August 27, 2023
WARNING: Reader discretion advised. This article may be found to be profoundly offensive to religious people and believers in the myth of the "white" race.
This is how artificial intelligence (AI) may end the cult of the "white" race. AI may expand education, and make humans smarter. One of these days, enough humans will realize that human skin is never white. There are no "white" people. All humans are "people of color".
Simple observation shows that even the palest human skin is beige and never white. A simple experiment of having a "white" person wear white clothes (e.g. socks or even a "wife-beater shirt) shows the difference between beige skin and white. To some extent, and to the surprise of many, a similar experiment with black clothes shows that there are no "blacks" either. So-called blacks are brown. The more you experiment and observe, the more you learn.
How do humans learn?
The human brain is a dynamic system, and our understanding of how it stores knowledge is still developing. Humanity wasted so much time praying to imaginary gods to earn an imaginary salvation in an imaginary afterlife while really discriminating on Earth, that we are still super behind and almost primitive in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Luckily, we are making progress and our science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) knowledge is increasing every day.
The prevailing view about how the human brain stores knowledge is that it does so by creating patterns of synaptic connections among neural networks. Neurons, the primary cells in the brain, are responsible for transmitting electrical and chemical signals. Neurons communicate with each other at junctions called synapses. A neuron can have thousands of synaptic connections to other neurons.
Knowledge is not stored in single neurons. Instead, information is stored in distributed networks of neurons. So, when you remember a face, for example, different parts of your brain process the eyes, mouth, nose, and other features including memories and associations related to that face. All these pieces are then integrated into a coherent face recognition whole, giving you the memory of the face.
The strength of neural synapses is variable and can either reinforce or weaken knowledge. That is, a change in neural synaptic strength can be either a strengthening (potentiation) or a weakening (depression) of the synaptic connection. The principle that "cells that fire together, wire together" captures the idea that if two neurons are activated simultaneously, the synapse between them strengthens.
When we learn something new, certain pathways in our brain are activated, forming a unique pattern. With repetition, these pathways become more established. When recalling a piece of information, the brain retraces the pathway where that information is stored, leading to retrieval of the memory. Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) is a long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons after repeated stimulation. LTP is why "practice makes perfect".
LTP is considered one of the major cellular mechanisms underlying learning and memory. The more you repeat a thought or engage in a behavior, the stronger the neural connection that gets created and reinforced. The hippocampus, a region deep within the brain, plays a critical role in forming new memories. Over time, memories become more consolidated and may rely more on the cortex as they become more established. The amygdala, which processes emotions, can modulate the storage of memories. Intense emotional experiences often lead to stronger and more vivid memories.
Apart from synaptic strength changes, prolonged learning can also lead to structural changes in the brain. This includes the growth of new neurons (neurogenesis), mainly in the hippocampus, and the formation of new synaptic connections. Conversely, unused connections might be pruned, knowledge is lost or forgotten.
The phenomenon allowing for variations in neural synaptic strength is called synaptic plasticity. This mental plasticity is key, not only to learning, but also to unlearning. The ability to unlearn can be as important as the ability to learn. Smart humans can learn something, and unlearn it upon a discovery or realization of a different, alternative, or bigger truth.
How do humans learn "white" culture?
Culture is the operating system of the human mind. Culturally, we are taught that people of beige colored skin are "white", and that people of brown or dark brown skin are "nonwhite" or "people of color". This binary division between "whites" and "nonwhites", or "whites" and "people of color", was fundamental to the founding of the United States of America and the original version of the American Dream.
Culturally, the term "white" is used mostly to refer to people of Anglo Saxon, Germanic, or Northwestern European descent. Due to ancestral exposure level to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, humans of Northwester European descent developed light beige colored skin. Melanin is a natural pigment responsible for skin tone. Melanin protects human skin from UV radiation. Human populations that evolved in world regions with a low UV index developed beige colored melanin. Human populations that evolved in regions with a higher UV index developed brown colored melanin.
