A friend of mine had her due date yesterday, and is now having contractions, but not quite going into labor yet. Sound like it is going to be soon though. We were chatting earlier and I jokingly asked if she is going to livestream the birth, which she isn't, but she did joke about making a YouTube baby. The new test tube baby.
Engineered in the lab.
So much of what we do is engineered these days. I often talk about how we all act on incentive, and a lot of the incentives these days surround getting attention from strangers online. Sure, on places like Hive there is more chance to actually engage and get to know each other, as the user base is smaller, but in general, mass social media is random people, interacting with random people, no one having any skin in the game of the other.
For money.
Or fame. Or connection. Or desire.
And for many other reasons. However, I feel that a great deal of it is a poorly-fitted replacement for intimacy, where people feel disconnected and lonely, but think that "selling themselves" is going to fill that gap. I liken it to an artificial sweetener that mimics sugar, tricking the senses. Yet, as expected and as scientific feedback is now indicating, the engineered replacements are not only tricking tastebuds, but are tricking the rest of our body too, leading to other problems, like cancer.
What is the cancer of artificial communities?
When something is engineered, the design is limited to the focus of the architect, meaning that somethings will be given greater importance, whilst others are limited, or forgotten altogether. But, "left out" doesn't mean that it wasn't needed for function. And like a car that doesn't have a motor, its usage is going to be limited also.
Over the last twenty-odd years, social media has exploded in many forms to increase our ability to connect with strangers, and join into discussions that we wouldn't otherwise be a part of. We are able to comment directly and publicly on people's thoughts, as well as be part of conversations in the media, like in comments sections under an article. Yet, whilst we feel like we are engaging, like we are making a difference, are we?
Or is it busy work.
I had a chat with a colleague the other day at work about "defense" spending (it is always called defense, even when used to attack), and what might happen if for instance, over the next five years, all defense budgets were directed into clean energy and energy storage development. In 2022, this was over 2.2 trillion dollars (that we know of), and I would posit that if this money, and all the smart thinkers and engineers currently developing weapons and such, moved into something different, five years from now the technology would be quite incredible.
But the incentive isn't there.
People go where the money is, where they feel that they are "appreciated" even if that appreciation is only because they are able to make more money for those they work for. Supposedly, some of the smartest mathematicians in the world, work in finance creating financial tools to generate more money. Could their skills be better spent elsewhere?
Probably.
When people say that something is "too expensive" to do at the global level, they don't understand how economics works. The economy doesn't care about what is being created, as it will work regardless. Even as an entire industry dies, like defense or fossil fuels, the economy will adjust, as demand shifts and supply picks up. Essentially, the economy always equals "one", even though the way we think about it doesn't. We see money leaking out through corruption, spending on the wrong things, and inflation, but that doesn't matter to the economy itself, as these are all within the system.
However, even though the economy always balances its books, the way we engineer the economy means that we will focus on some development, while ignoring others, even if it is in our best interest to do otherwise. If we really wanted to make the world a better place, there would be no defense spending at all, except that against asteroids, or from alien attack. If we wanted to improve the air, we would be spending as much as we could on better energy sources and storage. If we wanted to improve human wellbeing, we would be spending on preemptive healthcare.
The economy doesn't care.
But, because we are humans acting on incentive driven by our various desires, our focus isn't actually suited to improving for everyone, it is about getting what we need as individuals. As a result, the outcomes are mixed at best.
We are all just rats in the lab.
The economy is just taking notes.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
That reminds me of an image I saw the other day for the US military budget last year. Don't know how accurate it is, but it does go with some things I've heard before, so I saved it.
What the countries of the world could actually do if they would stop all this military spending and fighting.
Accurate or not, it represents what the real possibilities might look like. It is insanity that "we the people" keep voting these jokers in, rather than organizing ourselves.
I think defence budget is always put on the higher side, ...likewise, the health sector too getting bit business minded as they aim for money rather than taking care of the health...it is what each of the people needed....but no one put more focus on it
Money makes the human world go round, though the world will keep going around without us.
