Maybe I'm wrong, Mario, but I sense in your question more than a request for a reading list. You seem to be questioning not only the gabble-babble of social media, which it takes great discernment to navigate, but the very value of continuing to read and write. Am I correct? I too am tired of mediocre writing: novels that encase you in a word-construct so mundane it stifles you, academic articles beaten out of stale conceptions that don't enlighten you, philosophy of merely technical importance - and so on. What to do? I would be the last person to want to shut down broad public participation, but I no longer feel obliged to wallow in writing I find uncongenial. Perhaps the way forward for folk in this position, rather than tackling a reading list of vast length and unknown quality, would be to return to texts that have really moved one in the past: not necessarily only the classics of different cultures, but those texts which have shaped our own thinking. Are we clear in our own minds about what it is in those texts that we found (and find?) important? I had such an experience recently re-reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which I first read as a kid. (I'm not suggesting you should read it, merely offering an example.) The book has been reissued with a new introduction which sketches what happened to the real-world protagonists (the author and his son) in the intervening years. I found it very valuable to revisit the impressions I had then with what I feel now. They are very different. I also think your instinct to search for satisfying poetry is sensible. Poetry at its best pushes the boundaries of conventional thought and feeling. So do the best novels, which have the impact of extended poems. This kind of reflection and recollection often moves one forward. Best wishes for your continuing quest.

Arabic poetry is magnificent. It has a tone not found in other languages.

The old Arabic poetry is more beautiful. There were wises such as; Zuhayr bin Abi Sulma. You can see "the book of the songs" for Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani

In general, the more ancient, the better. For example, Rg Veda.

In Sanskrit, kavi means poet and sage: poetry is by definition philosophical and original (about origin), or else it is not poetry. Philosophy should be understood as a way of life: a love of wisdom and preparation for death.

Alas, modern civilization confuses "novel" with "original," and "technological progress" with "intellectual progress," and "knowledge" with "wisdom" . . .

I have read a lot of things. I read Arabic poetry and selections from Rg Veda and Upanishads, and I appreciate them both.

The last collection of poems I read is "A Book of Luminous Things", which Czeslaw Milosz edited after he got the Nobel Prize for literature. I was slightly disappointed with this collection; hence, I asked this question. It may be that I have been seeking something that does not exist.

There is plenty of philosophy and poetry, but there is not much of good philosophy and poetry, I am afraid. Instead of lamenting about that, I should try to write it. This is what I will do when I retire. Am I too ambitious? Of course I am; one must be ambitious to achieve even a small thing.

The Physicist and the Philosopher: Einstein, Bergson, and the Debate That Changed Our Understanding of Time https://g.co/kgs/CCHgjG

Book by Jimena Canales

Thank you, Andrew. I read Einstein and Bergson long time ago, and I wrote a book "On Time and Mind" (Amazon/Kindle). I consider most of the discourse about time (and mind) an obvious nonsense. I argue that the discourse about the "realativity of time" is a logically inconsistent (wrong, meaningless) interpretation of Lorentzs' transformations. But I will NOT speak about time & mind any more, because people love charming stories, not a coherent discourse.

Concerning writing, I do think that exponentiality is a hot topic e.g. exponential finance, medicine, manufacturing and so. It is a field where science and fiction do rapidly merge, technically and hopefully also humanistically. Concerning reading, my proposal is to study the works of Bela Hamvas, including his philosophy of wine and magic-mystical (holy) science.

Hello,

I think both of them are significant to us, but, due to the progressing of the social media "reading" is so easy and interesting for people.

Thanks,

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." – Ben Franklin

"Everyone has at least one book in them. That might be true but the problem is getting it out and sharing it with the world." JOHN COLLINS ,DIRECTOR OF CONTENT, INTERCOM

““There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” — Ernest Hemingway”

https://www.lifehack.org/287080/either-write-something-worth-reading-something-worth-writing

