Here is a new place for me for to rant on about stuf. I will probably offend someone. Sorry.

Or rather, you can kiss my ass if you don't appreciate the value of being offended occasionally. Its good for you.

Alternatively, you may choose to scoff or laugh at my pretense and how I seem to be overly impressed with myself. You might be justified. Laugh on. Just don't expect me to remember you when the Arcturians come to pick me up and take me to the party.

Send responses to erik@cynthian.com. They might get posted here. Or not.

Erik Rants - May 28, 2004

Remember this... in twenty years, when a giant Artificial Intelligence intervenes in our affairs and offers suggestions as to how to balance the instabilities in our eco-socio-political systems, be wary of its motives, but do not be closed-minded when it suggests that the population should be reduced by seventy five percent for Optimal Terran Ecosystem conditions. Because it will simply be implying that we should migrate the extra ten billion people to off-world colonies. After they are given significant physical and mental upgrades, of course.
Then we can all live happily ever after gadding about the universe in elegantly crafted bodies that have not had the possiblity of receiving a hummer engineered out of them.

Or we are just being raised as food for aliens.

D responds with questions December 3, 2004

so, tell me erik, if the culmination of our evolution on this meager little rock will peak at an opportunity to leave it behind with artificial elements implanted into our wonderful hummer-receiving units, did we truly accomplish anything? are we simply running from our own inability to D E A L on a mass level? we create and procreate to such an extent that we are arrogant enough to think that the rest of the universe needs be converted and polluted with our own wounded ways, festering minds and righteous(?) narrow perspectives? where's the humility? it's pure domination on a grander scale . . fun. i don't like it from the churches, i don't like it from bush, why would it be okay if the idea came from an alien race?

Erik responds December 3, 2004

My guess is that the illness that affects humanity will have to be rectified before any kind of exodus or diaspora. It seems like the mass organism would have to be very robust in order to survive and adapt to the requirements of a new environment, i.e. space travel or colonization.
By way of example: an individual who is calm, focused, and healthy probably has a better chance of perceiving opportunities that lead to positive growth not only for the individual, but also for the community and environment the individual lives in, which in turn benefits the individual.
Contrarily, individuals (or mass-organisms) with disease (or maybe just shortsightedness) seem to make decisions only in reaction to pain, which tends to generate short-term solutions, with no remediation for the cause of the pain.
I suppose I am suggesting that an evolutionary leap would have to occur before humanity could leave the gravity well of Earth and thrive in other parts of the solar system or galaxy. And, that the leap would probably involve a general upgrade of awareness, which would probably lead to a more holistic (whole-istic) understanding of the physics of life and the universe.
It seems like life systems are generally self correcting, which implies that humanity will heal itself and its relationship with its environment. Humanity's numbers might have to decrease in order to restore balance. But maybe not.
Viruses and cancers convert human cells to satisfy their own requirements. It follows that those cells might be able to be reclaimed.
To return to the analogy of the mass organism, individuals who act with only their own interests in mind, or with self-interest that is detrimental to others, might be seen as cancers. For the individual, the current American Medical Paradigm would prescribe annihilation of the offending cell through irradiation, lasers, poison, etc. The American Military Paradigm prescribes a similar treatment for cells of the mass-organism (people). Ouch!
What a waste, if both types of disease could be remedied with a more benign treatment.
In any case, the above-mentioned paradigms do not seem sustainable. It might be said that sustainable behaviors are fuel for the engine of evolution. Unsustainable behaviors, by definition, give way to more sustainable ones.
Alternative paradigms exist and probably just need better marketing plans. :-)

Erik Rants - Novemeber 28, 2004.

Consider the possibility that there are multiple cultural mass psyches that act and interact similarly to individuals.  Would these theoretical meme-like entities tend to be as neurotic as individuals?  Would they exhibit similar social behavior?  Would they tend to manifest their shadow like people do?

For instance:

How about the Catholic Church and its derivatives.  As a whole, is the Christian meme-entity similar to a person who has grown up molested by a trusted elder and plagued by guilt and shame?  Has it acted out against the world like a person who is hiding a deep emotional wound?  Has it manifested its deepest fears like a person might?  Is the systematic enlargement of its corpus (through its policy of mandated propagation i.e. be fruitful and multiply) similar to  a person who eats to forget?

Has Islam grown in a similar way?

Is Buddhism (or Hinduism) like an intelligent, sensitive person who gets their ass kicked because they are a pussy, but then wins the day by making the bully look like a complete asshole in front of everyone?

Etc.