"that everything is unfolding according to God’s plan, and I can get behind that. But that must mean that human resistance to a technological takeover is also part of that unfolding, no?"
Absolutely, true.
The mind of God, or God's plan, cannot be thwarted by bits, bots, bites, or tech bros high on legalized meth, aka SSRIs.
I utilize technology for good: reading, researching, writing, and sharing my knowledge of self-healing. I also spread the word about proven cheap alternatives to pharmaceutical poisons, such as Hydrogen Peroxide, DMSO, Chlorine Dioxide/MMS, etc. I also use technology to assist me in gathering knowledge about organic regenerative farming, no-till gardening, the benefits of raw milk, using healthy fats, etc.
So, I suppose what I am saying is that I counter the technology takeover by sharing my knowledge about what it means to be a healthy human in body, mind, and soul.
Thank you for a beautiful and meaningful post. God bless.
You've articulated a middle path that really speaks to me, KatWarrior. I've been struggling with the role of tech in my life and in the lives of loved ones, feeling as though by even engaging with it at all I'm perpetuating its grip. But your approach has such wisdom in it. I think we each have to find the balance that works for us. Thank you so much for your insightful comment... xox
Wow, Mary. I see you mined more from Power's book than I did. This inspired piece acted like a window for me, to better consider the motives of those tech guys.
You've laid out big and timely questions here. What strikes me - as it did in reading the Overstory - is the irony of using a simulation to immerse oneself in the Natural world. The clear disconnect in that virtual move when we're all free to go direct is hardly subtle.
Yet the question on whether Nature will use humans and their tech to its end, includes many subtleties. And uncertainties.
I don't know if Powers was elevating Nature over man, given that we are part of Nature. Whatever the Source of Creation is - it's included us in a larger story. No human life without a planet to live it.
We are not above Nature, and when we separate from it, every living thing suffers.
There's an error in the Tech bros which we can put down to a lack of humility but it's likely more than that. Some influence that came before, led us here and away from humility. A parasitic like influence that inserted itself between humans and their world, (imo) obscuring the realization that we've been given everything we need on this earth to discover our own deepening natures.
Any external tech we employ, should always be serving that end and so, agree, it must include morality. (Though what flavor of morality if you don't even know human life is sacred?)
I'll need to reread this thoughtful piece again. It is really getting at something essential.
Beautifully written and thought-provoking and deserving of a wide-audience.
Love this comment, Kathleen. You've hit on great insights, and bring up the biggest, toughest questions. I agree -- we ARE part of Nature, and yes: "when we separate from it, every living thing suffers," but aren't we at the same time an expendable part? More so than, say, bees?
I'm utterly intrigued by your comment about the parasitic-like influence drawing us away from our true nature. As I read that, I feel a resonance deep inside, a knowing... and yet I discount/dismiss that feeling on the daily. I think I've been conditioned to reject the concept of an external evil (for lack of a shorter term for it), which of course plays in nicely to its ongoing obscuration. "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled..."
Thank you for your thoughts. As always, they lead me deeper into truth. xox
We are all being dragged along to provide the data assumed as truth for a world conceived in the minds and egos of lonely little boys in service of psychopathy. A psychopathy of mortals that is well aware of the one and seeks I know not what. I would like to think that technology is part of an evolutionary journey, and I can see that path, yet as you say it currently seems to lack an emotion component and a robust feedback mechanism to self correct. Perhaps nature provides that counter balance and correction. However I deduce and intuite that great danger lies ahead if not confronted.
"Dragged along," yes! That's the feeling I have, too. I wish more people -- especially young ones -- saw it as thus. So many sleepwalkers in my children's generation don't even recognize what they're giving up to the Machine. Data, for sure, but also the best thing in life: real interactions with real, live human beings. Confrontation seems essential, but what will wake them up in time?
Hi Mary, synchronistically your post dropped into my inbox just as I was posting a comment on VN Alexendar's 'Are the Tech Bros Insane?'. It's a great article - realistic in its assessment of both the potentials and dangers of what some of the 'Tech Bros' are up to. I also felt that her proposition that the extremes of 'mechanistic thinking' which sit behind much of what is going on might be seen as a kind of mental illness, is very real. Related I think, the recently much-discussed (and sometimes much misinterpreted) theme of 'mass psychosis'.
'The Overstory' seems to be yet another playing out of the never-ending fantasy of the limited materialistic mind, and the mentality of the 'giant game of The Sims' that certain influential people keep wanting to play. The delusional error is, as you say, Musk's (and the other tech bros'):
“Truth” is not synonymous with “Data,” but Musk can’t actually “grok” that. He is searching for a place where his lack of humanness cannot be seen or felt. Mars is perfect. What a great line!
A comment comes to my mind, as I read your post, and V.N.'s, from the great Joseph Wisenbaum (MIT computer science professor who spent much of his life debunking the idea that machines can truly be intelliegent). In an interview near the end of his life (published as 'Islands in the Cyberstream'), Wisenbaum noted that almost all of the scientists involved in seeking to create AI are men. He speculated on whether this obsessive drive to artificially 'create life' is less participated in by women because they can do it for real. Interesting thought.
