2018 08 08 An Interesting Week in My Life

I wrote this in 2018. Just found it. I still like it. Trust that it will speak to something in you as well. Stay Safe! Thanks. 

2018.08.08 Interesting Week

Well, it has been an interesting week. You might call it my End of Life Crisis or something - like the mid life crisis. A confluence of things just hit me to make me pause and reflect a bit. Not a bad thing to do - probably the best response I could come up with.

These are the events:

• I took a stress test for my heart, and followed that up with a CAT Angiogram - who knew they could do these things? I am now scheduled for an angioplasty or stent or some such. End of life indeed.

• I just finished reading The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science by Will Storr. Very interesting but odd book about the problems of trying to persuade people about anything. He has some good insights though - one is that THIS IS NORMAL behavior for humans.

• I also finished reading John Shelby Spong’s book, Unbelievable: Why Neither Ancient Creeds Nor the Reformation Can Produce a Living Faith Today - which I enjoyed thoroughly. And then Jude and I listened to a recording of his final lectures at Chautauqua - which were given to us by a good friend. His comments on his legacy led me to review mine - or lack thereof! The short version - he does not think he has made much of a dent in traditional Christianity, but hope remains.

• Nicaragua has gone to blazes in a handbasket. All the work we have been helping with there for 30 years, and the non profit we started here to assist, are all up in the air, and potentially gone for good.

SO - a crisis of the limits. It all made me think, what good is all this stuff that I have been messing with for all these years. It is like it is all gone up in smoke. So, I had another chance to reflect - always a good thing - and I have recovered a bit of wisdom about life and love and such. See what you think. And if this makes you think, maybe, just maybe, there is some small hope!

Heart Problems

I now have a cardiologist! Marvelous! He is Dr. Dayuan Li - of Chinese extraction, with an MD from China and a PhD from the University of Sweden - and quite a remarkable individual. He taught me a little bit about Chinese customs with respect to education and just who pays for it - and a few things about my heart. I had been huffing and puffing up the hill at the lake - note - we own a lake place - how bad can this be? My son noticed my labored breathing, and said, “You should get a stress test.” Note, one of my sons is an MD - another positive thing. All of my kids are positive in my life - but at that moment having an MD right next to me was a pretty good thing. I have been laboring up that hill for a year or more. I thought it had to do with my cutting back my exercise routine because I fell off my bike - I FELL off my bike. Not a good thing, that.

My response, “What’s a stress test?” was met with a bit more information. I had my annual physical coming up, with another wonderful MD, with whom I have shared wisdom over the decades - and he scheduled one - “Just to be sure,” he said. The stress test is interesting. They get you all hooked up to a heart monitor, you walk uphill until your heart gets to the required rate, they pump you with some radioactive something, and watch your recovering heart in some kind of radioactivity scanner while it tries to pump blood at some accelerated rate. As my son Tom said, it’s not dangerous, but you probably don’t want to go through an airport scanner too soon after the procedure!

My family practice doc called the minute he saw the results and said, “Not terrible results, but not good either.” And he prescribed a beta blocker and nitroglycerin - just in case! Nitroglycerin! I asked, “What is that for?” His response: “That is for WHEN you have your heart attack.” What!? Got my attention. Bottom line, things are not wonderful in a small portion of my heart, and we need to look more closely. So, now I have a cardiologist.

The cardiologist looked at the stress test results and said - “We may have a problem here, but we need another test to be sure.” There is a procedure called a CTA - CT Angiogram. It’s like the angiogram where they put a little camera in your heart but they do it with a shot of dye and a bit of nitroglycerin and an external CT scanner. So I had the test, and he calls the next evening, with the news that one artery is 75% blocked, and a couple of others compromised. Do you know what statins are? So I am taking those too. Statins and beta blockers. Rats. There goes my image of my healthy self.

Here I had thought that my consistent exercise routine would protect me forever from the heart disease that both of my parents had - my mom died at 51, and my dad at 68. Well, it may have delayed things a bit, but  . . .  I have never even had an elevated cholesterol reading - but that does not cut any mustard now. 

As I was talking with the cardiologist, I asked him what I need to do to prevent this from getting worse - and he said, and I quote: “You know what you need to do - follow the mediterranean diet, fruits and vegetables and no red meat!”. Does not mince words, that fellow. I liked the exercise approach better, it is easier than controlling my diet. I even thought about doubling up on the exercise and forgetting about the diet thing - but  . . .

So, now that I have the procedure scheduled, I need to ignore those phony problems that I feel in my chest when my heart does its flip / flop thing. Crazy how our brain works. OK, so now I am reminded that I am going to die - and not too far into the future - and there is a good chance that heart disease is going to be the culprit. Fine!  Makes one think a bit.

