"What else would you be doing?"

Started by gentle_dissident, February 21, 2016, 05:44:49 PM

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gentle_dissident

I was working at the general store, when an old lady in fur leaning on her cart asked me, "Isn't it horrible you have to work for a living?"

"Yes," I replied

She then asked, "What else would you be doing?"

Without stopping my stocking, I replied, "Making art and music. Designing papercraft and board games. Performing magic and juggling."

She sped up her cart walker to get away from me.

I didn't get a chance to tell her that I could be living on a green and efficient collective, farming and partying with my neighbors. I could be collaborating on building, repair, and innovation. I could be free of the strange selfish commercial world she promotes.

But no, I'm stuck in this fake world, despite the rebellion of youth. Generations may look different, but they all embrace the rat race.

Johan

Probably the juggling comment that scared her off. Jugglers have the effect on people.
Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false and by the rulers as useful

aitm

Nah, it was the designing paperwork thing…..them fuckers be crazy.
A humans desire to live is exceeded only by their willingness to die for another. Even god cannot equal this magnificent sacrifice. No god has the right to judge them.-first tenant of the Panotheust

drunkenshoe

"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

aitm

A humans desire to live is exceeded only by their willingness to die for another. Even god cannot equal this magnificent sacrifice. No god has the right to judge them.-first tenant of the Panotheust

gentle_dissident

Quote from: aitm on February 21, 2016, 06:18:20 PM
ala Howard Wolowitz
I didn't recognize the name, Howard Wolowitz, so I looked it up. That show never entertained me, and the smart people don't seem like ones I knew in college. Anyway, I watched a video compilation of the card trick gag. That's called "using a stooge". It's always uncomfortable to see a magician use a stooge.

stromboli


gentle_dissident

Quote from: stromboli on February 21, 2016, 06:56:13 PM
Board games. Creepy.


Ka-Bala doesn't have a page at Board Game Geek because it's not a game. A guy tried to give me a fortune teller when I mentioned I like board games. Wut?

I wouldn't mind owning this.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5844/mystic-skull-game-voodoo

Anyway, the thread is about being a utopianist in a world of power, greed, and deception. I figured most atheists had this problem.

Hydra009

Quote from: gentle_dissident on February 21, 2016, 05:44:49 PM
I was working at the general store, when an old lady in fur leaning on her cart asked me, "Isn't it horrible you have to work for a living?"

"Yes," I replied

She then asked, "What else would you be doing?"

Without stopping my stocking, I replied, "Making art and music. Designing papercraft and board games. Performing magic and juggling."


I've often wondered what people would be doing if they didn't have to labor for wages.  For the most part, people tend to want to do more fulfilling, imaginative work.

aitm

You know its possible she was looking for a fuck….maybe……possibly you just lost your one and only chance at a sugar momma…you dumb fuck.
A humans desire to live is exceeded only by their willingness to die for another. Even god cannot equal this magnificent sacrifice. No god has the right to judge them.-first tenant of the Panotheust

gentle_dissident

Quote from: aitm on February 21, 2016, 08:07:23 PM
You know its possible she was looking for a fuck….maybe……possibly you just lost your one and only chance at a sugar momma…you dumb fuck.
I'm pretty sure she's not the only one. It's weird finding out that some of the "older ladies" are close to my age. I tend to get along better with the younger ladies. They're surprised to find out how old I am.

mauricio

Quote from: gentle_dissident on February 21, 2016, 05:44:49 PM
I was working at the general store, when an old lady in fur leaning on her cart asked me, "Isn't it horrible you have to work for a living?"

"Yes," I replied

She then asked, "What else would you be doing?"

Without stopping my stocking, I replied, "Making art and music. Designing papercraft and board games. Performing magic and juggling."

She sped up her cart walker to get away from me.

I didn't get a chance to tell her that I could be living on a green and efficient collective, farming and partying with my neighbors. I could be collaborating on building, repair, and innovation. I could be free of the strange selfish commercial world she promotes.

