Debris from the Wreckage

Oct31 0

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My name is Enoch Maarduk.

I am the CEO of PHANTASM, which is an acronym for Preventing Horrors and Nightmares Through Active Spectrum Monitoring. Was a movie too, but since it’s a regular dictionary word, we use it.

As our previous, and now comatose, CE phrased it our mission statement is:

When a person, or a group of people, seek to exploit the weakness of their fellow humans by utilizing technology in a manner that attempts to tap into the electromagnetic (EM) Spectrum to directly influence human behavior in a negative fashion, we intervene.

Obviously AI (artificial intelligence), or machine intelligence or algorithmic intelligence or whatever you want to call it, is a form of EM wave manipulation.

At PHANTASM we acknowledge that words (and sound, and images, and video) have power, and all of these must reflect truth, virtue, wisdom and a higher consciousness.

Keeping an eye on that is not easy, but we do the best we can.

The words below are my opinion, and everyone has one — hope mine doesn’t stink…

After a long day at work I settled into my favorite chair, relishing the solitary adult beverage I normally permit myself, and sat scanning through the news on my digital device of choice, looking desperately for something which, upon reading, wouldn’t prompt me to run screaming into the night and calling for my binky – I failed with great misery.

Staring up at me from the pixilated depths of digital chaos was a panel of erstwhile tech entrepreneurs speaking out about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) and expressing concern about the inappropriate usage of AI.

What – the attentive reader may wrathfully ask – is “inappropriate usage?” Well, let’s take a look at AI and how it is currently used – and how it might be used in the very near future.

Any human activity that is augmented by software or hardware is, technically speaking, interacting with AI. The thermostat that you set at 72 degrees and shuts off when the room cools down to that temperature is an AI. It has intelligence because it has been programmed to shut off when it senses an ambient air temp of 72, and it is not human (it is artificial).

Now, granted, it is a very, very, dumb AI and if you asked your thermostat to solve “1 + 1” you will have many electric bills to pay before you ever get an answer.

That little notice that appears on your car’s display that says your right front tire is under-inflated? AI.

The text message your security system sends you that the back door was opened at 2:12 a.m., by your now grounded daughter? AI.

Stop for a moment to think about all the messages you receive (digital display on some device, email, text message or other) that entails an AI or other automated system passing sensory data (often interpreted) forward to you.

It will be more than you think, until you think about it.

There is nothing wrong with this because the AI is in passive mode – simply gathering facts. No danger of Alexa or Siri ordering a pizza without being told to do so.

The next advance is to program the AI in such a way that not only does it gather data (either directly through sensory input, or indirectly by humans inputting the data), but also compares such data against norms and standards as it ‘interprets’ the data and offers recommendations and, if permission is granted, to take proactive steps to “solve” any potential issues. As I write this diatribe, all those recommendations are still based on a wide range of algorithmic possibilities all created by humans – the AI simply processes the data faster and can assess more of those recommendations in various scenarios than humans.

Oh, and we have a great big argument brewing about what are those ‘norms and standards’ the AI uses for reference, and who is responsible for establishing those values. Trust me when I say it is done by humans and not AI.

No matter what you want to think – though – the AI still makes recommendations of future action that are wholly based on a range of options preset by the human programmers.

Not only that, but AIs generally are not permitted (by any human that has half a brain) to make decisions that involve action unless that action has already been planned and reviewed by humans as well. Letting an AI auto-shutdown a dangerous problem in a nuclear plant is still based on human decision-making scenarios pre-programmed into the system.

The great risk in AI is when – at some point in the future – AI use is widespread and not under the careful and constant supervision of intelligent and discerning humans. The great risk is when humans abdicate responsibility and allow AI not only to gather, interpret and make decisions based on known options, but also permit AI to make decisions which may not be found on the preset and human-programmed decision tree.

In humans we like to call this “thinking outside the box,” but in AI this could be catastrophic since the ripple-down effect on humans cannot – despite the processing power of AI – be adequately calculated.

The Utopian vision of an AI is basically one in which the AI operates and thinks just like a very smart human – just faster, bigger, better, stronger and all that. However, obviously that is not enough because you cannot rely on an AI which makes decisions solely based on the logic and reason of advanced programming. Hey – I think that was a Star Trek episode!

Anyway, in other words, we are creatures of body, mind, and soul – humans have emotions, passions, as well as ethics and morality. Unless you can teach that to an AI, you will have AI-rendered decisions and actions that are only based on the best possible outcome – and the best possible AI outcome may not necessarily be the best possible human outcome.

More disturbing than this is the underlying basis of the AI programming. You can easily make a rather disturbing argument (by examining modern human relations throughout the world) that global AI systems will NOT agree on fundamental precepts nor approved actions. Sadly, AI systems around the world will be based on biased and prejudiced programming attributes. Ask yourself this – do you honestly expect global AI systems to agree when the programming basis is influenced by any of the world’s largest adaptive strategies, such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Capitalism, Socialism, Communism, Atheism, et cetera, et cetera.

These belief systems do not agree, so can we honestly expect the AI to agree?

Most people have the notion that humans have made incredible progress since our cave-dwelling days by simply being average and permitting a small percentage of gifted humans to create technological advances where we all benefit. Well, that’s the idea anyway. The reality is often bad because even the so-called intelligent humans fail to see the ripple down impact of their glorious technological innovations. I know you can think of many things that fall under that category.

When the AI genie is let out of the bottle, we run the risk that human reliance on this form of intelligence will not only create a dangerous dependency, but also allow average humans to control technologies that are way beyond their comprehension and understanding.

Worse than that, I can easily imagine those average humans – fully cognizant of their average nature – granting the right of control of the AIs over to humans supposedly “gifted” enough to understand the technology, trusting such people to always make decisions about the AIs that will benefit everyone equally.

What could possibly go wrong with that scenario?

The truth is, many intelligent people do not trust that average people can control the technology, nor (in their heart of hearts I believe) do they trust their intelligent brethren either. Getting humans to do the right thing is a job than even an AI would have trouble in executing.

I think using the word “executing” in the same sentence as “AI” is probably one of the things bugging all modern day intelligent thinkers.

AIs are coming (are here), and we need standards of performance and structure. If the AIs will eventually be able to do all the things that the techies now wax prosaic about, then we are creating beings that will be godlike.

Anyone who has studied mythology knows how irrational and petty the gods actually were, and being a god does not of necessity mean you act like a god.

Anyway, I have to go now because I just got a text message from my pharmacy, an email from my refrigerator (out of milk), apparently my car just auto-subscribed to some kind of music service and my robotic vacuum just ate my wife’s favorite rug.

AI, AI, it’s off to work we go.

Oct28 0

Let’s agree (just for the sake of this convoluted discussion) that the Universe exists.

I mean, I’ve written the sentence above and you’re reading it. Some kind of “thing” exists. In other words, it’s not some kind of “Matrix” projection or extraterrestrial simulation – there is a real world and we live in it. If you kick me in the shin, it will freaking hurt – it’s real.

Many people believe that the Universe “breathes” in an eternal state of expansion and contraction. In other words the Universe expands outward from a “Big Bang” event but eventually (after bazillions of years) contracts back into a “Black Hole” and then a fresh Big Bang begins a new expansion.

Or, possibly, it will continue expanding forever…

The science on this, like many of the scientists, is unsettled. In fact, many scientists belief the Big Bang is holistic hooey as continuing observations do not seem to indicate any contraction at all.