Will Storr - The Unpersuadables

This was a very interesting book. I got into it as a referral from Amazon when I bought Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Righteous Mind, which was published in 2013. I bought both of them some time ago, but had not gotten around to reading them. Then I read Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow. Kahneman and Haidt are scientists of a sort - a psychologist and a behavioral or evolutionary sociologist / psychologist. Whatever. If you have not read those two books yet, you need to do that. I’ve written a bit about both in this blog, and they are excellent introductions to the behavioral approach to modern psychology, behavioral economics, and the like. To be clear, these are not books of their OPINIONS. These are wonderful books which talk about their EXPERIMENTS with people and groups, and how we think and operate. Kahneman kind of opened the door, but Haidt has taken things much further. 

The “fast brain” analogy that Kahneman uses refers to our “emotional” brain, our “gut” in Haidt’s world. The “slow brain” analogy is the thinking brain - where we actually do some thinking. All of the research indicates that we do 99% of responding with the FAST brain - no thinking required. We can think, but it is a lot of work, we are not very good at it, and many, many other things are going on in our brain that make it very hard to actually pay attention to what we are trying to think about. Haidt uses the analogy of the elephant - our emotional brain - and the rider on top who thinks he is controlling the elephant - our thinking brain. I tend to write things down because it helps me focus my thinking - a trick I learned. You should try it.

Storr talks about Haidt’s research a lot, but in a narrative style. He tells you a story about someone who has a firm opinion about something, and how he interviews them, and explores with them the basis for their opinion, and why they hold it, and the like. In some of his stories he talks to both sides of the coin - at considerable length. The interesting thing about the book is how much Storr intervenes to express his opinions and likes and dislikes. I found it annoying at first, but toward the end, it became quite enlightening.

Storr talks with people who travel the world speaking against evolution, and for creation. He visits with an honest to god climate scientist who denies that global warming is a problem. He interviews a noted historian who thinks that Adolf Hitler knew nothing about the holocaust or mass extermination of the Jewish population. This guy was actually sued for libel and defamation because he denied that the holocaust even happened. Storr paid good money to take part in one of his guided tours of Auschwitz. While they were standing in the gas chambers, this guy maintained that they were designed to eliminate lice. He noted that they had handles on the inside of the doors - ignoring the separate locks on the outside. 

I could go on - the book is good fun, in a perverse way. Storr’s bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with these people and their ideas. This is perfectly normal human behavior, given the research that Kahneman and Haidt have identified. These people may not be mainstream, but they are serious, they are not evil, they are normal human beings who cannot get beyond the tribal view they have of life. We are ALL in that tribal, or team view. We simply cannot step outside of it.

So, I have spent the last decade reading neuroscience and psychology, trying to figure out what is wrong with these people, and how we can possibly raise a campaign, a method, a way to persuade them about the actual truth of these things. They are NOT persuadable. Can’t be done. Your neighbor that voted for Donald Trump is not going to change their mind based on any information from any source. This is not a rational thing - this is a gut, emotional thing. The causes lie in their genetics, childhood, and emotional experiences. As Haidt points out, we have a genetic propensity to be either progressive or conservative. I know where mine comes down - where is yours? If you are mostly focused on hierarchy, authority, sacred and tradition - you are traditional. If you are focused on fairness and harm, you are likely progressive, or “liberal”. I give up!

John Shelby Spong - Unbelievable

I liked Spong’s book, and I am glad I paid him for the privilege. I can also find someone to give it to and to try to persuade them to change their mind - oh - wait - that isn’t going to work. RATS.

Spong is a retired Episcopal bishop of the progressive ilk. He is also an eminent scripture scholar. My scripture professor of long ago would have loved him. Bultman and Dibelius have nothing on him. His insight into the Bible is pretty amazing, and his grasp of the New Testament is stellar. I hold an advanced degree in this stuff, and he taught me plenty. There - I threw out my credentials - trying to persuade you again - but it will not work. RATS.

The book is a call for a “new reformation”. Let’s get rid of the middle ages approach to science and technology, and get with the program. Copernicus was right. There is nothing literal in the Bible - it is a wonderful collection of oral myths and stories that were of tremendous importance to the people when they were written down. The gospel message was cast into Greek ideas, and forged by warring controversies to come up with dogmas that fit the time - but no longer work at all. Creation is a mythical story trying to explain human values. The fall from Paradise is like every other origin story trying to explain how the all powerful deity could create a reality with so many flaws in it. The idea of salvation from some original guilt has more to do with Paul’s and Augustine’s psychological problems than anything related to the deity. The idea of personal deity that is listening and intervening is totally wishful thinking.

