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An Interview with Cognitive Dissonance
An Audio Interview with Cognitive Dissonance
This interview will be posted on TwoIceFloes.com Friday, March 21 at 8 PM EDT
and available for playback any time after
Four years and thirty weeks ago I created an alter ego avatar on ZeroHedge.com by the name of Cognitive Dissonance. My thinking at the time was to craft a safe place to go when commenting on Zero Hedge (ZH) in order to help weather the slings and arrows that were, and still are, the hallmark of Fight Club aka Zero Hedge. In addition Cognitive Dissonance was my mentor of sorts, someone I could speak through, and to, while writing about subjects that were at times as unsettling to me as they were to my readers.
A few months after the birth of Cognitive Dissonance, ZH’s Tyler Durden contacted me and asked if I would like to become a contributing editor. While this was a wonderful opportunity to speak to a wider audience, it also opened me up to the full force of the ZH comment section. I learned a lot about myself during that first year as a ZH contributor, most importantly that I did not need to value myself by what others said about or to me.
Four years and much personal growth later Mrs. Cog and I decided the next step in the evolution of Cognitive Dissonance was to create our own play place, a unique web destination in its own right, and TwoIceFloes.com was born on Valentine’s Day, 2014.
Creating ‘Two Ice Floes’ allowed me to expand the range of Cognitive Dissonance’s ‘voice’ while also creating a safe place where others may gather to share their thoughts and experiences. My intention all along was to expose some of ‘my’ background and perspective in order for my readers to better understand Cognitive Dissonance.
The opportunity to do so came quickly when within a week of opening shop an offer was received from Gemini of Time Monk Radio to interview Cognitive Dissonance and the mind behind the avatar. After a week to mull it over and a few deep discussions with Mrs. Cog the offer was accepted and last weekend (Sunday, March 16, 2014) the two hour interview was recorded.
So…….are you interested in hearing the ‘voice’ of Cognitive Dissonance, to sneak a peek into the thinking and mindset behind the anonymous man who is Cognitive Dissonance? If so, please visit TwoIceFloes.com Friday evening, March 21st @ 8 PM EDT to access the two hour recorded interview.
03-21-2014
Cognitive Dissonance

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WOW good news indeed and will be stopping by your new home.
Keep up the great work Cog. It does make a differance. Bit by bit you are chippig away at the real problem. We keep letting ourselves be fooled or worse simply fooling ourselves. Just so you know in the world of fixing things that I dwell in they think in terms of actualities. Those folks will and are catching on faster than most. Few of them will ever be posting. But you can be sure that crowd is paying attention to you. The sharpest techs I know pretty much all read your stuff. The honest concensus is forming around the truth.
Thank you.
It took half the night to listen to your interview yesterday, but well worth it. I've often had to speak infront of an audience and could not have done the job better myself.
Not a criticism - I like the unrehearsed realism of extempore banter - but I think the beginning of the interview was a little shaky and dry. I could hear the nervous tension from the both of you, but the second part was much better and flowed really well. Perhaps next time you can have a chat for a few minutes before recording to relax into it? The longer the better, and drink plenty of water. :)
Anyway, it was nice to put a voice to the musings I've enjoyed over the years. The screen door analogy was a breath of fresh air, so to speak, to ward off the pressures of living. Thanks for your efforts mate.
I agree, though the nervous tension was all mine. For me the act of 'voicing' Cog was similar to dropping my 5 year old off for the first day of school. Worse than that really, because up to that moment Cog was my friend, mentor and protector, my buffer and shield. And now I was exposing 'him' for the first time, and in the process exposing myself as well.
Gemini and I had expected to talk for at least 10 minutes before the interview began, but technical problems on her end prevented that from happening. I didn't think much of that lost opportunity to begin a conversation and relax until we started, then I quickly realized the value of the opportunity lost.
As well I am a bit dyslexic and was fighting the tendency to be so by pausing a few moments after each question to allow my brain and mouth to sync up. Add to this the fact that I really don't get a chance to voice my thoughts, only write them out with plenty of opportunity to edit and refine. In the interview for the very first time I was being asked to gather my thoughts in real time and respond to questions. My only thought was to please please please be coherent.
