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Mood: various avenues to philosophizing

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:24:50 +0000

Thesis: To exist is to have a self relation.

Questioning the thesis: If to exist means to have a self-relation, the adoption of an attitude to oneself & to one's existence, then how do we become aware of our own existence? Heidegger says it is "mood."

Explication: We continue the struggle against the self-mystification of philosophy. Traditional philosophy, as the art of thought, awards thought with the highest capacity of disclosure. Since emotions & moods are disparaged as subjective, they are inadequate as objective cognition of the world. It is true that "affects" have gone under theoretical scrutiny, and be mere objects of cognition, but never as organs of cognition. With Nietzsche, no longer. Heidegger goes further and says the act of philosophizing out of moods has only locked itself in the "sanctuary of the irrational" (Being & Time p. 136).

"Irrationalism, as the counterplay of rationalism, talks about the things to which rationalism is blind, it does so only with a squint." (p. 136)

Argument: It's time to take a closer look at moods, straight-away, without squinting. We are in some mood or other. Always. Mood is a "frame of mind." While we can endeavor ourselves into a mood, the basic character of moods is that they emerge, seep into us, creep up on us, even pounce on us. Thus we're not the master of moods. In mood we are subject to the limits of our self-determination.

Heidegger picks as the basic everyday mood the "pallid, evenly balanced lack of mood" (p. 134) that contains traces of irritation & boredom. For Heidegger, this mood "discloses the burdensome character of Dasein." (p. 134)

Counter-argument: Perhaps Heidegger simply picked out his own predominant basic mood, as well as the mood of the crisis period of the Weimar Republic as his starting point.

Counter-example: Are the burdensome moods the fundamental ones? Max Scheler has a different take where he asserts love & affection as the "fundamental state of mood" and he rejects the gloomy, burdensome as a disturbance & a suspension of this sympathetic basic condition.

Open question: What are the other possible moods that are fundamental and disclose the _______ character of Dasein?

The Pood

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:07:47 +0000

Just having fun. Took much longer to write than I thought, since it was only based on two lines

Fun horror.

-Scott

The Pood.pdf (104.09K)
Number of downloads: 15

Modal logic and free will. Keith, Bob, Swartz, Dave, Tim: a bunch of guys.

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:07:26 +0000

This is on the fly because David is insatiable.

More details will come soon, but we intend to continue the extended discussion that's was going on here over the past several years, relating to free will, the nature of time, and the particular thoughts of Norman Swartz. The most recent iteration is here: http://www.galilean-library.org/site/index.php/topic/3481-the-logical-structure-of-time-travel/

As usual, David and I got back into the discussion in chat, and long story short it's all happening again.

The debate so far has centered on one of Swartz's arguments. Dave being its advocate will no doubt go into some depth, but it has to do with the ideas of neccessity and contingency in modal logic. In plain english, I think I can do the argument justice in plainish english thus:

In eternalism, a particular outcome for a present choice exists in the future. Given this, we might say that the option chosen must be the one that leads to this outcome, since it axiomatically can't be changed. Swartz would say that this commits a modal fallacy, improperly classifying the choice event as modally necessary, when in fact it should be rightly considered a modally contingent event. Since a modally contingent event is one that could have been otherwise, we should say that there is nothing here that impedes libertarian free will, which demands that one be able to chose from multiple different options.

My (current) counterargument centers on making a distinction between kinds of 'possible' that I feel are being treated a bit cavalier here. Succinctly, I want to say that while I understand that an event being modally necessary would kill free will, an events being modally contingent is not on its own SUFFICIENT to say that free will may obtain in that event. I use the example of a prisoner held firmly captive: he may only do one thing at this time, which is to remain chained to the wall (also his name is Keith). This fact about what keith does is modally contingent, but we would not say that he has the option to choose to do something else.

I want if possible to place as much focus on that argument as possible here. I feel there is a conflation of terminology going on that permits swartz's argument to make sense. What I want to say is that even though his modal logic is correct, it concludes a sense of 'possible' does not translate to what is required from 'possible' when we speak of the options available to us when we make a choice. I want to be able say that it at least makes sense to speak of an agent performing an action, having the fact of that be rightly identified as a modally contingent fact, one which could have been otherwise, and yet still maintaining that the agent had no choice in the matter. Keiths scenario is a demonstration of ONE way this position might be held (it's hard to deny either that the fact of keiths incarceration could have been otherwise, or that he has any choice in the matter), but physical constraint is not the point of this thought exercise. Rather, I mean to show that the demonstration of modal contingency is insufficient to permit free will in all cases, and if that is the case, holding that an agents action, though contingent, is not free, does not commit the modal fallacy.

Hello God: Three Cheers For Evil?

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:09:29 +0000

I continually find it strange that we are here, that anything exists at all. This sense of bewilderment, even incredulity, is, it seems to me, often disavowed, forsaken, or never experienced. Most unfortunate. It is said experience that so structures my mind so as to not find the idea that God would exist particularly unworthy of acceptance. Why should I find it the case that God would exist any stranger than that there is a universe at all, the "furniture" of which is in part constituted by conscious, thinking reeds?

When Carl Jung was asked if he believed in God, he answered, "I do not believe, I know." I think he understood that 'belief' or 'to believe' implies a distance between the believer and that which is believed, and even a powerful doubt about that which is believed. Consider the words of Jean Baudrillard:

Quote

Do you believe in reality? No, of course not: it exists but we do not believe in it. It is like God. Do you believe in God? No, of course not. God exists, but I don't believe in him... belief is not the reflection of existence, it is there for existence, just as language is not the reflection of meaning, it is there in place of meaning. To believe in God is, therefore, to doubt his existence, his manifestness, his presence."

Experience is primary, belief secondary. One can experience without conceptualization. Experience can ground belief, i.e., serve as evidence supporting a belief, or provide a reason to accept/reject a given proposition without itself constituting belief. What of the experience of teleology? We are quite familiar with it, and may, in the everyday lexicon, readily explain the experience of ourselves and our actions teleologically: I am traveling 10 mph over the speed limit because I am late for a date that I desire to participate in.

