denis wrote:
"The trick might be to engineer people to have less simplistic desires. To
engineer people who have a desire for action, rather than aversion against
it."
I don't think that is quite possible. There will always be a balance between
lazy and "action-oriented" people. Someone set in an environment with lots
of working and ambicious people will feel a sort of inner urge to find peace
in contempt, whereas someone in a "lazy environment" will feel the urge to
attain higher goals simply because the resources are there to be used and no
one seems to be interested. In previous social models, you had the "peasant"
classes, who couldn't do any particular action because of their education
and economic possibilities, and blamed their lack of enthusiasm on their
lack of resources. Nowadays, in western countries, nearly everyone can get a
degree and have access to information (internet and libraries) and ambitious
ideas are everywhere, but still you see the great majority of people
settling down with what they consider enough.
I believe that dispersion is actually beneficial, since it is that kind of
"inate stupidity" and stuborness that prevents some people of actually
believing in some very rationally convincing and charismatic ideas, that in
the end turn out to be not that much true. Previous to Einstein, a lot of
people came up with those kind of "stupid ideas", actually trying to
convince themselves that the almighty newtonian laws of movement where
false. Altough they are quickly dismissed because they themselves often come
up with those ideas out of nothing and with no clue as to how things
actually worked, the things they claimed still stir our imaginations. If
Einstein had taken a degree in physics, he might have had all those existing
laws so engraved in his mind that the thought of coming up with something
radically new would seem impossible.
And remember that usually the most valued art comes from the least ambitious
people and those with more simplistic desires.
"Take your time to look at the things God has made for you to see, and you
won't have the time to search those He hid from you."
(Can't remember the author... was a priest)
Hugo Alves
arcozelo@hotmail.com
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