Slightly off topic, It's not clear to me that the small increase in co2, rather than an existential threat, is in fact hugely beneficial to all life on earth. I don't know that I am correct, I do know that I am being lied to about it.
Sep 6, 2022·edited Sep 6, 2022Liked by Jessica Rose
There are several questions embedded here. This is a topic far too deep and rich for a Substack comment, but here's a first-cup-of-coffee response.
First, whether our actions are consequential. That, indubitably. Your example shows this.
The deeper question is whether our actions are optional. Individually, we experience choices; we make decisions, which design the arrow of time and become part of the event record.
What if we think of this in terms of Superdeterminism? Yes, there was uncertainty experienced. But was there any real doubt from a cosmic perspective? Is it really logical to say events "could have" occurred otherwise? As they say on the streets, it is what it is.
Time being this illusion, once a choice has been made, from that perspective, this choice was always the one that was to be made. The probability wave collapsed, wasn't that the choice which was always going to be made?
Is there another universe where a different choice was made? Perhaps. But the state of our Universe is as it is, and we're being purely hypothetical when we talk about it "could have been" some other way. We don't know that. This reference to the unrealized possibilities is not, you know, real.
As a system, as humanity, though, are there really such options? Power accumulates around the economic imperatives that are not really dependent on the choices of individuals. Events and developments follow the flow of forces that lead to industrial and political decisions, and while we may feel that these are mutable, this may be an illusion.
Systemic human action is the result of a cascade of events, each leading to the next. We're where we are as the result of innovations; these were born from the mother of necessity. While we may think that these events had some potential to be different, this is, again, a hypothetical construct.
We like to imagine the world if Carthage had defeated Rome. Would that have changed history? We'd have a language tree which was Semitic rather than Latin in the area. We might find ourselves struggling under a cult of paganism rather than the monotheopoly. Tripoli might be a holy city. Qaddafi might rule the world. And so on.
What we see when comparing alternate history lines is that, while details might curiously emerge differently, the pattern of power and colonization has a certain inevitability. Successful empires seek to expand, because they can and must. If they have more coastline than heartland, they eventually build ships and conquer the world. This would almost certainly have had to happen out of the Mediterranean Sea, with the perfect combination of nautical development and limited land expansion opportunities.
We think and believe, as individuals, that we are making choices; but the choices we make are within the context of our culture. Literally every word of every idea is part of an equilibrium consciousness, produced collectively. Our values, however transformed by our experiences, are fundamentally received. Whatever choices we think we're making are in context, and inextricable from that context. So, it could be that "our" choices are simply the consequence of cultural forces, causing us to hold values and ideas that we experience as uniquely our own, but which were inevitable.
This doesn't mean free will doesn't exist; but it may be an illusion. You may be making choices; but did you choose to be the person you are? When you make a choice, perhaps to change some habit, is that an independent variable, or is it yet another inevitable expression of the cultural values and context that leads you to make the only decision you, as a unique concrescence, are capable of making? When we make a choice, was there truly another choice we "could have" made? We may think so. But that's as far as it gets. The world record only includes the collapsed probability.
Some would take all this as fatalism, but there's no reason to reject the illusion of free will. We don't know how the choices will play out, even if the destiny was inevitable. Actors know how the play will conclude, but their characters don't. In the end, do we consider the motivation of the actor, or of the role they played? That's an illusion, too. Yet somehow more real.
Does anything we do matter? In fact, it does. A recent advance has been to understand how to get rid of POPs, which I wrote a book on. For example, we now have approximately 600 chemicals we know of, unstudied to date, and suspect there are over 1000, created by additives to the water supply that then after the use of that water enter the ecosystem as waste water where sunlight alters their composition to completely new chemicals never seen before. the fact the science has technically developed a method to rid the earth of POPs is somewhat comforting but the actual implementation of those procedures is likely a decade away.
Another book I published, Food Drugs, 1700 pages, 43 chapters, describing over 100 drugs, classified by the FDA as drugs, are in the food supply. Thus we see, especially in the minority communities, people that look like basketballs ready to explode. Examining 1930-1950s images of NYC it's quite easy to see, no one was overweight. Here's an example of numerous images from that era and obesity did not exist and morbid obesity was unheard of. POPs are the cause along with Food Additives.
From my perspective, EVERYTHING we do matters, without getting into the construct of "matter" and "energy"in particular. I just noticed a post below confirming that forever chemicals are, in fact, now being permanently destroyed or more accurately we have the means to do so. Whether we are or not I can't say although the process of collecting them may be prohibitive.
Yet what YOU and each of us do is critical and matters right now in this instant more than anything any of us have ever down before. We're living in a time where what we do, each of us here, will matter for decades ahead.
I’ve been bothered by many of our technological “advances” but could not put my finger on why they bothered me so. It is the (assumedly) unintended consequences.
