Steve,
For me, there are only two questions I want you to ask yourself: Is the Trump administration likely to do things that will irrevocably decrease the quality of life of people you care about? (How widely you cast that net is your business.) And, Is there anything we can do to alter that probability in any small degree? That's all I am asking. Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University <http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ From: Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] On Behalf Of Steven A Smith Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2017 9:50 PM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] [[Narcissism Again]again] Nick - I know I don't always seem to take your questions seriously, but I generally do. I DO think the computer industry HAS effectively contributed to a certain kind of isolation. On the other hand, here we are, most of us able to participate in a complex discussion, halfway around the world from one another (or not), many of us unable/unwilling to actually *attend* the Mother Church as it were (FriAM coffee klatch) because of computer technology. But again on the first hand, we sit around in coffee shops ignoring one another while chatting with friends or colleagues 7 time zones away?! I believe that every form of technological "leverage" follows the metaphor at least far enough to include the "loss of sensitivity" on the strong-end of the lever. Sure, with the right lever, you can heave a 1 ton boulder, but can you gently tweak the last 12 ounces of force to *gently* move it off equilibrium? So I'm not sure HOW to maintain sensitivity in the context of such high leverage. The age of Transportation, Communications, etc. Brought huge societal problems which have either leveled out, or sadly, more likely, normalized. As for the barfight, I'll let you know... and just fair warning, if you take wagers, put your money on *the other guy*, I might be scrappy, but about all I have going for me any more is mass, the ability to take a beating, and a willingness to gouge eyes when required. - Steve On 1/28/17 2:31 PM, Nick Thompson wrote: Steve - Is there any way in which the computer industry has contributed to the narcissistic pandemic that is sweeping the world. Is there anything that participants in the computer industry could do tip the world back toward a fact-based attractor? If the answer to that question is no, then I suppose that starting that barfight might be your highest and best use. Let me know which bar you are going to, so I can come and watch. But I think the question is yes. Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University <http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ From: Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] On Behalf Of Steven A Smith Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2017 1:15 PM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <mailto:friam@redfish.com> <friam@redfish.com> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] [[Narcissism Again]again] Toolkit? This rusty old box filled with rusty things that once resembled sharp tools and useful fasteners? I was thinking that if we *all* burned one gallon of petrol *less* a month (and everyone "like us") the demand would drop commensurately and the cost/value proposition for the pipelines we all love to hate would (eventually) drop below a certain threshold. Similarly, if we *all* made it a point to have one *more* thoughtful conversation (not just a rant) with those not already in the choir, we might reverse the tide of *ugly* populism and replace it with something more human (maybe still a form of populism, but not nationalistic/xenophobic/misogynistic?). If we *all* quit worrying about how the Trump Ascension was going to hurt *our* personal context and recognized how it was going to hurt (or in some twisted or strange way help) the larger context and then only consider how our personal context would be effected in turn by the larger context (is a happier, healthier, more informed society good or bad for you and your family? vs can I pay lower taxes, get more government services and be afforded less expensive access to other resources nominally part of the commons?) et cetera, ad nauseum I know I'm preaching (somewhat) to the choir here, time to take my own advice and go start a barfight with a Trumpian or something, - Steve Ok Steve, The only reason to accept responsibility is to Take Charge. I have been able to think of only one concrete thing that I can do with my limited set of skills: Write Apple and tell them to stop calling new products "I-this" and "I-that." When are they going to release the WE-phone. You must have something in your tool kit more effective than that! Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University <http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ From: Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] On Behalf Of Steven A Smith Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2017 9:38 AM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <mailto:friam@redfish.com> <friam@redfish.com> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] [[Narcissism Again]again] What can WE hobbits do? Scratch our hairy knuckles and indulge in second dinnerses? Fun aside, I DO appreciate your sentiment here and agree that the Narcissist in Chief is at least partly a (focused) reflection of our own worst qualities, and *perhaps* if we tend our own garden even a little, it will help with the greater picture. - Candide Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University <http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ From: Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] On Behalf Of Jochen Fromm Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2017 1:39 AM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <mailto:friam@redfish.com> <friam@redfish.com>; Friam <mailto:Friam@redfish.com> <Friam@redfish.com> Cc: penny thompson <mailto:penny.thomp...@earthlink.net> <penny.thomp...@earthlink.net>; 'Bruce Simon' <mailto:bjs...@yahoo.com> <bjs...@yahoo.com>; 'Dix McComas' <mailto:dixmccom...@gmail.com> <dixmccom...@gmail.com>; 'Grant Franks' <mailto:grantfra...@earthlink.net> <grantfra...@earthlink.net> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] [[Narcissism Again]again] Yes, agree. Trump's point of view is "Whatever I can win with is true." And if he wins with what we call "a lie", it is true for him. Exactly. If you ask how we can counter and resist him, then I would say peaceful protests are the right way. The women's march was impressive, and the rebellion of the social media managers from the national parks is really refreshing. Who would have thought that the national parks would strike back? Like Treebeard who becomes alive. In JK Rowling's novels it is the little creatures like the house elves that beat the evil in the end. In Tolkien's Lord of the Rings it is the Hobbits that beat the evil enemy. I think in this case people like Ken Bone are the Hobbits of the 21st century. The modern Hobbits are adverage midwestern guys who support Mr. T-Rump and his "party" on Twitter and hope to get a bit rich and famous along the way. People like Ken Bone are like Frodo the Hobbit, Mr. T-Rump is Sauron and Jack Dorsey is the ringwraith. Will Ken Bone throw the ring into Mt. Doom, i.e. will he stop following Trump on Twitter and/or quit Twitter completely? If we all stop following and listening him he loses his power. This includes the senior Republican politicians who do not speak up against him because they hope for a job in his administration. Cheers, Jochen Sent from my Tricorder -------- Original message -------- From: Nick Thompson <nickthomp...@earthlink.net <mailto:nickthomp...@earthlink.net> > Date: 1/28/17 01:57 (GMT+01:00) To: Friam <Friam@redfish.com <mailto:Friam@redfish.com> > Cc: penny thompson <penny.thomp...@earthlink.net <mailto:penny.thomp...@earthlink.net> >, 'Bruce Simon' <bjs...@yahoo.com <mailto:bjs...@yahoo.com> >, 'Dix McComas' <dixmccom...@gmail.com <mailto:dixmccom...@gmail.com> >, 'Grant Franks' <grantfra...@earthlink.net <mailto:grantfra...@earthlink.net> > Subject: [FRIAM] [[Narcissism Again]again] Hi everybody, I kind of got buried by the list last week, but we seem to keep coming back to this topic, even when we are talking about globalism. So. Let me just share one thought. I have said a hundred times that I think the great achievement of the Right in my life time has been to problematize (Ugh!) the Deweyan consensus of the 1950's One of the elements of that consensus was that there is a truth of most matters and if we gather inclusively, talk calmly, reason closely, study carefully, investigate rigorously, we will, together , come to it. What was, at the time of my coming of age, the shared foundation of argument, became over last 50 years, a position in the argument. The alternative to this Deweyan position seems to be something like, "There is no truth of the matter; there is only the exercise of power. He who wins the argument, by whatever means, wins the truth. Truth is not something that is arrived at; it is won." So. My sense of trump is that in fact, he is not lying. On the contrary, he does not share the view of discourse that makes lying a possibility. >From Trump's point of view, "Whatever I can win with is true." Hence, if he wins with what we call "a lie", it is true. I feel we are straying along the edge of some Nietzschean chasm here. Unfortunately I haven't read any Nietzsche . A brief rummage in Wikipedia, led me to The Parable of the Madman <http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/nietzsche-madman.asp> . And THAT led me to wonder if the TV Series, Madmen <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_Men> , about marketing execs in the 60's, was written with Nietzsche in mind. In any case, if there is ever a domain in which the truth is that which wins, it would be marketing. So, if we are going to counter Trump, it cannot be by demonstrating that he lies. It has to be by demonstrating that liars don't win. Heavy lift. Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology Clark University http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ <http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/> ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
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