Interesting read in the reddit link about Cuba. My heart goes out to them .
How long can altruism and solidarity continue with a sustained collapse scenario? Lots of accounts tell of a coming together socially after disaster strikes (or a narcissist president) but food, medicine, etc are forthcoming soon after.
It's not good anthropology but Colin Turnbull's account of the Ik people should sound some warnings about assuming things.
Memories are short, baselines shift.
Knowledge, a flexible mental state, good social connections and not sticking out are more important than how many tins of food you have.
Thanks Andrea, ugly times ahead. I would change one word in this sentence - "my inspiration for this was the fairly widespread blindness to" - fairly should be very IMO.
A typo here? I reality, things are fraying and flickering.
When the food deliveries stop, they’ve worked up to successfully farming multiple acres, although ongoing climate destabilization makes it more challenging
Depends where they are I have to say. Didnt you also say that the collapse was a process and such, that it woukd be slow and grinding? Or have you switched to sudden apocalypse?
i used a sudden cut-off because it made for simpler storytelling. in a frogs-in-a-boiling-pot drawn-out decline, the gap between Supply and Demand will just grow more gradually
Nah, I don’t garden. My plan is to specialise in medicine so at least I have some skills to bring to the table (first aid; not neurosurgeon or anything). Plus, no space- i dont exactly live in NewZealand with more sheep than people.
Whats after the four posts? Are you done?
I think it’s important to emphasise heterogeneity in things, even when staring down a gun barrel of history. Things can and will be better (relatively, to some people, at some point) and I feel we lose motivation to keep going if we stare into the abyss too long. Thats why I don’t deny the reality but emphasise that this isnt the end for civilisation. THIS one, maybe, but not the project as a whole. That ine comes with the next ice age
After the four posts - idk. You’ll see from my archive that I post in bursts, when I feel like I have new things worth saying. I’d rather not be sitting at a screen.
Whether or not this category of human culture (“civilization”) (or even our entire species) has a future long past my lifetime has little influence on my motivation to live wisely and make small efforts to support biodiversity today, this year, this decade… It’s interesting that some humans need that specific expectation to remain active and some don’t.
I find myself wanting to give the same answer that I did to someone who commented on my previous post asking what I think about the future of agriculture: Fortunately, the answer to that question doesn't make too much of a difference to how I choose to exist. I can afford to remain uncertain. :)
Interesting read in the reddit link about Cuba. My heart goes out to them .
How long can altruism and solidarity continue with a sustained collapse scenario? Lots of accounts tell of a coming together socially after disaster strikes (or a narcissist president) but food, medicine, etc are forthcoming soon after.
It's not good anthropology but Colin Turnbull's account of the Ik people should sound some warnings about assuming things.
Memories are short, baselines shift.
Knowledge, a flexible mental state, good social connections and not sticking out are more important than how many tins of food you have.
Thanks Andrea, ugly times ahead. I would change one word in this sentence - "my inspiration for this was the fairly widespread blindness to" - fairly should be very IMO.
A typo here? I reality, things are fraying and flickering.
Hang in there...
ha! The "fairly" instead of "very" was my attempt to be generous
When the food deliveries stop, they’ve worked up to successfully farming multiple acres, although ongoing climate destabilization makes it more challenging
Depends where they are I have to say. Didnt you also say that the collapse was a process and such, that it woukd be slow and grinding? Or have you switched to sudden apocalypse?
Are you regularly posting weekly now?
"Depends on where they are" - you would 😜
do you garden/farm?
i used a sudden cut-off because it made for simpler storytelling. in a frogs-in-a-boiling-pot drawn-out decline, the gap between Supply and Demand will just grow more gradually
after today, i have 4 more posts scheduled.
Nah, I don’t garden. My plan is to specialise in medicine so at least I have some skills to bring to the table (first aid; not neurosurgeon or anything). Plus, no space- i dont exactly live in NewZealand with more sheep than people.
Whats after the four posts? Are you done?
I think it’s important to emphasise heterogeneity in things, even when staring down a gun barrel of history. Things can and will be better (relatively, to some people, at some point) and I feel we lose motivation to keep going if we stare into the abyss too long. Thats why I don’t deny the reality but emphasise that this isnt the end for civilisation. THIS one, maybe, but not the project as a whole. That ine comes with the next ice age
After the four posts - idk. You’ll see from my archive that I post in bursts, when I feel like I have new things worth saying. I’d rather not be sitting at a screen.
Whether or not this category of human culture (“civilization”) (or even our entire species) has a future long past my lifetime has little influence on my motivation to live wisely and make small efforts to support biodiversity today, this year, this decade… It’s interesting that some humans need that specific expectation to remain active and some don’t.
Andrea, I'm always interested to hear what young realists like you Truth Wizard (Regan P.) have to say.
What do you think? Could this war be the decisive event to spark fast collapse?
I know, you can only speculate...
I find myself wanting to give the same answer that I did to someone who commented on my previous post asking what I think about the future of agriculture: Fortunately, the answer to that question doesn't make too much of a difference to how I choose to exist. I can afford to remain uncertain. :)