As is all things in life it was a learning experience. I hope to do better if there is a second time at the mike.
Thank you for your feedback.
Awshit, I have waited some time before replying, and i hope only you hear me Cog, but I simultaneously know I'm lying to both you and myself when I say that.
I want to believe that I don't support the beast, and I truly strive to do just that, but after paying my taxes, and paying to fund the lifestyle my familly expects, I find myself destitute.
Yeah, I know it's all my fault.
I know who you are. I was homeless at 15 years of age. No one ever asks about my childhood, and that's a good thing.
Is that cognitive dissonance, or what?
Ace,
Today I had a "Miffed Existential Crisis Day". They are not too common but when they do occur I do a mini Kerouac. Sometimes I just take a walk. Sometimes I go talk to a dear friend. Today, for some reason, I got in the car and drove. 1 hour later I found myself sitting in a little coffee shop consumed with thoughts of where my direction in life was. My career seems so unsatisfactory. Do I need to focus elsewhere? Where is the sacramental element of my life? Am I truly leading the life I was meant to lead?
A young woman sat next to me. For some reason I had a strange bizarre feeling there was something wrong with her and so I just turned to her and asked her if she was okay. Tears just welled up in her eyes and she told me a sad tale. Her stepdad who she loved so much had died of bone cancer after she had taken care of him for 2 years. Her mom had thrown her out of the house and her boyfriend had just left her because she had gained so much weight in the last year and couldn't stand living with a fat girl. Last week she woke up in terrible pain in her left side. She went to the ER and they diagnosed her with fatty liver. She's sobbing now and all I could do was hold her as she just poured out her grief, everyone else in the shop was just staring at us. She was told to go to a dr but was afraid to because she was sure he would tell her to prepare to die. I calmed her down and looked her in the eye. I know this is scary but the good thing is this can resolve unlike other conditions. Yes, you have some work to do with your diet and the path ahead may be challenging but it's achievable. There is hope and you will be ok.
She started to relax. I took her hand and asked her if there was anything she really liked to do. She thought for a moment and said she loved to go to the beach and sit and think. The waves calmed her. I told her to get up and drive to the beach. Sit and let the waves soothe you. Let the answers come and let the pain go. She stood up and hugged me. Thank you for helping me. You gave me what I needed. And she left.
As I was driving home I realized I had no personal resolution. I still didn't know where I was going or what I truly wanted to do with my life. However, I did realize someone needed me today and I gave her some comfort. My existance had meaning for her and, my troubles seemed certainly inconsequential in comparison.
Miffed;-)
As I was listening to Cog's interview, I thought of you... how you once opined that only those who have known true hardship can develop strong character, or sumpin' like that.
It's interesting I think, but just as I claim to 'know' Cog, I know you as well. It's only words on a screen that I see, after all, but still your compassion and empathy scream at me- even when you're not trying.
There are a small number of people I interact with regularly. About each of them, I know things I have no business knowing. Did I torture them to extract this information? Hardly, people just tell me stuff and I really don't know why. I am happy that I am trusted with their foibles, but I also recognize that all these things add to my own personal burden.
You helped that young woman more than you will likely ever know. Thank you.
There's no way we're gettin' outta this alive... on a long enough timeline and all that. We can aspire to anything, but reality suggests that we can only play the hand we're dealt.
You're playin' yours pretty darn well from what I can see.
Be Well
Thank you my dear friend. I know I have found in you a kindred soul and, as this world becomes colder, people around me who have flames of light inside of them will be a solace. I am honored to have found you and many others here that I can call friends. Of course, we are fiery, contankerous stubborn and ( occasionally in my case) can be a bit irascible at times. Disdain for authority tends to get us in trouble but our hearts our true. I myself am so thankful to have someone who saw in me more than I could ever see in myself and stayed as I found my way. It saddens me so many here did not have that fortune and had to walk the path alone. Some are still walking it. Happily it appears CD has found someone to share his life and find joy. I am planning to listen to the interview this coming weekend when I have a good block of time. Treats are meant to be savored and contemplated.