https://blog.intercom.com/write-books-worth-reading/

https://fizzle.co/sparkline/something-worth-reading

Maybe I'm wrong, Mario, but I sense in your question more than a request for a reading list. You seem to be questioning not only the gabble-babble of social media, which it takes great discernment to navigate, but the very value of continuing to read and write. Am I correct? I too am tired of mediocre writing: novels that encase you in a word-construct so mundane it stifles you, academic articles beaten out of stale conceptions that don't enlighten you, philosophy of merely technical importance - and so on. What to do? I would be the last person to want to shut down broad public participation, but I no longer feel obliged to wallow in writing I find uncongenial. Perhaps the way forward for folk in this position, rather than tackling a reading list of vast length and unknown quality, would be to return to texts that have really moved one in the past: not necessarily only the classics of different cultures, but those texts which have shaped our own thinking. Are we clear in our own minds about what it is in those texts that we found (and find?) important? I had such an experience recently re-reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which I first read as a kid. (I'm not suggesting you should read it, merely offering an example.) The book has been reissued with a new introduction which sketches what happened to the real-world protagonists (the author and his son) in the intervening years. I found it very valuable to revisit the impressions I had then with what I feel now. They are very different. I also think your instinct to search for satisfying poetry is sensible. Poetry at its best pushes the boundaries of conventional thought and feeling. So do the best novels, which have the impact of extended poems. This kind of reflection and recollection often moves one forward. Best wishes for your continuing quest.

quite interesting and a great reminder

I read reviews

Sometimes in sci amer

As interdiscplinary knowlage is a must

One cant follow research

Google alerts help a little

Jerzy

Dear Mario,

"I argue that the discourse about the "realativity of time" is a logically inconsistent (wrong, meaningless) interpretation of Lorentzs' transformations."

This is my position too. I am completing my work on exposition of absolute simultaneity and rest such that it does not contradict special relativity. I hope to finish a presentable draft in a couple of weeks. I see a lot of points Bergson was right, but I get to this when my prime investigation is complete.

Anything that adds value

Interesting information.

Thank you for all your answers!

Let me add a couple of additional information. I am not "on the internet" every day; I spend most of my time reading & writing in my hut, without digital communication.

I am not looking for a "hot topic" but rather for perennial issues and the best (perennial) answers to those issues. I am close to retirement, and I have red a lot of books, including Bela Hamvas ("philosophy of wine") and "the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

Laurence, thank you for your extensive answer; I printed it and I will read it carefully again.

Regarding the Spacial Relativity (Andrew), there have been vigorous debates on RG about this perennial issue; all I can say here is that professional physicist strongly disagree about nearly everything in this theory. They have been doing this for more than a hundred years.

I agree that "writing on ethics, morality, and integrity TODAY is of paramount importance" (Arben). The problem is that "bad people" do not read such things, and "good people" do not need them.

In sum, I have been reading and writing for a long time, and I want now to gather all my wisdom and ignorance in a text which will satisfy me, rather than the "world audience". Because the audience always wants to be entertained, not to be enlightened; and I am not a good entertainer.

Arben: "We have plenty of examples when 'bad people' have been constructively influenced by generosity, honesty and purity of some people who sacrificed alot for the benefit of others."

I agree completely; my remark regarded "writing on ethics". I said that writing does not help much; doing does help. I remember an old Chinese story which tells how "working together" changes people for better.

Dear Dibakar, you write well. But I am seeking for something "more dramatic" (essential, if I may say so) than descriptions (of concepts) and explanations.

Laurence,

"You seem to be questioning not only the gabble-babble of social media, ... but the very value of continuing to read and write."

People are talkative creatures, and communication is essential for physical and mental functioning. I am not questioning the value of reading and writing; I am asking (myself) what to read and write. My time is limited and I must be selective. I wrote several textbooks (in computer science) and several philosophical books (the last four are on the Amazon/Kindle).

What should I do now? Write one more book? Go for walk? I will probably continue to write, but I would like to produce something essentially better than I have done up to now.

So, I am trying first to learn what is "essentially better" or simply the best. My three favourite authors are Plato, Nietzsche and Tagore (Nobel prize). But it seems that people do not read such authors any more. And the present bestsellers are not particularly interesting for me.

"... to return to texts that have really moved one in the past"

That is what I have done in the last couple of years. What now? Incidentally, the second reading of a book often disappoints me; I am getting older, so that it is ever more difficult to impress me.

"Poetry at its best pushes the boundaries of conventional thought and feeling."

It surely does; however, the problem is that poetry is (very) seldom "at its best". I read selections of Pablo Neruda and Czeslaw Milosz (both Nobel prize) recently; they have some very good places (moving, touching, inspiring) but not many.

In sum, truly good things are rare, in all spaces of human creation.

I am just going to answer your Is it worth reading question.... yes not only is it worth it but it is vital. You are correct there is a lot of bad to awful writing - some of it execrable but it needs to be read even so - to demonstrate how awful it is, to be critical and to be discerning, to call out the crap. If nobody calls it out nobody challenges or questions whites happening.

