"Cultural evolution is about overcoming human nature. Or rather, it is about encouraging certain aspects of human nature and suppressing other aspects of human nature. Without civilization, humans tend to organize into small, slightly polygynous groups that fight each other over women and resources. Civilizations evolved because they could form bigger and more efficient armies … Continue reading Cutting Concepts: Status, Relationships, Society and Civilizations.
Tag: civilization
A Cyclic Theory Of Subcultures
"During Involution phase, many counterelites are trying to slice off adherents and resources at the same time. Some people even become meta-counter-elites, complaining that the counterelites themselves have strayed from the true principles, etc. The actual elites realize their status is also precarious, and some of them side with the counterelites in order to get … Continue reading A Cyclic Theory Of Subcultures
The Library of the Great Silence
"Founded on the principle that knowledge about catastrophic risks and strategies of survival are of universal interest – and that all beings throughout the cosmos want to thrive for as long as possible – the Library of the Great Silence will invite beings throughout the universe to collaboratively research planetary futures. At the core of … Continue reading The Library of the Great Silence
Nothing to Learn, Here
"As one of my friends from a not-rich part of East Asia says: "Students from my country come to the U.S. these days. They see dirty cities, lousy infrastructure, and the political clown show on TV, and an insular people clinging to their guns and their gods who boast about how they are the greatest … Continue reading Nothing to Learn, Here
The Vulnerable World Hypothesis
"Scientific and technological progress might change people’s capabilities or incentives in ways that would destabilize civilization. For example, advances in DIY biohacking tools might make it easy for anybody with basic training in biology to kill millions; novel military technologies could trigger arms races in which whoever strikes first has a decisive advantage; or some … Continue reading The Vulnerable World Hypothesis
Civilization
Each issue of Civilization is sixteen pages of text, large as an old style newspaper with columns. I was sold after seeing "The New York Times is So Fucking Dumb" at the top of the third issue.
Amazon & The Cultural Landscape of Books
The small print publisher 404 Ink's discussion of their finances, particularly the portion on the cost to small press publishers to have their books sold via Amazon, is a bit of an eye-opener. On some level, I was aware that the discounts that Amazon is able to offer on books had to be squeezed from … Continue reading Amazon & The Cultural Landscape of Books
Conquering Evil
"Evil can not be conquered within this world. It can only be resisted in oneself."Kung Fu (television series), Master PoThe world is full of people that look at the world they live in and see evil all around them. It's easy to point to outliers, such as Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a., the Unabomber, to illustrate the … Continue reading Conquering Evil
Civilization is Savage
"In speeches, Glied seemed to urge his audiences to embrace the qualities of empathy and independent-mindedness and to reject a world view that emphasizes superficial differences between people over their shared humanity. This is not always easy, argues Waller, given that humans have evolved to be tribal. Xenophobia, ethnocentrism, and the desire for one’s group … Continue reading Civilization is Savage
The Unlikely New Generation of Unabomber Acolytes
"What is bad about an article like the one I expect you to write is that it may help make the anti-tech movement into another part of the spectacle (along with Trump, the ‘metoo movement,’ neo-Nazis, antifa, etc.) that keeps people entertained and therefore thoughtless." —Ted Kaczynski quoted in John H. Richardson, "Children of Ted." … Continue reading The Unlikely New Generation of Unabomber Acolytes
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