Wow -- the Wisenbaum comment rings entirely true to me. I've often thought that men are driven to destroy as a show of "equivalent" power, but this idea of artificially creating "life" is genius. Thank you for bringing it to our attention here!
They (the techs) make the same mistake as was made in the Star Trek Voyager episode.
They conflate acquisition of data with life.
It's the old engineering joke that's adorned white boards since the beginning. A long calculation ends in *then a miracle occurs* drawn in a starburst.
Life ... Consciousness, awareness... Is the miracle they expect to suddenly occur after they acquire enough data & wrote enough code.
It is a lie. They are mistaking the map for the territory.
I developed a deeper understanding of infinity in my chemistry class. For every problem/question we solved, I immediately came up with a half dozen more questions. Every answer to every one simply generated another half dozen. And those were just off the top of my head. I'm sure other minds would come up with more questions.
Exponential growth that never ends.
Life is the gift from God, & His greatest secret. No matter how much data they acquire & feed into their computers, they will never miraculously become life.
The old engineering joke about *then a miracle occurs* reminds me of the opposite joke, told by Terrence McKenna: "Give us one free miracle and we'll explain the rest." You're probably familiar with it: that an inexplicable Big Bang instantaneously creates all the laws of nature and all the matter and energy in the universe, upon which all of Science rests, is pretty funny... :-)
It is pretty funny… and then if you ask what was before the Big Bang they tell you there was no ‘before’ because time began with the Big Bang - and expect to be taken seriously!
"Musk can’t actually “grok” that. He is searching for a place where his lack of humanness cannot be seen or felt. Mars is perfect."
This is such an interesting take, Mary. I had been thinking in terms of autism but 'left brain dominance' and 'right hemisphere deficit' are much more descriptive and don't downplay the reality that is severe autism.
and instead of a spectrum, or even a balance, it's two interdependent halves that can only grow together. I was thinking of what the other imbalance would be--right hemisphere without left. Again, I don't think it's the spiritual because that needs to develop together. I think it's maybe that middle school girl-brain that's only aware of what other people think about her with no introspection.
Oh this was a long time ago. Steve's been a fan of Jill's for awhile! And her thinking really informed mine. I've had a draft of The Himosphere and Herosphere for a long time ;-)
I am still too overwhelmed with Mary's articulation of something I've been suspecting for a while, so I will have to sit on this before posting a worthwhile comment.
But in your great question, I saw a ray of light I'd come across a few years ago — Neuro Scientist Jill Bolte Taylor's massive left hemisphere stroke at age 38, and her book and TED talk recounting her experience and years of recovery.
I can't remember who steered me to her TED talk, but I was not prepared. By the last few minutes, I was crying uncontrollably ... I guess out of a complex mixture of remembrance of a personal experience resulting in a similar mindset and a recognition of her rare depth of authenticity. I was so overwhelmed that I looked up her e-mail address and dashed off a letter asking for her permission to allow my seminar students to translate her TED talk into Japanese. With modest good humor, she responded with an affirmative ... but the heads up that both the TED talk and her book (which I was completely unaware of) had already been translated into Japanese as well as several other languages. Embarrassed, I wrote back, admitting my ignorance regarding the impact she had already made, and we exchanged a few more e-mails ending by touching on, of all things, music.
I did use her material in several classes, and within a year or two after discovering her talk and book, NHK Japan aired two separate documentaries about her journey (which I also used in classes). In case you haven't seen her TED talk, will leave the link here ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYD7Y9CXeUw&t=185s
Though most of my following interpretation necessarily falls short of her description of her own experience, some of my personal experience (I am not yet prepared to talk directly about) does come through. In an oversimplified nutshell, the left-brain appears to have functions which create the provisional distinctions between self and other / past and future. Linear logic and most functions of language also appear to be left hemisphere oriented. So when pressed to describe what kind of consciousness remained when the left shut down, she used the Hindu word "nirvana" to describe an awareness that prosaic language is not meant to describe.
This dovetails with the writers who have influenced my theory of language and thought, particularly Wittgenstein's Tractatus, and the gist of Russell and Whitehead's Principia and Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems. I guess I would have to throw in a bit of Suzuki Daisetsu's limits of logic and language as expressed by Zen / Taoist thought, and the "spiritual naturalism" (that Jungian/Joseph Campbell thingy of 'god as metaphor for nature in its entirety') of Spinoza, Einstein — or animistic beliefs such as found among Australian First People (non-linear Dream Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnAUSX4agAs&t=19s). But then, that also leads to fractal theory and closely related emergence theory and chaos theory. Love those mandelbrot sets.
