>From some recent posts I got the idea that it might
be interesting -- possibly even useful! -- for people
on the Advanced Freedom Solutions List to discuss the
question: "Is "Government" Possible?"
Note that I'm not asking whether "government" is
necessary; I'm asking whether "it" is *possible*.
To get the discussion going, I present two major
propositions with minor corolaries:
1. Individual human beings are volitional. We have
power of choice. Through our brains, we essentially
control the energy that animates our bodies. I lift
my finger as a result of a decision in my brain. To
learn more how and why this implies that we are free by
nature, read 'The Discovery of Freedom' by Rose Wilder
Lane -- available from <http://www.laissezfaire.org/>.
This issue is also covered in some of the basic freedom
reports at <http://www.buildfreedom.com/>.
1a. The notion that we can be "externally controlled"
is a myth. It's only because most people have been
brainwashed into believing and obeying terrocrats
(coercive political agents or terrorist bureaucrats)
that the apparency of "external control" is created
in some people's minds.
2. From cybernetics (the science of control and feedback
systems) we learn that in many cases a controlling
process has to be around 1,000 - 10,000 times faster
than a controlled process. Consider, for example,
a steel-making oven controlled by a computer. The
"significant time frame" of the oven is about five
minutes. If the oven starts overheating, corrective
action typically has to be taken within five minutes
to prevent permanent damage to the oven.
In order for the computer to take corrective action
within five minutes, it typically has to perform of
the order of 100 actions or calculations per second.
The "significant time frame" of the computer has to
be around one-hundredth of a second. In addition,
the computer must be able to "sense" the temperature
of the oven, detect changes that require intervention,
and transmit signals to the oven's heating mechanism
for corrective action. (In this example, the
controlling process is about of 30,000 times faster
than the controlled process.)
2a. Consider driving a car. Your brain and senses
constitute the controlling process. The car is
the controlled process. If the car starts veering
off the road, or some other eventuality requires
corrective action, you typically need to do something
within a second to prevent an "accident" or disaster.
Therefore, the "significant time frame" of the car
is around one second, maybe less.
In order for your brain to be fast enough to signal
your muscles to take the exact and precise corrective
actions necessary, within a second, it probably has
to perform actions and calculations at the rate of
at least 1,000 per second. It may have to perform
parallel processing to achieve this. A strong case
can be made that the brain as controlling process
requires a "significant time frame" 1,000 times or
more faster than that of the car being controlled.
2b. There are certain "dumb" control processes such
as the governer of a steam engine. The governor
consists of "flaps" that rotate above openings from
which steam can escape. As the engine speeds up,
centrifugal force raises the flaps, enlarging the
openings, enabling more steam to escape, slowing
down the engine. The governer establishes and
maintains the maximum speed of the steam engine.
Another example of a dumb control process is the
thermostat that turns the air-conditioning system
on an off.
2c. Considering these cybernetic factors, you could
conclude that, in order for "government control" to
be possible:
(i) The terrocrats who masquerade as "government"
would have to have extremely fast brains;
(ii) The "controlled" victims would have to provide
the terrocrats with all the information necessary for
"external control" (or the terrocrats would have to
be omniscient);
(iii) The "controlled" victims would have to have
extremely slow brains;
(iv) The "controlled" victims would have to be
brainwashed into belief and obedience, that is,
further "dumbed down";
(v) The "controlled" victims would have to be
subject to control by dumb control processes.
Frederick Mann
PS. I'm posting this message to several lists I
subscribe to. I'll collect the most interesting
responses and repost them to the Advanced Freedom
Solutions List.
To participate in the discussion -- and to not miss
out on the most interesting responses -- subscribe
to the AFS list: <mailto:AFS@involved.com> with
"subscribe" in the body of your message.
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