Does It Matter At All?

That I was born (birthdate of 12/12/1950) into being on so many cusps of things of a major import to the world, and humanity in general. As in:

1: Born as America was stepping forth as the triumphant new, supposed, protector of both Democracy, and new found industrial power.

2: Graduating from high school in 69 on the last bit of all of the potent cultural, and political upheavals of the sixties.

3: Was part of the beginning of the desktop computer revolution, studying computers at all because I felt I needed to as a part of being a student of Marshall McLuhan; then needing to fall back on it to earn a living, but also, ultimately, so I would have the experience I needed to do the one, main, systems analysis I was born to do.

4: And now here, in the present when humanity absolutely needs to do the pivot, that may be the test that most emerging sentient species might likely be prone to fail, or why else wouldn't there be more of them.

And does the Golden Ratio really matter? It's only a collection of coincidences after all. A truly amazing set of coincidences to be sure, but still. I ask that because it's interesting as well to note that when you divide 1950 by 12.05 you get very close to the Golden Ratio sequence; albeit with the decimal in the wrong place, but hey. It's only games with numbers after all.

And to answer the question then, what's one to say? Well... Unfortunately, with everything that is at stake almost everything matters. But if it is so much how can we attend to what is important, and what isn't?

And should I be ashamed of pointing any of this out in the first place? Just to get some attention?Well... Maybe. Consider it one of my least offensive acts of peaceful, civil disobedience. And make no mistake. I am involved in other, peaceful, acts of civil disobedience; as in take my Google Blog, post click numbers, with a big dose of scepticism (assuming anybody pays that much attention to them all all -- I never do -- in the first place). And I say that because there is such a thing as "Vanity Clicks" (even if nobody wants to admit it). Because you can't just put a post out now naked, can you (what with so many trying to manipulate so much of what we get as information)? It's got to have a few "Yes, I do have a semblance of a following" clicks to reashure a potential viewer that this is worthwhile stuff (a kind of "prime the pump" thing you see). And of course, if you have a bigger vanity, then you have to have a few more such clicks. Just sayin. The real question, though, is whether the vanity in question is responsible for all of the clicks or not, and on that I can definitely say, absolutely not (and if the clicks themselves aren't important, than what is?). Quite a few of them at times, of course, but never all of them (and I hasten to add that I do my vanity clicks myself, without aid of any damned bot, algorithm, shit; so you can see why there is an inherent limiting factor there, and I am an old dude besides you know).

I hope that clears a few things up, and gives you a better perspective on the person you are dealing with here. Thank you for your kind attention.

And by the way, this is important to me (with all of the terrible things that are going on), it's just that I can't be completely serious about it all of the time; especially when so much of what all of us are dealing with now has become so absolutely, insanely, crazy, all of its own now.

The bottom line, though, is that all of that won't stop until the planet either dies, or we die with our hands at each other's throats, fighting for the last scraps of food, and liveable space; unless, of course, we take action now. Each of us. Personal, responsibility action, in a situation that demands that we stop doing "Business As Usual."

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It Only Seems Like A Simulation

And that is because any given reality you might want to focus on is itself a "Self Sustaining, Iterative Loop Process," in the first place (as in divine process, as a Higher Purpose). And one that also requires Meaning Processors (which we were lucky enough to become, on, and of, this miracle of a planet) as an integral part, that are the hoped for, important component, to arise from these vectors of experience association, and their quest to aggregate ever higher levels of structure, in order to exist at all.

And that is because it is only with Meaning Processors making the pivot from what they evolved from, to the new path of ever more informed, better choices driven expansion, of that ever more complex structure, that gives your particular reality the best chance of staying meaningful. At least, in my opinion, if they follow a path of ever ongoing, dynamic balance, between diametrically opposed opposites.

That is, of course, if you follow the idea of Cosmolosophy, and how it models the cosmos. And as ideas go, it's not so bad. And that's because it also allows for the possibility of a Higher Power as well, precisely because of that "diametrically opposed opposites" thing. It's something I think you ought to at least check out by digging into it a bit. You will find it interesting, if nothing else.

