Ran Prieurhttp://ranprieur.com/#9a417fe513f58988c3b5b1e84cfc57397194a79b2019-09-04T16:40:33ZRan Prieurhttp://ranprieur.com/ranprieur@gmail.comSeptember 4.http://ranprieur.com/#422c89effcd81b067b6b23b72d4af73391d81e812019-09-04T16:40:33Z
September 4. Over on the subreddit, Voidgenesis makes a serious attempt to answer Monday's questions. I think the root of the problem is that humans have pushed our power so far beyond our understanding, that it's hard to even figure out the right thing to do, let alone feel like doing it.
I've been thinking a lot lately about thinking vs feeling. After my social media post, Jeff sent this video, The Science of Internet Addiction and Brainpower, which frames the prefrontal cortex (thinking and willpower) as the angel on one shoulder, and the reward circuit (doing what feels right) as the devil on the other. That's fair enough if you're trying to quit Facebook, but as a general idea, it's dangerous.
In my 20's, I went so deep into forcing myself to do stuff I didn't feel like doing, that I started having nightmares about being dragged to death. Ever since then I've been skeptical about the value of willpower, and I've been struggling to integrate feeling into my decision making.
I'm still not sure what the difference is, if any, between following your gut, following your heart, and whatever feelings push us to do obviously harmful things. If only there were an actual angel and devil, so we could just look and know which voice was right.]]>
September 2, Labor Day.http://ranprieur.com/#e26298e77b3b2fc2d0c4299c0aee06d35c3c8d012019-09-02T14:20:38Z
September 2, Labor Day. Continuing from last week, Eric comments on what the author of the intentional community piece might have meant by restless dreamer syndrome: "What that phrase conjures for me is the person who floats into a group looking for some ideal experience, then wanders off when it is time to do some heavy lifting."
The more I think about this subject, the more questions I have. Why do we have so little faith in the dominant system, that we expect a better experience from a system that's new and untested?
How can there be a scarcity of people willing to do useful work, in a species that has done such an excess of useful work that we have turned forests to deserts and destabilized the climate?
Why do small communities always have a shortage of workers, while the big economy always has a shortage of jobs?
What if a community actually succeeded in building a way of living that was clearly better? How could they avoid being violently taken out by the dominant system?
Why is there so little overlap between what we feel like doing, and what's good for us to do? Why are humans the only species in the world that has this problem?]]>