Re: Request for Book Recommendations posted prior

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"Plagues of the Mind: The New Epidemic of False Knowledge" by Bruce Esthrton (sp?) published by ISA. Just heard him interviewed about this book by G Gordon Liddy.

Content appears to provide a structure to assess and amend the falacies of logic created by our technologically enhanced standard of living. (If so, then I think this book MAY help some work through the psychological adjustment to various losses of technology, along with their impact upon our lifestyles. It MAY help one reconstruct their modern way of thinking into the thinking which is most effective in a survival situation. It may be the bridge from the Wall Street Journal/Wired TO all those survival books you bought.-Hokie)

One example of content was the author's reference to the contradiction of one faction of the WTO protesters which I would call "militant vegetarians" (hehe). The author pointed out that most climates do not allow the farming of the variety of crops needed to produce complimentary proteins, and so these protesters rely on diesel pumping semi's to deliver their food in order for them to remain healthy in that lifestyle choice. (The seeming contradiction to me seems obvious, although I don't support the WTO either. I'm on my lunch break, but will share more info on this paragraph this evening if requested.)

Another point the author made was that Al Gore was raised in the penthouse of a hotel in Alexandria VA, yet purports to be a pro-enviro type naturalist.

The author explains that persons who truly understand nature, such as farmers and miners, recognize the exhausting struggle against the elements of nature (predators, fungi, weather) which they endure to exhaustion daily. The author explains how/why Al Gore's idealistic thoughts on the environment are created by his lush lifestyle, and are different from the thoughts of true nature/survivalism.

Paraphrasing my notes: ...It is the urban man who benefits with a leisurly lifestyle. He doesn't have a clue about how adversarial nature can be, and so has developed an idealization of nature (called environmentalism? hokie) which is false.

The author points out that we want material comfort without the price of environmental impact, and this is unrealistic. A myth. We can't have both safe water/food and cheap goods, it is not possible.

The author points out that people of this mindset do not back it up by moving to a third world contry, where plagues abound and children die from diarhhea for lack of a 50 cent drug, DESPITE the spiritual richness of the land there.

Final Point of today's interview: Humans today choose material comfort over spiritual riches. The author explains the differences between the two lifestyles, thought processes, personal and social/political impacts.

The author cites the historical devel and social impact of numerous myths perpetuated by our technologically enhanced environment, reminding us that we are all products of our environment and so his exploration of these environments show us which false myths leed to irrational beliefs.

Sorry to ramble, wanted to do a better intro, but am on lunch break so in a hurry.

My reaction to his presentation of the material in this book led me to believe that this book will help me recognize the mindsets that I have which are products of my technological world. This would help me personally to single out those thoughts which would be destructive in a natural environment where I would struggle against the elements of nature.

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 01, 1999

Answers

Just a few thoughts on false knowledge.

It is not possible to live without acquiring false knowledge. Farmers and miners notwithstanding. It is just that the areas of knowledge that are false differ from person to person. A farmer no doubt might have some very strange ideas about a nuclear weapons laboratory, or a Thai brothel.

Survival can be seen at two levels: individual survival and survival of the species. Taken in the aggregate, the behavior of all those individuals who have detached themselves from farming and mining activities has resulted in greater population of the species and a far larger number of earth's resources being appropriated to our use.

There is no guarantee that this state of affairs will continue to be true or that individuals who chose to live in urban areas will continue to benefit in terms of personal survival in the same proportion as before. But you can't blame them for choosing it under current circumstances.

Environmentalists are not a monolithic group. A great many of them are not mere sentimentalists about some ideal of Nature. Many are scientists, who realize that current demands on the earth are reducing its long term carrying capacity and making it more hostile for our progeny. However, the chances are vanishingly small that mere rationality will be able to curb our counter-productive activities before a Malthusian population collapse imposes an end to them.

In the meantime, it is human to be able to hold dozens of wierd and conflicting ideas in our heads, serially if not simultaneously. It's just part of what we get for having these big brains.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), December 01, 1999.


All good points Brian. The only comment I'd like to expand on is the first sentence of your last paragraph.

You wrote:

"In the meantime, it is human to be able to hold dozens of wierd and conflicting ideas in our heads, serially if not simultaneously."

I would suggest also that "It is comfortable to hold onto dozens...."

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), December 01, 1999.


Dear Hokie-- If you want info on changing your mindset to survival mode, go to the prep forum and read about feral dogs. I live in the country and am familiar with the nitty gritty choices of saving the mom or the baby animal. Farmer's may say something like "Lost a lamb today" --they are not very articulate. What they don't say is the aching heartbreak they have from trying desperately to get the little one to eat, to breathe, and then holding it while it dies, or just putting it near its mom so it can have a little comfort and then walking away because there is nothing more to do. I didn't grow up on a farm but I have one now. To say "life and death are basic" in my office at Penn State is one thing. To say it here, now, is entirely different. Now I know what I'm talking about. Please read about the feral dogs. It's pretty basic. Pam

-- Pamela (jpjgood@penn.com), December 02, 1999.

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