There is an obscure movie with Robin Williams called What Dreams May Come. My husband,when he saw it, was inspired what to do to help a young girl in the depth of depression. She had created this dark world of Hell no one could penetrate. As he was trying to reach her, he had to walk over a sea of faces, each screaming their angry complains for eternity, none knowing anything but their hate. When he finally reached her, he was dismayed to find he could not get her to leave. The harder he fought to drag her out the more she clung to the cage. Eventually he gave up and sat beside her and told her it didn't matter. He would remain with her in Hell and forgo his life just to be with her. When she realized she was going to sacrifice the one she loved to remain in Hell, she found the strength to leave.
Ace, I think the beauty of us is that we just know and accept who we are. This gives us a realization of no matter how shitty our country becomes and how much abuse we suffer at the hands of these evil people, they will never win. Our minds will always be ours. Sometimes I think this is all that is needed. May be this is why people approach is and divulge so much. They can use us to refuel, refocus and do what they need to do.
Life seems so tenuous and short. One minute you're walking holding a toddler by the hand and the next minute you turn around and they are gone. The past is an endless stream of shadows to be forever lost. Everyone must face this I think. Though we are surrounded by friends and love ones we are essentially alone. Loving oneself is the only way to make this bearable.
Miffed;-)
Powerful stuff.
I'll meet your cognitive and raise you a dissonance. :)
I learned back in 1990 that I can always fall further.....and would if I wanted to do so. And that all it takes is a decision on my part to begin the recovery. I was furious that after all the bargaining and denial the answer was so simple, thought admittedly much harder to implement.
The way to start was to begin to voice my deepest darkest fears, the ones that jack-lighted me into remaining frozen in place, thus an easy target for those who feed off of me and for me to feed off my own fears and victimize myself.
I appreciate your frank and direct voice. Keep at it my friend.
I have stopped posting on ZH finding that I would rather sit back and see what happens with the current breeze. It's not that my skin is too thin. I just find that I am tired of superficial crap and more interested in thoughtful approaches to the very real issues that confront us all. I know that when CD or Mrs. CD post I should go get a cup of coffee and prepare to open my mind and truly listen to what is being offered. I rarely disagree and often find my thoughts are more finely honed from rubbing up against a fine intellect. Thank you, sir, and your wife, for keeping my mind working. We are out there, you know, in droves just looking for a spark with which to coalesce. Thank you for keeping the fire burning.
"We are out there, you know, in droves just looking for a spark with which to coalesce. Thank you for keeping the fire burning."
Mrs Cog and I talked about this as we were exploring the possibility of building our Field of Dreams. Ultimately we decided that if we build it 'they' will come. So far we have been correct. There appears to be a hunger for what we are offering, which is nothing more than a clean honest mirror to reflect back to others what we see, and wish to see, in ourselves.
Thank you for your kind words and introspection.
Thank you Mr Mrs Cog!
looking up what your name meant was prob best advice I got from zero hedge.
When I was casting about for an Zero Hedge ID and avatar I also was unsure of the definition of Cognitive Dissonance. After I consulted my desk dictionary I let out an involuntary "Ummmmmm" as it dawned on me I was a walking talking Cognitive Dissonance.
I figured I wasn't the only one in the room and adopted the ID as my own.
Teaser alert: Aren't we all dude... I am currently working on an antidote for CD. It is a tool to help us cope with the never ending onslaught of stimulation that is the 21st century. As soon as I have all the legal nicities tied up, I will present an abstract to the all good and very diverse bunch here at ZH. More later,,, ;-D
Dude, Ned's Atomic Dustbin already invented that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yan77UKYcg4
I am Chumbawamba.
lol, that's a good start Chum, It's kinda sad, I'm sixty and I still listen to stuff like that...and a little hip hop too. ;-)
more music, less tv
More Music, Less Tv
MORE MUSIC, LESS TV
Great job Cog . as soon as I'm done here, I'm going to join your site. As far as ZH "drifting' lately I look at it as an evolution of sorts it helps tie the cause and efect together.Anyway, Thank you
Please consider becoming a premium member and adding your voice to the growing tide at TwoIceFloes. Each mixing pot is unique, so while Two Ice Floes is NOT Zero Hedge, the synergy created by the diverse group of voices will only enhance our group experience.
