Wealth

In support of a constructive approach, we'll do some posts that deal with basic issues, and more.

Of course, the 'backbone' will be in the mix. Too, juxtaposition of this with the newbies.

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In other words, fun all around.

Remarks:

12/13/2011 -- McKinsey report shows that households hold over 40% of the world's wealth. Hence, the consumer as the major influence on the economy. Now, consider that the household wealth collection (using income in the U.S. as a proxy) is skewed to a very small bunch.

Modified: 12/13/2011

Henry and George

Foreword: George (see below) has been quoted as saying that the world would be better without editors. I can see his point. They change structure thereby stomping on what an author is trying to convey. Yet, their 'lifting' of the message (assuming that this is possible) can improve what was written. And, would we not acknowledge that some of what we see in blogs could use an edit or two? The whole tone in this blog is supposed to be coherent and, hopefully, convergent to some notion that has extreme importance (in my opinion) to our future. From time to time, there may be what seems like a digression, yet such has a purpose. This is a start of one of those.

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George is for George Edward Kimball, III whom I met 46 years ago (Aug '65) in Lawrence, KS. In brief, George was my roommate for about six months. He and I kicked around Lawrence until I left in spring of 1967 for SF. I did not see George, again, until 2009 when we (my wife and I) caught up with him at lunch in Lawrence.

As I recall, George and I never talked about our past or families. I read some (especially the recap sponsored by the Irish Times) on George a few years ago. I had not known that his father was close by and was an officer (after high school, I had spent two years in the Army) or that he had a pedigree (his existential being was 'beat' or some semblance).

About two years ago, I started to do my wife's family history (my folks are post-Civil War) and discovered that she was Kimball by several threads. So, was it George or Kimball that I knew (to be explained, in time)?

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After some reflection the past few weeks, I thought that I would try to understand and to express George's impact on my life and on his times. Plenty have acknowledged his influence. Who is even looking at the larger picture?

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In another forum, I started a series dedicated to GEK III: Salem Commoners and Cambridge non-commoners. Those posts deal with the times and troubles that we all share in general; these posts here will be more of a personal, and philosophical, nature.

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Why under truth engineering? George, in a sense, was a collection of axioms and rules within my cognitive framework that express the 'truth.' Are we all not such types of aggregations (in our being?), or as some might say, conglomerations? I used 'archetype' [09/23/2015 -- georgekimball [dot] com is gone] in a prior medium (JMS comments). But, we'll get more into that through time and posts.

While George and I were rooming, I had a revelation about why I bounced around colleges. I wrote an op-ed titled Why I am a College dropout which was published in fall 1965 by the KU paper (I'll post this on-line sometime). Harking back to the editor comment of George, when I re-read this paper recently, I was struck by how far off the mark it was due to editorial changes. Too, I thought that I might redo it in order to clarify the message.

So, not only did I write the article, I dropped classes and became a part-time student for several years at various places. You see, the message in the paper is that the educational experience is targeted to 'career' and employment rather than self-realization (what is that?).

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Of course, a pragmatic sense would take the more direct thrust. But, I ask you, where will people find some place where they can learn of truth, life, and values that are beyond money and mere posturing?

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So, who is Henry and why is he first? Well, Henry is for Henry Adams who was quite prolific. He may not have been perfect (and has had his critics), however I really liked his EOHA, for several reasons, when I read it as a young man enough to adopt 'EOJ' (Education of John) for my quest as an autodidact.

Henry's life and experiences were very much different than mine in many ways; yet, given the American experience, there were overlaps. And, that will be a major part of the story as I recall George's roles.

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In a sense, George was the first cohort that I met who was not hung up in the trappings that are thrown down for the younger set in order to pull them into the established 'order' ostensibly for the sake of peace and harmony. How he might have maneuvered himself away from this might bear some attention. But, that will be later.

Until I met George, I hung my ropes on the tranquility offered by the likes of Emerson (Ralph W., of course) and Spinoza (Baruch, of course). That is not, in itself, bad; yet, post-George the world loomed larger. Let me explain some operational details since there was a diversion into existentialism which, thankfully for me, morphed into a hybrid (with influence by Kierkegaard).

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Of course, I had sat in classrooms. I had done that in several other universities prior to my sojourn at KU. I even knew many remarkable minds, including a cohort who had been 'indoctrinated' (this will be addressed many times -- sufficient to become clear, it is my hope) at the Sorbonne. Too, I had had my exposure to the counterculture and similar.