Children see the world in explicit teleological terms: everything is purposeful. Of course, doubts are not slow to make their appearance. My six year old daughter recently asked me: "daddy, why did God make bad people?" Six years old and already she has an intuitive understanding that "the problem of evil" poses relative to theistic belief.

It is the experience of evil that whispers to me in moments alone, dark and silent, and sometimes defeaningly shouts, a certain proposition that is simply overpowering: There is no God. Fuck the evidence.

-Self replicating protein molecules... single celled organisms... multicellular organisms... dinosaurs and other such creatures... mammals... Galilean Library Members...

-God, the necessary actuality from which all potentiality is contingent, turned his back on himself and thus actualized nothingness from which the universe sprang. People have been fucking, eating, dying, and pretending ever since.

How is it possible that one could plumb the depths of evil, human depravity, suffering, etc and declare being greater than non-being? How could one not see that the goodness of God would have been in creating nothing and leaving things blissfully non-existent?

And yet, here am I. Not trying to negate my desires, not comitting suicide, not an antinatalist, not misanthropic. An optimist really.

Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:37:41 +0000

Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment

Dear Group Members,

I want to share an article with you. This is about the link between Mind and Social / Environmental-Issues. The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems besides destroying the environment. All issues are interlinked. Our Minds cannot be spiritual or peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be spiritual or peaceful if we destroy Nature.

Thank you,
Sushil Yadav

Please note : The article has been written in short sentences rather than paragraph-form because it is about subjective experience / emotion/ reduction of thought.

Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment.

Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
Subject : A thinking mind cannot feel.
Subject : Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys the planet.
Subject : Environment can never be saved as long as cities exist.

Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.

If there are no gaps there is no emotion.

Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/ language) for emotion.

When society switches-over from physical work (agriculture) to mental work (scientific/ industrial/ financial/ fast visuals/ fast words ) the speed of thinking keeps on accelerating and the gaps between thinking go on decreasing.

There comes a time when there are almost no gaps.

People become incapable of experiencing/ tolerating gaps.

Emotion ends.

Man becomes machine.

A society that speeds up mentally experiences every mental slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.

A ( travelling )society that speeds up physically experiences every physical slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.

A society that entertains itself daily experiences every non-entertaining moment as Depression / Anxiety.

FAST VISUALS /WORDS MAKE SLOW EMOTIONS EXTINCT.

SCIENTIFIC /INDUSTRIAL /FINANCIAL THINKING DESTROYS EMOTIONAL CIRCUITS.

A FAST (LARGE) SOCIETY CANNOT FEEL PAIN / REMORSE / EMPATHY.

A FAST (LARGE) SOCIETY WILL ALWAYS BE CRUEL TO ANIMALS/ TREES/ AIR/ WATER/ LAND AND TO ITSELF.

I am trying to get the following experiment conducted in a psychophysiology/ bio-chemistry laboratory.

There is a link between visual / verbal speed ( in perception, memory,
imagery ) and the bio-chemical state of the brain and the body.

Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual and verbal processing
associated with the emotion slows down ( stops / freezes ).

The degree of difficulty of an emotion depends upon the degree of
freezing (of visuals and words ) required to intensify and sustain that
particular emotion.

Experiment:

Subjects (preferably actors specialising in tragedy / tragic roles )
will be asked to watch a silent video film showing any of the
following:-

(1) Human suffering.
(2) Animal suffering.
(3) Suffering ( Destruction ) of Air / Water / Land / Trees.

Subjects will be asked to intensify and sustain the subjective feeling of pain/ grief for the sufferer.

The chemical changes associated with the emotion in the body(blood) would be measured by appropriate methods.

The silent video film will be shown at different speeds :
(1) 125% of actual speed.
(2) Actual/real speed.
(3) 75% of actual speed.
(4) 50% of actual speed.
(5) 25% of actual speed.

Results :

(1) Intensity of emotion increases with the decrease in visual speed.
(2) Intensity of emotion is maximum when visual speed is minimum (25%
of actual speed)

(3) The amount of chemical change associated with the emotion in the
body(blood) will be found to increase with the decrease in visual speed.

(4) The chemical change is maximum when visual speed is minimum.
(5) The amount of chemical change will increase with the decrease in
breathing rate. Breathing becomes so slow and non-rhythmic that it stops
for some time at the inhalation/ exhalation stages.

The above co-relations will be valid for all subjects -even for those who cannot feel pain/ grief. Such subjects will experience emotion associated with boredom/ discomfort/ restlessness/ irritability/ uneasiness. The chemicals released will be different but the co-relation between visual speed and amount of chemical will be same( the breathing rates will be different/ fast).
All subjects will experience some kind of emotion.

[If scientists can discover 4000 different chemicals in cigarette-smoke then they can certainly detect the few chemicals released in blood when weexperience higher-level emotions like pain, empathy, compassion, remorse etc� ]

In the 2nd stage of experiment we shall replace the silent video film with a Narrator ( Audio only ) and repeat the procedure thereby establishing the link between intensity of emotion and verbal speed. The narrator will slow down verbal speed by-- speaking slowly, stretching words, repetition of words/ sentences & making use of
pause/ silence between words.

Please note:
(1) A THINKING MIND CANNOT INTENSIFY / SUSTAIN ANY EMOTION.
While this statement is generally true for all emotions, it is
particularly true for all painful emotions.

(2) In a society in which visual ( verbal ) speed and breathing- rates
are fast , pain / remorse / empathy cannot be experienced. It is
impossible.

PROOF.
Proof of the link between pain and slow visuals / words :-

In the last century man has made thousands of movies / films on various
themes / subjects. Whenever pain / tragedy is shown in any film the
visuals ( scenes ) and words ( dialogues ) are always slowed down. In
many films tragedy is shown in slow motion. At the most intense moment
of pain the films almost become static / stationary.