Social media is a *^$#^* and not worth the time, however it is where many people get their 'information' from it needs to be held accountable for the things it does and that cannot be done unless it is considered.

There has always been bad literature and bad journalism, we are more aware of it and yes, there is more of it but there is also great and brilliant, it can only be found by looking.

I always go back to the classics, including 19-20 Century writers such as Anna Karenina, Thomas Mann the Magic Mountain, Albert Camus The Fall. And the list can go on.

It depend on the context of what you are looking

Jorge, going back always gives some good results; reading my notes, I rediscovered Samuel Beckett ("Godot") yesterday; it is more difficult to find something authentic & good by moving forward.

Since you are already familiar with the ancient classics such as the Vedas and Upanishads you may like to read the epic Mahabharat and the Bhagavad Gita, two great long poems that are known for their philosophical depth. Much before Nietzsche and Beckett the Mahabharat delves into the nihilism of the material world . The Bhagavad Gita shows the way through its emphasis on Karma or action. I am sure that this will be interesting to someone who is interested in Tagore.

Inspiration, not to be confused with stimulation, comes only from within. True poets are inspired poets. Inspired poets are god-like for they are able to communicate with the divine. Inspired poets are divine messengers.

What about epic poems? I guess you've already read Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneis, Divina Commedia, Orlando furioso. Have you read "The Decameron" by Giovanni Boccaccio?

I agree with the Odyssey recommendation, also Autobiography of a Yogi, can be read more than once.

I read the old books (entirely or selections). I am looking from something more recent & relevant. I usually say that I seek "a new poetics of existence". Which is not easy to find/invent, of course.

Mario, I hear you in regard to the need for fresh inspiration. This quotation from Emerson speaks to me, especially the last sentence:

"To believe your own thought,” says Emerson, “to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men, – that is genius”. “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his own thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” ('Self-Reliance')

I have followed this discussion with great interest. Wulf, what an interesting game - the perfect companion to a good red and great company! And i like the idea of your personal challenges.

Mario, it seems that your question has created an extraordinary list of books. I am just an english teacher and 16 year olds are not easy to interest, my reading is quite limited but I have some books to suggest - not because they are great and lofty but because they get 16year olds interested and arguing. The Phantom Tollbooth, A wrinkle in Time, The Lefthand of Darkness, The other Children of God, Ender's game and Sophie's World. Tim macintosh-Smith is a wonderful travel writer and Travels with a Tangerine introduced me to Ibin Buttata and he introduced wonderful selection of travellers form the east. I also adore Jasper FForde, The Eyer Affair and Well of Lost plots are my favourites but any thing he writes must be read. They may not be literary canon but they changed the ideas of my students and that, to me, is important.

Perhaps you will find poetic lyrics in the new music from the west.

Thank you for all answers & suggestions. I have read them, and I will make some comments in this regard later; I am very busy now.

So, let me make some comments; but I do not think the posts I comment regard only me.

Sucheta, I read a selection from the Mahabharata; I read the Bhagavad-Gita (also a part of the Mahabharata) very carefully. I do not consider the Oriental thought (narration) nihilistic; this is a wide and complex story.

I do not consider Nietzsche a nihilist; at the level of content, I consider him a big confusion; but I love his masterful narration (in Zarathustra, and in some parts of other books).

Wulf, I like the Valérie’s quotation you put forward; I was not impressed by his poetry but I will try to read the book you mentioned.

"... poetry (too difficult) ... philosophy (too easy)" - This is very true! I write philosophy because I am not capable of writing a (good) poetry.

"Learn Hebrew or Arabic or classical Greek" - A great idea indeed! I love to listen to Arabic language (on TV) although I do not understand anything.

"When he died at 93 he was in the middle of Lucretius’ De rerum natura." - He should have started with Lucretius! Because Lucretius was excellent, although "they" say that he had mental problems.

Regarding "Don'ts", I am quite good in not doing the things you mentioned.

Wulf, you have excellent ideas and you presented them in an excellent way! My compliments! You should write "A Brief Manual for the Perplexed". (Had not a saint written something like this?)

The second post.

"Nietzsche and Plato are very much at odds" - they really are! They are at odds in every sense. But I consider them both the supreme ("second to none") masters of narration. That is why I love to read them.

"... and the Odyssey gives a description of what it means to be a good (or virtuous, or successful) person ..." - There is not much virtue (ethical quality) in Homer. The pathological killer Achilles kills Hector, the best man in the saga, with the help of the goddess Athena. We are bad, but the Old were not better, I am afraid.

