People staring at their digicrack while walking/biking/driving absolutely drives me nuts. There's a guy in my neighborhood who takes his baby out for a walk in a stroller and proceeds to spend the entire time staring at his phone, nothing says dad of the year more than caring more about your dopamine fix than I dunno, actually interacting with your child. Honestly, the world would be much better off if a lot of these techno junkies ended up as pavement splatter.
hahaha, nah brother, I don't REALLY mean it, just a thought. A better solution would be for these clowns to wake the fuck up and put down their fancy little gizmos and immerse themselves in a concept known as reality. The problem is too many adults act like spoiled kids on christmas morning with regards to their technological shackles, if they can't continuously tweet/myspace/youtube their way through each and every day they through tantrums, maybe due to the dopamine withdrawal they experience. Growing up in the 80s was the battle ground for all of our tech addictions, having kids who progressed from atari to nintendo to playstation helped incubate the idea that technology was something that should entertain you, rather than be a tool, and were paying the price for that now.
It's possible we'll start to a swing of that pendulum back towards the physical and local. Some parts of that shift will be messy (and even downright horrible, as with the unfortunate subway surfers). But I sense we are one or two "black swan" events (mass cyber-attacks, financial meltdowns) from a large scale reawakening of sorts. Not for everyone, of course -- some will triple-down on the virtual. But a sorting of wheat from chaff, at least, where those who can still be saved will be.
I wanted to comment on one of the sub-topics of your thoughts, RE: society's increasingly risk-tolerant behaviors:
Desensitization to risk - The constant bombardment of thrills and dangers presented through social media, and other virtual outlets seems to have desensitized many, especially youth, to real-world risks. They may not fully appreciate the very real dangers of risky acts.
I find it intriguing, for example, that what the government wants you to be terrified of is frequently not what you should be actually concerned about. The US government will crack down hard on raw milk distribution but not on other harmful ingredients in processed foods that other countries have previously prohibited.
Thrill-seeking gone too far - Some may engage in dangerous acts largely for thrills and shock value rather than any meaningful purpose or skill. We could possibly include here the rise of 'clout chasing' on social media. There are grave consequences for those that are popular on social media... until they're not https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGUQEPJAK5U
Aside from daring circus acts, proper risk and skill are crucial in many aspects of society. The myriad perilous occupations that keep society running are valued because some people are willing and capable of performing them even though they can come with considerable risk. Many people fail to understand the enormous time, effort, and practice required to execute these tasks, talents that are gained by dedication rather than casual irresponsibility.
Short-term thinking - In the heat of the moment, long-term consequences are often disregarded. But as you note, those final moments before tragedy may haunt families who later contemplate what was risked. Is this short-term thinking correlated with the short-term attention spans that social media, such as TikTok, encourages?
Impact of isolation - You suggest pandemic isolation may have contributed to a "Fuck-it" mindset and desire for thrills/connection among some. This could cloud judgment around risk-assessment. There is one area of risk assessment that is influenced by others. Observing individuals around you might also alert you to the dangers of certain actions. An lone individual witnessing non-risk-aversion E-celebrities on YouTube pulling silly pranks might seriously distort their view of risky behavior.
Herd mentality - Peer pressure and desire for online notoriety may induce greater risk-taking than would otherwise occur. Bystanders can also have an impact on results, for better or worse, and usually for the worst. We notice that the bystander effect these days is primarily in the role of documentary-voyeurism; for example, when a terrible brawl or accident occurs, instead of interfering, people want to be the first to capture it and post it on social media.
These are all great points, thank you. I've been trying to write a longer post about risk management, and this aspect in particular is something I think can't be stressed enough:
"Aside from daring circus acts, proper risk and skill are crucial in many aspects of society. The myriad perilous occupations that keep society running are valued because some people are willing and capable of performing them even though they can come with considerable risk. Many people fail to understand the enormous time, effort, and practice required to execute these tasks, talents that are gained by dedication rather than casual irresponsibility."
