I’ve been writing some but when I come back to it the next day it doesn’t measure up. I don’t delete it but neither does it belong in the blog. Sometimes I post articles that have no legs. Still I keep throwing words at the page in the hope it grows into something that does have legs. I got a text message from my daughter in law; “if you want to hate the world watch the news and if you want to love the world then travel in it”. I already share the sentiment but it’s nice to have someone agree. I don’t watch the news, didn’t need her advice. But I go. I don’t think of myself as a traveler, that suggests to some extent, planning, expectation and adequate resources. I just go; something to do with being in motion, curiosity, meeting people in their culture and finding a niche. I hope I never lose that appetite.
Leon Trotsky was instrumental in the Russian Revolution (1917) He said; “Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man.” To be more concise he was lamenting the rapid passage of time and the ironies of this life. Unlike Trotsky my aging out has not been unexpected, I’ve seen it coming for decades. The irony is, to my way of thinking, I’ve seen enough and weighed cause and effect transactions to my satisfaction. I’ve compared my observations to what others believe. From training and experience I challenge what I think is correct and what I want to believe until it either collapses under its own weight or it rings true. The irony is that I am confident now in just about everything that is worth knowing or believing but no one cares. I’m just an old man. Times have moved on and my contribution is perceived as irrelevant. In reality I am aware of my shortcomings, I don’t really know all that much but it’s enough.
‘Perception’ is the process of organizing, identifying and interpreting sensory information. That way we can understand the world, our culture & ourselves. The process translates raw sensory data from the five senses into meaningful experiences. I don't get to experience reality, all I get are perceptions. Millions of neurons turn data into ideas and understanding but we are unique individuals.. We can be in the same loop and come away with different perceptions. Is the barking dog going to play or bite? It depends.
Leon Trotsky was instrumental in the Russian Revolution (1917) He said; “Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man.” To be more concise he was lamenting the rapid passage of time and the ironies of this life. Unlike Trotsky my aging out has not been unexpected, I’ve seen it coming for decades. The irony is, to my way of thinking, I’ve seen enough and weighed cause and effect transactions to my satisfaction. I’ve compared my observations to what others believe. From training and experience I challenge what I think is correct and what I want to believe until it either collapses under its own weight or it rings true. The irony is that I am confident now in just about everything that is worth knowing or believing but no one cares. I’m just an old man. Times have moved on and my contribution is perceived as irrelevant. In reality I am aware of my shortcomings, I don’t really know all that much but it’s enough.
‘Perception’ is the process of organizing, identifying and interpreting sensory information. That way we can understand the world, our culture & ourselves. The process translates raw sensory data from the five senses into meaningful experiences. I don't get to experience reality, all I get are perceptions. Millions of neurons turn data into ideas and understanding but we are unique individuals.. We can be in the same loop and come away with different perceptions. Is the barking dog going to play or bite? It depends.
If this sounds like navel-gazing then that is your perception but by my sense it’s where the rubber meets the road. For nearly a million years small clans of hunter-gatherers practiced a culture that was predicated on cooperation and peaceful resolution of differences. A single life in the clan was too precious to risk unnecessarily and you had to be able to carry everything you owned. Material wealth and political power were yet to be. That culture went unchanged for nearly a million years. In the last 10,000 years (+ or -) civilization has changed (evolved) rapidly in culture and technology while the human animal has not evolved noticeably if at all. Experts, real-deal, bonafide experts are concerned that we now have technology and machines that can replicate brain function in certain skills and tasks much faster, more reliably, and more efficiently that our outdated Hunter-gatherer brain. As this phenomenon unfolds the implications are scary at best.
In this old man’s irrelevant view it suggests something about human nature. Since the introduction of civilization (cities, farming, war, etc.) creative problem solving, advances in tools & weapons, machines, etc. have accelerated exponentially. In large part it has been manifest in the past 300 years. Considering all of the factors involved, humans do very well with creating things that work for the culture and civilization at large. But we haven’t advanced Human nature to favor a more efficient, peaceful, cooperative culture. Humanity seems obsessed with a win-win, zero sum culture that profits from tribal prejudice, violence and ultimately war. That was deadly enough when weapons were spears and bullets. But powerful nations now have weapons of mass destruction and the danger is global rather than local.
My perception is that the world is becoming more and more ugly with lust for power and material wealth more appealing than noble hyperbole about democracy and peaceful cooperation. I remember when willing sacrifice for the greater good was considered a virtue but now who ever has the biggest penis calls the shots.
With this post I have shared stuff that I’ve always kept to myself. I do so at risk of being dismissed as an irrelevant old man but if I want to be perceived at all it’s a better choice than trusting squeaky clean, mundane old-man chatter. I know there are much younger, much better educated, more eloquent, truly expert sources who write books and I agree with them on this little trip into the way I perceive things.
I’m heading out on a roadtrip in a few days. I speak just enough Spanish I’m concerned I’ll be pulled over by masked ICE agents and sent to a concentration camp. I say that out of my hate for what the news conveys. By the time I see my daughter in law my disposition will hopefully have improved.
In this old man’s irrelevant view it suggests something about human nature. Since the introduction of civilization (cities, farming, war, etc.) creative problem solving, advances in tools & weapons, machines, etc. have accelerated exponentially. In large part it has been manifest in the past 300 years. Considering all of the factors involved, humans do very well with creating things that work for the culture and civilization at large. But we haven’t advanced Human nature to favor a more efficient, peaceful, cooperative culture. Humanity seems obsessed with a win-win, zero sum culture that profits from tribal prejudice, violence and ultimately war. That was deadly enough when weapons were spears and bullets. But powerful nations now have weapons of mass destruction and the danger is global rather than local.
My perception is that the world is becoming more and more ugly with lust for power and material wealth more appealing than noble hyperbole about democracy and peaceful cooperation. I remember when willing sacrifice for the greater good was considered a virtue but now who ever has the biggest penis calls the shots.
With this post I have shared stuff that I’ve always kept to myself. I do so at risk of being dismissed as an irrelevant old man but if I want to be perceived at all it’s a better choice than trusting squeaky clean, mundane old-man chatter. I know there are much younger, much better educated, more eloquent, truly expert sources who write books and I agree with them on this little trip into the way I perceive things.
I’m heading out on a roadtrip in a few days. I speak just enough Spanish I’m concerned I’ll be pulled over by masked ICE agents and sent to a concentration camp. I say that out of my hate for what the news conveys. By the time I see my daughter in law my disposition will hopefully have improved.
