Hot Times was cool - Now off to School !!!
Hey Folks -
The Hot Times show was a lot of fun!! I got to do my thing, was well-received, and got to hear some great acts perform as well. Check out Hot Times next year!!!
NOW - I'm back at it, visiting the young and trying to get them to trust themselves more than the "experts," urging them to be brave and make a better world.
Here's just a bit of what I'll be presenting:
October 17, 2004, New York Times Magazine - Ron Suskind, quoting an unnamed aide to
George W. Bush:
The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
"Are you gonna believe me, or your lying eyes?" - Red Foxx
Can we KNOW anything? I think we can. Is it easy to know things? I don’t think so. Is it good to know things? I think so. Is it easier to accept things than it is to know them? Sure.
Do people want to know things, or would they rather accept things they are told and act as if they are known? Good question.
It seems that, at least in terms of how things have been run historically, folks prefer to have their “knowledge” placed in their heads by someone else. Every “civilization” that has ever existed has rested on a dream world - created out of whole cloth, but nevertheless accepted by its people as real. Successive “civilizations” laugh at the “silly” notions of defunct cultures, but go to vicious war to establish the “truth” of their own. There are a lot of possible explanations for why this has always been the case, but I’m not getting into that now.
Instead, let’s look at the possibilities of doing it differently. Perhaps if enough people could become aware of the simple truth above about the relativity of cultural “truth,” it could lead to a saner, better world. Here is a list of options. If forced to decide, which one of each pair would YOU choose?
Science or Faith / Learning or Accepting / Education or Indoctrination /Thought or Feeling / Knowing or Guessing / Self or Authority /Evidence or Dogma / Activity or Passivity / The Present or the Past /Sanity or Adjustment / Doubt or Certainty / Discovery or Testimonials /Reality or Virtual Reality / Objectivity or Spin / Truth or Fiction / Freedom or Security / Independence or Dependence / Intelligence or Emotion / Courage or Cowardice
Explanations for the dream-world nature of “civilizations” can be found in the second options. The inherent difficulty of the first options – along with the ease of the alternatives - explains the attractiveness of the second options.
In reading an article on the use of aroma in Las Vegas casinos, I came across this comment:"Our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, the most ancient and primitive part of the brain, which is thought to be the seat of emotion."
Our ancient, primitive natures DO make it easy for us to FEEL rather than THINK. Isn’t it ironic that many of the folks who most strenuously object to the notion of evolution – the idea that we descended from animals - are the ones relying disproportionately on their ancient, primitive (animal?) brain centers?
Though they may feel a necessity to do so, they don’t really NEED to. Each of us is equipped to make either the difficult choice or the easy choice. It really IS up to us. It all depends on whether we are courageous enough to use our neo-cortex rather than our limbic system. -
- Uke Man
The Hot Times show was a lot of fun!! I got to do my thing, was well-received, and got to hear some great acts perform as well. Check out Hot Times next year!!!
NOW - I'm back at it, visiting the young and trying to get them to trust themselves more than the "experts," urging them to be brave and make a better world.
Here's just a bit of what I'll be presenting:
October 17, 2004, New York Times Magazine - Ron Suskind, quoting an unnamed aide to
George W. Bush:
The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." ... "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
"Are you gonna believe me, or your lying eyes?" - Red Foxx
Can we KNOW anything? I think we can. Is it easy to know things? I don’t think so. Is it good to know things? I think so. Is it easier to accept things than it is to know them? Sure.
Do people want to know things, or would they rather accept things they are told and act as if they are known? Good question.
It seems that, at least in terms of how things have been run historically, folks prefer to have their “knowledge” placed in their heads by someone else. Every “civilization” that has ever existed has rested on a dream world - created out of whole cloth, but nevertheless accepted by its people as real. Successive “civilizations” laugh at the “silly” notions of defunct cultures, but go to vicious war to establish the “truth” of their own. There are a lot of possible explanations for why this has always been the case, but I’m not getting into that now.
Instead, let’s look at the possibilities of doing it differently. Perhaps if enough people could become aware of the simple truth above about the relativity of cultural “truth,” it could lead to a saner, better world. Here is a list of options. If forced to decide, which one of each pair would YOU choose?
Science or Faith / Learning or Accepting / Education or Indoctrination /Thought or Feeling / Knowing or Guessing / Self or Authority /Evidence or Dogma / Activity or Passivity / The Present or the Past /Sanity or Adjustment / Doubt or Certainty / Discovery or Testimonials /Reality or Virtual Reality / Objectivity or Spin / Truth or Fiction / Freedom or Security / Independence or Dependence / Intelligence or Emotion / Courage or Cowardice
Explanations for the dream-world nature of “civilizations” can be found in the second options. The inherent difficulty of the first options – along with the ease of the alternatives - explains the attractiveness of the second options.
In reading an article on the use of aroma in Las Vegas casinos, I came across this comment:"Our olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, the most ancient and primitive part of the brain, which is thought to be the seat of emotion."
Our ancient, primitive natures DO make it easy for us to FEEL rather than THINK. Isn’t it ironic that many of the folks who most strenuously object to the notion of evolution – the idea that we descended from animals - are the ones relying disproportionately on their ancient, primitive (animal?) brain centers?
Though they may feel a necessity to do so, they don’t really NEED to. Each of us is equipped to make either the difficult choice or the easy choice. It really IS up to us. It all depends on whether we are courageous enough to use our neo-cortex rather than our limbic system. -
- Uke Man
1 Comments:
Hi Tom,
I'm sure the kids will love your presentation. I know you'll be the most thought provoking speaker they'll hear. How fortunate they are. Sondra
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