Seek Nothing
Brief Guide for LLM Users and Other Storied Seekers
Seeking. An end in and of itself, or a means to an end?
First consider the phemomena of pinball stories.
It’s common when communicating informally in small groups.
Like monkey mind, only with others.
Metaphorically speaking, one person launches the collective pinball with an energizing story or theme. It whizzes through the pair or group, connecting with a paddle, bell, or bit of elastic, which triggers another story or theme. And on it goes.
Each change of direction and force keeps the ball in play.
When there’s a dud, the ball descends sadly into the abyss of non-storiness.
LLM-generated content, like pinball stories, are about being compelled by the force and direction of connected stories and themes. It’s a powerful form of connecting with others and what they proffer. We do something similar when we go from subject to subject in life.
Ergo, one function of seeking is as an end in and of itself.
And yet, self-regulation must not be forgone. Spending excessive time doing pinball stories with others on social media? Or now, with an LLM? Charismatic personalities and gizmos with built in rewards are obvious examples of how seeking as an end leads to rewards that are short-lived, short-sighted, or both.
When needful storying is what drives your seeking as an end, including now the use of LLMs like ChatGPT, we make ourselves dependent on coercion (by self or other) to prompt the focus of our attention.
Worse case scenario with seeking as an end is that our connection with our own inner guidance system gets lost or overwhelmed in a jungle of undigested feedback.
Of course the value of pinball stories is not an either/or proposition. Being able to connect with others, “go with the flow” in conversations, or cajole something sparkly out of an LLM can be a joy and an art.
To the degree we are able to trust completely that we will avoid compromising ourselves, pinball stories can be both entertaining and informative. And yet… we absolutely must be attentive to maintaining a critical level of competence.
To put a finer point on such a requirement, we must be able and willing to address coercion and agendas that enter the game and might put us at risk of corrupting the spirit of connection to what is beyond the seeking.
This to me suggests an interpretation of seeking as a means to an end, that end being uncompromised connection to directly representable, true-sense states that are objectively not only meaningful but generalizably so. Such experiences are key to true connection beyond pinball stories, that is, with the whole of existence. https://ephemeraljourney.com
But wait. Seek nothing? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
Not if you ask the makers of PinBox 3000. Designing your own pinball game using what you have on hand is like seeking nothing. It means embracing your inner Maker.
Take it from these, our local legends in Burlington, VT USA — the PinBox professors. We in the maker community have a lot of fun with this. Pre-pandemic, Pete gave me a personal demonstration at our local Arts Riot. He effectively targeted the pinball anywhere he wanted with total casual acumen on any of the two dozen customized boards on display.
My eyes widened in amazement. “That wasn’t just a lucky shot was it,” I said. He got a twinkle in his eye and grinned wryly.
[Modified from version originally published in my Quora blog “Existential Kitchen”, 2017]