If it is still expanding, as those advanced observations seem to indicate, then there ought to be a “center” or initial point of origin, right? Well, no. Apparently every point of observation “creates” the center, more or less, though we can only hypothesize about other points of observation. Supposedly. Maybe. Possibly. Multiple points of origin perhaps, or maybe a center so far away we have yet to figure out a way to backtrack to it.

Endless contemplation without reliable data leads to gaseous and noxious clouds of gas (trust me on this).

The point is that the Universe is, and the Isness of it, is BIG. The only disconcerting aspect of this is the speed of light. If we look at the telescopic imagery of a galaxy 100 light years away, we are actually seeing that galaxy as it existed 100 years ago – we are traveling back in time, sort of – in reality, the galaxy could be radically different “now.”

We should move on.

Lots of people want to talk about “advanced” civilizations and extraterrestrials with incredible technology that may visit Earth, have visited us in the past, or are already here.

I admit, I enjoy all the books, movies and shows about extraterrestrials and such – very fascinating. The reality of it, however, is quite another story.

Look at it this way – the Earth we call home is over 3.5 billion years old (or possibly, even older). If you started counting 1, 2, 3… in a desire to get to a billion, it will take you around 31 years of non-stop counting. I am sure there is some idiot human somewhere attempting to do it…

Yes, 3.5 billion is a big dang number, but some scientists claim the Universe is something on the order of 13 plus billion years old, a much bigger dang number. Some are even doubting that latter number, thinking it is even more ancient. Science is as much an art as it is science.

Unsettled, remember?

I imagine (would hypothesize) that the progression of civilization (evolution, if you will) proceeds at similar rates in all places in the Cosmos based on a home planet having the right proximity to a star, the correct atmosphere, the correct size, the correct blend of chemicals, et cetera, ad nauseam. A truly prodigious number of variables have to come together in the proper blend. Even then, there is no guarantee of an intelligence arising that is compatible to humans.

Think on it this way – humans in our current form (Home Sapiens) have existed for around 250,000 years plus (according to unsettled science). However, rudimentary civilization, so to speak, only popped up around 10,000 years ago and more advanced ancient civilizations only 5,000 years ago.

We only stopped burning people at the stake for heresy about 400 years ago.

To say we are civilized now (just watch the news) is a mild overstatement of profound optimism.

Still, we are here, trying to make the best of it (though even a cursory glance at the news would suggest we humans are mucking things up pretty good).

In point of fact, there are so many variables which must align to permit life to arise (setting aside all religious ideas) that it seems to be very rare. Then again, if you look at the multitude of life and the variations on Earth, you do have to give pause – many scientists will tell you there are over 7 million different species of life on the Earth. That’s a lot of variety. Humans claim that we are the only species on Earth with authentic consciousness (but we could argue that definition all day) but recent research would seem to indicate that self-awareness and language is not limited to humans.

Any non-Earth civilization (wherever it might be) will probably be in a similar technological phase as we currently are on Earth. That is to say, capable of sending unpeopled probes (see what I did there) to distant points, but even that has limited viability.

Faster than light (FTL) travel is a provocative idea, and human scientists want to talk about wormholes, warp drives, warp bubbles, use of dark matter and other entertaining but highly theoretical notions. Emphasis on “highly theoretical.” Unsettled, if you will, as it probably is mostly bull scat.

While that technology is being “worked” on {insert hearty chuckle}, we have to use what we have, which isn’t much. For instance, the famous Voyager space probe (launched in 1977) now rockets through space at 35,000 miles per hour. The closest place we’d like to explore is the star system with Alpha Centauri in it, about 4.3 light years distant.

Based on Voyager’s speed, it should be there in about 75,000 years.

Sigh. Rhymes with cry.

So, it is with much bemusement that I have noted a recent cultural uptick in the interest in apparently extraterrestrial debris (aka, items of unknown origin). The conspiracy theorists among us swear that many countries, America included, have been able to salvage advanced technology from the remains of these items of extraterrestrial origin.

Permit me to doubt.

Many people will point to ancient architecture, sculptures, paintings and artifacts to convince you that aliens are real and have visited Earth throughout history.

Permit me to doubt.

Let’s look at an alternative idea by stepping into H.G. Well’s little machine and travel back in time about 7,000 years. There were humans back then – just like now – who were remarkably, incredibly, intelligent. In point of fact, one could easily argue that to “normal” humans such people would appear to be other-worldly, godlike, demi-gods, anointed, possessors of secret knowledge.

You know, aliens.

Such highly intelligent people were special and, compared to most of the humans drooling around, obviously from outer space.

Not.

It’s very, very, doubtful that such intelligent people would want to dissuade their ignorant brethren from that mistaken belief because such a belief assists those intelligent people in establishing, maintaining and increasing their power and control. Mostly for themselves, but sometimes for the common good.

Sometimes.

Rarely.

Even if we assume “evolution” proceeded at a breakneck pace in other places in the Cosmos, would lifeforms there be massively more advanced than humans who have been here on Earth, basically in our modern form, for 250,000 years plus?

Kind of doubt it.

My educated guess would be that other lifeforms (if they exist) would be at a similar stage of life as us – wondering where everyone else is and sending out probes to explore strange new places. Would these probes reach us?

Doubtful, but possible. You know, in another 75,000 years or so…

Check this math – the nearest galaxy that might (might/maybe/possibly) have life is 4.3+ light years away. Doesn’t sound all that daunting, right? Well, until you translate it into miles, as in 25 trillion miles.

The Voyager probes that Earth sent out in 1977 are now out to about 13 billion miles, or so.

There are a 1000 (one thousand) billions in a trillion, and Voyager needs to travel 25 trillion miles. The only number bigger than that is the national debt.

Contact with any life form is a long, long, long way off, and that equation works both ways.

Let’s be honest; anything moving through the air that cannot be identified is, well, an Unidentified Flying Object. Actually that phrase is irritating to some people. So, how about UAP – unexplained anomalous phenomena? Anomalous meaning something like deviating from the normal, aberrant, unexpected, non-typical. Unidentified.

Unsettled.

You paint your basketball purple and throw it in the air. Look, an UAP!

Consider this. There are something like 195 countries on Earth. Do they share technology all the time? No. Is it possible that many countries are working on experimental technology? Yes. Is the American intelligence network so incredible that we know about every secret project each of those 195 countries is working on? No.

Every country is working on advanced technological things.

You know, anomalous stuff. Sometimes meant for peaceful applications but, judging from human history, usually research into weapons and other destructive technologies.

Yes, there is speculation about travel through black holes (worm holes), FTL or faster-than-light travel, warp drives that change the space-time continuum (really?) and other fictive devices (emphasis on fictive).

None of which have been invented and are not likely to be. More unsettled stuff. Mind candy or clever ploys to get federal funding. It’s like dealing with a conspiracy theory. You are wasting your time trying to deflate a conspiracy theory because it cannot be proved – or disproved.

Hey, I need $50 million to explore an anti-matter galactic space warp engine…

Are humans “special” and no other life exists in the Universe? Talk about narcissism – hey, snap a selfie! The concern should be not that other life exists in the Universe, but that it partakes of a similar consciousness to our own so that actual communication is possible.

Of course, if our own human history is a reliable guide, we only have to study what happened throughout that history when a more advanced human population encountered a less advanced human population.

The answer is, death, destruction, conquest and enslavement – of the less advanced humans.

There will be (and are) some people who will say it is “God’s plan” or “God’s will” that such things happened and that certain cultures will always prevail over others. You know, if I deploy some kind of horrific weapon and successfully wipe out a country I deem to be a foe, well, that success was because God willed it in my favor.

I am sure if an alien civilization comes to take over the Earth, it will claim it is “God’s will.” I imagine if you are getting your ass handed to you it really doesn’t matter who’s will is behind it, does it?

