[CS]-OmNiFraG
August 11th, 2006, 11:22 AM
I sensed some dissent in the other thread I was posting in, so maybe this will actually be productive. At worst it's some wasted bandwidth
Refinement Through Simplification
Idealism seems to be a foreign concept to many living in our time. A striving for greater purpose or enacting changes that would improve various conditions in the future are not necessary, thus are generally viewed as superfluous—apathy with all of its inaction is the via negativa by default, so it becomes the path most often taken. The reasoning seems to be that because struggle and conflict are part of being human, things will never change, so why even bother? Note that this is a misunderstanding of idealism, because it does not seek to abolish concepts such as conflict and tension, by finding ways to exclude them from the human experience. Difficulty comes when there is no immediate tangible reward for this type of idealistic striving, and often times there may be no physical or easily discernable result at all; it is viewed as impractical for many to see the sense in actually working towards a goal that consists of multiple potential solutions with many variables. This sort of planning is more abstract and indefinite (often at the exclusion of clear boundaries, ends, or absolutes) as opposed to performing basic tasks, which provide immediate material (practical) rewards. Such a choice limits an individual to an overly basic material pragmatism.
The simplistic formula of performing task X in order to get reward Y is hardwired into our brains—as it should be because it is necessary to obtain the basic means of survival. But by the word “basic” is implied the sense that the ends of this simple formula are only transient, short-term necessities which gratify the instincts temporarily, but do little more. Hunger causes pangs leading to the desire for food, then after eating the body is satiated for a few hours. A long duration of wakefulness causes a need for rest; a primal process which allows for a constant cycle of activity. With technology and human “advancement”, our need for these basic processes has actually gotten very perverse and instead become very destructive and taxing. Food cannot simply be a crop that one goes outside and harvests, discarding organic waste that biodegrades with no long-term consequences. A person needs a job, usually requiring a large communal workplace, forms of transportation to compensate for greater distances between home and the workplace, a means of exchange obtained from the labor (money), then an outlet where currency can be exchanged for food which has often been “conveniently” processed or packaged in order to serve growing populations over longer durations of time—and even within modes of consumption a greater variety of outlets are desired, to allow for a greater variety of goods to be purchased, just for the sake of variety. Transportation, labor, and consumption all also produce long lasting waste materials.
The complexity of this process actually makes it extremely dangerous when large populations with no limits on what they can consume and produce are practicing such a lifestyle. More people now need more materials, more space to labor, larger outlets of commerce, and personal space to return to at the end of the day. Therefore, the ever-increasing bureaucratic whirlwind, with all of its paper trail and sub-committees to sift through the aftermath, becomes more of a headache within our current framework for survival. The unnecessary complexity has almost reached a breaking point in the most developed nations—populations feel they do not even have time for the most basic things in life because they are so burdened by all the tasks that they “need” to perform. Many great minds are made to think in circles because they are merely given administrative functions within this process, leaving less room for experimentation and creation of a better future. This has the effect of tearing down any new, long lasting solutions because we are kept occupied more hours of the day with finding creative new ways to merely sustain ourselves within an unnecessarily complex process, our stomachs are kept full and our glands are kept pumping but the upper echelons of human potential remain barren. Refinement of the whole is becoming less of an option for humanity.
Our current mode of function is very satisfying at the survival and instinctually defined levels, where it becomes comfortable enough for most people that change (even if for the better) is seen as a threat. This is actually a form of self-deception by those who lack the idealism mentioned earlier. They reason that a different future is necessarily going to possibly be somewhat unstable at first, with inconsistencies that may have to be worked out within the process; that absolute sense of comfort may have to be sacrificed in the short-term in order to find a more sound long-term way of living. A fear similar to this keeps us at our current jobs and performing familiar tasks for now, but for how long can we look only in this direction while the problems build up from behind?