"I dare make a bet that you will not find books offering you a “new poetics of experience.” - That is why I am trying to write it! And you can also bet that I will not manage to do that. Such is life.

"We once played a little party game in Berkeley" - I was a visiting scholar at the UC Berkley twenty years ago. A very beautiful campus! Regarding the game, my list of books is nearly empty. I am now trying to write something better than I wrote, but I am still interested in what other people read and write.

I would suggest you Urdu poetry. It has a style & class of its own.

To me reading & writing are both the same .While reading we are indirectly reading the writing which help us to view & understand the reading , the main base for writing .

This is my personal opinion .

I have found the books of psalms and proverbs in the Holy bible as poetically interesting and applicable to real life settings.

Very nice query and interesting discussion.

This is what usually happens to geniuses and to those who read and write. Do they feel that the end is just a huge container of words that are frequently used? The solution may be to stay away for a month from all kinds of literature. It is worthwhile to unite in nature and listen to your favorite music, thus rearranging the options

Science fiction, dystopian and bizarre novel, and especially nonfiction books like philosophical theories and human developmental books

Hi,

You might like the works of Rumi (Masnavi for one). He had a very naturalistic (somehow Spinoza or even Nietzsche like ideas) philosophy in his mind and he searched for stories in the nature.

Read Sufi Poetry Of Sufi Poets Of Pakistan

Tagore's Gitanjli and poetry of Pablo Neruda

Neil Postman is very good; but he criticizes the present age & style (imposed by techno-economy); and every age tries to "forget" (displace) its critics.

Thanks for all other suggestions.

If you have read Thus Spake Zarathustra as is evident from your discussion above, I think with the drift of your question, you are looking at poets that successfully bridge the gap between orality and the written word, poets that can insert themselves in that space even if that phase of their culture has passed. From Africa, I have 2: Niyi Osundare's Eye of the Earth (Nigeria), Okot P'Bitek's Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (Uganda). From United States you also have Langston Hughes and Barbados, Edward Kamau Brathwaite.

Lorand, just a brief comment on the first sentence of your first paper.

"IT today is in contradiction. AI is both source of hope and fear; ..."

In my view, IT is simply a means by which power-holders (economic, administrative, cultural) shape the world and people's life. So, we should speak about the socioeconomic system, structure of power, and so forth rather than about the means. Since the seam engine, technology has always been the means. Technology does not have any aim or ideology; people (power-holders) do.

I will try to read the rest of the paper later; I am rather busy now (as always).

Ibne _Arbi (Fasusal Hakam)and Rubbayiat _e Umar Khayyam.

Adewale: "From Africa, I have 2: Niyi Osundare's Eye of the Earth (Nigeria), Okot P'Bitek's Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol (Uganda). From United States you also have Langston Hughes and Barbados, Edward Kamau Brathwaite."

Thank you; I will try to find those authors.

Lorand: "... I would love to read your book for sure, and perhaps Mario joins as well"

A good idea.

Wulf: "I’ll forward the Corporate Characters: 52 Shades of Business to you, and whoever else who wants them (except for Mario, who should not read this kind of nonsense)"

An excellent understanding of the situation!

I am very busy with writing a book "on reason and passions", so that I cannot read much. But I do read some short things; for example, parts of Masnavi of Rumi, which was recommended above.

Let me mention two pieces from the text on which I work, which are related to this question and discussion.

(1) Intense global communication and interactions create a global culture, which may weaken and displace traditional cultures. I do not think that traditional religious and national narratives could disappear in the foreseeable future, but I would not regret the decline of their power. I am not happy with the contemporary business civilization either, which have imposed a new religion of consumption and stupefying media noise. I still hope that people are capable of something better than serving gods, waging wars, consuming and making noise. Humanity must do its best to minimize suffering, ignorance and destructive behaviour. People ought to ... learn to behave in a constructive way and live in peace. Many gods have had a chance to save people from misery and suffering but they have not done that. It is high time for us mortals to face the perennial task of our own salvation; if we do not do that, nobody else will.