One of the more unsettling implications of this approach is that the razor's edge is not restricted to the neuro-divergent autistic idiot-savants that would rule the world. Instead, the danger is in us all. As Nietzsche once said, the last and greatest deceiver is language itself, for every utterance can not help but to speak in defense of itself. All language is ultimately metaphorical in origin, and for most of us, most of the time, a metaphorical deception ... a dark twist on T.S. Kuhn's description of provisional scientific paradigms. According to some of the traditions listed in the previous paragraph, language and "intelligence" itself (according to our conversational definitions) is the danger, leaving us with a paradox in that the more refined our capacity for granularization of information and expression as 'data' through linguistic or mathematical expression, and the more we direct that intelligence towards a search for 'spirituality', the further that experience recedes from us.
But I recognize the irony of my having tried to state what I just said is beyond the prosaic limits of language. How does that old Zen thingy go? "Those who speak, don't know." That leaves us only with overtly metaphorical approaches to language that can only point to a reference rather than capture it.
I'm also aware of what appears to be a contradiction in Jill Bolte Taylor's message. She ends her talk and her book with a plea for us to 'choose' to live in the right hemisphere. This is where I am paradoxically more in line with you Tereza, because "choice" is a left brain process, if not illusion, and I tend to think of spiritual growth as the maturation of the social primate which depends on reconciling left-brain processes with right brain.
I should end now, before I become a pathological example of an Ouroboros, but wanted to propose yet another angle that had crossed my mind decades ago. In trying to answer the question of what it means to be a human, from a biological perspective, I can't help but to think of a simplified psychology of predator and prey. For example, the deer is a 'herd' animal, and lives in the Taoist "here and now", grazing in the grass and constantly alert for danger. The wolf is a 'pack' animal, necessarily remembering the past, coordinating, and planning for future kills. Both predator and prey are beyond good and evil. What if, by genetic predisposition, some humans are closer to predators, and others, herbivores? (Not just in terms of male-female relationships as in this YouTube, but in the pursuit of self-interest in general. Japanese society is very authoritarian, and I think that is highly correlated with the majority of men becoming more docile, institutionalized 'herbivores') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO3dNtBj0lY. This difference may be influenced by systems and social circumstances, but I don't think we can rule out "nature" from the "nature-nurture" debate. Hmm. H.G. Wells predated me by a long shot with future humans devolving into Eloi and Morlocks in "The Time Machine" ... great metaphors for divergent hemisphere mind-sets Just some thoughts.
"Just some thoughts." Sure, Steve, and the Taj Mahal is just some building. 😂
I had the same visceral response to Jill Bolt Taylor's talk many moons ago, and it became part of my journey toward the sacred, for lack of a better phrase. Thank you for bringing her story forward here; it's a perfect adjunct.
The Nietzsche concept about language's deception was new to me and VERY interesting. Years ago I had the idea of writing a play in which the characters only speak in metaphor. I'm inspired to revisit that idea by your thoughts. I'm also inspired to talk less, and know more. 😉
Thanks for that thoughtful reply, Steve, and the chance to link the episode I did when you introduced me to JTB. She made a big impact on me, but more so for you!
I had forgotten that Jill tells us to 'choose' to live in the right hemisphere (or as I said to Mary, the Himosphere and the Herosphere). I like that concept. I think it's actually very Course in Miracles. The daily exercises and readings are as Left Brain as you can get, yet the objective is living in the Now of the Right Brain.
I appreciate all your nutritious food for thought!
I was reluctant to hit the "reply" to post that sub-comment because I felt like I was caught up in a spiral death-dive, posing more questions than wrangling them in, imposing more self-censure than leading to new insights. Just a quick heads up to let you know I will be continuing more of my stumble-dance with both of you in the above reply to Mary.
Hi Mary, I honestly feel I'm not "smart" enough to respond to your essay. I read "The Overstory" when it came out, and I don't remember if I finished it. All I remember is that it won the Pulitzer, and everyone said how great it was. I didn't like it. I think I gave it away. Reading your excellent post, it's as though I never even read the book.
Perhaps it was too dystopian for me. I find myself reading less and less online about what's going on. Substack seems frenetic and overloaded these days. I have to take a breath before opening it.
Maybe we'll just split into different timelines... XOXO
P.S. That image of the tree crushing the temple is WOW.
You're plenty smart, I can assure you! And I can see why you gave away the book; it WAS pretty dystopian. I was disappointed by the ending, honestly, after investing myself so fully in the many storylines.
I also share your assessment of Substack, feeling the same about its energy. I've unsubscribed from so many. If we do split off, I'll be grateful to join you on (in?) yours! xox!
Barbara, I'm with you on this. Whenever "everyone" says how great something is, that's always a red flag for me. I agree about the timeline split, too. Thanks for your honesty.
I need to reread Overstory. Bet it hits differently now.
There’s such feeing of dystopian unease and yet a sublime profundity within this essay. Paradoxes abound: I agree that the rise of technocracy has to be a part of the divine plan; a test of our humannes, if you will. The cynic in me thinks that perhaps we already failed. Perhaps, we’ve been living in a simulation; a time line loop we can’t ever escape because we took the wrong turn somewhere back there.
And yet, does death not teach us the most about life? Does not accepting and keeping death sacred the vulnerability necessary for claiming our humanness?