If humans can do such terrible things to members of its own species, what would a completely different alien species do to humans?

The techie response is that advanced civilizations would have understanding and compassion. You know, like humans have for animals. Animals that we lock up and display in cages. Or force into slave labor. Or make into pets.

Or eat.

Don’t shoot the messenger.

Then again, there is the fervent hope that any advanced alien civilization will have a higher consciousness and recognize the right to life for all creatures and belief systems and help humans reach a new and deeper understanding of life.

Then again, since we can’t even practice that idea here on Earth among ourselves on a regular basis, what would give anyone the idea that extraterrestrials would adopt it, or want to waste time teaching/training humans?

250,000 years have passed and yes, we do have incredible technology. Instant communication. Translator devices to communicate in any language (though you do have to pause and ask yourself why there are over 7,000 languages on earth). Reliable food and water production and distribution (well, in some places). Incredible architecture. A mostly reliable energy grid. Mostly reliable forms of personal transportation. Decent health care. Life is good.

Yes, there are issues.

We can’t seem to find a reliable material to repair our roads. You fix it and come back 6 months later to fix it again. Telephone poles (you know, from the 19^th century) still adorn the landscape from sea to shining sea. The idea of “privacy” is something of a joke. A Model T Ford (circa 1908) got about 20 miles per gallon. Modern cars (circa 2024) get about 25 miles per gallon. We are told petroleum is derived from fossils, yet every chemical compound in petroleum is produced by deep earth processes. So, fossil fuel or abiotic oil?

Science tells us that the single most important contributing factor for our health is our weight, and yet 40% of Americans are obese. Bad genes, bad self-discipline, or useless foods being sold at the store? Maybe a combination, right? We have computers that make us more productive. The internet is a great source of information and knowledge. Sadly, about 40% plus of all downloads involve pornography. Toss in violence, bestiality, pedophilia and similar things and about 70% of Internet users are, well not really searching for knowledge. Sadly, think Bell Curve. The left side.

In the not-so-distant past we were making many things out of paper (you know, that biodegrades organically) but people wailed and moaned about the “poor trees dying” so they forced a switch to plastic. You know, the material with a half-life of plutonium that you see stuck in every fence line, treetop and field. So much for saving the world. Or, one of my favorites, we must cut down on carbon dioxide emissions because it is unhealthy. You know, carbon dioxide that every green living thing on the planet uses and, oddly, converts to oxygen that every living creature on the planet uses.

We want better communication networks and build them without really assessing the radiation risks – electromagnetic waves permeate our world. The next time you drive around, actually focus on how many wires and towers surround you. Wi-Fi, cellular, satellite, radio waves, microwaves, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G – oh gee.

I would be less concerned with the arrival of aliens from outer space and focus on the aliens among us – which is to say, humans whose perspectives/viewpoints/adaptive strategies are very much foreign to our own (regardless of what country you want to talk about). Especially if that mindset goes like this – “The way I believe is correct, good and the only way. Anyone who believes differently is wrong, evil, and following a bad path. I should live and the unbeliever needs to convert, or die.”

Who needs extraterrestrials from outer space to threaten us – there are plenty of humans around more than willing to fulfill that role. In point of fact, there are many people who hope the extraterrestrials show up not to conquer us, but to save us (you know, from ourselves).

Either way, I’m pretty sure it ends poorly for the less advanced civilization.

End transmission.

Aug03 0

I live on the third floor of a three-story condo unit. Nice community. Gated. Not sure how secure it is though. I was drinking a beer the other day with Pat — the maintenance guy — and we started talking about security, and somehow he let it slip that the gate code for the maintenance crew was “1234.”

Really?

I’m thinking that if Riff or Raff wanted to get into the complex, well, they wouldn’t have to hack through many code permutations. Fug.

Anyway — yesterday I’m sitting in my somewhat secure third-floor condo living room when I get a call from Mando, one of my best pals. The other being Tom. Both being ex-hackers in the business (after too many close brushes with Big Brother) of now helping other companies avoid being hacked. Allegedly. Mando is calling from Vegas. Business, he says. Of the monkey variety is what I’m thinking, but I let it slide in the name of friendship.

A favor. That’s what he says he needs.

You know how favors and friends go. You call a friend when no one else will help. You are not permitted, by the Immutable Law of Friendship, to decline.

What kind of favor, I delicately ask. Like a reluctant snake-handler milking a black mamba.

Mow my grass, Mando informs me.

Now, there are many things Mando could have asked of me as a favor. Check on his mail. Feed his dog. Pick up his mom at the airport. Stalk his ex-girlfriend Lisa who supposedly stole some of his vintage baseball cards. I would gladly do any of those.

Yard work, however, strikes me as pointless, disheartening, depressing, and self-defeating. A blow to the human spirit. A reminder of our sad human condition.

I mean, just stop for a ding-dang moment and think about it.

Grass is a weed.

It has survived for hundreds of thousands – hell, millions – of years without evolving.

It is simply something that makes dirt look acceptable. People only allow it to grow because it is generally stable and grows uniformly. It is orderly and neat, unlike the lives of the people tending it.

We humans toss away bazillions of gallons of water (you know, the most precious resource on Earth) so the grass will grow.

Then we buy a lawn mover to cut the grass. Then water it and watch it grow. Then cut it, using either gas or electricity in the mower.

You NEVER accomplish anything. You cut it; the effing weeds grow back. It’s what they do best. it’s a stinking weed!

It’s like the damn mythological hydra — cut one head off and two grow back — you are always mowing the grass. You are always reminded of the sheer and utter pointlessness of life. Gawd, I hate effing yard work. It’s bullsnarf. An affront to human dignity. A bane on existence.

Fine.

I am now sitting at my computer typing this blog entry. I am drenched in sweat and irritation since I have just returned from Mando’s house. Where I tended to his weeds and cut the grass, front and back, edged and trimmed the front yard like a crazed grass-infused artisan and worked like a convict to pick up all the cut grass and debris.

I feel demeaned as a human.

But, damn, that front yard sure looks good.

–E

Mar19 0

He was dreaming.

That had to be it. He remembered some of his Shakespeare –

To sleep, perchance to Dream; Aye, there’s the rub,
That makes Calamity of so long a life:

He did not feel like his life was a calamity. However, he was indeed old – he was completely aware of that fact and wore it like a pair of tattered shoes that his mind told him to throw away but his heart forbade him to do – yes, he was old and he was dreaming.

Yet the dreams had such a sweet feel of warm reality about them that it shook him, made him despair — made him thrill with life — even as he knew it had to be a dream.

He was in a bed.

He could smell the fresh and crisp sheets, almost feel their velvet and familiar embrace. There was a low sound in the distance, it must be the constant undulating hum of the air conditioner swirling around his mind. Other sounds, sometimes distant, sometimes close at hand.

He was in a bed.

He reached for her. The great joy of his life, his companion, his friend, and his lover; the woman whose love he had worked so long and hard to win — and to keep.

He reached across the bed, searching for her hand, but he could not find it. Could not feel the warmth and happiness of her touch, thrill to the gentle squeeze she would give his gnarled fingers, beaten down by time, but not yet beaten.

She was not there.

Tears streamed down his eyes. He tried to turn his head to see. Perhaps she was there, but just out of reach – but he could not turn his head. There was a dazzling bolt of pain, then he sighed. I am dreaming, dreaming. Oh, where is she, where is my love? He slept.

He was in a bed.

She sat on the edge of the bed. The traffic had been terrible and she was late. She was never late. She sat on the edge of the bed and took her lover’s hand. Her companion and friend for a lifetime – she took his wizened old hand and wrapped her bent fingers around it.

