Comments on: Feeding at the trough of television

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:40:36 +0000

It also appears that the Internet is better for your brain than books: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/16/internet_stimulates_brain_more_than_books_study/
Which makes sense because after a long day of reading my brain gets fogged up (maybe I’m the only one).
And shouldn’t we all meditate every once in a while? My point is not that television or any other tool is bad or good, its a tool and wields judgement after it is used. Machetes are great in the garden, terrible when used by angry mobs.
Imagine how terrible our best sellers would be if a few large companies owned most of the publishing sphere.
Or how crappy food would be if a few companies produced most of the food the average american eats.
Bageant’s point can be summed up with the phrase know thy self, or at least attempt to. But many people don’t care who they are or are perfectly happy being tuned in to pop culture, I’m saying its not that much different from being tuned into alt culture.

By: Guy McPherson

Guy McPherson — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:43:43 +0000

Looks like Frank needs an account at twitter

By: Frank Mezek

Frank Mezek — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:41:15 +0000

I am contemplating my navel at the present time.

By: matt

matt — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:08:24 +0000

also, there is this noton of the ‘toxicity of knowledge’
and the error of specificity.
quote from Bageant
‘corporate media have replaced nearly all other previous forms of accumulated knowledge.
Especially the ancient forms, such as contemplation of the natural world, study and care of the soul. And I do not mean soul in the religious sense either. I mean the deeper self, the one you go to sleep with every night.’ nice!

By: Guy McPherson

Guy McPherson — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:20:16 +0000

Chris -- Well, for one thing, your brain waves actually change when you watch the opiate of the masses, which is quite unlike what happens when you read a brochure: "If you experience "mind fog" after watching television, you are not alone. Studies have shown that watching television induces low alpha waves in the human brain. Alpha waves are brainwaves between 8 to 12 HZ. and are commonly associated with relaxed meditative states as well as brain states associated with suggestibility."

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:49:53 +0000

How is television different than any other medium of communication? Before television there were movies. I am imprudent for believing Bogart was beginning a beautiful relationship. But then there was radio. Damn Orson Welles for portraying the end of the world. Perhaps we should go one step previous with newspapers? The founding fathers put out what we would consider advertisements in newspapers to get Americans to read the federalist papers, which advocated for the ratification of the new constitution. Those foolish 18th century “sheeple” Americans lured into ratifying the constitution by the media elite. I can think of one good book that is followed, to various degrees, by a billion or more people. I’ll refrain from breaking the 3rd commandment, there could be small children reading. I suggest we damn the screwdriver for not being a hammer, and the hammer for not being a tree.

By: Dear Guy

Dear Guy — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:48:46 +0000

Dear Guy –
There is a pretty good essay today on ecological ignorance as it relates to economics at the following link:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/20-6
I like the points about collapse and regeneration and the example of fire. Natural wildfires are part of healthy ecosystems and healthy ecosystems have different burn regimes that are appropriate to their structures and components. Our man-made systems, such as national and international economies are structured to artificially succeed despite overgrowth, decadence, and lack of fitness, such as recent bailouts of failed securities and investment institutions have displayed.
Government interventions, such as effective anti-trust regulations should be the equivalent of pruning or controlled burns that remove excess or unfit components and allow healthy regeneration to take place.
Nothing should be too big to fail. If it is too big to fail, it is too big, period. That includes empires and it surely includes investment banks.
And some really smart fellow pointed out that nature bats last.

By: matt

matt — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:52:59 +0000

‘linear narratives and other absurdities’
All politicians are slaves to special interest groups.
It would be naive to think otherwise.
Obama was seen as a saviour, and now everyone is disappointed
somewhat with his performance. This sounds a little theatrical
to me, it wont be long before he is demonised in some way.
Obama knows whats going on, seriously whats he going to do?
He is a puppet, all politicians clip their words, ethics, conscience
and thoughts. keep the party going just another quarter.
Your post Guy reminds me of Nassim Talebs ‘Black Swan’.
(I suggests you all read it, particularly the chapter
on the statisticians delusion the GIF – ‘great intellectual fraud’
- ie the bell curve).
On that note, peak oil may not be a ‘black swan’, however the ‘black swans’
will be the ‘unkown unknowns’ that create inumerable opportunities, innovations and negative consequences and descructiveness. He discusses the pricinples of uncertainty, unpredictability and randomness. He has given intellectual riguer to my fracas
with our resident poetic migratory ‘twitcher’ on the problems with prediction.
Who would of thought the price of oil would fall to $31, and hover at $50 for several
months. The auto and airline industries world wide are suffering. China and India
are going to start flogging an EV. China is spending its SWF on commodities at bargain prices – particularly on shitloads of copper since december. Who predicted that the oil price would stay so low as to affect oil production investment and infrastructure maintenance.
As Buffet says the cure for low prices is low prices, we will no doubt hit a supply
wall very soon, if the econonmy picks up – hard to imagine with the amount of debt we have.
He also suggests that the newspapers, TV and blogs (excluding this blog of course*)
are sources of unknowledge. He avoids them. Better to have an ‘unread’ section in
your personal library. He describes himself as a flaneur, and suggests
that we all should avoid/be wary of experts, financial advisors, economists, predictions and other narrative fallacies.
*What is unique about this blog, is the diversity of opinion (I try),
and Guys falilibilty, (I agree with about 90% of what he says .
the bicycle flaneur

By: Charlene

Charlene — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:30:21 +0000

“Coincidentally, I have noticed in the past few years how public libraries have become part of the process of child molding. My mother taught me to read long before I entered kindergarten, and so when I went to the library, it was to check out a book or two. Nowadays, even tiny infants are brought to the library, and they are not there to learn how to think. They are there to be entertained. Instead of being taught to read (and begin thinking and critical thinking) at an early age, little children are read to as entertainment. Singers and entertainers book rooms at the public library to sink for the children in whole rooms full of delirious consumers of “edu-tainment” and I see this affecting the mentality of children as they become adults.”
Blah. We spend a lot of time at the library ourselves, and I have to say, I’ve experienced far more diversity there than your tut-tutting would suggest. The kids, and I, have participated in classes, discussion groups, and yes even a little entertainment. Every other night we read about history and my eldest son has grown quite fond of a series of biographical books on notable philosophers, scientists, and artists.
Sure, there are plenty of idiots in the world, but good grief. There are still many good people (particularly in libraries and other areas devoted to learning) who are fighting the good fight. Granted, they are a minority (look at history–they usually are)…but they’re there nonetheless.

By: Frank Mezek

Frank Mezek — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:03:45 +0000

We have a huge great horned owl,two Harris Hawks,Mocking birds (endlessly fascinating),many coyotes,too many rabbits,many species of birds,ghekos(I need spell check)in my neighborhood.We used to get Javelinas,until some fools had to put up fences for their dogs,which kept them from coming up from the dry river bottom.The
Sonoran desert is beautiful.