Tragedy-films provide direct proof / evidence of the link between pain
and slowness.

Pain can intensify / sustain only when visual ( and verbal ) speed slows
down( stops/ freezes).

CHANGE IN VISUAL SPEED OVER THE YEARS

One thousand years ago visuals would change only when man physically
moved himself to a new place or when other people ( animals / birds )
and objects ( clouds / water ) physically moved themselves before him.

Today man sits in front of TV / Computer and watches the rapidly
changing visuals / audio.

He sits in a vehicle ( car / train / bus ) and as it moves he watches
the rapidly changing visuals.

He turns the pages of a book / newspaper / magazine and sees many
visuals / text in a short span.

CHANGE IN VERBAL SPEED OVER THE YEARS

In ancient times verbal processing was �live� in nature�ie it happened when people actually spoke.
Today there is non-stop verbal processing inside the mind through print and electronic media ( newspapers, books, magazines, radio, television, computer etc�) as a result of which the verbal content & speed has increased thousands of times.

The speed of visuals ( and words ) has increased so much during the last
one hundred years that today the human brain has become incapable of
focussing on slow visuals /words through perception, memory, imagery.

If we cannot focus on slow visuals / words we cannot experience emotions
associated with slow visuals /words.

Before the advent of Industrial Revolution Man's thinking was primarily
limited to :

(a) visual processing ( slow visuals )
(b) verbal / language processing ( slow words )

Today there are many kinds of fast thinking :

(1) visual processing ( fast visuals )
(2) verbal / language processing ( fast words )
(3) Scientific / Technical thinking ( fast )
(4) Industrial thinking ( fast )
(5) Business thinking ( fast )

(3), (4) & (5) ARE ASSOCIATED WITH NUMBERS / SYMBOLS / EQUATIONS /
GRAPHS /CIRCUITS / DIAGRAMS / MONEY / ACCOUNTING etc�

As long as the mind is doing this kind of thinking it cannot feel any
emotion - not an iota of emotion.

In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
In a thinking ( scientific / industrial ) society emotion itself becomes extinct.

EMOTION IS WHAT REMAINS IN THE MIND WHEN VISUAL /VERBAL PROCESSING SLOWS DOWN (STOPS/ FREEZES )

There are certain categories of people who feel more emotion (subjective experience ) than others.

If we attempt to understand why (and how ) they feel more emotion we can learn a lot about emotion.

Writers, poets, actors, painters ( and other artists )

WRITERS
Writers do verbal ( and associated visual) processing whole day- every day.
They do slow verbal ( and associated visual) processing every day.
(A novel that we read in 2 hours might have taken 2 years to write. This is also the reason why the reader can never feel the intensity & duration of emotion experienced by the writer )

POETS
Poets do verbal ( and associated visual ) processing whole day- every day.
There is more emotion in poetry than in prose.
This happens because there are very few words ( and associated visuals ) in poetry than in any other kind of writing.
There is a very high degree of freezing / slowing down of visuals & words in poetry.

ACTORS
Actors do verbal ( and associated visual ) processing whole day- every day. During shooting / rehearsal they repeat the dialogues ( words ) again and again ( the associated visuals / scenes also get repeated along with the dialogues )

PAINTERS
Painters do visual ( and associated verbal ) processing whole day- every day.
They do extremely slow visual processing - The visual on the canvas changes only when the painter adds to what already exists on the canvas.

There are some important points to be noted :

All these people do visual & verbal processing - whole day - every day.
They do slow visual & verbal processing.
They do not do scientific / industrial / business processing whole day - every day.

Most of the city people doing mental work either do this kind of mental processing which is associated with NUMBERS / SYMBOLS/ Equations / Graphs / CIRCUITS / DIAGRAMS / MONEY / ACCOUNTING etc� or they do fast visual ( verbal ) processing whole day - every day.

This kind of thinking ( processing ) has come into existence only during the last 200 years and has destroyed our emotional ability ( circuits ).

SELF-ASSESSMENT OF ( SUBJECTIVE ) INTENSITY OF EMOTION IS ALMOST ALWAYS WRONG.

Suppose the maximum intensity(and duration) of a particular emotion that
can be experienced by any human being is 100 units.

Let us suppose the maximum intensity(and duration) of that particular emotion ever
experienced by two people A & B in their entire life is :
A - 100units
B - 20 units

Now suppose A & B are made subjects on a particular day and are asked
to feel that particular emotion under experimental conditions ( or
outside the laboratory ) and the intensity &duration they actually experience is
:

A - 90 units
B - 18 units

If A & B are then asked to indicate the intensity &duration of emotion on a scale
of 0 -10 their response is likely to be ;

A - 9
B - 9

Who is right and who is wrong ?
A is right.
B is wrong - B is wrong by a wide margin - B has experienced an
intensity(and duration) of 18 units out of a maximum of 100 units and his correct /
actual score should be 1.8

Self- assessment ( self rating ) can be accurate only if people have
the capacity to experience the highest intensity &duration ( units ) of the
particular emotion under study.

Because of physical work and slow visual/verbal processing in small(slow)agriculture based societies of the past, the mind used to experience a state of emotion all the time. If we read one thousand-year-old literature we will not come across the term "boredom" -the concept of boredom did not exist in slow societies. There were long gaps between different visuals and between words/ sentences -and people had the ability to experience/ tolerate the gaps -it was normal for them.

Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual / verbal processing slows down ( stops / freezes ). In an Industrial (thinking) society people experience very little emotion because of fast ( visual / verbal / scientific / industrial / business ) thinking

Suppose the maximum intensity and duration of a particular emotion ( for most people ) in a fast society has reduced to 5 units ( from 100 units that people used to experience in earlier /slower societies ).

If such people experience 4 units of emotion they will give themselves a
rating /score of 8 on a scale of 0-10 whereas their actual score should
be 0.4

IN A FAST SOCIETY SLOW EMOTIONS BECOME EXTINCT.