I have known all of this since about 1967. At that time, the deity as conceived by most religions simply did not work any more. Ground of our Being - perhaps. Source of meaning and purpose - perhaps. Universal love for humankind kind of works. My bottom line is that I CHOOSE to believe that life has meaning and purpose, and I am going to work to support human growth and development. If you want to call that FAITH, I won’t stop you. But it is a choice to me - nothing emotional about it. Or, wait,  . . . that IS my emotional need, to have meaning and purpose. So be it.

Spong’s legacy

The good bishop has tried mightily to save Christianity by moving it into the 21st century. This book was his last. His talk at Chautauqua was his last public appearance. After his final talk, one person asked him what he thought of his legacy. His simple reply, he hoped that someone would appear in the next one to two years that would carry this on, or change it, or move it further down the road. He doubted that anyone would care about his contribution in a few years. He said that the progress toward a new Christianity may take many years. 

When I look back on the biblical scholarship of the past, we have been at this a long time. Bultmann wrote in the 1930s and 1940s, exploring the mythical and historical Jesus. His scholarship and the progressive tradition have flourished, but the impact on mainstream Christianity is hard to identify. The literal interpretation of the Bible myths still reigns supreme. In spite of the Enlightenment, in spite of great scholarship, the vast majority of Christians hold beliefs that are “unbelievable”. I read John A T Robinson’s book Honest To God in 1964. Most Christians would find it problematic to this day. On the other hand, the number of Christians continues to decline precipitously. Perhaps there is hope.

Nicaragua

Our parish started a relationship with a small community in Nicaragua back in 1980 or so when my lovely wife worked at the parish. We have traveled there as a couple. I have been there nine times - studying Spanish - working with the non profit which is our liaison and support there. I lived there once for two months - trying to help organize things and improve my Spanish.  I started a non-profit to help them with fundraising and grants - the whole ball of wax. I am on the non profit board there, and the one here.

AND  . . . Nicaragua has gone to heck. The current fearless leader, the original leader of the great revolution against the dictator Somoza, has become a corrupt oligarch. He and his family are wealthy and in charge. His supporters have taken to the streets with guns to keep him in power. He has destroyed the constitutional democracy, and he is not going to leave. The police do not intervene to stop the gangs that threaten every demonstration, that shoot and kidnap people. Civil order has disappeared. It has all gone to hell in a handbasket. I have no plans to ever visit there again. I hope our friends there will survive in some form or other - but their economy has collapsed. Their outside income has disappeared. Their sense of peace and tranquility may never return. 

RATS

So, all the work to understand how humans work and think. All the effort to persuade people to vote, how to think. All the labor for the poor in Nicaragua. It’s all come down to naught! AND, I am going to die from a heart attack someday. RATS. 

Reflection

Well, that was fun. What did I learn? I learned that it is a total waste of time trying to persuade anyone of anything. I spent a lot of time trying to learn how we think, so I could persuade others. I’d like to persuade them about economics, politics, and religion. I have wisdom and insight from my 80 years of reading and studying - listen to me, darnn it. 

Not going to happen. Let it go. There is nothing wrong with those people - that is just how people are - different from you. Unpersuadable, irrational, defensive, protective, frightened of the unknown and the progressive. 

So, what is life about? What is the role of Christianity? As Spong has put it, the key thing about the Jesus experience is the same today. Paul was the earliest writer about the new Judaism, and he said it well. “When Paul tried to describe to the Galatians what was involved in his call to ‘put on Christ,’ he said that it meant that human divisions must disappear. In Christ there is no longer ‘Jew nor Greek,’ ‘slave nor free,’ ‘male nor female’.  All are ‘one in Christ Jesus’ (Gal. 3:26-29). That is what Jesus meant, and that is what the original Christ experience was. . .” 

The Jesus experience is about life and love, to experience life, to become all that you can be. Love is the power that enhances life. Love is the gift of life and consciousness. We are at our fullest when we love fully. “It is in the act of loving ‘wastefully’ that I believe I make God visible.” p. 286. I choose that life of meaning and purpose. The Christian experience is about the universal value of life and love. All of life is priceless - human life is even more so. That is the hope of monotheism - all children of the one God, all sharing the one gift of life and love. 

==============================

Post Note. I wrote ALL of the above in 1988. 

I have moved on in many areas - especially my diet and health - but this still speaks to me. Hopefully it speaks to you as well. Let me know. Thanks. 

We are all in this together, and I’m pulling for you.

The Good Life - a Book Report - For Friends!!

 The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert J. Waldinger and Marc Schulz Ph.D

I have just finished reading this exceptional book, and I would like to highly recommend it to FRIENDS.  And YOU are one of those. Thanks for that. Read on to see why. 

