Saturday, March 17, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Culture and Power
As easy as it is to see how much people tend to blame "society" for their own misfortunes, and as much "society" is actually just a collection of all of the individuals in it, it is still undeniable that a group of people can have characteristics in much the same way that an individual can. An effective way of thinking about what differentiates a mere collection of individuals from a society in the holistic sense is the concept of memes. Memes are essentially units of cultural information, especially ideas. They propagate in a similar way to genes in that the survival of a meme is dependent on its integration into the whole complex of memes within a person and among a group of people. Some memes are closely related to other memes; some memes propagate in bundles along with other memes; some memes are mutually exclusive with other memes; some memes prevent other memes from spreading. Theoretically, any idea could become a meme: a religion, a personality trait, a social structure, a method of thinking, a method of competition, and so on. If you take any group of people, all of their common memes are their culture. Further, you have not only the most common memes--which can be said to be "the culture" of that group--but also the less common memes--which can be said to be the "subcultures" of that group.
The really interesting thing about power in this context is that it can be defined in terms of memes: power is control over others' memes. Some would say that that many of the problems in modern society stem from poorly chosen memes that people in the society have taken up. I beg to differ. Taking power into account--and it is undeniable that certain individuals have been, and continue to be, more powerful than others--it becomes clear that these ineffective memes were not chosen by the people who now live and stand by them, but were rather forced onto them by people with more power. Parents, teachers, legislators, bureaucrats (including police and presidents), corporate leaders, advertisers, and product designers are just some of the major power holders in many modern societies. Don't get me wrong--these people's positions are extremely important in any society for a variety of reasons which I would be happy to discuss. But the major problem with power arises when the people holding it use it to propagate memes that are unproductive or counterproductive from a social standpoint. Usually they do so because they lose sight of the true value of their positions in the excitement and glory of sheer power itself. Thus, pure power becomes power overwhelming. The potential for others' empowerment becomes, tragically, the source of their disempowerment.
It is easy to see that this is the source of virtually all of any society's woes. Altering a singular meme--one which is isolated from being part of a culture by being restricted to one individual--is a relatively simple matter of one person's will. Altering a cultural meme is more difficult, especially if it is deeply rooted into other cultural memes. But the most difficult memes to alter are those which are imposed by someone in a position of power. Just think: how hard is it for a child to change their parents' moral values, even if they are corrupt? How hard is it for a citizen to repeal legislation, even if it is unfair? How hard is it for a revolution to occur in a state, even if it is decrepit? Any power structure can become a locus of stagnation if it is not given due scrutiny.
The really interesting thing about power in this context is that it can be defined in terms of memes: power is control over others' memes. Some would say that that many of the problems in modern society stem from poorly chosen memes that people in the society have taken up. I beg to differ. Taking power into account--and it is undeniable that certain individuals have been, and continue to be, more powerful than others--it becomes clear that these ineffective memes were not chosen by the people who now live and stand by them, but were rather forced onto them by people with more power. Parents, teachers, legislators, bureaucrats (including police and presidents), corporate leaders, advertisers, and product designers are just some of the major power holders in many modern societies. Don't get me wrong--these people's positions are extremely important in any society for a variety of reasons which I would be happy to discuss. But the major problem with power arises when the people holding it use it to propagate memes that are unproductive or counterproductive from a social standpoint. Usually they do so because they lose sight of the true value of their positions in the excitement and glory of sheer power itself. Thus, pure power becomes power overwhelming. The potential for others' empowerment becomes, tragically, the source of their disempowerment.
It is easy to see that this is the source of virtually all of any society's woes. Altering a singular meme--one which is isolated from being part of a culture by being restricted to one individual--is a relatively simple matter of one person's will. Altering a cultural meme is more difficult, especially if it is deeply rooted into other cultural memes. But the most difficult memes to alter are those which are imposed by someone in a position of power. Just think: how hard is it for a child to change their parents' moral values, even if they are corrupt? How hard is it for a citizen to repeal legislation, even if it is unfair? How hard is it for a revolution to occur in a state, even if it is decrepit? Any power structure can become a locus of stagnation if it is not given due scrutiny.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Nosco, Agnosco, Genero, Carpo
Success is being good at being you.