What if I were to answer your question regarding whether anything matters with "it depends"? What are the consequences of our actions? And are they inescapable once we have "done something"? It seems we as humans work so hard to avoid consequences, with some broaching moral boundaries. Who are we to short circuit or try to escape the consequences, or worse, transfer them to others?
As for matter... the organizing of it is a god-like power, depending on the complexity of the creation. And yet, we don't know how to avoid the consequences of those creations.
And then the question becomes, "Should we create those creations?" We rarely think about the consequences of our creations until they affect us adversely.
I'll leave these as an exercise for the reader. :-)
It seems to me that absolutely everything we do matters, probably more than we can even begin to imagine or comprehend. When I say "everything we do" I include everything, including how we use our psyche, or mind.
Much like most come to the question at some point "Why Am I Here" or "What Is This Really" etc. we forget or cover-over the special innocent knowledge, almost magical intuitiveness we had as a child.
Yes, this all matters as is all matter is connected. Getting back to that child-like knowledge should be encouraged with the added benefit of time / growth. If we are heartfully seeking knowledge, we will find it. Sifting out truth from distraction and diversion from REALITY is where many of us go off the rails. AND, to any that debate REALITY, there is only ONE. If not, it couldn't be at all. It's another big topic that gets very convoluted, purposely for this or that reason, but it's simple in the sum.
Slightly off topic, It's not clear to me that the small increase in co2, rather than an existential threat, is in fact hugely beneficial to all life on earth. I don't know that I am correct, I do know that I am being lied to about it.
What you are doing matters. A lot. Thank you.
There are several questions embedded here. This is a topic far too deep and rich for a Substack comment, but here's a first-cup-of-coffee response.
First, whether our actions are consequential. That, indubitably. Your example shows this.
The deeper question is whether our actions are optional. Individually, we experience choices; we make decisions, which design the arrow of time and become part of the event record.
What if we think of this in terms of Superdeterminism? Yes, there was uncertainty experienced. But was there any real doubt from a cosmic perspective? Is it really logical to say events "could have" occurred otherwise? As they say on the streets, it is what it is.
Time being this illusion, once a choice has been made, from that perspective, this choice was always the one that was to be made. The probability wave collapsed, wasn't that the choice which was always going to be made?
Is there another universe where a different choice was made? Perhaps. But the state of our Universe is as it is, and we're being purely hypothetical when we talk about it "could have been" some other way. We don't know that. This reference to the unrealized possibilities is not, you know, real.
As a system, as humanity, though, are there really such options? Power accumulates around the economic imperatives that are not really dependent on the choices of individuals. Events and developments follow the flow of forces that lead to industrial and political decisions, and while we may feel that these are mutable, this may be an illusion.
Systemic human action is the result of a cascade of events, each leading to the next. We're where we are as the result of innovations; these were born from the mother of necessity. While we may think that these events had some potential to be different, this is, again, a hypothetical construct.
We like to imagine the world if Carthage had defeated Rome. Would that have changed history? We'd have a language tree which was Semitic rather than Latin in the area. We might find ourselves struggling under a cult of paganism rather than the monotheopoly. Tripoli might be a holy city. Qaddafi might rule the world. And so on.
What we see when comparing alternate history lines is that, while details might curiously emerge differently, the pattern of power and colonization has a certain inevitability. Successful empires seek to expand, because they can and must. If they have more coastline than heartland, they eventually build ships and conquer the world. This would almost certainly have had to happen out of the Mediterranean Sea, with the perfect combination of nautical development and limited land expansion opportunities.
We think and believe, as individuals, that we are making choices; but the choices we make are within the context of our culture. Literally every word of every idea is part of an equilibrium consciousness, produced collectively. Our values, however transformed by our experiences, are fundamentally received. Whatever choices we think we're making are in context, and inextricable from that context. So, it could be that "our" choices are simply the consequence of cultural forces, causing us to hold values and ideas that we experience as uniquely our own, but which were inevitable.
This doesn't mean free will doesn't exist; but it may be an illusion. You may be making choices; but did you choose to be the person you are? When you make a choice, perhaps to change some habit, is that an independent variable, or is it yet another inevitable expression of the cultural values and context that leads you to make the only decision you, as a unique concrescence, are capable of making? When we make a choice, was there truly another choice we "could have" made? We may think so. But that's as far as it gets. The world record only includes the collapsed probability.
Some would take all this as fatalism, but there's no reason to reject the illusion of free will. We don't know how the choices will play out, even if the destiny was inevitable. Actors know how the play will conclude, but their characters don't. In the end, do we consider the motivation of the actor, or of the role they played? That's an illusion, too. Yet somehow more real.
