Impromptu Post – #1
“You cannot set yourself on fire, to keep someone else warm” ~ Josh Strife Hayes
Today, I'm not quite sure what I'm writing about, or why I even picked up my keyboard.
Between reading Dan Ariely's “Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things”, and Fyodor Dostoevsky's “Note From The Underground”, (I've been reading both with a stern conviction; as if I'll find the secret of what I'm meant to do with the information when I'm done) – I've realized I'm probably stressing myself out with an impossible task.
What would the best method of presentation be, for general education, tech literacy, media literacy, and so on? What would be the best method of presentation to get education on these kinds of topics, into the hands of the general public; both those whom are interested, and those who simply stumble across it?
The thing is, you can't manufacture interest. And what you believe to be 'the most effective', might very well be the exact opposite of what would get people engaged. Something far off – some fringe idea or venture – could very well be what is needed. I certainly would not have predicted that the corpses of YouTube prank channels and inflammatory online podcasters would be the people who would usher in a new wave of pseudoscience and social debauchery.
So, if I couldn't predict that – what is the point in waiting around until 'just the right idea' hits?
But looking forward, I think this will be a lot to orchestrate and I don't know if I'll have the wherewithal to do it on my own. I'm imagining organizing groups of science educators to create outlets to reach the general public; a tech website covering the benefits of serviceability and product longevity (but with a secret twist to get young people involved); a number of other supportive platforms, a tech repair drive, videos and live streams, etc. Rattling off the list makes me positively itchy, (and its not just the mosquito that got into my room earlier) – it makes my skin break out and I start to get aggressively tired.
I'd have to live and breathe that sort of advocacy lifestyle to support all this, IF I do it all alone. And the worst part, in my mind, is that I have such a sensitive sense organ for enjoying life as it is – that to torture myself talking to walls for years, sounds like missing out on enjoying life's pleasantries; its ups and downs. Now, this part sounds quite selfish – but I just imagine myself and all of my advocacies really being like shouting at clouds, attempting to teach them mathematics. I have this horrible impression that, right now for science, education and tech, is really just “the wrong place, at the wrong time” sort of deal. I think that no matter how great the learning material is present to combat all of this, that we're just set for a downward slope at this current moment in time. This isn't said to be depressive, but simply to see reality. I think we're in a very rebellious, “think with your surface emotions” sort of time period where we're going to be more prone as a collective to throw rocks at one another. Certainly, that does not mean we should give up and not try to better things 'until this bad spell is over' – as this may not be “over” for a long time, depending on how things play out. Its important to be realistic here.
I keep trying to brainstorm like my life depends on it, and I don't think there is much that can stop, or assuage the current landslide at the moment.
Gah, my face is breaking out in stress just thinking about it. Perhaps I'm putting far too great a load on myself. I could pay somebody to help me, but to what end will that help? Won't I still have to delegate? Won't it still be not enough? Worry, worry, worry – its sounds more like I'm spiraling than anything else.
Hmm, I wrote down something last night – what was it...
” I wish there was a sort of 'motivation tonic' one could drink. To feel the urge, conviction, fire and compulsion – in order to catapult myself directly to my clearly imagined target.
...maybe that tonic is merely an active, varied lifestyle where one feels healthy enough to experiment. It's probably the lameness of captivity which waters us all down. “
Sitting taciturn at your computer or in your reading chair, moving a whole four yards over the course of 6-8 hours studying is probably not the most varied lifestyle. I'm burning my candle right in the middle, not taking worry for how my physical condition is – and what good will that do me or anyone else in the long run?
Bah, I've just been rambling now. Let me at least attempt to close out this bizarre chapter with some semblance of a closing thought. We'll just pray that it might be beneficial to you.
If you're unsure whether or not to reach out for help with something, it likely means that you're close, or already in a position to need somebody else's help.
“You cannot set yourself on fire, to keep someone else warm.”
And furthermore, you are more use to others alive, well-fed and well-rested.
Don't grind yourself down into the pavement, for the sake of a society that is slipping under its own accord. Do what you can to help those you can, but don't think martyrdom is required.