I spent the past decade reading about neuroscience and brains and emotions and stuff like that. I started out trying to understand why people sometimes are not doing “rational” things. I was very analytical about it. The authors of this book already know all of that stuff that I have been reading - ALL of it. And they put it to much better use than I have. But they have an extremely valuable resource which I do not have: the Harvard 80 year longitudinal study. They were all men in the beginning. They expanded it to their families and descendents. Many of the men in this study lived wonderful, happy lives. Some had major problems, psychosis, depression. They lived through the great depression and WW II and many other traumatic parts of our history. 

The authors are also a practicing psychiatrist and PhD psychologist with a world of experience with all manner of patients. They also do formal research in this field.

The book is focused on how we can use the experience of all of the people in this study, together with science from many other similar studies and research, to give ourselves the very best shot at a “good life”. A life full of meaning and purpose. A life with more joy than sorrow.

First of all they tell STORIES. Real stories of real people - most of them drawn from the Harvard study. They are great stories - they stick with you.

Then they describe the RESEARCH. This is key to me. I am not fond of authors who express their personal wisdom and opinion to the exclusion of what science has discovered about us. As it turns out, many of those old and wise authors and philosophers did understand the same things, but the scientific filter gives me a better shot at understanding and learning. It may be the way I am built. 

And they SIMPLIFY all of this to strategies to apply this wisdom in your own life. They talk about birth, death, and love. They talk about loneliness, happiness, family, friends - all of the parts of life. 

And the key, as they tell you right up front - it is all about RELATIONSHIPS. The quality of your relationships will determine the quality of your life, for emotion, happiness, health and length of life. They analyze the relationships, good and bad in the subjects of this study, and make concrete recommendations for how you can improve yours. I took several to heart. 

And there are ways to teach our children how to do this. A few schools call it SEL (Social Emotional Learning). Others call it Emotional Intelligence Training. We already teach our kids how to do Math and Science and Reading. Humans are born with that potential, but we really need formal training to learn those things. The same is true of our emotional / relational selves. We are absolutely social - but it is a learned skill, and we CAN improve it. Reading, Riting, Rithmetic and Relations. 

It is a great read - right down the last page. I learned something on almost every page. 

I am tempted to give a copy of this to everyone I love. We shall see!

Thanks. Stay Safe. You can do this.

Homecoming - a Book Report

 Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World by Rana Foroohar.

Wow. What can I say about this book to get you to read it? When I first read Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow, I felt like every page was a new, fresh insight. It is the same with this book. Every page offers a fresh insight, a new piece of information, a surprising technology, a new bit of history, a really bright idea. The basic topic is the failure of the neo-liberal globalization of the free market economy.The author is a journalist, an editor for The Financial Times.  She builds her case well. This is an excerpt from a review:

She says that for decades, the neoliberal economic philosophy of prioritizing efficiency over resilience and profits over local prosperity has produced massive inequality, persistent economic insecurity, and distrust in our institutions. Place-based economics and a wave of technological innovations now make it possible to keep operations, investment and wealth closer to home, wherever that may be. With the pendulum of history swinging back, Foroohar explores both the challenges and the possibilities of this new era, and how she says it can usher in a more equitable and prosperous future.

The problem is that by the time you are halfway through the book, you realize that the problems and potentials she describes are very complex. We humans have created an economic and political engine of extreme complexity. I am fairly bright, but most of this has simply escaped my notice over the past few decades. Given the scope of the problems, she is amazingly positive on the future prospects for change. But I am wondering just how many business leaders, economists and politicians have the capacity to grasp the scope of the problems she explains, and have the initiative to undertake these innovative efforts to move the world forward. How many would ever even pick up the book to begin to learn a little about global economic and social trends?

To encourage you to read the book, here is some of the content that impressed me.

China is the key threat to world order. China grew tremendously under the neoliberal free trade and fair exchange approach. And they took advantage of the rest of the world. The hope was that their participation in the global economy would also encourage them to adopt a more open and free society. The reverse is true. China and other parts of Asia have almost complete control of large segments of our economy, especially computer chip manufacturing, solar power, batteries, etc.. 

Xi Jinping, the current leader of China with a new lifetime office, claims to be building “a community of common destiny for all mankind” and wants Chinese-style techno authoritarianism to be copied by countries around the world. Xi has called on people with Chinese heritage anywhere on earth, no matter their citizenship, to join together as “sons and daughters of the Yellow Emperor” who are obliged to work for the “great rejuvenation” in whatever way the party deems fit.

Taiwan country controls 55% of global chip manufacturing capacity. And there is no question that China wants them back. At the same time, they are experimenting with new ways to share government participation and decision making. Ultimate transparency reigns, with all meeting agendas and minutes posted on the internet/ They use "quadratic voting" to get the general populace input on government decisions and legislation.  