Does anything we do matter? In fact, it does. A recent advance has been to understand how to get rid of POPs, which I wrote a book on. For example, we now have approximately 600 chemicals we know of, unstudied to date, and suspect there are over 1000, created by additives to the water supply that then after the use of that water enter the ecosystem as waste water where sunlight alters their composition to completely new chemicals never seen before. the fact the science has technically developed a method to rid the earth of POPs is somewhat comforting but the actual implementation of those procedures is likely a decade away.
Another book I published, Food Drugs, 1700 pages, 43 chapters, describing over 100 drugs, classified by the FDA as drugs, are in the food supply. Thus we see, especially in the minority communities, people that look like basketballs ready to explode. Examining 1930-1950s images of NYC it's quite easy to see, no one was overweight. Here's an example of numerous images from that era and obesity did not exist and morbid obesity was unheard of. POPs are the cause along with Food Additives.
From my perspective, EVERYTHING we do matters, without getting into the construct of "matter" and "energy"in particular. I just noticed a post below confirming that forever chemicals are, in fact, now being permanently destroyed or more accurately we have the means to do so. Whether we are or not I can't say although the process of collecting them may be prohibitive.
Yet what YOU and each of us do is critical and matters right now in this instant more than anything any of us have ever down before. We're living in a time where what we do, each of us here, will matter for decades ahead.
"Right at the corner of Vortex Street
And Enigma Avenue
Squatters blew up the Utopia Suite
So we’re booked in room Catch-22
Now is tomorrow with a backspin twist
And you’d better believe nothing unreal exists
Oh, I swear we’re halfway there
Down roundabout halls and endless stairs
Got to think around the box
To navigate this place
No vacancy in the Hotel Paradox
But we never run out of space
And we’re halfway there
Always halfway
Halfway there
The front desk has already checked out
The pool full of atmosphere
The marquee is powered by doubt
For if you knew, you wouldn’t be here
If you have to ask, the answer is know
‘Cause we ran out of answers ages ago
Oh, I swear we’re halfway there
Down roundabout halls and endless stairs
Got to think around the box
To navigate this place
No vacancy in the Hotel Paradox
But we never run out of space
And we’re halfway there
Always halfway
Halfway there
The time has come, the walrus said
To vacuum the upstairs ceiling
Time to lie in an unmade bed
And watch the paint a-peelin’
Well, nobody asked if you wanted to be
So free will’s an illusion if you ask me
Oh, I swear we’re halfway there
Down roundabout halls and endless stairs
Got to think around the box
To navigate this place
No vacancy in the Hotel Paradox
But we never run out of space
And we’re halfway there
Always halfway
Halfway there"
https://www.airliftunderground.com/airlift/hotel-paradox/
Each day I choose pro life attitude in all things, more creation/life less destroying/death…my ‘energy’ can change the room….all to JC
I believe in the unity and connectedness of everything in the universe. The trillions of equations that manifest themselves as reality are constantly being altered by what we do. I have given my readers this, to explain why “everything matters”. “Changing the World One Good Deed at a Time”. https://lawrencebutts.substack.com/p/changing-the-world-one-good-deed?r=gjogf&s=w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct
Every action each one of us makes is a choice as to which universe we're going to live in.
A thought of love, when one makes it happen, becomes “a thing” that instantly reaches the whole universe.
You always "jump start" my desire to reach beyond assumptions, Thanks JP
I’ve been bothered by many of our technological “advances” but could not put my finger on why they bothered me so. It is the (assumedly) unintended consequences.
What if I were to answer your question regarding whether anything matters with "it depends"? What are the consequences of our actions? And are they inescapable once we have "done something"? It seems we as humans work so hard to avoid consequences, with some broaching moral boundaries. Who are we to short circuit or try to escape the consequences, or worse, transfer them to others?
As for matter... the organizing of it is a god-like power, depending on the complexity of the creation. And yet, we don't know how to avoid the consequences of those creations.
And then the question becomes, "Should we create those creations?" We rarely think about the consequences of our creations until they affect us adversely.
I'll leave these as an exercise for the reader. :-)
Brilliant and profound. Thank you, Jessica.
It seems to me that absolutely everything we do matters, probably more than we can even begin to imagine or comprehend. When I say "everything we do" I include everything, including how we use our psyche, or mind.
Ionic transfer across synapses causes tiny energy changes…each one possibly giving off “mass”…
…then each series of synapses produces a definable series of energy releases
I appreciate your work Jessica.
A fun, lovely working brain, proved again!
Much like most come to the question at some point "Why Am I Here" or "What Is This Really" etc. we forget or cover-over the special innocent knowledge, almost magical intuitiveness we had as a child.
Yes, this all matters as is all matter is connected. Getting back to that child-like knowledge should be encouraged with the added benefit of time / growth. If we are heartfully seeking knowledge, we will find it. Sifting out truth from distraction and diversion from REALITY is where many of us go off the rails. AND, to any that debate REALITY, there is only ONE. If not, it couldn't be at all. It's another big topic that gets very convoluted, purposely for this or that reason, but it's simple in the sum.