distort space and time.

Not only do these substances distort the brain, but they're commonly associated with destructive and neglectful lifestyle choices.

Because if corporations could spend as much as they want to promote candidates, it would distort the political process.

Might it also distort our expectations about the future?

To Musk, where the insecurities of money aren't an issue that concern him personally, his great goal is to ensure that consciousness persists in the universe. For real, staying on earth isn't a long-term goal, as we have an appetite for destruction and the tools for it as well, and if we don't destroy ourselves, then give it enough time and the dangers of space will do the job for us. For others though, this idea isn't important, as their lens for life is heavily tinted by financial deprivation and inequality, and Musk's greater goals are waved aside not only as unimportant fripperies, but as distractions from what to them is more important. Another example, on a personal level, someone dear to me suffers from PTSD, and she's very often getting triggered and activated, and in a state of constantly feeling unsafe. I remember having a discussion with her about finding purpose in my life and how I want the work I do in the future to provide me with a sense of meaning, and she found that to be bullshit and idealistic. For her, setting up a safe space for herself and for others was her main concern. I even experienced it with my own family. I told them about my goals to live life where my actions are in accordance with my values, to read a lot about psychology, to create content that I think would help people suffer less and thrive more, and to foster a community where we can discuss these ideas openly, vulnerably, and with curiosity. My mom, who grew up very poor in Poland right after World War II, just wanted to know, yeah, but what are you going to do about money? No, I don't know yet, mom. I'm trying to figure it out. So the point being, I found this idea of deprivation salience changes the way we perceive what's important in life to be pretty accurate to my experiences of the world, and also with my own sense of discomfort. The more that I'm in a scarcity mindset, the more my perception of the world will change, and not in a good way. Is it possible for me to be aware of this, and then to drop the sense of urgency and need? I find meditation helpful in this regard. I try to cultivate the feeling of an absence of a sense of lack, to ask myself the question, what is here now when there's no problem to solve, and in a way, to come to my senses? And with that, personally, I found myself less identified with the narrative of deprivation, and I found it easier to be more present in the moment, but not all the time. It's so easy to slip back into deficiency mind. I think this idea of deprivation sensibilities is a useful way to understand how people project their insecurities as well, because I'm not the only one operating through this model. Others are too. Hell, probably you are as well. And it ties into last month's book club, where we discussed nonviolent communication. In people's judgments of the world, of you, and of others, a compassionate response would be to hear the needs behind their words, rather than to argue against their judgments, criticisms, condemnations, moralizing, and shoulds that they're couched in. Not only do unmet needs muddy the way we speak to others, these needs change the way we interact with the world as a whole. This isn't just my idea. Kaufman suggests as much when he says that deficiency needs, which Maslow referred to as D needs, are motivated by a lack of satisfaction, whether it's the lack of food, safety, affection, belonging, or self-esteem. The D realm of existence colors all of our perceptions and distorts reality, making demands on a person's whole being. Feed me, love me, respect me. The greater the deficiency of these needs, the more we distort reality to fit our expectations and treat others in accordance with their usefulness in helping us satisfy our most deficient needs.

You know, people have to believe that you go out, you fact find, you don't try and sort of twist the truth, manipulate the truth or distort what you see.

things kind of skew and distort.

have these amplifiers distort.

Suffice it to say, they do maths, work out how the laser guide stars are moving, and then physically move and distort the M2 mirror to subtract that atmospheric distortion from the actual stuff they're looking at.

And in order to make it coherent, you have to distort it often. And I think that's where this can lead to bad outcomes.