MS for Posterity
A manuscript for posterity's sake
“If society does not succeed in changing attitudes and institutions for a harmonious descent, the alternative is to prepare information packages for the contingency of restart after crashing.” — H.T. Odum, systems ecologist
A manuscript I may be able to assemble will be in one narrative volume and one reference volume, a condensed form of a proposed set of 100 volumes in five age-appropriate levels (500 books total), starting with 100 picture books for 1-11 year olds of increasing numbers of pages each, transitioning from pictures to graphic representation to ideographs as a basis for a written language. Ten books/year to be read with increasing age, 1-11. All books, in five sets, would be age appropriate information packages for the contingency of a viable societal restart after crashing.
Volume 0 would be a Rosetta volume an autodidact of modest ability and motivation could use to teach themselves to read with or without societal/family encouragement.
A second set would add more information and connect more dots for those of 12-15 years old developmental age (so length limited to 2 weeks/volume). The same subject (life, the universe, everything) would be reconsidered with early volumes presuming 12 year old readers and later volumes for more developed minds. The context would be a nature centric, matter-energy-systems worldview/presupposition not compatible with a belief-based ideological worldview (modernity).
A third set would presume having learned from prior sets (with potential to reference), so information would not be repeated, but all subjects (from Cosmos to life on Earth, from natural history to human history) would be covered, expanded upon, and interconnected with what is in front of 15-18 year old faces. Those under 18 who are focused on learning as autodidacts would have time to read 100 volumes and meet, perhaps in olive grooves, to discuss matters if so inclined, with or without elders, as they had from the time they taught themselves to read (those who opt into reading self-select into the new education system).
The forth set would be for 18-26 year old young adults. Those studying the set (1 volume/month or more) could join small regional communities within each ecoregion, ad hoc learning communities or gatherings of inquirers, autodidacts all. All would both teach and learn.
The fifth set of 100 volumes would be directed at mature adults. Individuals could read the fifth set while remaining in the group of 20 to 50 others (nomadic or settled) they were born into or go to a ecoregion junior academy. Upon competing their study of the fifth set, they could test for admission to a Bioregional Academy having a large library and other facilities to serve high-functioning autodidacts.
If a 13 year old has read all 500 volumes, they could apply to the academy (to study 300 additional core volumes plus specialty texts). Chronological age is not maturational age, but is correlated.
There are 185 bioregions in the world, most habitable by humans. Those within a biogeographical region could support a Biogeographical Academy. Gifted members of a Bioregional Academy may be invited to join the Biogeographical (Sublate) Academy—no testing, by their works would they be known. Some members of the 30 Sublate Academies may be invited to join one of six Ecolate Academies, and some of their members may be invited to join the learning community of autodidacts at the global United Federation of Watersheds Academy.
“If society does not succeed in changing attitudes and institutions for a harmonious descent, the alternative is to prepare information packages for the contingency of restart after crashing.” — H.T. Odum, systems ecologist
The key information needed would be how to change attitudes and institutions to avoid repeating the pattern that selects for failure by coming to understand and live properly with the planet on the upslope after crashing should extinction be sidestepped this time around.
“Eventually we'll have a human on the planet that really does understand it and can live with it properly. That's the source of my optimism." —James Lovelock
Posterity May Need Information Packages to Persist
I may be able to offer some information that may matter towards posterity’s persistence as a viable form of human in a viable form of civilization (complex society that works long term, unlike all prior ones). If there are 10 other humans doing the same work, combining endeavors may have a better outcome. An increase in the number of autodidacts so endeavoring could scale up for a better outcome.
Time waits for no one human or group of humans as preparing information packages will be time limited, perhaps severely time limited to a few years.
H.narrator’s Work in Progress
So far, I have zero collaborators and know of no potential collaborators, i.e. any modern human who both understands that metastatic modernity has no viable future and understands that modern techno-industrial attitudes and institutions cannot change apart from individual memetic mutations. For posterity’s sake, I cannot wait for nor presume that any modern human will work without pay and by whatever means (e.g. if living on the streets of a city, using computers at public libraries).
My endgame is to produce a two volume work that is printable on demand. A password and access to a public library is all I (or anyone) needs. Before I die I can convert monetizable personal assets into copies of the MS to gift to poor students, so anyone currently having only access to a computer at a public library should send me an address to mail copies to when the two volumes are ready to be printed. Others within a monetary culture will be able to print as many copies for distribution as they may.
Current Drafts of MS Sections
All are rough drafts subject to revision. Dilettantes should not waste their time reading them. Only constructive criticism will be of interest.
Vol. I
Human Significance in Time and Space: Are humans the center about which the universe formed?
Life On Earth: Some life is anti-life, but the system selects for it to go away
The Evolution of Life on Earth: And likely elsewhere
Our Biological Inheritance and the Biology of Slime Mold: Why slime mold is smarter than modern humans (and yeast)
Myopic Observers of Ourselves in a Linguistic Mirror: We aren’t the pinnacle, purpose, or destiny of evolution, the Earth or universe
The Great Simplification Started About 75k Years Ago: It just hasn't included us moderns, the metastatic cause, yet
What Is 'Long Term'? It depends on who you ask
Marching on to Glory: Onward to glory we go
The Trappings of Modernity: The trappings of modernity (technology and ideology) are the Wittgensteinian fly bottle we can't get out of
Simple Solutions That Ain't: There is a simple solution to modernity, but modern humans can’t like it
TEACHING METASTATIC SUPREMACY: Modern Humanity's Ordeal and the Forging of Our r-Cultural Identity
Modern Human Expansionists: A come and go lifeform out of context
Metastatic Modernity: Early, Mid, and Late Modern Humans (EMH, MMH, LMH)
Really? And Then What?: Reimaging a Viable Life for Renormalizing Humans
In Review: Life, the universe and everything
So, Who Are We, Anyway?: Are we sovereign selves able to choose our destiny?
So, What Can I Do?: Our human predicament being such as it may be, what is a good ape to do?
The Last Fewer Words: A prescription
Vol. II will include all or parts of:
Quotes from the Dead
How Many Species Will Earth Lose to Climate Change?
Hominina Species
The Worldview of Zero-order Humanism
Ecolate Defined
Carrying Capacity
The Greatest Shortcoming of the Human Race Is Our Inability to Understand the Exponential Function
Carrying Capacity and Overshoot
Music As Information Package
Food FYI
Agricultural Land and Human
Carrying Capacity FYI
Environment, Power, and Society
Modern Human Expansion
Past Lives of Humans 1: An intro overview
Past Lives of Humans 2: Descent into Empire-Building
Past Lives of Humans 3: Wadi Kubbaniya to Natufian culture
Past Lives of Humans 4: Clovis expansion to Ubaid period
Past Lives of Humans 5: Starčevo-Körös-Criş culture to Malta
Past Lives of Humans 6: Solnitsata to Dene (Athabaskan) expansion