Refreshing and important reminder to keep survival tangible. One of the things I greatly appreciate about living next to Mennonite country is that their entrie system is offline. They only accept cash and never have a "system failure", and when worse comes to worst, they will note down what you owe them in their black ledger book. Cash and trusting relationships still reign here and I am profoundly grateful for this.
We live in Amish country and find what you describe to be true here as well. Not to mention that the human-to-human infrastructure is strong enough that there is no fear of the loss of currency leading to starvation or deprivation. Someone will always help.
"Someone will always help." That is a beautiful thought, yet a reality only for those who still live in the real world, and have not bought the lie that the systems and machines of our manufactured world can replace what humans have always done for themselves. It is sad to me, knowing so many even in a rather well off area such as where I live, do not know the beauty of being able to depend upon a real, flesh and blood community of caring human beings.
And then there is AI, only just got started. Silicon digital neural networks can handle complexity that we can't, so it is the obvious next step to handle more human globalisation and complex systems. My guess is that already the last 40 years of industrial global roll out and trade could not have happened with telephones , telex, book keeping etc. and analog engineering. AI or mechanised intelligence of a certain kind goes well beyond human ability and at a first guess will inflate the human systems, including provision for war, and their currently unstoppable demand for energy and materials. Ironically this increase in 'intelligence' seems certain to increase complexity and lack of resilience, including a more rapid increase in the blowback on the self-maintaining biological sphere that Hadden has usefully sketched for us. Some useful perspectives are provided by Nate Hagens and his guests. Rightly they are looking for pro-social alternative responses. Thank you for yours.
Interesting, yes modern technology could not have been developed without modern technology. But of course, modern technology is always changing, always growing on the tattered remains of not quite very modern technology. I’ve seen this. I’’m old enough to have seen the ice man on a horse pulled wagon hop off the wagon, grab a pair of ice picks, and carry a large cube of ice into her kitchen and put it in the bottom of her ice box. High tech in those days. And I wrote my first book on a typewriter, and I saw ball point pens replace fountain pens. I don’t think I’ll be around to see what AI in going to do science, technology, human religions and warfare. Now that would be interesting, sorry I’ll have to leave. But who knows? There may come a time when you don’t have to leave… if you have enough money, and friends in high places…
Old and clunky, that’s my motto! This is one reason why we use pencil and paper in our homeschool for many years before I teach my kids to use a computer. Computer skills are so simple to learn, and can be acquired when necessary.
I read this twice yesterday and sent it to my husband. One thing that I'm always struck by is the sloppiness and arrogance of the people in charge in these situations. Nature shows us again and again what "works" in systems and we just ignore it - I suppose we think we can outsmart it? I've been reading a lot about a potential civilizational collapse lately. Some writers/thinkers seem to think it's a possibility, others an inevitability, still others, already happening. I'm not sure where I fall on that spectrum, but I will say that nothing much surprises me anymore. Thanks for a great piece of writing, Hadden - I have been reading your stuff for a while, but I think this is my first comment.
Negative thought here I’ll admit but one way to get rid of the little guy is to orchestrate such a failure wait while using Big Company massive cash reserve to wait it out then take over all the business
Indeed, as I was writing the part about small businesses In thought that the collateral of an event like this may help big businesses in the long run in destroying competition. It is speculation but certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.
Two things. Firstly my No. 1 son who is a serious IT fellow always tells me that all online systems will all go down at some time, he calls it the entropy effect. Secondly the Memsahib and I went out for lunch at a very popular and busy pub in Yarmouth. We were early for lunch and when I went to pay their whole system had gone down, no bills, no ordering and even no way to open the tills. They didn’t get the system back for two days. I was willing to pay cash but they had no way of taking it, so they told us to have a free meal. I dread to think what it did to their business.
Thank you for stepping out of your normal publishing schedule to share these thoughts, Hadden.
I hadn't considered the concept of "redundancy" to any great depth, but this is a helpful thing to keep in mind, in so many areas of life - from our economics to our environments.
