/"The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic
emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. And it is
terrifically dangerous."/ Edward O. Wilson.
davew
This is a favorite quote for me of late... the challenge, methinks is
"what am I going to do about it?"
I try to resolve these questions for myself before I get too carried
away trying to prescribe anything for anyone else (especially large
scale/global solutions), yet it is useful to keep this in mind whilst
considering what I think is 'best for the collective'.
Maturing and Aging have offered me some perspective and relief from the
emotional component (especially the fight/flight reproduce-at-all cost
hormone driven ones). Similarly I've now seen (and studied) a variety
of socio-economic-political systems enough to have at least vaguely
informed opinions about them (unlike the totally mis-informed ones I had
leading me to vote Reagan in over Carter as my first vote). The
technological question is more near and dear to my heart having been
simultaneously (or alternately?) a technophile and a luddite.
I have dabbled in 19th century (and earlier) technology to help ground
my grounding in the mid-late 20th century I grew up as part of the
background. I've been lucky enough to engage some with 21st century
tech early by virtue of working at an over-funded scientific laboratory
which often either had access to or was developing for it's own
ideosyncratic reasons, things which the public wouldn't see or maybe
even hear about for decades. It was heady. But also disturbing.
Yuval Harari's latest book /Nexus/, touches on the implications of our
"information technology" development over millenia but especially the
last few decades with a very *liberal* view of what means information
technology (and networks in particular). Continuing his other
cautionary tales about the power of our "storytelling", I feel like he
lays the groundwork for the most likely way we might recalibrate
emotions to institutions to technology. Our technology has been
pulling hard against the drag of our institutions which are faithfully
trying to drag our emotions (e.g. religious/political/cultural moral
frameworks) and the impedance mismatch seems to be the source of most of
our worst behaviours/outcomes?
The stories our modern MAGA/FauxRepublican/FauxConservative political
party in the US is telling is rooted deeply in the emotional with only
the barest nod to the institutional (support LawNorder!!!!) and a
jealous greedy eye for the godlike tech (e.g. Trump cozying up to
Musk/TechBros and NFTs and Crypto as if he understands ANY of it?).
The Progressive/Liberal "institutions" of the DNC seem to be a little
less regressive/reactionary but do in fact suffer some of the same
problems albeit not as acutely superficially obvious. Without bashing
the specifics of what "the Dems" might be getting wrong, if we don't
notice the impedance mismach EO Wilson called out for us there, we are
destined to have raucous "ringing" in our systems? I think the promise
of a "Green New Deal" juxtaposed with some of the biggest obvious
fallacies and inadequacies are a good example... by the time we
actually settle on what a GND might really look like the challenges and
opportunities may have moved on by a decade or more (is GND a whole
decade old as a term yet?) while MAGA keeps trying to claim "we believe
in clean air and water but sea level rise will be fractions of an inch
in centuries at worst and will yield more beachfront property in any case"?
How do we move our collective storytelling to be both coherent and
aligned with the physics/chemistry/bio/ecology of Gaia quickly enough to
quit driving the various components past their limits (drill baby drill!)?
Maybe we cannot. Maybe we will have to crash and burn and hope
something can rise from the ashes (cockroaches and the Rolling Stones?
NeoLibertarian TechBros in their high-tech Bitcoin Bunkers raising their
own clones?)
Atlas Shrugs, Gaia Shrugs more Bigly.... (Rand, Margulis, Dilbert,
Trump references convolved?)
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