Try a little experiment. Next few books you read, make a note on each page that is relevant. Any way to indicate this that is easy to jot down. Little Xs in the margins, notation at the top of the page, symbols, whatever. But you will probably be surprised at how often the future is referred to in ordinary "discourse." When we get to Podunk we plan to..... Snerdley said he hopes to see Tahiti next year.... One consequence of the new regulations will be..... My budget for the coming month allows me to.... A good strategy for making the best use of the clock is to.... We think ahead day in and day out, not quite constantly. We are always anticipating our next move, thinking about reactions to what we may say to others, making plans, mostly small, but plans nonetheless, and on and on. All of this mostly without any benefit of study about futuristic processes in our psychology and certainly, except for some people, without ever having done any "futures research." This extends into the most intimate corners of experience of the Great Now of various philosophies. Live for the Moment in which you experience the best things in life. Etc. OK, you go to kiss the girl. Do you turn your head a little to the left or to the right in order to keep your nose out of the way ? It is necessary to make that decision. Based on what ? I'll tell you what . Based on how you predict the situation will turn out when you do X. Kiss the girl. Throw the baseball to first. Head for the Madison Road exit instead of the Harlow Blvd exit. You doubtless get the idea. Now take this idea a few steps further and we are evaluating politicians, the latest high tech products, or medical treatments, all based on expected results, that is, forecasts of the future. Billy ------------------------------------------------------------------- 11/17/2011 9:00:42 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Hi Mike, On Nov 17, 2011, at 6:12 AM, Mike Gonzalez wrote: > Really, isn't being enamored with our own greatness a state of > reflection that proceeds from an uncritical view of our situation? We > have these (depending on your view) god-given or evolutionary > abilities that allow us to create and improve, and it would be > horrifically wasteful to not utilize them. I agree. We must make some sort of predictions, in order merely to function. The reason I harp on betting is to encourage -humility- and -accountability- in public pronouncements, because words do have a power to shape the future. > Of course, I don't > necessarily agree with the utilitarian belief that happiness is the > end-goal, either. I still think there has to be some ultimate > satisfaction that exists beyond happiness, for when we finally work up > to our potential both as individuals and a society. Well said. My current best candidate for a superior alternative to "happiness" as a metric is "significance": Mar 28, 2011 DrErnie: The greatest gift of the #prefuture is to nurturesignificance, which is why contempt is the worst crime. Mar 28, 2011 DrErnie: Ordinary people routinely give up happiness for the sake of significance. Only addicts do the reverse. Saints trade external for internal. https://twitter.com/#!/DrErnie/status/52359987007209472 The thirst for significance may be the most fundamental, powerful, dangerous, and overlooked human motivation. Beyond sex, money, happiness Significantly yours, -- Ernie P. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