Thanks for sending me on this thought provoking track. I’ll sit with this for awhile. Btw, I don’t even think “humanness” is a word, but go with me. “Humanity” is not what I mean.
Damn, I hope the cynic in you is wrong, but I can't discount the possibility that she's right. And yes, death is our greatest teacher. Perhaps that's why there's so much "died suddenly" happening; we REALLY need to learn.
I think I actually used the word "humanness" in this essay. It's a word! xox
LOL. Reminds me of the joke of when the scientist poses the last question to the pinnacle of digital artificial intelligence, "Is there a god?" And after a few clicks and whirls, it spits out the answer ... "There is now."
I (mis)spent a "career" in "IT" (read "it"), and your final comments re: the human condition being "upgraded" brought me to stark remembrance of the many times over the decades when "the powers" "upgraded," what were back then called, "programs," and BROKE FUNCTIONALITY!!
When protests rolled in to "roll it back," a typical response was to dismiss the users with a virtual pat-on-the-head, asking them if they were so smart why weren't they coding?
Years upon years ago, an old acquaintance I had gave me this good maxim: "Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you OUGHT."
We are in a post-modern Opposite Age to that sentiment.
How utterly infuriating. The patronizing "powers" have so much contempt for the people from whom they make their obscene livings. Makes me think of The Oscars, which as a former actor I used to watch yearly with an embarrassing loyalty. What Hollywood "powers" are creating now are derivative, predictable tropes masquerading as "upgraded" morality, and if we call it out as such, we're told we just don't GET IT. "Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you OUGHT." Great advice.
Mary, what I got out of your comment is that "You should--seriously--consider becoming 'an independent film-maker.'" (Check out the low-budget movie "Primer." (You ~could~ do it. I will contribute to a go-fund-me--and toot the horn over on Our Jenna's stack.))
Wow. Thank you for that suggestion, and your put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is support, David! I'm seriously considering it. Seriously.
I looked at the trailer for Primer, and I learned that their budget in 2004 was... wait for it... $7,000. Adjusted for inflation, that's $11,771.82 today -- which is surprisingly small. Going to watch it! xox
Mary, I couldn't click on "like" because this gave me the creeps, but I have always suspected that there were "those" who were trying to play God, I concluded that they were mentally ill, but dangerous nonetheless, so I do appreciate being made aware of all this, but I'd rather not spend much time thinking about it, if you know what I mean. Calgon take me away, please!
BUT, your essay is so incredibly well-written that one just can't stop reading it. Kind of like not being able to take your eyes off a tragic accident when driving by. Terrible analogy, I know. Just another one of my crazy upside down compliments.
Well, I think I better quit while I'm ahead. As always, XOXO.
Two things from me. The tech Bros never really admit that they have inherited the Tragedy of the Commons in their morality/worldview so they just steal - for example - the lives of young Congolese for their tech vision. Secondly, I've only ever seen evidence that the technosphere cannot exist with digesting the biosphere as lunch (see above).
I take solace in the Mystic vision of impermanence of form and everlasting spirit. What else could I count on?
I need to reread Overstory. Bet it hits differently now.
There’s such feeing of dystopian unease and yet a sublime profundity within this essay. Paradoxes abound: I agree that the rise of technocracy has to be a part of the divine plan; a test of our humannes, if you will. The cynic in me thinks that perhaps we already failed. Perhaps, we’ve been living in a simulation; a time line loop we can’t ever escape because we took the wrong turn somewhere back there.
And yet, does death not teach us the most about life? Does not accepting and keeping death sacred the vulnerability necessary for claiming our humanness?
Thanks for sending me on this thought provoking track. I’ll sit with this for awhile. Btw, I don’t even think “humanness” is a word, but go with me. “Humanity” is not what I mean.
"that everything is unfolding according to God’s plan, and I can get behind that. But that must mean that human resistance to a technological takeover is also part of that unfolding, no?"
Absolutely, true.
The mind of God, or God's plan, cannot be thwarted by bits, bots, bites, or tech bros high on legalized meth, aka SSRIs.
I utilize technology for good: reading, researching, writing, and sharing my knowledge of self-healing. I also spread the word about proven cheap alternatives to pharmaceutical poisons, such as Hydrogen Peroxide, DMSO, Chlorine Dioxide/MMS, etc. I also use technology to assist me in gathering knowledge about organic regenerative farming, no-till gardening, the benefits of raw milk, using healthy fats, etc.
So, I suppose what I am saying is that I counter the technology takeover by sharing my knowledge about what it means to be a healthy human in body, mind, and soul.
Thank you for a beautiful and meaningful post. God bless.
You've articulated a middle path that really speaks to me, KatWarrior. I've been struggling with the role of tech in my life and in the lives of loved ones, feeling as though by even engaging with it at all I'm perpetuating its grip. But your approach has such wisdom in it. I think we each have to find the balance that works for us. Thank you so much for your insightful comment... xox
Oh, thank you very much, Mary. There is wisdom in sitting back, observing, and listening. God gave us two ears and one mouth for a good reason.
I am glad my approach helped you find the balance that works for you.
