💀 :
it is actually insane but actually yeah, it is pretty close to how it works. though, the mystical sounding parts of Proctor's framing map onto some fairly unglamorous biology. the core mechanism is real, repeated firing of the same neural circuit strengthens it (Hebbian learning that says "neurons that fire together wire together") and can lead to myelination, which makes the signal faster and more automatic. that's why a new behavior feels effortful and self-conscious at first and then eventually runs without deliberate thought. you're not fighting an old pathway anymore, you've built a new default one. so, the "straightening a pathway" image isn't far off, mechanically, i think.
but the little i will add is that, where you said "as a man thinketh in his heart" and the emphasis on emotionalizing are not separate mystical requirements bolted into the neuroscience. they're just describing what actually drives repetition to stick faster. emotion recruits attention and reward circuitry (dopamine, amygdala tagging), and anything tagged as emotionally significant gets consolidated into long-term memory and habit more efficiently than something done flatly or mechanically. so, internalizing isn't necessarily a separate mystical step, it's just repetition done with higher signal strength, which is why identity-based habit change (acting like the person you're becoming, not just doing a task) compounds faster, than willpower alone.
I just love listening to you mehnnn
2026-08-14 13:01:34