The British colonies in North America, and subsequently the United States, were founded by "white" humans escaping the religious feudal caste or "class" system that existed in England in the 1500s. Back in the day in England, humans were born into a caste or set class. A human could be born in the monarchy, in nobility, in a working class, or in a servant class. Since this was a pyramid hierarchical power structure, most people were born into the lower classes working or servant castes without any chances of upward mobility.
The colonization of the American continent gave low class British people or "white trash" the opportunity to move up in the class. Provided that "nonwhites" could be exploited to do the hard work, all "white" men (not women) could be equal in the "new" world. America gave the British "white trash" an opportunity to rise from rags to riches, to pursue the American Dream. There was an important caveat though. The so-called "nonwhites" would have to be exploited to do the hard work and serve everybody for the original version of the American Dream to pan out.
The role of "white" religion
If culture is the operating system of the mind, religion is a virus that can hack the entire system. The primitive Europeans of the antiquity and the Middle Ages had been brainwashed into believing in an imaginary "heavenly father" under their own version of Christianity.
For millennia, Europeans, like almost all other civilizations, were polytheists believing in an extensive pantheon of gods, goddesses, spirits, and supernatural forces supposedly controlling and influencing humans from above. Human imagination is practically infinite, and can be infinitely bigger than reality.
Israelite slaves escaping from Egypt had invented the fiction of "only one" god. This was a clever innovation by which all imaginable supernatural powers were assigned to one male god, eternal judge of humanity. This god was supposed to be the only true god and was omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscience. This god of the desert was also a judge. You would not want to offend him, or even show lack of obsessive fanatic devotion, unless you dared to be punished here on Earth and beyond in an imaginary hell after life.
Humans are controlled by the pain / pleasure (attraction / repulsion) programming of life. Humans, like all other animals, seek pleasure and avoid pain. The main two emotions controlling humans are fear and greed. Fear relates to pain whereas greed refers to pleasure. All other "emotions" (e.g. love, hate, etc.) are derivatives of fear and greed. For example, humans love pleasure and hate pain.
According to Middle Eastern or Israeli mythology and religion, the path to eternal pleasure (salvation) was to love and respect the dude on heaven above everything else. For example, if the dude would ask you to sacrifice your own baby just to show your obedience and fanatic devotion, you would be wise to murder your own son in cold blood to earn salvation (eternal pleasure in an imaginary afterlife) and avoid the pain of suffering the wrath of the one and only god of the desert here on Earth and later in hell. Needless to say, people lived terrified under that imaginary god. Rulers of the day used that mythology to justify their power as granted by god.
Along came Jesus
The Christian movement of "brotherly love" was an even more clever and more addictive Middle Eastern religious innovation. Jesus, a jew and son of a carpenter, fancied and marketed himself as not only the son of god, but also god himself in an elaborate incarnation of son and father mixed up with a spirit. Jesus portrayed the "one and only" god of the desert not as a ruthless judge, but rather as a loving and caring "heavenly father".
The version of god marketed by Jesus, and after his crucifixion by his disciples and other evangelical entrepreneurs conquered the parts of the Middle East, the Roman Empire, Europe, and by extension parts of Africa and the Americas.
Humans love pleasure and hate pain. Humans love the pleasant idea of believing that they have a "heavenly father" watching over them, and giving them privileges (blessings) here on Earth. To make matters sweeter and even more pleasurable, Jesus supposedly died for the salvation of all believers. Under the American evangelical tradition, believing in Jesus is a pathway to become rich and prosper in America. As an additional bonus you can also earn eternal pleasure (salvation) in an imaginary afterlife in "heaven" with the father and Jesus.
Humans of all walks of life fall for the pleasure of prosperity and salvation offered by evangelicals. Believing in a "white" version of Middle Eastern Jesus and a "heavenly father" god that can solve everything for you can prove very addictive for humans. Believers become dependent on that imaginary god, and begin to see everything that happens in their lives as expression of the wishes of that imaginary god and Jesus.
