Life is beautiful and horrific. I try to avoid the horrific parts to preserve my innocence.
Unlike my mother, I'm not a worrier. I'd tell her not to worry, to no avail.
Nate Hagens strikes me as a worrier. Are we not fortunate to have people like him?
Life always ends in death. So regardless of external circumstances, just let it ride. Don't sweat the small stuff, don't sweat the big stuff. Just ride that tiger.
Thanks Erik. This is a great summation. Since arriving at a similar understanding to yours about our hopeless situation and the reality of the predicaments we face, I began to ask the same "What should we do?" questions. But then I got into an exploration of the issue of free will, and since then, I have stopped asking those questions and stopped proffering advice.
I think many of your readers (and mine) have been conditioned in such a way all our lives that we are predisposed to do precisely the things you suggest (including spending time in nature, and looking at our predicaments philosophically and somewhat stoically etc). But I've concluded that we have had absolutely no choice in what we have done and not done, and going forward we will have absolutely no choice in what we will and won't do. It's strictly a function of our conditioning, over which we have no control.
So every time I read "we can choose..." in writings about collapse, I now shake my head and say "actually, we can't". Robert Sapolsky's latest book is just the latest scientific nail in the coffin of the myth of free will. Beyond "what should we do?" there is only a chasm. It becomes a moot question. There is not even a choice about simple "acceptance" of the inevitability of an awful collapse. Depending on our conditioning, some of us will accept it, and others never will.
Still, life is astonishing, and witnessing the collapse, and what comes after it, is going to be fascinating. Delighted to have you as a fellow chronicler of TEOTWAWKI.
Thanks, Dave. I agree on all counts. Still, I am constantly asked that question, so I decided to provide yet another version (slightly updated) for those who still think they have a choice.
Although I'm not big into "hope," I do find solace in the coming energy decline.
Energy-rich environments foster competition, as you note, while energy-poor environments foster cooperation.
Life is beautiful and horrific. I try to avoid the horrific parts to preserve my innocence.
Unlike my mother, I'm not a worrier. I'd tell her not to worry, to no avail.
Nate Hagens strikes me as a worrier. Are we not fortunate to have people like him?
Life always ends in death. So regardless of external circumstances, just let it ride. Don't sweat the small stuff, don't sweat the big stuff. Just ride that tiger.
Thanks Erik. This is a great summation. Since arriving at a similar understanding to yours about our hopeless situation and the reality of the predicaments we face, I began to ask the same "What should we do?" questions. But then I got into an exploration of the issue of free will, and since then, I have stopped asking those questions and stopped proffering advice.
I think many of your readers (and mine) have been conditioned in such a way all our lives that we are predisposed to do precisely the things you suggest (including spending time in nature, and looking at our predicaments philosophically and somewhat stoically etc). But I've concluded that we have had absolutely no choice in what we have done and not done, and going forward we will have absolutely no choice in what we will and won't do. It's strictly a function of our conditioning, over which we have no control.
So every time I read "we can choose..." in writings about collapse, I now shake my head and say "actually, we can't". Robert Sapolsky's latest book is just the latest scientific nail in the coffin of the myth of free will. Beyond "what should we do?" there is only a chasm. It becomes a moot question. There is not even a choice about simple "acceptance" of the inevitability of an awful collapse. Depending on our conditioning, some of us will accept it, and others never will.
Still, life is astonishing, and witnessing the collapse, and what comes after it, is going to be fascinating. Delighted to have you as a fellow chronicler of TEOTWAWKI.
Thanks, Dave. I agree on all counts. Still, I am constantly asked that question, so I decided to provide yet another version (slightly updated) for those who still think they have a choice.
I explore our lack of agency and free will in this article: https://problemspredicamentsandtechnology.blogspot.com/2024/01/how-intractable-is-our-lack-of-agency.html