I especially appreciate your expressions that humanity is being tested. The human versus the proto-sapiens. Can we effect a turn onto a better path, leaving several thousand years a memory, a teaching "moment", an object lesson of what happens when we surrender to convenience and proto-sapiens bullying? Everything that happens today is a marker of what we have to do next!
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" ... 😉🙂
From Google's AI, Gemini: The quote "it was the best of times it was the worst of times" is the famous opening line from Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities. It introduces the novel's theme of contrast and paradox by juxtaposing opposing ideas, such as "the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness" and "the season of light, it was the season of darkness". The opening reflects the contradictory nature of life and has been used to describe various eras, including our own, which also experiences extremes of progress and hardship."
Often at least leads to a question of where one's premises are contradictory -- from contradiction anything follows, a durable principle going back to the 12th century:
Wikipedia: Gödel's incompleteness theorems are two theorems of mathematical logic that are concerned with the limits of provability in formal axiomatic theories. These results, published by Kurt Gödel in 1931, are important both in mathematical logic and in the philosophy of mathematics. The theorems are interpreted as showing that Hilbert's program to find a complete and consistent set of axioms for all mathematics is impossible.
Mike, I enjoy your writing. I believe If our Democracy will be saved and placed on a solid, long lasting foundation it will be after I'm gone from this earth, I'm closer to 80 than 70 now. My grandchildren are 13-30 years old and I believe this struggle will continue well into my their lives but as long as we keep winning small steps at a time. As you said, tonight isn't an end, or a beginning...it is simply a pause in a fall.
Democracy really only "works" if the population is smallish, and more or less sane and responsible. Not terribly well otherwise. You in particular might like this quote on the topic from Eleanor Roosevelt -- the power behind the throne?:
ER: "... our children must learn...to face full responsibility for their actions, to make their own choices and cope with the results...the whole democratic system...depends upon it. For our system is founded on self-government, which is untenable if the individuals who make up the system are unable to govern themselves.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
Just in the midst of re-reading a bit of H.G. Wells' Outline of History, particularly the bit on Aristotle and Greece -- arguably the birth place of democracy -- and some reason there to argue, again, that democracy really only works where there's a single tribe and the responsible "elders" get to chose various courses of group action. Not terribly effective when there are multiple tribes populated by irresponsible and ungovernable heathens -- c.f., Amurika:
Our Tribes and Tribulations; Gathering by the campfire in our ideological tribes, we bask in the warm glow of unchallenged beliefs.
Steersman, have you read anything about “The Plurality” movement, originating from Taiwan? The online book is freely available and I am slowly working my way through it, but it seems to provide a possibly scalable mechanism for democracy. If you’ve looked into at all, I would be interested in your thoughts on it.
Can't say I'd ever heard of it, though Google's AI, Gemini, has a nice overview of it:
Gemini: "This movement is inspired by Taiwan's digital democracy efforts and is supported by the book Plurality: Technology for Collaborative Diversity and Democracy.
Though "scalable" certainly sounds promising, even if "scalability" is getting to be something of a "dirty word" among the AI tribe ... 😉🙂
But as I think that Outline of History suggests, "democracy" may really only work well among things like smallish Greek city-states. At 50 to 100 million population, Wells sort of suggests monarchies may be better bets. Above that? Modifications on democracy like that Plurality movement? 🤔🤷♂️🙂
But I'll put a link or two on it into my bookmarks. 🙂
I especially appreciate your expressions that humanity is being tested. The human versus the proto-sapiens. Can we effect a turn onto a better path, leaving several thousand years a memory, a teaching "moment", an object lesson of what happens when we surrender to convenience and proto-sapiens bullying? Everything that happens today is a marker of what we have to do next!
Thank you for this heartfelt note. It is a challenging time.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" ... 😉🙂
From Google's AI, Gemini: The quote "it was the best of times it was the worst of times" is the famous opening line from Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities. It introduces the novel's theme of contrast and paradox by juxtaposing opposing ideas, such as "the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness" and "the season of light, it was the season of darkness". The opening reflects the contradictory nature of life and has been used to describe various eras, including our own, which also experiences extremes of progress and hardship."
Both you and Dickens must follow the Dao. Paradox is a great teacher.
As you say, paradox is a great teacher -- and sometimes even a single "dox" is at least an ok teacher ... 😉🙂
But many manifestations of that principle, one of the simpler ones being reductio ad absurdum:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum
Often at least leads to a question of where one's premises are contradictory -- from contradiction anything follows, a durable principle going back to the 12th century:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_explosion
Bit more convoluted -- and generally well outside my salary range -- is that it lead to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_incompleteness_theorems
Wikipedia: Gödel's incompleteness theorems are two theorems of mathematical logic that are concerned with the limits of provability in formal axiomatic theories. These results, published by Kurt Gödel in 1931, are important both in mathematical logic and in the philosophy of mathematics. The theorems are interpreted as showing that Hilbert's program to find a complete and consistent set of axioms for all mathematics is impossible.
I just listened to with Steve Schmidt.
As a pragmatic rural humanitarian, I am delighted to find you.
Mike, I enjoy your writing. I believe If our Democracy will be saved and placed on a solid, long lasting foundation it will be after I'm gone from this earth, I'm closer to 80 than 70 now. My grandchildren are 13-30 years old and I believe this struggle will continue well into my their lives but as long as we keep winning small steps at a time. As you said, tonight isn't an end, or a beginning...it is simply a pause in a fall.
Right, Mike.
Democracy really only "works" if the population is smallish, and more or less sane and responsible. Not terribly well otherwise. You in particular might like this quote on the topic from Eleanor Roosevelt -- the power behind the throne?:
ER: "... our children must learn...to face full responsibility for their actions, to make their own choices and cope with the results...the whole democratic system...depends upon it. For our system is founded on self-government, which is untenable if the individuals who make up the system are unable to govern themselves.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/824275-our-children-must-learn-to-face-full-responsibility-for-their-actions
Just in the midst of re-reading a bit of H.G. Wells' Outline of History, particularly the bit on Aristotle and Greece -- arguably the birth place of democracy -- and some reason there to argue, again, that democracy really only works where there's a single tribe and the responsible "elders" get to chose various courses of group action. Not terribly effective when there are multiple tribes populated by irresponsible and ungovernable heathens -- c.f., Amurika:
Our Tribes and Tribulations; Gathering by the campfire in our ideological tribes, we bask in the warm glow of unchallenged beliefs.
https://quillette.com/2018/02/10/our-tribes-and-tribulations/
Archive: https://archive.ph/CbZjp
Steersman, have you read anything about “The Plurality” movement, originating from Taiwan? The online book is freely available and I am slowly working my way through it, but it seems to provide a possibly scalable mechanism for democracy. If you’ve looked into at all, I would be interested in your thoughts on it.
Can't say I'd ever heard of it, though Google's AI, Gemini, has a nice overview of it:
Gemini: "This movement is inspired by Taiwan's digital democracy efforts and is supported by the book Plurality: Technology for Collaborative Diversity and Democracy.
Though "scalable" certainly sounds promising, even if "scalability" is getting to be something of a "dirty word" among the AI tribe ... 😉🙂
But as I think that Outline of History suggests, "democracy" may really only work well among things like smallish Greek city-states. At 50 to 100 million population, Wells sort of suggests monarchies may be better bets. Above that? Modifications on democracy like that Plurality movement? 🤔🤷♂️🙂
But I'll put a link or two on it into my bookmarks. 🙂