fear of someone “in control”. Fear of change, of progression. Even fear of damnation or Hell.

It is a political belief mired in fear, of which paranoia is born. Paranoia begets conspiracy theories. From the Illuminati, “the bankers” and “reptilians” to all kinds of “Truthers”; be it 9/11, fake moon landings, hollow or flat Earth, telepathic beams from Polaris, HAARP, chemtrails or governments hiding alien life forms.

Paranoia and fear clouds the rational mind and promotes aggressive behaviour – as so often seen in online discussions with labelling of opponents, name calling, threats and the usual wide range of logical fallacies.

To have an intelligent discussion with a right-wing believer, you must first help him feel safe, or you will waste your time while he or she remains afraid.

Describe anything – simple and effective (a OnePageBook) 6 Mar 2018 4:24 AM (7 years ago)

There should be a simple, structured and effective way to describe anything using just text. A way to describe any thing, situation, process, recipe, any plan or project.

There is. It’s called HyperList.

Become familiar with the efficient way to create plans, process descriptions, Todo lists, idea outlines, documentation, logic structures and much more with this OnePageBook. Download for the free pdf.

Podcasts: Mental training, failing and getting to know Geir 20 Jan 2018 1:28 PM (7 years ago)

Got rolling with podcasts. Brendan and I have done a few and released two so far. One is about mental training, the other about the benefits of failing. You can listen to both here: https://www.a-circle.no/podcasts

What do I do to help Mankind’s Plan B? What programming language would I save for posterity? How often do I cook dinner? Vegan much? What’s my worst side? Today Brendan decided to do one where he fired a long list of (revealing) questions at me. No preparations. Just quick answers from the top of my head, or deeper inside. You can listen to it here:

Maximum performance: Own your actions 4 Jan 2018 10:19 PM (7 years ago)

To perform at your best, you must own your actions. You must be fully responsible for what you do and accept the effects you create 100%. Any advice from others is only as good as you own them yourself. Any method, methodology, system of belief or guidance will only help you if you can fully own them. And to own an advice or method from another, you must prove its effectiveness by your own senses. Anything less will disparage your responsibility – your ability to perform will suffer to that degree because you will be less yourself.

Be careful when you accept an advice or adhere to a method. Take care to make it your own before you start to truly rely on them for your performance.

Happy New Year! 31 Dec 2017 6:00 AM (7 years ago)

May you be your own guiding light in 2018.

Accomplishments is the key 13 Dec 2017 7:23 AM (7 years ago)

Where do you get your energy? Beyond air, food, sleep and basic securities, when do you get pumped up, how do you get on fire?

Accomplishments. It’s when you accomplish something you feel is worthwhile. When you progress toward your goals, you get energy. When you move away from your goals, you are drained.

But you need energy to get stuff done. And when you are energy depleted, it can be hard to even envision getting started on some tasks, much less accomplishing something worthwhile. Even when you are well rested and fed, you can still lack initiative.

That’s when you start small. Accomplish stuff through baby steps. You do one tiny semi-worthwhile step that give you a small drop of energy. You use that drop to do another, fractionally larger step to gain a bit more energy. And so on. As long as you accomplish what you can in the situation you are, you keep gaining energy. Keep the momentum going. And you will get pumped and on fire.

But be attentive. Whenever you feel an energy drain, stop and reconsider. Do something worthwhile instead.

You get to decide what is worthwhile. You get to decide what an accomplishment is. It could be anything from taking a short walk or painting a picture to helping a friend in trouble, earning money or salvaging a country. You decide the direction, you get to feel the effect of your steps – toward your goals or away from them.

Truth vs Emotions 21 Nov 2017 7:44 AM (7 years ago)

Truth is what is real and factual. Application of logic yields new facts, new understanding of truth.

But logic breaks where emotions rule.

We see this easily in betting games. The term “pot committed” comes from poker. A person’s reasoning and logic goes out the window when he has committed so much money in the pot that he disregards his actual chances of winning and keeps throwing money into an already losing proposition.

We see this in science where a scientist can become so emotionally committed to a theory that no amound of contrary facts will sway him. Witness the late Fred Hoyle and his commitment to his Steady State theory. Regardless of how much evidence pointed to a Big Bang or similar theory, he kept on insisting that the universe was in a steady state.

We see this so often than in politics. People get so committed to a certain ideology that their intellect has taken a permanent leave of absence.

And of course religion. Forget the facts, the Earth is 6000 years old. Because an old book says so.

Science owns the realm of facts and truth. Politics and religion should be confined to areas where certainty is elusive – like what solutions to apply to global warming or praying for a loved one’s life. But when science comes up with a definite answer to how we should mitigate climate change, politics should step aside and let the factual solution be applied. And when the doctor with scientific certainty prescribes the medicine that will save your wife’s life, you can still pray – but you should not reject the medicine. Only when there are uncertainties regarding the medicine, then it boils down to judgement, ideology, religion or hunch. But when there is certainty, let facts and logic prevail.

Facebook discussions are rampant with emotions and virtually devoid of logic. And the way you can see this is the incessant display of logical fallacies; Straw Man, Argumentum Ad Hominem, No True Scotsman, Appeal to Authority or other Red Herrings. And the way you handle it is to keep calm, remain on the subject, observe the facts, listen carefully and stay with logic.

Logic: The science or art of exact reasoning, or of pure and formal thought, or of the laws according to which the processes of pure thinking should be conducted; the science of the formation and application of general notions; the science of generalization, judgment, classification, reasoning, and systematic arrangement; the science of correct reasoning. [1913 Webster]

Listening – Superpower: Tune in, really understand (OnePageBook) 22 Oct 2017 2:11 PM (7 years ago)

The 6th OnePageBook tackles the skill of listening. Learn to tap in to your superpower with simple and effective concepts.

Understand others better. Your wife or husband, your kids, your family, your boss or collegues, a random stranger. Listen, and listen good. Get in there and really get it. And let the other person know you truly understand. Lift personal relationships to a new level.

As usual, this is a straight-to-the-point one pager with no beating around the bush.

Head on over to the OnePageBooks and get your copy (as an e-book on Amazon, or as a downloadable pdf).

Uncontrol 10 Oct 2017 4:00 AM (7 years ago)

Businesses are concerned with controlling most aspects of operation. Finance, sales, manufacturing, logistics, projects, people, all kinds of processes, planning, even innovation. They don’t want to fail.

People are concerned with controlling most aspects of their lives. Money, job security, family time, kids, house, even vacations. We don’t want to fail.

Society is built upon the need for control. We don’t like when things spin out of control.

Control makes sure we don’t run into unknown territory. It keeps us safe.

It also hinders innovation. Precisely because it mitigates surprises by ensuring we keep out of unknown territory.

I advocate the occasional UNCONTROL. Just “letting go” may not be quite enough. We should sometimes make a conscious decision to uncontrol a situation. To really let it run its own course into uncharted territory. To let the project derail and let the sale cycle take surprising turns. To stomach the uncomfortable uncertainty, embrace failing and let new synapse paths connect.

Daring the unknown spurs innovation.

Letting go (of the horse) 23 Sep 2017 11:29 AM (7 years ago)

It’s called Equine Assisted Coaching or Coaching with Horses.

In Ibiza, there’s one amazing woman, Gouwe de Waard, who is doing coaching together with Tanit – a horse. I guess the outcome of the coaching is unique for each and every one. For me it was a special exercize in letting go.

I got into the area together with Tanit. I’m comfortable with all kinds of animals, horses included. And so I started out establishing a connection with her. As I tried to communicate in a few dozen ways, Tanit was hell bent on eating. She ate, and ate, and ate and really seemed to not give a shit about me. In trying to communicate, the problem came down to the fact that I was trying. Whenever I tried to get her to move her head or look at me or call her toward me, I was pulling or pushing – but very gently. But that was enough for Tanit to lose interest in connecting with me.

It was when I finally let go – fully didn’t care – fully went fuck it – then she came over to me and stood beside me looking the same way I did. It culminated in several serene moments when we both stood there looking at each other or looking the same way. An amazing experience that confirmed to me the power of fully letting go.

Thank you Tanit. And thank you Gouwe.

How to help a friend in trouble: Simple and effective tools (OnePageBook) 17 Sep 2017 8:06 AM (7 years ago)

Gain a set of simple and effective tools to help others with this OnePageBook.

Help a friend, colleague, son, daughter or other family member or any person you meet.

Easy to learn, short time to master. Practice regularly and be of lasting value to others.

No lengthy explanations. No background stories. No anecdotes. Just the tools. Effective tools.

As an e-book on Amazon, or as a downloadable pdf. The fifth OnePageBook.

#Fail 15 Sep 2017 2:20 AM (7 years ago)

The next OnePageBook is here. This book aim to inspire you to fail more. And not just to learn from your mistakes – but for another, more fundamental and hidden benefit. But before you read the book, take a look at this inspirational video from SpaceX:

Get your copy of #Fail from the new OnePageBook page on this blog.

Free will – Do you really have a choice? 17 Jul 2017 4:28 AM (7 years ago)

Here is the published version of this OnePageBook:

• As an e-bbok on Amazon
• As a downloadable PDF

Thanks to everyone who contributed – from various discussions since 2009 and to recent input after I published the pre-release.

Why Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder suck 16 Jul 2017 11:52 AM (7 years ago)

If you haven’t played Role-Playing games, and D&D/Pathfinder in particular, just skip this post. If you have, then you may appreciate my rant.

I have been playing RPGs since 1981 and designing RPGs since 1983. I have tested, played and researched in detail scores of RPGs, and I’ve found many good systems and many well crafted settings. Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder are among the worst RPG systems made. Here’s but a few of the terrible design “features”:

1. Classes: Enforcing stereotypes is a desgn flaw of any system. It brings with it unnatural restrictions that are hard to explain… “No, you can’t pick up that sword, you’re a Magic User!”
2. Hit Points increase with level: A medium level fighter can take ten times the damage of an average man in the street. And it takes 10 Cure Light Wounds to get him from fainted to full HP as opposed to one CLW for the average man. You can’t kill an experienced adventurer with an arrow, etc.
3. Armor Class: In D&D/Pathfinder, waring armor makes it harder to hit you, but the damage done from a weapon is just the same. In reality, armor never makes it harder to hit anyone, it subtracts from damage done.
4. D20: Using a 20-sided dice with smaller adjustments makes the spread too wide. You’re a dancer with a +7 modifier on the dice roll. One day you throw a 2 on the dice and your dancing is below average.. The next day you throw 19 and your performance is beyond what any everage person can do.
5. Complexity: With silly basic design flaws like the above, trying to make the system somewhat realistic is a very complicated task. It makes for a complex system with lots of special rules. If the basic design was more realistic, the complete system would be much simpler. Simpler systems make it easer for new players to join in and for new Game Masters to get up and running. Having the GM sift through pages upon pages of complex rules mid-game while players start fiddling with their phones sorta kills the fun. Simpler, more realistic systems let the actual role-playing shine and the playing sessions run more smoothly with less awkward rules getting in the way. The rules should help the game play, not distract from it with surprising unrealism.

</end of RPG-rant-of-the-day>

Free Will: Pre-release of the OnePageBook 11 Jul 2017 5:08 AM (7 years ago)

You can have your say before the release of this OnePageBook on Amazon.

Any and all feedback is welcome. It may shape the book before its final release. Simply post your comments here.

OnePageBook: Free Will – Do you really have a choice?

Coaching 9 Jul 2017 9:37 AM (7 years ago)

I made a new page to make it easier to introduce people to my coaching. Always looking to simplify, so this page will change as my approach gets even simpler:

Source: Coaching

Excuse me! 8 Jul 2017 1:13 PM (7 years ago)

Indignation, grumpiness, annoyance and aggravation, anger, fury and hate, worry and anxiety, fear and sadness, the silent treatment and bullying. These are all natural negative emotions. They are often easily explained. But are they justified?

Usually not. While there are occasions where it is rational to create any of the above mentioned emotions, they are few and far between. Given that you do in fact create your own emotions, blaming other for your creations is the fast track to lose control of your life. To regain control requires that you take responsibility for your own emotions.

Yes, people can treat you like shit. They can be rude, abusive and cruel. While you often cannot control what life dishes out to you, you can decide how you react to any situation. Like the apprentice asking his master fakir, “But Master, do you not feel the pain?” and the old man answered, “Of course I feel the pain. The trick is not minding the pain.”

