Our thoughts, memories and ideas are nothing more than patterns of synapses, firing along established routes that are called neural pathways. The electrons that flow through our brains are a bit like water and flow along paths of least resistance, so thinking the way we always have is reinforced not only by our outward experiences and the environment that we perceive around us, but by the internal wiring and patterns within our brains. The more profoundly we establish our relationship to either the outer world, or our inner one, the more connected to and reliant on these patterns we become. Changing our brains, or reprogramming them to integrate new ideas or actions can often take more than a single attempt. If we use the water analogy, the higher the banks become, the more resistant the streams are to change.
Just as the elderly grump may find it difficult to lighten up, or the terminally happy person may have a difficult time being sad, all manner of patterns, once established in our brains can be difficult to eradicate or replace with different ones. So too our thoughts and actions on a societal level are guided by our thoughts on a range of matters. Often without question we allow the way things have been done in the past to rule both our present choices, actions and beliefs. What follows by implication, are our future ones as well. Science has shown us that we can sculpt our brains, however without active re-programming, we can fall into the same patterns of thought and thus, behavior.
I got in an argument with someone this week that I never expected. Her reaction to my statements, which were about education, seemed completely out of character for her. I guess that I just strayed beyond what she was either willing or able to take in. Perhaps I triggered an invisible switch which turned on a whole cascade of thoughts and emotion. What struck me hardest was the nature of her protestations. They seemed to be along lines that had nothing to do with my statements. Like a marble in a raceway, she seemed to be discharging potential energy along well established routes to an ultimate destination. Taking on how we think about necessary changes that need to be made may be as important, perhaps even more important than the changes themselves.
I have written repeatedly about the problems associated with assumptions that have left their traces on our society. The Divine Right of Kings for instance, or the Calvinistic beliefs that the poor deserve their lot in life because they have made "immoral" choices serve only to placate the conscience of uber-wealthy oligarchs. The belief that capitalism must always be given free reign over health and welfare of the general population is what has spawned problems from blue baby syndrome in the corn producing areas of North America to flammable water in regions that allow fracking. The book Unsafe At Any Speed by Ralph Nader detailed the fight that the auto industry had with the government over any sort of regulations that would reduce the hazardous nature of motor vehicle transport. Upton Sinclair in The Jungle detailed the abuses that took place in the industrialized meat packing facilities that were playing fast and loose with health and welfare of workers as well as the general public. Rachel Carson in her book, Silent Spring pointed out the fallacy of her time that we could all expect "better living through chemistry". Breaking the patterns of behavior that harm one another and the environment must occur rapidly in many areas simultaneously. We cannot wait to attack the dozens of areas that need to see massive and nearly instant change piecemeal over the course of decades. These patterns need to be changed immediately. We do not have time to waste.
Bill Nye, in his recent debate with Ken Ham sidled up to the point I am trying to make by clarifying Darwin's theory...survival of the fittest...in his attempt to reprogram our thinking about the now famous concept , he explained that the language of Darwin's time was just different enough that it was worth realizing, that the meaning of the word fittest did not mean healthy, wealthy and wise, or even strongest or most physically fit. The meaning that he was trying to convey is more like "best able to fit into the ecological niche". In this age of changing climate, changing energy sources, changing social mores, changing values and changing landscapes, perhaps those with the most ability to accept change will be the ones who survive. We need to realize that falling into patterns allows us more free space in our brains for momentary distractions, but they may also inhibit our ability to look at things differently and if they limit our ability to change, they may handicap our species in ways that will eventually prove fatal. Clinging to what has "worked" in the past may doom our species to extinction.
Just as the elderly grump may find it difficult to lighten up, or the terminally happy person may have a difficult time being sad, all manner of patterns, once established in our brains can be difficult to eradicate or replace with different ones. So too our thoughts and actions on a societal level are guided by our thoughts on a range of matters. Often without question we allow the way things have been done in the past to rule both our present choices, actions and beliefs. What follows by implication, are our future ones as well. Science has shown us that we can sculpt our brains, however without active re-programming, we can fall into the same patterns of thought and thus, behavior.
I got in an argument with someone this week that I never expected. Her reaction to my statements, which were about education, seemed completely out of character for her. I guess that I just strayed beyond what she was either willing or able to take in. Perhaps I triggered an invisible switch which turned on a whole cascade of thoughts and emotion. What struck me hardest was the nature of her protestations. They seemed to be along lines that had nothing to do with my statements. Like a marble in a raceway, she seemed to be discharging potential energy along well established routes to an ultimate destination. Taking on how we think about necessary changes that need to be made may be as important, perhaps even more important than the changes themselves.
I have written repeatedly about the problems associated with assumptions that have left their traces on our society. The Divine Right of Kings for instance, or the Calvinistic beliefs that the poor deserve their lot in life because they have made "immoral" choices serve only to placate the conscience of uber-wealthy oligarchs. The belief that capitalism must always be given free reign over health and welfare of the general population is what has spawned problems from blue baby syndrome in the corn producing areas of North America to flammable water in regions that allow fracking. The book Unsafe At Any Speed by Ralph Nader detailed the fight that the auto industry had with the government over any sort of regulations that would reduce the hazardous nature of motor vehicle transport. Upton Sinclair in The Jungle detailed the abuses that took place in the industrialized meat packing facilities that were playing fast and loose with health and welfare of workers as well as the general public. Rachel Carson in her book, Silent Spring pointed out the fallacy of her time that we could all expect "better living through chemistry". Breaking the patterns of behavior that harm one another and the environment must occur rapidly in many areas simultaneously. We cannot wait to attack the dozens of areas that need to see massive and nearly instant change piecemeal over the course of decades. These patterns need to be changed immediately. We do not have time to waste.
Bill Nye, in his recent debate with Ken Ham sidled up to the point I am trying to make by clarifying Darwin's theory...survival of the fittest...in his attempt to reprogram our thinking about the now famous concept , he explained that the language of Darwin's time was just different enough that it was worth realizing, that the meaning of the word fittest did not mean healthy, wealthy and wise, or even strongest or most physically fit. The meaning that he was trying to convey is more like "best able to fit into the ecological niche". In this age of changing climate, changing energy sources, changing social mores, changing values and changing landscapes, perhaps those with the most ability to accept change will be the ones who survive. We need to realize that falling into patterns allows us more free space in our brains for momentary distractions, but they may also inhibit our ability to look at things differently and if they limit our ability to change, they may handicap our species in ways that will eventually prove fatal. Clinging to what has "worked" in the past may doom our species to extinction.
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