Yet, George brought something to the table that I had not seen before. What that was (is) will take some time to explain and discuss.

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For one, George's posturing was more tongue-in-cheek than earnest. At least, that was my take. In other words, George was the real deal.

Consider please, George's writing reflected his humor from what I have seen (even the early Beat work (it is phenomenal that someone inter-generational, like George was, could be so successful in the medium) and perhaps more).

Too, George knew that 'posturing' is the oldest profession (related to establishing the pecking order); yet, he also did not have to step into the ring, so to speak (I don't think that he knew that I had six brothers -- three of whom are Marines).

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Mind you, it was at the time of the 'dropout' article that I took to serious self-study (all of the connotations). In my opinion, there is no support in our culture for this type of learning. Nor, is it even respected. Probably, the closest thing would be the book club that has actual discussions.

Are there things like a chemistry club? Physics club? Etc. Oh, I know, lab experience is the main issue here. But, have you heard of a Math club? Oh yes. For students. What about the larger population?

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As an aside, education has been as bounded (hounded) by 'special interest' groups as has politics.

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It was while George was my roommate that I started to seriously read Psychology/Psychiatry. In particular, I studied almost the sum total of Jung's works. Too, I began a more experimental set of studies whose results are yet to be published.

Universities are great since their libraries can be a gold mine of material. That is, before the WWW, library stacks were the place to find knowledge. Unless, one sat at someone's feet; I never did this; did George?

Prior to George's advent into the scene, my main learning technique was to wander the stacks, pick books at random, open them to a random page and then start to read. Of course, you would then follow up. It is not unlike going to those things referenced in a text book and actually reading the source material.

Who does that in this day and age?

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George added to my reading list in an interesting way. Would it ever have come about in my random fashion? Of course, this touches upon the role, and necessity or not, of any mentor during one's journey through the various valleys of knowledge.

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George was quite social; I met a whole bunch of people while he was my roommate. As well, suffered the sleepless night.

My roommate after George was a student working on his dissertation who was up all night reading and typing notes.

There were several juxtapositions, such as this, that associate in my mind when thinking about George.

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Henry Adams was about 100 years before George's and my time, and Henry lived through a transitional time. We all know about the transitions that we peers of George have gone through. Ought we be taking a closer look?

I probably ought to find someone from the prior transition times (that is, colonial - late 1600s -- and revolutionary -- late 1700s) in order to complete the proper composite. With both George's and my wife's tree, I'm sure that I can do this (by the way, Adams is a cousin, to boot).

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The point of all this? Look at what the label says.

Remarks:

08/03/2015 -- George as inspiration of computing and existentialism.

04/23/2015 -- George at Beats in Kansas.

07/03/2014 -- The Magna Charta is a wonderful example for us to apply to provider (king)/user (baron) issues.

11/30/2012 -- Turns out that Baruch will be of more use than I had thought.

07/06/2012 -- Today, we have the one-year remembrance of George Edward Kimball III (GEK III). In another context, there was mention of a wider realm. That theme will be explored within the framework of t-issues in the sense of what we can learn from cohorts. ...

06/17/2012 -- George, again. By the way, the above-mentioned article written while young was influenced by my infatuation with Spinoza. When I think back, I appreciated his 'ethics' focus (may I ask? in the modern world of the best and brightest, who even considers ethics?). One theme of the article dealt with the purpose of knowledge (and acquisition, thereof). Yes, again, the modern view: to increase one's advantage at gaming (idiotic at its core). So, why learn other than to keep your 'lord' (it over all) position? I will try to explain, in due time. It's one of the main themes of the GEK III posts.

12/09/2011 -- Nitty gritty truth I.

12/06/2011 -- Alex Belth characterizes George as a 'bad ass' while adding the further qualification of his being so in the Sportswriting world. I would offer an alternative view that would stress positive connotations. George represented a lot that ought to be more prevalent in a sustainable world. He was iconoclastic and liked to tweak the noses of those in authority. However, he was for the little person and supported their interests. How to describe this better? Hmmm. Would it have a sub-title: When men grow up?

12/05/2011 -- What would George have thought of the OWS?

09/21/2011 -- On Wealth and the CEO MVP.

09/10/11 -- The Georges can get mixed up. We have GEK III, of course. But, we ought not to forget George Orwell who tells me that I dropped out from point collecting, not education.