Believers in the "white" version of Jesus conveniently rationalize that any social privileges that they may enjoy are "blessings" assigned by god. The real Jesus was a poor "nonwhite" Middle Eastern influencer who invited his "social media" followers to abandon all material possessions. Most of his "white" followers in the United States, however, see Jesus today as a "white" broker of wealth and social privilege. Moreover, they see lack of privilege as some sort of punishment sanctioned by god.
For many "whites" who believe in the American evangelical marketing version of Jesus and the one and only god, it is okay to discriminate against "nonwhites" because that has to be somehow part of the plan of the "white" god and and "white" Jesus that have conveyed social privileges on "white" people.
Education and STEM
All the nonsense above about "whites" and "nonwhites" mixed up with Middle Eastern mythology and commercial / conservative American evangelism can be overcome by better education, critical thinking, and progress in STEM. Not surprisingly, the evangelical / conservative movement in the United States is against public funding for liberal education, is in favor of tax-free religious indoctrination, and is against STEM in general. Conservatives are implementing a modern version of the Catholic Inquisition against science, critical thinking, and anyone question racist tradition. What else is new? Throughout human history, religion has always been used by conservative movements trying to stay in power by forcing tradition. Countries and empires that fall into the trap of religion inevitably fall and stay behind.
Better education can help people realize that racism is simply an antiquated and economically obsolete socioeconomic system that assigns social privilege based on the social construct of race. As mentioned above, racism was fundamental to the colonization of America, the founding of the United States, and the original version of the American Dream. However, is no longer necessary and is significantly counterproductive in today's world.
The United States was founded by English speaking people coming from the island of Britain. This island had been inhabited by primitive Celtic tribes who were conquered and enslaved by the Romans for centuries. The Britons were also invaded and conquered by feudal Germanic tribes, by slave-trading Vikings, and by French monarchic invaders. For millennia, England was a poor island, and the English people were essentially the slaves and serfs of Europe.
Along came STEM to liberate England and propel English to the top of the world.
Scientific advances in transatlantic navigation allowed the English people to participate in the colonization of the American continent. As stated above, the English people saw in the new land an opportunity to escape the caste or class system that was prevalent in England at the time. Provided that "nonwhites" could do the hard work, all English men could be equal in America. Racism was thus the most important foundation of the American Dream. The American Dream depended on the availability of "nonwhites" to do the hard work so that English men (not women) could be equal.
In the mid 1700s, STEM furthered propelled the English people to the top of the world. When the rest of Western Europe was conquered and mentally trapped by Catholicism and its Inquisition against science, the English, who had already protested against Catholicism, embraced science. By opening England to science, English men began to develop STEM technologies that led to the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution explains the rise of England (and the United States) in the world. The Industrial Revolution allowed England to create one of the greatest and most recent empires in the history of humanity. The United States had split politically from England in the late 1700s. However, the United States stayed very close culturally to England and also embraced STEM and the Industrial Revolution. This led to the abolition of slavery, and many other social and technological advances.
Advances in civilian and military STEM allowed England and the United States to flourish economically and military. With the Allied victory in World War II, England and the United States rose to the top of the world. To this date, we are still living and enjoying the post-WWII power hierarchy facilitated by English and U.S. military STEM after the Industrial Revolution. No wonder the English language is the lingua franca of the world. No wonder the U.S. dollar is the global reserve currency.
STEM and Diversity
STEM and diversity are the greatest strengths of the United States today. Humans can be considered organic computers capable of processing data, identifying patterns, and making predictions to solve problems. With only 350 million inhabitants, the United States cannot afford to discriminate against any of its citizens and immigrants wishing to partake in STEM in American soil. Competitors like China have significantly more organic computing power than the United States. China has 1.4 billion organic (humans) in its territory. That is, even assuming that entire population of the United States were to embrace STEM development as a way of life, China would still have over 1 billion potential STEM organic computers at its disposal. That is a significant competitive advantage that cannot be ignored.
The United States needs every American and pro-American immigrant willing to study and work on STEM applications. Ancestral characteristics such as skin color, gender, and sexual preference are irrelevant. What matters is how much the "organic computer" can contribute to the development of American intelligence (i.e. problem solving ability).
AI will be a significant catalyst and booster to American intelligence. You bet.
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