The "normally-reared" child has, of course, from an early age started to construct a "mental model" or "map" ("self-image" and "world view") or "frame of reference," or "paradigm," of himself, other people, and his world. He has no language for it, no mental tools to cope with it, no way to think about what is happening - all is frightening chaos the child does not have the information necessary for dealing with the world. The child, suddenly facing the exterior for the first time (like the cat), has no "frame of reference" by which to interpret the strange, newly-revealed world outside the blank white room where he has lived all his life. This same reaction can be observed in a young cat that has lived all its life in a particular apartment and is then suddenly taken outside into a strange environment it has never seen before - where it is confronted by a huge, barking dog! The child recoils in bewilderment and terror. One day, while the child is awake, the hidden door opens, revealing a strange and incomprehensible world outside. The blank white room is the totality of his universe. His room is cleaned at night while he sleeps, food and water being provided for his day's sustenance by parents he never sees nor hears. Imagine a small child, a prodigy of immense potential intelligence and ability being raised in a blank white room that has no windows and no visible door. This is also an appropriate point at which to acknowledge Fred for the inspiration he has provided to me.) (This section is based extensively on a talk given by Fred Stitt at the "First World Libertarian Convention" in Zurich during August, 1982. (G) To introduce the idea of the meta-information network as a "planetary brain." (F) To suggest that the human eye can be used to activate and improve certain mental functions. (E) To draw attention to Barbara Brown's book, "Supermind." (D) To suggest that we have the creative intelligence to place ourselves in environments that will support our growth towards self-actualization. (C) To indicate that we have been brainwashed into becoming dependent on forms outside ourselves (which includes projected "external authority"). (B) To point to the possibility that what most of us call "raising children" and "schooling" is, in reality, mental mutilation. (A) To give some idea of what might be the potential power of the human brain.
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