Ask yourself is, “Does it help to be annoyed?”, “Does it help to worry?”, “Will it improve the situation if I get angry?” If it does help, then go ahead and be really annoyed, worry like hell or blow your top off. If it doesn’t help, then don’t give a fuck.

It’s easy enough to say this, but to live it requires lots of practice. Every shitty situation presents an opportunity to practice not creating an emotion that only adds negativity to the situation.

Celebrate improvements. If it takes you a bit longer before you get pissed, then that’s improvement. If it takes one more insult before you feel hurt, then you’re doing better. Keep practicing and you’ll keep moving toward more control of your life.

The motto: “Only do that which helps. Don’t do that which doesn’t help.”

While negative emotions can be considered natural and easily explained, they shouldn’t be excused.

What am I doing? 24 Jun 2017 12:22 PM (7 years ago)

“If you have a purpose of helping others, then why are you helping people that only help themselves?”

That’s a good question. One that I’ve been asking myself lately. There are some definite pros to helping athletes and others who compete. The results are easily measured and so clearly visible. A placement, a rank, a medal. And my contribution can be discerned. But to help someone win competitions implies helping them to focus – on that specific result, to the exclusion of almost everything else. This is the essence of Two Lengths of the Pool when applied to people who compete. To help people focus on competitive results is to help people become more egotistical. Because so many other parts of life and empathy need to go ta make place for that top position. For glory. For The Win.

I help all kinds of people – from athletes to housewives. And that is why I have come to ask myself this question. Because I can compare so many people I’ve helped. And while helping an athlete win gold is really fun, helping someone with a purpose to help others is far more rewarding in the long run – for the person I help. If the person wants to win a competition, I have to help him become more focused, more egotistical. If the person wants to help others, I have to help him to open up and become more empathetic.

This is the moral dilemma inherent in the question. But it’s not quite a rhetorical question, as maybe a balance is needed?

Life from this viewpoint 21 Jun 2017 4:17 AM (7 years ago)

Here’s life from Geir’s point of view:

Not even close to complete or even correct, but it’s a start.

Happiness 22 Mar 2017 5:29 AM (8 years ago)

Happiness is not a state.

Happiness is growth.

The derivative of happiness is not zero.

The derivative of happiness is positive energy.

Innovation at full throttle 24 Feb 2017 11:00 AM (8 years ago)

I have blogged about the Innovation Garage before.

And now it’s in the news. FutureNautics has written about the Garage titled, “Space Age”. Go check it out: http://www.futurenautics.com/2017/02/space-age/

Update (2017-03-13): Here’s another article in Dockyard Magazine. Also, I’ll be speaking on the Shipping2030 conference and be on the panel discussing the human side of innovation.

Creating the AstroCalc 24 Feb 2017 7:42 AM (8 years ago)

My requirements: Being able to do astronomical calculations while observing through my telescope during cold nights while not hurting my night vision.

With a smart phone, I’d have to use touch gloves or take off my gloves to press “buttons” on the screen. And then I’d have the hassle of filter programs to dim the screen and make it red to keep it from impacting my night vision.

With my HP-41, I’d have to use a led light to see the screen.

But with an old red led calculator, I could get all my requirements at once. Except there are few of these old pre-1980 calculators that would be capable of doing all the calculations I need; Date -> Julian Date -> Date, Sun rise/set, Moon rise/set, Moon Phase, Field of View calculations fro various eyepieces, etc. Fiddling with magnetic cards for the HP-67 would not be ideal.

HP-25E to the rescue! Bernhard Emese (Panamatik) has created a true piece of art with his “brain transplant” for the old HP-25 calculators. His HP-25E boast a 100x increase in programming memory, on-board GPS with time, Latitude, Longitude, heading, speed and more as well as a stop watch, chess clock, hexadecimal conversion and much, much more. It’s the ideal calculator for my requirements. Except it still had only 50 program steps memory per program. Although it had the possibility of storing 100 HP-25 programs in a constant memory (not lost when you turn the calc off – unlike the original HP-25), you couldn’t write programs with more than 50 steps. And this was way too small for the programs I need.

Talking to Berhard about the possibility of “stringing together” different “pages” of 50 program steps, we came up with a neat way of solving this issue. By using some available rare codes, the HP-25E can now jump between various programs – potentially creating programs with thousands of programming steps.

And so I embarked on the journey of creating the AstroCalc – the ideal tool for the amateur astronomer. So far, the GitHub repository only includes the calculation of Julian Date from a date and time and the backward conversion, from Julian Date to date and time. With the HP-25E’s possibility of constantly updating the time, this makes writing down the exact Julian Date on my observations a breeze.

I will add the Sun/Moon rise/set, Moon Phase and eyepiece calculations soon. Just check my HP-25E_astro Github page for updates.

I fucking love this calc.

The best deal: Everyone first! 8 Feb 2017 6:50 AM (8 years ago)

Business people, salesmen, game theory mathematicians, Donald Trump and negotiators would advice you to get the best deal possible. And the best deal would often amount to getting the biggest share of the pie that you can possibly get.

While that strategy may get you rich when selling refrigerators to Eskimos, it is not the best long term strategy for a partnership.

Whenever you try to get a bigger piece of the pie, the other parties gets less. And their motivation for baking pie suffers proportionally.

Trying to get the “best deal” by getting an unfair portion may be a viable short term strategy. But in the long run it kills partnerships.

The best way to ensure affluent pie making and long term profit is for every party to insist on a fair deal for everyone involved.

The best strategy is not to simply cater for one’s own interests. It is to cater for everyone’s interest. Putting my interest first hurts the other parties’ interests and kills off that much motivation to make the partnership work in the long run.

The best strategy would be to impress as much as you can by delivering value to the partnership as often as you can. Give life to the partnership by continually giving and insisting on a fair deal for everyone involved. Empathy, transparency, putting all cards on the table and dropping all chess gaming are keys to a good partnership. Don’t do tactics. Don’t do strategies. Just ensure everyone succeeds.

“The Map of Mathematics” 7 Feb 2017 10:12 AM (8 years ago)

Here’s a really neat overview of mathematics. Enjoy.

Impress! 7 Feb 2017 6:21 AM (8 years ago)

“I am struggling in my job. I don’t know if I should quit my job or continue. And if I continue, whether I should focus on this or that or the other thing. Is this type of work even for me? I feel exhausted. Not much positive feedback, and I don’t really know if what I’m doing is valuable for the company, for any customers or for other employees. I feel kinda lost. What should I do?”

He looked at me across the table. Across his cup of coffee, and mine. I started out slowly:

“You know, there’s stacks of books written about this, countless methodologies and coaching practices addressing these kinds of issues.”

He looked eagerly at me, waiting for some book or methodology that would match his complex problem. Some kind of intricate way of resolving his issues. But then I went on:

“But really, it boils down to just one simple concept. Just one.”

He looked sorta disappointed. Like I was about to invalidate his complex problem or insult his intelligence.

“You only need to impress.”

Uh?

“Yes, impress your customer, your boss, your colleague, your wife, your kids, yourself. But impress by delivering something of value. Impress your customers in every meeting. Impress your colleagues every workday. Impress your kids by really playing with them when they bring out the Lego. Impress your wife in bed. Impress by delivering. Unconditionally and as much as you can. If you do this, you’ll be doing good. And this is all you need to do.”

Global Warming deniers: Get a grip 5 Dec 2016 10:48 PM (8 years ago)

From the data I’ve seen and been able to verify, it does seem that humanity’s greatest challenge is Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW – Humanly caused Global Warming). The data supporting AGW is overwhelming. Still there are those who choose to deny it or remain sceptical.

I can understand and appreciate the sceptics – as long as they make an effort to inform themselves – by being open to the underlying data and science and dig down into the underlying physics and statistics.

But when I encounter deniers, uniformily they come across as very certain that either 1) there is no Global Warming, or 2) the Global Warming is not caused by humans. They also tend to believe that there is some sort of conspiracy to forward the idea of AGW to funnel money into research and green energy. I have yet to meet a denier that has been to areas affected by Global Warming or who has any scientific knowledge to understand the physics or statistics involved.

It seems the belief in conspiracy theories is the driving force for the majority of deniers. They loudly proclaim that one should “follow the money trail”, because money is the driving force of conspiracies. It baffles me how they do not heed their own advice. The amount of money to be gained by oil companies in denying AGW totally dwarves the money gathered into scientific research and Green Energy – by a factor of at least ten. Much, much more is gained by “The Establishment” in lobbying against AGW than for it.

For some deniers, it seems safest to kill AGW at its roots by denying there is any rise in temperatures at all – citing local “cold spots” as evidence, or simply just invent data or opinions to counter facts. This type of deniers are marginalized and may soon find themselves as scarce as the Flat Earthers.

The majority of deniers would admit there is warming going on but deny there is any human connection. Again, the data and science is mounting against this position. The problem is that they almost never try to actually defend their position with any facts. They use opinions, hand waving or Internet memes trying to “discredit” science.

The deniers I’ve met are usually right-wing extremists. Denying AGW seems to be a political position and has very little to do with facts. It is the old conflict between propaganda and science.

It’s strange how people still would defend the fossil energy industry when there are more jobs to be made in the green industry. And wouldn’t the deniers also want cleaner air and water at least? And wouldn’t you rather err with science than take a position that could potentially be catastrophic for mankind?

I have been to the arctic and seen the effects of AGW with my own eyes. I understand the statistics and physics involved. The deniers I’ve met rely on second hand information and none have been able to show any signs of understanding the underlying science. If anything would motivate me to man the barricades, this issue would be it.

On being an introvert 16 Nov 2016 5:10 AM (8 years ago)

I do talks and speeches to large audiences. I jump up and down, gesticulate and enthusiastically deliver messages on stage. I coach lots of people – from athletes, artists, executives and people off the street. People see me as a highly extrovert personality who loves being in the spotlight and love talking to lots of people.

When Anette got me to answer 20 questions designed to determine if a person is an extrovert or an introvert, I ended up scoring 85% introvert. And it fits perfectly. I am an introvert.

I love being in my own company, doing my own things without interference or external chatter, noise or direction. I love it to bits. Writing books or articles, programming, creating music or digital art, poetry, drawings, stargazing with my telescope or tinkering with my calculator collection. This gives me energy.

While I also love doing stuff on stage and coach people, it takes energy. But I do love that I get exhausted. Thing is – the things that gives energy is my introverted activities. The stuff that cost me energy is my extroverted activities. I still love doing them, but I need my introverted activities to keep me from burning out. It’s just how it is, really. And I like the mix.

I do not fit in the classical introvert category of thinking a lot, planning carefully, keeping a personal distance to others, etc. I’m an impulsive, anarchistic introvert who don’t mind people getting deep under my skin. Bah, the further I try to pin it down, the harder it becomes – almost like Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle. Maybe trying pin people down by labelling is both an unhealthy and futile activity. I believe people should remain fluid – much like Bruce Lee once said, “Be water, my friend”.

Trump for President! 2 Nov 2016 9:07 AM (8 years ago)

After several weeks of trying to raise awareness of the disaster it would be to elect Donald Trump as the president of the USA, I have changed my mind.

I will now support Trump and cheer on him from abroad – hoping he will hit a Home Run next week.

I will support him precisely because it will be a disaster. It will set the effort to curtail global warming back decades when he pulls the US support for the Paris Agreement. Trump is notoriously anti-science and pro-conspiracies and conveniently believes climate change to be a hoax. I believe global warming is the single most important issue facing the Earth for the next century. And we cannot fail in our efforts to not fuck up our planet.

But, it’s better to fail hard and fast than to fail in ten years when the crisis is even tougher. And I don’t believe we can afford not to fail now. We must let Trump win so that he can fail in public so that the US can learn fast – and then join in with other nations that want to pull our weight together. The alternative is worse – having 150 million disaffected Americans sulking and bitching for the next 4 years.

Shielding the US from Muslims, Mexicans, Syrian refugees (which is largely due to the US intervention in the Middle East), free trade and everything Mr. Trump doesn’t like is certainly not the way forward. But no amount of rhetoric, persuasion or facts will convince Trump supporters that we need to pull together. The egoism runs too deep. He needs to wreck havoc in order for people to understand that this right wing lunacy is a dead end.

I believe in failing. And learning. It’s core to my coaching of athletes, executives and artists. US needs to learn. Since the world has never been socially better off than now, we should afford 4 years of crazy shit to accommodate for better decades to come.