He was in a bed.

He reached once again for his wife and there she was. He held her hand tightly, oh so tightly. She was always there for him – her kindness and love the constant reminder of the basic decency of human life. Of my life. She squeezed his hand and he smiled. The tears that came now were shed in joy and happiness.

He was in a bed.

She looked with love upon the face of the dear old man. She wondered at the tears on his cheek. She cried and dreamed of love.

Oct25 0

I want to talk about an ancient fable, “The Hare and the Tortoise,” because it is very appropriate for today’s world – both in terms of our personal lives and our business endeavors.

Everyone is hopefully familiar with that ancient tale but – for the sake of universal clarity and a shared starting point – I will provide a brief refresher. Pause for large inhale of air.

The hare is a fast runner. He brags about this speed and teases the tortoise, who is clearly a slow runner. Technically, a non-runner. More of a crawler. The tortoise finally tires of the incessant badgering (bullying, if you will) and challenges the hare to a race. The fox is chosen to select the course. The race begins. The hare (supremely over-confident) loses the race because he takes a nap and awakes too late to beat the tortoise to the finish line.

While this story is attributed to Aesop, the general thematic ideas and concepts no doubt predate him. It is a tale which speaks of the true nature of human being and has origins which are very ancient.

The real meaning of this fable is hidden and not as easy to discern as one might think. What kind of hidden meaning, you might ask? Well, you did just ask.

Fiendishly good question.

The most widely held conclusions about the fable are the expressions, “slow and steady wins the race” and “the race is not always to the swift.” These are the obvious and most easily attainable interpretations.

Fables are devilishly intricate things, as they are always meant to portray the multi-layered complexity of human behavior.

This fable is particularly delightful in that regard.

While his fable – on the surface – does illustrate the general idea that persistence wins out in the end, that theme is NOT the main (hidden) idea.

This fable is a story of our individual human nature, and the internal struggles which must of necessity arise within each of us as we attempt to achieve significant results in our lives (personal or business). That is to say, as we strive to win the race of living. Well, at least run it well. What constitutes “winning” is a subject for another diatribe – right now we will simply talk about this fable.

Aesop existed circa 620 to 554 BCE – that’s over 2500 years ago for those of us (including me) not good with math. Even back then, however, there was a recognition that humans possessed differing levels of awareness.

Pythagoras, a contemporary to Aesop, believed that humans found at the Olympic Games could be classified into three categories or types – the lowest type were those who were seekers of pleasure and fame, the competitors. The next highest type were those who sought to benefit from buying and selling of goods, and the highest type were the lovers of wisdom, who merely came to observe the games.

Siddhartha Gautama would have been an approximate contemporary to Aesop, as he lived from 563 to 483 BCE. His ideas of the “threefold training” and the division of human being into Mind, Virtue, and Wisdom are compatible to those of Pythagoras.

Even older traditions were developed in Vedic (Indian) thought, such as Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita, where the discussion concerns the “The Three Qualities of Material Nature” – which are ignorance, passion, and goodness.

Let’s chat a little about physiology. If you examine the ontogenetic (about origin and development) unfolding of our neurological system during fetal development, the human brain is clearly delineated into three distinct sections (Rhombencephalon, Mesencephalon, Telencephalon) – for the sake of illustrative brevity and as a simple tool for reference, we will loosely label these the reptilian (physical), mammalian (social), and distinctly human (rational/intellectual) sections of the threefold neurological continuum. Thank you Paul.

Our human mental structure is, thus, a threefold continuum (not discrete levels), and most of us exist within the realm of one of the triune parts of this continuum – it is the rare individual who can synthesize all three levels and emerge as an integrated and spiritual human. Such enlightenment and growth is, nonetheless, the real goal of living.

While a more scientific rendition of this is called for (and I am laboring on it), you must – for this particular exposition – grant me the boon of accepting this structure as valid. Besides, using all those big words gives me a headache.

Integrating all aspects of your true human being to achieve success is the fable’s real meaning.

Let me explain further.

The hare is that part of our human nature which is the lowest. It is pure physicality. The only thoughts at this level are survival and reproduction. The hare is the perfect symbol, as the reproductive capacities of that creature are legendary; and its speed permits it to survive in the wild. But the hare has no other attribute worthy of consideration – the only thing it (he) can do is boast about the one thing he can do well (speed of foot) – and this is not even a learned trait, it is a genetic trait. We won’t mention breeding prowess, but that is also innate and not acquired.

However (and this is a key concept) even the genetic trait of speed is only of value if it is properly used. This is true of any genetic or innate ability an individual may have.

Moving on, it is no accident in the fable that the fox selects the course where the race will be run.

The fox has – symbolically – always represented social cunning and clever thinking skills in any situation where others are encountered.

If we regard the fox as the social part of our own human nature, it is that aspect which must select the course upon which we are to race with our own lives – and here the story gets a little more complex.

If we are rely solely on our genetic or innate abilities alone (without contemplative introspection), we would always pick a course that suited our lowest nature, and such a decision – though the easiest by way of effort – would represent a minimal accomplishment. In the fable the hare was always teasing the tortoise about its lack of speed and let’s be honest here, only someone of low intelligence and minimal skills would belabor the obvious – what possible accomplishment is it for a hare to beat a tortoise anyway? The hare will win that race every time, without a doubt. It is no achievement at all to beat a freaking tortoise in a race.

The hare lost because he did not apply his genetic gift of speed in an appropriate manner – it is the natural inclination of humans to misuse their innate abilities though idleness and indolence. This happens if you allow the hare-aspect of your human nature to predominate as you focus on those things which satisfy your physical nature only. You know, like napping your way through life.

The tortoise-aspect represents our wisdom and adaptability – it must not only subtly guide the fox-aspect in selecting a course most well-suited to our individual nature, but make the hare-aspect of our human being apply itself to achieving meaningful results. The hare-aspect represents our raw abilities, and the tortoise-aspect is the will and perseverance that puts those raw abilities to use in a manner that the fox-aspect helps devise within the world of our social reality. Harmony lies in internal mental cooperation between those three aspects.

However, even here the road is fraught with danger, for just as a heavy reliance on the hare-aspect will lead to bad results, a heavy reliance on the fox-aspect will lead to a result that is beneficial to the self, but without regard to the possibly negative impact on others. It is only the guiding hand of the tortoise-aspect – the thoughtful and self-conscious “application” of will in reality, with an understanding of how all humans are linked – that helps the fox-aspect select the proper course upon which the hare-aspect (now being forced to actually apply itself) can unify with the other parts of human nature to achieve success.

And there you have it.

My hare nature wants go out clubbing, my fox nature wants to update all my social media sites, and my tortoise nature is thinking about what post to write next.

Maybe best just to take a nap.

Sigh.

— E

Oct30 3

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.
– Mark Twain

You don’t stop laughing because you grow older. You grow older because you stop laughing.
– Maurice Chevalier

The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing
your enthusiasm.
–Aldous Huxley

One of the most persistent – and irritating – concepts that permeates our society is that your life is basically over by the time you hit 65.

The fun is over. Just give up the ghost and move on.

Much of the younger generation thinks older people just sit on the couch watching Jimmy Stewart movies and musing, “What a wonderful life I’ve had” as they wither away and wait to die.

Bullsnarf and nonsense.

The people I know say, “What a wonderful life I’m having” and get out to play.

That’s right – play. They suck the marrow out of life, every day.

How, the discerning reader might ask?

Let’s talk tennis first.