IQ Vs EQ

IQ always has an element of change in it � IQ is about trying to make/ discover/ invent something new all the time.
Change is an inherent feature of IQ.
IQ is also about thinking more in less time�it involves speeding up of mind. Someone who does more mathematics in less time is considered more intelligent in mathematics. IQ is about change and speed.

EQ is about sustainment of the same feeling/experience over a period of time. When we experience any higher-level emotion for 10 minutes we experience the same feeling( subjective experience) over and over again for 10 minutes.
The( same) feeling can sustain only if there is Repetition.
EQ involves Repetition�Constancy�Sameness.

IQ and EQ are contradictory.
IQ and EQ are opposites.
IQ and EQ are inversely proportional.

(1) A thinking species destroys the planet.
(2) Animals lived on earth for billions of years (in very large numbers)
without destroying nature.
(3) They did not destroy nature because their thinking / activity was
limited to searching for food for one time only.
(4) Man has existed on earth in large numbers for only a few thousand
years / a few hundred years.
(5) Within this short period Man has destroyed the environment.
(6) This destruction took place because of Man's thinking.
(7) When man thinks he makes things.
(8) When he makes things he kills animals / trees / air / water / land.
( Nothing can be made without killing these five elements of nature ).

(9) A thinking species destroys the planet.

Intelligence Is A Curse.

This planet is on the verge of total destruction.

The cause of destruction is � overactivity.
[Out of millions of species in this world the human-species is the only one that has indulged in overactivity]

The cause of overactivity is � Intelligence.
[The environment would never have got destroyed if Man had been only as intelligent as animals]

Intelligence is the biggest cause/ source of destruction in this world.

[In fact Intelligence is the only cause of destruction in this world other than natural causes]

MENTAL WORK IS INJURIOUS TO THE MIND AND PLANET.

There is no higher purpose behind work.

People do not work because they want to work.
People work because they cannot stop working.

People cannot stop physical activity and mental activity (simultaneously) for even 2 minutes.

For most people it is a choice between physical and mental work.
The switch-over from physical work to mental work is disastrous for the planet.

Man can do the same physical work every day.
Man cannot do the same mental work every day.

When man used to do physical work ( farming and related activities ) he could do the same repetitive work day after day- generation after generation.

After the Industrial Revolution when man switched-over to mental work he
began a never ending process of making new machines / things / products--
a process which can only end with the complete destruction of environment ( planet ).

The nature of mental work is such that man has to do new mental work every day- in fact he has to do new mental work every moment- Man cannot repeat in the next moment the mental work that he has already done in the previous moment.

A mathematician cannot solve the same problem of mathematics every day- once he has solved it he will be forced to take up a new( unsolved) problem. Even when he is solving one particular problem he has to move from one step to another - there is a continuous change involved -- there is no constancy at any stage.

An engineer cannot design the same machine again and again �once he has made a machine he will try to make changes/ design a new one.

A writer cannot write the same article every day- he will be forced to write something new every day/ every moment (This is also the reason behind endless discussions/ debates/ arguments).

Discussions, Debates and Arguments.

Let us examine how much discussion we are collectively having in Industrial Society every day.

Millions of pages in print � newspapers / books / magazines.
Millions of web-pages on internet every day.

Now add to this all the conversation (discussion) we are having through radio / television / telephone and several other media every day.

And add to this all the discussion we are having through face-to-face interaction.

The volume of discussion per individual in one week is greater than the total discussion someone living in pre-industrial society would have in his entire life.

There is too much discussion in modern society.
Discussion is not solving our problems � discussion itself has become a problem � a gigantic problem.

A society that does mental work will discuss itself to destruction [extinction]

A society that does mental work will argue itself to destruction [extinction]

A society that does mental work will debate itself to destruction [extinction]

A society that does mental work can never stop discussions / debates / arguments � it is impossible. It will discuss / debate / argue till the last moment of it�s existence.

Discussions / Debates / Arguments � these are creations of a society that has switched-over from physical work to mental work.

Discussions / Debates / Arguments � these are diseases of a society that has switched-over from physical work to mental work.

Discussions / debates / arguments can end only in agriculture-based societies that do physical work.

We cannot do physical-work and mental-work simultaneously.

There is an inverse relationship between physical-work and mental-work.
If one is high [more] the other has got to be low [less]

If we want to do physical work we have to reduce mental activity by the same proportion.
If we want to do mental work we have to reduce physical activity by the same proportion.

There is very little discussion / debate / argument in societies that do physical work - ie, agriculture-based societies - And this is the reason why they are millions of times saner than industrial societies.

Change is an inherent feature of mental work.

Since change is an inherent feature of mental work - a society that does mental work can never be at peace with itself � it is impossible.

A society that does mental work will always be restless.

Only those societies that do physical work [agriculture and related activities] can find contentment and peace.

AS LONG AS CITIES EXIST WE CAN NEITHER SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT NOR THE MIND.

To save the [ remaining ] environment from destruction man will have to
return back to physical work [ smaller communities ].

To save the mind from mental diseases man will have to return back to physical work [ smaller communities ].

Criminality and Abnormality.

Industrial Society has collectively killed billions of Animals and Trees [ Remember -plant and animal species developed over a period of millions ofyears]

It has also killed most of Water and Air [ Please note - polluting Water and Air is equivalent to killing Water and Air ]

The soil was not fertile when the earth was created. It became fertile - very slowly - over a period of millions of years. And look what man has done - He has covered millions and millions of hectares of land with cement and concrete. All the land that has been covered with cement and concrete has been killed.

Man has stockpiled thousands of tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear material and nuclear waste which is going to remain highly radioactive and carcinogenic for the next thousands of years - and which has already leaked into the environment hundreds of times.

What could be more criminal than this.
What could be more abnormal than this.

Lawyers and Judges are trying to catch a few criminals.
They don�t realize the entire Industrial Society is criminal.

Psychologists and Psychiatrists are trying to classify a few people as abnormal.
They don�t realize the entire Industrial Society is abnormal.