U.S. Healthcare - The United States has by far the largest healthcare costs in the world—about twice the level of most other developed nations. Our healthcare system is roughly the size of the entire French economy, but we don’t have the outcomes the French do; in fact, when ranked against other rich nations in terms of things like infant mortality, maternal mortality, and health in young people, the United States comes in toward the very bottom of the list.

Digital Banking. I had pretty much written off the bitcoin craze as a tulip bubble. She seems tremendous potential for the underlying technology to revolutionize banking. 

Hockett, who has been an adviser on some of the digital currency projects just mentioned, hopes to move toward a system of “citizen central banking,” in which everyone, whether or not they have access to a traditional bank account, can have a government-administered digital wallet. “Not only would this end the problem of the ‘unbanked’—meaning people like Chaka—but it would also make the entire process of monetary policy work better,” he says. Instead of the Fed keeping rates low in such a way that allows giant companies to run up debt paying back rich shareholders, central bankers might be able to target the flow of money more specifically to where it is most needed. Essentially, we’d have the national, digital equivalent of a shoebox bank, for all citizens. And different places could have different shoeboxes,

Local economics -  Production and distribution all local. Vertical farming, 3d printed homes, "Slow Cities". 

Food as a defense industry. DARPA is working on technology to create food from air, water and microbes as a key defense move. A more resilient economy 

Education - we need to focus on the skills needed in the coming changes - not general purpose arts degrees that burden families with education loans for decades. 

Conclusion
I could go on, but I trust you get the picture. Amazing collection of information. Amazing insight into how economic and political instructions work. Very positive and hopeful that we can actually make this all work. I pray that she is right. READ the book. Thanks. 

YouTube Options
For my reading challenged friends, here are a few YouTube interviews and presentations that will give you the basic gist of her work. 

https://youtu.be/bzA1ZmqZo9c 
In her illuminating new book, HOMECOMING: The Path to Prosperity in a Post Global World, the Financial Times Global Business Columnist Rana Foroohar shares her views on why the great globalization experiment has failed and what it really means for the US and the world economy. She joins the podcast to talk about her book, the genesis of her thesis, and chronicles her career as an international journalist for some of the world's leading financial publications.  

https://youtu.be/rUxnOHcklPQ The case against big tech firms - Rana Foroohar Ways to change the world

https://youtu.be/Z6FczBh8JVM Rana Foroohar: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business 

https://youtu.be/8KTCCYHb21I  Rana Foroohar: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World - Commonwealth Club 

Earth For All: A Survival Guide for Humanity - a book report and summary

 OK - get this book. NOW. Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity  $10. 

The book has multiple authors, all scientists, researchers, Club of Rome, etc.

It is at once, the scariest book I have ever read, and the most optimistic I have read in decades. We might be able to actually do something about this mess we have created. The authors are very convincing about that - which is a good thing - because the alternative is, frankly, scary as hell. Further on, I go on a bit about what I found in the book, but the review posted at Amazon is as good as it gets, so here it is: 
------------------------------------------------------------
Earth For All is both an antidote to despair and a road map to a better future. Using powerful state-of-the-art computer modeling to explore policies likely to deliver the most good for the majority of people, a leading group of scientists and economists from around the world present five extraordinary turnarounds to achieve prosperity for all within planetary limits in a single generation. Coverage includes: 

• Results of new global modeling that indicates falling well-being and rising social tensions heighten risk of regional societal collapses
• Two alternative scenarios – Too-Little-Too-Late vs The Giant Leap – and what they mean for our collective future
• Five system-shifting steps that can upend poverty and inequality, lift up marginalized people, and transform our food and energy systems by 2050
• A clear pathway to reboot our global economic system so it works for all people and the planet.

Written in an open, accessible, and inspirational style using clear language and high impact visuals, Earth For All is a profound vision for uncertain times and a map to a better future.

This survival guide for humanity is required reading for everyone concerned about living well on a fragile planet.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For another excellent review, see:
    https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/2022/09/alternative-growth-save-humanity.

Yes, they are talking about ending poverty, ending inequality, transforming food and energy, and changing global trade and economics. They propose concrete steps to accomplish that, and they spell out the very real costs to accomplish those goals. 

And, yes, it will cost YOU something - but the price is very doable, and the ROI is immense. What it costs you is not a donation - it requires a shift in your thinking. Even if you are the wealthiest human on earth, what good does that "wealth" do if there is nothing left of the society and culture and people? Currency will not be a thing. You could put it into gold or diamonds - but those things are actually worthless trinkets if there is no social infrastructure to value them. When hundreds of millions of us need a bit of dry earth, we are not going to be polite about it. You really cannot store up enough food and water and air for a lifetime - without our help. 

