Month: January 2022

THOMAS HOMER DIXON ~ COMMANDING HOPE ~ 2020

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~ TPWHTRAWIP ~ The Power We Have To Renew A World In Peril

~ A-‘S’-G-OT-CAS-T-ES-T-OAO-AT-CBAWC ~ A – “Superordinate” – Goal – One That’s – Clear And Specific – That – Everyone Shares – That – Overrides All Others – And That – Can’t Be Achieved Without Cooperation

~ WBT-1.5D-T-IN-I-IWBOOT-S-P-SF-PSHFP ~ Warming Beyond The – 1.5 Degree – Threshold – Is Now – Inevitable – It Will Be One Of The – Slow-Process – Structural Factors – Profoundly Shaping Humanity’s Future Possibilities

~ OC-CAFMDFSTO-B-ITDCWUCU-AOU-TWI-WEFO-BNC ~ Of Course – Conditions Are Far More Dire For Some Than Others – But – If The Dangerous Changes We’ve Unleashed Continue Unabated – All Of Us – The Wealthiest Included – Will Eventually Find Our – Basic Needs Compromised

~ IWGTPT-WN-PAG-TCTFA-IAC-VOTF-T-PE-CTTH-AICWEO-A-RA-AT-WWETTR ~ If We’re Going To Pull Together – We Need – Principles And Goals – That Combine To Form An – Inspiring And Coherent – Vision Of The Future – That – People Everywhere – Can Take To Heart – Affirm In Conversation With Each Other – And – Rally Around – And Then – Work With Excitement Together To Reach

~ RPTH ~ ~ The Path To Hope

~ HB-CCNAOT-SR-SB-BTTR-CTBAT-A-TACTOT ~ Human Beings – Can Create New Aspects Of Their – Social Reality – Simply By – Believing That They’re Real – Communicating Those Beliefs Among Themselves – And – Then Acting Concretely Together On Them

~ IOCADETDUTAMUS-TCATCOTSMR-HUT-VAOD-THAO-PAB-TC-A-EE-TTTPUAAMUD ~ Instead Of Creating A Digital Environment That Draws Us Together And Makes Us Smarter – The Companies At The Core Of The Social Media Revolution – Have Used The – Vast Amounts Of Data – They Harvest About Our – Preferences And Behaviors – To Create – An – Emotional Environment – That Tends To Pull Us Apart And Make Us Dumber

~ M-E-O-S-A-C-O-L-GMR-B-CA-AIE-O-C-CAE-S-A-ATETWBA-O-A-(S)A-SEMUFCI-EUTCIGOL-MFPP-A-DTTBDPTEFACOW-TAU-TA-S-EOFITF ~ More – Eyeballs – On – Sites – And – Clicks – On – Links – Generate More Revenue – By – Creating An – Addictive Information Environment – Of – Constant – Cognitive And Emotional – Stimulus – And – Among The Emotions That Work Best Are – Outrage – And – (Social) Anxiety – Such Emotions Make Us Feel Chronically Insecure – Encourage Us To Coalesce Into Groups Of The Like-Minded For Psychological Protection – And – Dissolve The Trust Between Divers Peoples That’s Essential For A Consensus On What’s – True And Untrue – They Also – Subtly – Erode Our Faith In The Future

~ MME-A-PC-A-T-C-WPITRD-CB-AEFFG ~ Modern Market Economies – Are – Prodigiously Creative – And – That – Creativity – When Pointed In The Right Direction – Can Be – An Extraordinary Force For Good

~ ‘MI’ ~ “Motivated Inference”

~ HIDEIN-A-S-IDOI ~ Humanity Is Deeply Enmeshed In Nature – And – So – Intimately Dependent On It

~ B-MOUSWOCW-EWAESINBU-B-IOOR-A-GOLM ~ But – Most Of Us Stick With Our Current Worldview – Even When Abundant Evidence Shows It’s Not Benefiting Us – Because – It Orders Our Reality – And – Gives Our Lives Meaning

~ IISITHOCBTCMAD ~ It’s So Important To Help Our Children Believe They Can Make A Difference

~ H-IIF-D-O-I-W-C-CTBD ~ Humanity – If In Fact – Doomed – Only – If – We – Collectively – Choose To Be Doomed

~ H-CAW-AIUP-UEOU-FABROC-TOOAFTPT-AMOAC-‘W’ ~ Humanity – Can’t And Won’t – Address Its Urgent Problems – Until Enough Of Us – From A Broad Range Of Cultures – Think Of Ourselves As Facing These Problems Together – As Members Of A Common – “We”

~ BO-CP-AN-GIBTCAS-WN-BCA-ATWS-TATS ~ Because Our – Critical Problems – Are Now – Global – In Both Their Causes And Scope – We Need – Broad Collective Action – Across The World’s Societies – To Address Them Successfully

~ ‘POC’-MB-OOO-B-LI ~ “Protect Our Children” – Must Be – One Of Our – Bottom-Line Injunctions

JANE WAGNER ~ THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE ~ 1986

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~ R-I-T-LCOS-AT-ITWI ~ Reality – Is The – Leading Cause Of Stress – Amongst Those – In Touch With It

~ NUTPOTHMTF ~ Never Underestimate The Power Of The Human Mind To Forget

~ YBAAHAAAF ~ You’ve Been About As Helpful As An Acid Flashback!

