[MD] Case's Answer to Marsha: Part 2

[ian glendinning]

Intriguing David, so I didn't invent the idea of "life being just
complicated enough" :-) ?

Thanks for that reference.
Ian

On 11/4/06, David M <davidint at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi Case
>
> Sounds good to me, as John Dupre (The Disorder of Things) says,
> we live in a world of general disorder with just enough order
> to get by.
>
> David M
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Case" <Case at iSpots.com>
> To: <moq_discuss at moqtalk.org>
> Sent: Saturday, November 04, 2006 6:49 PM
> Subject: [MD] Case's Answer to Marsha: Part 2
>
>
> > Part Two
> > or
> > Shit happens. How do we deal with it?
> >
> > My brother is an earthy kind of guy. But intellectual pretentiousness
> > seems
> > to run in our family. He used to work on a loading dock and he would be
> > spouting off to his co-workers about politics and this and that and
> > generally making himself annoying. Finally one day one of his business
> > associates interrupted one of his tirades and said, "Look man, don't take
> > this wrong but if it ain't got to do with fishin' or fuckin' I really
> > don't
> > give a damn."
> >
> > Imagine you are a hunter gatherer 15,000 years ago. About all your social
> > group can offer you is knowledge about fishin' and fuckin'. Nothing else
> > really matters.
> >
> > Eat this.
> > Don't eat that.
> > Make yourself useful.
> > If you need to do something smelly, go outside the camp.
> > Pretty basic stuff.
> >
> > The game migrates and you either follow it or wait depending on where you
> > live. The seasons change. Flowers blooms, nuts fall from the trees, the
> > berries sprout from the thorn bushes. It is said that the oldest
> > profession
> > in the free market economy is prostitution as in "I trade you some of this
> > for some of those purple berries." But I tend to think that the second and
> > third and fourth professions were Pharmacy, Engineering and Astronomy.
> >
> > Modern pharmacy grows from the herbalist traditions that run as far back
> > as
> > anyone can remember. Herbal lore accumulates over time and generations. It
> > is essential and must be passed on from generation to generation because
> > there is just too much to for one person to figure out on their own in a
> > life time. These leaves can stop that itching. If you suck this root your
> > head will stop hurting. If you eat this mushroom the world will melt
> > around
> > you.
> >
> > Engineering begins with banging rocks together and lo and behold they
> > crack
> > and the shape changes. Hey, I'll bet we could use a shape like that to dig
> > a
> > deeper hole. You got another one? Wow, that's sharp! What if we tie it to
> > a
> > stick? Can you show me how you made that?
> >
> > But Astronomy? Today most of us ignore or can't see the lights in the sky
> > but for most of our ancestors they were an ongoing mystery, bright and
> > unmistakable in the heavens. Almost all prehistoric peoples that we have
> > met
> > in historic times, that is the native and aboriginal peoples, can mark the
> > change of seasons by the passage of heavenly bodies. This is essential the
> > farther from the equator you live. This perception of regular cycles is
> > critical to knowing when the game is going to pack up and leave or when it
> > is time to start breaking out the blankets.
> >
> > While the oldest profession can be learned and mastered in a single life
> > time these other three require transmission across time. They require the
> > recognitions of patterns in nature and the ability to see connections
> > between things that are disconnected.
> >
> > The position and phase of the moon as it relates to room temperature.
> >
> > The shape and height of a berry bush and color of its fruit in relation to
> > whether it tastes good or will make you sick.
> >
> > The textures and shape of a stone in relationship what kind of arrowhead
> > you
> > can make from it.
> >
> > What separated our ancestors from the rest of nature was their ability to
> > see patterns in nature. They were able to perceive coincidence and to
> > derive
> > meaning from it. This idea of meaningful coincidence is the beginning of
> > wisdom. Jung dubbed it Synchronicity. He saw it as meaning derived from
> > causally unrelated events. For example, you have a dream about an old
> > friend
> > and the next day to drop in for a visit.
> >
> > But I think Jung was wrong. Synchronicity is not about deriving meaning
> > from
> > acausality. Causality is derived from synchronicity. In other words a
> > cause
> > and effect relationship is one from which meaning can be derived every
> > time.
> >
> > Individually and collectively what sets us apart from the rest of the
> > natural word is our ability to perceive patterns and give them meaning.
> > Most
> > patterns do not have meaning. They are asynchronous. They are just shit
> > happening. But when we can see a pattern of meaning; when we can see a
> > persistent relationship, ah ha, now that is some Good Shit. Even if the
> > pattern tells us that something bad is going to happen, it is good to
> > know.
> >
> > Good Shit Happens, too: That is Static Quality.
> >
> > End of Part Two
> >
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