Readables
Book "A Brief Look at Infra-Materialism"
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You spend a moment contemplating the cover's slightly unnerving swirl of orange, yellow, and green.
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- You turn to the table of contents. The guide itself is divided into several sections with seemingly esoteric titles like 'Effects of Plasm on Root Vegetables' and 'Mental Projection and Transference'. There's also a brief introduction about the life of Ignus Nilsen.
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- The book fits quite snugly into your palm. It would also fit comfortably into a jacket pocket.
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If you're like most people, you probably believe that your thoughts reside in your brain, right?
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That's not right at all. Thoughts don't exist in the brain, they float through the air! Your brain is but a fish swimming through them...
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Very interesting. And not so far removed from Ignus Nilsen's own theories...
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As Mazov's devoted comrade and leading theoretician, Nilsen was responsible for developing much of the intellectual foundation of communism. But his interests and speculations were famously wide-ranging.
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- Wrong! At least according to Ignus Nilsen...
- There is no evidence that the human digestive system is the seat of cognition. But let's get back to Ignus Nilsen, shall we?
- This sounds more like a question for a psychiatrist. (See also: 'A Brief Look at Psychiatry'.) But let's stick with Ignus Nilsen a moment...
- It's common for some developmentally delayed children to confuse sites of sensory input with the site of cognition. But let's get back to Ignus Nilsen, shall we?
- Very interesting. And not so far removed from Ignus Nilsen's own theories...
During his final years in exile, he produced, among other things, an early guide to homebrewing, instructions for raising revolutionary children, plans for a universal pictographic language, and a detailed materialist critique of Dolores Dei's chess strategy.
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But one subject he returned to time and time again was the fundamental relationship between thoughts and matter...
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"We may yet discover," he wrote in his notebooks, "that under certain, exceptional circumstances, the proletariat's embrace of historical materialism may be so fervent that their beliefs take form in the world of matter as a kind of revolutionary 'plasm'."
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- "We may yet discover," he wrote in his notebooks, "that under certain, exceptional circumstances, the proletariat's embrace of historical materialism may be so fervent that their beliefs take form in the world of matter as a kind of revolutionary 'plasm'."
- Certainly. In essence, Nilsen is arguing that thoughts don’t just reside inside the brain, they radiate outward from it. According to this idea, the brain is an ideological transponder, constantly emitting waves of highly politicised energy, which Nilsen called 'plasm'.
Whoa is right! What's more, Nilsen speculated that this plasm, when it becomes powerful enough, might begin to influence the material reality surrounding it. Hence the name: infra-materialism.
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Unfortunately, Nilsen passed away before he was able to develop these initial ideas into a full-fledged theory. That work was left to subsequent generations of communist theorists...
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- Stay with us a moment longer. What's more, Nilsen speculated that this plasm, when it becomes powerful enough, might begin to influence the material reality surrounding it. Hence the name: infra-materialism.
- Whoa is right! What's more, Nilsen speculated that this plasm, when it becomes powerful enough, might begin to influence the material reality surrounding it. Hence the name: infra-materialism.
Building on Nilsen's basic insight, these theorists reached a startling conclusion: that a sufficiently revolutionary state might begin to exhibit certain extra-physical effects based on the amount of plasm generated by its citizens.
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So these people are saying that if enough people just believe in communism, it will... come true?
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- Building on Nilsen's basic insight, these theorists reached a startling conclusion: that a sufficiently revolutionary state might begin to exhibit certain extra-physical effects based on the amount of plasm generated by its citizens.
- Correct. Though certain particulars of the theory are commonly attributed to Nilsen himself, the evidentiary basis of those attributions has always been a point of contention between infra-materialists and their critics.
The actual theory is highly technical, but for the purposes of this Brief Look(TM), that's a fine working definition of the concept.
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- Please, just stick with it. Otherwise, may we recommend 'A Brief Look at Words and Concepts'?
- In fact, many of infra-materialism's critics both inside and outside the communist movement have said the same thing.
