Notes on Trans-modernism . . There is an opportunity to invent -create- the successor to post-modernism. . This cannot happen unless you are interested in making it happen. . It is ridiculous to fetishize unedited participation as if all voices have equal merit, equally worthwhile things to say, and are equally true. This is the huge hole in the philosophy on which high-tech success is currently built: No quality control. Anarchy instead of excellence . For a successor to be successful he (or she) needs to devise a viable means to be profitable that does not glorify anything and everything as if no-one needs to be concerned about value. On the contrary, value needs to be the foundation of the next development in thought. . The American center needs to be won over -forget about the fringes except insofar as you regard outliers as special cases. Some outliers have vast potential and should not be overlooked. However, this cannot be about collecting enough minorities until you achieve a numerical plurality. It has to be about reconstituting the center This, in turn, cannot be libertarian because libertarianism is all about rejecting the center for the sake of the ultimate fringe, the individual. The trouble is that libertarians have one thing very right: If you forget about the individual, you lose. . If this project is important then make time for it. None of us have enough time to do everything we would like to do. Regardless, when something has obvious potential do what you need to do, to understand it and work with it to good effect. . Technology is wonderful; however, the use that is made of technology is everything. What this says is that talent is everything even if, in some cases, talent is more potential than not and someone needs coaching or good advice or some lessons and some time to internalize what he or she has learned. But if you attract a .400 hitter you would be a poor manager to turn him into a .295 hitter or trade him away. We should be on the lookout for all of the Ross Douthats we can find. But that won't happen unless we want it to happen. . What we most of all need is a damned good team where each "player" is committed to excellence -and to success. And to the success of the team, not just individual achievement. . For this you need imagination, dedication, and the best ideas to work with. "Sure things," "safe choices," or "risk free" objectives can't possibly cut it. . The Trans-modern movement is waiting to be born, the field is wide open. If you insist upon conformist ideas before all else there isn't a snowball's chance you can become a parent to the Trans-modern future. You've got to be radically different, -without going too far- but you're really got to be different. Otherwise no-one will notice you. . "To stand out from the crowd you need to be outstanding." Probably this is a half-remembered quote from somewhere but there is no way to deny the truth it expresses. . And you need to be able to say: If no-one else gets the idea I am willing to go it alone, no matter what. This course of action has obvious drawbacks but it has one great advantage: Complete freedom to do what you think is right. . . Billy . .
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