Think about it a bit. 

SO; what can you do? The website has some concrete suggestions: https://www.earth4all.life/

• Invite your friends and family to join us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
• Connect with us on LinkedIn.
• Visit our “Get involved” page to know more about the actions you can take from today.  

WE can do this - but it will take a huge change by a lot of us. Think of it as an exponential growth thing - if every one of us can engage 2 more of us - that becomes a huge multiplier. 

RESOURCES

http://www.earth4all.life 

https://www.earth4all.life/take-action

https://www.facebook.com/Earth4AllInitiative

https://youtu.be/lkB3JQNuYGc

https://twitter.com/Earth4All_

https://www.instagram.com/_earth4all/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/earth4all/

Book Report: Recapture the Rapture - A very SCARY book for me

Book Report: Recapture the Rapture: Rethinking God, Sex, and Death in a World That's Lost Its Mind by Jamie Wheal.

Remarkable Book
I found this book quite remarkable - he has read everything that I have in the past 15 years or so, but where he goes with it is really new to me. The first chapters are SCARY. Things are coming apart in our world - he cites examples I have never heard. His whole purpose is to use our latest learning from neuroanthropology and cultural architecture to craft a solution to this craziness. I wish him well on that, but I am not as positive as he is on the potential outcome

In almost every chapter I asked myself whether I would recommend this book or not!  His insights are amazing. His grasp of the recent research is amazing. Watching him talk about it, he is very, very good at this. Here's a simple video that will give you a sense of that: 
    Homegrown Humans https://youtu.be/MsePXW9vh3k     

This is a TED TALK about his background and his real business:  FLOW:
https://youtu.be/WqAtG77JjdM  

The Problem with DRUGS 
Part of the problem I have is the role of psychedelics / drugs. He is not pushing it - he emphasizes that one can accomplish these humanizing experiences with just breathing and meditation. And he is very aware of the potential problems of addiction and bad experiences. That stuff really scares me. He has come to terms with them. I am just not ready to go there - my gut reaction is NO! I can feel the defenses rising in my emotions.

Meaning 3.0 and a NEW "church"
I love the idea that we might be able to raise up everyone's sense of belonging to the human race, to have empathy for others, and to work together to improve everyone's life. He does a masterful job of crafting this new kind of "social religion." He has a good handle on the history of religions, and the science about their essential elements. He understands the dangers of this - but I get the underlying fear that he is really making a killing out of all this. It feels like a much better form of "Scientology" - which is a crazy set of stuff.

The Jesus Story
BUT I think his take on Jesus is perfect - Here's a couple of quotes:

P 284 Because what is beyond doubt is that the idea of Jesus, the Jesus Meme, which includes all versions—god, man, and myth—has shaped the last two thousand years of human history more than almost any other human who has ever lived. That in itself, in all of its ambiguity, is worth a real reckoning.

P 286  Because let’s face it—Christianity has some god-awful branding problems. For the faithful, there’s still some meat on that bone. But for the unchurched, twice shy, or followers of different faiths? It’s slim pickings trying to gin up enthusiasm for a Christian revival. It would be a mistake to even try.

But it would be an even bigger mistake to scrap it entirely. The Jesus Meme has been virally replicating for two thousand years. It’s created a tremendous amount of momentum, resonance, and shared reference points recognized around the world. What sticks with me most about the story of the Nazarene has little to do with canonical scripture at all.  . . . 

The idea that a flesh-and-blood mortal could feel a burning truth inside them, and seek to share it with the world, despite the betrayal and ridicule of those they were trying to help, while having to face personal doubt, despair, and uncertainty alone? That sounded more like the human experience we all have to live through than any of the more transcendent tales I’d found elsewhere.

If you found that interesting - here's an OLD homily that I did on this topic back when I was a lay preacher. See what you think.
    https://sites.google.com/site/carlscheider/carls-papers/1988-incarnation-reflection

Bottom Line
The key to me is that the focus is on increasing our empathy, increasing the sense in all of us that we are the children of one god, that we are all of priceless value. Every single one of us. If we can somehow get that into the general consciousness, we actually have the potential to solve most of our human problems. The disparity in wealth, the absolute ego sense, that I got mine and you are not worthy of my time - that is our primary enemy. We are all doing win / lose all the time. I guess if a bit of a drug can deliver a lasting sense that "we are all in this together", I could support that. We shall see.

It is just not obvious to me how this "movement" will progress. Looking at his website, it feels more like a money making venture than a non profit. https://www.flowgenomeproject.com/ 

Help me out here - if you read the book, think with me a bit about it. 

Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari

 Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari

Introduction

If you have been following along here at all, by this time you realize that my reading and thinking has been tending more and more strongly to just how humans work. Recently that has been an excursion into neuroscience and behavioral economics. Back when I started this business, I was focused on differences in culture and how that has affected nations and their economic development. Think Guns, Germs and Steel, and the like. (Jared Diamond wrote the introduction to Harari's book.) Well, a new hero has arrived. Harari is an historian - of all things. But he is a very ‘reflective’ historian. He is as well versed in Buddhist philosophy, neurological research, economics and the latest technology as anyone I have encountered. And he THINKS about things. Like - why study history!? What does progress really mean? What is human happiness? 

I have rarely encountered a book that has made me think as much as this one. He also has a follow on volume: Homo Deus. He said as he was talking to people about this history, they always asked him to project what happens next - eventually, all of those projections ended up in the later book. It is also worth your time. He also wrote 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, which I reviewed some time ago.

https://carlscheider.blogspot.com/2018/10/21-lessons-for-21st-century-book-report_29.html

Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama highly recommended it as well - so there’s my argument from authority. See this link.  

You will also find there a wonderful summary of the book, and  a collection of key ideas , such as this one:

"In these blinks, we will explore those key elements in human history – from the development of language to the creation of money – that have made us who we are today.
In these blinks, you’ll discover:

• why farming actually made people worse off;

• why writing was invented to chase up lapsed debts; and

• why the last decades have been the most peaceful in history.”

And if all of that does not persuade you to read the book, follow along a bit more here.

Other References

If you are more of a visual and auditory person, Harari is all over YouTube with this book and his latr ones. Here is a recording of the first chapter - not sure how this works with copyright - but . . .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMuXyXh84B0

What Follows Here

I find that I retain information much better if I write about it, if I operate on it a bit, and try to get a personal insight into it. So the rest of this entry is my personal reflection on the key ideas I got from the book. This is primarily for my benefit, but you are welcome to follow along if you would like. 

The most amazing thing to me is how much Harari actually understands about the latest research into humanity, our brain, physiology and the like. I often think if we could just get the best of what we know together and present it to people simply, they would all be amazed and changed by that information. Well - in this book you have about 90% of what I think are the important new data from research, cast into the long term perspective of the history of humankind. Perfect. UM - the book was published several years ago - and things are moving on, but . . .

Other Species

We were not the first humanoids, nor even the latest. But something special about us helped us dominate the planet, and, in some fashion, eliminate all of the other humanoids. It is not clear whether we simply out populated them, or out competed for resources, or whether we actually exterminated them. Harari thinks that superiority comes from our ability to make up myths or stories, and to engage our fellows in the same myth so that we can cooperate. He calls it the “cognitive revolution”. Think of the “selfish gene”, and of Haidt’s “tribal gene’, or E.O Wilson’s social need. We also have a strong hierarchical tradition that worked well with that need for social binding.

Along the way, we have also eliminated thousands of other species, intentionally, or inadvertently. When humans arrived in Australia for the first time, the continent was populated with huge mammals of all types. None of them survived. We have far more domesticated animals now than there are wild animals left on the planet. We have many more domesticated dogs than wolves. We have tons of beef cattle, and only a few giraffes or rhinos left.

Harari makes a wonderful case for the emotional and conscious life of all of these other species. In my humble opinion, of we are ever to be really good stewards of the planet, we need to consider how to enhance the life of all of these other conscious entities. This value system might come in handy when we are faced with the superhuman beings or machines that we create, or the interstellar voyagers that are way beyond us. ALL life has value - ok? Thanks.

Religion

I’ve broken these down into categories rather than just following along in the book. It helps me to think. Harari is a Jewish non believer. But he is not anti-religion. He understands profoundly the power of the religious myths that humans have created. This is not an argument for atheism, or for or against any religion. It is an attempt to understand where we go when we run out of the “supernatural” myths that have sustained us for all of these years. We might look back on the ‘mistaken’ beliefs of animism, or medieval Christianity with some disdain. People in that myth lived their lives primarily to attain a heaven after this life. It gave them great meaning and purpose, energy and vision - enough to create great cathedrals, wondrous works of art and music, and encouraged them to slaughter millions of their fellow men who did not agree with their beliefs. He says that the primary religion today is “liberalism” - the myth that human beings matter, that every human life has value, that the pursuit of human development and freedom is worth any price.  We call this myth “human rights”, but this is another one that we have created. It is no better or worse in terms of human happiness than the medieval myths that we now look down on. 

