"You may want to ask me how we are going to resolve the ever-accelerating dangerous impasse of world-opposed politicians and ideological dogmas...
I answer, it will be resolved by the computer."
I answer, it will be resolved by the computer."
-Buckminster Fuller
How right those words have proved to be!
The internet, this wonderful internet of ours, is nothing more than a gigantic digital conversation between billions of humans.
Humans communicating leads to greater and greater levels of inter-human understanding.
Understanding leads to compassion.
Compassion leads one to ask: "How can I, as an aware and compassionate individual, not do something to help my brothers and sisters worldwide?"
To regard the teeming billions of other humans as family, (and they are,) leads one to the idea that to hurt or enslave one another is an outdated concept. You'd never force a family member to live a life of hopeless poverty, let alone kill them.
So inter-human violence becomes a taboo.
For the first time in our history as a species, pacificism has become de rigueur.
The question in the forefront of the zeitgeist shifts from: "How can we kill as many enemies as possible, so as to access their commodities and ensure the safety of our own offspring?"
To: "How can we help our brothers and sisters live long, prosperous, and healthy lives, that we may all benefit as one species."
!
That is an incredible shift.
Furthermore, the internet, as a vast collection of information, has changed the way we feel about the ownership of "things."
We don't want stacks of newspapers, we want the information in those papers. The internet provides the information, so the physical paper becomes unnecessary.
Books, magazines, cd's, dvd's, devices, charge cords, packaging, batteries.
All of the above are going to have to rethink their places in the contemporary World-hood.
So, the shift in consciousness becomes less: How can we sell the most stuff/How much stuff can we acquire?
And becomes more: How can we package and sell amazing experiences/How many incredible experiences can we have before we shuffle off of this mortal coil?
The makers of stuff are in for a hard time, unless that stuff happens to be high-quality, long lasting, and intensely useful. The change from "stuff" to "heirloom-quality items"
Your grandfather's watch, shaving-razor, bowler hat, steamer trunk, handed from father to son, father to son, becoming worn out, being repaired, but never ending up anywhere near a landfill.
This is both the old way, and the new way.
To distill:
More communication, less violence. More quality, long-lasting goods, less stuff.
Experiences over accumulation. Long, full lives. Human exploration of all known areas.
The World-hood.
All of these ideas, this shift in attitude, all owe something to the computer.
Fuller was right!
If we dream it, we can have it.
It seems that many in the world-hood are dreaming together.
Love to all,
Team SuperForest
p.s. this post was inspired greatly by the New Yorker article: "Dymaxion Man" - by Elizabeth Kolbert.
Read it online, save a tree.
The internet, this wonderful internet of ours, is nothing more than a gigantic digital conversation between billions of humans.
Humans communicating leads to greater and greater levels of inter-human understanding.
Understanding leads to compassion.
Compassion leads one to ask: "How can I, as an aware and compassionate individual, not do something to help my brothers and sisters worldwide?"
To regard the teeming billions of other humans as family, (and they are,) leads one to the idea that to hurt or enslave one another is an outdated concept. You'd never force a family member to live a life of hopeless poverty, let alone kill them.
So inter-human violence becomes a taboo.
For the first time in our history as a species, pacificism has become de rigueur.
The question in the forefront of the zeitgeist shifts from: "How can we kill as many enemies as possible, so as to access their commodities and ensure the safety of our own offspring?"
To: "How can we help our brothers and sisters live long, prosperous, and healthy lives, that we may all benefit as one species."
!
That is an incredible shift.
Furthermore, the internet, as a vast collection of information, has changed the way we feel about the ownership of "things."
We don't want stacks of newspapers, we want the information in those papers. The internet provides the information, so the physical paper becomes unnecessary.
Books, magazines, cd's, dvd's, devices, charge cords, packaging, batteries.
All of the above are going to have to rethink their places in the contemporary World-hood.
So, the shift in consciousness becomes less: How can we sell the most stuff/How much stuff can we acquire?
And becomes more: How can we package and sell amazing experiences/How many incredible experiences can we have before we shuffle off of this mortal coil?
The makers of stuff are in for a hard time, unless that stuff happens to be high-quality, long lasting, and intensely useful. The change from "stuff" to "heirloom-quality items"
Your grandfather's watch, shaving-razor, bowler hat, steamer trunk, handed from father to son, father to son, becoming worn out, being repaired, but never ending up anywhere near a landfill.
This is both the old way, and the new way.
To distill:
More communication, less violence. More quality, long-lasting goods, less stuff.
Experiences over accumulation. Long, full lives. Human exploration of all known areas.
The World-hood.
All of these ideas, this shift in attitude, all owe something to the computer.
Fuller was right!
If we dream it, we can have it.
It seems that many in the world-hood are dreaming together.
Love to all,
Team SuperForest
p.s. this post was inspired greatly by the New Yorker article: "Dymaxion Man" - by Elizabeth Kolbert.
Read it online, save a tree.
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