Last semester I took a course on ethics in computing. It only met for 50 minutes a week and I rarely attended class but the assigned readings made me do a lot of thinking. All the talk about robots taking over the world and engineering new ways for us all to kill ourselves really made me wonder what it is that governs how our society will react to new technologies and what the possible outcomes could be.
I just finished watching a documentary for a class on just this topic, the origins of technology and the various inequalities it has engendered in the world. Basically, the way I see it, people are for the most part very much the same. That being said, when someone stumbles onto a new idea that seems beneficial to society, they share it with their community. Because it is difficult to reproduce the mindset that person was in when they made this glorious discovery, it's likely that a few people will find it difficult to see the benefit of this new idea. With some creative explanation and a basis of trust, the community as a whole may come to accept this new idea, thus we have advancement.
If a community or society were to make several of these discoveries and come to accept them as commonplace or common knowledge, they would begin to feel very good about themselves. As time goes on, the community will want to spread and take these ideas with them. It is when a more advanced community or society comes across one in which these various ideas have yet to be discovered that problems arise. When coming to a new community, there is a lack of trust between the involved parties and it becomes increasingly difficult to convince the various members of a new community to go along with the flow.
As a general rule, the new, or less developed society will be made up of people with vastly varying degrees of willpower. Strong willed individuals will cling to their own ideas, the traditions of their society, and the cultural and religious values already in place. Others will be more easily swayed, being more open to new ideas and less reticent when it comes to change. Those who will not be swayed will break away, or in more extreme cases, fight back against the intruders with their revolutionary claims. For those that simply break away, they will continue on as they were, without making a leap forward. The fighters become known as fundamentalists or reactionaries by the likely more powerful, intruding culture.
Everyone else is assimilated and educated in the "new ways" and help to make further advancements for society. This is the fundamental engine fueling global inequality in our world. Strong willed individuals who believe themselves to be the most intelligent among their people are reluctant to accept ideas to which they did not come themselves or are not endorsed by people they respect as their intellectual equals. For this reason, new ideas brought from unknown cultures, no matter how magnificent or revolutionary, will be scrutinized mercilessly and found unnecessary.
It is this, and not the color of our skin which makes us so extremely different. Some cultures are lucky enough to come to certain conclusions before others, whether it be because of their geographical location or the species of plant and animal life around them, they were blessed by the wheel of fate. Other cultures, held back by the cards they were dealt, will find it difficult to see the thought processes leading to a new technology because they lack perspective.
One of the greatest factors influencing whether or not a society accepts the teachings of an intruding society is religion. Religious leaders will rationalize that the gods or goddesses have blessed the people with everything they need and nothing this new people has to offer could possibly bring anything but hardships upon them. While this is not always the case, I would argue that a lot of the time, some skepticism regarding new technologies is a good thing.
More often than not, a new technology gains a mass following before some of its downfalls have been discovered, and this can cause hardships for sure. For this reason, it is important to scrutinize these discoveries as they come about rather than blindly accepting. Similarly, it's important to keep an open mind and allow yourself to see the various benefits of a new technology and weigh the options.
Time for class, more on this later.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Why America Isn't "The Greatest Nation on Earth"
You're afraid, all of you, deathly afraid of the power your government has over you. It's alright, I'm a little scared myself. In a "democracy", the "demo-" is supposed to be in charge. What the heck is a "demo-"?? You are! "Demo-" is the people. Now let's face it folks, the government is not being run by people. The government is, in fact, run by politicians. Now, many of you may wonder what exactly a politician is. We at The Haven have been working around the clock on this and we believe we have found an answer. As far as we can tell, politicians did, at one time, have ancestors that could easily be identified as "people". Over the years however, with the glorious advent of the "free market economy" and the almighty dollar, we see a new breed walking around.
