"The Matrix" on the news

E-Prime

"If a foolish man is associated with a wise man, even all his life, the foolish man will understand truth as little as a spoon understands the taste of soup." (Buddha)

My friend K called me to ask if I was ok after reading my last 2 depressing posts. You know, the flypaper one and the by the pond one. She's so lovely, little K. Don't worry K. I wrote the second one by the sea, watching my workmates commenting on gossip magazines, boats passing by, sun shinning. It's fiction, with a touch of reality, K. Just a touch. But thanks for calling.

I'm not blogging as often. Lots of funny things happened and they would fill this space gloriously if it wasn't for my foolish attempt to write in E-Prime. It is not easy to eliminate the verb "to be" from our writing, ladies and gentleman, but apparently it restructures the way we think, and obviously the way we sound. But it takes time to get used to it, and it sounds weird as fuck, for instance, to substitute "Portishead is better than Shakira" for "In my mixed state of musical education and ignorance Portishead seems better than Shakira to me". Or even, "the phone is ringing" replaced by "The phone registers as ringing to my human ears".

So now I spend my time translating my once flowing writing to E-Prime, and sometimes it sounds so hilarious I just give up and laugh. It will definitely make me even more weird, especially if I get very good at it and start speaking in E-Prime. And I will. Fuck Aristotelian logic.

Ecover loses green backing over 'animal tests' on a 0.2mm flea

The world's biggest supplier of environmentally friendly cleaning products is embroiled in a bizarre row over 'animal-testing' - on tiny water fleas.

Products by Ecover, which the company says are not tested on animals, carry the prized Vegan Society mark. They fill shelves of British supermarkets and help the Belgian-based firm achieve a £30million annual turnover. But the Vegan Society is to refuse permission for its trademark to be used when the endorsement comes up for renewal later this month.

The move follows a tip-off that Ecover uses the water fleas - between 0.2mm and 5mm long - to test the effects of detergents on aquatic life. According to Ecover, the microscopic crustacean - scientific name Daphnia - found in rivers, streams, lakes and ponds, isn't actually an animal. Certainly it's not covered by EU animal-testing rules which are limited to vertebrates past a specified embryonic stage. But the Vegan Society members consider water fleas - named for their jumping style of swimming - as "part of the animal kingdom".

Chief executive Nigel Winter said: "We have mutually agreed with Ecover to withdraw our registration because they are not meeting our criteria."

More at the Daily Mail website

Ok, today I'll make an effort. We sit by the pond and he tells me of his life, cup of tea in his hand. He tells me of his loves, his dreams, his job, and jokes. I think of socks and where the socks go. Where do the socks go?

I think socks are cool things. They are revolutionary beings, constantly asking themselves: How do I feel? How's my life? What do I want? Am I getting what I want? If not, why not? Then they fuck off somewhere nice, far away from our washing machines and drawers. They don't fool themselves with a sense of purpose in sacrifice, suffering and submission to our feet. They have seen it all.

In their quiet demeanor resides pure wisdom. As you walk to the washing machine carrying your dirty clothes, thinking about how you feel about your shoes, socks stare into the detergents eyes. Socks know detergents say they have compassion for your hands, but they just crack grease molecules and infect the water, just like Jesus loves you. Before Jesus was, socks are.

Socks! I scream quietly inside my mind. How can I generalize so unjustly! Some socks think for themselves, but not all. As I notice the tendency to absolutism, I mentally run away and bang my head into a huge cynicism. Ouch!

I must be crazy. Where's the middle way, please? My eyes focus outwards again and he's still sitting by my side, half way through his cup of tea, tapping his foot, talking. I hear him saying David Hasselhoff and it makes me laugh hysterically. He smiles, and says half mumbling: You know what, Debbie? It was really good to open my heart to you. ☺ It doesn’t always happen, you know. You are a good listener.

Shame on me, somewhere else all the time. I smile back, and sadness creeps in. I try thinking of socks again but now they're just a garment. My phone rings. Perfect excuse to leave. Bye! Gone. I switch off the phone and walk fast towards my house. Two girls giggle loudly in the front garden. I pass by smiling and overhear the conversation. They're talking about big brother. I want to die.

My house seems miles away. My legs feel short. My head hurts. I have nothing in common with anyone. My room walks towards me and embraces me with love. I’m safe in my loneliness.

Six ways to increase intelligence:

Increase the diversity of input (varieties of sensory perceptions)
Increase the diversity of transformations (multiple meanings/interpreations/metaphors)
Increase the diversity of output (expression/application)
Improve the conditions of the physical support systems (body, environment)
Remove or reduce the environmental factors which inhibit intelligence (labels, bureaucracies, etc.)
Increase the environmental factors which support intelligence (trust, communities, unpredictability, communication technologies, etc.)
Bureaucracies are designed to reduce intelligence by limiting information (input) and conditioning pre-defined interpretations of value, authority and procedures (transformations) while increasing obedience and efficiency (output). Fixed hierarchies remain fixed through force (or threat of force = terrorism).

Natural hierarchies reflect the intelligence of a system by constantly changing, emerging and dissipating relative to the needs of specific situations.

Communities are designed to increase intelligence by presenting new information (input), discussing new perspectives (transformations) and offering new actions and tools for sharing, participating and fellowship (output).

http://www.increasingintelligence.com/