Month: February 2022

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Irreversible consequence technologies” Bumper sticker

“Irreversible consequence technologies” Bumper sticker

“Is there anybody approving the use of irreversible consequence technologies; who does not plan to profit from them?

Bumpers are intended to protect us from serious harm in the event of a collision – but this bumper sticker argues for a more proactive solution: not having a fatal accident.

In the movie “Forbidden Planet”: Krell Super-Science gave the inhabitants of that planet the power to do anything their minds could imagine — but when they slept, and their conscious minds were no longer in control — that power resulted in their extinction.

Are we poised on the same precipice?

We are gambling the future of all life on earth; on the assurances of people who have fame, fortune, the realization of a dream, and great political ambition in the balance — and with no way to reverse the damage or make restitution.

All the equational delusions and statistical status quos are beside the point. I may not have studied science and politics — but I have studied scientists and politicians. And “deep shit” – is deep shit.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Un-titled” Road signs

“Un-titled” Road signs

End of Days? A little stocktaking might be appropriate. It’s tough to quibble your way out of death. And complaints about bed bugs and mold will certainly fall on deaf ears — no matter what kind of afterlife we get.

We’re in for Big Changes. BIG CHANGES. Why aren’t you being told this? Get Real. It would cause problems. And there are responsibilities. And they’ll justify those actions in their memoirs – from the space colony.

We are living in a point of history where there is no “everybody” – just “everybody else” — and everybody is someone else’s “everybody else.”

Maybe I should start smoking again? I can give it up when I give everything up. Or everything else.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Environmental Merchandising” Road signs

“Environmental Merchandising” Road signs

Environmental Merchandising serves a need – the need to sell products. Most people are happy just to have the stigma removed [or at least the appearance of it] and will buy without looking too hard for the unvarnished truth. A Ramen Noodle cup with “35% Less Sodium!” still has more salt than the Dead Sea – and slowing down the destabilizing increase means less than little in our runaway environmental system.

How good is our corporate environmental stewardship these days? In a word: Pathetic, Minimal, or in a word I prefer: Disastrous.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “I’d like a second opinion” Bumper sticker

“I’d like a second opinion” Bumper sticker

“You have to remove my heart to save my life? I’d like a second opinion.”

Not only are today’s social policies radical; they’re radically irrational – and it would be smart to get a second opinion from some trusted sources:

Abraham Lincoln:

“Important principles may, and must, be inflexible.”

Frederick Douglass:

“Right is of no sex, Truth is of no color”

I think I’ll go with them.

What about the “Greater Good”?

“How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? Four. Saying that a tail is a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” — Abraham Lincoln

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Scientists are from Pluto” Bumper sticker

“Scientists are from Pluto” Bumper sticker

“Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. Scientists are from Pluto. Is it even a planet?” These days: people they don’t ask; “What is your sign?” – They ask: “What is your category?” And those who create the categories have great power — the new alchemists who will reconstitute the perfect society from base metals of discrimination and oppression.

The power of Doctrine to put people in their place . . . from now on.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “The tale does wag the dog” Bumper sticker

“The tale does wag the dog” Bumper sticker

Stories, stories, stories – it’s the stories that hold sway today; and reality is cut to fit the narrative. But where do these stories come from?

One way to find out is to search the “target,” instead of the story. A story is repeated widely; but the originators have a more substantial agenda than mere maliciousness: They like to include a support structure for their tale – and are usually high in the search engine rankings.

And sometimes you can tell the maker’s label by just the cut of the cloth.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Permanent tattoos and wash-off ethics” Bumper sticker

“Permanent tattoos and wash-off ethics” Bumper sticker

It’s all in the packaging. You can always sell the appearances – if the contents don’t matter.

When people are famous for being famous – does being famous for your achievements mean you’re successful?

2022: The year when people are willing to do anything – for not all that much.

The ethics? They come off with the wrapper.