My wake-up, get-up chores in the morning take about half an hour. Usually, in the first few minutes I hear the wall clock in the living room call out the half hour. Then, unless something upends the routine it chimes again while I am making coffee. I often reflect in that moment, “I am so predictable.” But we do that, fall into tedious but comfortable patterns. Then a half hour later at the next clock-strike I am at the computer sipping on a second cup.
I used to get my coffee fix with a dozen or more friends at a local Panera’s, several times a week. We are all old and some with compromised immune systems so that morning ritual came to a screeching halt with Covid. Some of us still find ways to connect either in isolated 4’s or 5’s and at ‘zoom’ get-togethers. It looked like we were coming out of that storm but then the virus did a little dance and it’s déjà vu (all over again). Except for an economics professor who is moderate conservative, we all lean left. Some things don’t change, we still (nitpick) defend our views on controversial issues like adversaries.
Debate (disagreement) is usually civil and much more about enlightenment than competition. Even at that I tend to avoid those exchanges. At best they can break down into arguments where both agents care only about having the last word. I opened my mouth last week and still wish I hadn’t. A woman (friend) was ruminating on the disparity between medieval morality (misogyny, racism, etc) and advanced technology. “How can they live in the same house?” She is a really smart lady. I, on the other hand, think of myself as patient and thoughtful but not necessarily smart. ‘Smart’ has a double edge, cuts both ways. I associate smart with 60 mph on a curvy road with slick tires; no margin for error.
I suggested, maybe more than suggested, there is no necessary link between morality and technological wizardry. It is apples & oranges. One is driven by human nature and the other by centuries of a disciplined quest for knowledge: and you don’t acquire human nature. It is inherent. “You mean that the same brain that designed the Hubble telescope can justify white supremacy?” I said, “Why not?” The one is driven by a conscious, rational instrument while the other’s source is subconscious and emotional: Human Nature. She didn’t like that.
I had opened a can of worms that we could not close, not then and there. We avoided a (have the last word) situation by moving on to something new. Our ‘zoom’ friends were happy to move on with us. It prompted me to rethink the question which is always good. We, she and I, come from different places in our experience. What pushes our buttons and how we react did not bloom on the same vine. From my point of reference Human Nature was a done deal long before we were born, something we inherited, not puzzle pieces we manipulate. Creative expression (technology) doesn’t just happen. It is acquired through reason, skills and purpose. She thinks, if you are smart you can manipulate the subconscious puzzle to satisfy the conscious one and I don’t.
My coffee mug is empty and the pot has run dry. Time to move my feet. Still, I will avoid strangers and crowds. Even though the odds are in my favor, critical care beds are few and far between and staff shortfalls compound that. I remember when I was ten feet tall and bullet proof but (years) have debunked that myth even if human nature would still take me off a cliff.
I used to get my coffee fix with a dozen or more friends at a local Panera’s, several times a week. We are all old and some with compromised immune systems so that morning ritual came to a screeching halt with Covid. Some of us still find ways to connect either in isolated 4’s or 5’s and at ‘zoom’ get-togethers. It looked like we were coming out of that storm but then the virus did a little dance and it’s déjà vu (all over again). Except for an economics professor who is moderate conservative, we all lean left. Some things don’t change, we still (nitpick) defend our views on controversial issues like adversaries.
Debate (disagreement) is usually civil and much more about enlightenment than competition. Even at that I tend to avoid those exchanges. At best they can break down into arguments where both agents care only about having the last word. I opened my mouth last week and still wish I hadn’t. A woman (friend) was ruminating on the disparity between medieval morality (misogyny, racism, etc) and advanced technology. “How can they live in the same house?” She is a really smart lady. I, on the other hand, think of myself as patient and thoughtful but not necessarily smart. ‘Smart’ has a double edge, cuts both ways. I associate smart with 60 mph on a curvy road with slick tires; no margin for error.
I suggested, maybe more than suggested, there is no necessary link between morality and technological wizardry. It is apples & oranges. One is driven by human nature and the other by centuries of a disciplined quest for knowledge: and you don’t acquire human nature. It is inherent. “You mean that the same brain that designed the Hubble telescope can justify white supremacy?” I said, “Why not?” The one is driven by a conscious, rational instrument while the other’s source is subconscious and emotional: Human Nature. She didn’t like that.
I had opened a can of worms that we could not close, not then and there. We avoided a (have the last word) situation by moving on to something new. Our ‘zoom’ friends were happy to move on with us. It prompted me to rethink the question which is always good. We, she and I, come from different places in our experience. What pushes our buttons and how we react did not bloom on the same vine. From my point of reference Human Nature was a done deal long before we were born, something we inherited, not puzzle pieces we manipulate. Creative expression (technology) doesn’t just happen. It is acquired through reason, skills and purpose. She thinks, if you are smart you can manipulate the subconscious puzzle to satisfy the conscious one and I don’t.
My coffee mug is empty and the pot has run dry. Time to move my feet. Still, I will avoid strangers and crowds. Even though the odds are in my favor, critical care beds are few and far between and staff shortfalls compound that. I remember when I was ten feet tall and bullet proof but (years) have debunked that myth even if human nature would still take me off a cliff.
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