Rambling sheer-post
Okay. So, over the last few months, a lot of you have heard me talking about what the universe ‘should’ be like. This is actually in direct violation of one of the things I’ve been trying to take some guidence from (Smart Recovery) but I feel sort of strongly that I should (there’s that word again ;-)) try to figure out what I think Utopia for Sheer looks like so I’ll have some idea when I’ve arrived, assuming I ever get there.
I don’t know if I’ve already done so or not, but I’m sure if I have, my views have changed, so I’m going to enumerate what my latest version of it looks like here.
First of all, a system of file permissions – including blocks on individual actions and grouped blocks on types of actions, which can be applied to individuals or groups. In other words, I can set it so people I don’t know can’t shoot me – or even so people I don’t know can’t communicate with me at all in any way. Or so that some particular person I do know can’t hit me. Or whatever. Protection from each other should be a natural law, like the law of gravity.
In one version of this, if you shoot me, you see me shot but I don’t see myself being shot, and our realities are divergant – tools would need to exist to help bring back togeather divergent realities. In another version – probably more practical to impliment – attempts to violate the file permissions of the universe just result in error messages.
Second of all, nearly limitless resources for all. Yes, that’s right, I think we all should be wealthy beyond our wildest dreams without needing to work for it. I think no life form should ever fear for hunger, or shelter, or physical safety. This isn’t saying that I don’t think we should be able to work, or that I don’t think there will be many worthwhile things to do. Just that I don’t think lack of will to work should result in any threat or danger to the non-worker.
Third of all, a better understanding of how to make human relationships work. I think that there should be a manual given to every child that explains what we know so far about how to live together as friends, and how to make love relationships work. Heinlien suggested in Stranger in a Strange Land that the problem is the language we are currently using isn’t well shaped to this task, and I think that’s one of many possible avenues that should be explored. I’d like to see a fair chunk of resources put into the task of writing such a book – I realize that we have more pressing concerns, like energy and war and whatnot, but I think that our lack of knowing how to be human without hurting each other costs us considerably in how far we get in achiving our other goals, and I think that a ‘work-smarter-not-harder’ approach might be to figure out human relationships and how to make them work without making us unhappy sooner rather than later.
Fourth of all, a lack of coercion. I would not want to force anyone to live in my utopia, and I’d like to think that no one would want to force me to live in theirs. It should be possible to build a universe where it’s not necessary to punish children for anything, because they can’t do anything truly dangerous and they will learn that hurting other people isn’t good on their own. Of course, it’s not like I’m raising a child so I’m really not in much of a position to talk, but I do feel like a lot of the things we do to our children are horrible. I really question whether any person – of any sort, be it diety, human, cat, etc – should have any authority over any other person.
I know I certainly keep abusing my power with my cat by picking him up and hugging him when he doesn’t want hugged. And I feel guilty about it, and I’m working on stopping, but if I abuse power – after thinking so much about how bad power is and how bad abuse of it is – who can we trust?
August 1st, 2008 at 9:14 am
Did I mention my plan? Being a bit of a pragmatist and knowing that we can’t quite make (literally) the universe what we want it makes sense to me to find ways to bring everyone to a simple, elegant understanding enough that it the probability of creating something Utopian is very high.
One term: Overview Effect.
Execution: Through everyone in a space-ship (any of a number of simple machines we have today and are building for tomorrow) and let them sit out in a distant orbit from earth for like 10 hours. Maybe not so long, but as long as possible. Preferably including a field trip in the form of a space walk.
If everyone could be given a chance to experience the heightened sense of connection, oneness and understanding of the universe that results from the overview effect I’d bet my life everything would change rapidly.
If everyone saw us all as connected and a part of the nature of the entire universe and could feel, deep in their gut, how trivial all the little things in life are and what a grand opportunity life really is?
Things like rules & permissions and guidelines would rapidly become irrelevant as (like Marcus Aurelius said) people would realize that we are all part of each other and to work against each other or hurt each other is to hurt or impede ourselves.
Yes, expensive and somewhat dangerous. We aren’t born with any guarantee of safety. That’s the nature of the universe. I for one accept nature, just not the nature of humanity… which now I suspect could actually be changed and would expect only one thing out of each and every other human; that they accept that life isn’t safe and do just this one thing if not for themselves but for all of humanity past & present in the interest of finding and exploiting the best potential of us all.
I think it’s an even better plan than one of my favorite minds of all time who said;
“I’m gonna share with you a vision that I had, cause I love you. And you feel it. You know all that money we spend on nuclear weapons and defense each year, trillions of dollars, correct? Instead — just play with this — if we spent that money feeding and clothing the poor of the world — and it would pay for it many times over, not one human being excluded — we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever in peace. Thank you very much. You’ve been great, I hope you enjoyed it.”
–Bill Hicks (link to the best 3 minutes on all of youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q95kX_EP2Nk)
On the overview effect (Excerpt): And then, without warning: an overwhelming feeing of bliss, timelessness, connected-ness… He suddenly and deeply felt the understanding of his constituent atoms as having been born in the fires of ancient supernovas. He saw Earth and it’s people and all it’s other species and systems as a unified integrated synergistic whole. He felt good; ecstatic actually… (http://www.livescience.com/blogs/2007/07/19/overview-effect-goes-viral/)
Funny enough, I’ve been trying to figure out of there might be a way to make this happen for awhile now. Seems someone else has had a similar idea. (http://www.overviewinstitute.org/declaration.htm)