Doesn’t matter whether it’s 40 degrees or 90 degrees plus, the seniors I play with (men and women) are out on the court playing some serious tennis.

Come on, some people will ask, how good could the tennis be at that age?

Well, let me point out a critical fact. Most of these fine folks have been playing tennis for over 50 years. Trust me, they know how to move and hit. They understand the geometry of tennis to the point of genius. Angles, spins, lobs, volleys – you better be prepared to see un poquito de todo. For all you non-Texans, that’s “a little bit of everything” and it can be humbling!

It’s not just the privilege of playing with such seniors that is meaningful for me (and I consider it an honor to be counted in their number), but it is their honesty, humility and love for life that washes over me like a cool summer breeze, refreshing and invigorating.

I feel truly alive.

You cannot stop these seniors – men and women – it doesn’t matter about accidents, surgeries, cancer treatments, or any physical ailment they have endured. They are out there giving all they have. They will never willingly surrender. Bastogne and nuts.

How about baseball?

I am not talking softball. I am talking baseball. Cleats, wood bats, fast balls and hard-working umpires.

I play with a truly exceptional and extraordinary group of men, many of whom are age 65 and over. They are just like the tennis players – they don’t reflect on the great life they have had, but on the great life they are having. Despite age and some physical infirmities, they are out there competing, playing hard, succeeding in a very difficult and demanding sport – and all the while loving life and the beauty of being alive.

The pleasure of seeing the happiness in their faces as the game unfolds cannot be explained in mere words – but you can feel the vital energy coursing throughout the dugout.

My tennis and baseball friends do not see age as a problem, but as a challenge, and with a warrior’s attitude they figure out ways to fight through the challenge and succeed.

More importantly, they understand that implicitly at our age it is still important to win – we all want to win – but it is much more important to remember that, “Playing is Winning.”

The courageous and outrageous act of just being out on the court or on the ball field is a victory, a win – a slap in the face to age and death. “I defy you,” is the attitude and I will continue to enjoy my life.

To all the people I play with, and to all the people I compete against, bless you for allowing me to share time and space and the pleasure of playing with and against you.

May we face each other for many, many, years to come.

Oh, and a special shout out to JY for the epic battles we have been fighting for some of those many years…

Plus, a nod of the head for JF for being a great old friend, with no pun intended.

And to MS, who makes me think, and laugh – and sometimes shake my head.

And to EW, RV, DD, PW, DP, MS, KH, BM, FS, CC, CR, GC, BF, MT, TC, BH, TR, FT, JV, AC, BB, GB, CB and so many more that my cortex needs a rest… or maybe a cold brew!

Jun27 0

We like to think of ourselves as urbane, sophisticated, intelligent. We modern folk are not superstitious – we believe in science and technology and the practical applications thereof.

We scoff at our ancient ancestors and all the gods, spirits, and mystical forces they revered and worshiped. We look at the pantheon of Roman, Greek, Norse and other deities and we laugh how we much more intelligent humans have moved beyond such beliefs.

No, not really.

Saturn used by many products/companies. Mercury used by many products/companies. Nike (Greek goddess) products. Atlas tires. Thor in the movies. Diablo video game (and hot sauce). Mazda cars (from Ahura Mazda). Ajax (cleaner and programming language). Gemini and Apollo space missions. The Apple logo – a bite missing from the apple in defiance of Yahweh (Jehovah). Cupid is used every Valentine’s Day. Gaia as another name for Earth. The Time Warner logo as the eye of Horus. Starbucks uses a mermaid in its logo. Venus clothing. Pluto – a digital streaming platform. The flower company FTD uses the image of Hermes. Pandora jewelry. Maserati logo. Versace (Medusa). Hermes fashion goods. Subaru. Goodyear uses the flying shoe of Hermes/Mercury in their logo. Mobil oil uses Pegasus, the flying horse.

How about mythological references to old gods in about every Disney movie ever made (just type “myth references in Disney movies” in your Internet browser). Hyperion is a bad company located in the Borderlands! Isis is, well, not good. Midas paints cars. Amazon. Trident (think Poseidon) gum. Neptune tires. Marvel villain Thanos is Thanatos, ancient god of death and destruction.

And, of course we face the old gods every day of the week: Sunday – the Sun’s day – hearkening back to Sun worship since the bad old bestial days. Monday – the Moon’s day. The moon has almost equal time as the Sun. Hey, it’s lunar, from Luna, Roman goddess. Tuesday for Tyr (Mars), the god of war. Wednesday for Woden, better known as Odin, ruler of Asgard (hey, I saw the movie). Thursday for Thor, god of lightning (hey, I saw…). Friday after Freya or Frigg, goddess of love, sex, and apparently violent death. Having barely survived a few vicious Friday nights, I can see this. Saturday is named after Saturn, the father of Zeus.

The name of the months aren’t much better. January, named after the two-faced god Janus. March, named for Mars. May is from Maius and June is from Juno. The ancient gods live! July (Julius Caesar), August (Roman Emperor Augustus). I’m going to stop now.

How about the American military? Trident submarines. Nike missiles. Many ships in the fleet are named after ancient deities (i.e., Castor, Medusa, Triton, Nereus, etc).

Just look around around and you will realize you are surrounded by the old gods.

They really are immortal!

Gee, Zeus, I want a Mars bar!

Just saying.

Jun17 0

There are mentally-stimulating, thought-provoking, and often disturbing side effects to a continuous and non-stop exposure to global events via the Internet. It offers a very unsettling, uneasy, sometimes horrific, and confusing notion of what it means to be human.

We are now exposed – through online news, social websites and many other portals – to the previously under- or non-reported effluvia and offal that constitutes a much more significant portion of human affairs than I think anyone – except the darkest cynic and harshest pessimist – would think existed.

Government-sanctioned mass murder; religiously motivated and sanctioned mass murder; human trafficking and slavery; child prostitution; forced pornography; religious intolerance manifested as overt behavior which expresses a complete lack of regard for human life; unchecked racial hatred practiced by those who preach peace; unrestricted drug cartel activity sanctioned by governments; government corruption; bureaucratic stupidity and waste; the looting of national treasuries by special-interest groups seeking only to salvage their own benefits and on and on – when such a perverse and widespread litany of willfully-directed human misery is marched in front of your eyes, you are inexorably drawn to one inescapable, unavoidable, and terrible conclusion – being human means much more than just looking like a human being.

Just because you look human, it does not make you human.

It is the grandest illusion of them all.

One of the most meaningful concepts that I will ask you to grasp in this discussion is the idea of “adaptive strategies.”

Every group of people large enough to regard itself as an “entity” has an adaptive strategy which it follows in an effort to procure success for its adherents.

Human beings on the planet Earth are fragmented and subdivided into a multitude of distinct “entities” – be they geographic, ethnic, ideological, or some other defining characteristic. These entities may be classified as nations, countries, states, regions, groups, religions, economic systems, political parties, organizations or even clusters of human beings. Adaptive strategies exist in antipathy to each other because the adherence to any one particular adaptive strategy has historically meant a harsh aversion to any other adaptive strategy.

You cannot serve two masters.

The fundamental precept of the adaptive strategy and its “success” is its mutually exclusive character – you cannot be a Muslim and a Jew at the same time; a Marxist and a Capitalist; a Liberal and a Conservative; et cetera, ad nauseum.

Adaptive strategies are followed by human beings in what can best be described as blind and unthinking obedience. The intrinsic and primary value of an adaptive strategy is that it allows the adherent to concentrate on the immediate tasks at hand – those an existing individual faces on a daily basis and which further individual and sector maintenance – without having to rationalize any action, without having to question the validity of any specific behavior (other than its relation to the practical common law under which the adaptive strategy allows itself to be placed).