That's very true....for people it is everything no matter if they going to use them all throughout the life span or not
Unfortunately, wars are too profitable, so countries will still allocate a lot of money to it. As we've seen with Ukraine, countries don't even have to participate in the conflict to profit. The US has supplied a lot of weapons, and tech to Ukraine during this ordeal, and it is technically free publicity on their effectivity. The US has more reasons and examples to show for their need of military defense funds. Regular citizens are just along for the ride.
And, it has meant that the rest of the world is "arming", with most of those contracts going to the US as well. It is almost like thy had planned it...
These days I was reading why Jews were good at making money and one of the first reasons is that they are able to adapt, and in business, that and discipline are key. Nowadays, when anything can be sold and we can make a profit even by making a joke, the important thing is that we can see what our abilities are and "exploit" them. The money is there, what we have to do is to find the way to get it. Greetings
Adaptability, the ability to change for the conditions. Yet, we are being sold a narrative that we should hold onto who we are, and the way we are, accept ourselves and don't change....
Dear @tarazkp !
Your argument is idealistic and excellent!
However, wars have always occurred because humans always want to have more wealth and power than others.
The war currently taking place in Europe shows that the desires and egoism of humans and groups dominate the world.
Currently, Russia and China cannot cause World War III because the United States is stronger.
But, this is only sustainable because of a centralized money system.
Oh, they can definitely cause WWIII. There will be no winners. Everyone will lose.
If we were angels from heaven, literally speaking, the appointment would possibly come to life. But, we are demons -also truly arguing-. An old saying goes “paper holds everything”, another “words are carried away by the hundred”, we would spend hours and hours arguing, and our conclusions would not have any effect.
We certainly are, but not only in the economy. We are abandoned offal on this wonderful planet, and what we do day by day is to subsist, to fulfill a cycle of life…
Subsistence is not living in my opinion. Survival as a life is the mindset of animals with low mental capacity. I think we should be able to do better.
LOL!!!, we have more than 200,000 years of “doing it better” and yet we still rigorously fulfil the cycle of life -we are born, we reproduce and goodbye cruel world -and the same biological functions -eating, sleeping, defecating-… Nothing has changed!
Social media is very wide and that's my we have to be mindful of all the things that we post. Some people have lost their manners to the point of posting things that are very personal to them online without being ashamed
Well, I won't blame them since they're responsible for their actions
If they aren't ashamed, isn't that okay?
A truth told that I have also seen in our area or my acquaintances who run after money and go where the money is. I have even seen many people who sell their talent for money when they could have put their skills to good use elsewhere. These are really sad.
It is sad, but it is life. We all do it in some way, because we all need to interact with the economy in some way. It doesn't change, until the way we organize value changes.
Where the money is, is where the focus is. I am currently taking a financial course to boast my trading skill. Making it is the only option.
Cheers
What kinds of things are you learning about in the course?
I agree. There is much more chance to get to know someone individually on HIVE rather than on Instagram, Tik Tok etc as people on those social media platforms are mainly based on view or ostentation.
That, and they are incentivized to build mass followings for the ad revenue. Masses of people don't get personal attention.
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True words
It a thought decision
Yes, I think people in HIVE are true to their words and more inspiring compared to other platforms.
Only defence budget for aliens' attack or asteroids' attack! Ha ha let me share this remark of you to Xi jinping 😂
What an interesting analogy. Hence the best way to make it is to offer value to the economy and watch it reward you thereafter.
It's hard to really influence much when it comes to spending and it reminds me that there was a story about a town removing their entire elected officials because they ignored the public. They choose to build a Chinese factory and the people there revolted against them in the election. So I don't think it's impossible for things to change.
I honestly would prefer that they don't spend so much on defense building and more on improving life. I am against war because it never really benefits the average person and it enriches the military industrial complex.
It would be great if smart thinkers and engineers came up with something earth-shattering that would lead to peace, but it would be enough to walk the path of peace and where all people have a right to exist and a content life. I would appreciate that immensely.
Hello tarazkp!
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