Industrial Society is collectively making millions of tonnes of weapons and explosives [of all kinds] every year � and then it wonders why there is so much violence in this world.

Big Mystery.

If you make millions of tonnes of weapons and explosives on earth they are going to be used on earth � they are not going to be used on Mars.

Make things
Buy things
Sell things

This is not the purpose of life.

Destroy Shopping Culture.

No one deserves more.
Everyone deserves less.

There was a time when Man knew nothing about the number of species and millions of species existed.
Today Man knows the names of millions of species and nothing is left of the species.

It took millions of years for millions of species to slowly come into existence on earth - and man has decimated all other species.

After destroying millions of highly-developed species on earth Man is today searching for a few molecules of life in outer-space.

If a few microbes, a few molecules of methane / water are found on Mars - it becomes the newspaper headline.

They call it progress.

The following is about to come true.

Nature can exist

(1) before man.
(2) after man.
(3) not with man.

Environment can be saved only if we stop production of most [ more than
99% ] of the consumer goods we are making today.

ENVIRONMENT CANNOT BE SAVED BY RECYCLING

THE ATTEMPT OF AN INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT BY RECYCLING IS LIKE SHOOTING SOMEONE
10,000 TIMES AND THEN TRYING TO SAVE HIM BY TAKING OUT ONE BULLET.

Time is running out for this planet.

Yours Sincerely,
Sushil Yadav

Please note :
Fast emotions =emotions associated with fast visuals/fast words/fast breathing/fast heart-rate.
Slow emotions=emotions associated with slow visuals/slow words/slow breathing/slow heart-rate.
Rate of thinking=number of visuals/words processed per minute.
Gaps between thinking =gaps between visuals/ words/ sentences.

Regarding Industrialization there is an important point to be noted. Modern Industrial Society has existed for 100 years - 200 years - 300 years. When we compare this period with the total duration for which human society has existed on earth this period is so short - so small that it almost does'nt exist. It is almost zero.

Material things don't bring peace and happiness. Today billions of people have got things which even Kings did not have in the past. Car, computer, television, fridge, telephone - no King ever had these things. But people are still restless and unhappy. The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems - besides destroying the environment. Our Minds cannot be spiritual or peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be spiritual or peaceful if we destroy Nature.

Consumerist-Lifestyle is just not sustainable. If we do not immediately return to living a very simple and frugal life then very soon there will be no human life on earth.

Think Positive.

Psychologists say -- Think Positive.
Politicians say � Think Positive.
Economists say � Think Positive.
Scientists say � Think Positive.
Everyone says � Think Positive.

Arctic ice is melting � Glaciers are melting � Rivers are drying up.
Think Positive.

Fish population in Oceans is down to 1/3 of what it was 100 years ago.
Think Positive.

Pollution levels are going sky-high and valley-deep.
Think Positive.

There used to be millions of members in most species of Animals and Birds. Now they are down to thousands and hundreds.
Think Positive.

Weather is getting more and more irregular and unpredictable.
Think Positive.

Thinking positive is the height of insanity.
Thinking positive is the height of abnormality.

This is a world that has become completely incapable of feeling Pain, Compassion, Remorse and Guilt.
The planet is getting destroyed moment by moment � and people are thinking positive.

Very soon there will be 1 Animal and 1 Tree left in this world � and people will still be thinking positive.

They will be holding Seminars, Conferences and Global-Summits to save the Environment.

There is an important point which the human-species needs to understand. People think they can save the Environment by doing something.

We can never save the environment by doing something.

It is overactivity that has destroyed environment in the first place.

Human-species is the only one out of millions of species that has indulged in overactivity on this planet [ And for this very reason the human speciesis going to exist on earth for the least amount of time]

And it is not Mild Overactivity � It is Excessive Overactivity � Exponential Overactivity.

We cannot save the environment by doing something.

We can only save it by doing less of what we have been doing - much less of what we have been doing.

If we want to save environment we will have to reduce human activity [overactivity] by 99%.

The Illogical Logic of Man.

A few birds have got infected with bird-flu and Man has started killing millions of birds.
They say birds are a threat to humans.

Sometime ago there was Mad Cow disease and Man started killing hundreds of thousands of cows.
They said cows are a threat to humans.

Ever since Man came into existence - millions of humans with infectious diseases have transferred such diseases to millions of other people - and will continue to infect millions more in future.
Such people are a threat to rest of the people.
Man should follow the same logic here and kill all infected people.

It is Man who has killed millions of people in Wars and other forms of Violence � and can kill millions more any time in future.
Man should follow the same logic here and kill all people.

It is the human species which is the greatest threat to humans and all other life on this planet - In fact the human species is the only species which is a threat to all life on Earth.

Man has decimated all Animal and Plant species � polluted the Sky and Oceans - and poisioned every square inch of earth.

In a mere 200 - 300 years Industrial Society has destroyed all that Nature laboriously created over a period of millions of years.

Humans pose the greatest threat to other humans.
Humans pose the greatest threat to all other life on earth.

The so-called Rational and Civilized Man should follow the same logic here - and destroy the entire human race.

Please note :

If you indulge in Factory Farming � If you torture the birds � confine millions of them in prison like conditions � depriving them of Sunlight and the freedom to walk and fly � you are creating an environment for the spread of virus and disease.

Lifestyle of Mass Destruction.

Destruction is an inherent feature of Development.

Progress = Destruction of Nature.
Development = Destruction of Nature.

We can have Sustainable Lifestyle.
We cannot have Sustainable Development.

Development can never be sustainable.
Sustainability and Development cannot exist together.

Development and Sustainability are opposites.
Development and Sustainability are contradictory.

Sustainable Living is associated with consuming less � being satisfied with a simple and frugal life.
Development is associated with never ending desires � always wanting more.

Sustainable lifestyle requires Constancy.
Sustainable lifestyle requires Sameness.
Sustainable lifestyle requires Repetition.

Development is associated with Change.
Development is associated with New.
Development is associated with Transience.

