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LIFE/ MENTAL SKILLS

Belief Engineering: The skill that separates the top 1% from the rest

If you’ve used one of the many hot new AI tools like ChatGPT you would know that the future is already here - and its pretty wild.

If you haven’t checked ChatGPT out yet, I highly recommend you do - it’s free!

While a big leap from, Google, it’s not quite Terminator just yet. While the AI might convince some humans it is human, it still has many visible flaws such as “hallucinations”. i.e It literally makes up information or, it lies. These errors in thinking come about because of how the system is designed and runs.

It could also be because its trained on human data, and humans tend to lie. It’s also why they are finding gender and racial bias in these algorithms - the world has these biases in them, and in the data.

Anyways, the first part of creating an AI is training the code (also called a neural net) on a set of data. Usually, the more data, the better. Also the higher quality the better too.

After the code has run through enough data, it has developed strong patterns that connect the data together and you can now query it to generate outputs similar to what it was trained on.

ChatGPT was trained on millions of human conversations on the internet, and thus has learned to speak. Rather more specifically, it has learned the ability to simulate human speech.

It’s still very much limited by the data it was trained on. You wont be able to get it to produce outcomes it was not trained on.

The brain is a neural net

The AI code that’s powering the current wave of AI are these neural nets whic are trained on large datasets of human conversations. Thus they are called Large-Language Models, or LLMs.

The neural net is similar to a brain because it is actually based on one. The brain, after all, is the single most intelligent device that we know of in the universe.

It is a complex network of interconnected neurons. A human brain has 100 Billion neurons and more than 100 Trillion connections.

So, to create an Artificial Intelligence, they copied a Biological Intelligence.

This is also helpful when looking at it in reverse. The human brain is a biological neural network, and a more complex and nuanced one than the digital one written in code.

As the human brain gets exposed to data (experiences), it gets shaped by the data to find patterns in it and “make sense” of the world.

Think of a bare open landscape. Every time new data runs through the neural net, as in a new experiences, its as if rain falls on the open land and trhe flowing water carves new paths and channels are formed but also deepens the older channels.

The brain simplifies and reduces

The brain reduces our many experiences into easy to remember rules, frameworks or mental models. This is how we can make sense of the world and not have to remember everything we’ve been through in order to do basic functions.

For example, you probably can do other things while you are doing chores, and riding a bicycle has become “automatic” where once you struggled and needed full concentration.

Our brains love reducing our actions into automatic habits. They also love reducing our mental perceptions into beliefs.

It’s just how the brain works - it always seeks to simplify the world so that you need less brainpower to function - to think and act.

For example, think about when you were a newborn baby and how you experienced the world and learned who your mother was. After much confusion and crying you eventually recognise the same shape - a lady - and she provides warmth, food and comfort. Her voice is also similar, a tone you would have heard while you were still in the womb. As you grow up, she gives you food when you are hungry, adn soothes your tears. She says “mamma” a lot around you, and when you say it back she smiles and say’s “Good job!”. This is how you start associating the complex real world with simple words.

It’s how you started to learn language. Language, being the tool we use to make sense of the world.

To simplify the vast number of objects in the world, we use names to hold the various complex ideas that may be associated with that object.

I use the word “mum” and you use the word “mum” but in our heads are ideas of different people.

Now, that’ an example of how the brain simplifies things or objects in our world. Our brain also tries to simplify how the world works, or processes.

It does this through creating beliefs.

Beliefs in this case are a set of simple rules that the brain has devised to explain the world. The world here consisting of the the limited amount of experiences the baby has had in its lifetime.

As the baby experiences more, it’s concept of “the world” grows and so does the beliefs it has (or needs) to explain all those experiences.

Beliefs can be created automatically by the mind.

Beliefs can also be given to you by your parents, close friends and family, influential people and even strangers.

Beliefs are the most powerful things you have.

