{"id":1506,"date":"2011-02-11T17:24:53","date_gmt":"2011-02-11T09:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/visaisahero.wordpress.com\/?p=1506"},"modified":"2015-02-18T17:14:14","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T17:14:14","slug":"conversation-about-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2011\/02\/11\/conversation-about-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"conversation about the future"},"content":{"rendered":"

I meant to write a long blog post but got distracted by a fun conversation on MSN, so I thought I’d share! Enjoy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ufeffAyesha says:
\nolaaa<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nhowdy<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nneeed alcohol<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nhahaha why is that<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ncause i’m fucked up, but i dont wanna know it
\nlol!
\nso
\nhow you doing<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\ndoing great
\ni’ve been working on sorting out my life<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nsorting out your life?
\nwot is it that needs sorting?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\njust lah a bit of everything. it’s not really a “need”, just kind of fun to do
\nlike my finances and fitness and sleeping habits and stuff<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nahhh
\ngood good
\ngood to focus on the minor details<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nit becomes like a game<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\na game
\nthey say that’s the next big thing
\nwe’re leaving the era of social networking<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nI think I know what you’re talking about
\nbut elaborate so I know for sure<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nand going into the era of gaming
\neveryfuckingthing will be a game
\nit’s simple really, it’s been here all along but we didnt see it
\nrewards for doing shit
\nbut the current systems suck<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nimproved incentive management, basically<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ncredit card reward plans are rubbish
\nxactly<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nI mean if you think about why video games are so addictive<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nlemme see if i can find the video<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\ni’ve seen it
\nthe TED one right<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\na bittoo somethingorother to have a real intellectual discussion
\nyesyes
\nneil wotsisface<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nI was actually thinking about it before I saw it<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nor nick<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nI was wondering why I loved video games so much
\nand I realise it’s because of a range of things
\nfrom cameraderie in team-based games to a sense of accomplishment<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nyes yes<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nand I realised that I could apply that to my own life to motivate myself
\nthe way i’m motivated to develop my characters in video games<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nyes!
\nbrilliant!
\nthere it is, that beauty right there!<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nbecause after all life is like the most epic role playing game ever, where you get to choose your own character, your own plot, your own missions, etc<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nfuck this we gotta DO soemthign!
\nand the best bit is you cant start over<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nit’s just that people are often limited because they don’t see the options they have<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nnot completely anyway<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthat’s one of the things that’s addictive about video games
\nyour trajectory is clearly plotted out for you<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nthey see problems as problems, the solutions arent so clearcut
\nexactly!<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nso if you clearly plot things out for yourself
\nthe solutions become self-evident<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nvoila
\nitsjust a series of quests
\ndo you play wow?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\ni don’t think that trivializes life in any way though
\ni have friends who do, so i’m very familiar with it<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ndefinitely not<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nin fact i think it enriches it
\nbecause it pushes you to push yourself harder to get the most out of it
\nif people played wow the way they lived their lives<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nfucking brill<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthey would walk around the first village they’re spawned in
\nand just walk here walk there
\nnever doing anything<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nhahahaha
\nmmhmm
\nsit around getting wasted, fucking everything that moves<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nhahaa
\nit can be fun until you realise that
\nthere’s actually a whole world out there
\nwaiting to be mined for gold and experiences lol<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nall that beauty, wasted!<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nit’s like playing chess without knowing that the pieces can move more than one step<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nbut it’s ugly too
\nthis world today is so ugly
\nlike one of those huge boss levels
\nexcept it’s so bloody humongous, you need a whole damn clan of the world
\nand you get disheartened
\ndo you try to fight, try to make a difference?
\nor do you just go about your own life, find your own piece of mind
\nbe oblivious to wot’s going on around you<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nwell if you get to say a single line in a huge play, do you make it count?
\nit might not count in the context of the entire play, but it might count to you, and to a few people who might’ve noticed you, and that’s all the difference
\nAyesha says:<\/p>\n

a play that’s thousands of years long<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nbillions<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nhahaha my faith in humanity isnt that strong<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\ni have a broader perspective of the universe
\ni have faith in life if not so much in humanity<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nthere’s this scifi book, it’s about how there are 7 different eras of human existence, each one going from barbarianism to civilization and then destruction
\nand how each era improves from the last one
\nand us right now, we are that first era
\nwe’re fucked up, but our mistakes ensure the next level wont repeat those
\ni would like to believe in that, but i dont know
\ni dont know anything<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nI think that’s a slightly ego-centric perspective
\nas in, the sci fi, not you<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nbahahaha<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\neven in speaking of destruction you’re really glorifying humanity
\ni don’t think we’re that special<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ni’m not averse to being egocentric<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nwe’re privileged, sure, but not special<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ni know right<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthe universe will survive and go on with or without humanity as it is
\nlife will survive, too<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nyes, but being wot we are, we’re only really concerned about the survival of our species no?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\ni like to factor in the concept of natural selection in anything, because it’s simple and effective
\nmost humans actually aren’t, not yet
\nmost of us are only concerned about the survival of the self
\nthe beautiful thing about biology is
\nin a social group, the survival of the group improves the odds of survival of the individual
\nthis is the foundation of all co-operative and altruistic behaviour
\nand love
\nwhy we care about our family members
\nnatural selection<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nexactly
\nthere is not such thing as love<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nover time, families that stick together are more likely to survive than families that don’t<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nnot the romantic notion we have of it
\nit’s just biology
\nsurvival
\nvisaisahero. says:<\/p>\n

