More Blind Spots

 



Rough Ridge Trail in North Carolina





In the news recently, several developments have made headlines. Peter Thiel is moving his family to Argentina. Tons of CEOs are selling off stock. News out of Washington DC is now often no longer worth listening to, generally being more about narratives than actual news. A lack of naptha is causing trouble in Japan, soon to be troublesome in our own neck of the woods.

A quick browse of economic news shows some signs that the stranglehold the BAU crowd have held thus far is beginning to break. Of course, I'm certain that everyone in the overshoot community easily understand that there was no way for the economy to continue gains when the reality is that growth is over.

A simple reminder from the Native American Cree Prophecy:





This is perhaps one of the strongest examples as to why more money, more technology, and/or more energy can not and will not make conditions better. The only thing any of those can do is increase overshoot, making everything worse rather than better. I see the same pattern repeat itself over and over again. Some examples are better than others (i.e.; here and here), but all of them represent several factors that make them end up in the same ballpark. I've written about these factors time and again (see here and here and here and here and here and here for just a few cases in point) but seem to be shouting into the abyss. Rob Mielcarski and a few others in the overshoot community mirror this shouting with CACTUS and MORT and commiserate with each other regarding our species' collective denial of reality. Please make sure to check out the comments section of Rob's article; there are some really remarkable comments there, including some well-deserved criticism of AI, hopium-believers, and other nonsense. It truly highlights the blind spots of our species. 

Speaking of which, last time, I focused on Stoicism as a means of dealing with the predicaments we face. There can be some confusion about Stoicism and determinism, so my friend David Fleming posted this about it:

"Determinism vs. Stoicism

Determinism describes the world. Stoicism trains you to live well in the world determinism describes.

Determinism itself gives no ethics, no guidance, no meaning. It simply says: “This is how things happen.”

Stoicism accepts determinism, but then builds an entire ethical system on top of it.

So Stoicism takes the deterministic universe and asks: Given that everything is caused, what is the best way to live?"


I've been trying to get caught up on my reading, as one of my goals on my trip last month was to steer clear of reading about overshoot and related topics and just enjoy being outside and in the mountains. I actually did pretty well on that goal. After my trip, some material I simply ignored, but I did find quite a few other gems that I will also include here. Steve Bull came out with an article about AI that debunks the popular narratives that often accompany it. Speaking of AI, here's an article that explains the nine trillion dollar collapse machine.

One of the clearest signs of ignorance, hubris, and stupidity was revealed by this article. The author clearly demonstrated that he doesn't understand the difference between what surplus energy was available in the 1940s versus what is available today. This is understandable with a large portion of society, as I realize that most people have no concept of surplus energy; it isn't what most people think it is. But another huge blind spot with the author is the fact that climate change, in fact, is NOT the biggest issue - overshoot is. 

Tom Murphy recently posted these articles (here and here [more parts are available on Tom's site]) about sustainability and how our species routinely reveals its anthropocentrism in a variety of ways, ignoring the true reality. The entire conversation originally took place in 2023 and 2024, but I found the articles interesting; showing beyond a shadow of a doubt that what so many people think is sustainable simply is not.

Generally speaking, most of society is simply missing the point, as Elisabeth Robson explains. If only more people understood that fact...

I'm keeping this one short and sweet, as next time I'll have a much longer article. On to two great spots featured on the TT site; Altamont, North Carolina and Beacon Heights Trail, some pictures of which have been posted here before. 


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