At first glance, a politician is no different from a regular person. Eyes, ears, mouth, arms, legs, torso, and some outer appendages which resemble hands and feet. The main difference seems to be neurological or possibly faith based. You see, the outer appendages resembling hands do not serve exactly the same purpose as hands on a real person. Politician "hands" are used solely for feeling through your pockets and other personal belongings to find and grasp onto any and all money you may have to your name. The lower appendages, the ones resembling feet, are just for show. Politicians must look as much like real people as possible to make it easier to get real people to vote for them. Once they're in place and acquiring money from their constituency, they will have more than enough to pay someone else to do all the walking for them. This designated walker is likely a real person who, for unknown reasons, wishes to cross over and become a politician. Perhaps they're just tired of walking for themselves.
In any case, I would not be opposed to a civil war, one in which the real people take on the politicians. Fortunately, we have them at an advantage, they're unclear on how to use they're hands for anything other than seeking out and acquiring money from people, while we are fully capable of pulling triggers on the automatic assault rifles our politicians graciously allow us to carry. There's no doubt in my mind that we would win, but from there, we would have to find a way to keep certain sects of our society from attempting to gain and abuse power.
In all honesty, we've given our government a lot of power. Way more than it needs to carry out the tasks we want it to. Our government is supposed to be ours to shape and mold and improve. Yet, with all the power we've given it, we can't help but stand idly by while they seek out the opinions of people willing to pay lots of money to be heard. Why are we so afraid? What do we think they might do if we told them to stop? We need to stand up to these guys. They're screwing things up and we're running out of energy to fight them. It's more than going to vote once every 2-4 years. There are laws in place that don't belong, start "breaking" them. There are loopholes that exist that need to be filled, start exploiting them! The fastest way to get what you want is to take it yourself, so stop acting like you have no control, because you do.
The only reason this country needs a leader, a "big-cheese", is so that there is a "man" for us to "stick it to". So join me, won't you all, in sticking it to the man in 2008.
<3 Me
At first glance, a politician is no different from a regular person. Eyes, ears, mouth, arms, legs, torso, and some outer appendages which resemble hands and feet. The main difference seems to be neurological or possibly faith based. You see, the outer appendages resembling hands do not serve exactly the same purpose as hands on a real person. Politician "hands" are used solely for feeling through your pockets and other personal belongings to find and grasp onto any and all money you may have to your name. The lower appendages, the ones resembling feet, are just for show. Politicians must look as much like real people as possible to make it easier to get real people to vote for them. Once they're in place and acquiring money from their constituency, they will have more than enough to pay someone else to do all the walking for them. This designated walker is likely a real person who, for unknown reasons, wishes to cross over and become a politician. Perhaps they're just tired of walking for themselves.
In any case, I would not be opposed to a civil war, one in which the real people take on the politicians. Fortunately, we have them at an advantage, they're unclear on how to use they're hands for anything other than seeking out and acquiring money from people, while we are fully capable of pulling triggers on the automatic assault rifles our politicians graciously allow us to carry. There's no doubt in my mind that we would win, but from there, we would have to find a way to keep certain sects of our society from attempting to gain and abuse power.
In all honesty, we've given our government a lot of power. Way more than it needs to carry out the tasks we want it to. Our government is supposed to be ours to shape and mold and improve. Yet, with all the power we've given it, we can't help but stand idly by while they seek out the opinions of people willing to pay lots of money to be heard. Why are we so afraid? What do we think they might do if we told them to stop? We need to stand up to these guys. They're screwing things up and we're running out of energy to fight them. It's more than going to vote once every 2-4 years. There are laws in place that don't belong, start "breaking" them. There are loopholes that exist that need to be filled, start exploiting them! The fastest way to get what you want is to take it yourself, so stop acting like you have no control, because you do.
The only reason this country needs a leader, a "big-cheese", is so that there is a "man" for us to "stick it to". So join me, won't you all, in sticking it to the man in 2008.
<3 Me
Saturday, November 10, 2007
What does it all mean??!!
Note: As the result of many people's requests to do so, I have made it so you no longer have to register at Blogger to post comments. It is my hope that this will encourage all my readers who until now had no voice to speak up. Comment your hearts out!
And this is why I love comments, a Quote from David's comment on my April 9th post:
"I think meaning is all completely relative. I no longer see a difference between cars, fashion, music, hair, architecture, nature, or watercolors. Clearly I enjoy different things for different amounts of time in different ways but I don't see a reason anymore why anything is more meaningful than anything else. It's all relative."
