It is the year 2024, now. Forty years beyond '1984'. Coincidence?

1. 87

   tsmogposted 3 weeks ago

   George Orwell's epic novel, 1984, about 'a' future seen through the author's eyes based on his observations through the year 1949 when it was published. It remains a literary classical read and discussed from high school to universities and beyond today.
   
   1984 Quotes: The 30 Best & Most Important Lines From George Orwell’s Masterpiece by four minute books
   https://fourminutebooks.com/1984-quotes/
   
   From the article . . .
   
   Key Takeaways
   
   ** The most powerful way to either control or empower humans is language.
   ** Freedom is the ability to say what’s true, to say what you think, and to make your own choices.
   ** Totalitarian governments succeed when they turn off our individuality via gaslighting.
   
   To give perspective here is 2024 . . .
   
   
   
   Here are the most popular ten quotes from the novel based on voting at Goodreads. See the article for all thirty.
   
   1. “Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.”
   
   2. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” 
   
   3. “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
   
   4. “The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.”
   
   5. “If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself.”
   
   6. “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”
   
   7. “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
   
   8. “We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.”
   
   9. “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
   
   10. “Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”
   
   Is it worth considering rereading the novel today having lived ??? years since first reading it? Will perspective change? Are there universal truths? How does it reflect today, 2024? Were there any favorite quotes of the thirty that stood out in your memory?
   
   Sharing, I reflected with hazy thoughts of  #2. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” jumped out at me when I saw the meme on Facebook shared above.
   
   Thoughts, criticisms, accolades, and/or commentary?

   replyreport
   1. 88

      Jodahposted 3 weeks agoin reply to this

      Wow, Tim. Number 2 and that meme. Very relevant indeed. 1984 is looking more prophetic all the time.

      replyreport
      1. 87

         tsmogposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

         Thanks for the comment, John!
         
         "2. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” 
         
         Playing around, from one's personal 'reality', which is a vast discussion for discovery and learning, look at it from the perspective of curiosity and pondering.
         
         The individual reading something is being controlled no matter how you slice it. The author of what is read is controlling the reader's present related to the mind at the time of what is read. Thus, from Orwell's #2 from '1984' the past is being controlled.
         
         One can view the past as being that composed of recalled memories of the subconscious mind becoming conscious or now the present. And, then, "Who controls the past controls the future" or the immediate new thoughts conjured following along a timeline of the 'thought' events.
         
         Actions follow thoughts while reactions follow innate responses such as the fight/flight/fawn response. Not matter either path leads to the future becoming 'Now'.
         
         "2. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
         
         
         
         What does that meme mean? Of course it will vary as each person is a unique individual formed by their 'unique past a result both of experiences and gained knowledge arrived through choices.
         
         How many people know who the four horseman are?
         
         From Britannica arrives . . .
         
         " Who are the four horsemen of the apocalypse? The four horsemen of the apocalypse are four biblical figures who appear in the Book of Revelation. They are revealed by the unsealing of the first four of the seven seals. Each of the horsemen represents a different facet of the apocalypse: conquest, war, famine, and death." (Revelations Chapter 6) They precede the biblical end time.
         
         Skipping about, 'misinformation' is "false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive."
         
         "2. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
         
         Misinformation (witnessed or experienced in the present) is controlling the 'past' related to one's personal reality composed of memories that are recalled at the time of the stimulus, though other memories may have not been conjured.
         
         Thus, "Who controls the past controls the future." or what happens next for any who has read the preceding including myself. 
         
         Just a bit of wandering through the past arriving to 'Now' controlled by . . .
         
         "Wow, Tim. Number 2 and that meme. Very relevant indeed. 1984 is looking more prophetic all the time." authored by Jodah (John)

         replyreport
   2. 86

      Venkatachari Mposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

      I haven't read the book, but your discussion impressed me, so I added the ebook to my cart. I will procure it in a few days and go through it.
      
      In the meantime, I would like to say that the quotes you selected are thought-provoking. The meme is appealing. It paints a true picture of the world today.
      
      Misinformation is today's greatest enemy. It suits the saying, " Who controls the present controls the past."

      replyreport
      1. 87

         tsmogposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

         Appreciate your contribution, Venkat!
         
         I hope you do read the book, '1984'. It is a classic. It is a treasure in its own way.
         
         I read it twice so far in my life. Once way back about 1973 (age 19 in my first year of college/university) and then again 2003 (age 49 the first year I returned to college/university). Both times they were strongly suggested to be read by Dr. Levy, my reading class instructor as a book to meet the class requirement for books to read in the semester.
         
         It is on a shelf of book shelves gathering dust now, though presently memories of it are being conjured while reflecting on how much of an influence it made on my life through the oddities of the subconscious mind and the mysteries of the cosmos.

         replyreport
         1. 86

            Venkatachari Mposted 2 weeks agoin reply to this

            I am purchasing the book now.
            My son says he watched the movie (but did not read the book). So I can read the book and also watch the film on OTT. That would be a double thriller.

            replyreport