20120906 (J)
Journal: September 6, 2012
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Idea of Time                              Gender Rights                              Morality                              Science (Origin of Agriculture)                              Thought Process
Essay: Perhaps human societies need a short-term correction to step off the cancerous growth path we’ve been on ever since agriculture 10,000 years ago or so. We then had a surplus and need someone to protect such a concentration of high energy food. Then the idea of “future” of “more” or “better” shone forth and was off to the infinite improvement races.

Perhaps we need a rest, a time to ask “Why are we doing this?” We still don’t live longer than a lifetime, though we tell ourselves we can. We still suffer pain, sorrow, and regret while also finding joy, pleasure, and hope; the last perhaps our real sin. So why “more” or “better”? Have we stopped toil? Disease? Violoence? “Oh but wait,” Alice retorts, “we have increased life expectancy cured many diseases, and saved many, many lives”. So, Alice, where is my father’s saved life? Stored somewhere? And by the way, more young make it to an older age, tis true, but we still die off as always in our 80’s or 90’s. We have really increased “life expectancy”; we’ve just kept more children alive to survive to adulthood. So, “Why”?

Perhaps we need a rest. Perhaps we can use the extraordinary but still nascent tool of the internet to probe and reprobe that “common human mind” to inventory and discuss the ideas of “Why?” We have many options, some within our range of influence, some not, some mutually exclusive. We need to say goodbye to some things, as always. Perhaps we could benefit the discussion with long-term perspectives of 1000’s or millions of years, as the EPA does current for regulations of nuclear waste.

Is the infinite exponential growth sustainable of human biomass supported by surplus energy? The current answer in vogue is “No”, but why not? ISTMRN we are about to cross a threshold where we leave “life” behind as a source of energy, and switch to nuclear, wind, photovoltaics, and perhaps even synthetic photosynthesis. With the energy we get from “non-life”, extract elements from granite to recombine them to make anything we want including food. (Star Trek popularized the concept with its “synthesizer” comment added 20 Jan 2020)

Perhaps that is related to the reluctance about nuclear allowing us to leave “life” behind. Perhaps we are as some have said “matter becoming conscious” and perhaps “life” is just a stepping stone along the way.

Perhaps the common consensus is true and infinite growth is not sustainable, at least not for biomass. So can we genetically engineer of smaller, smarter people, say the size of ants? Perhaps plugged into a “common brain” like whatever the internet evolves into in the next 1000 or million years?

Or perhaps we might consider seriously reducing our biomass by decreasing our numbers rather than our individual biomass, perhaps to a world population of say 100 million, that same as during the Roman Empire using today’s and tomorrow’s technology, we could feed and ALL people for about a few hours work per week.

But what oh what would we do with all that spare time except gossip and argue and fight?

Some say the unsustainable path of growth we are on leads to an abrupt, precipitous decline in the economy and perhaps the number of people. Perhaps --- but after Armageddon how shall we put it back together? And how can we transmit that advise through the catastrophe? Is it just vain arrogance that even asks such questions, assuming we NOW have proper advise for people in another time and history? Why?

Maybe it’s time over the next several hundred years to think seriously about choices we can make, but of course the invisible hand might be the best guide to the future after all; by thinking about it and especially trying to guide it we’ll just fuck it up. But I think not. At least, so far so good.
Maybe it’s time over the next several hundred years to think seriously about choices we can make, but of course the invisible hand might be the best guide to the future after all; by thinking about it and especially trying to guide it we’ll just fuck it up. But I think not. At least, so far so good.



Idea of Future and Agriculture: The idea of the future as alluded to above may have received a big boost with the “stumbling across” of agriculture. Perchance a gatherer of seeds happened upon an abundant supply of edible seeds. Perchance she gathered enough to fill her hands or pouch, then sauntered over to overhanging rock to get out of the rain, dropping with regret some seeds along the way.

When she reached the shelter she lay her pile of seeds down; picking them up one by one to eat while watching the rain. Then she sees a big cat, bear, snake, other human, or for some other reason leaves the shelter and pile of seeds, glancing at the shelter and where she dropped the seeds again as she left.

Perchance the next year same season, same place, same thing. Now sitting under the shelter watching it rain she see and remembers leaving a pile of seeds sometime “back then”, but note a rock has fallen in the place she left the seeds. She moves the rock and discovers her old seed pile. Being hungry, she eats the old seeds and notes they taste as good (safe) as the new ones. She leaves a “stash” of new seeds for later under the rock, still carrying some in her pouch.

When again, perchance, she spills seeds in the same place. She remembers her previous spill perhaps linking regrets. The next year or so she sees more seed plants where she spilled her seeds. Then the the great insight, “Where I spill seeds, more seed plants occur the next year” (i.e. the future). “My action now to spill seeds makes the future yield even more seeds”.

So she tests it. Each year noting the hidden pile in the shelter grows. Other critters are attracted to the surplus pile of seeds, rabbits, squirrels, buffalo, other humans, etc. Then another great insight, “I need to protect my stash as always, but if I share my stash with those that contribute to it, others will help me protect it.”

As the cooperative and the stash grow, the assaults and raid by squirrels and especially other human also grow. Then another greater idea, “I’ll watch over the stash full time for the cooperative, but to do so, I’ll need to eat from the stash without contributing to it.”

So the stash and cooperative continue to grow. So the protector offers his children in service of protecting the stash, so and King and a God are born all on the “idea” that I can hedge the future.
Shibboleth: "A man should NEVER lay a hand on a women in anger" as quoted to me today by my sister. To which I asked, “Why did Allah make men bigger than women?” To which she replied, “To protect women who protect children.” True, but also so men can beat the shit out of women and have sex whenever they want (other men permitting). They usually don’t have to exert physical coercion because the “weaker” sex knows resistance is futile. But my sister cries out, “That’s not fair”.

To accommodate that view which is sanctified by another shibboleth, “We must tame the beast that lurks in a man’s heart”, cut off Samson’s hair, lead them around by collared leashes (ties), cover ALL their skin except face and hands, except when engaged in sport or labor, where they may suffer and sweat to serve our (women’s) pleasure.

Fairness = Homogeneity = Randomness = Chaos

Eclecticism           Precision
Breadth                     Depth
Jack of All Trades         Virtuosity
Generalization             Specialization
Yin                          Yang
Yang                        Yin
Mediocrity                 Excellence
Good Enough              Can Always Improve
Synthesis                   Analysis
Qualitative                 Quantitative
Doubt                       Certainty
Feminine                    Masculine
Masculine                   Feminine
Fuzzy Boundaries          Sharp Definitions
Marijuana                   Alcohol
Coffee                       Coffee
Art                           Science
Science                      Art
Organic                      Abstract
Many or No Gods          One Good God
Truth in Self                Truth in Others (Authority)
Truth                         Generalities
    etc                            etc