It apparently wasn’t enough for Bush to fail, he’s simply been written off later as “part of the establishment”. We need another fast and solid failure.

Vote for Trump. Make America Fail Again.

Reflection 27 Oct 2016 1:49 PM (8 years ago)

As long as I can reflect on my reflections, I’ll be OK.

What we must do 20 Oct 2016 10:19 PM (8 years ago)

​We need to handle our environmental problems, limit the centralization of power, ensure transparency of government and privacy of citizens. The rest will take care of itself.

Occam’s Razor: Fail 6 Oct 2016 10:53 AM (8 years ago)

Recap what Occam’s Razor is by reading my previous blog post on this principle.

The principle has habitually failed to live up to it’s promise as a guide for choosing the right scientific path. Here’s why.

“A Viking looks up at the sky. The dark gray clouds, the thunder and lightning is a sure sign of heavy rain coming. It is also the sure sign of Thor’s anger. We have angered the God of the skies. Or, it is the sure sign of complex physical processes represented with unfathomably complex weather mathematics at play.”

“The universe was created by an all-powerful being that decided to experience. Or, it was created by an incredible fine-tuning of six numbers for what what we have no explanation, allowing for life to evolve in a near impossible improbability with physical processes so complex we cannot see any end to it’s complexity.”

Occam’s Razor tells us to choose the simplest explanation with the fewest assumptions. And before you think that Thor is an improbable assumption, then realize he would be but one assumption as compared to a huge amount of assumptions at play in our current physical models of the weather and the universe at large.

Applying the “scientific” principle of Occam’s Razor, we should perhaps have stayed with the Gods.

Science, Ockham’s Razor & God 25 Sep 2016 1:37 PM (8 years ago)

I just read an article in “Philosophy Now” with this title. The article is definitely worth a read as it tackles common misapplications of Ockham’s Razor.

To fill you in on this principle, let’s quote WhatIs.com:

Ockham’s razor (also spelled Occam’s razor, pronounced AHK-uhmz RAY-zuhr) is the idea that, in trying to understand something, getting unnecessary information out of the way is the fastest way to the truth or to the best explanation. William of Ockham (1285-1349), English theologian and philosopher, spent his life developing a philosophy that reconciled religious belief with demonstratable, generally experienced truth, mainly by separating the two. Where earlier philosophers attempted to justify God’s existence with rational proof, Ockham declared religious belief to be incapable of such proof and a matter of faith. He rejected the notions preserved from Classical times of the independent existence of qualities such as truth, hardness, and durability and said these ideas had value only as descriptions of particular objects and were really characteristics of human cognition.

Ockham was noted for his insistence on paying close attention to language as a tool for thinking and on observation as a tool for testing reality. His thinking and writing is considered to have laid the groundwork for modern scientific inquiry.

Ockham’s insistence on the use of parsimony (we might call it minimalism) in thought resulted in some later writer’s invention of the term, Ockham’s razor. Among his statements (translated from his Latin) are: “Plurality is not to be assumed without necessity” and “What can be done with fewer [assumptions] is done in vain with more.” One consequence of this methodology is the idea that the simplest or most obvious explanation of several competing ones is the one that should be preferred until it is proven wrong.

The article in “Philosophy Now” tackles the logical boundaries of this principle. When it can be used and when it can not be used. I won’t reiterate the article here, only expand upon it – and in a way that doesn’t require reading the article to get my point. Here goes:

One common atheist line of reasoning is that since science is successfully explaining more and more of existence, the need for God becomes less and less. And by applying Ockham’s Razor, we might as well erase the need for a God altogether. This is a theme common among New Atheist authors such authors as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.

This logic is wrong. And it is easily proven through simple mathematics:

If you have one value decreasing as a result of another increasing, you cannot simply assume that if the increasing value gets arbitrarily high, the other will eventually become zero. Even if the increasing value becomes infinite, there is no reason to think that the decreasing value becomes zero.

Consider this simple equation:

As “x” approaches infinity, the result, “f(x)” approaches zero. But it will never become zero. Because if you were to equate 1/∞ with zero, you would get the obvious absurdity that ∞/∞ is also zero:

..which obviously is absurd. Informally, such uses of Ockham’s Razor comes under the heading of the “hasty generalization” fallacy.

One thing that works remarkably well in Scientology… 23 Sep 2016 11:08 PM (8 years ago)

… the suspension of shit.

Most people are able to curtail their issues if they are motivated to do so.

You can suppress your compulsions, suspend your anger, curtail your depression and put your mental anguish on hold… if you know there is a solution up the road. Just keep walking a bit further and it will get handled. Just a mile up the road. Across that Bridge. Over on the other side. A bit further. Almost there. Just hold on for a tad longer. Etc.

I have met scores of Scientologists who have had this going, and remarkably well – for years. They have this big issue in life that they want to have handled. And they believe Scientology can handle it. They start out on the Communication course, and while they get good gains on the exercises, that pressing issue is not gone. They do the Grades. Excellent gains, but the problem remains. They become Clear. Issue still there. They embark upon the OT levels. Cool gains, but that mental burden, while thoroughly covered by hope of some future resolution, is still there. Nagging.

This suspension of shit is a real gain in the person’s life. While it is indeed temporary, it is nevertheless real. The person’s life quality can be substantially increased for years. And that is one great thing that Scientology can do for people.

But for this to work, the person must believe that the issue can be solved by Scientology. And for the person to believe, the solution must be at least as complex as the problem he is facing. Brushing the problem off with “just don’t create it” or “learn to not give a flying fuck about it” just won’t cut it – if the person cherish his problem too much. He will need a complex, substantial and “real” solution. Something scientific looking, something complex like Scientology. With steps and levels and processes, procedures, frameworks, methodology and terminology and organizations and graphs and charts, expensive and exclusive, and with lots of neat looking marketing. Yeah, that should cut it.

It’s only when the person completes or quits Scientology – and still have that issue – that the bear wakes up from hibernation and charges ferociously back into his life. This is why some people experience a great loss when they quit Scientology or when they complete the Bridge (to “Total Freedom”).

The flip side of this coin is really that suspending the mental issue with hope of resolution is an abandonment of responsibility. Instead of taking full responsibility for the problem, he assigns the resolution over to “future Scientology”. And then he’s stuck with the issue even though it is suspended.

The denial of facts 23 Sep 2016 7:27 AM (8 years ago)

Anyone holding a strong belief be can be subject to confirmation bias – the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories.

It can be seen in many discussions on Scientology here on my blog. Scientolgists faced with facts or iron-clad arguments against Scientology will defend their belief even to the point of the ridiculous.

But it takes on a more serious shade when the consequences affects every man, woman and child on this planet. Or more precisely all life on Earth. Climate change deniers continue to hold their beliefs strong in the face of avalanches of facts telling us we must do something Now in order to not wreck our world. When even the possible future President of the most powerful nation on Earth remain among the deniers of science, we could be heading for serious trouble.

An article in The Guardian titled, “How climate science deniers can accept so many ‘impossible things’ all at once” highlights confirmation bias and its siblings, “conspiracist ideation” and “identity-protective cognition”. It’s worth a read. Also to help understand discussions regarding religion or belief.

Overleaf: Finally LaTeX editing online! & my revised CV 21 Sep 2016 5:41 AM (8 years ago)

Brendan pointed me to Overleaf – an excellent tool to create high quality documents using LaTeX. It boasts automatic rendering of the output, collaborative editing and lots and lots of templates to start from. I’m crazy happy I found this. And I decided to remake my CV/résumé with one of the templates I found there. And here it is: Geir Isene’s CV.

Check out Overleaf. It’s a real treat.

And, if you have any suggestions for improving my CV, please leave a comment.

Scientology ethics: Justifying genocide 20 Sep 2016 11:37 AM (8 years ago)

Inspired by a discussion under my previous blog post, I came to realize a possible root cause for the unethical behavior of the Church of Scientology and within its ranks.

The unethical conduct of the Church of Scientology is well documented in books, articles and films. The unethical conduct of individual members has also gotten some attention in the media. Scientologists would have personal knowledge of falsifying statistics, embezzlement, undue pressure and duress, disregard of health, sordid treatment of children or other unsavoury acts in the name of “The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number of Dynamics”.

The self-centric world view

Let’s take a look at this central concept in L. Ron Hubbard’s “Ethics system”. First we need to understand what the “dynamics” are:

“There could be said to be eight urges (drives, impulses) in life. These we call dynamics. These are motives or motivations. We call them the eight dynamics.

The first dynamic is the urge toward existence as one’s self. Here we have individuality expressed fully. This can be called the self dynamic.

The second dynamic is the urge toward existence as a sexual or bisexual activity. This dynamic actually has two divisions. Second dynamic (a) is the sexual act itself and the second dynamic (b) is the family unit, including the rearing of children. This can be called the sex dynamic.

The third dynamic is the urge toward existence in groups of individuals. Any group or part of an entire class could be considered to be a part of the third dynamic. The school, the society, the town, the nation are each part of the third dynamic, and each one is a third dynamic. This can be called the group dynamic.

The fourth dynamic is the urge toward existence as mankind. Whereas the white race would be considered a third dynamic, all the races would be considered the fourth dynamic. This can be called the mankind dynamic.

The fifth dynamic is the urge toward existence of the animal kingdom. This includes all living things whether vegetable or animal. The fish in the sea, the beasts of the field or of the forest, grass, trees, flowers, or anything directly and intimately motivated by life. This could be called the animal dynamic.

The sixth dynamic is the urge toward existence as the physical universe. The physical universe is composed of matter, energy, space and time. In Scn we take the first letter of each of these words and coin a word, MEST. This can be called the universe dynamic.

The seventh dynamic is the urge toward existence as or of spirits. Anything spiritual, with or without identity, would come under the heading of the seventh dynamic. This can be called the spiritual dynamic.

The eighth dynamic is the urge toward existence as infinity. This is also identified as the Supreme Being. It is carefully observed here that the science of Scn does not intrude into the dynamic of the Supreme Being. This is called the eighth dynamic because the symbol of infinity “∞” stood upright makes the numeral “8 .” This can be called the infinity or God dynamic.” (Fundamentals of Thought)

Then we need to understand what Hubbard would label the most ethical action or the “optimum solution”:

“the solution which brings the greatest benefit to the greatest number of dynamics.” (Notes on the lectures)

According to Hubbard, the optimum solution in any given situation is determined not by the greatest good for the greatest number of people involved but for the greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics. In one fell swoop he puts every dynamic at equal value. Your first dynamic is equally important as your family. Your family is of equal value as the whole of Mankind. Your school is as important as all life. And God is of the same value as yourself. Right there you can see a serious incompatibility with several major religions.

Most non-scientologist would balk at this and go “Objection your honor!” Most scientologists would buy into this hook, line and sinker. Because it is uttered by L. Ron Hubbard.

Putting the first dynamic on par with your family, your country, Mankind, all of life, the physical universe, all spirituality or God himself makes for a rather egotistical religion. But watch for the scientologists pitch in with comments on this blog post with “but, it’s all about you BEING your dynamics” and other esoterics to justify how this somehow, in some way could possibly be justified as sane. It should make for interesting discussions.

When Hubbard would refer to The Third Dynamic, he wouldn’t normally be talking about your soccer team, your astronomy club or your country. He would refer to Scientology. To him, Scientology was the only real Third Dynamic – on par with Mankind and God. And Scientologists are led to believe that it is so all-pervasive in its goodness that it empowered all the dynamics. This is why we see so many scientologists sacrifice their families and themselves to the greater cause of this “über-third dynamic”.

But without philosophizing too much, let’s simply put this “optimum solution” to test. In determining if some action is beneficial or harmful to a dynamic, we’ll give the action a -100% to +100% impact on that dynamic. A score of -100% would be the destruction of that dynamic, while a +100% would be a maximum positive effect (such as escaping death in gruelling situation). For any minor effect, we will use ±0.1% for convenience. The numbers are rough estimates that I am prepared to defend quite easily. In the examples below, you are in a family of 4, so you are 25% of your 2nd Dynamic.