Some may think that they need not pay the small annual fee to join because they can read the comments for free. And this is of course correct and I encourage all to do so. But once you begin to engage in an active conversation where you add your voice, the path has been change subtly and you become energized in a way you cannot imagine when viewed from the exterior.
Mrs. Cog and I continue to add exclusive members-only content on a daily basis and we have not even begun to scratch the surface of ideas. Come by, join, and add your voice to the chorus.
And Thank You for listening to my interview. It was exciting to listen to it for the first time. The conversation gave me several ideas for future articles. I find inspiration wherever I look.
"Please consider becoming a premium member and adding your voice to the growing tide at TwoIceFloes. Each mixing pot is unique, so while Two Ice Floes is NOT Zero Hedge, the synergy created by the diverse group of voices will only enhance our group experience. "
Sarc off fuck off :
Hate your spin , former friend of my mind.
Whoring out an unknown site used to get junked to hell on Zh when lacking content. Your site looks legit, but who the hell spoke for your person pimping it ? Professional courtesy?
Please consider CD has jumped the shark.
Revolting marketing gibberish to the extreme means he
probably posts out of jail.
Oh, shut the fuck up.
I am glad you did this interview CogDis. You have my respect. I'm not done listening yet but I like what I hear so far. I lurked for a long time as well before I even bothered to ask for an account. Sometimes I didn't know what folks were talking about. All I ever did was play the gold and silver markets but in physical. That is just how I am. I suppose that you could say that I was a very different sort of investor.
ZeroHedge is by far the hardest place that I know of to post a comment that you will not get filleted for posting if it is not just right. That is what makes ZeroHedge great. There are no brownie points handed out still to this day. You know the story of MarketWatch just wiping out their membership because of negative comments? There were a quite a few of us who came over here from that destruction. I think that had something to do with how ZeroHedge evolved into what it is now. Perhaps the bad came with the good but that could be a pointeless circular argument.
One thing that is interesting is that many kept their MW screen names, or alter-ego as you state it to be. It was because they had earned that name. They don't change what they say and they were not all gold bugs like me. We have gained respect for each other now thanks to joining ZeroHedge. Yes, I know, we have politicized the site a bit. OK, a lot, but most of us agree now and it was not that way before. We are on the same page with one learning from the other. We trust no one after what happened and that is why my website was created, just in case. They are still out there posting articles from ZeroHedge elsewhere on the net but they are not interested into going into fight club.
I have met a lot of good folks here on ZeroHedge. I have learned a great deal here. Maybe the site is not like what it was at first but it is liberty-minded and has an Austrian economic tone. I have had some people I know say that ZeroHedge is compromised. I ask why and I get the same response. Hey, every site is going to have a troll or two. We will take care of them. I am not compromised and neither are a lot of the people who come here. We will push back. I do not even need to comment most of the time because about ten other ZHer's beat me to what I would have said and more than half of them said it better than I could have. We have no other choice than to do so. I don't know that we can win. Ron Paul 2008 and 2012 here. This time I am on the other side and am walking alone in the wilderness. My chances are not good but I will do it anyway. It is a philosophical matter.
I appreciate your articles and commentary CogDis. Your website looks great.
Kind Regards Sir
As I said in the interview we must concentrate on our own healing. What I did not express well was that as we heal our energy levels increase and the spectrum of our energy output broadens and brightens. This alone influences others in ways we cannot even imagine. It is because of our healing that others will begin their own. This I have seen and felt personally and can speak of first hand.
