In January 2019 I wrote out scores of prompts for thinking long term that I felt should inform the foundation I was later co-chair of, The Long Now Foundation.
Wonderful stuff as always, Kevin. Thanks for all your work. The spirit and trajectory of today's post reminds me very much of another list--one that I've kept close for more than five decades--Sheldon Kopp's "An Eschatological Laundry List: A Partial Register of the 927 (or was it 928?) Eternal Truths." The Illustrated version, No Hidden Meanings, contains these wonders: #12--It is a random universe to which we bring meaning," #18--If you have a hero, look again: you have diminished yourself in some way," #32--We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power, and partial knowledge."
Thank you, Kevin, for sharing these thoughtful optimistic prompts for long-term thinking. I especially appreciated 72 and 73. Your observation that optimism rests not on minimising our problems but on believing in our capacity for improvement captures realistic optimism beautifully. The reminder that even small gains compound over time is a powerful reason to take the long view while continuing the work of improvement today.
“How to continue” may be closer to life itself than “how to win.”
Individuals, relationships, groups, and even civilizations use very different strategies, yet one direction keeps reappearing: keeping the existing structure in existence.
Perhaps infinite games matter not simply because they are a better choice, but because Continuation itself is the direction of life.
No 2. jolted me and I found it hard to continue reading past it...religion is stagnation. How can a belief in anything encourage an open minded longterm view when the very nature of belief is limiting?
"16 Civilization is the process of creating the maximum number of opportunities that work for the maximum number of people."
shows perfectly well how all you and your colleagues promote is the banality and dreariness of materialistic holism. Systems thinking until everything has been reduced to a blip in the transition of one state into another. What a gloomy world you people from CoEvolution et al. have really been about.
A long list, a fast read, but one that demands our attention and time to reflect upon. Lovely.
For now, the idea of fast and slow combining in the present sticks out (the multi-paced civilization: Fast learns, slow remembers). We have a woodlot next door. The previous owner planted a poplar plantation. The idea: to harvest after twenty years or so. But he forgot about it. Now the landscape is slowly transforming into a forest.
Wonderful stuff as always, Kevin. Thanks for all your work. The spirit and trajectory of today's post reminds me very much of another list--one that I've kept close for more than five decades--Sheldon Kopp's "An Eschatological Laundry List: A Partial Register of the 927 (or was it 928?) Eternal Truths." The Illustrated version, No Hidden Meanings, contains these wonders: #12--It is a random universe to which we bring meaning," #18--If you have a hero, look again: you have diminished yourself in some way," #32--We must live within the ambiguity of partial freedom, partial power, and partial knowledge."
Thank you, Kevin, for sharing these thoughtful optimistic prompts for long-term thinking. I especially appreciated 72 and 73. Your observation that optimism rests not on minimising our problems but on believing in our capacity for improvement captures realistic optimism beautifully. The reminder that even small gains compound over time is a powerful reason to take the long view while continuing the work of improvement today.
“How to continue” may be closer to life itself than “how to win.”
Individuals, relationships, groups, and even civilizations use very different strategies, yet one direction keeps reappearing: keeping the existing structure in existence.
Perhaps infinite games matter not simply because they are a better choice, but because Continuation itself is the direction of life.
No 2. jolted me and I found it hard to continue reading past it...religion is stagnation. How can a belief in anything encourage an open minded longterm view when the very nature of belief is limiting?
"16 Civilization is the process of creating the maximum number of opportunities that work for the maximum number of people."
shows perfectly well how all you and your colleagues promote is the banality and dreariness of materialistic holism. Systems thinking until everything has been reduced to a blip in the transition of one state into another. What a gloomy world you people from CoEvolution et al. have really been about.
Materialistic Holism! I love it!
I thought so.
#76 is best served by reading the Book of Genesis. Robert Sacks' commentary is illuminating: https://www.greenlion.com/PDFs/LandA-Intro.pdf
Thank you, Kevin. I guess you are a testament to living with long-term thinking.
Thanks for this. An important reminder that there is a lot of work to do, and that optimism is the way.
A long list, a fast read, but one that demands our attention and time to reflect upon. Lovely.
For now, the idea of fast and slow combining in the present sticks out (the multi-paced civilization: Fast learns, slow remembers). We have a woodlot next door. The previous owner planted a poplar plantation. The idea: to harvest after twenty years or so. But he forgot about it. Now the landscape is slowly transforming into a forest.
This has resonated with me like nothing else. I clearly have been lost up to now. Thank you.
Such a lot to do! Onward…
Thank you
Beautifully said and thought out. Now let’s get to work on them.
A bit loose. could have been distilled to create a much shorter list.
One person's rubbish may be another persons's treasure!