Action	1D	2D	3D	4D	5D	6D	7D	8D	Total effect
1: As a Scientology Executive, should I exploit my work force?	+20	+10	+50	-0.1	–	–	–	–	~+80% = Yup!
2: Should you protect Scientology by infiltrating the US Government?	+10	+5	+50	-0.1	–	–	–	–	~+65% = Of course you should.
3: Risk losing your job by reporting non-critical embezlement in the company?	-5	-1	+1	–	–	–	–	–	~-5% = Turn the blind eye.
4: You own a whaling company. Should you hunt down and kill all blue whales?	+20	+10	+50	-0.1	-1	–	-0.1	-0.1	~+79% = Kill-spree!
5: Risking your life (10% chance) to save a stranger from certain death?	-10	-2.5	+0.1	+0.1	+0.1	–	+0.1	+0.1	~-12.5% = Walk away.
6: Letting half your sailing crew die to save yourself	+100	+25	-50	-0.1	-0.1	–	-0.1	-0.1	~+75% = Go for it!
7: Letting your whole sailing crew die to save yourself	+100	+25	-100	-0.1	-0.1	–	-0.1	-0.1	~+25% = Still good. Jump the ship!
8: As a Nazi concentration camp guard, should you kill jews?	+100	+25	+0.1	-0.1	-0.1	–	-0.1	-33	~+92% = Nothing should stop you

Every Nazi could make use of Hubbard’s “optimum solution” to justify genocide.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Scientology ethics is self-centric and egotistical and totally off-balance.

Before someone start objecting that some of my examples are in fact against some law, I should point out that according to Hubbard those laws would simply be contrary to the optimum solution. The laws should be removed or amended to comply with the greatest good for the greatest number of dynamics.

It’s not that I would argue against the concept of the dynamics themselves, but to put them at equal value is nothing short of insane.

We’re not talking about some fringe part of Scientology, like Xenu, the OCA test, David Miscavige beating his staff or false marketing here. We are talking about the very core of Scientology – its very ethics – upon which all of auditing, study and administration hinges. We are looking at Hubbard’s “optimum solution“. In fact I think we are looking at a root cause to much of the evil perpetrated in the name of Scientology.

Freedom of Religion or Belief 15 Sep 2016 1:14 AM (8 years ago)

It is not enough to tolerate religions or personal convictions or beliefs. We should recognize the power in beliefs and religions.

Yesterday I attended the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (#IPPFoRB) in Berlin.

Tolerance of religions and beliefs is an important human right. Taking action to stop or limit prosecution based on faith is paramount. But I think we can take this one step further. Beyond stopping oppression of faith, passive tolerance of faith or even promotion of a tolerant society, there is recognition of the power of faith.

Religion or belief gives purpose. Purpose gives strength, and with strength can come accomplishments.

Witness the early civilizations, the building of ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, the Mayans and social structures throughout our history. Religions have given purpose, strength and accomplishments to the benefit… and detriment of many. The strength has yielded the foundations for civilizations. It has also brought oppression, even terrorism. In any case, with conviction comes strength.

Religion or Belief -> Purpose -> Strength -> Accomplishment

This we should recognize and help use for the greater good. Faith can be a basis for individual strength and strong societies. Thus faith should be applauded regardless of what the person chooses to believe in.

The diversity of this conference is amazing. More than 100 MPs from more than 60 countries. All major religions are represented. Academia, NGOs and other interested parties attend.

Having attending this conference, I am left with a couple of questions. Firstly:

How can people with directly opposing purposes honestly cooperate for Freedom of Religion or Belief?

I spoke to people at the conference who have the goal of their religion winning at the expense of others.

Answers to this question could serve also to answer how we could make anarchy work in practice.

Another impression from the conference was that several of the attendants insisted that there was absolutely no connection between religion and terrorism. I believe such a refusal to discuss such a connection is both naive and dangerous. It can obfuscate a possible cause of terrorism. The blunt refusal of a discussion is never healthy.

Then there is the question of a battle of two basic human rights. Which takes rank – the freedom of religion and belief or the freedom of speech? What’s your answer to this potential dilemma?

Geir Isene video blog #0 27 Aug 2016 7:10 AM (8 years ago)

Some of you requested I started video blogging. What topics would you like me to cover? 

How to pick up girls (and gain new friends) 18 Aug 2016 8:25 AM (8 years ago)

After coaching lots of people on this (myself included), I’ve boiled it down to four simple questions that will get you close to most people in a matter of minutes. For this to work, you need to open up yourself and reveal your own answers to these questions along the way. A free two-way flow creates good trust, knowledge of the other and a basis for friendship or beyond. Try it out on some strangers and tell me how it went. But remember, be direct, blunt even – no beating around the bush:

1. If you were granted three wishes, what would they be?
2. What are your 5 strongest sides?
3. What are your 2 weakest sides?
4. What have you done in life that has given you the worst conscience?

Get answers to these and share your own and you will both know if you have a potential friend right there.

My computer setup 17 Aug 2016 1:54 PM (8 years ago)

Here’s a HyperList of my current computer setup – for reference in case someone is looking for inspiration:

PC = Samsung NP900X4C

OS = Ubuntu Linux (16.04) (http://www.ubuntu.com/)

Shell = zsh (http://www.zsh.org/)

Terminal = urxvt (http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/rxvt-unicode.html)

Text editor = VIM (http://www.vim.org/)

• Plugins:
  • autonumbering-in-vim (https://github.com/vim-scripts/autonumbering-in-vim)
  • HowMuch (https://github.com/vim-scripts/HowMuch)
  • HyperList (https://isene.me/hyperlist/)
  • largefile (https://github.com/markwu/largefile)
  • speeddating.vim (https://github.com/vim-scripts/speeddating.vim)
  • synmark.vim (https://github.com/vim-scripts/synmark.vim)
  • Tabbi (https://github.com/EinfachToll/Tabbi)
  • VisIncr (https://github.com/serialdoom/VisIncr)
  • vim-diction (https://github.com/ntnn/vim-diction)
  • vim-follow-my-lead (https://github.com/ktonga/vim-follow-my-lead)
  • vim-genutils (https://github.com/clones/vim-genutils)
  • vim-latex (https://github.com/vim-latex/vim-latex)
  • vim-multiselect (https://github.com/lawrencejones/vim-multiselect)
  • vim-opener (https://github.com/jmcantrell/vim-opener)
  • vim-startify (https://github.com/mhinz/vim-startify)
  • vim-statline (https://github.com/millermedeiros/vim-statline)
  • vizardry (https://github.com/dbeniamine/vizardry)
• Syntax highlighting:
  • eruby.vim (https://github.com/vim-scripts/eruby.vim)
  • icalendar.vim (https://github.com/vim-scripts/icalendar.vim)
  • julia-vim (https://github.com/JuliaLang/julia-vim)
  • mail.vim (https://github.com/vim-scripts/mail.vim)
  • mediawiki.vim (https://github.com/vim-scripts/mediawiki.vim)
  • muttrc.vim (https://github.com/vim-scripts/muttrc.vim)

Document production = LaTeX (https://www.latex-project.org/)

Programming Languages

• Ruby (https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/)
• Julia (http://julialang.org/)

Mail User Agent = mutt (http://www.mutt.org/)

• Mail filtering = mail_fetch (from GMail accounts)

SMTP client = msmtp (http://msmtp.sourceforge.net/)

Instant communication = Weechat (https://weechat.org/)

• Interface hub = Bitlbee (https://www.bitlbee.org/main.php/news.r.html)
• Slack interface (https://robots.thoughtbot.com/weechat-for-slacks-irc-gateway)
• Twitter (https://wiki.bitlbee.org/HowtoTwitter)
• Facebook chat (https://wiki.bitlbee.org/HowtoFacebookMQTT)
• My setup: https://isene.me/2015/10/25/weechat/

HP-41 link = pc41 (https://github.com/isene/pc41)

Newsreader (RSS) = Newsbeuter (http://newsbeuter.org/)

Window Manager = i3 (http://www.i3wm.org/)

Information display = Conky (https://github.com/brndnmtthws/conky)

Browser = Qutebrowser (https://github.com/The-Compiler/qutebrowser)

Office suite = LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org/)

Presentation viewer = Impressive (http://impressive.sourceforge.net/)

Tech stuff: Julia, Vim & Vizardry 13 Aug 2016 8:04 AM (8 years ago)

Been doing lots of tech stuff lately. Here’s a sharing of some highlights.

Through the years I’ve been programming in more than a dozen different languages. Since many years I have more or less settled on Ruby besides my HP-41 projects programmed in FOCAL and MCODE. Now and then I get this urge to learn a new programming language, and after an extensive search for something neat, I finally landed on Julia. I’m trying her out while reading the book, “Getting started with Julia Programming Language“.

The book is good. The programming language seems excellent. It boasts a complete GitHub-based package system to extend the language with various modules. Although it’s a general purpose language, its strength lies in maths and natural sciences. It’s very fast and with a pretty clean and natural syntax. You can even do straight forward math like this:

f(x) = 2sin(3x)^2

And by then executing the function “f” with x as 0.8, you get the answer straight:

f(0.8)
0.9125010165605526


There is a chance I could be falling in love here

I’ve also been doing lots of work on my Conky setup resulting in this as my “bare” desktop:

If you have any questions about scripts or conky setups, just ask by leaving a comment here.

Then there is VIM – perhaps my the tool I use the most. I’ve been using VIM for writing everything from HyperLists and notes to e-mails, short stories and books since around 2001. It’s a fantstic text editor. But it lacks a good package manager for add-ons

But then I found Vizardry. Using Pathogen as a base to install extensions, Vizardry will let you search for add-ons, install it with a breeze and remove it just as easily. If you’re a VIM user, this is a must. Go get it! You will thank me

Superior pilots 12 Aug 2016 4:26 PM (8 years ago)

Truly superior pilots are those who use their superior judgement to avoid those situations where they might have to use their superior skills

I read this excellent quote today in the 70th anniversary magazine for the Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS). It’s applicable to life in general.

Calling BS on Hubbard’s “The role of Earth” 12 Aug 2016 1:07 PM (8 years ago)

For anyone outside of Scientology this will sound pretty crazy. For Scientologists, this is gospel, this is real, this is the truth. Here’s Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard from the lecture “The role of Earth“:

The space stations exist out here in the solar system. They use the asteroids. It’s a very peculiar system. This solar system has a planet which is broken up, the asteroid belt. It gives a low-gravity platform for takeoff and so on, and that broken planet is of considerable interest as a space station, that is to say a galactic jump.

Now, there aren’t any planets up at this end of the galaxy which form a good galactic entering spot for incoming transport and other ships. But this beautiful, broken-up planet here with a light-gravity sun and so on, makes a very ideal spot.

And as a result, this area of the solar system got into prominence. It got into a little bit of prominence, and it’s slightly a bone of contention.

And there was – the Fourth Invader Force was here. The Fifth Invader Force came in to use this area, and the name of this solar system is Space Station 33. They started to use this area without suspecting that the Fourth Invader Force had been there for God knows how many skillion years, had been sitting down, and they have their installations up on Mars, and they have a tremendous, screened operation.

This isn’t from one of his sci-fi novels. This is part of Scientology proper. Hubbard is serious about this. He is also dead wrong. Scientologists would normally swallow everything Hubbard says without question (questioning anything he says will get a Scientologist in trouble with the Church). And who could blame them? Hubbard is known to present theories as fact – theories that cannot be disproven, and as such one may as well go ahead and believe them.

But this one is hereby blown to bits. By the magazine, “Universe Today” in an article titled, “Why isn’t the asteroid belt a planet?“. And I quote:

If you were to take the entire asteroid belt and form it into a single mass, it would only be about 4% of the mass of our Moon.

And then:

There’s a popular idea that perhaps there was a planet between Mars and Jupiter that exploded, or even collided with another planet. What if most of the debris was thrown out of the solar system, and the asteroid belt is what remains?

We know this isn’t the case for a few of reasons. First, any explosion or collision wouldn’t be powerful enough to throw material out of the Solar System. So if it were a former planet we’d actually see more debris.

Second, if all the asteroid belt bits came from a single planetary body, they would all be chemically similar. The chemical composition of Earth, Mars, Venus, etc are all unique because they formed in different regions of the solar system. Likewise, different asteroids have different chemical compositions, which means they must have formed in different regions of the asteroid belt.

So there you have it. Hubbard’s assertion that the asteroid belt is a “broken-up planet” is BS. So does this put the rest of that lecture into question?

How to become a Superhuman 9 Aug 2016 11:39 PM (8 years ago)

1. Decide to learn something new from every experience in your life
2. Experience a wide variety of situations

You never lose. You either win and learn or learn.