But no, I'm stuck in this fake world, despite the rebellion of youth. Generations may look different, but they all embrace the rat race.

Im interested on your concept of a fake world? What is this fake world, and what is the real world? What is the crucial difference between them?

Baruch

Will be interested in Gentle-Dissident's answer ...

Human personality and culture are imaginary ... they come from the imagination ... which means for some people, that is synonymous with fake.

Unfortunately, it is a circular logic problem to try to have enough imagination, to escape other's imagination, let alone your own imagination.  Buddhists call it Nirvana.

In my case, without the rat race (and there is no cheese at the end of the race) ... I would have more time to take care of the people I love, instead of the people and institutions that I presently spend too much time on.  It is called retirement by the elderly ;-)
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

gentle_dissident

#13
Quote from: mauricio on February 21, 2016, 08:35:21 PM
Im interested on your concept of a fake world? What is this fake world, and what is the real world? What is the crucial difference between them?
The main difference is competition VS cooperation. Competition encourages people to take advantage of each other. It's easier to keep the peasants from revolting when they're fighting each other.

In the real world, advances would be made to better humanity and not bestow power to a few. We would work together to determine our basic needs and the most efficient ways to fulfill them. We would build these solutions together. Technology would be developed to take over as many human tasks as possible, so humans can have more time to innovate and play. In the fake world, these advances are used to cut labor while keeping pay the same.

The fake world is full of meaningless jobs, with bizarre rules. The real world jobs would focus on sustaining and bettering humanity. People in the workforce could easily move from position to position to find where they are best suited and most comfortable. This would all be handled through central planning at various levels. It's amazing that humanity has made it this far without it.

The real world would utilize free renewable green energy and not fossil and nuclear. The real world would benefit from love and understanding instead of hate and jealousy. Our species is capable of making these changes. I feel something is nefariously holding us back.
http://postimg.org/image/no9qtaxj3/

mauricio

#14
Quote from: gentle_dissident on February 21, 2016, 09:22:14 PM
The main difference is competition VS cooperation. Competition encourages people to take advantage of each other. It's easier to keep the peasants from revolting when they're fighting each other.

In the real world, advances would be made to better humanity and not bestow power to a few. We would work together to determine our basic needs and the most efficient ways to fulfill them. We would build these solutions together. Technology would be developed to take over as many human tasks as possible, so humans can have more time to innovate and play. In the fake world, these advances are used to cut labor while keeping pay the same.

The fake world is full of meaningless jobs, with bizarre rules. The real world jobs would focus on sustaining and bettering humanity. People in the workforce could easily move from position to position to find where they are best suited and most comfortable. This would all be handled through central planning at various levels. It's amazing that humanity has made it this far without it.

The real world would utilize free renewable green energy and not fossil and nuclear. The real world would benefit from love and understanding instead of hate and jealousy. Our species is capable of making these changes. I feel something is nefariously holding us back.
http://postimg.org/image/no9qtaxj3/

I used to think like that but i have become more cynical now but still idealist at heart.. How do we know that human nature makes this utopia possible? So many desires and so many material conditions. How can this central planning made of humans efficiently calculate all of this and stoically exert it's power without bias. Preservation of ourselves and our closest of kin seem like our main drives to me. I think many times our dreams of utopias and progress are bigger than our nature. We harm ourselves by creating systems to organize our lives which represent our ideals but does not taking into account our natural flaws. I see a dissonance between what we wish we were and what we are present in progressive and utopic ideologies. The conservatives argue for us to go back to our traditional ways to fix this dissonance. I think we should go beyond changing our systems like institutions and culture. We should change ourselves. Using genetic engineering and cybernetics to become the ideal beings we wish we were and create gods: strong general artificial intelligences. Ultimately this could go pretty wrong but i would think it is a great achievement if we manage to be the stepping stone from biological life to a new type of process and structure of matter in the univers. Biological life may be but a blink in the process of the cosmos.