Wow, Mary. I see you mined more from Power's book than I did. This inspired piece acted like a window for me, to better consider the motives of those tech guys.
You've laid out big and timely questions here. What strikes me - as it did in reading the Overstory - is the irony of using a simulation to immerse oneself in the Natural world. The clear disconnect in that virtual move when we're all free to go direct is hardly subtle.
Yet the question on whether Nature will use humans and their tech to its end, includes many subtleties. And uncertainties.
I don't know if Powers was elevating Nature over man, given that we are part of Nature. Whatever the Source of Creation is - it's included us in a larger story. No human life without a planet to live it.
We are not above Nature, and when we separate from it, every living thing suffers.
There's an error in the Tech bros which we can put down to a lack of humility but it's likely more than that. Some influence that came before, led us here and away from humility. A parasitic like influence that inserted itself between humans and their world, (imo) obscuring the realization that we've been given everything we need on this earth to discover our own deepening natures.
Any external tech we employ, should always be serving that end and so, agree, it must include morality. (Though what flavor of morality if you don't even know human life is sacred?)
I'll need to reread this thoughtful piece again. It is really getting at something essential.
Beautifully written and thought-provoking and deserving of a wide-audience.
Thank you so much. xox
Love this comment, Kathleen. You've hit on great insights, and bring up the biggest, toughest questions. I agree -- we ARE part of Nature, and yes: "when we separate from it, every living thing suffers," but aren't we at the same time an expendable part? More so than, say, bees?
I'm utterly intrigued by your comment about the parasitic-like influence drawing us away from our true nature. As I read that, I feel a resonance deep inside, a knowing... and yet I discount/dismiss that feeling on the daily. I think I've been conditioned to reject the concept of an external evil (for lack of a shorter term for it), which of course plays in nicely to its ongoing obscuration. "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled..."
Thank you for your thoughts. As always, they lead me deeper into truth. xox
We are all being dragged along to provide the data assumed as truth for a world conceived in the minds and egos of lonely little boys in service of psychopathy. A psychopathy of mortals that is well aware of the one and seeks I know not what. I would like to think that technology is part of an evolutionary journey, and I can see that path, yet as you say it currently seems to lack an emotion component and a robust feedback mechanism to self correct. Perhaps nature provides that counter balance and correction. However I deduce and intuite that great danger lies ahead if not confronted.
"Dragged along," yes! That's the feeling I have, too. I wish more people -- especially young ones -- saw it as thus. So many sleepwalkers in my children's generation don't even recognize what they're giving up to the Machine. Data, for sure, but also the best thing in life: real interactions with real, live human beings. Confrontation seems essential, but what will wake them up in time?
Thanks for the comment, Mike.
Hi Mary, synchronistically your post dropped into my inbox just as I was posting a comment on VN Alexendar's 'Are the Tech Bros Insane?'. It's a great article - realistic in its assessment of both the potentials and dangers of what some of the 'Tech Bros' are up to. I also felt that her proposition that the extremes of 'mechanistic thinking' which sit behind much of what is going on might be seen as a kind of mental illness, is very real. Related I think, the recently much-discussed (and sometimes much misinterpreted) theme of 'mass psychosis'.
'The Overstory' seems to be yet another playing out of the never-ending fantasy of the limited materialistic mind, and the mentality of the 'giant game of The Sims' that certain influential people keep wanting to play. The delusional error is, as you say, Musk's (and the other tech bros'):
“Truth” is not synonymous with “Data,” but Musk can’t actually “grok” that. He is searching for a place where his lack of humanness cannot be seen or felt. Mars is perfect. What a great line!
A comment comes to my mind, as I read your post, and V.N.'s, from the great Joseph Wisenbaum (MIT computer science professor who spent much of his life debunking the idea that machines can truly be intelliegent). In an interview near the end of his life (published as 'Islands in the Cyberstream'), Wisenbaum noted that almost all of the scientists involved in seeking to create AI are men. He speculated on whether this obsessive drive to artificially 'create life' is less participated in by women because they can do it for real. Interesting thought.
Such synchronicity for sure!
Wow -- the Wisenbaum comment rings entirely true to me. I've often thought that men are driven to destroy as a show of "equivalent" power, but this idea of artificially creating "life" is genius. Thank you for bringing it to our attention here!
They (the techs) make the same mistake as was made in the Star Trek Voyager episode.
They conflate acquisition of data with life.
It's the old engineering joke that's adorned white boards since the beginning. A long calculation ends in *then a miracle occurs* drawn in a starburst.
Life ... Consciousness, awareness... Is the miracle they expect to suddenly occur after they acquire enough data & wrote enough code.
It is a lie. They are mistaking the map for the territory.
I developed a deeper understanding of infinity in my chemistry class. For every problem/question we solved, I immediately came up with a half dozen more questions. Every answer to every one simply generated another half dozen. And those were just off the top of my head. I'm sure other minds would come up with more questions.
Exponential growth that never ends.
Life is the gift from God, & His greatest secret. No matter how much data they acquire & feed into their computers, they will never miraculously become life.