I think that the importance of skilled effort -- and of competence in general -- is being devalued at light speed all around us, across every domain. And as you say, the ramifications of this devaluation are incredibly vast and dangerous, and in my opinion are only *beginning* to be seen and felt. The fireman who doesn't know how to put out fires, but enjoys the "thrill" of rushing into them only compounds and expands the catastrophe. Copy-and-paste that onto every field of first-responders, but also onto architects and engineers, nurses and doctors, farmers and businessman, etc.
I think forming independent networks of trust and competence will be the only way to surviving this civilizational collapse. Luckily, I think that's the project many of are embarking on now, both here at Substack and elsewhere.
> I think that the importance of skilled effort -- and of competence in general -- is being devalued at light speed all around us, across every domain.
Absolutely. Related to this, have you ever noticed how much skill is lacking in almost every field these days? It's as if the tolerance level of f-ups in most every industry got more tolerant whereas in prior generations that would not be allowable.
LOLOL at the Federal Reserve being the good guys. People probably don’t *consciously* remember imbibing this lesson (gold bad! Fiat money good!), which probably makes it all the more effective later on. Toy advertising was just the icing on the cake.
"I returned to my sister’s, and played a few rounds of PIG with nephew, with his mini-hoop in the basement, while nephew’s friend played a video game. As nephew and I were trash talking, nephew told NF to forget the game and play PIG. NF said, “I’m trying to figure out which meth lab I should buy.”
It was one of those moments where time sort of stopped. “What did you just say?” I asked, not angry, just, what was that?
“I’m trying to figure out which meth lab to buy.” The kid is like, eleven.
“This game gives you options about what meth lab to buy?”
“Yeah, see, there are four here.”
“Really? Really?” I looked at nephew and back at NF. “Does this game seem like it is healthy for you guys?”
NF says, “Yeah, we can steal cars, do drugs, buy all kinds of guns, we can even hire prostitutes!”
I stared. Silly uncle. Finally when I recovered, “Do your parents know you play this game?”
“Mom doesn’t care,” Nephew said. “[NF’s] dad doesn’t care what he does.”
I looked at NF, he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his game.
“What is it about this game that you guys like?”
Nephew didn’t say anything, but NF said, “It’s fun.”
“What is fun about it though?”
NF thought about that for a second. “It’s like sugar.” I laughed loudly. “Sugar. It’s like sugar,” he confirmed
Man, that's both funny and kind of a heartbreaker. I do wonder how much of the GTA phenomenon is cause versus how much is effect. Lots of signals bouncing around these days (including literally). I've even seen some kids play Minecraft in a kind of" Vengeful God-Mode", littering their virtual real estate with pits and death traps for the blocky folks to fall into.
I wonder what McLuhan would have made of the current gadgets, but I can't shake the feeling that there is a separate and parallel medium of transmission that's being exploited that's much more subtle and difficult to isolate. Monkey-see/ monkey-do. But this little monkey never see meth-labs or hookers before, I'd wager.
Hahah, yeah. The realization hits like concrete truck, and the shape of the world is forever changed. It's like wearing the magic sunglasses in Carpenter's "They Live." Hopefully, we won't have to suplex all the Keith Davids in our lives to open their eyes.
But here's the white pilled hope: if a critical mass of people is reached who can see the world of advertising/propaganda swirling around them... what then? There are some really interesting and exciting long term possibilities (if we can survive what's coming in the short term, that is).
People staring at their digicrack while walking/biking/driving absolutely drives me nuts. There's a guy in my neighborhood who takes his baby out for a walk in a stroller and proceeds to spend the entire time staring at his phone, nothing says dad of the year more than caring more about your dopamine fix than I dunno, actually interacting with your child. Honestly, the world would be much better off if a lot of these techno junkies ended up as pavement splatter.