~ WGUMCD-B-DEITCDWYCFI ~ What Goes Up Must Come Down – But – Don’t Expect It To Come Down Where You Can Find It

~ WDLBOODINTC ~ We Developed Language Because Of Our Deep Inner Need To Complain

~ WWGE-SAEE-TBNMW ~ When Women Get Equality – Social And Economic Equality – There’ll Be No More Wars

~ IIHKTTIWIWBLT-HIT-IMHBWTSFL ~ If I Had Known That This Is What It Would Be Like To – Have It All – I Might Have Been Willing To Settle For Less

~ WHOTGTA-HB-VP ~ We Have Orders To Go To A – Higher Bio-Vibrational Plane

NICHOLAS CHRISTAKIS ~ BUBONIC PLAGUE ~ APOLLO’S ARROW ~ 2020

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~ ETHKA-THM-P-OT-FH-Y-IHRWP-PI-TMP-T-S/F/N-C ~ Estimated To Have Killed Around – Two Hundred Million – People – Over The – Fourteen Hundred – Years – It Has Ravaged Worldwide Populations – Primarily In – Three Major Pandemics – The – Sixth / Fourteenth / Nineteenth – Centuries

~ TFOTP-KAT-POJ-SI-541-A-H-ESW-BIEI-755-IITTHOIA-TRISANWU ~ The First Of These Pandemics – Known As The – Plague Of Justinian – Started In – 541 – And – Had – Eighteen Successive Waves – Before It Ended In – 755 – It Is Thought To Have Originated In Africa – The Reasons It Stopped Are Not Well Understood

~ TSP-OOTMCPE-BI-CA-A-R-E-I-1347-IL-OAO-FN-FHY-TDIT-1830S-TFWOTSP-WLF-1347-1353-IWWTOAT-BD-ATTWNUATT-DTFW-DPTAC-A-S-AMA-HOTPOE-WWO ~ The Second Plague – One Of The Most Catastrophic Pandemics Ever – Began In – Central Asia – And – Reached – Europe – In – 1347 – It Lasted – On And Off – For Nearly – Five Hundred Years – Then Disappeared In The – 1830s – The First Wave Of The Second Plague – Which Lasted From – 1347 – 1353 – Is What We Think Of As The – Black Death – Although The Term Was Not Used At The Time – During This First Wave – Densely Packed Towns And Cities – And – Substantial Poverty – As Much As – Half Of The Population Of Europe – Was Wiped Out

~ F-I-1870-T-TO-LI-I-KAT-‘MP’-TECB-TAFM-D ~ Finally – In – 1870 – The – Third Occurrence – Largely In – India – Known As The – “Modern Plague” – The Epidemic Caused Between – Thirteen And Fifteen Million – Deaths

~ OOTCOPB-1900-2016-LAHAOETWA ~ Over One Thousand Case Of Plague Between – 1900 – 2016 – Largely Among Hunters And Others Exposed To Wild Animals

~ WDNRETOIAAPA;WJCIA-Y-I-A-ICBCIASFW-SOT ~ We Do Not Really Even Think Of It As A Plague Anymore; We Just Call It A – Yersinia – Infection – And – It Can Be Cured In A Straightforward Fashion With – Streptomycin Or Tetracycline

NICHOLAS CHRISTAKIS ~ APOLLO’S ARROW ~ 2020

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~ SMPCASR-VFPHAET-B-TFTTANIPLMDNMTWCNT-TIR-WSPA ~ Since Major Pandemics Come Along So Rarely – Very Few People Have Actually Experienced Them – But – The Fact That They Are Not In People’s Living Memory Does Not Mean That We Can Neglect Them – They Inevitably Recur – We Should Pay Attention

~ TBITHSTFUWTHOS ~ The Beds In The Hospital Started To Fill Up With The Hospital’s Own Staff

~ AT-CPAOCT-PHM-S-BUPCSTD ~ Asymptomatic Transmission – Can Present An Obvious Challenge To – Public Health Management – Since – Blithely Unaware Patients Can Spread The Disease