Singletasking 9 Aug 2016 3:11 AM (8 years ago)

Straight from Ed’s blog:

Many take pride in being able to do several things at once. Unfortunately, unless you are one of those very rare people who can actually do it, multitasking means doing things more poorly than if you had singletasked each task…

Source: Singletasking

What is Scientology, really? 2 Aug 2016 4:06 AM (8 years ago)

Scientology is a trick to make you believe that you need Scientology to finally let go.

Specifically it takes you on a ride where you are led to believe that a “Rective Mind” is responsible for your ills – until you are rid of it. Then it is the fault of tormented souls infesting your body. And when those are exorcized your ills can be attributed to ARCX, PTPs, O/Ws, W/Hs, MW/Hs, PTSness, Out List, BPC or yet unreleased OT levels. All instead of just letting go. It will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars until you finally believe you deserve to let go and simply do just that. The “smarter” you are, the more it will take for you to believe you can simply “let go“. The “smarter” people will crave a more complex solution to “become free”.

Wanted: Top developers/innovators 13 Jul 2016 7:42 AM (8 years ago)

Here’s a rare opportunity for software developers, innovators, sysadmins, geeks: Join in the creation of a true “innovation garage”. I have taken on the task of creating a subsidiary for a client of mine. The “Dualog Innovation Garage” will spearhead the company’s innovations thrust in the maritime industry. Here’s a short intro:

Dualog (dualog.com) is a Norwegian based company with offices in the UK, Denmark and Singapore. Dualog delivers software to optimize onboard Internet under narrow bandwidth conditions in addition to other functionality for crew, management and ship owners. The company is financially very solid and is gearing up for new innovations in accordance with their tag line “Innovations at sea delivered with passion.” The task at hand is to build an “innovation garage” with 4 world class developers willing to move above the Arctic circle (Tromsø), go crazy with innovation and shock the maritime world. Anything goes in terms of new ideas, new technology and new ways of working – as long as it helps the company make waves and expand by amazing their customers.

It would be a dream job for any die hard or playful geek. It would mean doing what you really love. Not dragging your feet to work every day but instead feeling that inner urge and excitement when you get up in the morning. You would be living your passion. A bit like my earlier blog post, titled “Xtreme“.

You can be old or young, a rookie or a seasoned veteran, shy or outgoing. But you have passion and something unique to offer. You make stuff happen.

Interested? Send an e-mail to Geir Isene (geir@a-circle.no)

We will adopt the HP garage rules

Sandra Lyng – downtown Oslo 25 Jun 2016 12:32 AM (8 years ago)

Here’s Sandra impacting the crowd at Rådhusplassen with the huge “VG-lista” show:

Click the image for video

It’s been a cool trip from the first time we met. She has evolved into a very complete artist with great crowd impact. The clue is always to stay mentally present and to keep more interested in moving the audience than interesting in front of them.

The scientific method versus scientific belief 12 Jun 2016 3:20 PM (8 years ago)

This could be an interesting base for discussion. Take a look at this video. It isn’t a critique of the scientific method, but rather a critique of scientific dogmas. It is directly relevant to my own article “On will“.

Coaching. Refined 8 Jun 2016 11:41 AM (8 years ago)

I am continually simplifying and refining how I coach people.

Here’s a HyperList that sums up my current approach:

0. Be direct in the coaching. Speak your mind. Always
1. Ensure the person realizes that he is creating all his thoughts and emotions
      This will enable him to take full responsibility for what goes on in his mind
      It will help him to not blame others for what he himself is responsible for
2. Ensure the person is able to be fully mentally present
      Get the person to read “Mental training – The core”
      Train the person to be “here & now”
3. Establish the person’s “Two lengths of the pool” (2LP)
      Assess his strengths and weaknesses in accomplishing his 2LP
4. Do what it takes to help the person accomplish his 2LP
      There are several tools that can help, such as:
            Unburdening stress and exercize liking everything
            Failing and learning more
            Stop it!

Or the short form:

Realizing he is creating all his thoughts and emotions
Exercize mental presence
Establish his 2LP
Accomplish the 2LP

Appreciating differences 6 Jun 2016 11:51 AM (8 years ago)

Last week I did a really fun job up in the north of Norway. Together with a group of 20 people from Nordland County Council, we crafted their new communications strategy. Norway is divided into 19 counties, and Nordland is the second biggest. The task at hand was to create the core of their 4 year communications strategy in 12 hours.

The only way to achieve this was to attack the task with radical simplicity. And the result was a three word sentence backed up with a set of 12 simple questions with short and to-the-point answers.

What puzzled me was how strikingly smooth the session went. And so I asked the group at the end. Their answer: “We have a great appreciation for differences”. An excellent answer – because it’s not enough to tolerate differences in a group, you have to really appreciate differences. You have to get a positive kick out of other people’s views and opinions. That’s when you get a group who forge new realities. And so we did.

What was those three words? Check out the video and figure out the Norwegian

IF astronomy THEN this book: 6 Jun 2016 11:18 AM (8 years ago)

If you want to explore or learn astronomy, or if you are already well into it – this is the book you need:

Never have I seen a book so packed with easily digestable facts. This book will make you level up twice in astronomy and reach a new level of general smartness. You can get a taste of this beauty at its web page. And you can order the book from Amazon.

Creating the road as you walk upon it 30 May 2016 1:11 PM (8 years ago)

This is a direct copy of Ed’s latest blog post. I wholeheartedly agree:

“Many people have clear goals. These people often will write down there goals, then break them down into sub-goals and actions necessary to achieve those goals. They then draw a long line between where they are now and where they want to be. And, as anyone who has had basic geography can tell you, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Detours only make the journey longer and less efficient. So, the argument goes, the best way to achieve your goals is to make a clear plan; a linear plan, moving daily one step closer down the long straight line toward your goals.

Now, while this may be an excellent way for many people to live a fulfilled life, I’ve not found this method to be most suitable for me. Rather I have taken another approach; a non-linear one. I wander around and collect new experiences. I seldom walk in a straight line for any length of time. I detour often. And as I do this I’m awake to the opportunity to accumulate and learn numerous new skills, attitudes, ideas, ways of viewing things, approaches, etc. Then after some time I stop up for a while and assess where I’ve been and what I’ve learned. I look ahead to see if any new challenges might match the new skills, etc I’ve acquired. Then I take a hop in that direction and start accumulating new experiences in that general area.

The road is created as I walk on it. This is probably not the best method for everyone, but maybe for some? Let me know what you think ”

Amnesty International: Look Beyond Borders 29 May 2016 3:52 AM (8 years ago)

Amnesty International is catching on in this wondeful video:

Gall’s law 26 May 2016 7:52 AM (8 years ago)

This needs wider recognition:

“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system.”

From Gall’s Law on Wikipedia.

Thanks to Geir & Jonas @ Telemark Fylkeskommune for bringing this law to my attention.

Ed’s blog 18 May 2016 4:20 AM (8 years ago)

Brendan had a meeting with an interesting guy. Ed.

Ed has amazing experiences to share. But he didn’t think sharing them was worth it.

In keeping with our direct coaching approach, Brendan challenged Ed to do 100 days of blogging. Not necessarily for his own benefit, but because he could inspire others by sharing his awesome. I think Ed will find great value in doing so.

Ed writes well. His blog is a great read. And he’s only at day 8.

Head on over to Ed’s, leave a comment or two and let him know he has an audience:

edbrownweb.wordpress.com

Building The Bridge (norske artikler om Scientologi) 13 Apr 2016 11:45 AM (9 years ago)

English: The Norwegian students I did a two hour lecture on Scientology for has compiled their studies into a series of blog posts. The blog is publicly available (in Norwegian).

Norsk: Den 16. mars hold jeg et to timers foredrag om Scientologi ved Menighetsfakultetet, Universitetet i Oslo. Studentene har nå samlet informasjon fra et bredt spekter av kilder og skrevet en rekke bloggposter om ulike aspekter ved Scientologi. Resultatet kan du se her: http://buildingthebridge.blogg.no/

Mental training – The core 7 Apr 2016 3:09 PM (9 years ago)

Our second OnePageBook cuts straight to the core of mental training:
The art of being present.

Dropping the long explanations and anecdotes. Cutting through the bull. You get the method straight – in a just a few minutes.

This book covers the mental training that helped Tiril Eckhoff become the World Champion in Biathlon last month. Take a close look at Tiril when she hits all five targets in her last shooting – her presence and focus is remarkable. This is the run where she took home the gold medal:

The training described in this book will benefit anyone. It is a simpler and more agile way of training to be mentally present than you will find anywhere else. This will help you focus. This will relieve stress. It will help you get down to the very basic: You… here and now.

Available on Amazon

The dangers of comfort 27 Mar 2016 8:16 AM (9 years ago)

I believe we have an inherent drive, a purpose. Any purpose.

A purpose needs a game. A game needs a purpose.

Without barriers, there is no drive and without a drive there is no life.

Life is fueled by accomplishment. The overcoming of barriers toward a purpose we create yields a sense of mastery, of accomplishment.

When we fulfill purposes, we create new purposes to achieve. As we realize purposes, our life becomes more accomplished, more perfected. And comfort sets in.

Johnny wants to become a physician, have a luxurious home, a great marriage and two wonderful kids. He goes through years of education, dates girls, becomes a doctor and marries Miss Right. They get two lovely kids. He’s a wonderful father and they adore him. They live in a fantastic house and life is full of comfort. Now what?

With more perfection and comfort, less purposes and excitement remains. There is freedom with less barriers and adventure, less drive and direction. There is less to live for. At that point a person can slumber in apathy or revolt by creating less positive adventures – like self-inflicted pains, drugs or criminality. Johnny starts drinking and beats Miss Right left and right. He gambles and loses the house.

What happens with individuals have parallels in societies and the World at large.

We see the dangers of comfort in our decadent Western world much like the Romans experienced in their conquered world. As our world grows less dangerous and comfort and freedom sets in, we will create new dangers to topple, or we can slide into apathy to have dangers mounting while we slumber. With less wars, population growth tapering off and with criminality rates going down, we may have to rely on global warming or artificial intelligence to keep us busy. Because perfecting society with security to iron out any possibility of terrorism will only create more comfort and less life.

Maybe the need for adventure is why we don’t see any advance alien civilizations. Maybe they bored themselves into apathy or did some crazy shit as a counter-reaction to the increasing comfort and lull.

If you can look past the terrible special effects and the cute retro scenery, this episode of Space 1999 captures the dangers of comfort in a neat way:

https://youtu.be/lZaBet9naI4

What should we do to have a decent game to come back to?

Hva er Scientologi? 20 Mar 2016 4:48 AM (9 years ago)

Også i år holdt jeg en forelesning ved Menighetsfakultetet ved UiO. En gruppe studenter skulle skrive artikler om Scientologi, og jeg ble invitert som en kilde for deres arbeide. Studentene hadde allerede besøkt Scientologikirken i Oslo. De stilte med åpent sinn og flere gode spørsmål. Det ble en to timers forelesning som dekket alle nivåene i Scientologi med detaljer fra hele “Broen til Total Frihet” – fra Diantetikk og engrammer til Purification Rundown, Clear, OT-nivåene, Xenu, eksorsisme og OT 8. De fikk høre min historie, om hvordan jeg kom inn i Scientologi og hvorfor jeg gikk ut. Flere andre viktige elementer ble dekket i løpet av de to timene. Du kan se hele forelesningen her:

Organization – The simple way (a OnePageBook) 5 Mar 2016 6:12 AM (9 years ago)

Usually after having read a 200+ pages book, I wish there was a one page summary I could have read instead.

As Thomas Jefferson once said:
“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”

Brendan and myself decided to start condensing our concepts into OnePageBooks. First out is “Organization – The simple way”. In just one A4 page you will get a destilled model and how-to for building organizations.

Available on Amazon

Hey, I’m on Spotify! 28 Feb 2016 1:23 AM (9 years ago)

…and iTunes, Apple music, Google Play, Amazon, Deezer, Rhapsody and Tidal.

Not because I have any ambition to earn a dollar on this, but just because I can.

Having published Nittenåttifire, it was about time I also published some music. Enjoy

I am wrong. 23 Feb 2016 3:42 AM (9 years ago)

It’s important to heed one’s own advice. And in light of recent exchanges on this blog, I am inspired to review where I am wrong, where I could do with some correcting, and where I have potential for improvement.