LOL! I know you don't really mean that Rev. But it definitely is frustrating to watch, particular with younger parents. Heads up, you fools!
hahaha, nah brother, I don't REALLY mean it, just a thought. A better solution would be for these clowns to wake the fuck up and put down their fancy little gizmos and immerse themselves in a concept known as reality. The problem is too many adults act like spoiled kids on christmas morning with regards to their technological shackles, if they can't continuously tweet/myspace/youtube their way through each and every day they through tantrums, maybe due to the dopamine withdrawal they experience. Growing up in the 80s was the battle ground for all of our tech addictions, having kids who progressed from atari to nintendo to playstation helped incubate the idea that technology was something that should entertain you, rather than be a tool, and were paying the price for that now.
100%
It's possible we'll start to a swing of that pendulum back towards the physical and local. Some parts of that shift will be messy (and even downright horrible, as with the unfortunate subway surfers). But I sense we are one or two "black swan" events (mass cyber-attacks, financial meltdowns) from a large scale reawakening of sorts. Not for everyone, of course -- some will triple-down on the virtual. But a sorting of wheat from chaff, at least, where those who can still be saved will be.
I wanted to comment on one of the sub-topics of your thoughts, RE: society's increasingly risk-tolerant behaviors:
Desensitization to risk - The constant bombardment of thrills and dangers presented through social media, and other virtual outlets seems to have desensitized many, especially youth, to real-world risks. They may not fully appreciate the very real dangers of risky acts.
I find it intriguing, for example, that what the government wants you to be terrified of is frequently not what you should be actually concerned about. The US government will crack down hard on raw milk distribution but not on other harmful ingredients in processed foods that other countries have previously prohibited.
Thrill-seeking gone too far - Some may engage in dangerous acts largely for thrills and shock value rather than any meaningful purpose or skill. We could possibly include here the rise of 'clout chasing' on social media. There are grave consequences for those that are popular on social media... until they're not https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGUQEPJAK5U
Aside from daring circus acts, proper risk and skill are crucial in many aspects of society. The myriad perilous occupations that keep society running are valued because some people are willing and capable of performing them even though they can come with considerable risk. Many people fail to understand the enormous time, effort, and practice required to execute these tasks, talents that are gained by dedication rather than casual irresponsibility.
Short-term thinking - In the heat of the moment, long-term consequences are often disregarded. But as you note, those final moments before tragedy may haunt families who later contemplate what was risked. Is this short-term thinking correlated with the short-term attention spans that social media, such as TikTok, encourages?
Impact of isolation - You suggest pandemic isolation may have contributed to a "Fuck-it" mindset and desire for thrills/connection among some. This could cloud judgment around risk-assessment. There is one area of risk assessment that is influenced by others. Observing individuals around you might also alert you to the dangers of certain actions. An lone individual witnessing non-risk-aversion E-celebrities on YouTube pulling silly pranks might seriously distort their view of risky behavior.
Herd mentality - Peer pressure and desire for online notoriety may induce greater risk-taking than would otherwise occur. Bystanders can also have an impact on results, for better or worse, and usually for the worst. We notice that the bystander effect these days is primarily in the role of documentary-voyeurism; for example, when a terrible brawl or accident occurs, instead of interfering, people want to be the first to capture it and post it on social media.
These are all great points, thank you. I've been trying to write a longer post about risk management, and this aspect in particular is something I think can't be stressed enough:
"Aside from daring circus acts, proper risk and skill are crucial in many aspects of society. The myriad perilous occupations that keep society running are valued because some people are willing and capable of performing them even though they can come with considerable risk. Many people fail to understand the enormous time, effort, and practice required to execute these tasks, talents that are gained by dedication rather than casual irresponsibility."
I think that the importance of skilled effort -- and of competence in general -- is being devalued at light speed all around us, across every domain. And as you say, the ramifications of this devaluation are incredibly vast and dangerous, and in my opinion are only *beginning* to be seen and felt. The fireman who doesn't know how to put out fires, but enjoys the "thrill" of rushing into them only compounds and expands the catastrophe. Copy-and-paste that onto every field of first-responders, but also onto architects and engineers, nurses and doctors, farmers and businessman, etc.
