http://www.radiolab.org/blogs/radiolab-blog/2010/nov/16/idea-time-come/
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future.html
The comments below are from listening/watching the above programs.
I agree with the idea of ideas perpetuating themselves and somewhat queuing humanity when the timing is right. I have always thought it to be a peculiar thing how major, original events happen nearly simultaneously all over the world. It's not just ideas either. It also happens chemically. More interconnectedness. It makes sense that it is the preliminary creations that are the catalysts for the new ideas. It's like how we think we know the smallest things in existence until we get a stronger microscope.
The optimistic approach to technology concerns me. It is a double edged sword. It seems the mentality of relying on technology to save us from the challenges we face does not consider a threshold or carrying capacity of people on the Earth. I'm sure we can do more, lots more, through technology to dominate the environment around us. I would much rather figure out a way to live in more harmony with the environment and limitations it places upon us.
When these two ideas are combined it seems inevitable that we would continue to evolve technology and that technology is beginning to evolve us. We are growing together and it may be us that is becoming more dependent on technology than technology is us. As usual, there is a paradox involved in the evaluation of the merits of technology. On one hand it's the best stuff ever. On the other it will be our downfall.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Diversity in Awareness
Why
do people actively sort and screen information the way they do? How
does one determine what to let in and what to let bounce off, what to
reckon with and what to ignore or disparage? How is it that, exposed to
the same information, different people absorb different messages? (from
pg 169 of Thinking in Systems).
Since we are aware of only a very small portion of what our senses pick up on it is no wonder we seem to "miss" a lot of information. Never-the-less, our brains somehow choose what information will make it to our conscious, active awareness and what will be "ignored."
I believe it is mosttly our paradigms and our past experiences which depict what information our brains will key in on and why different people tend to become aware of different information or interpret the same information in a different way. It is the feedback loops, both reinforcing and balancing, that shape our minds one way or another. Systems traps and opportunities like success to the successful, tragedy of the commons, rule beating, goals, etc. are all examples of how the experiences we have had can shape people differently.
If two people are observing an event and one of them has a positive outlook and one of them has a negative outlook on life then they will glean much different information from the event. They will "see" different things based on how they "feel" life to be. Our emotions play a strong role in our views and paradigms and our emotions are molded by our personalities and our experiences. Success to the successful is one of the best examples of how this can influence someone's outlook. If the more you succeed in something the more you are rewarded then that feedback and support will create a very positive outlook for that person towards the event and instill confidence in their ability to succeed again. This will greatly influence the information you get from the successful versus the unsuccessful person regarding the event and life in general. The emotions the successful person will develop toward that event will be more positive and generally associated with happy experiences. The unsuccessful person will be more rooted in defeat and unsupported effort creating a more negative or doubtful attitude toward the event.
Intentions are another good reason. Our intentions and beliefs are so powerful and really create a path before us that is biased and manipulated by us. Quantum physics supports this idea and is documented. In experiments when scientists shoot electrons at a blank screen, the experiment is influenced by the expectations of the people present. The scientists had to leave the room to get to the uninfluenced outcome of the experiment which yielded that the electrons move in waves and are subject to an infinite amount of outcomes sans the influence of an observer. This was explained in the documentary "Down the Rabbit Hole" and is fascinating to me. I think quantum theory concepts like entanglement will reveal a more and more complex yet sensible matrix of interconnectedness and influential, predictable set of energetic transfers that resemble rules or truths vulnerable to subjectivity and influence.
Individuality is the basis of all of this and is the source of the diversity of ideas and information we create and discover. Although it can be perplexing and daunting to deal with such messy information flows when dealing with many people at once on a subject that needs to be aligned and congealed, it is this diversity that makes it possible for the advancement of understanding and the growth of awareness.
Since we are aware of only a very small portion of what our senses pick up on it is no wonder we seem to "miss" a lot of information. Never-the-less, our brains somehow choose what information will make it to our conscious, active awareness and what will be "ignored."
I believe it is mosttly our paradigms and our past experiences which depict what information our brains will key in on and why different people tend to become aware of different information or interpret the same information in a different way. It is the feedback loops, both reinforcing and balancing, that shape our minds one way or another. Systems traps and opportunities like success to the successful, tragedy of the commons, rule beating, goals, etc. are all examples of how the experiences we have had can shape people differently.
If two people are observing an event and one of them has a positive outlook and one of them has a negative outlook on life then they will glean much different information from the event. They will "see" different things based on how they "feel" life to be. Our emotions play a strong role in our views and paradigms and our emotions are molded by our personalities and our experiences. Success to the successful is one of the best examples of how this can influence someone's outlook. If the more you succeed in something the more you are rewarded then that feedback and support will create a very positive outlook for that person towards the event and instill confidence in their ability to succeed again. This will greatly influence the information you get from the successful versus the unsuccessful person regarding the event and life in general. The emotions the successful person will develop toward that event will be more positive and generally associated with happy experiences. The unsuccessful person will be more rooted in defeat and unsupported effort creating a more negative or doubtful attitude toward the event.
Intentions are another good reason. Our intentions and beliefs are so powerful and really create a path before us that is biased and manipulated by us. Quantum physics supports this idea and is documented. In experiments when scientists shoot electrons at a blank screen, the experiment is influenced by the expectations of the people present. The scientists had to leave the room to get to the uninfluenced outcome of the experiment which yielded that the electrons move in waves and are subject to an infinite amount of outcomes sans the influence of an observer. This was explained in the documentary "Down the Rabbit Hole" and is fascinating to me. I think quantum theory concepts like entanglement will reveal a more and more complex yet sensible matrix of interconnectedness and influential, predictable set of energetic transfers that resemble rules or truths vulnerable to subjectivity and influence.
Individuality is the basis of all of this and is the source of the diversity of ideas and information we create and discover. Although it can be perplexing and daunting to deal with such messy information flows when dealing with many people at once on a subject that needs to be aligned and congealed, it is this diversity that makes it possible for the advancement of understanding and the growth of awareness.
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