Why Ask Why?
A progress trap is the condition human societies experience when,
in pursuing progress through human ingenuity, they inadvertently
introduce problems they do not have the resources or political will to
solve, for fear of short-term losses in status, stability or quality of
life. This prevents further progress and sometimes leads to collapse.
Author Ronald Wright pointed out that the only difference between man and Chimpanzee is man's ability to ask why. We are one of the only species in existence that has to rationalize everything and when we can't rationalize it, we fear it or create our own rationale. Wright gave this great example of a progress trap that I have sort of tossed around in my mind:
In the early stages of man, the hunter/gathers worked together to take down on mammoth with spears. Man began to question why there wasn't a way that they could have more meet and kill more mammoths without as much work. The hunter/gathers begin running whole herds of the mammoth off cliffs. Now man has an over abundance of meat, without half of the time and effort it takes to put into killing just one mammoth. However, man has no way to store or procure the over abundance of meat. Much of the meat spoils, man eats spoiled meat and dies. Mammoths start dying off due to over hunting. Progress trap.
When you think about this and apply it to modern society or the future of modern society, after we have been plundering resources for so many years-- the future looks pretty grim. We continuously build upon the ingenuity of our predecessors with our convenience and greed in mind. We are so busy asking why; we fail to ask why not.
There is a point to why I am bringing this shit up and I am not just talking out my ass. I take care of my 98 year old great grandma with senile dementia. Most of the time, she is not a lucid individual and when she is lucid, she lives in that part of her brain that existed 30 to 50 years ago. She can no longer remember one minute to the next. The present is futile to her and her scope of the future exists as far as tomorrow morning. Not only has her mind gone, her body is frail and most of her bones have been replaced by titanium rods, screws, and plastic components. Her body is alive on a special cocktail of synthetic, doctor prescribed medications that she can barely swallow down three times a day. She is grouchy, depressed, self-loathing (most days), and sleeps at least 20 hours out of the day. When she doesn't sleep, she asks the same questions repeatedly; she fails to hear anything you say when you answer and you have to supervise her like a toddler. This is sad, considering the person she used to be was a very independent, busy, talented, and productive individual who was an active member of her family and community. Today, she sits in a rocking chair, physically rotting away and mentally deteriorating. She cries some days and asks me why she is still alive. She cries when she sees the light of another day.
I feel rather helpless over the situation. I have came to realize the hard core reality of progress traps. Man has created this over abundance of junk science to cure cancers, diseases, viruses, and what have you. The problem is, we are an already over populated planet, with people who should be dying, living far beyond their life expectancies. Man's fear of death and quest for immortality has set us on a permanent course for an even greater over population of people and plundering of resources. Viruses, flu, diseases, cancers-- these are necessary. Is man creating these advances in medicine for the betterment of people or is it simply because we cannot accept the inevitability of death and letting go of the grief we have for those we have lost? I believe it is a little bit a both, but far more sinister is the money being made in the healthcare industry off of those who fear death and want to prolong it.
My grandmother is gone. I rarely see glimpses of the woman she used to be. I make her final days comfortable. I can't help but feel she is being robbed of a better ending-- one without suffering because she takes all of these immortality drugs. A few years ago, I was on 7 different medications. It seemed that every time I went to my physician there was one more prescription added every three months. I noticed while I was on these drugs, that I felt like shit and I would catch colds and flus that I could not get over normally without having to visit the doctor for anti-biotics. One day, I made the decision to throw away every medication I was on and stop going to the doctor. I made a conscious decision to eat more fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed foods. I have never felt better. I started having more energy and instead of being sick continually, I catch a cold once or twice a year, which I am over in a matter of days without a visit to the hospital or doctor's office. I smoke about two packs of cigarettes a week. I do not drink, with the exception of a beer on my birthday once a year or a glass of wine on special occasion, with a good dinner. I feel good. I feel like I am doing what I was meant to doing at this age and I am not afraid of the inevitable. This is how it was meant to be-- the natural order. I do not question why or over rationalize it. I accept it for what it is. Life.
