I'd recommend looking into Iain McgilChrist and his book The Matter with Things.
He explains in excruciating detail rooted in empirical science, over 5,700 references in fact, how many issues that plague the modern world can find their corresponding root in the structure of the brain.
To summarize his argument in a greatly simplified way, is that the kinds of attention and mindsets that seem so antagonistic to basic human nature such as prioritizing maps, models, and abstract theories over lived experience, reducing living organisms to machines, obsession with details over the bigger picture, technology fetishism, utilitarian morality and more, can reliably found to be expressed by specific areas of the brain, which are often also the seats of delusions and arrogant confidence.
His speech at an AI summit below may be a decent introduction despite the shoddy audio, given all your concerns of the sweeping blind faith and power being consolidated by the emerging technocracy.
Spoiler alert, that model says we are in the middle of a crisis stage -- which is the end of a cycle of stages that last began with Great Depression/WW2. That book really shaped my thinking about the moment we are in.
I find myself questioning what I must be if you can so succinctly express the slow descent of humankind and still dub thyself “moron”. Bravo to all of this! Well, maybe not bravo TO it, but bravo to your writings on it.
It's an illusion, Mike. We did not gain interconnectedness through the grid. The exact opposite. It's a lazy dopamine-fueled method of a community pretense. Once we shed our necessity for face to face...that's when it all started tanking. Gotta unplug. All of it. We're not biologically wired for screens. As much as we're addicted to them.
This is a pivotal moment, for sure. What comes next, I don't honestly know. Digging into it is good, though, because we can't fix what's broken until we understand it. Keep following your curiousity, we're here for it.
I am enjoying this and will read any new installments. The rare good thing from technology is that we can become part of a community like this.
I mean I think that's good....But IDK. Is it fake intimacy? We don't really know each other except through our posts, likes, comments.... showing only what we want people to see.
Loved the Sherlock Holmes reference in above comments.
I also like, "Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out and don't be so close-minded that your brain dies from lack of oxygen." It's a balance where natural curiosity and healthy skepticism are helpful.
If civil war were to descend upon us it would likely look like red states vs blue states with many people in red states "illegally" immigrating to the blue states to fight the cause. I say illegal because there'd be conscription going on. Darned draft dodgers.
A mildly comforting thought to remember: the president-elect got fewer votes than the number of people that sat out of this election (close to 90 million sat out if I recall correctly). It's embarrassing as a country that so many people are disenchanted with our political system but also wholly understandable. It needs to be fixed but I'm at a loss how that happens if we're heading into autocracy or feudalism.
(Please excuse typos. I'm sending this from my mobile)
Are you familiar with Stephen Schwartz's 2050 and 2060 project? He did 4000+ interviews with remote viewers in 2 separate rounds...with the goal of finding patterns among their descriptions of the future - to years 2050 and 2060.
Without spoiling it, I think his work might be very interesting to you! Here's an interview with him, which is a good outline of his work to this point. Very smart guy.
More of this (and yesterday's) please. Clear, well thought out. Plato line made me laugh out loud. If I didn't have disabled hands I'd wax rhapsodic on your essays for many a paragraph. Your gain cuz I'm verbose af. Keep it up!
Nicely done, Michael. I think about stuff like this a lot, and I wonder where more recent technology developments will take us as a civilization. It is enlightening to read the thoughts of someone more articulate than myself.
I just read a quote from a former president that if his corpse could roll over it would knowing what one his relations was up to: those that made peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
Gotta admit it, when I was watching "The State" back in the day (and "Stella" later), never thought "I'll bet one day I'm going to look forward to Michael's thought-provoking writing on political issues. No, not that Michael. The other one."
I love this thread that you're pulling at in these recent pieces and am definitely on board for more!
Another excellent one. Please keep them coming!
"It was the worst of times, it was the best of times..." Dickens will have to pardon me for making it my motto since 2016.
Might even tattoo it somewhere where the sun don't shine the way things are going.
I'd recommend looking into Iain McgilChrist and his book The Matter with Things.
He explains in excruciating detail rooted in empirical science, over 5,700 references in fact, how many issues that plague the modern world can find their corresponding root in the structure of the brain.