08/17/2011 -- On cousins, it goes this way. There were early families, say early 1600s. Then, starting around 1630, a mass influx happened in New England. Thousands of families, swamping resources. After about 30 years (we can pick the events in England that relate to this), the flow over here slowed to a trickle. Hence, families over here inter-married so as to make an American line, so to speak. There are many people now from New England who have literally 100s of colonial families in their tree. Hence, one can find 'cousins' everywhere, almost.

Modified: 09/23/2015

Economic truths

We could not continue without eventually getting to beans and books. Everyday, there are innumerable amounts of attention, incalculable exertions, tons of media assets (time and resources), and a bunch of hoopla about the markets. Ca-pital-sino, we can call it.

At its basis, what is the truth? We do not know, folks, for several reasons. Things continue despite starts and stops. Derivatives overlay the reality which is not 'real' in that the things which are being valued and counted do not map well to that abstract world of money.

So, we have arbitrary rules, defined by a bunch of old men, and then interpretation leeways.

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Sorry state of affairs. Can we do better?

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Who is trying? Warren, and the whole cadre, want to fill their pockets.

Let me propose this: someone who has taken a vow of simple living, and who has the discipline to not pilfer, could set matters straight. But, we would have to get the fat cats out of the way.

What is the chance of that happening?

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Well, we can discuss how this might work; at least, that is a start.

Remarks:

08/05/2012 -- This post is on the most-read list. Things continue to be interesting.

10/10/2011 -- New horizon forming? Perhaps, chances of leaning (as in, de-fatting) the fat cats have risen slightly.

09/21/2011 -- On Wealth and the CEO MVP.

09/14/2011 -- One source of problems is, of course, from accounting. Yet, t-issues would make the claim that the technical problems are exploited by humans intent on misdeed. These need to be categorized, to boot.

Modified: 08/05/2012

Memes, and more

Seeing an article on Memes in the Smithsonian Magazine brought several reactions.

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At first, a little irony cropped up. Just like this blog dances around t-issues, those who use meme stay on this side of the metaphysical. Ah, when will science allow a more full view? By the way, truth engineering can help attain this.

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Then, associated with the article was this one on media making us dumber. Of course, they're only talking the social, at this point. But, we could use the TV, too (idiot box, some have said). Perhaps, even radio may have had some denigration thrown at it.

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Even back in the early days, some may have seen writing as a means to lessen memory (phenomenally, of more stature than any of our artificial beasties). To wit, the old guys knocking those who were chiseling in stone. Bring this forward step by step.

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So, we see 'Turn on, Log in, Wise up' (06/25/2015 -- if only, then the real promise of the web/cloud might be realized) as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the 60s (and Leary) in the context of the internet's influence on our psyches. Forgetting the zombies who drive (that is, mindless attention to some social media being presented by a supposed 'smart' device all the while riding in a dangerous projectile whose sole control is reliant upon the brain of the one who, in a trance, seems to be absorbed in some 'nothing' that seems to be every dense nowadays), there is still a lot to look at here.

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We need to get back to being (and Being), having left this topic dangling for a long while. After all, note the use of 'Being' in the label.

Remarks:

06/25/2015 -- Throwback Thursday, a social media meme. Leary's influence (also, his iconoclastic self's rewards - albeit, late - let's hear it for Berkeley as that which allowed his salvage). Referenced this from that (on auras).

06/25/2015 -- ACM Communications had an article (Created Computed Universe) that suggest that our computional prowess ought to lead to agnosticism rather than to anything else. Of course, my initial remark: So many modern minds conjure and contort in order to introduce what is not much different than what some knew many millennia ago in the desert.

11/09/2012 -- Picked up a Dawkins book yesterday that grabbed me several ways. So, I'll have to be getting back to this discussion. Anyone not get either/or? Does it not say to get your face out of that of others'?

11/08/2012 -- Wonderful new blog: Engineering Memes.

05/03/2012 -- We'll start a 'meme' discussion, Either / Or. 

05/01/2012 -- We'll need to talk singularity in the context of Alan.

12/05/2011 -- We have a new meme. Rather than have/have nots (which is a moral split), we now have 1%-99% (a metrical space); that is, something within which we can maneuver and make decisions (any more meaningful?).

08/11/2011 -- IEEE -- The selfish meme.

08/10/2011 -- For 'head-butt' below, use 'establish pecking order' (all the various ways -- perhaps the meme will guide to that which is less destructive to the innocent).

