It's good to know you 'guys' are about (sorry Moll). England have just won the Ashes - so normally I'd have been out in Manchester, forcing exiled Aussies to eat crow and cry in their beer. I'm on the wagon - so it would be no fun sober. Last time, I latched on to a particularly unfortunate Australian for a couple of hours, only to realise on the last train home he was a South African! I had the misfortune at school to play against Aussie representative sides and find it difficult not to take every available chance to exorcise the trauma! I still have a dream about stilted devils from a time in Sierra Leone - strangely the faces are not black but Australian - a strange conflation of the terror, though I was definitely more scared of the Aussie rugby players (always seemingly about 2 years more matured than us). I actually don't drink that often, so I'm not going through cold turkey, but I am finding the world so difficult at the moment because I can see nothing worth arguing about - it's only fit for ridicule. Sartre once talked about a union of egoists (if they'd ever collected in one place you can be sure I'd have bombed it!) - but seriously we do seem to have failed to stop the educational jackboot stamping-out innovation. The world is much worse now than when I left school, just as Africa is much worse since Graham Green 'danced with the devil' (1935 ?) - and schools and universities are worse, perhaps because we have never known what they should be for and only copied what the rich did with them?
On 23 Aug, 23:51, facilitator <[email protected]> wrote: > A simple "Common Enemy" will do. I have understood this from past > histories of those who would "rally the troops" to a new era. > Perhaps, if we can pick an enemy who is not part of any human > grouping, we might ascend to a more amicable world. > > On Aug 23, 11:28 am, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > It's rough when one is a scholastic non conformist, arch, it doesn't > > go over well in academia land. Knowledge is power and mobility, of > > course that may be simply mind over matter, does the mind overrule > > what matters? We can suffer consequence by misunderstanding a > > directive, we can take a warning and view it as such or see it as an > > issued taboo, fiat. The whole of it all for me is illusory so I just > > view every instance in life as a calling to gather knowledge without > > some transcendental attachment or consequence. > > The world as you say does not function on the knowledge base but > > manipulation for an end result regardless of the methodology. Though > > the knowledge is there, as existing only, it get's over looked because > > it interferes with the goal, it exposes ethics and morality and that's > > a no no. I'm often amazed how in politics, as excuses for maladies > > seem to stem from gross ignorance, each passes the basket over to the > > next ignorant official. If knowledge is of use it is in the knowledge > > that the masses are ignorant and truth can be refracted to create the > > illusion of truth, very useful tool to ply the gullible. This is when > > laws become the obstacle for learning as they present a dictum to be > > followed without consideration, they simply state "do this like > > this". Of course there are those who see through the veil of bull > > crap, establish the knowledgeable challenge and initiate "war". One's > > truth is a lie to the other. > > I think the problem with 101 is that it comes too little too late. We > > nurture our young into a world of spin to the point of dizzying > > befuddlement then tell them that they need to learn in order to not be > > taken advantage of by the unethical, unscrupulous predations of the > > rule. Sure we could start it out in early youth but that would, in > > our P.C. world be construed as indoctrination. Education standards > > have plummeted when in fact they should be fine tuned and at the > > pinnacle of world class. Knowledge is not advantageous to the rule > > and so they've crippled it, put blinders on the educators and > > established the law of non-knowledge. It's all about basic function, > > abc, 123 with a little Spin (oza). > > > On Aug 23, 9:13 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I must admit I can't hack university study - something of an admission > > > since I teach the stuff. I'm not good at thinking the way others want > > > me to. However, I still broadly agree knowledge is useful and not > > > having it generally dangerous. Much could be debated here. I'll > > > chicken out a bit and put forward 'double aspect theory'. > > > This claims that mental and physical systems are really both > > > properties of a deeper reality which itself is neither mental nor > > > physical. Its most famous advocate in the West was Baruch Spinoza > > > (1632 - 77). Mind and matter are aspects of the same thing - 'god'. > > > Mind and matter may be rather similar kinds of entities, one > > > transmitting and the other receiving (Hume). All talk of mind and > > > matter can be reduced (Russell) to 'events' which are not > > > instrinsically either. Vam could no doubt point to a much longer > > > 'Eastern' history of all this than I am capable of. The scientific > > > account of the physical world is quite unlike the common sense > > > version. > > > > Such considerations are all very well, but we live in a world that > > > does not respect knowledge much. This is a world of bent politicians > > > and all kinds of ways of influencing situations other than through > > > truth and open demonstration. Deception is everywhere, not least > > > amongst those claiming to tell us the truth. The species that > > > uniformly claims to want peace is always at war in history. One could > > > say we have a 'Barbarian Temperament', yet our history is so bad we > > > only now have the dawning glimmer that the 'Barbarians' were usually > > > more peaceful. poetic, artistic and decent than those who delivered > > > our history to us (Chaz was really good on this and I miss him in > > > here). As I write, Ponting (the greatest postwar Aussie batter) is > > > run out - I am easily distracted by trivia. Now Michael Clarke is run > > > out with a fluke - a decision only giveable through modern > > > technology. Test Match Special can set you free! > > > > These cricket events are happening 'live as I write' (I do know to > > > most they are as interesting as something better wiped off the bottom > > > of a shoe - I imagine Gabby being so enthralled as to contemplate > > > suicide as preferable to reading on!) - I am genuinely lifted by this > > > obvious nonsense. My friend Vam might well lift a metaphorical glass > > > to celebrate his friend's delight, barely concealing how much sweeter > > > the future revenge over this motley crew of 'born abroad' "Englishmen" > > > will be in a later Indian Summer. > > > > My point, not argued, is that we need some kind of 101 of living, not > > > philosophy. I would turn the technology of being able to stage events > > > to peace, to mobilise a peace that turns what is war to the trivia of > > > cricket, knitting - something that makes the swell of pride a residual > > > organ of an entertainment of a long lost history we can laugh at in > > > all seriousness. Even the human appendix is now known to have modern > > > use ('good bacteria' hide in there when we are ill). My 101 would > > > contain questions about how we can form polls of peace and plenty that > > > cannot be stolen by a few idiots with guns. In this sense, I feel > > > education is failing us as our young skip to school.- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