Beliefs determine your destiny

Beliefs are determined by the experience one has up to that point in their lives. And because we all have random experiences in life, we can think that we’ve all gathered a random set of beliefs. Though with 7 billion people, we do not have 7 billion beliefs. A single human experience, while unique, has many commonalities with others, and thus the amount of overlap in beliefs is huge.

While we didn’t choose the initial beliefs we were given, over time as we gain more independence, awareness and rationality, we become better at examining, rejecting, removing beliefs.

What about installing new beliefs? Well, we all came with that one. After all, we are born as a blank canvas, ready to learn new beliefs.

As a person accumulates more experiences, especially different experiences from the ones they already have had, they are forced to encounter situations in which their models for the world, their beliefs, are proven wrong.

It’s at this point they are given the option to grow, to change, to become something more.

It’s at this point they are given the chance to change their destiny.

Let’s switch paths for a moment and talk about destiny.

What is destiny?

Destiny is believed to be a predetermined course of events that is supposed to happen to a person or thing in the future. It is something that is awaiting you and is thought of as unavoidable.

But as Charlie Munger once quipped, “ Tell me where I will die so I know never to go there”.

Destiny is the future outcome. It’s the result of the actions you have taken on your the path.

But it is not inescapable!

Our destiny is firmly within our hands.

Our results, our outputs, come from our actions, our inputs.

We can control our actions, albeit not all the time. Because of this, we can control our destiny.

Those that can better control their actions, have better control over their lives and their destiny. Those that cannot control their actions, will be destined for a certain path with no way to escape it.

But, do you know why people cannot control their actions? Why they feel compelled to act in a certain way?

It’s because they perceive the world in a certain way.

And because humans are logical creatures, that is, they act logically from their limited perspective, the action they undertake as a result of that perspective becomes self-evident. It’s a logical conclusion of seeing the world in that specific way.

So, because we perceive the world in a certain way, we are compelled to act in a certain way.

If you perceive a beggar as unfortunate and hungry, you may give them something to eat or buy.

If you perceive a beggar as a burden on society and someone who plays on the emotions of others, you probably wont give them anything.

So, it’s our perceptions of the world that determine how we act, if we act logically, which we mostly do.

But, what controls our perceptions?

You guessed it. Beliefs.

At the core of who you are, is your beliefs. Or, as Bob Proctor would say, your paradigms.

These beliefs are the set of statements that you hold dearly onto as your explanation of the world. And these beliefs inform our perceptions (help us make sense of the world) and thus dictate the kinds of actions we end up doing.

It goes like this.

Beliefs → Perceptions → Actions → Destiny

Based on what you believe, you perceive the world in a certain way. Based on what you perceive, you act in a certain way. Based on how you act, your results will naturally come as a karmic consequence.

One cannot change the laws of nature, the physical laws that govern the material universe. If a ball is thrown up, it must come down.

However, we can change the internal beliefs that make up who we are. And thus change the path the we end on.

We do this more often than you realise.

In fact, changing our beliefs is a fundamental aspect of growing up, and a good measure of it as well.

Growing up = changing your beliefs

As you grow up, you gain more knowledge, experience and understanding of the world. Thus with more data, you update your models/ beliefs.

If you gain new experiences that counter your old models, you are forced to update your models so that they are more inclusive of the realities you have experienced.

If you have the same or similar experiences, the mental models and beliefs behind them get reinforced and stronger. Thus they would require stronger evidence to be changed.

These beliefs serve as tools that help us progress through this world without needing to put out max brain effort all the time.

We accumulate, update and discard beliefs as we grow up and become more competent in the world.

The beliefs are tools that we use well, and are usually a close part of our ego.

This varies from person to person, but on one end of the spectrum some people become dangerously attached to their beliefs, and mistakenly believe that they are their beliefs.

And so, we come across Destructive Belief #1: I am my beliefs

But it does not end there. There are other destructive beliefs that one can pick up in life. Here’s another.

Destructive Belief #2: I cannot change

Destructive Belief #3: I know everything there is to know about (x), and thus will not consider changing my beliefs

I think we all know many people who have acquired one or more of these fatal beliefs.

