Posts
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It Doesn't Matter What People Say
What matters is what we do.
Because talk is cheap. And action changes things. It can change the world.
Ideally everyone is a person of honor. And everyone carefully chooses his words. As in: What we say we will do, is actually what we will do.
But look at politicians. Look how often we announced to quit smoking or lose weight. Look at the people who say bad things but turn out to do good deeds in the end.
Oh you don’t know the latter? Then maybe you are not looking yet.
People are not always what they seem to be. Sometimes there can be a very nice surprise. But we need to observe their actions or otherwise we might miss it.
And then we go on judging them not for what they are but what we think they are based on something they said.
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The Conquest of Nature
Man has conquered flora and fauna. There grows not a tree unless humans decide it can grow there. There’s not an animal roaming around unless we let it be. (Well.. except insects and rats maybe..) We are the kings and rulers of the world.
We have won and the winner takes it all. The planet is ours and now we have even decided to protect species from extinction and forests from disappearing and so forth.
But our rule is worth what?
We still die. We haven’t conquered the animal which we are. Our bodies are not for eternity.
Perhaps our technology will one day outlive us.. Perhaps the future of humanity is to not be human at all. But something else. Maybe we are just here to pass the torch. To give birth to something else. Something that can last longer.
Artificial intelligence maybe?
And for what? Whole different question.
Also what about our life now.. danger is everywhere. We can fall off a cliff. A bear can still eat us if we are unprepared. Volcanoes can erupt and earthquakes cause devestation. Diseases kill us. We even die in traffic. And of course we kill each other.
Humans are both gods and worms. Able to rule.. well, quite a lot.
But not all. And in the end we’re, as always, at the mercy of fortune and, no matter how lucky we are, doomed to perish in the end.
Bummer.
Picture credit: Quang Nguyen vinh
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What if the Filter Bubble is Good?
Just a quick thought about the filter bubble. Yes there are extremes where what I am about to say should not apply, but what if the filter bubble is a good thing? It amplifies the interests of users/readers/viewers and gives them what they want. Mainstream influence is less. This could be a good thing.
A human being is educated by family and at school. Eventually he must rediscover himself or he will end up living a life that is not his own. What if the filter bubble helps with that? What if the algorithm knows better what we need at a certain point in time? Or if it suggests a variety of things and we pick the right thing for us. Some links shine brighter than others.
Consider this idea: The algorithms are helping us find ourselves.
(As said in the first paragraph: If “ourself” is a psychopath they probably shoud not encourage us.)
I am tired of criticism against the Internet.
The world has changed because of how technology developed, sure. Let’s enjoy the fruits!
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Less of The Bad And More of The Good
Ok I admit not everything is awesome. There are real problems. People struggle every day. But on average.. what is available.. is just amazing.
All the information is one thing. But all the people showing off their passions and making content about it. Fantastic. Today I’ve spend some time watching a fan of old synthesizers play around with them. He also connected old computers to keyboards using the MIDI interface and made some seriously nice music with it. (I think he wants to be the 3rd Pet Shop Boy.)
And then you have all the programmers making cool things. Like this drum computer that cost me some time today.
As I’m typing this i’m listening to an Aretha Franklin album.. I have never bought an Aretha Franklin album. I can just stream it anytime I feel like it.
People struggle, but some things are really great. And, if you believe the stats, everything is getting better.
Good for us.
But I think some have to recognize it. And maybe unplug from the media for a little bit. To see less of the bad and more of the good.
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About Status
It’s said that humans always want to establish a hierarchy.
When we meet, we determine who is above and who is below. It’s all fluid and depends on circumstance, but sometimes it can be quite firm and permanent. And we can’t control it. It is like some sort of very fast subroutine running below the treshold of consciousness. Two people meet, swoosh, status is immediately negotiated.
And the lengths we go to to change our status..
Heck, it can even explain racism. What easier way to feel better about ourselves if we find reasons to imagine us to be better, our status to be higher, than the millions of members of another human race.
It can also explain sexism. It’s such a nice tool to explain things..
However I want to reject it.
I believe we are capable of rejecting it. Of disengaging that subroutine. Of finding another way to live. Of leading a life without the constant negotiation of our standing in hierarchies.
It’s possible, but perhaps it takes a lot of time to make the switch. (Or maybe it’s very fast. Sometimes gread deeds just take a moment of insight.)
It’s just a matter of switching from a vertical view of the world to a horizontal view of the world.
We all walk not up or down, but we walk ahead, each one towards our own goals. Following our own needs and interests. And everyone else does the same. They are walking next to us. Sometimes their path is parallel to ours, sometimes perpendicular. Or it’s any other angle. Not above us. Not below us. Just next to us.
Sure.. One has a great body. Another has a million Euros. Yet another drives a Porsche. And another saved someones life. Yet another has a great sense of humor.
We’re all in this together. This life thing. It doesn’t matter that we arrive fastest at some destination, because there is no destination. It’s just life.
But even if we define a goal, say, buying a house. Or having a child.
So some of us will get there sooner. Others will get there later. Some already start there. Others never make it. And many don’t care about that goal at all.
Who cares, right? It’s just life. Our life. Their life. We’re all in this mess, for ourselves but also for each other. We can meet and we can cooperate. We can keep each other company. We can heal each other and build the future together. We can even compete. As long as we don’t make it our default mode of being.
I’ll finish with a nice quote by Albert Camus that hits a similar note:
Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.
P.S.: Camus’ book “The Stranger” is one of my favorite books of all time. I highly recommend it.
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