Without Acclimation, success is difficult to know.
Without Perception, success is difficult to see.
Without Realization, success is difficult to create.
Without Mastery, success is difficult to grasp.
Taking all of the developments together, the path to success becomes clear: know, see, create, grasp.
Without Acclimation, success is difficult to know.
Without Perception, success is difficult to see.
Without Realization, success is difficult to create.
Without Mastery, success is difficult to grasp.
Taking all of the developments together, the path to success becomes clear: know, see, create, grasp.
I will kick it off by relating my personal development up to this point.
It can accurately be broken down into four time-dependent phases: Acclimation, Perception, Realization, and Mastery. It is important to understand that the boundaries of these phases are not rigid; rather, each phase uses the previous ones as a starting point, building off of them in a new direction. Therefore, although each phase has a definite beginning and a "rising" stage, none has a "falling" stage. Instead, when I speak of the end of one of these phases, I mean only that its value has fallen into a secondary role as my focus shifts to another one. Everything that comes as a result of these phases stays forever. Every new phase uses the fruits of the previous phases for its own growth.
During Acclimation, which was the period which started at my birth, I was getting used to being me, mostly in a pragmatic sense. Using my instincts and my environment as a basis, I developed methods of interacting with my world (internal and external) which were feasible and at least decently sustainable. You could call this stage of development "learning the ropes".
My Perception phase had its roots in my early childhood, but my memories of that time are scant. The phase didn't really start picking up until my mid to late teens, as I delved deeper into science, and especially into philosophy (the real science behind science). At first, my development in the Perception direction was somewhat disconnected from what I had learned during Acclimation. The connections which I did make were fleeting, though empowering. In the beginning of my freshman year at college, I consciously set my focus in the Perception direction. I experimented with all sorts of personal, social, practical, and spiritual perspectives, and found the resulting "perspective web" to be a very empowering way of looking at the world. I continued to drive myself in this direction through the end of the 2006 calendar year, and still pick up on it whenever I see fit. To continue the metaphor, you could call this phase "watching the ropes".
In the last months of 2006, however, the pursuits of my Perception began to bear fruit. Thus began my Realization phase. This phase consisted of locating my position in the great web of perspectives I had woven. The rising part of this phase, although much shorter in time than the rising parts of the previous phases, seemed to take even longer in my mind. I later learned that this was because I was looking at it from a Perception-oriented angle. Once I realized that Realization itself was an angle, and a direction in which I could focus myself, my growth in this phase accelerated. A month or two later, the Realization phase was complete. You could call this phase "finding my rope".
The most major part of the Realization phase was, in fact, the spontaneous beginning of the Mastery phase. I remember realizing exactly when this happened (about a month and a half ago). The Mastery phase consists of tying together everything I've learned from the other phases, and launching it in the directions that I choose. The actions I learned in the previous phases (learning, perceiving, realizing) act as mere components in the new action--mastering. A key idea to Mastery is the idea of empowerment. Consider anything in your life--anything at all. How does it empower your life as a whole? Food empowers me by sustaining my existence. Communication empowers me by transmitting information and by creating positive social relations (which, in turn, empower the sense of well-being of everyone involved). Cigarettes empower me by giving me a consistent crutch to prop my addictions on. Philosophy empowers the whole of my life directly by focusing my mind's work on my mind's work. Et cetera. To finish off the metaphor, this phase is "mastering the interactions between all of the ropes, especially by using my rope".
Now that I have reached the mastery phase, I can confidently direct myself in any way I desire. My willpower--although it was already strong before--is now completely solid. By gauging anything in terms of empowerment, the idea which is the singular basis for my ego, I can pick and choose any method (direction, perspective, addiction, etc) at will. I am whole.