It's a shame that so many of us, in the event of being unable to buy groceries, would also feel ill-equipped or awkward about simply knocking on our neighbour's door and asking for a cup of sugar - or whatever other tangible form of help we might need.
That was a great read, and I love the idea of reinstating/reaffirming the value of tangible things. Thanks for sharing Bertus, and I hope life on the farm is serving you well.
The forsaking of customer service and quality control is either part of or complementary to that. Why have businesses done such stupid things? To squeeze pennies out of their costs. And that is the result of abandoning the logic of Adam Smith and Ludwig von Mises for the foolishness of Marx and Keynes. Today, where there is customer service it is in the form of incomprehensible Indian and Chinese phone banks and IA, which is very artificial and hardly intelligent.
As for quality control, what we see in computer programming and the internet is design flaws specifically designed for sale to the highest bidders, who are invariably criminals, most of whom hide in totalitarian states. Computer fraud, including internet fraud, boils down to Microsoft and others selling access to their customers' accounts through backdoors designed into their programs. All of banking, credit card, and computer 'security' theft are inside jobs.
Who gets filthy rich these days? Folks like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Black Rock, Vanguard, and the like. John McAfee got very rich by selling our to Intel, whereafter his former effective antivirus software devolved into a giant scam like Norton and others are. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and a host of other credit card companies bilk their customers with thirty plus percent interest plus huge fees. In addition, they sell access to thieves and fraudsters to customer accounts. When theft is discovered, they often charge customers outrageous fees the replace cancelled cards.
Refreshing and important reminder to keep survival tangible. One of the things I greatly appreciate about living next to Mennonite country is that their entrie system is offline. They only accept cash and never have a "system failure", and when worse comes to worst, they will note down what you owe them in their black ledger book. Cash and trusting relationships still reign here and I am profoundly grateful for this.
We live in Amish country and find what you describe to be true here as well. Not to mention that the human-to-human infrastructure is strong enough that there is no fear of the loss of currency leading to starvation or deprivation. Someone will always help.
"Someone will always help." That is a beautiful thought, yet a reality only for those who still live in the real world, and have not bought the lie that the systems and machines of our manufactured world can replace what humans have always done for themselves. It is sad to me, knowing so many even in a rather well off area such as where I live, do not know the beauty of being able to depend upon a real, flesh and blood community of caring human beings.
We're dancing on a veil of cobwebs and dandelion fluff.
That is a poignant way of putting it. Totally agree.
And then there is AI, only just got started. Silicon digital neural networks can handle complexity that we can't, so it is the obvious next step to handle more human globalisation and complex systems. My guess is that already the last 40 years of industrial global roll out and trade could not have happened with telephones , telex, book keeping etc. and analog engineering. AI or mechanised intelligence of a certain kind goes well beyond human ability and at a first guess will inflate the human systems, including provision for war, and their currently unstoppable demand for energy and materials. Ironically this increase in 'intelligence' seems certain to increase complexity and lack of resilience, including a more rapid increase in the blowback on the self-maintaining biological sphere that Hadden has usefully sketched for us. Some useful perspectives are provided by Nate Hagens and his guests. Rightly they are looking for pro-social alternative responses. Thank you for yours.
Interesting, yes modern technology could not have been developed without modern technology. But of course, modern technology is always changing, always growing on the tattered remains of not quite very modern technology. I’ve seen this. I’’m old enough to have seen the ice man on a horse pulled wagon hop off the wagon, grab a pair of ice picks, and carry a large cube of ice into her kitchen and put it in the bottom of her ice box. High tech in those days. And I wrote my first book on a typewriter, and I saw ball point pens replace fountain pens. I don’t think I’ll be around to see what AI in going to do science, technology, human religions and warfare. Now that would be interesting, sorry I’ll have to leave. But who knows? There may come a time when you don’t have to leave… if you have enough money, and friends in high places…
Old and clunky, that’s my motto! This is one reason why we use pencil and paper in our homeschool for many years before I teach my kids to use a computer. Computer skills are so simple to learn, and can be acquired when necessary.