Harari made me think my own path in this religion and belief business. I have been a non-believing, practicing Catholic for almost my entire life. My belief is not a myth, it is a choice. I choose to believe that human life has meaning and purpose. I choose to believe that I can further that life just a bit by living as a person in community with others, as a person trying to move human society so that everyone can participate to the fullest extent. I think that is the fundamental message of Jesus of Nazareth, and I am committed to helping with that. That does not mean that I think that Jesus has the only good words, or the only way to truth. He has a very good message that resonates with me, and I choose to make that part of my life’s purpose. I choose to believe that the best outcome for all humans will come from a system of belief and laws and rights that that understands that we are all interdependent, that each one of us prospers or fails with every other one of us. I choose to believe that a social system structured on that premise would give the maximum benefit to all humans, and would also be the most effective and efficient. If Harari calls that “liberalism”, so be it.

Mindfulness

The book has a wonderful summary of Buddhism as a philosophy, not a religion. I opt to call that mindfulness, just to distinguish it from any religious overtone. The key idea here is to live in the moment - to experience the life we have right now. If it is pain, or joy - live in it, think about it, experience it. The key Buddhist insight is that to avoid ALL pain, it is necessary to let go of yearning, whether that is for joy or to avoid pain. Be aware of the now - do not strive to hold on to the joy, nor to avoid the pain. Life is what life is. Be thoughtful, be aware, but do not get carried away by the current fashion, or mode, or whatever. You are the only you that you will ever be. Think, experience, decide based on your life, not on the crowd, not on the short term passion of emotion.

Global Unification

One positive note in all of this - Harari sees the LONG arc of human history as clearly pushing toward global unification. In a sense, we have already arrived there. For a multitude of reasons, we are living in one of the most peaceful periods of human history. The small skirmishes that we are currently experiencing are nothing compared to the centuries of warfare that we have waged on each other. As I write this in 2022 - several years after I read the book - it does feel like the wheels are coming off a bit.

We shall see. Stay Safe. We are all in this together, and I'm pulling for you.

Freakonomics on abortion, crime and unwanted children

 Freakonomics on abortion, crime and unwanted children

I learned a lot of things from a recent podcast, and had a very empathic experience - rare and valuable. I thought others might also enjoy the insights I learned.

Freakonomics #384 https://freakonomics.com/podcast/abortion-and-crime-revisited-update/ 

There is also a transcript, if you are more inclined to that mode of learning.

To further entice you, here is a short outline.

1. Roe V Wade was a major factor in a significant reduction in crime. Roe v Wade had a major impact on our world - reducing crime enormously. Many factors were at work in that period, but the major one was reducing the number of “unwanted children’ by the millions. Steven Levitt, professor of economics at the University of Chicago, and John Donohue, professor of law at Stanford Law School, published a research paper to prove that.

2. The original paper had a flaw. The paper was criticized for all manner of reasons. A pair of economists found that one of their tables was not correct. This led to a lot of public bashing in the press to discredit the results. The authors corrected the paper, and the result further confirmed their thesis.

3. Removal of lead in gasoline also had an impact on crime about the same time. In a totally separate effort, Jessica Wolpaw Reyes, professor of economics at Amherst College, did a research paper showing that the removal of lead from gasoline and the atmosphere had a similar effect on crime during the same period, as well as many other positive impacts. The original paper was enhanced with this data - and further confirmed the original hypothesis. 

4. The result is NOT an argument that abortion should be legal. If you believe that a fertilized egg or a fetus is a human person, taking a million of their lives every year to save the 6,000 victims of their crimes 20 years later, is simply not a good moral argument. Levitt is very clear on that and you should be too.

5. BUT  “unwanted children” is a very bad thing. It is very clear that “unwanted children” are a major problem in our society and our world. They make up the largest portion of our dangerous criminals. But even more importantly, these millions of tiny people have terrible lives. 

6. These are OUR children - and we can fix this. This is not a pipe dream. The Covid Relief Child Tax Credit was a major step in this direction. But it was not renewed in the most recent legislative compromises. The cost is very doable - the benefit to the lives of ALL of us is enormous.

7. Love your kids!  As Levitt says, the key thing he learned is that he should LOVE his children. Discipline and learning are important, but make sure they know you love them - really. That is the real bottom line.

8. Advice for Politicians: Do NOT argue with people about the morality of abortion. It just reinforces their beliefs and commitment. Instead, give us all a picture, a plan to create a world with no “unwanted children”. How can we best do that for the benefit of all of us - and especially for the benefit of those children? It is clear that we all want this outcome - but some of us have been persuaded that this is simply impossible. NOT TRUE. Some of our European friends have figured it out. Our mental “caste” view of our world seems to be in the way. We think the people on the bottom are somehow not deserving - not capable. That is simply wrong.

We can do this. Listen to the podcast. Thanks. 

We are ALL in this together, and we are counting on you.