One of the worst beliefs a growing human mind can pick up in this process of gaining beliefs is Destructive Belief #2, because it stops him from growing.

No new beliefs = no new growth

As mentioned above, one of the most destructive beliefs we can have is one that stops us from changing our beliefs.

The reason is that we sometimes confuse them for ourselves. And those that think they are their beliefs are more hesitant to look for information that runs counter to them, let alone wanting to change them.

As shown above, a set of changing beliefs is a sign of a growing individual.

If your beliefs haven’t been changed or improved recently then you haven’t actually grown. You’ve just gotten older.

As a result, you have stagnated.

You’re in mental hibernation.

Take charge of your beliefs

A person acts because of what they believe. They get results based on how they act.

Many people I know are struggling in some area of their lives. Yet, they are still trying the same tactics. That’s because they stubbornly still hold onto their beliefs - the beliefs that are causing them to stay stuck in this area.

Those that are struggling over many years are the ones that don’t even want to look at new information, for they already “know it all”. They are stuck in their beliefs which in turn keep them trapped in their physical results.

If only they knew that by just changing their beliefs, they set in motion dominoes to drastically change their lives.

The difference between believing “I can be successful at anything if I apply my mind to it” versus “I can’t do this because I’ve never done it before.” is small on paper, but in reality is the difference between a Prince and a pauper.

It’s not about what’s right or wrong - it’s what’s helpful

Beliefs are the tools by which you navigate reality and play the game of life.

Having the wrong beliefs means your downfall.

Having the right beliefs means achieving everything you desire.

But I do not mean right and wrong in the moral sense, or even the physical sense. In fact, one can have beliefs that are objectively false - such as, “If I don’t train everyday I’m going to get fat”. If it helps you act and move in the right direction, then that’s what counts.

What’s important is whether the belief is helpful or unhelpful.

Think carefully over the following questions, and take some time to write your answers down . It will be a worthwhile exercise.

• What are the beliefs that you hold most dear to you and refuse to question?

• What are the beliefs that are holding you back right now?

• What are the beliefs you should have if you want to achieve the success you desire?

• How can you install these beliefs into yourself?

Belief Engineering - The practice of consciously choosing which beliefs to install

This brings me to the very simple concept of Belief Engineering.

Choosing what beliefs would be most helpful to you on your journey, then installing them.

Seeing which of your current beliefs are holding you back from progressing and uninstalling them

The better you are at this, the better you are at updating your own software to run in this world. Removing the destructive beliefs is like running a debugging exercise on your mind!

Conclusion - Your beliefs are everything

I owe everything to my beliefs, and specifically to the beliefs I was given when I was young. They were mostly helpful, and allowed me to keep moving forward with life and gain more wisdom.

Its my beliefs, and specifically my belief in my ability to change my beliefs that allowed me to change career paths and take on challenges in life most won’t even consider.

What’s holding most people back is not their actions but their beliefs.

When you attack the root of the problem, you can make real progress in your life. This is what happens to people when they have “breakthroughs”. The let go of unhelpful beliefs and gain new helpful beliefs.

As you go about your own Belief Inspection and Engineering project, remember there are some universally helpful and destructive beliefs that you can have.

The strongest one is Super Belief #1: You can always change your beliefs.

And as long as you are unafraid to change your beliefs, you will get better and move closer towards your goals over time, and become more competent in the world.

If you cannot engineer new beliefs, you will not escape your destined path.

If you can engineer new beliefs, your destiny is whatever you want it to be.

1. Balaji Srinivasan: How to Fix Government, Twitter, Science, and the FDA | Lex Fridman Podcast #331 - YouTube

   • An 8 hour podcast that will leave you wanting more at the end of it. Balaji is a great visionary for humanity and decentralization

2. Sadhguru PREDICTION: Why We Are Now On "The Brink Of Extinction!"

   • Life wisdom from Sadhguru, explaining why we should all get better at just being, and how to do so.

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