well you’re both right and wrong at the same time
\nyou’re right in saying that it’s just biology<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ni’m so crazily in love with wotsisface only because he would be a good mate<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nbut when you assess it on the plane of its existence, it is very real
\nit’s not thaat simple<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nsimplistically it is<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nnot ultra-complicated either but moderately complex<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nthen you break it down into why
\nand thats where it gets complex<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nwe are predisposed towards having affections for each other
\nbecause in the scenarios where it’s reciprocated
\nboth individuals are better off for it<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nhmm
\nsometimes<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nand the benefit of that relationship to the individuals outweighs the value of solitude, in the long haul<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ndefinitely<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nif it weren’t the case the social construct wouldn’t survive
\ndo you know what happens in a relationship? any kind of relationship? it’s very interesting- even in friendship
\nsomething called transactive memory
\nyou know how if businesses mege
\n*merge
\nlike two textile companies
\none might focus on producing the material and the other on cutting it
\ncuts costs, improves value<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nso we specialise in our roles?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nwe do the same thing with our minds- thoughts, emotions, etc
\nit’s not so simple as you do the housework i bring home the money
\nthough in some cases that’s how it was
\nbut even little things like
\ni remember things that i’m good at and you remember things that you’re good at
\nlike i’m good with directions and you’re good with people, etc
\nover time we’ll start to specialize
\nwhich is why, very inerestingly
\nwhen you break off a relationship
\nyou feel an acute mental dissonance<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nyesyes i have had that<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nlike you’ve actually lost a part of your mind
\nbecause in a sense, you have
\nit’s like losing a calculator
\nor a phone full of numbers
\nfucking interesting don’t you think<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nahhhh<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nnow transactive memory is happening at a much larger scale
\nmeet wikipedia
\nbut inter-personal transaction is still highly valuable
\nbecause it’s very personalised
\nby its very nature
\nok so now we’ve spoken about families right
\nthink about larger communities
\nclusters of families
\ntribes
\nclans<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nclans<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthis is where religion comes in
\nfootball hooliganism
\nracism
\nin-group mentality
\nprejudice makes a lot of sense a few thousand years ago
\nit greatly improved your chance of survival
\nif you associated with one group
\nand collectively slaughtered raped pillaged others
\nour tribe is bigger and badder and better than your tribe<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nprotect your own, fuck the others<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nyeah
\nthe more neutral peaceful folk would’ve been assimilated or killed
\nangry bully like behaviour would be the most effective for survival
\nthat made sense 5000 years ago
\nuntil agriculture and heavy industry
\nthen things start to change<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nthe move from gesellschaft to gemeinschaft<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nwhut
\nAyesha says:<\/p>\n

from community
\nto individualism
\nthe difference between society and community
\nvisaisahero. says:<\/p>\n