And already, Mastery is bearing fruit. My grades, which were previously only "fairly decent", are now spectacular. Likewise with the rest of my work. My motivation is immeasurable. I am my spirituality--I am my God--but I need no worship, only direction. You may be curious as to what long-term directions I have given myself. I will leave these for later discussion, but I will mention a few by name: artificial intelligence, large scale socioeconomic reform, and philosophical writing.
It can accurately be broken down into four time-dependent phases: Acclimation, Perception, Realization, and Mastery. It is important to understand that the boundaries of these phases are not rigid; rather, each phase uses the previous ones as a starting point, building off of them in a new direction. Therefore, although each phase has a definite beginning and a "rising" stage, none has a "falling" stage. Instead, when I speak of the end of one of these phases, I mean only that its value has fallen into a secondary role as my focus shifts to another one. Everything that comes as a result of these phases stays forever. Every new phase uses the fruits of the previous phases for its own growth.
During Acclimation, which was the period which started at my birth, I was getting used to being me, mostly in a pragmatic sense. Using my instincts and my environment as a basis, I developed methods of interacting with my world (internal and external) which were feasible and at least decently sustainable. You could call this stage of development "learning the ropes".
My Perception phase had its roots in my early childhood, but my memories of that time are scant. The phase didn't really start picking up until my mid to late teens, as I delved deeper into science, and especially into philosophy (the real science behind science). At first, my development in the Perception direction was somewhat disconnected from what I had learned during Acclimation. The connections which I did make were fleeting, though empowering. In the beginning of my freshman year at college, I consciously set my focus in the Perception direction. I experimented with all sorts of personal, social, practical, and spiritual perspectives, and found the resulting "perspective web" to be a very empowering way of looking at the world. I continued to drive myself in this direction through the end of the 2006 calendar year, and still pick up on it whenever I see fit. To continue the metaphor, you could call this phase "watching the ropes".
In the last months of 2006, however, the pursuits of my Perception began to bear fruit. Thus began my Realization phase. This phase consisted of locating my position in the great web of perspectives I had woven. The rising part of this phase, although much shorter in time than the rising parts of the previous phases, seemed to take even longer in my mind. I later learned that this was because I was looking at it from a Perception-oriented angle. Once I realized that Realization itself was an angle, and a direction in which I could focus myself, my growth in this phase accelerated. A month or two later, the Realization phase was complete. You could call this phase "finding my rope".
The most major part of the Realization phase was, in fact, the spontaneous beginning of the Mastery phase. I remember realizing exactly when this happened (about a month and a half ago). The Mastery phase consists of tying together everything I've learned from the other phases, and launching it in the directions that I choose. The actions I learned in the previous phases (learning, perceiving, realizing) act as mere components in the new action--mastering. A key idea to Mastery is the idea of empowerment. Consider anything in your life--anything at all. How does it empower your life as a whole? Food empowers me by sustaining my existence. Communication empowers me by transmitting information and by creating positive social relations (which, in turn, empower the sense of well-being of everyone involved). Cigarettes empower me by giving me a consistent crutch to prop my addictions on. Philosophy empowers the whole of my life directly by focusing my mind's work on my mind's work. Et cetera. To finish off the metaphor, this phase is "mastering the interactions between all of the ropes, especially by using my rope".
Now that I have reached the mastery phase, I can confidently direct myself in any way I desire. My willpower--although it was already strong before--is now completely solid. By gauging anything in terms of empowerment, the idea which is the singular basis for my ego, I can pick and choose any method (direction, perspective, addiction, etc) at will. I am whole.
And already, Mastery is bearing fruit. My grades, which were previously only "fairly decent", are now spectacular. Likewise with the rest of my work. My motivation is immeasurable. I am my spirituality--I am my God--but I need no worship, only direction. You may be curious as to what long-term directions I have given myself. I will leave these for later discussion, but I will mention a few by name: artificial intelligence, large scale socioeconomic reform, and philosophical writing.
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