The vast majority of people – sadly – follow their chosen adaptive strategy without any contemplative or introspective examination of themselves or the relationship of their adaptive strategy to the rest of humankind. In point of fact, most people blindly adopt the adaptive strategy their “leaders” advise them to adopt.

In essence, such people have traded their humanity for the promises made by the adaptive strategy. Adaptive strategies prey on the fears and insecurities of such people by offering them the cold comfort of the adaptive strategy to wrap around them and explain away those fears and insecurities with deceptions – “follow me” the adaptive strategy says, without conscious thought, and I will give you security and safety.

The ultimate way to maintain adherents who worship at the altar of the adaptive strategy is to perpetuate itself by entwining so completely around its adherents that they are totally and utterly dependent on a daily basis.

People are told that this dependence is really freedom, because they do not have to think, to worry, to bother with anything – simply “keep the faith.”

This is the freedom of the non-human. Do you imagine for one moment that a person, male or female, who would strap on a bomb, walk into a room full of women and children and explode that bomb, is human? Can people who use children in prostitution and pornography possibly be human? Can people who engage in acts of genocide and mass murder of other humans without respect to age or gender be considered human?

The people who do have a sense of morality and ethics, the people who do not blindly follow any adaptive strategy without contemplating what is means, the people who value liberty, freedom, self-responsibility, the people who believe in integrity and honor – these people are human. But you must face the harsh and unrelenting facts that humanity is NOT only about physical attributes, but also about the mental and spiritual facets of our nature – and if you ignore those you have chosen not to be human.

You cannot discuss morality and ethics with a zealous fanatic follower of any adaptive strategy. You cannot win the “hearts and minds” of people when they have no aspect of their human nature that corresponds to the values we associate with a “heart,” and their minds are closed by their utter allegiance to some stagnant adaptive strategy.

You are dealing with zombies. The undead.

At this point you are confronted with a dilemma, an imbroglio – a horrible decision.

Here is the challenge: real humans must decide if the non-humans have the ability to be educated and trained to be humans or – if they are inescapably non-human – how to contain or control them before their unwarranted and unrestricted breeding wrecks human society.

So that, my friend, is really where humanity is at presently. We must decide if we are “born” human or we “become” human. Since there are so many obvious humans in the world who are, in point of fact, not even remotely human, I think it is safe to say that we become, through society and culture, educated and trained to be humans.

To become, or not to become – THAT is the question.

For those that believe in some kind of Judeo-Christic-Islamic God/G_d/Al-lah – you need to tread carefully here. Humans, in those adaptive strategies, are made in the image of God – but that is merely a copy on the physical level. Every religious system that truly seeks to create human beings understands that the divine spark in us at birth must be nurtured and fanned into a flame, lest it perish and we fall back into barbarism and bestiality – which is happening even as we speak.

We are not being properly educated to be human.

Whereas the idea of Darwinian Natural Selection is something which is an unconscious and non-reflective force, the advent of true human consciousness impacts a willfully self-directed ability to create and guide our evolution rather than merely being helplessly subject to it.

There are some people who believe that non-humans can never be changed. This is the belief held by any “enlightened” ruling class that believes it must guide people who they think are not only incapable of guiding themselves, but cannot be educated or trained.

There are other people who believe each of has an opportunity to be human. Non-humans can be changed. The ideas of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” are possibilities for those who willfully seek to work hard at becoming human and succeeding in life.

There are many modern systems of thought that believe some people are human and some are not. They believe this is a static situation and not a dynamic one. The bell curve represents an unchanging reality for such people. They believe that a ruling class of “superior” people should rule.

Socratic Guardians. Marxist Elitists.

This ruling class is, by nature, discriminatory on all fronts – racial, religious, political, economic, physiological, cultural, et cetera – there is only one correct way of viewing the world and it is their way. They will preserve that way no matter what the cost, and there is no truth but their truth, utterly controlled by them; no law but the law they make and to which they themselves are usually not subject.

No means or methods are off-limits which permit the supposed ruling class to achieve their “noble” ends.

Honor and integrity are just words to such people – situational ethics is the norm for them and there are forms of modern political thought active today that believe truth is just a variable that can be changed whenever it suits the need. Truth is whatever they tell you.

If a government is run by such a ruling class, it will believe non-humans cannot be helped, educated or trained, and that government will act according to its own self-interest without regards to the perceived non-humans; indeed, they will actually escalate actions to hasten the demise of the non-humans – but all the while acting as though they are spokespeople for the supposed non-humans; soliciting their support through the election process. That is, until they can assume power and subvert the elective process – after all, no government, such a ruling class will argue, should be subordinated to the will of non-humans.

However, if a government is handled by people who believe that, yes, non-humans do exist, but that they can be educated, trained and helped to grow into true humans, then such a government will support self-responsibility, hard work, dedication, honor, integrity and advancement through a competitive process that rewards true human behavior.

Think about our current situation and see where your mind goes…

Think. Will. Become.

Enoch

Apr02 0

Most people love cats or dogs. Maybe birds.

Shoot, even reptiles. Snakes. Hamsters. Gerbils. (Seriously, gerbils?)

I love the dung beetle.

I know, it just seems so wrong. I think the immediate response of most people has to be “huh,” or some more colorful derivation thereof.

A great many people simply stare at me blank-faced and ask, “why?”

Good question.

Let me slip on my pointy pontificating hat and ponder an appropriate reply.

I would ask that you pause for just a wavering moment and carefully contemplate what the dung beetle accomplishes.

It takes what we regard as an absolutely repugnant by-product of living (e.g., scat, poop, excrement, dung, fecal matter, sh*t) and instead of stepping gingerly around it and moving on, the dung beetle labors feverishly to accumulate, organize into a spherical shape and then roll the “fruits of its labor” back to his or her abode.

Where the dung beetle uses said ball of smelly goo to feed and raise its young. Thereby allowing the lowly dung beetle to replicate, survive, and subdue its world.

The dung beetle is an awesome role model for any human.

Here’s why –>

Think about how much crap all of us deal with on a daily basis.

And lately, it’s quite a bit.

It might come from our boss, from our clients, from our co-workers, from our spouse, from our friends, from our relatives, from Internet social media, from mainstream media, from non-mainstream media, from the government – basically from a wide and seemingly endless list of sources.

Sigh.

Generally, from the Cosmos as a hole. I mean, a whole.

In fact, someone, somewhere, at one time or the other went full frontal dung beetle and made a lot of money with a simple bumper sticker that merely states the dung beetle motto – “Sh*t Happens.” For the sake of a more genteel discussion, we will use the less offensive term “poo” so as not to offend the Internet’s automated word censors.

Having reflected on the success of the dung beetle, I am immensely happy that poo happens.

Poo gives us opportunities – in life for sure, but especially in business. It doesn’t matter whether you own a business or work for someone else. The poo that you see on a daily basis is your opportunity to make yourself useful and valuable, because you can locate the seemingly foul poo, step right in it, organize it, shape it into a nice little ball, and roll it away for a useful purpose.

Best of all – you can actually get paid for messing around with poo and making something valuable from it because most people just complain and run down the hallway crying about the horrible poo.

Dang it, why does my spell-checker keep flagging poo?

Anyway. the next time poo happens to you – regardless of the source – make a careful evaluation of how you can turn a disgusting by-product of existence into something useful and valuable.

The ensuing success may just surprise the poo out of you.

–E

Jan01 2

Generally speaking, I leave Biblical explication to others eminently more qualified.

However, in the process of some research for a book I am laboriously laboring over, I came across something so compelling that I thought you might want to read about it.