Author Ronald Wright pointed out that the only difference between man and Chimpanzee is man's ability to ask why. We are one of the only species in existence that has to rationalize everything and when we can't rationalize it, we fear it or create our own rationale. Wright gave this great example of a progress trap that I have sort of tossed around in my mind:
In the early stages of man, the hunter/gathers worked together to take down on mammoth with spears. Man began to question why there wasn't a way that they could have more meet and kill more mammoths without as much work. The hunter/gathers begin running whole herds of the mammoth off cliffs. Now man has an over abundance of meat, without half of the time and effort it takes to put into killing just one mammoth. However, man has no way to store or procure the over abundance of meat. Much of the meat spoils, man eats spoiled meat and dies. Mammoths start dying off due to over hunting. Progress trap.
When you think about this and apply it to modern society or the future of modern society, after we have been plundering resources for so many years-- the future looks pretty grim. We continuously build upon the ingenuity of our predecessors with our convenience and greed in mind. We are so busy asking why; we fail to ask why not.
There is a point to why I am bringing this shit up and I am not just talking out my ass. I take care of my 98 year old great grandma with senile dementia. Most of the time, she is not a lucid individual and when she is lucid, she lives in that part of her brain that existed 30 to 50 years ago. She can no longer remember one minute to the next. The present is futile to her and her scope of the future exists as far as tomorrow morning. Not only has her mind gone, her body is frail and most of her bones have been replaced by titanium rods, screws, and plastic components. Her body is alive on a special cocktail of synthetic, doctor prescribed medications that she can barely swallow down three times a day. She is grouchy, depressed, self-loathing (most days), and sleeps at least 20 hours out of the day. When she doesn't sleep, she asks the same questions repeatedly; she fails to hear anything you say when you answer and you have to supervise her like a toddler. This is sad, considering the person she used to be was a very independent, busy, talented, and productive individual who was an active member of her family and community. Today, she sits in a rocking chair, physically rotting away and mentally deteriorating. She cries some days and asks me why she is still alive. She cries when she sees the light of another day.
I feel rather helpless over the situation. I have came to realize the hard core reality of progress traps. Man has created this over abundance of junk science to cure cancers, diseases, viruses, and what have you. The problem is, we are an already over populated planet, with people who should be dying, living far beyond their life expectancies. Man's fear of death and quest for immortality has set us on a permanent course for an even greater over population of people and plundering of resources. Viruses, flu, diseases, cancers-- these are necessary. Is man creating these advances in medicine for the betterment of people or is it simply because we cannot accept the inevitability of death and letting go of the grief we have for those we have lost? I believe it is a little bit a both, but far more sinister is the money being made in the healthcare industry off of those who fear death and want to prolong it.
My grandmother is gone. I rarely see glimpses of the woman she used to be. I make her final days comfortable. I can't help but feel she is being robbed of a better ending-- one without suffering because she takes all of these immortality drugs. A few years ago, I was on 7 different medications. It seemed that every time I went to my physician there was one more prescription added every three months. I noticed while I was on these drugs, that I felt like shit and I would catch colds and flus that I could not get over normally without having to visit the doctor for anti-biotics. One day, I made the decision to throw away every medication I was on and stop going to the doctor. I made a conscious decision to eat more fruits, vegetables, and unprocessed foods. I have never felt better. I started having more energy and instead of being sick continually, I catch a cold once or twice a year, which I am over in a matter of days without a visit to the hospital or doctor's office. I smoke about two packs of cigarettes a week. I do not drink, with the exception of a beer on my birthday once a year or a glass of wine on special occasion, with a good dinner. I feel good. I feel like I am doing what I was meant to doing at this age and I am not afraid of the inevitable. This is how it was meant to be-- the natural order. I do not question why or over rationalize it. I accept it for what it is. Life.
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