People are Predictable

When ‘psychological knowledge’ is outlawed, only the outlaws have ‘psychological knowledge.’

‘Psychological knowledge,’ in this case, doesn’t mean knowing the depths of your childhood traumas. It means knowing the hidden, robotic reactions that are programmed into every single human being. It means knowing how these predictabilities play out in ourselves as individuals so that we can stop being victims.

‘Psychological knowledge’ means becoming familiar with the normal, human, everyday compulsions that can be triggered by any competent salesman, politician, marketing pro… or social media algorithm developer.

Have you ever complained about someone ‘pushing your buttons?’ You just self-owned as a robot.

Without self-knowledge, we are slaves to these chemical, emotional, and mental processes. With self-knowledge, we can recognize their usefulness but not be so trapped by them.

There are a lot more of these mechanical programs than most people realize. I’ll just mention three that seem to be especially pertinent to our current cultural dysfunction here in the US.

Chemical Reactions

We can easily begin with what is often referred to as the ‘reptile mind.’ Besides the well-known flight or fight reactions to perceived danger, these also include…