Directed vs Undirected evolution

[needle ninja]

Part 1

Most of us realize that almost all of human action has had profound effects upon the world in which we live. The notion that we are just a speck of dust in an uncontrollable ocean is becoming quaint in the modern world although there are still those that believe in it still. From the moment man took conscious action to control his world, he rose above the great majority of other animals and declared himself unique. Today we live in a world that our great grandfathers wouldn't recognize if they saw it. Seemingly irreversible change has made the Earth into our orchard.

With great power comes great responsibility. Yet our world is ruled by bickering politicians who are more concerned with increasing their net worth. When you examine why it becomes clear, most people can not decide. If I randomly picked 10 Americans off the street, I bet I wouldn't be able to get them to agree on anything. The countries of North America, and perhaps the entire industrialized world, are made up of individualized fantasies. We all have our own dream world we either live in or are trying to live in.

It is long past time when humans begin to think collectively and in multidimensional time. We as a species have outgrown our ability to just take care of our immediate family at the present moment. If the human race is to continue to flourish, it must adapt to the role of pilot. It must always be looking past the immediate future at what may come years ahead.

Cultures, political organizations, and social networks all must change to support this new role. It is not impossible. It only takes an idea to grow and spread.

[@reyu]

It is long past time when humans begin to think collectively and in multidimensional time. We as a species have outgrown our ability to just take care of our immediate family at the present moment. If the human race is to continue to flourish, it must adapt to the role of pilot. It must always be looking past the immediate future at what may come years ahead.

Cultures, political organizations, and social networks all must change to support this new role. It is not impossible. It only takes an idea to grow and spread.

 

It already happened in Tunesia and Egypt where FB played an important role in the downfall of the dictators. Of course, the new people in charge are gonna adapt. The Military of Egypt, who is in power now, already made an official FB account. So like you said, social networks need to adapt/change, and they will. Hopefully people will continue to organise themselves further in the future so the people and not the politicians will have the power. The spark has been ignited, now it'll need some time to grow into an unstoppable fire.

[Veracohr]

I've had a philosophy cooking in the back of my mind for some years now. Maybe in a couple decades it will be my magnum opus and I'll write a book or something. It's the idea of conscious evolution. I see too many people around me living reactively. In big ways and small; on the scale of civilizations and the scale of self. One should be aware, conscious, of the things they do and the things that go on around them, and one should act with purpose.

 

Think of how many people built their lives they way they did because "that's just what you do". Like there's a map of life laid out that you're supposed to follow. What might be different if more people took a moment to think "why do I think I need to do this?"

[needle ninja]

I've had a philosophy cooking in the back of my mind for some years now. Maybe in a couple decades it will be my magnum opus and I'll write a book or something. It's the idea of conscious evolution. I see too many people around me living reactively. In big ways and small; on the scale of civilizations and the scale of self. One should be aware, conscious, of the things they do and the things that go on around them, and one should act with purpose.

 

Think of how many people built their lives they way they did because "that's just what you do". Like there's a map of life laid out that you're supposed to follow. What might be different if more people took a moment to think "why do I think I need to do this?"

 

This is all true and exactly what I see when I take the time to look at individuals around me.

 

If individuals act without forward vision in selfish ways it is slightly bad for the rest of us, however is governments likewise do the same, it is potentially catastrophic. Today many people are critizizing the power of multinational corporations. It is almost fashionable, but it misses the real problem of a society based solely on short-term gain.

Corporations and governments are products of the society that nutured them. Without customers, a company cannot exist. You could say that as taxpayers, we are the government's customers aswell. The main thing on the mind of both organisations is satisfying their customer's needs and desires. If we have short-term desires, they will be met. This is especially true of simple desires that are easy to meet. A company will give you 1000 toys before it gives you a single long-term solution.

Interconnectivity is a problem as well as an opportunity. With so many people requesting short-term fixes to meet their desires they overwhelm the ones who ask for longer-term goals. Meet the needs of the majority and you will always be reelected. The system in America works for supplying people who have money with new things to buy. It is a quick fix and an easier solution than planning for global change. With interconnected marketing, we are continueously bombarded with new products to buy. It is the easiest solution to fill, even though it may not be your individual solution, if it works for enough people, the rest can be ignored. Most people, when presented with a limitless amount of options for what to do, will choose to do the simplest task - go to the store and buy a new product. Freedom for the undirected mind is a waste of time and resourses. It hurts the environment and untimately the world all of us live in.

[Astrognomix]

If I randomly picked 10 Americans off the street, I bet I wouldn't be able to get them to agree on anything. The countries of North America, and perhaps the entire industrialized world, are made up of individualized fantasies. We all have our own dream world we either live in or are trying to live in.

 

 

If individuals act without forward vision in selfish ways it is slightly bad for the rest of us, however is governments likewise do the same, it is potentially catastrophic. Today many people are critizizing the power of multinational corporations. It is almost fashionable, but it misses the real problem of a society based solely on short-term gain.