Industrial Societies can never be sustainable � When you make thousands of consumer goods you kill Nature - you kill Animals, Trees, Air, Water and Land.

A Society that does mental work [city based] can never be sustainable - it will keep on making consumer goods - destroying the environment moment by moment.

Only agriculture-based societies that do physical work can be sustainable.

The term Sustainable Development is like the terms

Stationary Walk.
Silent Talk.
Wakeful Sleep.
Dark Sun
Gentle Torture.
Dry Rain.
Peaceful War.

There was a time when Man used to say �

I work in order to feed my family.
I work in order to put Food on the Table.

Today man is putting a lot more than Food on the Table.

Cars, Computers, ipods, Aeroplanes, 200 TV Channels, Luxury Yatchs, Caribbean Vacations, Palatial Homes, Video Phones, Designer Clothes, Designer Drugs, Cosmetic Surgery �� The list is endless.

Man is putting thousands of consumer goods and services on the Table.
There is too much weight on the Table.
And the Table has begun to creak.

The more you put on your table the more you take out from the mouths of Animals and Birds.

The more you put on your table the more you kill Animals and Trees.

The more you put on your table the more you kill Water, Air and Land.

The more you put on your table the more you kill Mountains and Valleys.

The more you put on your table the more you kill the Sky and Oceans - the Rivers and Lakes.

There are so many things on the Table that one can barely see the Food.

We need just a few things to live.
And we are making thousands of things.

Billions of people are engaged in making, buying and selling of thousands of consumer goods.

Destroy Shopping Culture.

Go back to Simple Living.
Go back to putting just Food on the Table.

sushil_yadav

Rimbaud

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:59:48 +0000

After recently purchasing a French-English bilingual copy of the complete prose and poetical works of Arthur Rimbaud, I have decided (partly through having all seven of my arms twisted by that nefarious oddball known only as and, sometimes, as ) to post some of the poems (in English and French) into this thread, so that you lot get to enjoy them for free. Aren't I nice?

Les Étrennes Des Orphelins

I
La chambre est pleine d'ombre; on entend vaguement
De deux enfants le triste et doux chuchotement.
Leur front se penche, encore alourdi par le rêve,
Sous le long rideau blanc qui tremble et se soulève...
--Au dehors les oiseaux se repprochent frileux;
Leur aile s'engourdit sous le ton gris des cieux;
Et la nouvelle Année, à la suite brumeuse,
Laissant traîner kes okus de sa robe neigeuse,
Sourit avec des pleurs, et chante en grelottant...

II
Or les petits enfants, sous le rideau flottant,
Parlent bas comme on fait dans une nuit obscure.
Ils écoutent, pensifs, comme un lotain murmure...
Ils tressaillent souvent à la claire voix d'or
Du timbre matinal, qui frappe et frappe encor
Son refrain métallique en son globe de verre...
--Puis, la chambre est glacée... on voit traîner à terre,
Épars autour des lits des vêtements de deuil:
L'âpre bise d'hiver qui se lamente au seuil
Souffle dans le logis son haleine morose!
On sent, dans tout cela, qu'il manque quelque chose...
-- Il n'est donc point de mère à ces petits enfants,
De mère au frais sourire, aux regards triomphants?
Elle a donc oublié, le soir, seule et penchée,
D'exciter une flamme à la cendre arrachée,
D'amonceler sur eux la laine e l'édredon
Avant de les quitter en leur criant: pardon.
Elle n'a point prévu la froider matinale,
Ni bien fermé le seuil à la bise hivernale...
-- Le rêve maternal, c'est le tiède tapis,
C'est le nid cotonneux où les enfants tapis,
Comme de beaux oiseaux que balancent les branches,
Dorment leur doux sommeil plein de visions blanches!...
-- Et là, --c'est comme un nid sans plumes, sans chaleur,
Où les petits ont froid, ne dorment pas, ont peur;
Un nid que doit avoir glacé la bise amère...

III
Votre coeur l'a compris: -- ces efants sont sans mère.
Plus de mère au logis! -- et le père est bien loin!...
-- Une vieille servante, alors, en a pris soin.
Les petits sont tout seuls en la maison glacée;
Orphelins du quatre ans, voilà qu'en leur pensée
S'éveille, par degrés, un souvenir riant...
C'est comme un chapelet qu'on égrène en priant:
-- Ah! quel beau matin, que ce matin dest étrennes!
Chacun, pendant la nuit, avait rêvé des siennes
Dans quelque song étrange où l'on voyait joujoux,
Bonbons habillés d'or, étincelants bijoux,
tourbillonner, danser une danse sonore,
Puis fuir sous les rideaux, puis reparaître encore!
On s'évellait matin, on se levait joyeux,
La lèvre affriandée, en se frottant les yeux...
On allait, les cheveux emmêlés sur la tête,
Les yeux tout rayonnants, comme aux grands jours de fête,
Et les petits pieds nus effleurant le plancher,
Aux portes des parents tout doucement toucher...
On entrait!... Puis alors les souhaits... en chemise,
Les baisers répétés, et la gaîté permise!

IV
Ah! c'était si charmant, ces mots dits tant de fois!
--Mais comme il est changé, le logis d'autrefois:
Un grand feu pétillait, clair, dans la cheminée,
Toute la vieille chambre était illuminée;
Et les reflets vermeils, sortis du grand foyer,
Sur les meubles vernis aimaient à tournoyer...
-- L'armoire é sans clefs!... sans clefs, la grande armoire!
On regardait souvent sa porte brune et noire...
Sans clefs!... c'était étrange!... on rêvait bien des fois
Aux mystères dormant entre ses flancs de bois,
Et l'on croyait ouïr, au fond la serrure
Béante, un bruit lointain, vague et joyeux murmure...
--La chambre des parents est bien vide, aujourd'hui:
Aucun reflet vermeil sous la porte n'a lui;
Il n'est point de parents, de foyer, de clefs prises:
Partant, point de baiser, point de douces surprises!
Oh! que le jour de l'an sera triste pour eux!
-- Et, tour pensifs, tandis que de leurs grands yeux bleus
Silencieusement tombe une larme amère,
Ils murmurent <>

