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Henrik Nordborg's avatar

Hi Rachel. Interesting thoughts. One good place to start would be the movie “Being in the World” (a must-see, now available on youtube https://youtu.be/fcCRmf_tHW8). It talks about how many of the great philosophers (Plato, Descartes, Kant) got it all wrong. It is not our ability to think that makes us human, but our way of interacting with the world. The analytical thinking ability of the human brain will probably soon be reproduced by artificial intelligence. However, we are very far away from building a machine that can interact with the physical environment as humans do. “The problem with computers is that they do not give a damn.”

The fundamental problem of the world today is that we have disconnected humans from the natural environment. People live their lives inside, moving between the bed, the fridge, and the computer screen. People living in cities have no understanding of the fact that they live in completely artificial systems. Our bodies and minds have adapted themselves to a system built on an illusion.

The fundamental problem with science is that it tends to ignore anything that is too difficult to understand. We feel better when walking through a forest, listening to music, jumping into cool water on a hot day, or interacting with friends. These emotions are very real but difficult to reproduce with a machine.

Standardization and technology have created a boring world without skills. We need to find ways of being in and exploring the world in all its beauty without destroying it.

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bogwood's avatar

How about art without the capital letter? Amateur art that arises naturally out of daily activity. We could lose all of professional athletics and sigh with relief. The same with most professional artists. Government supported artists is oxymoronic.

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