Corporations and governments are products of the society that nutured them. Without customers, a company cannot exist. You could say that as taxpayers, we are the government's customers aswell. The main thing on the mind of both organisations is satisfying their customer's needs and desires. If we have short-term desires, they will be met. This is especially true of simple desires that are easy to meet. A company will give you 1000 toys before it gives you a single long-term solution.

 

Hear, hear! I like the way you think, and can confirm the accuracy of your attitude. It is my RL job to go door to door, and educate people about a local law requiring our electricity provider to offer a renewable (clean) power alternative to their customers. Most people say no because it is a 10% increase to their power bill. Though it is personal for me, this boils down to the pathetic corporate mentality of the bottom line. It is infectious in our society, and it has become inherently thought by most uneducated folks that "cheaper is better." What people fail to realize is that we're voting with our dollars, every penny we spend is going to influence the economy in one way or another, and promote one way of meeting the needs of our society over another.

It is easy to blame both individual ignorance and the lack of proper oversight when it comes to the actions of corporations in our society. So basically, the uneducated poor can be blamed because the educated rich found a way to intentionally deceive them, and create a broken political system which stalls at the gears because of the bi-partisan nature, and ludicrous social constructs put in place by those scared of others not like them. And of course, there's the greed... but before I write another run-on sentence I'll just leave it at their, as I feel like that's a little more than 2 cents worth and I'd like to keep it a dialogue rather than a monologue .

[Veracohr]

Hey look, it's the 3 Portlanders all in one thread! And then that Belgian guy.

[IronSun]

Interesting you should mention this, it's practically the same topic of the new zeitgeist movie, I posted a link to it in the movies section, I think you will agree with it to a very large extent if not completely. I too think the way you guys do, I think it is time for us as a species to become self aware, and stop the madness that is going on today. Big and vague words, I know that, and my biggest fear is that this "system" we are living in now, the monetary market alongside politics, consumerism and genetic determinism is a system we will not be able to get out of easily because it runs itself. Power, money and short-term gain govern the world, not the people living in it. And that scares me, that we might have created a virtual "matrix" for ourselves to live in, unable to get out of it anymore. But we will see, the economic crisis, the middle-eastern uprisings and the many countries that are wrestling with forming new governments, those are all signs on the wall that we can't continue this way I think. The only hope I have is that we as a species realize this before we destroy ourselves.

 

Watch the last Zeitgeist, and spread it around.

[@reyu]

Today many people are critizizing the power of multinational corporations. It is almost fashionable, but it misses the real problem of a society based solely on short-term gain.

 

I would be very happy if more people start critisizing and thinking about the power these multinationals have. If you'd call it "fashionable" then so be it. It's a start, a process to, maybe eventually, a better thought out system for the people and environment.

 

These corporations only goal is to make profits in the shortest term possible. They hypnotise people subliminally with adverts trying to make people actually believe they need all their stuff they are selling. They have no long-term vision whatsoever, they need to survive whatever the costs may be, like for instance redundancies. Money comes first. They endorse short-term gain, it's their reason to be. The sooner people realise this fully, the better. So, I disagree this way of thinking misses the real problem. It's taking out the root of the problem cause short-term gain only truly benefits corporations, especially multinationals and the big banks. Not us.

 

 

Hey look, it's the 3 Portlanders all in one thread! And then that Belgian guy.

 

Yes, and...

[Veracohr]

I would be very happy if more people start critisizing and thinking about the power these multinationals have. If you'd call it "fashionable" then so be it. It's a start, a process to, maybe eventually, a better thought out system for the people and environment.

Criticizing is really only a useful start if people also change their personal attitudes and habits. I can complain til I'm blue in the face about megacorporations, but if I then go buy a Coke and watch a Disney movie have I done any good?

 

There's no shortage of people to criticize and complain about anything. There's a serious shortage of people who truly care enough to change their lifestyle to not support what they don't think deserves support. At the end of the day most people will choose convenience. As the Dead Kennedys said: "Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death".

[@reyu]

Criticizing is really only a useful start if people also change their personal attitudes and habits. I can complain til I'm blue in the face about megacorporations, but if I then go buy a Coke and watch a Disney movie have I done any good?

 

It's a start, a process to, maybe eventually, a better thought out system for the people and environment.

 

There's a serious shortage of people who truly care enough to change their lifestyle to not support what they don't think deserves support.

 

Agreed. And when more people start changing their lifestyle and live more conscious it'll bring down the system we are now so dependable on. Or it'll just collapse by itself which it did nearly two years ago.

 

I think it's fashionable now to not question the corporations and the system too much by the looks of it. I don't now about you people but I wanna see it go right down, the sooner the better, preferably before the next trend is on sale at the f*cking dollar store.