V
Maintenant, les petits sommeillent tristement:
Vous diriez, à les voir, qu'ils pleurent en dormant,
Tant leurs yeux sont gonflés et leur souffles pénible!
Les tout petits enfants ont le coeur si sensible!
-- Mais l'ange des berceaux vient essuyer leurs yeux,
Et dans ce lourd sommeil met un rêve joyeux,
Un rêve si joyeux, que leur lèvre mi-close,
Souriante, semblait murmurer quelque chose...
-- Ils rêvent que, penchés sur leur petit bras rond,
Doux geste du réveil, ils avancent le front,
Et leur vague regard tout autour d'eux se pose...
Ils se croient endormis dans un paradis rose...
Au foyer plein d'éclairs chante gaîment le feu...
Par la fenêtre on voit là-bas un beau ciel bleu;
La nature s'éveille et de rayons s'enivre...
La terre, demi-nue, heureuse de revivre,
A des frissons de joie aux baisers du soleil...
Et dans le vieux logis tout est tièdes et vermeil:
Les sombres vêtements ne jonchent plus la terre,
La bise sous le seuil a fini par se taire...
On dirait qu'une fée a passé dans cela!...
--Les enfants, tout joyeux, ont jeté deux cris... Là,
Près du lit maternal, sous un beau rayon rose,
Là, sur le grand tapis, resplendit quelque chose...
Ce sont des médaillons argentés, noirs et blancs,
De la nacre et du jais aux reflets scintillants;
Des petis cadre noirs, des couronnes de verres,
Avant trois mots gravés en or: <<À NOTRE MÈRE!>>

The Orphans' New Year's Gifts

I
The room is full of shadow; you vaguely hear
Two children whispering, sadly, softly.
Heavy with sleep, their heads are bowed
Beneath the long white curtain that trembles and rises...
-- Outside, birds huddle against the cold;
Wings benumbed beneath the sky's grey shade;
And the New Year, trailing mist,
Drags the folds of her snowy train behind her,
Smiling through tears, shivering as she sings...

II
But beneath the fluttering curtain, the little ones
Speaks as one does in the dark of night, softly.
Lost in thought, they listen as if to a distant murmur...
How they tremble at the clear golden voice
Of the morning bell, its metallic refrain striking
The glass globe again and again...
-- Then... on the floor ... strewn around their beds
In this frozen room, you notice mourning clothes:
The bitter winter wind wailing at the threshold
Blows its grim breath into the house.
You sense something missing in all of this...
--Where is their mother? Where is her triumphant
Maternal stare, her warm absolving smile?
One night, alone, bent over them
She must have forgotten to kindle a fire
From a dying ember, must have forgotten
To tuck a blanket and quilt around them
Before leaving, while crying out: forgive me.
She couldn't have known how cold the next morning would be,
Nor how to keep the winter wind behind the door...
-- This maternal dreams is a warm blanket,
A cottony nest where children hide,
Like beautiful birds on swaying branches,
Sleeping a soft sleep brimming with white dreams...
-- And here, the nest is featherless and cold,
And the little ones are cold, restless, afraid;
A nest frozen solid by bitter winds.

III
Your heart has understood: these are motherless children.
No mother near! -- And father far away...
-- So an old servant cares for them.
The little ones are all alone in this frozen house;
Four-year-old orphans who slowly
Awaken to a happy memory...
Like a rosary, a prayer made bead by bead:
Oh what a beautiful morning! New Year's Morning!
During the night, each dreamt of his heart's loves,
Strange dreams of dancing toys
Gowned in gold, glittering jewels
Dancing a musical dance, disappearing
Under curtains and appearing again!
The next morning, they rose happily,
Mouths watering, rubbing their eyes...
With tousled hair and sparkling eyes
They made their way, brimming with holiday joy,
Little bare feet skimming across the floor,
Until softly tapping at their parents' door...
And in they went with nightshirted welcomes...
Endless kisses and every joy.

IV
Such a charming story, repeated how many times?
-- How the old house has changed since then.
A great fire crackled brightly in the hearth,
Illuminating the old bedroom;
Vermilion reflections from the fireplace,
Dance over the furniture...
-- The armoire was unlocked! Unlocked!
They had to stare at its dark black door...
Unlocked...! How strange... they so often dreamt
Of mysteries that slept within its ribs,
Thinking they could hear distant sounds
Through the keyhole's gaping depths,
A joyous, barely audible murmur...
-- Now the parents' bedroom is empty:
No vermilion reflections beneath the door;
No parents, no hearth, no keys to steal:
And no kisses when they leave, no sweet surprises!
How sad their New Year's Day will be!
-- Lost in thought, while bitter tears fall...
Silently from big blue eyes, they murmur:
"When will mother return?"

V
Now the little ones are sleeping, sadly:
If you could see their puffy eyes and laboured breaths
You'd say they were crying in their sleep...
Little children have such fragile hearts!
-- But a guardian angel dries their eyes,
And slips a wonderful dream into heavy sleep,
A dream so wonderful that, smiling, their parted lips
Seem to murmur out loud...
-- Resting on their little round arms, they dream
Of lifting their heads with morning's sweet motions
Until sleepy glances finally alight
On what must be a paradise of roses...
Fire sings merrily from a glowing hearth...
And a boundless blue sky peeks through the window;
Nature awakens, drunk with daylight...
The earth, half-naked, happily reborn,
Shivers with joy under sunbeam kisses...
And in the old house, everything is vermilion, and warm:
Dark clothes no longer carpet floors,
And the wind at their doorstep has finally fallen silent
As if a fairy had come...! -- Perfectly happy,
The children cheer twice for joy... And there,
Near the maternal bed, beneath a beautiful rosy sunbeam,
There, on the great rug, something wonderful shines...
Silvery medals, one black, one white,
Both glittering, one jet, one mother-of-pearl;
Little black borders, little glass wreaths,
Each with three words, graven in gold:
"TO OUR MOTHER!"

