why i cant be a sheep?

almost forgot to answer your question........you CAN be sheep if you want to. It's your life, run with it.

How do you measure others sheepness? It might seem like "they" are mindless and dumb, and there is no way to know for sure that others think at all. It might very well be an elaborate illusion just to keep you busy so that you do not snap, and go for world domination.

Being so well versed as you seem to be in the fields of philosophy and science, I suppose you are familiar with the concept of Occam's Razor. Bastardised it states that the most likely explanation to a given problem is the one with the fewest assumptions. And that makes sense, right; I mean, the less shit has to align in order to produce a certain result, the easier it will be.

Now, what is the easiest:

1) Seven billion surprisingly similar entities have been created, but only you have been chosen among them to bare the burden of a sentient mind. All these entities interact with you in several ways, but they are all predetermined somehow, given that they do not think for themselves. Some puppeteer is controlling everyone except for you (one could argue that these entities only act on instinct, but no other animal seems to be able to do the same as we, although they too have several of the same instincts, so somebody must be running the show here), and it is all an act so that this master can study you, be amused or something else. On top of all this, what was before you, and what is after you? Did everything spring to life the second you came out of one of these entities (now this is a chicken and egg kind of thing...). And will all cease to exist the second your last breath leaves you?

2) People keep their thoughts to them selves, so they might seem all quiet and shallow; they feel powerless faced with the somewhat horrible world we live in, so they do not act in any other way than the one they are used to; or they plain just don't care; or something completely different, that I am unable to think of.

I personally prefer the second alternative. As it just seems more likely. Also I can't really choose anything else, now can I, given that I most certainly feel like I think.

I can, however, relate to what you are feeling. When I was younger I also harboured much resentment towards the selfish, apathetic, evil world we live in. But now I no longer do. The world did not change, but I did. If I was to spend my life being angry and plotting ways to control the ones I hated, I would end up no better than the "sheep". I would spend my life not doing anything. So now, rather than getting angry when someone does something stupid (by my measures of course; objective stupidity is no more real than objective genius), I just think that I need to work a little harder to push the world back again.

Also, as I am a scientist, I'd like to not be labelled a sheep, as I think for a living. That being said, you do raise very interesting questions. But curious inquiry and hateful prejudgement is not the same, so my advice, although you did not ask for it, is to chill the fuck down, and try to educate the "sheep" rather than manipulate them :-)

Ghini

......feeling better now?.....that's what blah threapy is here for, ....get all that stuff in side ya out .