I wrote this in an exchange: “…in order to become better in any area, a person must admit to being wrong. When I coach people and help people improve in an area, they first realise they are wrong in that area before they can improve. No admitting to being wrong equals no gain.“. It goes hand-in-glove with me “helping people fail“.

Passing on an opportunity to improve is folly. I am thankful for the opportunity to see my errors and for this opportunity to express them. Because without seeing and expressing it, my chances for improvement is blunted if not halted. Here goes:

• I bog down to perfecting details when I lose strong interests in important games in life.
• I find it hard to get started on new directions in life. Instead I keep polishing what is already quite perfect.
• I get too emotionally engaged in discussions where I am certain I am right. That’s when I become an asshole. It can turn out quite counter-productive as it can drive another to be even more insisting on being right.
• In an effort to assert my own rightness in a discussion, I can forget to really listen to and understand the other person.
• In an effort to assert my own rightness in a discussion, I can forget to compliment the other person for valuable input.
• I can get blinded by the contents of a discussion and often disregard the form of the discussion.
• I tend to focus on logic and disregard factors that are often more important, such as pure art, crazy initiatives and “batshit” as Katageek would call it.
• While my journey to OT 8 in Scientology has given me huge improvements in harmony, resilience and ability to “letting go”, these very gains has also deprived my life of some excitement and zest. I am trying to figure out how to improve the sense of adventure and lose some of that calm harmony. Anyone willing to trade?

I am sure I have forgotten important points in the list above. But heck, I am a work in progress and I can always add more points later.

I have had many changes in viewpoints in the past years. Thanks to many contributors on this blog, my viewpoints on Scientology, philosophy and life in general has markedly evolved. I am on a quest to evolve further, and I welcome your input as to how I can best improve on the above points.

BTW; This is my post #500 on this blog. Perhaps it will mark an improved Geir

You are turning away from The Truth! Are you crazy? 20 Feb 2016 3:30 PM (9 years ago)

As a Scientologist starts to wake up to the reality that the Church of Scientology is a real world Truman Show, other Scientologists will warn him that he will be doomed as he turns his back to the One True Path.

As an independent Scientologist starts to wake up to the reality that Scientology cannot deliver on its promises, other independents will tell him how dark his future will be as he turns away from The Truth.

I have heard warnings like “you will get cancer and die”, “your eternity will be lost” and “you will die alone in the dark”. And all because Scientology is the only salvation for Mankind, the only real hope in the whole wide universe since the dawn of time. And this is precisely why you will become lost and depressed and have your life wrecked.

And for some, this prophecy will come true. Many Scientologists do experience their world falling apart when they leave their church. Many independent Scientologists do feel depressed as they start to doubt their beliefs in Scientology. Lives do get wrecked. But is it because they turn away from the truth?

No.

And here is why: Scientologists experience the same withdrawal symptoms as people departing from other cults. Be it the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Moonies (Unification Church), Mormonism, Nation of Islam, KKK, Raëlians or any other strong belief system. Similar warnings are issued and similar experiences are recounted. Each one could conclude that the reason a former member is having a hard time after leaving their faith is because they have deviated from the Only True Path – or gone “off-purpose” as Scientologists would say.

So if it isn’t the turning away from truth that does the damage, what is it? It’s the loss of hope, of purpose. Even if the hope was false and the purpose was fake, unfulfilled or plain crazy.

Something to keep in mind if you harbour a doubt.

How does a Scientologist dodge a bullet? 19 Feb 2016 8:38 AM (9 years ago)

A Scientologist, a true believer, lives in continual cognitive dissonance. When faced with a dangerous question challenging their beliefs, they resort to all kinds of mental and debate tricks to avoid having their belief bubble bursted.

Our resident Ninja, Katageek summed it all up in a nice algorithm:

1. Change the subject, write a bunch and pretend you answered the question and IGNORE THE DANGEROUS QUESTION.
2. If that doesn’t work, blame the fault on the questioner in a loving attitude and help him/her find the mistake they have made that doesn’t let them see “the truth” AND IGNORE THE DANGEROUS QUESTION.
3. If that doesn’t work, blame the questioner in a HARSH condescending attitude for moral or logical flaws and IGNORE THE DANGEROUS QUESTION.
4. If that doesn’t work, re-define the terms so that the question no longer has any bite AND USE THAT REFRAMING TO IGNORE THE DANGEROUS QUESTION.
5. If that doesn’t work, FACE THE DANGEROUS QUESTION but minimize it as unimportant in the big picture (EXAMPLE: “LRH wasn’t perfect but his tech is workable”).
6. If that doesn’t work, keep bouncing between these options and never acknowledge the question or its actual ramifications.
7. When the period is over, go warm up to a source that confirms the core beliefs and let the damage bar on your brain’s screen recharge, and then return to the conversation and START ALL OVER.
8. If EVER you have to face a dangerous question AND what it actually means regarding a sacred belief, always return to your “wins” about how it worked for you. Nobody can touch that.
9. Be unconscious that your belief stays the same and that you shift criteria based on what group or person is saying that either supports or detracts from the core belief. EXAMPLE: When talking with hard core believers, you believe some facts as literal, but when talking with critics or liberal believers ONE CHANGES BELIEFS TEMPORARILY TO PROTECT THE CORE BELIEFS AND NOT REMEMBER THAT YOU FLIP-FLOPPED.

When basic science goes topsy-turvy 18 Feb 2016 6:39 AM (9 years ago)

I have nothing against homeopath. I haven’t researched it enough to form an opinion on the subject. So that is not why I am pulling up this video.

It is because it is an excellent example of basic science, basic arithmetic and basic logic failing on so many levels. Yet the message is presented in a way that it actually convinces people. It resembles many presentations I have attended in Scientology where concepts are convincingly presented to people that are already indoctrinated to swallow the bait – hook, line and sinker.

It’s called confirmation bias, “the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one’s beliefs or hypotheses, while giving disproportionately less consideration to alternative possibilities.”

When you are sold on one almost true concept, the next slightly less true concept becomes easier to swallow. And down a slippery slope one goes until one are ready to accept that 1=0 like in this video:

Just for fun, how many errors can you find in this video?

Scientology: The Borg of ideologies 14 Feb 2016 4:04 PM (9 years ago)

Here are some quotes from L. Ron Hubbard about Scientology:

“When somebody enrolls, consider he or she has joined up for the duration of the universe — never permit an “open-minded” approach… If they enrolled, they’re aboard, and if they’re aboard they’re here on the same terms as the rest of us — win or die in the attempt. Never let them be half minded about being Scientologists.”

“We’re not playing some minor game in Scientology. It isn’t cute or something to do for lack of something better. The whole agonized future of this planet, every Man, Woman and Child on it, and your own destiny for the next endless trillions of years depend on what you do here and now with and in Scientology.”

“Scientology is the only workable system man has. It has already taken people toward higher IQ, better lives and all that. No other system has. So realize that it has no competitor.”

“We’re playing for blood, the stake is EARTH.”

“In all the broad Universe there is no other hope for Man than ourselves.”

“If attacked on some vulnerable point by anyone or anything or any organization, always find or manufacture enough threat against them to cause them to sue for peace.”

“There is no more ethical group on this planet than ourselves.”

Scientology insists on being the Only True Way. Scientologists buy into this and are convinced that Scientology is Right and that other paths are Wrong. Scientologists becomes adamant on defending Scientology regardless of opposing facts. It is the opposite of Science. When a Scientologist starts admitting Scientology is wrong in some area, he has started to move away from being a Scientologist.

Scientology is a self-perpetuating ideology insisting it is right. It is The Borg of ideologies.

The Borg

“You are an imperfect being, created by an imperfect being.”

“We only wish to raise quality of life for all species.”

“You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.”

My article, “On Will” released in version 2.5 9 Feb 2016 5:56 AM (9 years ago)

I upgraded my article On Will to reflect new research – including the mention of cognitive dissonance and my latest definition of free will as “cause without reason”. There are more references added and several smaller corrections and enhancements.

Enjoy

This article is now hosted and updated on GitHub.

John Cleese on responsibility for own emotions 3 Feb 2016 10:09 AM (9 years ago)

The remarkable John Cleese is spot on again:

Transcript:

I’m offended every day. For example, the British newspapers every day offend me with their laziness, their nastiness, and their inaccuracy, but I’m not going to expect someone to stop that happening; I just simply speak out about it. Sometimes when people are offended they want — you can just come in and say, “Right, stop that.” to whoever it is offending them. And, of course, as a former chairman of the BBC one said, “There are some people who I would wish to offend.” And I think there’s truth in that too. So the idea that you have to be protected from any kind of uncomfortable emotion is what I absolutely do not subscribe to. And a fellow who I helped write two books about psychology and psychiatry was a renowned psychiatrist in London called Robin Skynner said something very interesting to me. He said, “If people can’t control their own emotions, then they have to start trying to control other people’s behavior.” And when you’re around super-sensitive people, you cannot relax and be spontaneous because you have no idea what’s going to upset them next. And that’s why I’ve been warned recently don’t to go to most university campuses because the political correctness has been taken from being a good idea, which is let’s not be mean in particular to people who are not able to look after themselves very well — that’s a good idea — to the point where any kind of criticism or any individual or group could be labeled cruel.

And the whole point about humor, the whole point about comedy, and believe you me I thought about this, is that all comedy is critical. Even if you make a very inclusive joke like how would you make God laugh? Answer: Tell him your plans. Now that’s about the human condition; it’s not excluding anyone. It’s saying we all have all these plans, which probably won’t come and isn’t it funny how we still believe they’re going to happen. So that’s a very inclusive joke. It’s still critical. All humor is critical. If you start to say, “We mustn’t; we mustn’t criticize or offend them,” then humor is gone. With humor goes a sense of proportion. And then as far as I’m concerned, you’re living in 1984.

A question about responsibility 1 Feb 2016 9:22 AM (9 years ago)

What could be the consequences of shifting responsibility for something oneself has done over to something or someone else?

Please share your answers and views

Update 2016-02-04: With the good comments received on this, I have one conclusion that is relevant to the Scientology Bubble:

There may be many factors why we see so many OTs in the Church of Scientology that remains so blind, get into trouble in life and generally does not have any marked positive impact on society. But I propose that one significant reason is that from OT 3 and up, OTs are indoctrinated into the belief that what is wrong with them is not of their own doing. It is the doing of “entities” (spirits) attached to their bodies and messing up their lives. I firmly believe that one is responsible for one’s own thoughts and emotions and that life will gradually slide into the ditch when one habitually shifts responsibility for one’s own thoughts and emotions over to someone else. Especially when those someone elses are figments of a “guru’s” imagination. I believe Hubbard was a pussy that didn’t take responsibility for his own life and tried to get his congregation to agree that his troubles were not his own. Much like Miscavige.

A note on Free Will 23 Jan 2016 2:51 PM (9 years ago)

A definition, perhaps fundamental, of Free Will could be “cause without prior cause” – or the equivalent, “cause without reason”.

Free and Open Source Software – the next surge 20 Jan 2016 9:02 AM (9 years ago)

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) won its battle for mainstream acceptance many years ago. Now it’s everywhere. It’s running the Internet and providing the foundation for software giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Apple. People are using FOSS like never before with Wikipedia being the biggest knowledge base in human history, Linux enjoying 83% market share on smartphones and 98.8% of the World’s supercomputers, Ubuntu users counting one billion, large corporations opting for FOSS, etc.

The next surge will come from security. There will be a backlash from politicians’ craving for a more controlled society. There is a continual push for invading the privacy of ordinary citizens by hollowing the security of software. The UK, China and the US are leading the assault on privacy by trying to make it mandatory for vendors to build backdoors into their encrypted software. This would mean that anyone using Unfree and Closed Source Software will be running software that is insecure by design. Enough awareness about this security threat will push companies in the direction of FOSS. And the ordinary citizen will follow.

Because – with FOSS, there is no vendor to strong-arm and bully into submission, and any backdoor will be open for all to see.

Stability 20 Jan 2016 7:50 AM (9 years ago)

Freedom is not primarily gained by creating stability, but rather through tolerance for instability.