To summarize his argument in a greatly simplified way, is that the kinds of attention and mindsets that seem so antagonistic to basic human nature such as prioritizing maps, models, and abstract theories over lived experience, reducing living organisms to machines, obsession with details over the bigger picture, technology fetishism, utilitarian morality and more, can reliably found to be expressed by specific areas of the brain, which are often also the seats of delusions and arrogant confidence.
His speech at an AI summit below may be a decent introduction despite the shoddy audio, given all your concerns of the sweeping blind faith and power being consolidated by the emerging technocracy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgbUCKWCMPA&pp=ygUTaWFpbiBtY2dpbGNocmlzdCBhaQ%3D%3D
This reminds me of the cyclical history model that The Fourth Turning puts forth: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Fourth-Turning-Is-Here/Neil-Howe/9781982173739
Spoiler alert, that model says we are in the middle of a crisis stage -- which is the end of a cycle of stages that last began with Great Depression/WW2. That book really shaped my thinking about the moment we are in.
I find myself questioning what I must be if you can so succinctly express the slow descent of humankind and still dub thyself “moron”. Bravo to all of this! Well, maybe not bravo TO it, but bravo to your writings on it.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more."
It's an illusion, Mike. We did not gain interconnectedness through the grid. The exact opposite. It's a lazy dopamine-fueled method of a community pretense. Once we shed our necessity for face to face...that's when it all started tanking. Gotta unplug. All of it. We're not biologically wired for screens. As much as we're addicted to them.
Spinning Jenny is also a song on the second album by the UK 1990s Folk Metal band Skyclad (which is a folk pagan way of saying Naked).
https://youtu.be/nD9zi_WliSA?si=mc9ciovgf4cLFP9O
... and was a band in St. Louis for a brief period in the 1990s: https://spinningjennystl.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-story.
I know
This is a pivotal moment, for sure. What comes next, I don't honestly know. Digging into it is good, though, because we can't fix what's broken until we understand it. Keep following your curiousity, we're here for it.
I am enjoying this and will read any new installments. The rare good thing from technology is that we can become part of a community like this.
I mean I think that's good....But IDK. Is it fake intimacy? We don't really know each other except through our posts, likes, comments.... showing only what we want people to see.
Loved the Sherlock Holmes reference in above comments.
I also like, "Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out and don't be so close-minded that your brain dies from lack of oxygen." It's a balance where natural curiosity and healthy skepticism are helpful.
If civil war were to descend upon us it would likely look like red states vs blue states with many people in red states "illegally" immigrating to the blue states to fight the cause. I say illegal because there'd be conscription going on. Darned draft dodgers.
A mildly comforting thought to remember: the president-elect got fewer votes than the number of people that sat out of this election (close to 90 million sat out if I recall correctly). It's embarrassing as a country that so many people are disenchanted with our political system but also wholly understandable. It needs to be fixed but I'm at a loss how that happens if we're heading into autocracy or feudalism.
(Please excuse typos. I'm sending this from my mobile)
I love it, Michael. Keep rockin.
Are you familiar with Stephen Schwartz's 2050 and 2060 project? He did 4000+ interviews with remote viewers in 2 separate rounds...with the goal of finding patterns among their descriptions of the future - to years 2050 and 2060.
Without spoiling it, I think his work might be very interesting to you! Here's an interview with him, which is a good outline of his work to this point. Very smart guy.
https://stephanaschwartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Thinking-allowed-interview-galleys.pdf
More of this (and yesterday's) please. Clear, well thought out. Plato line made me laugh out loud. If I didn't have disabled hands I'd wax rhapsodic on your essays for many a paragraph. Your gain cuz I'm verbose af. Keep it up!
Nicely done, Michael. I think about stuff like this a lot, and I wonder where more recent technology developments will take us as a civilization. It is enlightening to read the thoughts of someone more articulate than myself.
I just read a quote from a former president that if his corpse could roll over it would knowing what one his relations was up to: those that made peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
Gotta admit it, when I was watching "The State" back in the day (and "Stella" later), never thought "I'll bet one day I'm going to look forward to Michael's thought-provoking writing on political issues. No, not that Michael. The other one."
Man’s (Michael’s) search for pants has always lead to greater things.
When I first saw Michael selling fine Corinthian turkeys on Ed, I knew without a doubt he had this in him.
That's fair. I should have had your insight and also wisdom.