Fantastic comment, SBW, thank you.
The old engineering joke about *then a miracle occurs* reminds me of the opposite joke, told by Terrence McKenna: "Give us one free miracle and we'll explain the rest." You're probably familiar with it: that an inexplicable Big Bang instantaneously creates all the laws of nature and all the matter and energy in the universe, upon which all of Science rests, is pretty funny... :-)
It is pretty funny… and then if you ask what was before the Big Bang they tell you there was no ‘before’ because time began with the Big Bang - and expect to be taken seriously!
Reminds me of how some fans of hip-hop culture assumed they were exploring a new frontier in the virtues of big butts. 🤣
😂
👍😁
I hope that I'm not missing the point here, but perhaps I can add to it.
Matter does not create Consciousness, Consciousness creates matter.
With the veils descending, we will soon discover, not only that everything is connected, but that everything is one thing.
And that is who we are.
Amen to that. Loved your take on that subject in your latest essay!
"Musk can’t actually “grok” that. He is searching for a place where his lack of humanness cannot be seen or felt. Mars is perfect."
This is such an interesting take, Mary. I had been thinking in terms of autism but 'left brain dominance' and 'right hemisphere deficit' are much more descriptive and don't downplay the reality that is severe autism.
and instead of a spectrum, or even a balance, it's two interdependent halves that can only grow together. I was thinking of what the other imbalance would be--right hemisphere without left. Again, I don't think it's the spiritual because that needs to develop together. I think it's maybe that middle school girl-brain that's only aware of what other people think about her with no introspection.
Magnificent opening photo!
Thanks, T! I had the same reaction -- I've been attributing the behavior of tech titans to a catch-all autism, but this made more sense to me.
"Middle school girl-brain!" 😂
I was going to mention Jill Bolte Taylor, but Steve beat me to it and did so marvelously. xox
Steve also told me about JBT. I don't remember if you were reading when I did this: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/imagination-seeks-attention
No, I was out of commission for a while. Thanks for this!!
Oh this was a long time ago. Steve's been a fan of Jill's for awhile! And her thinking really informed mine. I've had a draft of The Himosphere and Herosphere for a long time ;-)
That's BRILLIANT.
LOL. I've chatted off and on about Jill with a few, and had forgotten our exchange.
What you brought in this Taj Mahal of a comment (as Mary says) was entirely new. I'm glad to be reintroduced to what Jill awoke in you, Steve.
Thanks Tereza.
I still have a lot of fumbling in the dark ahead of me. 🥰
Don't we all??
Hi Tereza.
I am still too overwhelmed with Mary's articulation of something I've been suspecting for a while, so I will have to sit on this before posting a worthwhile comment.
But in your great question, I saw a ray of light I'd come across a few years ago — Neuro Scientist Jill Bolte Taylor's massive left hemisphere stroke at age 38, and her book and TED talk recounting her experience and years of recovery.
I can't remember who steered me to her TED talk, but I was not prepared. By the last few minutes, I was crying uncontrollably ... I guess out of a complex mixture of remembrance of a personal experience resulting in a similar mindset and a recognition of her rare depth of authenticity. I was so overwhelmed that I looked up her e-mail address and dashed off a letter asking for her permission to allow my seminar students to translate her TED talk into Japanese. With modest good humor, she responded with an affirmative ... but the heads up that both the TED talk and her book (which I was completely unaware of) had already been translated into Japanese as well as several other languages. Embarrassed, I wrote back, admitting my ignorance regarding the impact she had already made, and we exchanged a few more e-mails ending by touching on, of all things, music.
I did use her material in several classes, and within a year or two after discovering her talk and book, NHK Japan aired two separate documentaries about her journey (which I also used in classes). In case you haven't seen her TED talk, will leave the link here ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYD7Y9CXeUw&t=185s
Though most of my following interpretation necessarily falls short of her description of her own experience, some of my personal experience (I am not yet prepared to talk directly about) does come through. In an oversimplified nutshell, the left-brain appears to have functions which create the provisional distinctions between self and other / past and future. Linear logic and most functions of language also appear to be left hemisphere oriented. So when pressed to describe what kind of consciousness remained when the left shut down, she used the Hindu word "nirvana" to describe an awareness that prosaic language is not meant to describe.
This dovetails with the writers who have influenced my theory of language and thought, particularly Wittgenstein's Tractatus, and the gist of Russell and Whitehead's Principia and Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems. I guess I would have to throw in a bit of Suzuki Daisetsu's limits of logic and language as expressed by Zen / Taoist thought, and the "spiritual naturalism" (that Jungian/Joseph Campbell thingy of 'god as metaphor for nature in its entirety') of Spinoza, Einstein — or animistic beliefs such as found among Australian First People (non-linear Dream Time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnAUSX4agAs&t=19s). But then, that also leads to fractal theory and closely related emergence theory and chaos theory. Love those mandelbrot sets.