There is also the problem now, however, that we are getting ever more addicted to ever more encompassing, and controlling, media environments. One of these is VR certainly, and the holy grail of direct connection to the brain. And the other is just whatever, other delivery device, and experience channel, you get into because it's simply all you can afford, or its just the one that resonates for you. Whatever they might be, though, they are still a commodity/transaction linkaging, to get you enthralled, addicted, and Brand Identified, for the consumptive benefit of the provider's owner. And so, once captured, and in the owner's desired echo chamber of what reality should be now, why wouldn't you be a little more concerned about what is, and isn't real.

This is why, in the redefinition of what is work, in the revolutionary necessity for a new social operating system, there must also be a redefinition of a Democratic way to go about the social process of negotiating the ongoing agreement of "how things are currently." And from which we can then decide what our "most important priorities" are. Because that too is something that must be decided by the aggregate of individual choice. Which, hopefully, will become more informed at this level of doing structure, as much as with any of the larger frames of reference.

Which is why I had to have a philosophy to go along with my radical political change.

HONESTLY, IT'D BE A RELIEF

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The rise of the simulation theory tells us a lot about how we live now.

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Understanding The Systems Necessity Of The Notion: "Humanity's Reach Must Always Exceed Its Grasp"

And maybe the best place to start is: How exactly do you do that?

For us, becoming Meaning Processors as we have, in this reality, I believe that it must be via a balance of both the strengths of "Mind Meaning Space," as well as the strengths of "Body Meaning Space." Which is simply to say that you have to use both objective logic, and that which transcends it. And you have to do that especially at survival pivot points like we are in now.

The question comes down to basically this: how do you get new, advanced primitives (or objects to start making new things from), if you can conceive only with what has come before. How do you come by this new "reach" if you do not let go of, in some sense, your absolute hold on the old.

In a further sense, then, how do you do the advancing, intuitive leap, without having faith that you might catch hold of a whole new level. Knowing all the while that you have to risk what lies in the "fallout" of what you've tried if you are wrong. And how is that not, also in a sense, working with transcending the current limits of your instrumentality, so that completely new kinds of instrumentality can be obtained. and the process begun anew.

I think we have the equivalent of reprogrammable neural logic circuits in the physiology of the "Body Meaning Space," of our bodies; which is certainly a huge expanse nerve tissue, and the receptors, and actuators, that this tissue is connected to; all of which is fed into the main info bus of our spinal cord, to our brain. If you are sensitive to what you feel from this side of things, and have trained yourself to be even more so, by various meditation techniques, you can become able to, in a way, open up the re imprint ability, so as to realign yourself to what impings on you in the most current moment of total system state. A process of letting go of your entire identity for awhile so that it can be given new kinds of entanglements, within so many levels of your being, and from around it as well. Something that I think not only gives you new information, from virtually anywhere in the Entirety, but also improves you somehow as well. A process I think that has been working on me for a long time now.

I understand this notion so much better now, seeing it from the standpoint of being necessary for an systems operation that wants ever more complex structure to evolve from whatever level of primitives you do get to start with. This in a system of evolving interaction, over time, with a specific set of interactive rules, of which the starting primitives, of course, must conform to with their defining parameters. which is, of course, a process I call "Experience Association;" done via a particular vector of a reality. With all of these infinite possible traceries, then, conducting the reality ray tracing that allows the entirety to somehow answer much bigger, iterative questions; or perhaps just the simplest, recurring, one of all: Does infinite potential still have meaning of any kind? And if it doesn't... Perhaps it will all...

Well, that's just speculation, isn't it. But then what I'm talking about is just an idea. Hopefully a useful one for a while. Until that better idea inevitably comes along. Because that's the whole point. To get to the next level of what can be structured. And if you do this via the path of balance, you have the possibility of doing it for a very, very long time indeed.