(2) Human life is an exciting phenomenon which can be made enjoyable although it is tragic because it moves towards its painful collapse and vanishing. People have always had to face the tragic side of their existence, and they have always sought ways to escape this terrifying encounter. Religious narratives have shielded people from their harsh reality; in the contemporary age, people use technology and consumption for the same purpose. However, to realize their best potentials, people must discard all shields by which they have been trying to cover up their reality, and face that reality openly. We need to free ourselves from old gods and golden calves, and become our own masters, and do with our misery and strength the best that can be done. Humanity must create a cognitive and emotional framework which inspires people to use their energy and restlessness in a constructive and benevolent way. It is difficult to stimulate people to live in such a way, but we shall all fall on the way called life; let us try to do that as poets of existence and ephemerality.

I am not impressed with what I wrote, but ... Feel free to express your (sharp) criticism of the presented content & style.

Lorand, thank you for your criticism and for your interest in my books. People do not read "serious books" nowadays, so I am always surprised when somebody shows any interest in my books.

Your criticism: "... these are interesting statements but do not add much, because those who are interested already know about them, the rest (overwhelming majority) will not care more after you added your vote. I would also add that internal connections among the mentioned elements are more important, like ..."

I agree with your comment. I can only say that the pieces of text which I included in my post belong to the concluding part of the manuscript. The text itself contains numerous specific issues and analyses of the “internal connections among the mentioned elements”.

Regarding my books, I produced eight pieces in English. The first four have nice titles: "Waiting for Hermes", "The Way of Power", "In the Shadow of Time", "Knowledge and Interpretation". However, those books were written in haste; I proclaimed them "the early works" and abandoned them.

I retold the more interesting parts from the first four books in my last four books: "Existence and Ephemerality", "Communication and Control", "On Time and Mind", "On People and Machines". These books are not impeccable, but they are better than the former four. I am getting better every day, which does not mean that I will ever become good.

PS: "Ephemerality" is a problematic word; spellers do not like it; I wanted to say "transitoriness", "transience", ... After a sharp debate, "ephemerality" (of the human life) prevailed.

Don't write for publishing houses. Don't write for readers. Write for yourself and for your (=self's) out-of-body experience: if this is not enough for you, don't write at all. Write, finish, publish=discard, forget, write . . .

Mario, there is no "we." No work is ever done collectively (Ayn Rand).

Wulf, writer is one who writes.

I do not follow the production quickly enough, but I am doing my best. Let me make some remarks before I continue with the reading of posts.

Wolf, I love the way you write; but I am not impressed with Joyce, nor with the piece of text of Nabokov that you quote. It is difficult to say what a "good writing" is; this is a subjective category, to a large extent, as well as all values are. It is usually much easier to say what is *not* good than what is good.

Lorand, the book "Waiting for Hermes" speaks about "information technology and society", as its title says. Those parts that I considered better have been retold in books "Communication and Control" and "On People and Machines". I used the title in a metaphorical sense. Prometheus brought us technological power; Zeus sent Hermes to bring to people the art of living in peace, so that they do not destroy each other. It seems that Hermes lost his way ...

Martin: "... there is no 'we' ..."

I agree and I wrote this several times, but we (or most of us) use this word from time to time. It often means rather little, especially in political speeches.

Wolf: "... a writer writes for a reader"

Yes, but not everybody who writes wishes to be a writer in commercial sense. I began to write textbooks because I needed them for my lectures. I began to write books of philosophical reflections (in English) because I read books mostly in English, and I wished to write down my reflections on what I was reading. I offered my first book ("Hermes") to a publisher in America twelve years ago. They were ready to publish it, but the editor asked me to change the title. I was stupid enough to refuse to do it. And so, my commercial writing ended at the very beginning. Do I regret that? I would surely change the title now, but I would not enjoy writing "for readers" and even less "for editors". And I would have probably not made much money with my books.

Wulf, thank you for your critical analyses of a couple of sentences from my texts! I love to hear critical remarks on my texts. However, there is a problem here. Namely, I have an impression that you could write nearly the same critical remarks on any text. You have taken a couple of general statements (claims) and dismissed them because they are general. There are many specific claims and arguments in my books. Anyway, I really appreciate your criticism, but I cannot promise that I will become a much better writer because of it.

I will read the remaining posts later.

I got an impression that this (rather sophisticated) discussion assumes that values (mentioned explicitly or assumed) are something known and clear. I do not think they are. Business shapes the world and human life; it does it mostly by means of technology. I am often not happy with the way business does it. I have been writing for twenty years that the basic aim of business is the idiotization of people, because idiots are the most passionate consumers and producers, which facilitates making profit. English language has more than a million words, but it does not contain the word "idiotization", in spite of the fact that I have been using it for decades.

