Ed Dolan the Grate reflects upon himself and his mission

[newsgroups trimmed]

"Tom "Johnny Sunset" Sherman" wrote

No, most people are delusional about the state of the world, and even more
about themselves. However, they are blessed, as the delusion is a much
better place to be than reality.

Anyone can change their world by altering their perspectives.

Consider Arthur C. Clarke's third law of prediction: "Any sufficiently
advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Much of the natural world has been seen as magical. Explain
the eruption of a volcano in terms of a powerful and angry
beings demanding human sacrifice. Explain the eruption of
a volcano in terms of plate tectonics. Explain the ravages
of a hurricane in terms of an angry god's wrath,-- and
this one's not some "primitive" belief! %^)

Changing preconceptions changes "the world".

See the streets as filled with careless, angry, predatory drivers and
you'll see cycling as a dangerous activity. Test ride a recumbent
and your view of fun or comfort may be changed. See a Sunset(tm),
or a sunrise, or the light in a child's eyes...

This is not an appeal to pollyannaism or transcendentalism or an
argument that "delusion" isn't an inherently human, a natural
condition. But perception is our reality. We are sensing creatures
who think, more than thinking creatures who sense.

Once you see the potential for the human species if they learned to
cooperate, you can not but be disappointed in the real world.

Are there no alternatives to such polar delusion and disappointment?

"Snatch the pebble from my hand, Grasshopper."

The instinct for competition leads to 1% winners and 99%
losers. But the losers are mostly not aware of their condition
or under the delusion that they can join the winners.

For some definitions of "winning", perhaps. Indeed, most of the
world's billions of people don't qualify to compete, much less
win on economic terms. Are their lives worth less,-- worthless?

Ginsberg's Theorem:
1. You can't win.
2. You can't break even.
3. You can't even quit the game.

Freeman's Commentary on Ginsberg's theorem:
Every major philosophy that attempts to make life seem
meaningful is based on the negation of one part of Ginsberg's
Theorem. To wit:
1. Capitalism is based on the assumption that you can win.
2. Socialism is based on the assumption that you can break
even.
3. Mysticism is based on the assumption that you can
quit the game.

Jon

--

Joshua: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.
How about a nice game of chess?
-- WOPR