One of the more unsettling implications of this approach is that the razor's edge is not restricted to the neuro-divergent autistic idiot-savants that would rule the world. Instead, the danger is in us all. As Nietzsche once said, the last and greatest deceiver is language itself, for every utterance can not help but to speak in defense of itself. All language is ultimately metaphorical in origin, and for most of us, most of the time, a metaphorical deception ... a dark twist on T.S. Kuhn's description of provisional scientific paradigms. According to some of the traditions listed in the previous paragraph, language and "intelligence" itself (according to our conversational definitions) is the danger, leaving us with a paradox in that the more refined our capacity for granularization of information and expression as 'data' through linguistic or mathematical expression, and the more we direct that intelligence towards a search for 'spirituality', the further that experience recedes from us.
But I recognize the irony of my having tried to state what I just said is beyond the prosaic limits of language. How does that old Zen thingy go? "Those who speak, don't know." That leaves us only with overtly metaphorical approaches to language that can only point to a reference rather than capture it.
I'm also aware of what appears to be a contradiction in Jill Bolte Taylor's message. She ends her talk and her book with a plea for us to 'choose' to live in the right hemisphere. This is where I am paradoxically more in line with you Tereza, because "choice" is a left brain process, if not illusion, and I tend to think of spiritual growth as the maturation of the social primate which depends on reconciling left-brain processes with right brain.
I should end now, before I become a pathological example of an Ouroboros, but wanted to propose yet another angle that had crossed my mind decades ago. In trying to answer the question of what it means to be a human, from a biological perspective, I can't help but to think of a simplified psychology of predator and prey. For example, the deer is a 'herd' animal, and lives in the Taoist "here and now", grazing in the grass and constantly alert for danger. The wolf is a 'pack' animal, necessarily remembering the past, coordinating, and planning for future kills. Both predator and prey are beyond good and evil. What if, by genetic predisposition, some humans are closer to predators, and others, herbivores? (Not just in terms of male-female relationships as in this YouTube, but in the pursuit of self-interest in general. Japanese society is very authoritarian, and I think that is highly correlated with the majority of men becoming more docile, institutionalized 'herbivores') https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO3dNtBj0lY. This difference may be influenced by systems and social circumstances, but I don't think we can rule out "nature" from the "nature-nurture" debate. Hmm. H.G. Wells predated me by a long shot with future humans devolving into Eloi and Morlocks in "The Time Machine" ... great metaphors for divergent hemisphere mind-sets Just some thoughts.
Cheers Tereza
steve
"Just some thoughts." Sure, Steve, and the Taj Mahal is just some building. 😂
I had the same visceral response to Jill Bolt Taylor's talk many moons ago, and it became part of my journey toward the sacred, for lack of a better phrase. Thank you for bringing her story forward here; it's a perfect adjunct.
The Nietzsche concept about language's deception was new to me and VERY interesting. Years ago I had the idea of writing a play in which the characters only speak in metaphor. I'm inspired to revisit that idea by your thoughts. I'm also inspired to talk less, and know more. 😉
SO grateful for your presence here. xox
Thanks for that thoughtful reply, Steve, and the chance to link the episode I did when you introduced me to JTB. She made a big impact on me, but more so for you!
I had forgotten that Jill tells us to 'choose' to live in the right hemisphere (or as I said to Mary, the Himosphere and the Herosphere). I like that concept. I think it's actually very Course in Miracles. The daily exercises and readings are as Left Brain as you can get, yet the objective is living in the Now of the Right Brain.
I appreciate all your nutritious food for thought!
Hi Tereza, and thanks for the reply.
I was reluctant to hit the "reply" to post that sub-comment because I felt like I was caught up in a spiral death-dive, posing more questions than wrangling them in, imposing more self-censure than leading to new insights. Just a quick heads up to let you know I will be continuing more of my stumble-dance with both of you in the above reply to Mary.
Cheers Tereza. 🥰
Hi Mary, I honestly feel I'm not "smart" enough to respond to your essay. I read "The Overstory" when it came out, and I don't remember if I finished it. All I remember is that it won the Pulitzer, and everyone said how great it was. I didn't like it. I think I gave it away. Reading your excellent post, it's as though I never even read the book.
Perhaps it was too dystopian for me. I find myself reading less and less online about what's going on. Substack seems frenetic and overloaded these days. I have to take a breath before opening it.
Maybe we'll just split into different timelines... XOXO
P.S. That image of the tree crushing the temple is WOW.
You're plenty smart, I can assure you! And I can see why you gave away the book; it WAS pretty dystopian. I was disappointed by the ending, honestly, after investing myself so fully in the many storylines.
I also share your assessment of Substack, feeling the same about its energy. I've unsubscribed from so many. If we do split off, I'll be grateful to join you on (in?) yours! xox!
There’s nothing worse than investing time in a big book and being disappointed in the ending. :(
Yes, glad we’ve got each other’s info in case we bolt! 🧚💕
Barbara, I'm with you on this. Whenever "everyone" says how great something is, that's always a red flag for me. I agree about the timeline split, too. Thanks for your honesty.
It's my Sagittarius Sun, Ronnie! :)
I need to reread Overstory. Bet it hits differently now.