Bob Free in Liberty Land

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:58:18 +0000

*Cue theme music* Welcome to "Bob Free in Liberty Land," an exciting, wacky new online series exploring the adventures of Bob Free and others in a world in which Libertarianism has prevailed. This wonderful new world is called Liberty Land. Let's join Bob now, shall we, in this brave new world! *Theme music fades*

Bob Free in Liberty Land

Bob Free woke up, and began to get ready for work. In the bathroom, he turned on the shower faucets, but nothing came out except a barckish stream that quickly petered out. No water came out of the faucets in the sink, either.

He called his water company.

“Hold the line a moment, Mr. Free,” the operator said.

Then Jim Liquidity, the owner of the water company, came on the line.

Free explained the problem.

“There is no mechanical problem, Bob,” Liquidity told Free. “I’ve canceled your contract with us, and cut off your water supply.”

“But why?”

“Because I don’t like the cut of your jib, Bob. I don’t want your business.”

Free protested, but Liquidity cut him off, saying, “It has come to my attention that you are a Negro, Bob. I didn’t know that when I agreed to sell water to you. I don’t sell to Negroes. Sorry.”

“I’ll take you to court!” Free raged.

“Bob, all the courts are privatized now. The one I’ve hired naturally supports all my claims. What else would they do, given that I pay their bills?”

Free spluttered in frustration, but Liquidity cut him off, saying: “Bob, we live in Liberty Land. There are at least 15 other water companies vying for your business. I’m sure not all of them hate Negroes, and would be willing to sell water to you. I suggest you try one of them.”

“But it will take a few days to hook up new water service! What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Go without water?”

“That’s your problem, Bob. Remember, you don’t have a right to water. All you — all any of us — have is a right to life (thought not health care or even drinking water), a right to liberty and a right to private property.”

“How do you figure those are the only rights we have?”

“Bob, it’s self-evident. Natural rights, and those three particular rights only, are axiomatically true. Libertarianism is like Euclid’s theorem.”

“You’re a lunatic,” Free said.

“By the way, Bob, there is something else you should know.”

“What?”

“I’ve branched out from the water business into the sidewalk business. I’ve bought up all the toll sidewalks that surround your house.”

“So?”

“I don’t want you walking on the toll sidewalks, Bob. The electronic toll booths have been programmed to disable you charge card. Any attempt by you to walk on my sidewalks will constitute trespassing, a punishable offense because if you walk on the sidewalks that I own, you will violate my natural rights.”

“But I have to walk on at least one of them,” Free pointed out. They surround my house."

“That’s really not my problem, Bob.”

"B-ut," Free spluttered into the phone, "I'm late for a lecture on the invalidity of the labor theory of value!"

However, Liquidity had hung up.

*Cue theme music* Join us next time for a new installment of Bob Free in Libery Land! *Theme music fades*

Music you like...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:59:11 +0000

Although he may not be widely known outside the UK, Mike Skinner's second album as The Streets, entitled A Grand Don't Come For Free, is a listening experience that doesn't come along often. Even if you don't like the unique style of music or rhyming, the beautiful thing about it is that it's a concept piece from start to finish; that is, it won't make sense if you try a few tunes out of sequence, but if you force yourself to put in the effort to take in the whole record at one sitting you'll be rewarded with a journey through the range of problems and concerns facing young people today as well as some more universal issues such as the value and extent of true friendship and the resolution of disagreements. Quite simply, there's nothing else like it.

What have you heard recently that's worth sharing?

NFL Super Bowl 46

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:16:15 +0000

A wonderful season comes to a glorious end, a revenge match-up of Super Bowl 42. Same coaches, same quarterbacks, same favorite/underdogs. Will the Pats exact their pound of flesh, or will the Giants continue to upset would-be world-beaters? However, not many players remain from that classic game from 4 years ago, which makes the revenge factor irrelevant.

Giants @ Pats

Much will be made of the Pats' terrific duo at TE and the Giants' ferocious DL, the two biggest edges of each team. However, they will indirectly impact one another.

The Giants' DL is effective because they allow the rest of the defense to worry about coverage without requiring a blitzing player to bring pressure. They will have a consistent edge over the Pats' OL, and force Brady to hurry his throws. The Pats' TE is nearly uncoverable by any LB/S/CB, due to freakish size and speed, but only if they are allowed to run their routes. The Giants' safeties are too aggressive, and their LB are too slow. However, if the Giants' pass-rush becomes too much for the OL, Belichick has to keep one of the TE as extra blocker to protect Brady. See their Week 9 matchup where the Pats used 6 or 7 blockers. Moreover, Gronkowski will not be at full strength, given his ankle and lack of practice time.

I have a feeling that these key matchups will not dictate the Super Bowl - but how WR Victor Cruz performs. It seems he will victimize the Patriots' shabby secondary, and moreover, he has the hottest QB in the game throwing to him. Once the Giants get a lead, they'll mix in runs with RB Jacob & Bradshaw (if he can go) and keep the Pats' D off-balance. Brady is hungry and hasn't won in 8 years, but he doesn't have enough to beat the Giants.

Giants, 35-31

Additionally: I'm not confident in the Patriots' chances. Their schedule in 2011 was a fairly weak one (opponents won 45.3%) while the Giants faced a stronger one (54.7%). Moreover, the Madden simulation predicted a Giants victory.

Plato's Cave in real life pictures (without the fire).

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:36:20 +0000

Plato's Cave in real life pictures (without the fire).

This is what is inside the cave :

This is what is inside the cave using a flash (that's cheating !)

This is someone who has broken free, on the edge of the cave :

This is what the outside looks like from inside the cave to someone who can only “see” with his eyes :

And this is one of the reasons why you don’t need eyes to see :

You need vision :

Bonus : this is how I imagine someone who’s figured it out once inside :

and out :

and maybe, just maybe, even further out :