08/05/2011 -- In case there is a need to be more obvious (the meme: the chicken or the egg -- below), which is the oldest profession: head-butt or mate. Note, if you would, that the latter is usually preceded by the former, in many cases.

08/03/2011 -- There are several ways to ponder economics within an evolutionary framework. However, starting with the two (no, not one) 'oldest' professions might be of interest: head-butting (see Remarks 07/29/2011) and, then, that which is usually cast as the oldest. Which came first (the meme: the chicken or the egg)?

Modified: 06/25/2015

Social era

The title refers to the theme of the IEEE Spectrum's June, 2011 issue. All of the articles are interesting to a truth engineering framework, however here is a peek at a few.

• Super socialize me -- the cover theme. Altogether, there are sixteen articles very much worth a read. The following order has no implied meaning (not even Jungian).
• New insults -- looking at some of the behavior that these new media invoke in people, one might think that the Johnson quote might be apropos: It is surely better a man should be abused than forgotten.
• The map -- interesting little take on people finding each other via the new media; how many are looking for you? says one ad.
• This is your mind online -- Ah yes, the web's contents/presentations do (can) have palpable results. And, what we are on-line may tell a bit about ourselves (only to the extent allow by 'being' (small-t issue). The avatar (whose look, and behavior, will surely change) is one example that bears some more attention.
• Under the hood -- basically looks at some technical issues related to the two big players, yet these apply to the whole spectrum. Yes, your on-line being does not exist without a whole lot of support.

Now, to tie into the blog's focus, here are some concepts to be explored further within the context of social media: map-territory, Turing space, t-issues, truth and lemons, ... One subject may be to anticipate how these will look in 10 years and to what extent we may have changed.

... in work

Remarks:

12/13/2012 -- Is it time to move beyond the Turing Test?

Modified: 12/13/2012

Caveat Emptor

Beware, essentially. A recent article in the ACM Communications, inadvertently, lays out the motivation behind Truth Engineering. We'll have to take advantage of that. Why?

It ought to become 'be aware' which is what is essential to life (sensors, feedbacks, etc.).

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The article is under controlled access; see Fedaerated's comment and the editorial review.

The article deals with why 'lemons' can be a problem with markets. Now, why are markets important? Essentially, with the newer age's progress (supposed -- to be discussed), the wisdom of crowds, and markets, are how we know the truth?

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Is that not silly? To carry it further, the article, by Princeton people, was serious in describing how we cannot know many things. Such as the future. Well, risk handling looks at that. Or, such as, whether your buddy is trustworthy. Here, folks, the military paradigm has the advantage. And, it's related to group dynamics, partly. We ought to run some of the banking, similarly, under a bare bones (truthful) mechanism, thereby removing fat cats, et al.

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Now, to the matter, we'll get back to lemons. We all hope that we're not dealing with such, but how do we know? Usually, family is a fall-back thing but not always. The military carries that forward, with the band of brothers. We can talk about all sorts of ways that humans have dealt with hypocrisy and deceit.

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But, then come mathematics, which is the realm, usually, of the egg-heads, and its companion, computation. Early reactions, by the public, was that the computer knows all (hence, one of the attractions of Watson), even though there was the adage of garbage-in, garbage-out. You see, GIGO still assumed that 'logic' was right. See? Yet, we know chips fail, etc.

Ever think that the mathematics, itself, can be suspect? Evidently, Hawking does not, from what I can see. But, we'll save that for another time.

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The referenced article laid out a rationale for describing how a buyer could be duped even with transparency and rational decisions. How? Complexity, in certain cases, prevents determining sleight of hand on the part of the seller.

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Consider, folks, that this could even be unconscious on the part of the seller, though, in most cases, it's just the human trait to try 'to screw' someone.

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These are computationally hard problems, but intuition can help. That is, the very thing that was thrown out by the egg-head mathematicians is the essential thing needed for truth assessment. Yes, indeed. Somehow, we've all been led to honor, worship, a particular brand of mathematics, probably due to its success in conquering the world. At the same time, has not the mess (oops on oops) grown to be worse?

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Not proposing easy answers, as these are difficult issues. However, a new type of elitism has emerged with the mathematic/computation-ally expressed worlds (first, second, cyber, ...) that can be chilling to observe and downright ominous in its possible consequences. Some have ranted about this.

