Those TikTok kids are also into divination in a big way. Divination being, I suppose, a subset of self-directed paranormal experience. The general Tarot card hashtag apparently has 6.3 billion views.
Essentially people are receiving little non-personal Tarot readings shovelled into their streams or whatever via algorithmic processes and then taking them as personally meaningful examples of synchronicity.
Now, apart from the question as to whether or not something served up by an algorithm's conception of what you'll find engaging can count as a meaningful coincidence, it is clear from a quick survey of TikTok prognosticators that almost all seem to specialise in generic, somewhat positive statements. For example: You have the resources to get through this rough patch, your guides are with you, or, you are on the verge of meeting your soulmate, or, your ex is so sorry he's not with you anymore, or, your dream job is just around the corner, you deserve it, et cetera, et cetera.
This is not even cold reading (which at least involves a certain degree of skill and art), never mind a serious attempt at pre-modern engagement with time and process, which often entails much structure and a certain rational approach to the irrational.
It is the serving up of feel-good mush.
The above, plus orb mania, confirms my belief that an openness to paranormal experience, in and of its self, hardly qualifies as a positive development in society.
And I fail to see how any of this could go any way to meaningfully replacing the cultural void (if there is one) left by the decline of organised religion.
P.S. I suppose, tailored algorithmic divination, with its loaded dice, could work on a metaphysically defensible level, or at least involve a somewhat coherent worldview, if one returns to the oldest conceptions of divination: that any outcome, be it of a battle, a contest, or a game of chance, shows the will of the gods. (In this view, we are once again playthings of higher powers not so much benevolent as bored.)
Essentially people are receiving little non-personal Tarot readings shovelled into their streams or whatever via algorithmic processes and then taking them as personally meaningful examples of synchronicity.
Now, apart from the question as to whether or not something served up by an algorithm's conception of what you'll find engaging can count as a meaningful coincidence, it is clear from a quick survey of TikTok prognosticators that almost all seem to specialise in generic, somewhat positive statements. For example: You have the resources to get through this rough patch, your guides are with you, or, you are on the verge of meeting your soulmate, or, your ex is so sorry he's not with you anymore, or, your dream job is just around the corner, you deserve it, et cetera, et cetera.
This is not even cold reading (which at least involves a certain degree of skill and art), never mind a serious attempt at pre-modern engagement with time and process, which often entails much structure and a certain rational approach to the irrational.
It is the serving up of feel-good mush.
The above, plus orb mania, confirms my belief that an openness to paranormal experience, in and of its self, hardly qualifies as a positive development in society.
And I fail to see how any of this could go any way to meaningfully replacing the cultural void (if there is one) left by the decline of organised religion.
P.S. I suppose, tailored algorithmic divination, with its loaded dice, could work on a metaphysically defensible level, or at least involve a somewhat coherent worldview, if one returns to the oldest conceptions of divination: that any outcome, be it of a battle, a contest, or a game of chance, shows the will of the gods. (In this view, we are once again playthings of higher powers not so much benevolent as bored.)
Formerly dpdownsouth. Let me dream if I want to.
(This post was last modified: 2021-10-06, 11:26 AM by woethekitty.)
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