There’s something to be done

I’m figuring this out as I go. One’s ability to articulate an idea always lags behind the understanding of the idea, and the understanding of an idea often lags behind the embodiment in which it is first given life. It can take a surprising amount of time to come to understand what a prototype is trying to “say”, and longer still to say it oneself.

— Bret Victor

There are many things that are inevitable technological and social progression (note: progression does not equal to advancement) under the premise that we do nothing. While I personally disagree with the idea that an individual can change a landscape, an individual can certainly propose an alternative, and perhaps, a positive and convincing alternative. Like any individual, there are certain topics that I associate with more, due to certain life events. So here I go — an attempt to convince myself why and why not I should commit to a topic for this academic year, and my career.

Self-actualization

Why must: We present the best imagined version of ourselves, we shame ourselves for not being better, we desire to be included, when being vulnerable in front of others, and with each other, is the only key to being truly cared by, and cared for. We have volunteered to blind fold ourselves, and trust the societal structure that was built for us, only to find out, when looking back at the end of the journey, that there were no “best career”, “highest return of investment”, but that there are people that care about us, and people that we care about.

Why must not: Whether we can self actualize or not is part of the natural selection process. This is a system in place as an organic order. We as humans are part of nature, and we will not out perform nature.

Climate change

Why must: We are all living on a minimum viable planet, and the news may not talk about it, but yes, we are in World War III, except this time, we are all on the same team, and we cannot afford to lose (from Saul Griffith).

Why must not: We are trained to work for seemingly immediate goals or achievements that benefit us because we often don’t think beyond the lifetime of an individual. So we deserve to live with the consequences.

Building timelessly

Why must: With technology augmenting what we say, what we think, and what we do both positively and negatively, we find ourselves glitching: looking down at a rectangle, crouching in a corner, swiping on a piece glass, laughing at the same rectangle, etc. It is not a question of why, but how can we cease to glitch socially, and amplify our collective intellect instead?

Why must not: The notion of timelessness exists in the minds of humans, not nature. The entrepreneurial spirit of “disrupting the world”, and “creating a dent in the universe” are only alive when humans are alive, and hence, there is always a time limit attached to the building.

While an attempt was made, I do believe that it was a failure — there is something to be done, by myself, by you, by us.