We Do Not Understand Ourselves

And we do not want to. In fact, we have decided that not knowing anything is the best way to proceed in life.

This summarizes nicely my own observations and philosophy - that are pessimistic. But I also have my own theory, of how this situation came to be - and it is all about machines and technology.

I am not against either one - but I am against our determination, to not understand their effects on us.

Basically, this is a religious predisposition. We see supernatural forces at work everywhere. And there is no way we can, or should, rid ourselves of this basic impulse. There are invisible forces at work - and we should see them.

But we should also - see that we see them. And take careful notice of what we see. But we do not.

I must clarify this statement - most people (perhaps 99 percent of the population) do not. There are always a few, who do see what is going on - but they have little effect. I could cite a long list of critics of the system - perhaps going back to the Old Testament prophets, and ending with today's critics of the neoliberal economy. All of which - have been ignored.

Now I get to my key observation, that I cannot explain. Somehow, our machines got in control. And we ended up serving them - instead of them serving us. And the most successful people identified with them - and attacked ordinary people, as inferior beings.

What I am saying is "We are not our machines!" But everyone else is saying, without being aware of it "We are our machines, and we are better than you!"