Problems, Predicaments, and Technology

  How often do you see people accuse those of us who actually fully comprehend the predicaments society faces of "giving up"? Why do people think we have "given up" just because we understand these predicaments? NONE of us has given up on anything that is worth pursuing - it is the false " solutions "  which actually take society in the wrong direction that we have given up on. Those of us who understand the situation with trees , for instance, haven't given up on planting trees. ( Also see this article here about trees .) We've simply given up on the IDEA that planting trees will have much effect on climate change. We still enjoy planting trees, we just no longer do it for the wrong reasons or think that by planting them that doing so justifies society's continued destruction of the environment. Likewise, we also know that purchasing "green" or "clean" or " renewable" devices such as solar panels or EVs will hav...

  One of the things most misunderstood is the concept of free will. Most people have the misconception that we all have free will and (more or less) can "do whatever we want." In reality, this is actually false . While we have the ability to make certain choices, those choices are all constrained to certain norms on average, based upon the reward of dopamine. As Dave Pollard writes about a year ago, " Everything we do is dopamine-driven , based on experiences that have, through positive reinforcement or coercion, been dictated by our entirely ‘unconscious’ behavior since we were born. There is no ‘us’ somehow apart from these evolutionarily conditioned animal bodies, to intervene to do things differently." Now, Dave explains why assigning blame is pretty much useless and nothing more than theater here . Nate Hagens adds this to the mix. This article goes into great depth and explains almost every argument out there regarding this topic. In an update (3-24-24) re...

(SPECIAL NOTE: This article was originally written in January, 2020)  “It is the part of a great mind to despise wrongs done to it; the most contemptuous form of revenge is not to deem one’s adversary worth taking vengeance upon. Many have taken small injuries much more seriously to heart than they need, by revenging them: that man is great and noble who like a large wild animal hears unmoved the tiny curs that bark at him.” ~ Seneca Over the years, I have tackled several different ideas that I have seen emerging in many places regarding what I will call "romantic ideas" based upon false beliefs and ignorance. Occasionally, I am surprised by indignant outbursts by people I would never suspect of having the wool pulled over their eyes. Of course, the reason they are often so indignant is because they are simply suffering from grief (and anger and denial in this case), as we all are here. Either way, I want to make it clear that everyone is entitled to their own opinions as I ...

PREFACE For those who may have stumbled upon this link before reading other entries of my blog, a good place to start instead (so one can understand the context) might be my first entry here . For those wishing to make quicker work of getting acquainted with the details explaining more about the conditions surrounding this particular article with less overall reading, this entry is rather dense with links to supporting material.  What Will We Miss the Most? As time moves forward and we begin to slow down from the constant rush, rush, rush of industrial civilization, what will we miss the most? Will we wake up and begin remembering what we "forgot?" Think back to your own childhood. What did you enjoy the most? Were times "slower" and were there days you could spend outside exploring all over for hours or just chilling and reading books? Could you spend hours listening to the radio, hanging out in a tree house or on the beach at the lake?  Believe it or not, except ...