The need for minds of humans who desire to refine both the basic processes and “higher” more abstract goals, hopefully improving conditions in the broadest and most lasting sense, is very pressing in our time. The knowledge and means to create a more efficient and less wasteful life processes is available, it merely needs appropriate grounds where the details can be fine-tuned without prejudice and interference. We do not need to adhere to an absolute, suffocating system such as Democracy or Communism where must be sentenced to follow certain principles like a guilty Christian in fear of his God’s ten laws or a student processes through years of a curriculum whether he actually learns anything or not. Rock-solid elaborate political doctrine has become obsolete, as all of them fail eventually when subjected to the test of time; our optimism about our own systems being immune or “the best” is merely bias. This reasoning leaves no need for a grand scheme or a great revolution—simplification may be the answer. Do away with the things that are found to be troublesome or unnecessary and emphasize the effective ways to meet human needs. This will give more breathing room for everyone because there is less distraction and competition for things which will not matter in the greater sense. Ideally, such a solution also avoids the danger of being “overly rational” or not foreseeing the human need for absurd activities for emotional relief because humanity would ultimately end up with more leisure time—however it would not be used towards overly elaborate or destructive means; that is, crime and ill-intention would not go away, but they would not have the dangerous ripple effect that they do in our increasingly interconnected global society (the target is too big and too easy to hit). A kind of simplification through refinement would hopefully avoid this. Human achievement up to this point has given us all the answers to find a “back to basics” way of living that is superior to all in its adaptability and functionality—the facts simply need to be collected and organized and then put into practice when the time comes (likely, when the failure of our current model becomes even more apparent on a grand scale). Those that are stubbornly optimistic about any one system (such as the one we are living under now) unfortunately, cannot be changed, or taught to let go and rebuild for a better tomorrow. We live in a difficult time in which this sort of blind optimism for “our way” which is also “the best way” is merely pulling forward and trampling the more constructive thoughts along the way. Hopefully soon enough the inconsistencies and problems within this model will cause its decay (whether sudden or gradual, but hopefully before the damage it causes is irreversible), allowing future generations to learn from its mistakes… and recently vast amounts of mistakes have been made—so if we do actually learn from them we can find vast amounts to teach ourselves.
Any thoughts on practical ways to refine and simplify these elaborate bureaucratic processes that have become necessary for survival?
8/11/2006
Refinement Through Simplification
Idealism seems to be a foreign concept to many living in our time. A striving for greater purpose or enacting changes that would improve various conditions in the future are not necessary, thus are generally viewed as superfluous—apathy with all of its inaction is the via negativa by default, so it becomes the path most often taken. The reasoning seems to be that because struggle and conflict are part of being human, things will never change, so why even bother? Note that this is a misunderstanding of idealism, because it does not seek to abolish concepts such as conflict and tension, by finding ways to exclude them from the human experience. Difficulty comes when there is no immediate tangible reward for this type of idealistic striving, and often times there may be no physical or easily discernable result at all; it is viewed as impractical for many to see the sense in actually working towards a goal that consists of multiple potential solutions with many variables. This sort of planning is more abstract and indefinite (often at the exclusion of clear boundaries, ends, or absolutes) as opposed to performing basic tasks, which provide immediate material (practical) rewards. Such a choice limits an individual to an overly basic material pragmatism.
The simplistic formula of performing task X in order to get reward Y is hardwired into our brains—as it should be because it is necessary to obtain the basic means of survival. But by the word “basic” is implied the sense that the ends of this simple formula are only transient, short-term necessities which gratify the instincts temporarily, but do little more. Hunger causes pangs leading to the desire for food, then after eating the body is satiated for a few hours. A long duration of wakefulness causes a need for rest; a primal process which allows for a constant cycle of activity. With technology and human “advancement”, our need for these basic processes has actually gotten very perverse and instead become very destructive and taxing. Food cannot simply be a crop that one goes outside and harvests, discarding organic waste that biodegrades with no long-term consequences. A person needs a job, usually requiring a large communal workplace, forms of transportation to compensate for greater distances between home and the workplace, a means of exchange obtained from the labor (money), then an outlet where currency can be exchanged for food which has often been “conveniently” processed or packaged in order to serve growing populations over longer durations of time—and even within modes of consumption a greater variety of outlets are desired, to allow for a greater variety of goods to be purchased, just for the sake of variety. Transportation, labor, and consumption all also produce long lasting waste materials.