I know that for many what I just said will be considered "woo-woo" nonsense. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I continue to heal and that this healing is a self created reality. I am not dependent upon any external source for my own growth. That knowledge alone is wonderfully empowering.
Cog, you would be an interesting guy to sit and have a cup of coffee with to say the least.
Gemini of Time Monk Radio Network said essentially the same thing when she asked for an interview. And that is what we did, sat down and talked about the universe for a few hours. Hopefully we can do so again some day. There were so many threads left hanging in the interview that I would like to continue to explore. Several of them are now being turned into articles.
Thank you for your feedback. While we don't always agree I respect your measured and carefully thought out point of view. I learn much from you as well as individuals such as yourself.
I don't think think there are many individuals such as myself my friend. I am carved from experiences. One of which I wish you know about that occurred in 2008. I was in Rochester, MN as a delegate. What a shitshow that was. There is a lot more to this story. I was called to a "special meeting" of the Ron Paul delegates by the supposed Ron Paul campaign. We were basically told to keep our mouths shut. The whole thing erupted into a cacophony. That really opened my eyes as to how it all works. Some Ron Paul delegates were thrown out. I finally just left the floor. You can't deal with these vindictive people. I will never be healed from that.
Butler Shaffer nails it here but he didn't see it all.
http://archive.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer174.html
Perhaps you would like to write about your experience and allow Mrs. Cog and I to post it under the "Your Turn" area of Two Ice Floes.com. You do not need to be a member for us to do so nor to read the submissions.
I find that when I write, particularly about experiences I am troubled about or that I'm still unsettled with, the healing can begin.
Please give it some thought. Here is the link to submit your piece. This is open to anyone, though there are a few rules.
Thank you. I will give careful thought as to how to present what happened.
Woo Woo nonsense..
That's how I've come to see mainstream thought on Life, the Universe and just about Everything.
On ZH, the Woo Woo of mainstream thought is explored, explained, exposed.
You are no Woo Woo
Neo: What truth?
Boy: There is no spoon.
Not much to comment on - but rest assured I am following you ...
Neo: What truth?
Boy: There is no spoon.
The Unperformance: Vivek Chaturvedi at TEDxNMIMSBangalore 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XijsnujcFg
Great interview Cog Dis! Great to finally hear a voice to associate with the character.
Very nice. Nice website too.
CogDis,
Good stuff. Great to hear your voice!
:-)
It is great to see old friends on this thread. The Zero Hedge veterans have come out to play. :)
Why would you not want to talk to the recent arrivals ?
Or those of us , that have evolved big time while reading
the world`s best of comments on the number one financial blog the world has ever seen ?
"WHOA! WHOA! OK, you are now firing a gun at your imaginary friend NEAR 400 GALLONS OF NITROGLYCERIN!"
relentlessly and arduously struggling against all odds for his 15 minutes of fame.
Does your struggle continue or is it over?
For Mr. & Mrs. Cog :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq8oGvC0dsk
And for Dr. Seuss fans :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sneetches_and_Other_Stories
And our alien overlords ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B5zmDz4vR4
Just started listening. Fantastic so far!!!
Wow ... Fantastic!
Gemini (the interviewer) was so skilled and professional that she allowed me the space to stumble and bumble a bit and find the words I needed to express myself. Many interviewers make the mistake of trying to 'help' the person be interviewed. Gemini trusted that I would be OK if just given the time to find my voice.
I am grateful that she helped me locate a comfortable area to just sit back and talk.
A Northern accent, south of the Mason Dixon no less !!! Great interview Cog !!!
And the interviewer has a great voice and is doing a wonderful job !!!
Fifteen years here in Virginia has dulled the accent a tad bit. At least I no longer Paaak the Kaaah (Park the Car).
Gemini (the interviewer) did a great job in all areas. She is a true professional, especially when you consider it isn't her day job.
I'm at the kudzu section and you are making me laugh. Fyi, kudzu was introduced into america in 1876 from Japan, and makes for excellent grazing material for livestock. One thing I have learned about farming is let the animals help you. Chickens especially. like to work right along side of you and are excellent helpers...