leslie dean brown

High definition destruction

March 17, 2016 — leslie dean brown

It always amazes me how all of these latest technologies showcase *nature*. I find that quite ironic. I find it ironic because we get the copper and other elements that are contained within electronics from mines. And it is frequently places like the forests in Papua New Guinea that are mined to get these elements.

What is the point of high-definition television, holograms, visual special effects, if we are just going to watch the destruction of nature in ever-greater detail? Or fake representations of nature? I can go outside and see it in higher definition than any screen will be able to display. It’s called “atomic resolution”. I.e. real life.

I don’t understand people. Watching nature makes us happy. As we distance ourselves further and further from nature, we think that we can live separate from it. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Yet most of us carry on our daily lives almost in fear of the natural. We go on poisoning it. Controlling it. Dominating it.

What is the point of faster or more comfortable airlines if the destinations are not as pristine as they used to be?

What is the point of creating high definition televisions, sharper lenses and ever-more megapixels, if we’re only going to witness the destruction of nature in ever-greater detail and clarity?

A common observation is that nature provides much inspiration even for 3D models. So I encourage people to donate to environmental charities instead of buying the latest technologies all the time. Half the reason we are in so much shit with the planet is because we have forgotten how to give back to nature. We are always taking and never giving back. So I encourage you to stand up, speak up . That way, you might *truly* feel better about ourselves, our civilisation, instead of feeling this ‘guilt’ for what we are doing.

The truth is, unfortunately we do not value nature as much as we should. We do not see the work that it does for us. Trees create oxygen for us for free. If we had to extract our own oxygen from carbon dioxide, how much do you think that would cost us?

Philosophy of green economics: promoting a new oxygen tax.

March 15, 2016 — leslie dean brown

I think many people operate on the assumption that our technology makes us somehow ‘superior’ to all other species; thus we feel like we are more independent and separate from nature, we have become more detached. And therein lies the problem…

If you do think along those lines, perhaps you should ask yourself: Where does your oxygen supply come from? Where does all of our fresh water come from? And who, or what, actually cleans and maintains the health of rivers, lakes and oceans which have provided us with food for hundreds and thousands of years?

Who actually gets rid of nature’s organic waste? No, it’s not your local sewerage treatment plant. It’s bacteria. It’s algae. It’s molluscs. It’s crustaceans. That’s who.

And who renews the nutrients in the soil? And I don’t mean who fertilises the soil, I mean, who breaks down the fertiliser? It’s not the farmer. All farmers do is plant crops, remove ‘weeds’ and ‘pests’ and then harvest those same crops. In that sense, farmers don’t ‘grow’ crops — crops grow themselves! Farmers maintain crops. They guide crops so that they are more productive. The farmer doesn’t pay his legion of plant employees, does he? He doesn’t pay the organims that do all of the really hard back-breaking work right down in soil, does he? [Read more…]

Where do you want to go today? [Windows upgrade psychology]

March 10, 2016 — leslie dean brown

A few days ago I received yet another persistent reminder to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. So I thought I’d share some insights from a long-time windows user. Here is my open letter to Microsoft.

Dear Microsoft,

It all began with that nagging little popup thingo at the bottom right of my computer screen. I don’t know about the other X00 million people, but I personally found that so annoying I soon disabled it. As soon as I realised it wasn’t going to disappear on it’s own. As soon as I saw the pattern. Why did I do that? I did it because I know that it was far easier than upgrading the whole OS.

There’s a famous quote about lazy people at Microsoft:

“I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”– Bill Gates

Now you have taken to my inbox. Several times in fact. Humans are good at recognising patterns, aren’t they? I’m sorely tempted to label your email ‘spam’, because I don’t recall signing up to any email newsletters about Windows upgrades. What’s next? Are you going to be pestering people to upgrade with facebook and twitter? I really don’t think you should do that. Trust me.

Yes we are busy people. Some of us do need reminders. But what about people with good memories? Do you think we have forgotten about your kind offer? Or are you lumping us all in with the forgetful ones? Thanks. [Read more…]

Is societal collapse due to our own basic human stupidity?

March 4, 2016 — leslie dean brown

I think one characteristic of humanity is that as a whole we are inherently stupid, very stupid! And I think I know the reason why…

Looking back at former civilisations, it is always noteworthy how blatantly ignorant humanity was about the consequences of its own actions. We look back now and think we know better than we did before. Do we?

Even knowing what we know, time and time again we over-estimate our current intelligence level. Not only do we fail to learn by other people’s mistakes, but even when we know what is good for us, we are reluctant to change.

I think many people today are becoming too complacent. I think we think that we can still out-smart anything and everything that comes our way, that our technology will always provide us with an answer. Will it?

[Read more…]

Leonardo da Vinci

March 4, 2016 — leslie dean brown

Have you noticed that most people today only strive to develop one career at a time? When you ask someone what they do, they invariably say one profession, don’t they? The government won’t support you in your pursuit of two simultaneous ventures or studies either, will they? You’re either studying full time or working full time. Sequential careers, yes. Concurrent careers, no.

When I was a boy, my hero was without a doubt Leonardo da Vinci. I admired him most of all because he was able to combine engineering, science, invention and art. Excellence in each of these disciplines made him a veritable genius. If you’re going to aim high, why restrict yourself to being an expert in one field, when you can choose among many?

Sometimes I wonder, how well would he do today in today’s modern world? If he were plucked out of his time and plonked into ours now, what would he do? Everything he conjured up has already been invented. I am sure that he wouldn’t be able to land a conventional science or engineering job as he’d be considered a “jack of all trades and master of none”. You know how it is. Recruiters would take one look at his long hair and his resume and quip: “so you say you’re a painter, sculptor, architect, scientist, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, astronomer, cartographer, botanist, historian and a writer? Right.”. Or he’d be a starving artist. Galleries and museums wouldn’t be too impressed with his portfolio either – “Sorry, your style is not what we’re looking for (not creative enough) my friend”.

I think if you brought Leonardo da Vincci to our time zone he’d be an entrepreneur. It’d sure take him a while before he even found something new and worthwhile to research or invent. And he’d probably be addicted to Google. It’d make an interesting television series, wouldn’t it? Go back in time and interview famous people from the past. Then bring them here and see how they cope with modern life. “Leo, this is called a helicopter. This is a drone. This is a drone flying inside a helicopter. Oh he’s finally arrived. Leo, we want you to meet Mr. Van Gogh, an artist from another time period.” I wonder how they’d react.

I have no idea why I’m writing this. I suppose it is just more content. But it’s also to remind myself that when in doubt about my persona, I look to Leonardo, the quintessential renaissance man. What would he do today I wonder? I think he would do exactly what he does best: not to pursue expertise in just one field, but to delve into many areas simultaneously. Only then would he try to make sense of the world…