The complexity of this process actually makes it extremely dangerous when large populations with no limits on what they can consume and produce are practicing such a lifestyle. More people now need more materials, more space to labor, larger outlets of commerce, and personal space to return to at the end of the day. Therefore, the ever-increasing bureaucratic whirlwind, with all of its paper trail and sub-committees to sift through the aftermath, becomes more of a headache within our current framework for survival. The unnecessary complexity has almost reached a breaking point in the most developed nations—populations feel they do not even have time for the most basic things in life because they are so burdened by all the tasks that they “need” to perform. Many great minds are made to think in circles because they are merely given administrative functions within this process, leaving less room for experimentation and creation of a better future. This has the effect of tearing down any new, long lasting solutions because we are kept occupied more hours of the day with finding creative new ways to merely sustain ourselves within an unnecessarily complex process, our stomachs are kept full and our glands are kept pumping but the upper echelons of human potential remain barren. Refinement of the whole is becoming less of an option for humanity.
Our current mode of function is very satisfying at the survival and instinctually defined levels, where it becomes comfortable enough for most people that change (even if for the better) is seen as a threat. This is actually a form of self-deception by those who lack the idealism mentioned earlier. They reason that a different future is necessarily going to possibly be somewhat unstable at first, with inconsistencies that may have to be worked out within the process; that absolute sense of comfort may have to be sacrificed in the short-term in order to find a more sound long-term way of living. A fear similar to this keeps us at our current jobs and performing familiar tasks for now, but for how long can we look only in this direction while the problems build up from behind?
The need for minds of humans who desire to refine both the basic processes and “higher” more abstract goals, hopefully improving conditions in the broadest and most lasting sense, is very pressing in our time. The knowledge and means to create a more efficient and less wasteful life processes is available, it merely needs appropriate grounds where the details can be fine-tuned without prejudice and interference. We do not need to adhere to an absolute, suffocating system such as Democracy or Communism where must be sentenced to follow certain principles like a guilty Christian in fear of his God’s ten laws or a student processes through years of a curriculum whether he actually learns anything or not. Rock-solid elaborate political doctrine has become obsolete, as all of them fail eventually when subjected to the test of time; our optimism about our own systems being immune or “the best” is merely bias. This reasoning leaves no need for a grand scheme or a great revolution—simplification may be the answer. Do away with the things that are found to be troublesome or unnecessary and emphasize the effective ways to meet human needs. This will give more breathing room for everyone because there is less distraction and competition for things which will not matter in the greater sense. Ideally, such a solution also avoids the danger of being “overly rational” or not foreseeing the human need for absurd activities for emotional relief because humanity would ultimately end up with more leisure time—however it would not be used towards overly elaborate or destructive means; that is, crime and ill-intention would not go away, but they would not have the dangerous ripple effect that they do in our increasingly interconnected global society (the target is too big and too easy to hit). A kind of simplification through refinement would hopefully avoid this. Human achievement up to this point has given us all the answers to find a “back to basics” way of living that is superior to all in its adaptability and functionality—the facts simply need to be collected and organized and then put into practice when the time comes (likely, when the failure of our current model becomes even more apparent on a grand scale). Those that are stubbornly optimistic about any one system (such as the one we are living under now) unfortunately, cannot be changed, or taught to let go and rebuild for a better tomorrow. We live in a difficult time in which this sort of blind optimism for “our way” which is also “the best way” is merely pulling forward and trampling the more constructive thoughts along the way. Hopefully soon enough the inconsistencies and problems within this model will cause its decay (whether sudden or gradual, but hopefully before the damage it causes is irreversible), allowing future generations to learn from its mistakes… and recently vast amounts of mistakes have been made—so if we do actually learn from them we can find vast amounts to teach ourselves.
Any thoughts on practical ways to refine and simplify these elaborate bureaucratic processes that have become necessary for survival?
8/11/2006