Distractions

[jrising]

It's tough to tear one's eyes from the world, which appears to have accelerated its frantic move toward hell (climate change, oil shortages, ID barrages, and an imminent draft). With Claudia away (2 weeks), my solution is to bury myself in work and reading.

I recently put together a syllabus for a course in Human Systems Dynamics, and I'm looking for feedback or additional pointers. Read the PDF and reply! A syllabus for an Artificial Intelligence Workshop is on the way.

Like one LJ friend, I recently started my first Philip K. Dick (Do Androids...?). The first few days I tried to read single chapters only between studying my other two current books: a pre-mammoths-and-angels version of The Way Things Work (I've been curious), and my Handbook of Hypnotic Suggestions and Metaphors (with which it looks like I'll be able to do about anything). Damn SciFi for being so much more engaging than the books I should be reading. I should be done by tomorrow.

Comments

Uh, at the risk of freaking you out further

[olinerd.livejournal.com]

Sorry -- I keep up on the world by reading every Olin livejournal and buddy profile I can find. Though I've only found your livejournal thus far ;) Anyway, I think your course sounds really awesome. I hope you make it an independent study even if it doesn't become an official course.

As far as the war goes, we had an interesting speaker a few years ago at one of my high school's graduations, who said that history does indeed repeat itself -- and that our generation, in the great repeating scheme of things, is roughly at the same point now that the WWII generation was. Basically, the speaker's point was that we're due for a big war. Now, he did say that we'd all be uniting together, WWII style, and I don't see that here -- but perhaps in some ways, he was more right than we originally thought.

As to the draft, being the daughter of two military parents, I'm kind of a fan of compulsory civil service, Israel style. It doesn't have to be the military -- there are plenty of other public service opportunities -- but I think it would give people a better appreciation for their country. And it would make people work for the rights they so take for granted. I have become more liberal recently, and I am extremely upset with the way things are going in Iraq -- but as far as the military goes, I believe it can be a very good thing for people to deeply understand.

~Mikell

Re: Uh, at the risk of freaking you out further

[jrising.livejournal.com]

I'm actually very pleased that my journal is getting some action-- it just makes me want to impove the quality & quantity of my posts.

Would your speaker happen to be one of the authors of The Fourth Turning (http://www.fourthturning.com)? That is one of the main theses of this book, and I think it's absolutely fascinating (and I included it in the HSD syllabus!). The question is whether we are headed toward world war or revolution.

I'll need to think more about compulsory civil service. I like aspects of it, but it seems to assume a connection between the liberties of a people and the interests of their government, which makes me very wary. I think that a better model for natural public service is something like Participatory Economics (parecon), in which everyone has a more complete, rounded role in society, simultaneously being both manager and trash collector.