This is from Revelations 13:18, of the Christian New Testament:

Here is wisdom — let them who have understanding consider the number of the beast: for it is the number of humanity; and that number is six hundred threescore and six.

The common belief is that this is a warning.

It is also most assuredly guidance and advice.

But – what about?

Note that the oldest source documents we have for Revelations are in Greek (though some argue Aramaic or Hebrew). We’ll use the Greek version here.

From the passage above, the underlined word “wisdom” in Greek is sophia. We all strive for wisdom, the highest level of human being. The underlined word “understanding” is the Greek word nous, and can be thought of as the higher mind, or where authentic rational thought processes take place. Day-to-day normalized and rational activity occurs at this level. Keep in mind that understanding alone does not lead to wisdom, primarily because of the “beast,” which is ignorance, sensuality, violence, anger and passion without restraint, and that is the lowest level (thērion). Please note that while I use the word “level” here, these are not discrete entities, but locations on a continuum – with no end and no beginning, per se.

The ability to consciously manage all three levels and achieve harmony and synthesis is what yields spiritual enlightenment. However, the attractive and intrusive power of the beast makes this very difficult.

You must appreciate and always remember that we are admonished in the passage above from Revelations that the number of the beast is also the number of a human. The essential Greek concept/word to keep in mind is phrenes or φρένες.

Let’s examine this word φρένες (phrenes) in more detail.

This is a very complex concept from Greek thought, dating back to Homer (circa 750 BCE) and beyond.

The phrenes is that which holds or contains our entire thinking process or continuum, including the potential for wisdom (sophia) and understanding (nous) – but both are engaged in a never-ending “discussion” with the beast (therion). The fundamental reality of the phrenes (without proper instruction, training and guidance) is a human who lives an emotional life without rational thought – it is characterized by irrational action and ignorance. Raw instinct rules, not rational thought.

The potential is there, but it must be cultivated. This is old news — the ancient Egyptian Ptahhotep (think 4000 years ago plus) wrote that, “No person is born wise.”

You could easily argue that the mind of a beast (animal) is – without human understanding and wisdom to guide it – basically the same as the untrained (and unrestrained) phrenes.

Thus the real warning in Revelations is that the doom of life (without sophia and nous) is humanity himself – beware the inner beast living without self-control in complete ignorance of the higher values of life.

It should be of more than passing interest that the letters of the Greek alphabet have numeric equivalents. They are shown in the table below (you can research this for yourself):

Again, here is the Greek word for phrenes – φρένες – and here are its alphanumeric equivalents:

Phi, Rho, Epsilon, Nu, Epsilon, Stigma = (phrenes) =

φ = 500

ρ = 100

έ = 5

ν = 50

έ = 5

ς = 6

Oh, look, the total of the word is 666.

Six hundred threescore and six, just as Revelations states it. Beware the beast.

What does this mean?

Well, for starters, unless humans strive to achieve understanding and the proper use of their mind, they will never achieve wisdom. Without wisdom we really are doomed as a species.

When you pause to look at the news of today, and what certain political parties are advocating as national/global policy, you begin to see that this warning from Revelations about φρένες or phrenes, is of particular relevance – we are becoming a society that feels but does not think, a society that acts but does not contemplate the meaning and consequence of those actions. We have elevated emotions above rational thought as the measure of intelligence.

This passage from Revelations is about the future of humanity.

When irrational thought and ignorant passion overrule rational discourse, cooperation and compromise, we really are doomed as a nation (and a planet) because the people who believe that way wish only to rule the world for their own benefit and – if understanding and wisdom do not prevail – the values of such people will dominate the mind of humanity.

They may look human, but they are beasts.

If you forget the highest values of human life – if you forgo wisdom – the beast will rule.

Do not permit that to happen.

Think. Will. Become.

Sep27 0

The official publication of the United States Chess Federation (USCF) is Chess Life magazine.

And, they just published a short story that I wrote.

Also, please don’t start a sentence with and…

Anyway, you can read this great short story and also support the USCF, which is a wonderful organization promoting chess and the fine human values associated with playing chess.

You can view the story online:

https://new.uschess.org/news/inside-story-moving-madness-you-read-chess-life-magazine

Either way, please support chess and join the USCF in its mission to spread the importance of this great game/sport/endeavor/contest.

Phoebe and Dee would want you to do it.

DKM

Jun15 0

At every level of any business organization you will encounter people who believe in perfection, and will often transfer that misguided notion to anyone unfortunate enough to work under them.

Why, you might be wanting to ask me (perhaps with a smack to my head) would I consider the quest for perfection in a business environment to be misguided?

Well, for starters, we live in a perfectly unperfect world. I just made every perfectionist linguist in the multiverse squall in horror as they prat on about “unperfect” not being a word – and yet it succeeded perfectly in conveying the idea of imperfection.

We live in a world ruled by an acceptable margin of error.

Bah, you say, give me some examples.

No problemo.

Let’s look at any round table found in a business – probably in the break or lunch room. What is the circumference of that table? I do not want a guess, I want good mathematics. Fine, you might grumble, breaking out your smartphone and researching circumference where you will find a simple formula — oddly enough, just like the one below:

C = π(d) (circumference equals the value of pi times diameter).

We can measure the diameter of the table and get an accurate number. Let’s say 4 feet. We are now at the stage of using the equation as C = 3.1459 times 4.

This yields a usable number for the circumference that works in most human situations.

But it is reliably not perfect. How can it be – the value of pi is not a definitive number. The value of pi never ends. Therefore, the circumference is not perfect and to say you have in your possession a “perfect” circle is horse dookey. Pretty sure that’s not a word either…

Moving on. How about this example? You are in the break room sitting at an unperfect round table. You are sitting with two of your associates. You have an apple and want to distribute the apple equally to yourself and your two associates. They each get a third. 33.33% Well, actually 33.333333… percent. Adding the three pieces together yields 99.9999… percent. Where the H-E-double toothpicks does the rest of the apple go?

Think GPS. Yeah, it’s accurate. To within 12 to 45 feet. Not bad for the city, but maybe a tad iffy on the rim of the Grand Canyon…

An acceptable margin of error is inherent in human life. The truly successful business person (at any level of a company) understands this and their value to themselves and the company is in being able to identify, establish and maintain that acceptable margin of error.

Striving for perfection is, therefore, fruitless, pointless, counter-intuitive and – ultimately – will lead to disaster because an acceptable margin of error must be properly acknowledged and built into the company structure.

The key, then, is not trying to achieve perfection, but grasping what the upward and downward limits are on that perfection as an expression of human effort.

Thus ends this perfectly acceptable rant on the topic.

May13 1

We should all be familiar with the succinct and profound military attack plan best expressed as “divide and conquer.” The phrase is often attributed to Julius Caesar (100 to 44 BCE) — “Divide et impera” if my Latin serves me correctly. Okay, fine, I looked it up…

“Divide and conquer” is a simple and robustly elegant strategy which is designed to splinter one’s opponent into smaller and more manageable groups incapable of uniting to deal cohesively with a common enemy.

Disorganized and isolated groups subject to such a strategy languish in malaise incapable of any unified effort.

There are many organizations in America that directly benefit from the disarray and chaos engendered by heightened racial tensions. It contributes significantly to their financial success and political power to stoke the flames of racism and — if no racism can be found — to locate kindling and build their own fire.

Usually the latter.

I would like for you to examine your own life for just a moment. Slow down and think about this — we are constantly “informed” that all of us hate people on the basis of the COLOR of their skin. We are repeatedly told by those organizations referenced above that we are all racists.