i’m not too sure about that; it’s always very hard to analyse individuals because every individuals are unique<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nin a community everyone works together<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nbut if you look at a systemic level, between communities
\nsuppose tribe A is warrior tribe<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nthey are willing to sacrifice their individual interests for the greater good of the community<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nbut tribes B, C and D collaborate, trade and defend each other
\ntribe A can no longer bully the other tribes<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nbut society, individuals are more inclined to act in their own interest. there is still a sense of community, but it’s weaker now<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthere are a few different levels of community
\nthe nation-state, which is a western construct
\nthe civiliation-state, like china
\nthe powerful-in-group-state, like jews\/israel<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nyes yes but very generally gesellschaft was pre-industrial and gemeinschaft post<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthe religion-state, like islam at large
\ni think we can sort of intergrate individualism into the newer levels of community
\nbecause it is increasingly obvious that what benefits the state benefits the self<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nyes but also, it’s no longer so necessary for the state to progress to ensure self progression<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\neventually the nation-state construct will become irrelevant
\nhard to imagine that, though
\nbut it will happen
\nseveral generations time maybe<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nor
\nthe nation-state is reinvented<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\ni think things like the internet create ties and empathic bonds that are broader; humanity at large is becoming increasingly connected and intergrated
\nthe beautiful end goal will be when most of humanity sees humanity itself as the in-group<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nthere was this project, a company started a networking site specially for the most successful people in various industries<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nhahaha i’ve actually been doing that on facebook
\ni created a group and invited all the successful and awesome people i know
\nwhat happened<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nall those powerful ppl, they had all the connections to create their own megaubersuperpower nation<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nmmhmm<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nthey could have their own fucking army, schools, politicians, everyblloody thing<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nand then<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nbut all they ever used it for was social networking so lol
\nbut still
\nit’s scary no?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\ni think that’s precisely it
\nno i don’t think it’s scary i think it’s a good thing!
\nthey enjoy the value they get from the connectivity<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nin the wrong hands…?
\nin this sort of world today?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nalready happening\/has happened<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nwhere hardly anyone gives a shit?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nsee the beautiful thing about the world that nobody really talks about is that
\nif you want to be a selfish motherfucker who’s successful
\nit’s in your interest to make sure everyone else is successful as well<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\neveryone in your group
\nand at whose expense?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthere is no expense
\nit’s not a zero sum game<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nof course there is<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nour benefit does not have to come at another person’s loss
\ncollectively everyone in the world is better off than they were 10 years ago<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nof course it doesnt, but the reality?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthere are slight imbalances here and there but they correct themselves
\nin the short run nobody wants to do anything about africa
\nbut in the long run, it’s in everybody’s interest that they get on their own two feet
\nthe idea is still in its infancy but you can see the roots taking hold<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nit’s not just africa really, we are killing this planet<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nchina is investing in them
\nthe planet will be fine lol
\nit has survived much worse than us<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nat the rate we’re going?
\nand no it hasnt<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nwe are but a minor surface nuisance<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nhahahaha do you really believe that visa?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nit has been through ice ages, the reversal of the magnetic poles, meteor showers
\nthe earth will survive nuclear winter
\nwe won’t
\nbut the earth will
\nyou could set off all the nuclear bombs in the world all over
\nsome life will survive<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nyesyes<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nmicrobes, insects, plants<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nbut the destruction!<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nand over a few hundred thousand years the earth will be just fine<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nand wot about us then?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nwe either adapt and survive or fail and fuck off lol
\ni put my money on the former
\nbrb toilet<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nhahaha
\nsure sure gogo<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nback<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nwowquick<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthink about it, what’s the worst thing that’s happened since the 2nd world war? (which had less deaths than the first)
\nthe cold war could’ve ended terribly but it didn’t<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nwell you are right<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nnorth korea could go crazy but it hasn’t<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ni do think we’re fucking it up pretty badly, straining the earth, but ultimately you are right<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nbecause fundamentally people realise that it is no longer in ther self interest to go apeshit on each other
\nlast time can<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nit will be fine, with or without us<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nnow cannot
\nthe iraq war failed because of ethics
\n50 years ago they would have mustard gassed the place, like vietnam
\nthe world will no longer stand for that
\nthe backlash the US would recieve would cripple them
\nwomen’s rights, slavery<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ndefinitely<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nwe’re actually making progress on practically every front
\nwe’re just more scared than ever because we’re more aware than ever
\n100 years ago people didn’t know what was happening
\nnow we get minute by minute updates in HD video
\nso it’s scary<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\ntrue true
\nit’sbecome more real<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nterrorism has killed less people than mcdonalds and drink driving
\nand fewer and fewer people wil support it<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nhahahha<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nclean nuclear power or geo-power (harnessing lightning, volcanoes, etc) would end our power troubles, that and sustainable power (they’re working on biological-batteries based on self-replicating life forms, so some day you won’t have to charge your phone or laptop for like years)
\nhealthcare’s getting better, communications getting better, now you see poor people in india starving but got handphone<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nhahahahah
\nbio batteries eh?<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nthat would be awesome huh<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nyea man
\n*googles*<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\none thing we do know is
\nevery great invention that we take for granted
\nwas unexpected
\nnobody predicted the internet, or the laser, or the telephone
\n(well some people did but not the majority)<\/p>\n

Ayesha says:
\nmmhmm
\nahh the internet<\/p>\n

visaisahero. says:
\nso we can be fairly certain that there will be great (and probably accidental) discoveries and inventions that will revolutionize the world that we can’t even imagine yet
\nhealthcare will become less curative and more preventive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I meant to write a long blog post but got distracted by a fun conversation on MSN, so I thought I’d share! Enjoy. \ufeffAyesha says: olaaa visaisahero. says: howdy Ayesha says: neeed alcohol visaisahero. says: hahaha why is that Ayesha says: cause i’m fucked up, but i dont wanna know… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,23],"tags":[116,176,333],"class_list":["post-1506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-reflections","tag-conversations-2","tag-future","tag-optimism"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5gxNz-oi","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9248,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions\/9248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}