I am especially disappointed with the global television channels; I began to watch them some twenty-five years ago; it used to be a pleasure to follow news bulletins at that time, not because of the content but because of the style. Nowadays, everything has become full of noise, erratic changes, and advertisements. It may be that telephones and refrigerators are getting more and more smart, but I do not think that people and public discourse have made any progress in terms of "wisdom and beauty", whatever that means. This is why I began to ask for "a new poetic of existence".

Lorand, let me make a couple of brief remarks:

* "... the pointless surface confrontation is caused by the difference in the core definitions"

Correct; and this has been the case since the beginning of the world. People are probably able to clarify concepts, but they have always preferred to quarrel.

* About each Greek divinity there are many different stories. Hermes was the messenger of Zeus ... This "devious child" is the youngest of the Olympian gods, and he has done many wondrous things from the first day of his life. He stole cattle to his older brother Apollo in the night in which he was born; with his enchanting narration, he lulled to sleep the many-eyed giant Argus Panoptes and then cut its head with a sword. He invented lyre, and played it so well that he enchanted goods and people with his music. ... Hermes was a master of many arts and the patron of many callings, from poets and orators, to shepherds, merchants, thieves and liars.

* "... the louder and more impressing propaganda wins."

This has always been so, in politics and in science equally.

* Knowledge reduces "... the individual need for superstition (less tempting to moan and pray, if you can learn and solve)".

It would be so, if people were rational beings, but I do not think they are. Humanity (in general) and my country especially, are much more religious and superstitious today than a hundred or thousand years ago. When Saul from Tarsus (St. Paul) preached about resurrection, Greeks laughed at him, Romans called him mad, and Jews wanted to kill him. If you go today to the scientifically strongest country in the world, and you will see that nearly everybody believes what Greeks, Romans and Jews did not. People are rational at the level of means and methods; feelings, attitudes and aims are a different story.

* I accept your critical analysis of contemporary science, technology and behaviour (practice). On the other hand, I hold that the present world functions rather well. This increasingly complex system of systems works surprisingly well. What will destroy the world and people is not technology but human greed, vanity and madness. I am not sure that people have been getting any better in this regard.

Let me add one more post on madness, science & technology (from my book "On People and Machines").

(1) Science & knowledge

Ignorance is very present in techno-economically leading countries. Craig Venter, a renown geneticist, delivered a lecture on the challenges of the present world, which was broadcast by BBC television (in 2008). In that lecture, Venter put forward many interesting data ... For example, 25 percent of American citizens do not know that the earth revolves around the sun. This means one out of four citizens. Furthermore, 58 percent of American citizens cannot calculate a 10 percent tip of a restaurant bill. There is not much to calculate here: just move the decimal point (comma) one position to the left. Stephen Diamond (in Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic) says that 66 percent of American citizens "believe in the Devil" (p. 77). I am not sure what this believing means: that one can meet the Devil on street? I do not feel comfortable in such a social environment, regardless of the fact that it adorns itself with all sorts of nice labels, such as freedom, democracy, human rights & dignity, and so forth.

(2) Technology and madness

When a relatively small problem occurs with nuclear radiation and chemical contamination, a panic spreads around the world. The issue of fear in the technological world and in the media age is complex, and we cannot deal with it in detail. Let me try to calm and warn people of the present age with the following fact. During the last hundred years (written in 2014), far more people were killed and cities destroyed by technological means that functioned well than by failures of technological systems. The same will probably be the case during the next hundred years. The question is whether people will last that long, because there is plenty of destructive technological means in the world, which function quite well, and there is plenty of madness too. The advance of science and technology has not by itself brought a progress of people in terms of understanding, goodness and beauty; only a more constructive and benevolent socioeconomic system can do that.

I have a meeting now; but let me comment on the following expression:

Wulf: " Coming back home from a soccer match ..."

(* from my text "Reason and Passions" *)

Let me conclude with an issue which I consider essential for the survival of humanity. This issue regards the relationship between discourse and reality. Without a clear language, there is no clear discourse; without a clear discourse, there are no proper decisions; without proper decisions, there are no optimal activities. Let me illustrate the problem. Football is the name of the game played mostly by foot and with a ball. I asked many times why do Americans call football something that is quite different from the game that other people call football. I got no answer. I posted this question to a scientific network with many millions of members. I got no answer. If humanity ever manages to solve the issue of football, it may then try to establish what freedom, democracy, justice, human rights and similar things actually mean. The mighty have created plenty of nice words, and a reality that is very different from those words. Those whom I asked about football directly, were very perplexed; they knew immediately that this was a sensitive political issue, so that they were afraid to say anything about that. There is much more fear than freedom in the free world.