There’s such feeing of dystopian unease and yet a sublime profundity within this essay. Paradoxes abound: I agree that the rise of technocracy has to be a part of the divine plan; a test of our humannes, if you will. The cynic in me thinks that perhaps we already failed. Perhaps, we’ve been living in a simulation; a time line loop we can’t ever escape because we took the wrong turn somewhere back there.
And yet, does death not teach us the most about life? Does not accepting and keeping death sacred the vulnerability necessary for claiming our humanness?
Thanks for sending me on this thought provoking track. I’ll sit with this for awhile. Btw, I don’t even think “humanness” is a word, but go with me. “Humanity” is not what I mean.
Damn, I hope the cynic in you is wrong, but I can't discount the possibility that she's right. And yes, death is our greatest teacher. Perhaps that's why there's so much "died suddenly" happening; we REALLY need to learn.
I think I actually used the word "humanness" in this essay. It's a word! xox
LOL. Reminds me of the joke of when the scientist poses the last question to the pinnacle of digital artificial intelligence, "Is there a god?" And after a few clicks and whirls, it spits out the answer ... "There is now."
😂
Oh did you and I missed it?!? Please let me wipe the egg off my face. 🥴
I went back and checked... I'll take that egg off your face and add it to mine 🥚
😂 the word is in the aether! We just channel it! 💓
Babul babble babel!
I (mis)spent a "career" in "IT" (read "it"), and your final comments re: the human condition being "upgraded" brought me to stark remembrance of the many times over the decades when "the powers" "upgraded," what were back then called, "programs," and BROKE FUNCTIONALITY!!
When protests rolled in to "roll it back," a typical response was to dismiss the users with a virtual pat-on-the-head, asking them if they were so smart why weren't they coding?
Years upon years ago, an old acquaintance I had gave me this good maxim: "Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you OUGHT."
We are in a post-modern Opposite Age to that sentiment.
How utterly infuriating. The patronizing "powers" have so much contempt for the people from whom they make their obscene livings. Makes me think of The Oscars, which as a former actor I used to watch yearly with an embarrassing loyalty. What Hollywood "powers" are creating now are derivative, predictable tropes masquerading as "upgraded" morality, and if we call it out as such, we're told we just don't GET IT. "Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you OUGHT." Great advice.
Thanks for your unique perspective, David.
Mary, what I got out of your comment is that "You should--seriously--consider becoming 'an independent film-maker.'" (Check out the low-budget movie "Primer." (You ~could~ do it. I will contribute to a go-fund-me--and toot the horn over on Our Jenna's stack.))
Wow. Thank you for that suggestion, and your put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is support, David! I'm seriously considering it. Seriously.
I looked at the trailer for Primer, and I learned that their budget in 2004 was... wait for it... $7,000. Adjusted for inflation, that's $11,771.82 today -- which is surprisingly small. Going to watch it! xox
Mary, I couldn't click on "like" because this gave me the creeps, but I have always suspected that there were "those" who were trying to play God, I concluded that they were mentally ill, but dangerous nonetheless, so I do appreciate being made aware of all this, but I'd rather not spend much time thinking about it, if you know what I mean. Calgon take me away, please!
BUT, your essay is so incredibly well-written that one just can't stop reading it. Kind of like not being able to take your eyes off a tragic accident when driving by. Terrible analogy, I know. Just another one of my crazy upside down compliments.
Well, I think I better quit while I'm ahead. As always, XOXO.
I know, I know. Every now and then I write something that heebs you out. 😂 So thanks for sticking with it! Xox
Asilomar conference - when the genetics techies thought about putting the brakes on their activity in order to prevent doing harm.
Absolutely Resistance is part of the Plan. People should think before they jump, and not all of the tech springs from benevolence.
I'd never heard of the Asilomar conference. Thanks for mentioning it!
Two things from me. The tech Bros never really admit that they have inherited the Tragedy of the Commons in their morality/worldview so they just steal - for example - the lives of young Congolese for their tech vision. Secondly, I've only ever seen evidence that the technosphere cannot exist with digesting the biosphere as lunch (see above).
I take solace in the Mystic vision of impermanence of form and everlasting spirit. What else could I count on?
I'd never heard of the Tragedy of the Commons, so thanks very much for introducing it to me, TG.
And I'm with you on the "vision of impermanence of form and everlasting spirit" as the North Star, as it were. Love that description.
I need to reread Overstory. Bet it hits differently now.
There’s such feeing of dystopian unease and yet a sublime profundity within this essay. Paradoxes abound: I agree that the rise of technocracy has to be a part of the divine plan; a test of our humannes, if you will. The cynic in me thinks that perhaps we already failed. Perhaps, we’ve been living in a simulation; a time line loop we can’t ever escape because we took the wrong turn somewhere back there.
And yet, does death not teach us the most about life? Does not accepting and keeping death sacred the vulnerability necessary for claiming our humanness?
Thanks for sending me on this thought provoking track. I’ll sit with this for awhile. Btw, I don’t even think “humanness” is a word, but go with me. “Humanity” is not what I mean.