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[Post Note: To say that the Anthropic Principle is misunderstood, and considered outside of the proper context, is illustrated here in this piece from David P. Barash, biologist and professor of psychology emeritus at the University of Washington. And I think that's because most of science today sees it as a standalone idea in itself when, in my opinion, it is not.

The Anthropic principle, it seems to me, is something that has to be seen as a part of a larger, philosophical meaning system; which of course is exactly what I am proposing with Cosmolosphy. More specifically, it has to be seen as linked to the idea that the entirety is made up of infinite numbers of reality ray traces, each an example of life as the rules of that aggregating system allow (because we have an Entirety of infinite potential). And the point there is not that it create human life, necessarily, but that it create Meaning Processors, in one form or another. And if it happens to work with carbon based life, on an exceptionally well placed planet for carbon based life, then so be it. And as we are, in fact, the representatives of "Meaning Processors" for this reality, that makes being a Humanist only logical, and not arrogant at all.

The real problem is that, having had to evolve up from a huge number of organizational levels, for what constitutes a "living organism," on a carbon based system, and the competitional nature of nature, so as to select for the best system to survive, we have been encumbered with successive layers of information processing, via bio-electric systems of increasing complexity, culminating ultimately in a few upper layers that really got things going in the way of abstraction, and the beginnings of having memory, and the ability to utilize it to begin making ever more informed choices; because of all of that are we then subject to the past frailties of eaking out an existence as both prey and predator, in an often times cold, and unforgiving arena of already established, physical systems. Having to learn everything the hard way; thus establishing the "Economics of Scarcity" that would define us for many millennia to come. And it is from this old way of doing things that we must pivot, not only in how we operate externally in the physical world, but how we operate internally as well, for we must conceive of ourselves, and our place in the Cosmos, in a much different way now. And that is why I have been trying to introduce the idea of living a balance between all of the opposites we think are diametrically opposed, but for which balance can be obtained, difficult though that may be. J.V.]      

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Branding -- The New Religion Of Purchased Belonging

Not feeling connected? Don't have a sense of purpose, or meaning?

Do not concern yourself. "Competitive Commoditization of Everything" will be there to welcome you into the new world of totally enveloping escape.

And all you have to believe in, really, is high fidelity, all encompassing, escape itself; after all, didn't some social commentator or another, a while back, say that religion was the opiate of the masses. Well now a very wealthy few can combine metaphors into one neat package of fully integrated addiction. Now they'll make Branded, Addictive Consumption a religion unto itself; one that will redefine "Piety and Profit" in a completely new way. Oh Happy Day.

And don't think this might be limited to only VR gaming.

What if the unscrupulous amongst the marketeers decided to try and make a new clothing fabric. One that, unbeknownst to you, or anybody else who might cause a ruckus about it, would act as a timed release, very subtly acting euphoric drug. A drug that would give you a bit of an up while the garment was worn. And also one that, in addition to being incredibly addicting, would last only, say for one, small, fashion season?

What about print on, circuitized tattoos, that do the same thing without your knowledge. Tattoos that would be the same brand logos you already have other addictions to.

And trust me, this list is limited only by your imagination, and your current knowledge of high tech.

This is the Brave New World of "Competitive Commoditization of Everything" will bring to you. Assuming, of course, that the planet doesn't do you in first, out of complete disgust, in addition to the fact that we've been killing her for some time now by our neglect.

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America Doesn’t Have to Be Like This

And yet it still is.

And after a lot of very thoughtful reflection. Much like the book described here, as well as the wonderful review, written by Ilana Masad.

What is one to say about this. Now that the planet is also on the line.

