Dr. Steel
Musician, artist, utopian philosopher, and dedicated world dominator, Dr. Phineas Waldolf Steel is all this and more. No joke. Residing within his laboratory in Toyland, Dr. Steel is a Pure Creator who goal it is to bridge the illusionary gap between the internal and external worlds. Oh, and he’s got a real army of backing him up. But don’t take my world on it. Watch the following video and judge for yourself.
All this takes an enormous of amount of time and focus, which is why I appreciate the time Dr. Steel took to answer a few questions on his philosophical foundations.
1. Scanning the internet yields a great many words used to describe you and your creations. "Genius", "Amazing", "World Dominator", and "My Hero" to name a few. (If these were regarding a person other than Dr. Steel I might be worried.) Curiously, I haven't seen the label that best describes what I see as your central, and most important, philosophical message: Self Made. You present and encourage the act of self-directed intelligent design. Or, to quote Dr. Frank-N-Furter, "Don't dream it. Be it." Where did this drive toward self-determination come from?
DR. STEEL: "Well, first of all I thank you for the truly kind words. I am delighted to know that you have been able to gather such positive views of my particular brand of madness. My alternate view on existence is one that has manifested as the result of a series of disappointments throughout my life. I had always been very passionate about creating, yet I found myself in many circumstances where my creativity was not appreciated. Over the years, I began to realize that I was not the only frustrated creator. I realized that as a society we are generally discouraged to follow our sincere creative passions. We are convinced that we are to live within the terms and conditions of a structure built to nurture the lowest common denominator. Once I realized that this agenda was being carefully organized in order to domesticate the masses, the fact that we hold a great power became clear to me.
There was a specific moment in my life that led me to understand that one’s own perception is everything. If you are convinced that you will fail, you will subconsciously do everything in your power to follow that road. Likewise, one can turn that state of mind around to their best advantage. Even further, one can manifest great things if one is convinced that they will do so. Your reality is being manufactured from within; the unfortunate state of affair is that we are often heavily influenced by those who are attempting to engineer reality for the masses to limit our true potential."
2. What books would you encourage others to read in order to build their own realities and better understand the one they inhabit?
DR STEEL: "The most important drive in one’s life is to identify their sincerest passion. From here, you will find yourself pulled in the right direction. I suggest that each person investigate the subjects that they are interested in. That’s the problem with education today, the pupil often sees no point in absorbing the information that they are presented with. There must be an interest in researching a subject. What speaks to you is what you need at the time.
I have enjoyed a great variety of books and continue to read as much as my schedule allows. I’m looking forward to the day when I might be able to simply download all data to my brain. I have enjoyed the works of Ray Kurzweil, Zecharia Sitchin, Wes Nisker, Fred Alan Wolf and many others."
3. I am familiar with Fred Alan Wolf from my interest in Robert Anton Wilson, may he rest in someplace fun. Both are part scientist, part philosopher, and full-time advocates of, “Reprogramming the Human Biocomputer” as John Lilly put it. Who are the other authors and what benefit might the average person and the not-so-average Toy Solider gain by reading them? Ever thought of a suggested reading list for the Toy Soldiers?
DR. STEEL: "Ray Kurzweil is something is a technology prophet, being responsible for predicting the form and function of the internet while also inventing the flatbed scanner and helping to develop the speech synthesizer that Stephen Hawking uses. His accomplishments are inspiring and his focus on nanotechnology is very exciting. It is through his work that I discovered The Singularity.
Zecharia Sitchin, an investigative scholar who’s dedication to accurately translating the original The Old Testament has led him to exploring the very first civilization on the planet; the Sumerians. He has unearthed great mysteries and offered explanations that not only point to the existence of alien life but in fact that such beings have played an intricate role in mankind’s history from the very beginning.
Wesley “Scoop” Nisker is the author of the book Crazy Wisdom, a tongue in cheek exploration of existentialism and the human condition. As one who has gathered inspiration and points of views from all corners of the world and from all walks of life, his outlook on reality is both fascinating and entertaining."
4. You're very upfront in stating you had a long series of disappoints before an epiphanic moment set you on a different mental path. This series of events mirrors a classical quest. A person journeys toward a goal, suffers, then because of the suffering exits their journey a different person. It is a common theme in hero mythology, as pointed out by Joseph Campbell. Do those disappointments still lend propellant to your life? Do you look upon them, with hindsight, with regret or as a psychological contractions pushing you toward a grander rebirth?
DR. STEEL: "One must utilize each and every event in their life to move ahead in the most powerful way. To remain stuck in the past is to cease to evolve. One must use these events as propellant to rocket ahead. I have become the person that I am today because of these strange series of occurrences throughout my bizarre life, and I continue to evolve as progress. Too many people are afraid of change, but to keep one’s foot firmly set in the past is to limit the potential of the future. I am always looking to adapt as best I can to the events of the present and the possibilities of tomorrow. To this end I’m also looking forward to upgrading myself and transcending biology as such technology advances."
5. What are the five super awesomest toys of all time?
DR. STEEL: "Oh goodness, there are so many. I would place imagination as number one. Perhaps the home computer as second. I suppose I should mention the opposable thumb…followed by trampolines and LEGOS".
Thank you, Dr. Steel.
