I need to reverse my prejudice against living authors. “I only read dead authors” was my childish way of invoking the Lindy principle. If something has survived for a long time, it’s probably good.
Time to grow up a bit.
If energy is transmitted from human to human by language, I need to be open to all communication.
If I cut myself off from living people and read only dead authors’ works, I am cutting myself off from energy.
I was using “living author” as an equivalent to “shit information”. Some living authors may be generating shit, the equivalent of a middle-brow generic sitcom. Some, however, create gold.
Bob kept saying “You must have human help.” Live humans have the advantage of being alive. That means I can talk to them. I would be a damn fool to cut myself off from that.
My correct filter is not “is the source of information alive or dead?” No, the correct filter is “Is this information good or is this person full of shit?” That is not always an easy question to answer.
As usual, The Path requires judgment and nuance. I must do the work: hear what is said, and decide to accept or reject the offered ideas — and know why I decided what I decided.
As usual, every opinion has a price. The smug “I only read dead authors” opinion exacts a price: damage to my future self. I am not willing to pay that price.