I have been enjoying listening to Jordan Hall of late, even though I sometimes can't follow him. I may have mentioned before that he is a tech entrepreneur who has been involved for many years in discussions of the metacrisis. More recently, perhaps to his surprise, he ended up converting to Christianity after trying out a lot of other religions and spiritual practices. His knowledge spans many domains and seems to draw on both software design and systems thinking. Here he and is conversation partner take a 30,000-foot view of what is unfolding.
Here are the topics covered:
The End of Neoliberalism
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
The End of Post-WWII American Hegemony
The (5th Generation) Civil War
The Rise of AI
As well as weave in a sixth frame:
The Return of the Transcendent
Hi everyone, I haven't been active in Solid Ground for a while, but I am still alive and kicking! I now work as personal assistant to a mind-bendingly weird and diva-esque artist-lip-syncher-performer named Fiona Blueberry. She is blissfully clueless about politics and seems to be completely unaware of the culture wars. Working with her is a breath of fresh air. If you need a mood lift, I encourage you to watch this video we made together. Happy 4th, everyone! Wishing you fun/love/peace on this holiday. :) www.fionablueberry.com
Our very own @YayRain (after having imbibed some golden nectar), shares with us yet one more problem with CRT....
After finishing C.S. Lewis's THE ABOLITION OF MAN, I immediately started again. The good news is that the book is very short, and that the second read is a revelation (at least for this reader). I've repeatedly resisted sharing excerpts w the group, but this time, I can't resist. (I'm repeatedly staggered by how prescient a group of early to mid-twentieth century writers were about what was coming, Lewis among them.)
This excerpt is from "The Abolition of Man" essay; p. 59 of THE ABOLITION OF MAN collection, in my edition. Four paragraphs; emphasis Lewis's:
"I am only making clear what Man's conquest of Nature really means and especially that final stage in the conquest, which, perhaps, is not far off. The final stage is come when Man by eugenics, by pre-natal conditioning, and by an education and propaganda based on a perfect applied psychology, has obtained full control over himself. Human nature will be the last part of Nature to surrender to Man. The battle will then be won. We ...
Tumwater (WA) High School students walked out today in support of boys playing in girls’ sports and gathered at the Mark Twain statue across the street from my office. I would seriously love to know what Mark Twain would have said about this.