I think the key here is stated in this paragraph from Miss Masad's review:

"...Meanwhile, the ''lie factory,'' as some called Campaigns, Inc. was founded in 1933 by Clem Whitaker and Leone Baxter, who made politics a business: “No single development altered the workings of American democracy so wholly as the industry Whitaker and Baxter invented,” Lepore writes. In the 1934 California gubernatorial race, Campaigns, Inc. was hired by the author Upton Sinclair’s Republican rivals. Sinclair, having written novels in the past, was screwed by his creativity—Whitaker and Baxter printed quotes from his novels as if they were his own opinions, thus smearing his name..."

So basically here, in 1933, we had a very significant mile marker for the "Commoditization Of Everything." As in politics itself becoming a business, and voting results a new, hot commodity. So of course, eventually, a company would have to have the rights of a citizen, so that it could have the same freedom of speech, but not be encumbered much at all with any of the responsibilities that go with any of the freedoms this country was supposedly founded on. Oh happy day.

And please think this through carefully. Do you really think changing a law or two, here and there, while the outdated system, that made needing the laws changed, big time, in the first place, that still drives us forward, with the same corrupting momentum, that turned everything into just another commodity, and now roils on to destroy the very basis of life as we have evolved to know it; do you really think that we can still survive without getting rid of it?

Seriously?

America Doesn’t Have to Be Like This


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Life is Completely, Woefully, And Destructively, Out Of Balance

And you all know it whether you want to admit it or not.

This lack of balance is why so many critical systems are either withering greatly now, or in the last stages of dying off completely. And if you are doing things to create this effect with living systems, you can be fairly sure that your objective systems, created of your own ability to forge function out of mind space meaning systems, powered not only by human toil, but by the brutal uncovering, and rape, of all of nature's meaningful relationships, will suffer as well; an uncovering, and rape, expressed quite succinctly I think in Jackson Brown's line, in the song, "After The Deluge," about the men (paraphrasing) who learned to forge Nature's beauty into power.

They could do this with a clear conscience of course because what is divine, and what isn't, were taken out of the hands of common folk, quite a while back by one of the most vicious, and far reaching, wars declared on seeing Nature as a divine process in, and of, itself. Because, of course, nature has always been identified with the Goddess, or Feminine aspect, of all life. A war that was fought both in the traditional sense, of men taking up arms, but also in the new sense of information war, as in rewriting history so as to completely reconfigure how we view the feminine creative force, but also whether we even see us as having the right in the first place to have a say in what should be divine, or not. But then, of course, it is always about power, and who gets to control it, isn't it.

But we do have that right. And it is long past time to start exercising it again.

And this does apply to you tech geeks out there, whether you understand that or not, and not just to religious scholars. You need only remember the dichotomy suggested in the "The Matrix" movie series between the "Oracal" and the "Architect," to see this old metaphorical conflict being retold for you. And the base fact of that being about wanting to end the war that had been going on for so long as suggested by the plot; through numerous repetitions in fact of coming to the same conclusion: that finding some sort of accommodation between, what I call Father Fortress, and Mother Earth, was the only way things were going to be able to progress any further.

The bottom line here is that we're going to have to find a way to get past that long ago war between the two, fundamentally different, ways of seeing divinity. Get past the horrible things done and move on because there is simply no other choice. We do this, and cooperate, or we die. All of us, and all of our belief systems with us. And I personally can't see how that is going to make either your favorite "Higher Power," or "Higher Purpose" very happy at all with you. And if you really are a believer than maybe it's time to at least reconsider peaceful coexistence. Because it sure seems to beat the alternative by a huge amount to me.

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And they will have huge impacts economically, politically, and socially; even before the point of no return passes us by. Which will certainly only make our ability to respond ever weaker.

And yet so little of our leadership, either in the private sector, or the public, is willing to say what needs to be said. That we must stop life as we have known it and respond to the terrible crisis looming over this planet. Just as if this was "Independence Day," the movie, and we had a moon sized load of bad news, parked in orbit above the planet, and getting ready to rain all forms of genocidal, and salt the earth, destruction upon us. Because that is the effective result of what we face here after all of the ice at both poles melts.

And the clock is ticking on the time left to act.

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