At least, some American Football players (kickers, punters) do kick it with a foot. But the it does not have a globular shape to be called ball. In Czech, we call it "šiška“ (conifer cone; "š" is pronounced as "sh") because it is "šišaté" (deformed sphere: prolate spheroid/ellipsoid).

Martin, we in Croatia (a Slavic country) know what "šiška" means and how "š" is pronounced. The problem is why do Americans call "football" something that is not foot-ball, and ask the rest of the world to call the real football by a strange name like sausage or so. This looks slightly irrational to me.

Wulf: "... I am an optimist"

My congratulations!

I am actually not a pessimist. I consider myself a melancholic, according to the psychological classification. But I am not sure if this self-evaluation is correct, and I do not care about that. I know that I love nature, and I have spent more than half days and night of my life in a small house, slightly out of civilization. I mention this in my books.

Regarding Americans, whom I love to criticize, let me put forward one more remark from my book "Reason and Passions" (on Amazon; not yet on RG):

American citizens are considered practical people, which means rational. However, in the restaurant where I used to eat, they served extremely hot soup and extremely cold juice full of ice. That seemed irrational and unhealthy to me. I solved that problem by pouring the juice into the soup, and the soup into the juice; without that, it was not possible to eat and drink them.

My discourse about "a new poetics of existence" and my invitation to people to become "poets of existence and ephemerality" are essentially slogans (of course). However, (1) slogans matter, and (2) it is difficult to produce anything larger than a slogan. Worse than that, sublime slogans can be harmful, because greedy and aggressive people always abuse sublime ideas & teachings.

Examples: Jesus preached compassion and solidarity; but when his followers seized power, they have done all sorts of very bad things. Then came Marx and who spoke as follows: Pundits have always explained the world, but this is not enough: it is necessary to change it. Then came Lenin and tried to do something in accordance with this beautiful slogan. His attempt produced imperfect results and ended in failure. Then came Barack Obama, shouting with prophetic voice "We want change!" American people responded with great enthusiasm: "Yes, we can!" But things have not changed much there (nor elsewhere).

Anyway, slogans create enthusiasm, and enthusiasm could be the most that people are able to create and experience. So, I play with slogans because slogans matter; and I am doing this in the best way I can. Not everybody loves my play with slogans & ideas (I would rather not mention Wulf here) but I can live with this.

Thank you for your good wishes!

I used to play football well in my student days (my team won some very strong tournaments) but I do not watch football any more. It my be that I was the only Croatian citizens who did not watch the final match, but so it is. Football has become a sort of tribal rite or orgy; this is not appealing to a melancholic character like me.

Anyway, I wish to express my cordial congratulations to my national team for the great job they have done!

PS1: I did not watch the final match, because I went to my forest, to escape the collective psychosis (or hysteria). And in my forest there are no suitable communication services to watch the match.

PS2: As a former expert in football, I can say the following thing. Our team was lucky until the final match (rather weak adversaries, etc), and unlucky in the final match. Such is life.

Lorand, i think that the first thing one needs to solve a serious problem is to have no adults in the room. My intellectual peak was when i was twelve years old.

Sticking out one's tongue at somebody (look at George Phelps at 16:15) is a base animal behavior. Engineers (and medical doctors) can do just about anything. (Run for the hills, Martin, run for the hills!)

Regarding pessimism, optimism and similar things, let me put forward my understanding of these debatable issues. People are not the same; we are genetically different and we have grown up in different social and material environments and conditions. All those things determine and shape our characters, views and attitudes.

Life is a comedy for reasonable people, and a tragedy for emotional people, said a sage (if I remember well). In my view, human life is essentially a tragic phenomenon. Regardless of how wise and beautiful you are, your life is a way toward a decline and death, often a painful and humiliating death. People have invented and done all sorts of strange things to console themselves for the fact that they were born, and that they must die.

What do pessimism and optimism mean in the context of such state of affairs, I do not know. I say that we, as individuals and humanity, should aim to move away from ignorance and cruelty; the progress of people and humanity should be evaluated in terms of the minimization of suffering, ignorance and destructiveness. Are we progressing according to these criteria? I am not sure we are.

