"Pronoia" is a term possibly coined by Rob Brezsny,

[Tsiyu]

It is, in fact, one of the titles of one of his books. http://www.freewillastrology.com/store/

I did not get threatened with bodily injury for posting the following link in a thread of Pitt's about this word, however I just read DU mail, informing me that l was spamming and they were removing the post.

ERMAGERD!!!!

I was working at the time, but posted the link quickly, so posters might see the word

http://www.freewillastrology.com/horoscopes/allsigns.html

Now, I can't even post in the thread to explain myself.

Too funny.

So I'm splainin it here. I've been a member 10 years and never spammed a soul, never had a post hidden on DU3 so all I can say is, what a system we've got here now...oooh-lah-lah.....

That is all.

[Squinch]

1. YOu are right, though. That is where the word comes from.

[Tsiyu]

2. It's the first place I read it

Brezsny had a syndicated column in Creative Loafing - circulated in Atlanta - and in other "Village Voice" alternative weeklies in major cities when I first read his predictions and advice.

His horoscopes were always fun to read. Not a belief system as much as common hippie/artist sense. Now I sometimes catch them at his online site.

Pronoia is the opposite of paranoia, according to Brezsny. Rather than believing the universe conspires against you personally, you must start believing the world conspires on your behalf. The "think positive" approach.

Pitt quoted someone using the word "pronoia" as a way to describe people who simply expect the universe to work - i.e. you turn on the taps and clean, fresh, uncontaminated water automatically and magically flows out the spigot. "Pronoia" in this sense might be detrimental to Americans insuring the integrity of their own water supplies.

I suppose it's good to look on the bright side but with deregulation and crumbling infrastructure and a congress unwilling to do any repairs, Americans will have to abandon any idea that everything will all just work out.

Pronoia is a great concept if you live where there is integrity, not so much where corporate anarchy is the rule.

And now I don't need to go back to the post wherein I was banned....

Thanks for the word, Squinch

[Squinch]

4. Amazing that you were banned from the thread!

And yes, it is hard to remain "pronoic" in a world turning on Koch money. But I think the act of thinking with pronoia is supposed to help reduce the effects and extent of that corporate anarchy. That, plus some heavy political activism by liberals.

[Tsiyu]

6. Once you get a post deleted

you can't go back to the thread in question.

This is good - keeps the trolls at bay, but bad if you had no ill intent!

Yes, I am pronoid toward people - there are very good people helping me right now - and "paranoic" toward Big Business interests - they are out for this quarter's gains and nothing else matters.

heavy liberal political activism is the ticket, by golly. What's the word for that?

[Squinch]

13. "Warrensianism?"

[Tsiyu]

16. That's a good one

or "Brockavichism?"

[Squinch]

17. .

[pnwest]

3. In the book, I believe he himself said he didn't coin the phrase, and only had one reference of

it having been used before. It's been a while since I read it, but I am pretty sure he said he only commandeered the word instead of originating it.

[Tsiyu]

7. Maybe not

I only added it to the other thread because that's the only place I ever saw the word used.

Wanted to give credit if there was any due, and point out prior usage of the term.

[scarletwoman]

5. No, I don't think he originated the word. A friend of mine used it over 14 years ago -

I thought he coined it!

I had been explaining to him why I didn't get down when my life seemed to be going to shit - I told him that all my life, no matter how awful my circumstances got, things always eventually worked out. So I knew I'd be okay, even though it seemed like I was facing impossible obstacles at the time.

That's when he told me I was a "pronoid". When I asked him what that meant, he said it was the opposite of paranoid - that it was the belief that everything would always work out. I thought it was a funny word, but I was fine with it. I definitely AM a pronoid!

[Tsiyu]

8. Funny!

I waver between paranoid and pro-noid.

Life has been wondrous but very difficult, and still I am here

Anyway, pronoia and pronoid are fun words and concepts to contemplate, wherever the terms originated.

Peace out.

[greyl]

9. 1982, an article entitled "Pronoia" by Dr. Fred H. Goldner

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronoia_%28psychology%29

Looks like Brezsny's book is from 2005.

[Tsiyu]

11. Well, that is certainly an older citation

maybe someone will get in DU's Wayback Machine and find an even older one.

Thanks for finding Goldner's

[petronius]

10. Or perhaps you're just the most patient spammer that ever existed:

racking up 15,000 posts over a decade in order to spam for a website that quite possibly didn't even exist when you first signed up here. Well played, spammer-troll-person-bot!!1!

(That does suck, definitely an undeserved hide IMO...)

[Tsiyu]

12. Oh noooes! petronius is ON to me!

All these years wasted, wasted I tell you!

Now I must spend years trolling-spamming-person-botting elsewhere....CURSES!!!!!!!


I did get confused when I saw the message in my inbox. "Who the hell did I offend now?" I was thinking, because I didn't recall any insults I'd posted.......... today, anyways

[Squinch]

14. THAT'S Planning!

[Tsiyu]

15. Like a spider....

just waiting to pounce on a captive fly, I was!

Now it's all for naught.