Unfortunately, the whole mechanism of out-housing (doing in the doers) is based upon this paradigm that exploits and spits out. Yet, as demonstrated by those who have ascended, there are heights to attain; however, and I say again, however, it will, in the end, turn out to be within the egalitarian scope loved so much by some of the boomers, in their youth.

And, crucial to the theme will be those things for which truth engineering was meant to offer a means for knowing, controlling, and ensuring sustainability across the board.

Remarks:

10/19/2013 -- Changes are pending.

09/21/2011 -- On Wealth and the CEO MVP.

05/28/2011 -- We'll see 'avatars' galore.

Modified: 10/19/2013

Doers II

In reviewing some old posts (2008), I ran across this one (Doers and speculators). Sheesh, we think those types that deal with abstractions as being so smart. Like, how many idolize Warren, as if he is some epitome? Then, Big Ben has his following, too.

Now, reading this post made me recall the motivation. Too, I see that it is right on three years later. For some reason, there has been a little digression but not really.

Let's, first, pull together posts related to this theme from the past few years.

• Criticism and truth (October 26, 2007) - if one looks at sports, for instance, it's really apparent. How many arm chair quarterbacks are there each monday night throughout the NFL season? In baseball, there are nine on the field for any team at any point in the game. Forgetting the few, coaches and staff and such, that support the team, how many are involved (fans: at the game, watching on tv, etc.)? So, we have only a small collection of doers and a whole lot of watchers. Trouble is, the economy is like that, too. Just as people bet on games, the markets (as currently defined) allow a whole lot of gambling that is really not of much usefulness (crowd sourcing notwithstanding).
• Justice and truth (November 10, 2007) - as the workers toil, they diminish to naught. As the watchers gain, fat cats grow unbounded. Part of that is the belief that business has to be ruthless (to wit, article about Warren's recent misstep - see Remarks 04/30/2011).
• Free and fee (August 27, 2008) - something for nothing seems to be the underpinning motivation of greed (or more for less, etc.). That this cannot lead to realistic, and sustainable, economics is what we need to look at.
• Truth and toil (September 16, 2009) - of course, there is always the 'classism' that is the basis of capitalism (which is one big factor in the emergence of the ca-pital-sino).

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What is the point of all this? Well, there are two things. For one, problems with handling abstractions cause more than just the map-territory mishap in which we see the model becoming more real, in the minds of some, than that which is modeled. Pity the poor sucker caught in the jaws of the six-sigma tightening belt.

Secondly, many, who are in the positions of power, never did a lick of 'real' work (as in, dirty hands, of course). Now, we may consider that excelling at some sport may be considered 'work' in this context. A joke that one heard prior to the wedding of last week was that some, within the ranks of the royals, were aghast that Kate had actually worked for a living.

Perhaps, if some of those who are the diapered CEO types had been forced to work their way up (in senses to be discussed), they would not fall so much under the weight of their egos into hubris. The military model works in this case. There are few higher-order officers who have not come up through the ranks (O-series, sufficient, okay?). That is, one does not fall into a position of command via family or appointment (though, some politicos would probably want this).

In terms of exhausting their resources, some top-down thinkers would know more about the reality of what can be accomplished if they had the proper experience. But, no. Management has taken itself to be above differentiation by domain as it operates from universals (or, almost).

The whole out-housing phenomenon is predicated on a never-ending pool of potential exploitees. But, that is a whole another subject to be addressed.

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Of course, the whole system is awry in this sense and has been for some time. After all, it was several 100s years ago that the first insurance minds cast lots in betting on the success of the doers (people like those who produced goods and those actually moved them from one place to another - in many cases, facing storms on a raging sea). Then, we have funny money which has no basis in reality, at all.

Remarks:

03/25/2013 -- The Atlantic had an article about King Abdullah II. Now, he is an example of a doer, from several angles. What I liked when I read it was that while being educated in Massachusetts, he bussed tables. What that means for those who don't know is clean up dirty dishes and such. When I, as a young man, was in the US Army, we had still had KP duty which included such types of things. Another task that ought to be tried once by everyone: cleaning the grease pit.

05/25/2011 -- Lemons problem, dark pools, ... Oh, so much to look at!

05/09/2011 -- Milking the system, something from nothing, ... (analogous to perpetual motion).

05/06/2011 -- Good engineers are doers.

05/05/2011 -- New America Foundation: Middle class under siege.

Modified: 03/25/2013