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Monthly Archives October 2006

Megalomania and socio-economic feedback

The last post got some interesting feedback.

The question still nags me, though, I feel like I haven’t gotten yet to the meat of it. If you could change the world, would you? For fun, for ideals, out duty or out of boredom? Don’t we all have some kind of super-power, something we can use to change the world? A brain, an idea, two arms and two legs and a mouth. Or two mouths, if you were especially blessed? Given the power, a lot of us would do good, but not feel obligated to… A lot of us don’t know we can change the world as without super powers… A lot of us feel like being a caretaker/diety/paternalistic figure is a bad idea, maybe even immoral on some level… Most of us would have a fantastic party if we were superman. This just isn’t answering my question, somehow.

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Posted 10 October 2006 § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (2)

a question

So I am obviously spending a bit more time in front of the computer lately, as you can see by the volume of posts. While writing, and considering things others have written, I realized (not for the first time) what an incredibly lucky person I am to have what I have in my life. I know only about three people read this blog, despite my efforts, and thats pretty frustrating sometimes, but at least two of those readers are people I am incredibly lucky to have in my life. A little too lucky, it seems. Without listing a pile of things that are similarly beyond what I feel I should be able to expect from life, lets just say things feel a bit unbalanced sometimes. It makes me feel like I owe the universe something.

Now for the record, I don’t owe the universe anything. It is not a conscious entity, and the concept of owing simply doesn’t apply. Nor is there any cosmic karmic scorecard keeping track of my good deeds.  In fact the word luck here is simply a descriptive word describing my personal opinion of what I have managed  to get away with in life, it is not any kind of mystic force that influences or can be influenced.

Still, I feel like I need to be doing things in the world. Good things (by my lights, since I don’t have anyone elses to use). Things that will make the world a better place for the species, and perhaps things that will make the species better for the world. Would I feel this desire/obligation if I didn’t find my situation so “lucky”? I like to think so, since this notion has come to me via more philosophical/logical routes, but who knows. I suppose if I felt hard done by, I might also feel a need to change the world.
So here’s the question. Leaving aside the why’s and wherefores, what do you feel obligated to do in this world? Anything? If not obligated, what do you think is a good thing to try and accomplish? Is there anything you would consider a worthwhile purpose?

Posted 07 October 2006 § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (6)

definitions

How defined are we, by the bodies we inhabit.

And how defined are we? Define defined.

And how!

And how to define, as our bodies do us?

Through words? Or something else, yes…

Or something. Else we are undefined.

Depending on your definition of how.

Or defining the dependence, else, on us.

And how?

Not like that, surely. Surely some word,

Surly, perhaps, or some other such term,

else our bodies, in so many words, are us

without words. Which are ours anyway.

Defined by our body-defined selves as words

And so do we define us. Don’t we? Or do we?

Or does the body define the words, not us?

But how?

By being the body we are, we define words.

In words defined by bodies, by Jove!

By being, by beginning, by being begun, but…

we are finished. In these terms, at least.

But not at last, becasue how do we know what

last thing is really the last? Define last.

But not in the words defined by us…

Not yet.

You never know, with bodies, what lasts,

and what is last, and when another thing

might be defined, just when we thought

it was over.

It wasn’t.

Posted 06 October 2006 § Prose ‡ Comments (0)

follow the link please

Posted 06 October 2006 § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (0)

this is your brain on Light

A few sociological/psychological theories have been floating around in my head lately. I am sure you brain scientists will correct me on my thinking, but the article on light (see below) got me thinking about the structure of inhibitions that make us tick.

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Posted 04 October 2006 § Philosphy ‡ Comments (0)