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Tag: values

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    the industrial cognitive labor trap

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    1–2 minutes

    Industrial work as cognitive labor is a problem: first, industrial work is repetitive, with the worker serving the mechanization of his/her labor. Second, the monotony stifles innovation or novelty, by which you may find value in yourself, leaving the cognitive industrial worker to rely on wealth or status for value, not any inherent/intrinsic virtue.

    This valuation of social status separated from personal worth is vital to undermining any rebellion against the system: you are not you but merely the benefits the system provides. And since the industry champions repetition with only incremental change, the more predictable you are, the more promotable you become.

    And yes, novel risk takers create transformative wealth, but they are not the vast majority of cognitive workers funneled into industrialized, managed positions.

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    Secrets and Superiority

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    1–2 minutes

    Secrets harbor a unique tension: the subtle thrill of maintaining normalcy while privately reveling in being an outsider by dent of privileged information.

    "If only they knew…" becomes a tantalizing refrain, imagining the reactions it could provoke can become fetishistic.

    Moreover, possessing a secret, especially one sanctioned by authority, subtly fuels the ego. This privileged knowledge allows one to feel superior without the need to overtly demonstrate it, effectively subduing the social expression of ego while internally amplifying it.

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    rebellion as belief

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    1–2 minutes

    A liberal paradox: cherishing rebelliousness signifies a break from tradition, yet ironically cultivates instability through its commitment to disruption.

    Embracing the underdog role (freedom from oppression) is as patriotic as embodying the victorious "winner" role (an American archetype.)

    For us, fighting against the odds transcends typical political affiliations, emphasizing a personal (subjective) quest for success that resonates with national values (transcendent).

    This interplay between destabilization and idealism is a conundrum: embracing persistent turmoil as a form of national idealism (undermining authority as it establishes itself) may be the very trait that sustains America’s humanity despite its perpetual, domineering striving.

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    Desire bypassing need: identity consumerism

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    1–2 minutes

    We frequently ask, "what is the best?" or the best within our budget, sparking desire.

    Rarely do we ask the preceding query: "Do I truly need this?"

    Once we invest in a choice, relinquishing it feels like a setback. Abandoning the newly formed perception of who we are through our possessions feels like a loss, a form of non-ownership triggering identity loss-aversion via consumerist acquisition.

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    Lightness of being

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    1–2 minutes

    As materiality has evolved from the weight of gold to ethereal digital currencies, human connection and interaction also transition from solidity (physical presence, solid character) to the instability of digital relations. The economic transformation mirrors the shift from concrete to conceptual: all things become lighter forms of existence.

    Consider communication, from letters inscribed on paper and ink to instant digital messages. Or physical marketplaces, where goods exchanged hands over handshakes, to virtual transactions and blind clicks.

    This increasing ‘lightness of being’ spins us toward a non-material trajectory: the weight of our interactions mirrors the weight of our values, from physical engagement to ephemeral experience. Once, our presence socially was communally anchored (and bound to mores) but now fluctuates and disperses into the digital ether, yet our flickering agency now takes the form of ghosts wailing to be substantive again.

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    Perilous Adventure: use your rights

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    1–2 minutes

    For those craving perilous escapades, reflect on unexercised rights: Are you utilizing your freedom of speech or bearing arms?
    Society often conflates legality with morality, distinguishing between the civilized and the uncivilized based on superficial markers: a civilized individual shuns firearms and engages in courteous discourse, even while indulging in most of the seven deadly sins.

    This dichotomy invites a reevaluation of the divide between legal standards and moral principles, challenging where true civility lies—in the actions sanctioned by law or the integrity of our conduct.

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    choking on media

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    1–2 minutes

    All forms of new media incorporate old media. (Marshal McLuhan) From the oral tradition to writing, movies, and the Internet, and now to algorithmic search engines that rank an index of personal preference.

    As more media is incorporated, the old is subsumed into the new form: theater may derive from oral tradition and writing, but you did not read or speak while watching it, and yet today, television is watched in tandem with streaming video gamers while talked over and casually reading closed captions.

    As media progresses from fixed entertainment into a distended flood from the index of self, all prioritized by rank, AI will increasingly mold the new media to the individual’s taste. This promotes a gothically incestuous spiraling inward, where algorithmic determination forms an ever-reducing, ever more specifically shallow taste loop.

    As the new form engulfs us and incorporates us, will content be choked out?

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    Res ipsa loquitur

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    1–2 minutes

    “The thing speaks for itself”

    This is the legal principle that “the occurrence of an accident implies negligence.” An incident/accident proves someone was inattentive (or uncaring) earlier.

    In a bureaucratic way, the professional-managerial class works to spread responsibility, which obscures blame from decision-makers and promotes negligence without consequence.

    So, while the thing or event (the error) speaks loudly, accountability is smothered (in volume and quantity) by corporate and legal speak.

    This dodge is itself an example of res ipsa loquitur: continued negligence is permissible, not accidental, which is the negligence of responsibility.

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    ego rubber band

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    1–2 minutes

    What if all tension comes from demanding your way? That means we are anxious because we want, so we strive to make it happen.

    From objects to status to emotional manipulation, we must stretch ourselves out to accommodate our desires, risking a sudden snapping return and stung ego.

    It seems our entire economy is predicated upon people stretching and remaining taught with potential energy until they eventually lose elasticity.

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    Achieving is not the achievement

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    1–2 minutes

    Much of our fear (that produces laziness and impatience) derives from results orientation.

    Rather than focus on the “quality of doing,” which will generate its results over time, we fixate on an endpoint that must be measured, prompting not only anxiety over failure or success but also requiring you to pick another point afterward.

    Focusing on the quality of the process and steadily doing the work is achieved with the achievements bestowed as an afterthought.