A marvellous motto! And great to hear you use pencil and paper in the formative years.
Timely reflections! It’s ironic the salvation of our efficient machine society may depend on us becoming less efficient.
Redundancy as system resiliency is certainly a lesson obscured by digital innovation. I appreciate your observations here, Hadden.
I read this twice yesterday and sent it to my husband. One thing that I'm always struck by is the sloppiness and arrogance of the people in charge in these situations. Nature shows us again and again what "works" in systems and we just ignore it - I suppose we think we can outsmart it? I've been reading a lot about a potential civilizational collapse lately. Some writers/thinkers seem to think it's a possibility, others an inevitability, still others, already happening. I'm not sure where I fall on that spectrum, but I will say that nothing much surprises me anymore. Thanks for a great piece of writing, Hadden - I have been reading your stuff for a while, but I think this is my first comment.
My pleasure Meagan, I am glad you found it helpful!
Nature has so much to teach us - the wise person will realise this. Sadly, wisdom is not something that characterises our “tech bros”
It's like John Michael Greer has said (paraphrase): the opposite of resilience is efficiency.
Negative thought here I’ll admit but one way to get rid of the little guy is to orchestrate such a failure wait while using Big Company massive cash reserve to wait it out then take over all the business
Indeed, as I was writing the part about small businesses In thought that the collateral of an event like this may help big businesses in the long run in destroying competition. It is speculation but certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.
You'd be naive to be believe it isn't in their gameplan.
Two things. Firstly my No. 1 son who is a serious IT fellow always tells me that all online systems will all go down at some time, he calls it the entropy effect. Secondly the Memsahib and I went out for lunch at a very popular and busy pub in Yarmouth. We were early for lunch and when I went to pay their whole system had gone down, no bills, no ordering and even no way to open the tills. They didn’t get the system back for two days. I was willing to pay cash but they had no way of taking it, so they told us to have a free meal. I dread to think what it did to their business.
Don't rely on a point of single failure. Wise post, among febrile news.
Thank you for stepping out of your normal publishing schedule to share these thoughts, Hadden.
I hadn't considered the concept of "redundancy" to any great depth, but this is a helpful thing to keep in mind, in so many areas of life - from our economics to our environments.
It's a shame that so many of us, in the event of being unable to buy groceries, would also feel ill-equipped or awkward about simply knocking on our neighbour's door and asking for a cup of sugar - or whatever other tangible form of help we might need.
I use cash as much as I can.
Have written a redundant post too...
https://bertus.substack.com/p/small-change
That was a great read, and I love the idea of reinstating/reaffirming the value of tangible things. Thanks for sharing Bertus, and I hope life on the farm is serving you well.
"The forsaking of redundancy"
The forsaking of customer service and quality control is either part of or complementary to that. Why have businesses done such stupid things? To squeeze pennies out of their costs. And that is the result of abandoning the logic of Adam Smith and Ludwig von Mises for the foolishness of Marx and Keynes. Today, where there is customer service it is in the form of incomprehensible Indian and Chinese phone banks and IA, which is very artificial and hardly intelligent.
As for quality control, what we see in computer programming and the internet is design flaws specifically designed for sale to the highest bidders, who are invariably criminals, most of whom hide in totalitarian states. Computer fraud, including internet fraud, boils down to Microsoft and others selling access to their customers' accounts through backdoors designed into their programs. All of banking, credit card, and computer 'security' theft are inside jobs.
Who gets filthy rich these days? Folks like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Black Rock, Vanguard, and the like. John McAfee got very rich by selling our to Intel, whereafter his former effective antivirus software devolved into a giant scam like Norton and others are. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and a host of other credit card companies bilk their customers with thirty plus percent interest plus huge fees. In addition, they sell access to thieves and fraudsters to customer accounts. When theft is discovered, they often charge customers outrageous fees the replace cancelled cards.
And the beat goes on and on and on...........