~ EW-ASTBAR ~ Essential Workers – Always Seem To Be At Risk

~ E-DOA-CI-O-P/H/E ~ Epidemics – Depend On A – Complex Interaction – Of – Pathogen / Host / Environment

~ P-AAFOT-HE-WHI-2020-WNNTOS-IWJ-NT-U ~ Plagues – Are A Feature Of The – Human Experience – What Happened In – 2020 – Was Not New To Our Species – It Was Just – New To – Us

~ MM-WNT-PF-TCIDTGA-TAC-W-SI-A-TIO-PHM ~ Modern Medicine – Was Not The – Primary Force – That Caused Infectious Diseases To Go Away – The Actual Cause – Was – Socioeconomic Improvements – And – The Implementation Of – Public Health Measures

~ TBC-WNT-D-O-P-N-S ~ To Be Clear – We Need To – Distance – Ourselves – Physically – Not – Socially

~ IAC-A-ANME-A-TWBIUIC ~ Individual And Collective – Approaches – Are Not Mutually Exclusive – And – They Work Best If Used In Combination

~ ASESSAH-CS-FTC-ATSTW-A-AESOE-A-OH-CP ~ A Serious Epidemic Severally Strains Any Health-Care System – Flattening The Curve – Allows The System To Work – And – Avoids Exhausting Supplies Of Equipment – And – Overwhelming Health-Care Personnel

~ BT-AAUTGTPHSR;WCDT-A-PFCT-A-LMATVIOL ~ Buying Time – Also Allows Us To Get The Public Health System Ready; We Can Develop Tests – And – Procedures For Contact Tracing – And – Learn More About The Virus In Our Laboratories

~ WW-FTC-WAFSOTIITFTAPW-SBVOTPOT-A-V-EM-BCFPSFTD-MALLVOTD ~ When We – Flatten The Curve – We Also Push Some Of The Infections Into The Future To A Point When – Simply By Virtue Of The Passage Of Time – A – Vaccine – Effective Medicines – Better Care For People Suffering From The Disease – Milder And Less Lethal Versions Of The Disease

~ FTC-M-STSOTV-N-EI ~ Flattening The Curve – Means – Slowing The Spread Of The Virus – Not – Eradicating It

~ BTT-PSTD-ITLTGTFBOTME-I-ATDSH ~ By The Time – People Start To Die – It’s Too Late To Gain The Full Benefit Of The More Effective – Interventions – Although They Do Still Help

~ TPOPWNTBIFASTH-HI-DOHITDI-TLITD-TFINTBI ~ The Proportion Of People Who Need To Be Immune For A Society To Have – Herd Immunity – Depends On How Infectious The Disease Is – The Less Infectious The Disease – The Fewer Individuals Need To Be Immune

~ OOTMIAARTAEIT-CB ~ One Of The Most Intuitive And Ancient Responses To An Epidemic Is To – Close Borders

~ CT-PAIRIT-EO-S ~ Contact Tracing – Played An Important Role In The – Eradication Of – Smallpox

~ IWMOCTDP-A-TTC-WTAOAF-TSCBTOTMCTF ~ If We Miss Our Chance To Detect Patients – And – Trace Their Contacts – When There Are Only A Few – The System Can Become Too Overwhelmed To Make Contact Tracing Feasible

~ T-OGHIHW-T-T-I-SOS-I ~ Tracing – Often Goes Hand In Hand With – Testing – To – Identify – Sick Or Susceptible – Individuals

~ T-OIODLTHCAV-ITUOWAHTV-NWIHS ~ Testing – On Its Own Does Little To Help Control A Virus – It Tells Us Only Who Already Has The Virus – Not Where It Has Spread

~ IOWYC-T-T-A-I-TYC-BTCOT-A-BAVUC ~ It’s Only When You Can – Test – Trace – And – Isolate – That You Can – Break The Chains Of Transmission – And – Bring A Virus Under Control

~ PAATOL-NJO-L-B-O-R-C-L-A-ME ~ Plagues Are A Time Of Loss – Not Just Of – Lives – But – Of – Routines – Connections – Liberty – And – Much Else

~ B – DEASPEOA-POE-N-LTBEV-G/A/F/D/D-A-E-A-ANU-ER-TTPACLIASOOID ~ But Deadly Epidemics Always Spawn Parallel Epidemics Of A – Psychological Or Existential – Nature – Leas Tangible But Equally Virulent – Grief / Anger / Fear / Denial / Despair – And – Even – Anomie – Are Not Unexpected – Emotional Reactions – To The Personal And Collective Loss In A Serious Outbreak Of Infectious Disease