Killing ads on Facebook 19 Jan 2016 2:36 AM (9 years ago)

Simply add this to a custom CSS style sheet in your browser:

.ego_section,.mvs._5j5u._5jqk.clearfix,._54b-,div[data-referrer*="substream"] div[data-ownerid*="u_ps"],div[class="_4-u2 mbm _5jmm _5pat _5v3q _5sq8 _5x16"][data-xt-vimp*="log_initial_nonviewable"],._54b{display:none!important}

Any decent browser (like the one I use, “qutebrowser“), will have the option of using a custom CSS style sheet when rendering pages. The above code only affects Facebook and makes ads not show up.

You may of course use another ad-block system, but this is the leanest, less resource intensive and most elegant I have seen. Thanks to a3cAnton.

“How in the hell” indeed 18 Jan 2016 10:36 AM (9 years ago)

Found this on that Internetz. Had to throw it out here.

HP-41: The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements 17 Jan 2016 4:21 PM (9 years ago)

Have your HP-41 right where it should be (in your hand) and unable to find the Internetz to look up nifty details of obscure chemical elements? Worry no more, the solution is here, the HP-41 program, “PERIOD”.

The program will display:

• Atomic number, Name and Symbol
• Group, Period and Block
• Atomic Weight
• Property (Alkali metal, Noble Gas, etc.)
• Type (Gas, Liquid, Solid or Unknown)
• Occurrence in nature (Primordial, From Decay, Synthetic)
• Melting Point, Boiling Point (in Kelvin)
• Year of discovery (“OLD” if known in ancient times)
• Electron Configuration
• Atomic Radius (empirical and calculated)
• Origin (Big Bang, Cosmic Rays, Small & Large Stars, Large Stars, Large Stars & Super Nova, Super Nova and Man Made)

You will find the ROM pages, program listing and element details on the Github project page. It is also included in the HP Museum’s “HP-41C Software Library“. Enjoy

A rather odd exchange with a scientologist 17 Jan 2016 2:29 AM (9 years ago)

Most exchanges I have with current scientologists follow a predictable pattern. A scientologist needs to stay out of trouble – by any means. One should not look at any critical information, not surf around on the Internet where critical information could pop up, not engage in conversations with people who could be critical of Scientology and certainly not talk to anyone shunned by their church. When a Scientologist contacts me, the exchange usually dies out after a couple of messages.

Not this one. This is an odd one out, and I would appreciate your help in understanding what is going on in this e-mail exchange.

It started out with a question from “E”:

How is your FSMing going?

An FSM cycle I initiated:
After hearing of his breakup from his then wife Jodhi Meares, I wrote a letter to James Packer (a multi-billionaire Australian businessman) about Scientology (included in the letter was material about services available at the Flag Land Base and an FSM selection slip for services at Flag). I sent a copy of the selection slip to Flag via AOSH ANZO. The next I heard was that James was receiving Scientology services in Sydney and later he stated that the services he’d received had been “helpful.”

Best wishes for 2016

From the question “How is your FSMing going?”, we get this conversation:

G: Not too well

E: What barrier have you hit?

G: My own interest in FSM’ing Two weeks after I attested OT 8 in 2006, I met with David Miscavige. That meeting helped me resolve many questions I had during my 25 years as a Scientologist. I then left the church. I found out that there are more Class XII auditors outside the church than inside – as most of the Class XIIs trained directly by LRH was expelled by the current management. Having discovered this, I was able to do my L11 and to fantastic wins.

E: Was there a time prior to your losing interest, where you were winning as an FSM?
What was discussed at the meeting (questions that were asked, replies that were given, etc)?

G: I used to be the top FSM in Norway, but after meeting David Miscavige in person, I decided that I would not again FSM for the church. Basically he violated a dozen or so LRH policies right in front of me. He tried to recruit me as the ED of Oslo Org right there on the spot and at the same time sacking the current ED which he admitted that he didn’t know. The way that conversation went was just about the weirdest I have experienced. I realized the church was indeed run by a dictator. If you want more details, I can give you more,

E: SPECIFIC MEETING INFO SOUGHT:

1. When exactly it occurred (date).
2. Where it took place (location).
3. What time of the day or night it was held at.
4. What day of the week it occurred on.
5. If it took place inside a building (which one).
6. If it took place inside an office (describe the interior).
7. Whether you were given any refreshments (coffee).
8. Whether anyone else was present.
9. Whether the door was shut.
10. Whether you were summoned to the meeting.
11. The amount of time (notice) you were given to show up.
12. Whether you were escorted to the meeting.
13. The duration of the meeting.
14. Whether anyone was outside the door when you left.
15. Any other details that come to mind.

G: Wow – that was an interesting list
You are thorough. It would be interesting to see the same thoroughness applied to a look into the church statistics. Like the number of Scientologists in the world.
Let me give you the story of my meeting with David Miscavige: https://elysianchakorta.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/when-i-met-david-miscavige/
(I also attached my “doubt write-up“)

E: Re the recruitment method which David Miscavige (unsuccessfully) attempted on you: He no doubt would have found this particular approach successful at various times in the past, thus he adopted it as his SOP (standard operating procedure).

G: No doubt.
What do you think of his approach?
And what do you think about the content of my Doubt write-up?

E: I prefer to look at the incident from the viewpoint of observing the technique you use to personally handle certain types of people. Let’s say I’m your boxing coach and I want you to be able to handle every type of opponent you meet in the ring with style, effectiveness and finesse and not let any of them land a punch on you. What I do after the match, is I ask you how you felt you went. You are really the final arbiter of how you performed. You determine whether you performed at 100 percent, 75 percent, 50 percent or 25 percent. Then — if you believe you fared below 100 percent — we look at what you could have done to fare better.

G: In the real world outside of Scientology – you are absolutely right. And this is exactly how I view that it should be done. See the attached article, it thoroughly validates your viewpoint. But in the world of Scientology, one is supposed to follow LRH’s word to the letter – especially the management of the church. And here is where the glaring outpoint with that meeting really shines.

Then out of the blue, he sent me this:

G: Before you send this anywhere, you should read the attached.

Then I sent him both Six months in the open and From Independent Scientologist to just me. He then read “all of Six months” and “most of Just me”, and sent me this:

Prerequisites to study
The most important prerequisite as far as I’m concerned is a Non-Oppressive Environment in which to study. As far as I’m concerned they can stick their f***ing academies up their asses. I FUCKEN HATE studying in Scn academies. Let me repeat that in case someone never heard what I said: I FUCKING HATE STUDYING IN SCIENTOLOGY ACADEMIES. I like to study WHERE I want and WHEN I want, without some fuckwit pissing me off with their bullshit. My favourite place to study is lying down in the park under a shady tree. Then i might walk off and go and buy an icecream. Then, there is a possibility that I will go back to study half-an-hour later — WHEN I FRIGGEN WELL FEEL LIKE IT. And if I don’t feel like it, I won’t. I hate being bugged by idiots around me, pestering and annoying me when I’m studying. It sends me wild. I am usually a fairly calm and easygoing person, but if there is one thing that brings out a FULLBLOWN RAGE in me it’s anything to do with being pestered while I’m studying. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

And then he actually sent his CSW to “David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board” via info@scientology.org – asking him to take me on as his personal recruitment consultant.

G: Please help me understand; What is your ambition in doing this? What were your thoughts after reading the two books I sent you?

He then sent me this link and this link, before I reiterated what he thought about my two books, whereupon he answered:

E: You are not OT VIII — you’re a False Declare.

G: That is a one way to deal with the cognitive dissonance. So, you think the tech in the church is faulty, since it would allow a person to go through all the Bridge with thousands upon thousands of hours of auditing and sec checks and courses and let through a false OT VIII declare?
Also, what would be your idea of a “correct” OT VIII?

E: It’s a matter of mathematics. Absolutes are unobtainable. There is always a blacker black or a whiter shade of white. The delivery lines have been under continual improvement from the day LRH gave his first session. There are so many variables involved, so many areas where breakdowns can occur. It’s not a matter of the tech being faulty; the delivery of it can always be more polished. Training has been under continual improvement. The ability of those working on the lines can always be lifted up a further notch. If you wish to disagree with the TRUTH I have revealed to you, fine.

G: What is the “TRUTH” you have presented to me?

And that is my answer to “E” just this morning.

What is your take on this exchange?

Update 2016-01-18:

The exchange continued…

E: I stated that: You are not OT VIII — you’re a False Declare. I also stated: If you wish to disagree with the TRUTH I have revealed to you,
fine. In other words, if it is your TRUTH that you ARE an OT VIII completion, well that is your truth.
You are free to keep on believing your own bullshit till the end of time if you so wish.

G: Really E, I don’t care if I am an OT 8 or not. I am who I am and I am jolly happy to be just that, me
You seem aggravated by this conversation. Why? Is it because I do not conform to your expectation of an OT 8? Is it because you sent that CSW
even after having read all that I sent you? Is it that you admitted to hating to study in a Scientology Academy? Or is it something else? Please
enlighten me. Or better, gather the courage to speak your mind in the open by commenting on my blog or on that Facebook discussion.
I still find this exchange of ours interesting. You may want to follow (and comment) on this: https://isene.me/2016/01/17/odd-exchange/. In addition to my blog, you may want to check out my Facebook page where another set of comments regarding our exchange is unfolding.

This has been an interesting exchange. But I am struggling to understand your motivations. And since you didn’t seem willing to share your reasons for our exchange, or at least didn’t answer my questions about it, I thought I would get help from others. If you have balls, you can speak your mind on my blog or on that facebook discussion.

E: “I don’t care if I am an OT 8 or not”… No OT VIII completion would ever say such a thing. You are swimming in so much unhandled stuff that it’s not funny. Please send me the name of the person who signed off on your “OT VIII” cycle — so I can add them to the report I’m writing up.

G: You don’t know much about the upper bridge. There are literally dozens of people involved in verifying a person through OT VII and VIII. I spent 2,5 years auditing on OT VII with 4-6 sessions every day. And then there was the 6-month refreshers at Flag with verifications through auditing and sec checks and the course room. There were my supervisors, the Cramming Officer, the Qual Consultant, The Qual Sec, The D of P, The auditors, the FES-ers, Ethics Officer, Lead Ethics Officer and even the RTC was involved.

The OT VII End Phenomena Check is the most thorough action on the bridge with lots of people involved in seeing it through with all sessions video taped and checked by RTC. In itself it contains a huge Sec Check. Then there was the Sec Check for leaving Flag and then there was the Mother Of All Sec Checks… the OT VIII Sec Check aboard the Freewinds. Then there was the OT VIII cycle verified by the most highly trained and then there was another Sec Check. So, aboard the Freewinds for OT VIII, you have another set of MAA, Supervisor, D of T, D of P, auditors, Qual… you name it. You may start counting names
You see, I discovered that the whole concept of the OT III case with Body Thetans and Clusters and the story about the Galactic Overlord Xenu is wrong. It is fiction. What we audited on these upper levels are not BTs – it is our own case. It is not separate identities that is beyond our creation, it is case purely of our own making. Now That is taking real responsibility for one’s own stuff. LRH tried to blame other beings. That may be one reason why he died as a mentally crippled man full of neurosis and using a psych drug before he died.
It seems you are having a rough time with our exchange. You don’t answer my questions. I answer your questions. Why this one-sided conversation?

Update 2016-01-19:

E: Then send me the names of ALL OF THEM — so I can add the lot of them to the report I’m writing up about your botched up cycle, in order to get them handled. No OT VIII “completion” should hereafter be allowed off the ship, to turn out like the piece of shit that you ended up as.

G: I cannot possibly remember the more than 50 names involved – many of the names I never even got (they were post names behind the scenes. And why
should I even try to remember? The church is disintegrating as we speak. There are less than 40 000 scientologists world wide and it is shrinking.
People are leaving the SO like never before. There isn’t much left to be corrected in the way it needs correcting. What needs correcting is David
Miscavige and his few minions. Remember, he was the one that wanted to put me on post as the ED of Oslo Org only two weeks after that “botched up
cycle” – so make sure to include him in that report. Also include yourself.

E: Would it be correct to say that you felt okay about OT VIII, right up until you returned for the OT Ambassadors photo shoot where the incident with Miscavige took place and something keyed-in?

G: No. Nothing keyed in. I’m jolly happy about all my services. But the fact of the matter is that the church is run by a dictator who physically abuses his juniors. And, as I told you, LRH got much of the upper bridge wrong. It works quite well, but not for the reasons you are told.

E: When exactly did you come to this conclusion?

G: After about 1000 hours of research – including interviewing people who had been physically abused by Miscavige and people who saw others get beaten.

