After asking Can I make Myself a Better Person? I have decided on a better statement "I can be good to myself."
All that is required here, is that I pay careful attention to my body. If other people don't like me (for whatever reason) that might be important - or it might not.
When I don't buy something I want, if tell myself its ok, and it is ok - I feel fine.
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Can I Make Myself a Better Person?
Can anyone do this?
Can any society do this?
The answer, for most people, seems to be "Not really. Superficial changes are certainly possible (we make them all the time) but fundamental changes, that change who we are, are not likely or desirable."
This last attitude, that change is not desirable. is fundamental in itself. And will determine what we are, and will become.
But let's look at this more carefully. In America, in the Fifties, we were convinced that anything was possible - the sky was the limit. The result was a booming economy. and people who could easily go to college.
This did not last, however. We lost faith in ourselves and concentrated on our things instead. Making better things was easy - making better people was hard,
We went for the easy stuff.
Can any society do this?
The answer, for most people, seems to be "Not really. Superficial changes are certainly possible (we make them all the time) but fundamental changes, that change who we are, are not likely or desirable."
This last attitude, that change is not desirable. is fundamental in itself. And will determine what we are, and will become.
But let's look at this more carefully. In America, in the Fifties, we were convinced that anything was possible - the sky was the limit. The result was a booming economy. and people who could easily go to college.
This did not last, however. We lost faith in ourselves and concentrated on our things instead. Making better things was easy - making better people was hard,
We went for the easy stuff.
Data and Messages
Back in the Eighties, I worked for a company that designed printed circuit boards. These were a big improvement on the old type, with wires making all the connections.
But the idea was the same - there were many connections, with the printed circuits making all the connections. The result was a multi-layer circuit board, with many connections between the layers.
Our company had a resident genius, who designed a program that would specify how to build these circuit boards. But using his program was not easy.
Our company was formed to make this easier. Using our own computer, a huge thing, in its own air-conditioned room.
It failed because a better way of doing this was found. That I will describe now.
All these many, many connections were replaced by a data bus for the data - and a message bus, carrying messages between all the components. There was a master clock that kept everything synchronized.
The hardware was now much simpler (only a one layer circuit board) and software improvements (in the Operating Systems, such as Microsoft's Windows) made this possible.
The components were also improving rapidly, with many of the external connections now made internally.
We were off to the races! And the boom of the Nineties.
But the idea was the same - there were many connections, with the printed circuits making all the connections. The result was a multi-layer circuit board, with many connections between the layers.
Our company had a resident genius, who designed a program that would specify how to build these circuit boards. But using his program was not easy.
Our company was formed to make this easier. Using our own computer, a huge thing, in its own air-conditioned room.
It failed because a better way of doing this was found. That I will describe now.
All these many, many connections were replaced by a data bus for the data - and a message bus, carrying messages between all the components. There was a master clock that kept everything synchronized.
The hardware was now much simpler (only a one layer circuit board) and software improvements (in the Operating Systems, such as Microsoft's Windows) made this possible.
The components were also improving rapidly, with many of the external connections now made internally.
We were off to the races! And the boom of the Nineties.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Working and Growing
These are two different activities.
I greatly admire all the people who are working away, making all the useful things in my life. They have saved my life more than once. They are at their best in emergency situations.
But do not do so well in ordinary situations, where they can concentrate on improving themselves, instead.
I wonder if they feel there is something basically wrong with them, they cannot fix. So they fix other things, instead.
I greatly admire all the people who are working away, making all the useful things in my life. They have saved my life more than once. They are at their best in emergency situations.
But do not do so well in ordinary situations, where they can concentrate on improving themselves, instead.
I wonder if they feel there is something basically wrong with them, they cannot fix. So they fix other things, instead.
Finding Myself
This is my purpose in life, and I can subordinate everything else in my life to this.
Most people, however. have the opposite purpose in life - they do not want to discover who they are. and do not want to learn anything. Strange!
I am reading Finding Dorothy now, about one woman's process of finding Dorothy in her husband's book The Wizard of Oz.
I am also learning Software Development, and finding the same thing going on there. Some software companies want to help me find myself, and some do not!
Most people, however. have the opposite purpose in life - they do not want to discover who they are. and do not want to learn anything. Strange!
I am reading Finding Dorothy now, about one woman's process of finding Dorothy in her husband's book The Wizard of Oz.
I am also learning Software Development, and finding the same thing going on there. Some software companies want to help me find myself, and some do not!
Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely
The great Enlightenment impresario Denis Diderot was once a pornographer, pamphleteer, and prisoner.
This is a long online article from the New Yorker Magazine, but one that kept my attention.
We are All Crazy
I wish I could start this posting on a more positive note. But now I have given it some thought, perhaps it is not so pessimistic after all.
The most important thing in our lives is other people. And we all have the same advantages and disadvantages. We are all crazy, but crazy in different ways. Am I coming through?
Let me shift the focus slightly, and focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Here it is clear that we are crazy, but this craziness is giving us huge benefits.
All we have to do now is figure out what those benefits are. Does that sound crazy?
The most important thing in our lives is other people. And we all have the same advantages and disadvantages. We are all crazy, but crazy in different ways. Am I coming through?
Let me shift the focus slightly, and focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Here it is clear that we are crazy, but this craziness is giving us huge benefits.
All we have to do now is figure out what those benefits are. Does that sound crazy?
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