I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't think meaning is relative. Let me demonstrate. Take something that has meaning to you, anything, it doesn't matter what. Now, think back to last week. Did that thing have the same meaning to you then? How about last month? Last year? Chances are, the thing that means the most to you now had little or no meaning to you a very short time ago. I would say it's pretty relative.
What David's comment seems to be driving at is more a matter of subjectivity. I find a lot of meaning in music, art, and nature. Many of my friends, however, find much more meaning in cars, fashion, and fine dining. Am I wrong to care less about what car I drive or what clothes I'm wearing than I do about what music is playing on the stereo or what landscape I'm driving through? I don't think so, and I hope you don't either.
The thing is, we don't really have a scale on which to measure meaning. You can't make a device that calculates meaning for things. As it turns out, there are already about 7 billion devices running around out there experiencing things and attributing meaning to them. But as I said before, no 2 of these devices (people) will attribute the same meaning to the same thing. "It's all relative."
But if we don't have a scale, how is it possible for people to be associating meaning with all of this stuff? Well, we simply attribute meaning for new stuff in reference to all the other stuff we've already applied a meaning to. Meaning is our method of connecting all things in our universe. If you can imagine yourself isolated in an infinite universe with nothing in it but you and a car, how much meaning would that car have to you?
A question that comes to mind as I think about this is, what happens when part of our world disappears? When something that we have attributed a lot of meaning to suddenly blinks out of existence, what is the effect on our perception of meaning? Do other things suddenly gain meaning? Or perhaps they lose meaning because without this one thing, they were nothing. Does finding new meaning in something take away from the meaning of other things? I encourage you all to think about these questions and give me your thoughts.
David goes on to imply that it would be easy for people to look at a beautiful nature-scape and conclude that it has far more meaning than the trendy pair of shoes on a nearby spectator's feet. He then says: "I don't think either have any meaning and both can be appreciated." A difficult statement to contradict, however I don't think there is anything that doesn't have any meaning at all. Everything in this universe has some meaning to someone, but the fact that we can't readily identify what meaning and to whom does not mean we should discount it's validity entirely. I certainly think that all things can be appreciated in their own right, it's just a matter of changing your perspective.
I want to stress the subjectivity of meaning to all of you. Everyone reading this can think of one thing, quite possibly within arm's reach, that to anyone else would mean next to nothing, but to you it means the world. Nothing has no meaning. Should you ever run across something that has no meaning to you, first try to think if any of your friends would find meaning in it, then try to imagine a person who would find a lot of meaning in it (this person may be completely insane, but we don't judge, let them be happy with what little meaning they have), if that doesn't work, make something up. Or, it may be that you have found the one thing in this universe that no one could possibly find any meaning in at all, and to me, that means a lot :-D.
Leave comments children, I <3 comments!
Peace and love,
Geoff
And this is why I love comments, a Quote from David's comment on my April 9th post:
"I think meaning is all completely relative. I no longer see a difference between cars, fashion, music, hair, architecture, nature, or watercolors. Clearly I enjoy different things for different amounts of time in different ways but I don't see a reason anymore why anything is more meaningful than anything else. It's all relative."
I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't think meaning is relative. Let me demonstrate. Take something that has meaning to you, anything, it doesn't matter what. Now, think back to last week. Did that thing have the same meaning to you then? How about last month? Last year? Chances are, the thing that means the most to you now had little or no meaning to you a very short time ago. I would say it's pretty relative.
What David's comment seems to be driving at is more a matter of subjectivity. I find a lot of meaning in music, art, and nature. Many of my friends, however, find much more meaning in cars, fashion, and fine dining. Am I wrong to care less about what car I drive or what clothes I'm wearing than I do about what music is playing on the stereo or what landscape I'm driving through? I don't think so, and I hope you don't either.
The thing is, we don't really have a scale on which to measure meaning. You can't make a device that calculates meaning for things. As it turns out, there are already about 7 billion devices running around out there experiencing things and attributing meaning to them. But as I said before, no 2 of these devices (people) will attribute the same meaning to the same thing. "It's all relative."
But if we don't have a scale, how is it possible for people to be associating meaning with all of this stuff? Well, we simply attribute meaning for new stuff in reference to all the other stuff we've already applied a meaning to. Meaning is our method of connecting all things in our universe. If you can imagine yourself isolated in an infinite universe with nothing in it but you and a car, how much meaning would that car have to you?
A question that comes to mind as I think about this is, what happens when part of our world disappears? When something that we have attributed a lot of meaning to suddenly blinks out of existence, what is the effect on our perception of meaning? Do other things suddenly gain meaning? Or perhaps they lose meaning because without this one thing, they were nothing. Does finding new meaning in something take away from the meaning of other things? I encourage you all to think about these questions and give me your thoughts.
David goes on to imply that it would be easy for people to look at a beautiful nature-scape and conclude that it has far more meaning than the trendy pair of shoes on a nearby spectator's feet. He then says: "I don't think either have any meaning and both can be appreciated." A difficult statement to contradict, however I don't think there is anything that doesn't have any meaning at all. Everything in this universe has some meaning to someone, but the fact that we can't readily identify what meaning and to whom does not mean we should discount it's validity entirely. I certainly think that all things can be appreciated in their own right, it's just a matter of changing your perspective.
I want to stress the subjectivity of meaning to all of you. Everyone reading this can think of one thing, quite possibly within arm's reach, that to anyone else would mean next to nothing, but to you it means the world. Nothing has no meaning. Should you ever run across something that has no meaning to you, first try to think if any of your friends would find meaning in it, then try to imagine a person who would find a lot of meaning in it (this person may be completely insane, but we don't judge, let them be happy with what little meaning they have), if that doesn't work, make something up. Or, it may be that you have found the one thing in this universe that no one could possibly find any meaning in at all, and to me, that means a lot :-D.
Leave comments children, I <3 comments!
Peace and love,
Geoff
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Everyone loves a callback...
There's nothing in this world more amusing to me than a running gag. Exactly how long can we keep this one going before there's no one left in the audience still laughing? If I were a bolder man I'd probably just copy and paste the post I made 3 months ago saying how sorry I was for taking a 3 month break from writing.
Few things in this world bring me as much joy as writing. It feels so good to me when I can look inside my mind and, through language, take a snapshot of my internal processes. Every few months I take a little trip inside my head and look at all the thoughts and shapes and colors floating around. This process tends to be very chaotic and can be difficult at times, but with every experience I learn a little more about myself and how I am effected by things.
In a class on interpersonal relationships a few semesters ago, I was introduced to the notion that relationships are managed best by two individuals who are very aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, their own limits and their typical mindsets. I feel that, through occasional deep introspection, I am better able to gauge myself; I am more capable of knowing how I will react to certain stresses.
I guess my ultimate goal is communication. Not just between me and another person, but an open conversation, involving several people, all bringing their own ideas to the table. What will we talk about? It doesn't matter, as long as it's open, and honest, and real. I want a place where I don't have to feel like what I say is scrutinized or graded, and I want to offer that space to others.
The current education system teaches us to write, not as a means of communication or expression, but as a test of our abilities to regurgitate facts and information. This would be amazing if our brain was like an unfinished puzzle, with empty holes that need to be filled with facts and knowledge. Unfortunately, that is not how our brain works at all. As the old man, Socrates (Nick Nolte) put it in the film Peaceful Warrior, "The mind is a reflex organ, it reacts to everything. It fills with millions of random thoughts per day and not one of these will reveal anymore about you than a hair on the top of your head." As a side note, those of you who have not seen this movie should immediately go out and buy 2 copies, invite someone over to watch it, and then give them your extra copy to show to one of their other friends.
As it turns out, our mind is quite efficient at storing memories, especially those that have deep personal meaning. This is because when the brain is presented with something it immediately generates a response to it. This response is a surge of chemicals which causes certain synapses to fire, and you are reminded of other times when these same synapses were firing. This new incoming information is stored alongside memories you were reminded of as a result of having this experience. Thus, the more you are able to relate new experiences to those you remember from the past, the easier it will be to recall that experience as well as all of the experiences you compare it to.
Most people don't need or care to know the process by which we catalog information. However, I find it interesting to know that, simply by going out and doing and seeing more in this world, I can maintain, and even improve my memories of the past. Doing the same thing over and over again every single day actually causes things to run together; you begin to remember only that there is a routine to follow, and other memories fade.
So get out there! Experience new things, remember old times, and then come back and we can get our conversation on!
Until next time kiddies,
<3 me
Few things in this world bring me as much joy as writing. It feels so good to me when I can look inside my mind and, through language, take a snapshot of my internal processes. Every few months I take a little trip inside my head and look at all the thoughts and shapes and colors floating around. This process tends to be very chaotic and can be difficult at times, but with every experience I learn a little more about myself and how I am effected by things.
In a class on interpersonal relationships a few semesters ago, I was introduced to the notion that relationships are managed best by two individuals who are very aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, their own limits and their typical mindsets. I feel that, through occasional deep introspection, I am better able to gauge myself; I am more capable of knowing how I will react to certain stresses.
I guess my ultimate goal is communication. Not just between me and another person, but an open conversation, involving several people, all bringing their own ideas to the table. What will we talk about? It doesn't matter, as long as it's open, and honest, and real. I want a place where I don't have to feel like what I say is scrutinized or graded, and I want to offer that space to others.
The current education system teaches us to write, not as a means of communication or expression, but as a test of our abilities to regurgitate facts and information. This would be amazing if our brain was like an unfinished puzzle, with empty holes that need to be filled with facts and knowledge. Unfortunately, that is not how our brain works at all. As the old man, Socrates (Nick Nolte) put it in the film Peaceful Warrior, "The mind is a reflex organ, it reacts to everything. It fills with millions of random thoughts per day and not one of these will reveal anymore about you than a hair on the top of your head." As a side note, those of you who have not seen this movie should immediately go out and buy 2 copies, invite someone over to watch it, and then give them your extra copy to show to one of their other friends.
As it turns out, our mind is quite efficient at storing memories, especially those that have deep personal meaning. This is because when the brain is presented with something it immediately generates a response to it. This response is a surge of chemicals which causes certain synapses to fire, and you are reminded of other times when these same synapses were firing. This new incoming information is stored alongside memories you were reminded of as a result of having this experience. Thus, the more you are able to relate new experiences to those you remember from the past, the easier it will be to recall that experience as well as all of the experiences you compare it to.
Most people don't need or care to know the process by which we catalog information. However, I find it interesting to know that, simply by going out and doing and seeing more in this world, I can maintain, and even improve my memories of the past. Doing the same thing over and over again every single day actually causes things to run together; you begin to remember only that there is a routine to follow, and other memories fade.
So get out there! Experience new things, remember old times, and then come back and we can get our conversation on!
Until next time kiddies,
<3 me
Monday, July 23, 2007
I really didn't mean to take a 3 month hiatus from this little project. It just seems like there are so many projects that I ought to be working on at any given point in time. Life is busy! Well, life is school and school is busy. When school is over, what the hell will I do with life?
I don't really have a topic for today. Someone requested that I do a piece on reality at some point, but the more time I spend in it, the less appealing reality becomes. I guess I've been thinking about reality an awful lot the last few months and I'm becoming more and more convinced that it doesn't exist at all. That is to say that, reality is what you make it. And I don't think any two beings in this world, or even in this universe, experience the same reality.
I guess the more important aspect of life that intrigues me is experience. Experience is an amazing thing to me. You see, experience is that which you don't get until right after you need it. I want to take some time soon and investigate shared experience, and the ways in which experiences affect us. Unfortunately, I don't have time right now because life is STILL busy. Those of you who have registered should leave me comments and suggestions and questions. Those of you who have not should, and then leave those comment-y things.
Peace and Love,
Me
I don't really have a topic for today. Someone requested that I do a piece on reality at some point, but the more time I spend in it, the less appealing reality becomes. I guess I've been thinking about reality an awful lot the last few months and I'm becoming more and more convinced that it doesn't exist at all. That is to say that, reality is what you make it. And I don't think any two beings in this world, or even in this universe, experience the same reality.
I guess the more important aspect of life that intrigues me is experience. Experience is an amazing thing to me. You see, experience is that which you don't get until right after you need it. I want to take some time soon and investigate shared experience, and the ways in which experiences affect us. Unfortunately, I don't have time right now because life is STILL busy. Those of you who have registered should leave me comments and suggestions and questions. Those of you who have not should, and then leave those comment-y things.
Peace and Love,
Me
Monday, April 23, 2007
Introspection...
We all go through life a little differently. Some of us are seeking wealth beyond our imagining, others true love, and many more have yet to decide what exactly it is they live for. I think I probably fit into that last group somewhere. I certainly don't have a plan for my life, nor do I presume to know the "right" way to live. All I can do is try my best to figure out what it is that I'm doing that seems to be working or not working, depending on when I ask the questions.
Lately I've been experiencing a lot of anxiety over what to do after college. Many of my friends are ready to start their lives, get the job, find the girl, make the babies. I'm not down with that. That's not where my life is headed right now. Why is it that while all of my friends seem to be working their asses off to impress their prospective employers, I'm slacking my ass off and hoping that I'll be out of school as soon as possible? As it turns out, I believe that there is a link to the past in every decision we make. Most of us don't just toss a coin whenever we have to decide on something, we make calculated decisions based on experience and knowledge of the possible outcomes.
Let me divulge a little bit of information from my past. When I was but a boy of 5, I watched my family (a term used quite loosely to encompass all those who played a major role in my developmental years) go through the heartbreaking loss of a dear friend, Gary Gorman. People die every day, we just happened to know this one. He is a very faint memory to me now, I don't even hear his voice anymore, I remember only his presence, and the way he made us feel. A few years down the road, on the eve of my 13th birthday, we lost another dear friend, Harry "Tex" Overby. To see my family go through all of this again was crushing, and I had no idea how to help, all I could do was cry with them.
Both men died of liver failure, I believe both were in the late stages of Hepatitis-C which they contracted after sharing a heroine needle with a few guys at a party in the early '70s. So what lesson did I take from this? "Don't do drugs" perhaps or "Don't lie down with dogs, or you'll wake up with fleas". No, drugs still play a very large role in my life, and while I'm not a huge fan of dogs, I have been known to wind up with fleas on occasion.
The lesson I took, my friends, was the only lesson that made any sense to me: "Life is short, so make every moment last." This is why I could care less what job I wind up with, and I don't devote much time to searching for a better half. There's always that chance that I could be dead tomorrow, and I don't want people to read that my last day of life was spent sitting through a computer science lecture, writing an English paper, taking my vitamins, and saying my prayers. I intend to make every moment last, right down to the last moment. I may contract all sorts of crippling, debilitating diseases searching for the fun in life, but I would much rather have a lifetime of good times to look back on as I'm writhing in pain than a handful of good times spread out over two lifetimes as I silently slip away.
Lately I've been experiencing a lot of anxiety over what to do after college. Many of my friends are ready to start their lives, get the job, find the girl, make the babies. I'm not down with that. That's not where my life is headed right now. Why is it that while all of my friends seem to be working their asses off to impress their prospective employers, I'm slacking my ass off and hoping that I'll be out of school as soon as possible? As it turns out, I believe that there is a link to the past in every decision we make. Most of us don't just toss a coin whenever we have to decide on something, we make calculated decisions based on experience and knowledge of the possible outcomes.
Let me divulge a little bit of information from my past. When I was but a boy of 5, I watched my family (a term used quite loosely to encompass all those who played a major role in my developmental years) go through the heartbreaking loss of a dear friend, Gary Gorman. People die every day, we just happened to know this one. He is a very faint memory to me now, I don't even hear his voice anymore, I remember only his presence, and the way he made us feel. A few years down the road, on the eve of my 13th birthday, we lost another dear friend, Harry "Tex" Overby. To see my family go through all of this again was crushing, and I had no idea how to help, all I could do was cry with them.
Both men died of liver failure, I believe both were in the late stages of Hepatitis-C which they contracted after sharing a heroine needle with a few guys at a party in the early '70s. So what lesson did I take from this? "Don't do drugs" perhaps or "Don't lie down with dogs, or you'll wake up with fleas". No, drugs still play a very large role in my life, and while I'm not a huge fan of dogs, I have been known to wind up with fleas on occasion.
The lesson I took, my friends, was the only lesson that made any sense to me: "Life is short, so make every moment last." This is why I could care less what job I wind up with, and I don't devote much time to searching for a better half. There's always that chance that I could be dead tomorrow, and I don't want people to read that my last day of life was spent sitting through a computer science lecture, writing an English paper, taking my vitamins, and saying my prayers. I intend to make every moment last, right down to the last moment. I may contract all sorts of crippling, debilitating diseases searching for the fun in life, but I would much rather have a lifetime of good times to look back on as I'm writhing in pain than a handful of good times spread out over two lifetimes as I silently slip away.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Background noise...
Does anyone listen anymore? I mean REALLY listen... I know you all have your ears open, for the most part, and sometimes a few words get through all the filters, but I don't think it's enough.
Kudos to Caleb, as he sent me an article the other day, the gist of which was, a world renowned violinist takes his skills to the street, incognito, playing BEAUTIFUL classical music in a very busy DC metro station. The test was to see if real talent and skill would permeate through the filters of busy rush hour commuters and be recognized and honored. Our violinist played for 43 minutes, during which time approximately 1,100 people passed through the area as the masterpieces of Bach, Schubert, Ponce, and more bounce around the open atrium of L'Enfant Metro Station. Of these 1,100 few leave change for the artist and fewer still actually linger to enjoy the beautiful artwork. Essentially, no different from a vagrant with a pawn-shop saxophone performing on the street.
Have we become so jaded? Are we all sick of listening? Or are we just too busy? Too busy to appreciate beauty?
And it's not just music, it's not just listening, we've stopped reading as well! In school we're being taught speed-reading techniques, ways to take in the minimum amount of information about a topic based on the vast amount of information provided to us. Pattern recognition that allows us to read four or five word phrases or in some cases entire sentences as one entity, ignoring structure and word choice. Is that how my ramblings are being read? Skip all the little words and just try to focus on the "general idea." When we write, ideally, we choose our words carefully, crafting sentences like brush strokes in a painting. Sure, you can get the idea by standing back and looking at the whole picture, but the beauty is in the details.
Slow down my friends, slow down and try to take in the things around you. Nothing is so important that it can't wait just a couple more minutes while you bask in the glowing beauty of a moment. Just one moment. Slow it down... make each moment last... 'cause all we get is moments. Just moments. Just a moment. Then it's gone.
Kudos to Caleb, as he sent me an article the other day, the gist of which was, a world renowned violinist takes his skills to the street, incognito, playing BEAUTIFUL classical music in a very busy DC metro station. The test was to see if real talent and skill would permeate through the filters of busy rush hour commuters and be recognized and honored. Our violinist played for 43 minutes, during which time approximately 1,100 people passed through the area as the masterpieces of Bach, Schubert, Ponce, and more bounce around the open atrium of L'Enfant Metro Station. Of these 1,100 few leave change for the artist and fewer still actually linger to enjoy the beautiful artwork. Essentially, no different from a vagrant with a pawn-shop saxophone performing on the street.
Have we become so jaded? Are we all sick of listening? Or are we just too busy? Too busy to appreciate beauty?
And it's not just music, it's not just listening, we've stopped reading as well! In school we're being taught speed-reading techniques, ways to take in the minimum amount of information about a topic based on the vast amount of information provided to us. Pattern recognition that allows us to read four or five word phrases or in some cases entire sentences as one entity, ignoring structure and word choice. Is that how my ramblings are being read? Skip all the little words and just try to focus on the "general idea." When we write, ideally, we choose our words carefully, crafting sentences like brush strokes in a painting. Sure, you can get the idea by standing back and looking at the whole picture, but the beauty is in the details.
Slow down my friends, slow down and try to take in the things around you. Nothing is so important that it can't wait just a couple more minutes while you bask in the glowing beauty of a moment. Just one moment. Slow it down... make each moment last... 'cause all we get is moments. Just moments. Just a moment. Then it's gone.
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