I think forming independent networks of trust and competence will be the only way to surviving this civilizational collapse. Luckily, I think that's the project many of are embarking on now, both here at Substack and elsewhere.
> I think that the importance of skilled effort -- and of competence in general -- is being devalued at light speed all around us, across every domain.
Absolutely. Related to this, have you ever noticed how much skill is lacking in almost every field these days? It's as if the tolerance level of f-ups in most every industry got more tolerant whereas in prior generations that would not be allowable.
The gi Joe hysteria separates them into twin peaks of suicidal rage and euphoric egoistic ideation of immortality in nonexistant reality.
I mean in the show they even denied the incomensurability of God by saying the mountain wasn't real.
They like to see double, with a divided brain, because it helps them divide and conquer into an abusive cycle of abyss.
And also it's interesting that the brand of globalist philosophy only works in cartoons and virtual reality like tik tok go pro's.
Thank you for the bonus vid and I wish I could laugh more but it's a rainy day.
LOLOL at the Federal Reserve being the good guys. People probably don’t *consciously* remember imbibing this lesson (gold bad! Fiat money good!), which probably makes it all the more effective later on. Toy advertising was just the icing on the cake.
Right???!!!
I swear I was almost *literally* ROFL. Wife thought I was having a seizure.
I have a moment like that every once in awhile.
"I returned to my sister’s, and played a few rounds of PIG with nephew, with his mini-hoop in the basement, while nephew’s friend played a video game. As nephew and I were trash talking, nephew told NF to forget the game and play PIG. NF said, “I’m trying to figure out which meth lab I should buy.”
It was one of those moments where time sort of stopped. “What did you just say?” I asked, not angry, just, what was that?
“I’m trying to figure out which meth lab to buy.” The kid is like, eleven.
“This game gives you options about what meth lab to buy?”
“Yeah, see, there are four here.”
“Really? Really?” I looked at nephew and back at NF. “Does this game seem like it is healthy for you guys?”
NF says, “Yeah, we can steal cars, do drugs, buy all kinds of guns, we can even hire prostitutes!”
I stared. Silly uncle. Finally when I recovered, “Do your parents know you play this game?”
“Mom doesn’t care,” Nephew said. “[NF’s] dad doesn’t care what he does.”
I looked at NF, he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his game.
“What is it about this game that you guys like?”
Nephew didn’t say anything, but NF said, “It’s fun.”
“What is fun about it though?”
NF thought about that for a second. “It’s like sugar.” I laughed loudly. “Sugar. It’s like sugar,” he confirmed
https://williamhunterduncan.substack.com/p/mr-naive
Man, that's both funny and kind of a heartbreaker. I do wonder how much of the GTA phenomenon is cause versus how much is effect. Lots of signals bouncing around these days (including literally). I've even seen some kids play Minecraft in a kind of" Vengeful God-Mode", littering their virtual real estate with pits and death traps for the blocky folks to fall into.
I wonder what McLuhan would have made of the current gadgets, but I can't shake the feeling that there is a separate and parallel medium of transmission that's being exploited that's much more subtle and difficult to isolate. Monkey-see/ monkey-do. But this little monkey never see meth-labs or hookers before, I'd wager.
I wonder if McLuhan might have looked at Terrance McKenna and said, "the Eschaton indeed."
G.I.Joe will not be able to save us in the real world- they can’t even pass a P.T. Test.
LMAO, good one.
Hahah, yeah. The realization hits like concrete truck, and the shape of the world is forever changed. It's like wearing the magic sunglasses in Carpenter's "They Live." Hopefully, we won't have to suplex all the Keith Davids in our lives to open their eyes.
But here's the white pilled hope: if a critical mass of people is reached who can see the world of advertising/propaganda swirling around them... what then? There are some really interesting and exciting long term possibilities (if we can survive what's coming in the short term, that is).