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<p>My observation is that from Dickens' "best of times, worst of
times". I think as an inflection/bifurcation point, many
things are possible. "sensitive dependence on initial
conditions". In the spirit of "creative visualization" and
"self-fulfilling prophecies" there are risks and opportunities
around being too paranoid or too pollyanna and opportunities
around being creatively positive and thoughtfully wary. I think
there is a quad-chart in there somewhere?<br>
</p>
<p>"Svaha" is a word for "the time between the lightning and the
thunder... when all things are possible". (alternately attributed
to Native Americans, to old Norse, etc... but apparently coined by
this book: <a
href="https://www.amazon.com/Svaha-Charles-Lint/dp/0312876505">https://www.amazon.com/Svaha-Charles-Lint/dp/0312876505</a>
in the 90s... <br>
</p>
<p>And not to be confused with the much older Sanskrit <i><span
style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: sans-serif;
font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align:
start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space:
normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-style:
initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">svāhā </span></i><span
style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: sans-serif;
font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align:
start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space:
normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-style:
initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">which feels
entertainingly relevant as well:<br>
</span><i></i><a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sv%C4%81h%C4%81">
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sv%C4%81h%C4%81</a></p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 4/2/20 9:42 AM, uǝlƃ ☣ wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:2186a023-a6fb-2a86-30a1-40f7dd849db2@gmail.com">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">I've seen a few articles with titles like "Coronavirus is the death of Neoliberalism" or "... Capitalism" and whatnot. I'm skeptical. As much as I reject analogies between societal upheaval/collapse and phases of matter, I do believe in inflection points. My guess is that authoritarianism is what lies ahead of us on the other side of this inflection. We were already trending that way and I bet we'll continue. This inflection looks more like a minor rate change than anything fundamental.
This article was hopeful:
The coronavirus crisis has exposed the ugly truth about celebrity culture and capitalism
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/31/the-coronavirus-crisis-has-exposed-the-ugly-truth-about-celebrity-culture-and-capitalism">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/31/the-coronavirus-crisis-has-exposed-the-ugly-truth-about-celebrity-culture-and-capitalism</a>
There's nothing more disgusting to me than our celebrity fetish. But this article was pessimistic:
Invisible man? Amid pandemic, Biden sidelined by omnipresent Trump
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://news.yahoo.com/invisible-man-amid-pandemic-biden-sidelined-omnipresent-trump-082411045.html">https://news.yahoo.com/invisible-man-amid-pandemic-biden-sidelined-omnipresent-trump-082411045.html</a>
My faith in my fellow humans' *tastes* is always crushed. Everyone tends to flock to the least common denominator. (My primary objection to instant-runoff/ranked-choice voting and pop music, as well as overly reductive rating systems like Rotten Tomatoes, etc.) The "wisdom of crowds" is an oxymoron. >8^D
On 4/2/20 8:05 AM, Prof David West wrote:
</pre>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Governments cannot print and distribute money fast enough to prevent a major collapse of world economic order and concomitant social breakdown.
</pre>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
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