In this last round of exchange, E also tells me something personal, upon which I answer:

G: As you know, I successfully coach people in all walks of life. I would love to help if I could. Let me know.

… and a happy New Year! 31 Dec 2015 8:47 AM (9 years ago)

May you experience joys like when I discover new programming tricks on my HP-41 and lows like when I see Newcastle FC lose a game. #SmallThingsMatter

May you in 2016 grab the chances for adventures, realizations and pure, unadulterated fun

Happy 11111100000!

Merry X-Mas! 24 Dec 2015 11:44 AM (9 years ago)

To all my teachers, participants and readers of this blog; Have a wonderful Christmas!

Be happy, be yourself and give lots of love to your family

Hva er rollespill? 16 Dec 2015 2:44 PM (9 years ago)

This is a “missing chapter” from my auto-biography “Nittenåttifire“. The publisher decided to take it out as it is not really relevant for my Scientology experience. Nevertheless, it’s a good introduction to Role-Playing Games, and so I post it here for reference. For those of you that can read Norwegian, enjoy

“Eventyrerne gikk langsomt og forsiktig opp trappen mot andre etasje. Sagan var allerede såret etter strabasene i første og det var ikke trygt å bevege seg omkring i tårnet til en mektig magiker. Før en visste ordet av det kunne en magisk skapning komme frem fra skyggene for å beskytte tårnets herre mot inntrengere som dem. Eller, dersom de ikke var forsiktige kunne de utløse en mekanisk eller magisk felle eller en uhyggelig forbannelse.”

“Slitne og utrygge, Sagan gikk først, Chamax like etter. Han var kanskje den mest aparte i dette brokete selskapet. Med sine drøye to meter, var han ikke blant de høyeste av sin rase, men den fryktinngytende øglemannen med klubbe og skjold og glinsende skjell som dekket hele kroppen kunne skremme livet av et vanlig menneske, en dverg eller en stakkars alv.”

“Bak Chamax fulgte halvgiganten. En overkropp over de andre og med bøyd hode opp trappen. De tunge stegene skapte en lett nervøsitet blant de andre i laget. Det var viktig at de kunne overraske den onde magikeren i etasjen over.”

“Markus var klar til sin livs utfordring. Det kunne lett bli en kamp der han ville få en avgjørende rolle. Lagets vismann og magiker festet grepet rundt sin stav mens han fokuserte på det hans mentor hadde lært ham. Det lå magi i luften, og Markus hadde en tydelig skjerpet mine rundt øynene.”

“Tzirga dannet baktroppen. Hun var en mektig kriger som ikke var redd for å tre inn i gladiatorringen mot muskelbunter langt større enn henne selv. Få kunne behandle en stav slik som henne, og da tenker vi først og fremst på kampsituasjoner.”

“Og midt inne i denne gruppen av eventyrere tuslet det en hvit katt. Ildun strøk seg lett inntil leggrustningen til sin eier, men Sagan var for opptatt med å redde nærområdet fra en ond fare til å bry seg om sin følgevenns behov for oppmerksomhet.”

Stein satt fremoverbøyd ved andre enden av bordet. Han kikket ned på karakterarket og vurderte hvilken strategi han skulle bruke; Klubbe eller nærkamp? De var fem eventyrere i gruppen og i tillegg til Sagan brukte også Runes karakter Chamax en klubbe i kamp. Det kunne bli trangt og farlig for de andre karakterene i det øverste tårnrommet.

Tom satt der ganske så selvsikker. Med en slåsskjempe av en halvgigant som karakter, hadde han lite å frykte i kamp mot en eneste opponent. Trodde han.

Henning og Cathrine diskuterte hvordan karakterene burde gå inn i rommet og hvilken magi Markus burde bruke først. Cathrine var også usikker på om det faktisk var plass til Tzirga med staven i en kamp mot magikeren Soian Han.

Selv satt jeg bak skjermbrettet. Tårnet var tegnet ned til minste detalj. Soian Han var beskrevet på et karakterark akkurat som spillerkarakterene. Han burde være en god match for denne gruppen med relativt nye karakterer. Jeg hadde allerede skrevet opp hvilke besvergelser den onde magikeren ville benytte dersom han skulle bli overrasket, og i og med at spillerne klekket ut en god plan for å innta tårnet, ble Soian Han overrumplet.

Vi hadde lagt ut en matte på bordet. På denne var det tegnet tårnetasjene, og det var plassert ut små metallfigurer, en for hver karakter. Spillerne forklarte hva nettopp sin karakter ville gjøre som neste handling. De fungerte godt sammen som et lag der de satt rundt bordet og la sine strategier og taktikk.

“Sagen kjente forsiktig på den store eikedøren til den øverste etasjen. Den var ulåst. Eventyrerne telte stille til tre. Døren føk opp og Sagan stormet inn med Chamax hakk i hel. Halvgiganten kom trampende gjennom døren og fikk endelig rettet opp ryggen. Markus gikk rett inn og til høyre der han gjorde seg klar til sin første besvergelse. Bakerst i køen stod lagets kvinnelige kriger og lurte på hvordan hun skulle få gjort nytte for seg, for det var slett ikke plass til å vifte rundt med en stav der inne.”

“Eventyrerne kom inn i rommet mens Soian Han var midt inne i et rituale. Det tok ikke mange millisekundene før transen var brutt og magikeren fikk se innbruddstyvene – tre vilt fremmede gærninger hadde tatt seg inn tårnet hans. Med seg hadde de en stor øgle på to ben iført våpen og rustning og en kjempe som sikkert var en erstatning for et esel.”

“Den gamle var ikke vond å be. Besvergelser tok alltid litt tid å forberede, og her var sekundene svært dyrbare. Soian Han hadde rett og slett ikke tid til å kaste en forbannelse over inntrengerne. Han pekte på dem med sitt fremste våpen, en hanske av jern som gikk i ett med hans høyre hånd. Og med et ord på gammel-drakonsk skjøt det en flammestråle ut av fingertuppene og lyste opp hele rommet. Det var best å fjerne monsteret først. Chamax ble truffet midt i brystet og gikk ned for telling. Sagan bykset frem og angrep magikeren med bare nevene. Klubben lot han ligge på gulvet i fare for å slå ut en av sine kamerater ved et uhell.”

Stein plukket opp terningen, la den i terningkoppen og ristet godt. Det smalt i bordplata og han løftet forsiktig for å se hva resultatet ble. “Ha, jeg traff!” utbrøt han fornøyd. Jeg kastet en terning bak skjermbrettet for å se om magikeren klarte å hoppe unna. Som spilleder var det viktig å være helt ærlig, selv om terningkastene var skjult for spillerne. Et ærlig spill var et spennende og morsomt spill. Terningkastet viste at magikeren ikke klarte å komme unna angrepet.

Et nytt kast for å bestemme hvor Sagans spark landet. I magikerens høyre ben. Et lite sukk kunne høres blant spillerne da det siste terningkastet viste at skaden ikke ble så stor som de hadde håpet på.

Dermed var det halvgigantens tur. Den lange og trege armen bommet da Soian Han tok et lite skritt til siden.

Markus hadde brukt noen få sekunder på å gjøre klar sin besvergelse.

Henning kastet terningen for å se om magien var vellykket. Med Chamax i bakken, var spillerne glade for å høre at Sagan nå hadde ekstra magisk beskyttelse.

“Igjen pekte Soian Han på en motstander. Halvgiganten fikk ildstrålen rett i magen og falt om i smerter. Til tross for de kraftige lysglimtene i tårnrommet så situasjonen ikke så lys ut for eventyrgjengen.”

“Tzirga fikk bedre plass nå som øglemannen og halvgiganten lå nede for telling. Og med Markus i bakgrunnen var det bare henne og Sagan som kjempet. Hun med en eikestav og han med armer og ben.”

“Sagan fikk inn et spark i mageregionen, mens Tzirga ga magikeren en vond venstre arm. En ny besvergelse fra Markus gjengjeldte den varme velkomsten og sendte en ildkule mot Soian Han. Den hadde langt mindre virkning på ildmagikeren enn det Markus var vant til. Likevel var Soian Han tydelig preget av smerter mens han på nytt pekte sin hanske mot et offer, og Tzirga fikk smake hans vrede.”

“Fortvilet av sinne langet Sagan på nytt ut mot magikeren og fikk gitt ham en saftig ørefik. Det begynte å svartne for Soian Han. Han samlet seg i en siste kraftanstrengelse og fyret av et skudd mot sin argeste motstander. Ildstrålen ble så kraftig at den flerret igjennom Sagans bryst og etterlot seg et stort gapende svart sår tvers igjennom lærrustingen.”

“Markus var nå alene mot den mektige magikeren i tårnet. Motstanderen var på randen av å falle sammen og Markus følte at han nå hadde en siste sjanse til å redde seg selv og sine venner før også han fikk smake den onde hansken.”

Henning ristet kraftig og lenge på terningkoppen før han satte den bestemt ned i bordet. Han løftet den opp og terningen viste at den magiske besvergelsen var vellykket.

“Soian Han vred seg i smerte der han falt om mens han forsøkte å mane fram den siste rest av trolldom til ingen nytte. Ildun tittet nervøst frem fra bak eikedøren og trippet frem til sin herre og mester. Sagan lå der livløs og forbrent.”

“Markus gikk frem til Soian Han for å forsikre seg om at han var død. Han virket svært død, men Markus tok ingen sjanser. Med de spinkle bicepsene trakk han hansken av høyrehånden til liket. “Hm…”, tenkte han og forsøkte om den passet hans egen. Hansken virket merkelig god å ha på seg. Den strammet forsiktig, og deretter litt til. Markus ble nervøs og forsøkte å få den av, men den magiske hansken hadde fått en ny eier, og den satt som støpt på Markus sin høyre hånd.”

“Litt forfjamset over sin nye jernhånd gikk Markus fra venn til venn for å sjekke status på gruppen. De var alle forbrente, men kun en var borte. Sagan hadde mistet livet i Soian Hans tårn. Markus var ingen lege, og han kunne ikke hjelpe sine venner der de lå besvimte og skadde. Han løp så fort bena kunne klare ned trappene, ut inngangsdøren, nedover veien og ut av porten til borgmuren.”

“I tre kilometer løp han. Alene og bekymret for sine venners liv.”

“Vel fremme i den Flandycanske borgen møtte han Lamar. Den vise mannen hadde rekruttert dem til det farefulle oppdraget. Markus rablet historien og Lamar desifrerte så godt han kunne. Kort etter bar det tilbake opp på fjellet der Lamar fikk se de skadde i tårnrommet. Han forbandt de forbrente og konstaterte at Sagan var livløs.”

“Sagan hadde bodd i den Flandycanske grenseborgen i flere måneder og hadde blitt en nær venn av Lamar. Den gamle vise mannen hadde rukket å bli glad i den intelligente krigeren med det tydelige potensialet. Han bestemte seg for å ofre mye for vennskapet, og samlet sine magiske krefter om den ypperste av alle besvergelser; Gjenopplivingen.”

“I noe som minnet om en evighet holdt han sine hender på Sagan sitt bryst mens han mumlet uforståelige ord på et eldgammelt språk. Hans magiske krefter fylte Sagans bryst med liv, helt til hjertet endelig igjen begynte å slå.”

Eventyrerne fikk god medisinsk behandling og spillerne var godt fornøyde med å ha erobret tårnet og fjernet den onde magikeren fra nærområdet. Senere viste det seg at tårnet hadde en meget spesiell kjeller med huler og ganger og med monstre av ymse slag.

Spillerne bestemte seg for å annektere det som nå ble kalt for Sagans Tårn. Fra denne nye basen utforsket de først tårnets kjeller før de dro ut på andre spennende og farefulle oppdrag.

Detaljene i denne historien er sikkert ikke nøyaktige, men den gir et innblikk i en rollespillsesjon. Rollespill skulle gi meg mange år med inspirasjon og moro.

Fail more 16 Dec 2015 8:07 AM (9 years ago)

I just updated my LinkedIn summary. Here’s the new intro:

Geir Isene – Helping people fail

In order to improve, you need to succeed and learn from your successes. But you can learn even more from your failures. Don’t let your striving for success, doing your best and finding the perfect solution stop you from trying and failing and learning even more. Fear of failing can be the biggest obstacle to advancement. You should habitually go outside your comfort zone. Allowing yourself to fail is not enough. Actually failing is required. I help people fail.

Here is one take on why: