[FRIAM] nice quote

[steve smith]

> /"The real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic 
> emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology. And it is 
> terrifically dangerous."/  Edward O. Wilson.
>
> davew

This is a favorite quote for me of late...  the challenge, methinks is 
"what am I going to do about it?"

I try to resolve these questions for myself before I get too carried 
away trying to prescribe anything for anyone else (especially large 
scale/global solutions), yet it is useful to keep this in mind whilst 
considering what I think is 'best for the collective'.

Maturing and Aging have offered me some perspective and relief from the 
emotional component (especially the fight/flight reproduce-at-all cost 
hormone driven ones).   Similarly I've now seen (and studied) a variety 
of socio-economic-political systems enough to have at least vaguely 
informed opinions about them (unlike the totally mis-informed ones I had 
leading me to vote Reagan in over Carter as my first vote).   The 
technological question is more near and dear to my heart having been 
simultaneously (or alternately?) a technophile and a luddite.

I have dabbled in 19th century (and earlier) technology to help ground 
my grounding in the mid-late 20th century I grew up as part of the 
background.  I've been lucky enough to engage some with 21st century 
tech early by virtue of working at an over-funded scientific laboratory 
which often either had access to or was developing for it's own 
ideosyncratic reasons, things which the public wouldn't see or maybe 
even hear about for decades.   It was heady.  But also disturbing.

Yuval Harari's latest book /Nexus/, touches on the implications of our 
"information technology" development over millenia but especially the 
last few decades with a very *liberal* view of what means information 
technology (and networks in particular).  Continuing his other 
cautionary tales about the power of our "storytelling", I feel like he 
lays the groundwork for the most likely way we might recalibrate 
emotions to institutions to technology.   Our technology has been 
pulling hard against the drag of our institutions which are faithfully 
trying to drag our emotions (e.g. religious/political/cultural moral 
frameworks) and the impedance mismatch seems to be the source of most of 
our worst behaviours/outcomes?

The stories our modern MAGA/FauxRepublican/FauxConservative political 
party in the US is telling is rooted deeply in the emotional with only 
the barest nod to the institutional (support LawNorder!!!!) and a 
jealous greedy eye for the godlike tech (e.g. Trump cozying up to 
Musk/TechBros and NFTs and Crypto as if he understands ANY of it?).

The Progressive/Liberal "institutions" of the DNC seem to be a little 
less regressive/reactionary but do in fact suffer some of the same 
problems albeit not as acutely superficially obvious. Without bashing 
the specifics of what "the Dems" might be getting wrong, if we don't 
notice the impedance mismach EO Wilson called out for us there, we are 
destined to have raucous "ringing" in our systems?   I think the promise 
of a "Green New Deal" juxtaposed with some of the biggest obvious 
fallacies and inadequacies are a good example...  by the time we 
actually settle on what a GND might really look like the challenges and 
opportunities may have moved on by a decade or more (is GND a whole 
decade old as a term yet?) while MAGA keeps trying to claim "we believe 
in clean air and water but sea level rise will be fractions of an inch 
in centuries at worst and will yield more beachfront property in any case"?

How do we move our collective storytelling to be both coherent and 
aligned with the physics/chemistry/bio/ecology of Gaia quickly enough to 
quit driving the various components past their limits (drill baby drill!)?

Maybe we cannot.  Maybe we will have to crash and burn and hope 
something can rise from the ashes (cockroaches and the Rolling Stones?   
NeoLibertarian TechBros in their high-tech Bitcoin Bunkers raising their 
own clones?)

Atlas Shrugs,  Gaia Shrugs more Bigly....  (Rand, Margulis, Dilbert, 
Trump references convolved?)



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