- The actual theory is highly technical, but for the purposes of this Brief Look(TM), that's a fine working definition of the concept.
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Infra-materialists divide the extra-physical effects of the revolutionary state by the level of plasm required to achieve them.
At the lowest, or first level, revolutionary plasm is believed to stimulate or invigorate matter without altering its essential properties.
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Precisely, though plasm does more than increase vegetable yields. It may also influence the physiology of revolutionaries themselves.
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It's also been postulated that plasm may account for the remarkably full and manly facial hair observed on some communist males.
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Your hand feels clammy against your bare chin. You wipe it along the back of the book and keep reading...
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Of course, infra-materialists argue that revolutionary plasm may stimulate human physiology in other ways as well.
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That's correct! Reports from the Revolutionary period claim that the most radically devoted communards were able to engage in vigorous intercourse for up to eight hours at a time.
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Eight hours, huh? Seems doable. Your machinery could go the distance if called upon...
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- That's correct! Reports from the Revolutionary period claim that the most radically devoted communards were able to engage in vigorous intercourse for up to eight hours at a time.
- In fact, reports from the Revolutionary period claim that the most radically devoted communards were able to engage in vigorous sexual intercourse for up to eight hours at a time.
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No wonder the communards couldn't shoot straight -- they were too shagged out!
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Hyper-productive vegetables and ultra-horny communards are fine, but this theory hasn't quite gotten strange enough for you.
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Sexual euphoria... increased sensitivity to stimulation... if you didn't know better, you'd say this plasm stuff sounds a lot like being on amphetamines.
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And on that note, you feel like you've gotten the general idea of Infra-Materialism. Enough to carry on a basic conversation, at least. But if you'd like to go even deeper into some of the more speculative aspects of the theory, you could always read further...
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The book fits quite snugly into your palm. It would also fit comfortably into a jacket pocket.
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In fact, reports from the Revolutionary period claim that the most radically devoted communards were able to engage in vigorous sexual intercourse for up to eight hours at a time.
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It's also been postulated that plasm may account for the remarkably full and manly facial hair observed on many communist males.
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To take one example: During the Revolutionary period, many communard farmers in Graad reported extraordinary yields of certain root vegetables, most notably turnips.
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The difference in these yields was simply too great to be accounted for by mere climate or soil conditions. The only reasonable explanation, infra-materialists argue, is the high level of revolutionary plasm emanating from the commune itself.
Even today, in parts of the SRV there are collective farms whose root vegetable yields exceed those thought possible by capitalist agronomists.
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Who's to say the farmers aren't just cooking the books? Sounds like obvious SRV propaganda.
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There's probably something wrong with this theory, but you're the kind of person who believes anything they read in a book, so why don't you just roll with it?
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- Building on Nilsen's basic insight, these theorists reached a startling conclusion: that a sufficiently revolutionary state might begin to exhibit certain extra-physical effects based on the amount of plasm generated by its citizens.
- Correct. Though certain particulars of the theory are commonly attributed to Nilsen himself, the evidentiary basis of those attributions has always been a point of contention between infra-materialists and their critics.
Please, just stick with it. Otherwise, may we recommend 'A Brief Look at Words and Concepts'?
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- Building on Nilsen's basic insight, these theorists reached a startling conclusion: that a sufficiently revolutionary state might begin to exhibit certain extra-physical effects based on the amount of plasm generated by its citizens.
- Correct. Though certain particulars of the theory are commonly attributed to Nilsen himself, the evidentiary basis of those attributions has always been a point of contention between infra-materialists and their critics.
In fact, many of infra-materialism's critics both inside and outside the communist movement have said the same thing.
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Correct. Though certain particulars of the theory are commonly attributed to Nilsen himself, the evidentiary basis of those attributions has always been a point of contention between infra-materialists and their critics.
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Certainly. In essence, Nilsen is arguing that thoughts don’t just reside inside the brain, they radiate outward from it. According to this idea, the brain is an ideological transponder, constantly emitting waves of highly politicised energy, which Nilsen called 'plasm'.