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Originally posted by rich23
Originally posted by Xtraeme
I, too, was mortified at the thought that a class system is "by design." However once I reviewed the notion looking at every system man has ever created, it seems like greed (psychological scarcity) coupled with physical scarcity (natural lack of resources) ultimately forces a scenario where one person necessarily has more than another.
You've looked at every system man has ever created?
That sounds perhaps too good to be true (at least in any thorough sense. I can't make such a claim, but there are periods in history where, however briefly, people have co-operated in difficult times. Reading Orwell and Chomsky on the Spanish Civil War will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
Here's something that does get me. People always refer to things like the laws of thermodynamics as if they were real. They are observations, consistent ones it's true, but we don't know if they apply 100% of the time everywhere in the universe. So that's a big "if" in the first statement.
The second if-clause answers itself, at least for me: people working together can co-operate and make rational choices and plans, whereas, at least in current scientific doctrine, the universe can't choose when and where to apply its "laws".
Sadly it can't, since nature has the final say, meaning inherently someone is gaining more than another (it's the recognition of this that causes boom / bust cycles).
Sorry, got to call you on this: this is sloppy thinking. Firstly I disagree with your logic on getting to the "nature has the final say" part, as adumbrated above. Secondly, more importantly, a reading of economic history makes me fairly sure that boom and bust cycles are artificially created in order to profit a tiny clique.
If you haven't already seen The Money Masters it's full of interesting and ignored history. And it leaves one in no doubt that this recession, like many others, is part of a gentle fleecing of the sheep.
Of course, that begs the question, at what point does profit become profiteering? I'm not going to try to answer that, but I'll acknowledge the question's existence.
Nice points as always, and it's always good to see people working things out. Hope I've helped in my haphazard way.
Originally posted by Xtraeme
Here's one way I've tried to break this down to make better sense of it:
(1) a + b = a - b =>
(2) b = (a - a) - b =>
(3) 2b = (a - a) =>
(4) b = (a - a) / 2 =>
(5) b = 0
where b = 0 is the additive identity. What many neglect to notice however is that:
(6) a + 3 = a - 3 =>
(7) a = a
Thus,
(8) b is similar to any and all Complex / Real values
Originally posted by TheMalefactor
reply to post by Xtraeme
That's one mind-bending theory! I'm curious why do you think it'll take 100 to 200 years before the type-1 civilization happens? I demand quicker turn-around!
Originally posted by TheMalefactor
reply to post by Xtraeme
1. Looking at the circle in Fig 1. I am trying to understand where the start is for the whole thing? I believe it's point B? The same point is the end then too?
3. The y-axis seems to represent time? Or is the circumference time? If it's the y-axis does this mean time starts moving backwards? That'd be trippy! LOL
4. Fig. 3 seems to be providing different meanings for fig 1?
5. In the main image you show the thing moving in a counter clockwise direction. In the 2nd diagram you show the thing moving like a corkscrew. So basically it moves from the X & Y in to the Z? Taking the shape of a corkscrew or logarithmic spiral. Is that the final shape? I'm trying to relate it to the "dodecaplex."
Originally posted by TheMalefactor
reply to post by Xtraeme
Also another question,
* Since each cycle lasts three quarters do they themselves have any meaning separate from the type of cycle that is involved? You've listed Simplicity (Fall), Competition (Winter), Plenty (Spring) and Aesthetic (Summer). Are the descriptors static or are they relative to the cycle, as shown in Fig. 3
Similarly how'd you arrive at the title for each quarter, and why? Just curious about the initial impetus that kicked off the whole thought process.
Originally posted by TheMalefactor
reply to post by Xtraeme
Thanks for the detailed answers,
>> 2. Can you give a bit more detail about the concepts of exigency, good and value? Or point to one of Sartre's books
Life in the biological sense can be either an imperative, a value, or a good, depending on the social class of the agent. For the unfavored, life is a fundamental exigency, an imperative. For the middle class, it is a value to be produced and reproduced. For the privileged, it is a good that is automatically preserved by the labor of others and, as such, is a means for realizing other supposedly more worthy norms.
(Good faith and other essays: perspectives on a Sartrean ethics, J. Catalano, p.57)
ex·i·gen·cy /ˈɛksɪdʒənsi, ɪgˈzɪdʒən-/ [ek-si-juhn-see, ig-zij-uhn-]
–noun,plural-cies.
1. exigent state or character; urgency.
2. Usually, exigencies. the need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance, condition, etc.: the exigencies of city life.
3. a case or situation that demands prompt action or remedy; emergency: He promised help in any exigency.
Originally posted by TheMalefactor
reply to post by Xtraeme
... I've been reading up on Sartre. Prof. Spade's lecture notes have been a good starting point for me ...
philosophyarchive...
I'm kinda interested in the "Curiosity" diagrams. Are these works put together by other people? Or something you naturally came to through studying this idea?
Looking at the curiosities pg. 3 diagram ( www.abovetopsecret.com... ) aren't there five wheels in Fig. 2.2 not four?
Appreciate the replies, it's made for some fun reading!