Ask yourself this — when was the last time that you personally expressed your own bigotry, felt it from others, or directly witnessed others committing wanton acts of authentic racism? Not just an act of violence where, by coincidence, someone was one color and someone was another color. Not something “manufactured” to support a narrative. I mean an authentic act of pure racial hatred and bigotry.

Judging from my own experiences, the answer is not very often. Maybe never (except through the digital ether). In truth, you have really got to be kidding me — how on earth have any of us been sucked into buying this line of carnival crap about race? Do we honestly dislike people because of the EXTERNAL color of their skin? If this is true, then why not hate people on the basis of the color of their shirt, the size of their shoes, or how they comb their hair?

We are letting the race hate-mongers and corrupt politicians control our minds. They are manipulating the electromagnetic (EM) waves — any digital signals containing data — in order to divide black, brown, white, yellow and whatever color you want to add to the mix.

Separate and equal in chaos — and useless to face the true enemy.

It is absolutely NOT the skin color of a person — not some mere external variable like that — that leads us to dislike someone. It is what lurks inside the other person that repels and irritates us. It is their behavior as a direct expression of what is inside that disturbs us.

What we truly hate is our animal nature. The beast within us all.

We have been battling for tens of thousands of years to be human – and to become more than human – and what we hate and fear are humans who are NOT truly human because they act like animals – in point of fact, they ARE animals.

And these non-humans can be any color. All colors. Color does not distinguish when it comes to bestiality.

The legends of vampires, werewolves, zombies and such are — of course — pure nonsense, but they do illustrate a simple and completely undeniable TRUTH — we fear, loathe, and hate our unrestrained animal nature. We hate those who are out of control and use no rational thought to guide their actions.

Such creatures are not human. Yes, they look human – but they have no soul. We are born with the ability to have a soul, but it is created over a lifetime of work and effort. Intentional awareness and conscious effort.

When heinous acts are committed by such non-human humans — be they white, brown, black, yellow, red, or purple — we face the horrible truth of our unconscious animal side. True humans do, indeed, hate and abhor the sad sight of that. It is reminder that the divide between civilization and barbarism is narrow indeed.

However — that is not racism – it has nothing to do with race, but only with cultural values in disarray – values that glorify sex, violence, drugs, and hate. Values with no genuine moral or ethical basis.

Failure to embrace a culture that values such important things as hard work, dedication, sacrifice, virtue, honesty, family, and self-responsibility leads to a stagnation and rot. A culture may deny the truth of religion, but it cannot deny the value of religion – when it does, a lack of morality and ethics leads to anarchy and chaos.

And it affects all humans, of any race.

Trying to uphold the highest standards of human conduct with true morality and ethics – and expecting others to do the same – is NOT racism.

It’s called being a conscious human being.

If you call it racism – what is it you are really hiding? What are you really seeking?

Manipulating emotions and manufacturing hate for personal or political gain is evil.

Period. End. Of. Story.

Enoch. October 2021.

Feb26 0

Staring up at me from the pixilated depths of digital chaos was erstwhile tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, speaking out about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI).

What – the attentive reader may wrathfully ask – is “inappropriate usage?”

Well, let’s take a look at AI and how it is currently used – and how it might be used in the very near future.

Now, granted, it is a very, very, dumb AI and if you asked it to solve “1 + 1” you will have many electric bills to pay before you ever get an answer.

That little notice that appears on your car’s display that says your right front tire is under-inflated? AI.

The text message your security system sends you that the back door was opened at 2:12 a.m., by your now grounded daughter? AI.

It will be more than you think, until you think about it.

There is nothing wrong with this because the AI is in passive mode – simply gathering facts. No danger of Alexa or Siri ordering a pizza without being told to do so.

The next advance is to program the AI in such a way that not only does it gather data (either directly through sensory input, or indirectly by humans inputting the data), compares it against norms and standards as it ‘interprets’ the data and offers recommendations. As I write this diatribe, all those recommendations are still based on a wide range of algorithmic possibilities all created by humans – the AI simply processes the data faster and can assess more of those recommendations in various scenarios than humans.

No matter what you want to think – though – the AI still makes recommendations of future action that are wholly based on a range of options preset by the human programmers.

Humans, generally speaking and referencing them as an overall species, are not very intelligent. Truth be told, humans have made incredible progress since our cave-dwelling days by simply being average – and by letting a small percentage of gifted humans guide and direct human affairs.

What could possibly go wrong with that scenario?

The truth is, Elon Musk (and others) rightfully do not trust that average people can control the technology, nor (in his heart of hearts I believe) does he trust his fellow intelligent techies either. Getting humans to do the right thing is a job than even an AI would have trouble in executing.

I think using the word “executing” in the same sentence as “AI” is probably one of the things bugging Mr. Musk.

Anyone who studied Greek mythology knows how irrational and petty the gods actually were, and being a god does not of necessity mean you act like a god.

AI, AI, it’s off to work we go.

Jan07 0

With all the craziness going on in American society, it’s no wonder my mind did a Dobie Gray and drifted away into thoughts about violence and mayhem. Not writing it down is just killing me…

Hah.

It made me ponder our culture and the daily exposure to violent things.

Here goes something (or nothing):

Axe (deodorant)

Badass (TV series)

Bang (energy drink, game, slang for sex)

Bash (Unix shell and command language)

Belt (for pants or alcohol)

Batter (as in baseball and pancakes)

Blade (movie/comic book character)

Blast (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool)

Boom (comic book explosion, airplane, studio)

Burst (mobile video service)

Chop (stolen cars, steaks)

Chopped (a TV show)

Crack (cocaine and other things)

Crush (soft drink)

Cutter (bug spray)

Dagger (kayaks)

Destroyer (a Navy ship, rock band and comic book character)

Edge (shaving gel)

Eviscerate (Heroes of Warcraft spell)

Gash (slang term for female genitalia)

Hack (think computer)

Hammer (useful tool, fictional detective)

Hurt (awesome Trent Reznor song sung by Johnny Cash)

Impale (online game)

Impaler (Vlad)

Lance (national brand of baked goods)

Mace (the spray)

Maim (musical band)

Mangle (weird toy, laundry device)

Mangler (movie, software name)

Maul (Useful tool, sci-fi character)

Megadeth (heavy metal band)

OG (original gangster)

Pound (British money)

Pummel (online game, album title)

Ravage (wine)

Rent (something I’m late with on occasion)

Rip (pull songs from a CD or other source)

Ripped (weightlifting supplement)

Ripper (British slasher and tennis shot)

Sabre (tech company)

Scar (film character, actress nickname)

Shatter (high-potency marijuana)

Shredder (comic book character)

Slam (magazine, ball dunk, big hit in baseball)

Slash (Guns N’ Roses singer)

Slayer (heavy metal band)

Slice (soft drink and tennis shot)

Smack (heroin)

Smash (TV series and tennis shot)

Snuff (smokeless tobaccov

Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer character and volleyball shot)

Stab (surfing magazine and tennis shot)

Stiletto (a shoe, a tool company)

Stomp (musical group)

Whip (cool or otherwise)

Wreck (as in Wreck It Ralph kid’s movie)

If you have an item for the list, drop me a line at:

enoch@debrisfromthewreckage dot com

Surviving in a perfectly unperfect world.

Thnking About AI

Aliens Schmaliens

A Hateful and Hideous Task

A Dream of Love

The Hare and the Tortoise, A New Look

Growing Young

The Old Gods Are Dead, Right?

What It Means To Be Human

Dung Happens

Revelating from the John

Your Move

Margin of Error

It Is Not About Racism

Thinking about AI

Vile-lence