Technologically superior powers have destroyed lives of tens of millions of people in Afghanistan by supporting the "resistance movement" in that country. "The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was born on April 27, 1978", says the Encyclopaedia Britannica (digital edition, 2001). There is no such country any more. Sixty-four countries, led by the USA, boycotted Olympic games in Moscow in 1980, in support of the "resistance movement" in Afghanistan. The West later called "medieval monsters" the people it supported, but it passionately supported them. After Afghanistan, came Iraq, Libya, Syria, ... The technologically superior powers do not feel any responsibility or remorse for what they have done. This holds for the leaders as well as for most of their beloved citizens.

Ancient sages preached that the quality of human life ought to be evaluated in terms of knowledge (understanding), goodness (ethic) and beauty (aesthetic). I added to this a fourth dimension, which I call operative power, by which I mean scientific and technological power. Humanity has progressed enormously in terms of operative power, but I am not sure that humanity has made much progress in terms of understanding, ethical behaviour and aesthetic experience.

I would consider myself an optimist if I could say that humanity obviously progresses in terms of understanding, ethics and aesthetics, but I cannot say that. I consider the destruction of Libya (led by the British Prime Minister and the French president) not only utterly vicious, but also suicidal for the European Union. But nobody in Europe speaks about such things. On the other hand, to be a pessimist means rather little and it is not useful. Hence, I do not consider myself a pessimist. I do my best, but I am not sure that humanity is progressing in terms of understanding, ethical behaviour and aesthetic experience.

This brings me to the initial question: what should we read, write and do?

Sheldon Flender: You're wracked with guilt. You are wracked with guilt.

David Shayne: I don't know whether... I can't sleep.

Sheldon Flender: Guilt is petit-bourgeois crap. An artist creates his own moral universe.

David Shayne: I know that. I know...

Sheldon Flender: Well? What is the problem then? I'm gonna give you some advice. I'm gonna give you the same advice that was given to me many years ago when I had a very similar dilemma.

David Shayne: Similar to mine. To...

Sheldon Flender: Yes. Yes.

David Shayne: What did you do? What?

Sheldon Flender: You gotta do what you gotta do.

Wulf, thank you for your advice, which is wise as always. I have an impression that you do not like those sentences of mine which I consider the best; for example, you say:

Perhaps you care to reignite this thread, or start another one, where you leave behind wisecracks like "In my view, human life is essentially a tragic phenomenon. Regardless of how wise and beautiful you are, your life is a way toward a decline and death.”

Why should I "leave behind" such sentences and similar which you discarded in your previous posts? You write well, but it seems that you have a sort of animosity toward everything that does not fit your idea (taste) of good and bad. The author of Harry Potter said (in an interview on the BBC) that she published the first book (of the series) by her own money, because not a single editor was ready to publish her manuscript. Poor world with such editors; and you may well be one of them.

Anyway, I like this discussion, and I have learned interesting things. I am on RG when I have time, usually at the beginning of the week. After that I usually leave the internet and civilization until the next Monday.

"Nothing is ever happening, no matter what seems to be going on—that’s the natural condition. Illusion means losing this natural condition."

"You’ve got to die completely in order to be able to reflect on the buddhadharma. It isn’t enough to torture yourself and only die halfway."

"Don’t whine. Don’t stare into space. Just sit!"

"When dissatisfaction is finally accepted as dissatisfaction, peace of mind reigns."

-- Kodo Sawaki Roshi

https://tricycle.org/magazine/you

Wulf, I will read your comments carefully later, but I must go now.

Dear Mario Radovan

I give you something(s) worth reading (hundreds of pages of it):

I believe my detailed critiques of all major extant [basic, general] Psychology Theories and detailed critique of thier very-likely-false 'assumptions' (implicit, but ubiquitous and very impactful) AND the ramifications are important. My explication of the specific alternative more-likely-true assumptions and what (in MANY ways) they "help out" and result in is also available. Overall principles of empiricism and biology (OF BEHAVIOR -- the real, overt kind) is there in my essays also and important. (All is also consistent and usable by general artif. intell. people.) See, especially:

https://www.researchgate.net/project/Human-Ethology-and-Development-Ethogram-Theory

See especially:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286920820_A_Human_Ethogram_Its_Scientific_Acceptability_and_Importance_now_NEW_because_new_technology_allows_investigation_of_the_hypotheses_an_early_MUST_READ

and

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322818578_NOW_the_nearly_complete_collection_of_essays_RIGHT_HERE_BUT_STILL_ALSO_SEE_THE_Comments_1_for_a_copy_of_some_important_more_recent_posts_not_in_the_Collection_include_reading_the_2_Replies_to_the_Comm