~ PHATTBOFTD ~ People Have A Tendency To Blame Others For The Disease

~ AICF-PHA-A-LDAP-IT-AWNEAFOP-A-THPERTTICW ~ An Important Challenge For – Public Health Authorities – And – Leaders During A Pandemic – Is To – Acknowledge Widespread Negative Emotions And Feelings Of Powerlessness – And – To Help People Effectively Respond To Them In Constructive Ways

~ FBOBECECPTSTTTHCTD ~ Fear Brought On By Epidemics Can Even Cause People To Shun Those Trying To Help Control The Disease

~ A-F-TRI-SOS-OT-IATTPWPCTIUI-CAWTIOTE ~ And – Fear – That Results In – Stigmatization Or Scapegoating – Or That – Increases Anxiety To The Point Where People Cannot Take In Useful Information – Can Also Worsen The Impact Of The Epidemic

~ FOD-HI-OE-I-OSD ~ Fear Of Disease – Has Its – Own Epidemiology – Its – Own Spreading Dynamics

~ ROTFOIAOJOTGTTRPOFC-B-TSFRIHETIHTGTEAC ~ Restrictions On The Flow Of Information Are Often Justified On The Grounds That They Reduce Panic Or Foster Consistency – But – They So Frequently Result In Harmful Effects That It’s Hard To Give Those Explanations Any Credence

~ LT-V-M-CHU ~ Like The – Virus – Misinformation – Can Harm Us

~ S-A-DDFPAC-HAADTOP ~ Superstitions – And – Desperate Desires For Preventatives And Cures – Have Always Arisen During Times Of Plague

~ TEOEAOMIIWWWTUEOTPI ~ The Epidemics Of – Emotions And Of Misinformation – Intersect In Worrisome Ways – With – The Underlying Epidemic Of The Pathogen Itself

~ TITBOFCIOFBIIP ~ The Impulse To Blame Others For Causing Infections Or For Being Infected Is Powerful

~ ITPDND-WSW? ~ If The Pathogen Does Not Discriminate – Why Should We?

~ B-IR-PM-HAH-I ~ But – In Reality – Pandemics Mostly – Heighten And Highlight – Inequality

~ PAAATWMOAG-WTIDBABO-CI-AA-O-SP ~ Pathogens Almost Always Affect The Weaker Members Of Any Group – Whether This Is Defined By A Burden Of – Chronic Illness – Advanced Age – Or – Substantial Poverty

~ IATOP-SDL-AAHS-A-UH ~ In A Time Of Plague – Social Distinctions Like – Age And Health Status – Are – Unavoidably Highlighted

~ M-LIJ-CBDR-H-A-SMOTP-L-AHI-SWCNEA-HC-O-E-SD-WTBI ~ Most – Low Income Jobs – Cannot Be Done Remotely – However – And – Since Many Of These Positions – Lack – Adequate Health Insurance – Such Workers Could Not Easily Access – Health Care – Or – Even – Sick Days – When They Became Ill

~ IEFEWWHAVIOM ~ It’s Expensive For Everyone When We Have A Virus In Our Midst

~ F-TWHSFBSSOOVDDTTV ~ Fortunately – The World Has So Far Been Spared Serious Outbreaks Of Violence Directly Due To The Virus

~ OATSDTEITTOP-PTMMI-TDBTWKSWHD-A-TWDN-B-AMPD-A-AMOUCTKSWHD-TEWSMR ~ Of All The Societal Divisions That Emerge In The Time Of Plague – Perhaps The Most Meaningful Is – The Divide Between Those Who Know Someone Who Has Died – And – Those Who Do Not – But – As More People Die – And – As More Of Us Come To Know Someone Who Has Died – The Epidemic Will Seem More Real

~ B-‘R’-P-T-AWT-TR-A-CTS ~ But – “Regular” – People – Too – Are Willing To – Take Risks – And – Contribute To Society

~ LAC-CMSMB ~ Love And Connection – Can Make Suffering More Bearable

~ HAMACOTTOS-I ~ Humans Are Moral Actors Capable Of Transcending Their Own Self-Interest

~ AISO-SI-IVCA-TEC-A-TISAPSO-CB-A-GW ~ An Increased Sense Of – Shared Identity – Is Very Common Among – Those Experiencing Catastrophes – And – This Is A Powerful Source Of – Cooperative Behavior – And – Good Will

~ B-S-PASDTASNR ~ But –Sometimes – Plagues Are So Devastating That A Society Never Recovers

~ S-WWR-HI-O-TPWETB-LL-O-AAVLT-HWETB-R ~ So – We Will Reach – Herd Immunity – Or – The Pathogen Will Evolve To Be – Less Lethal – Or – After A Very Long Time – Humans Will Evolve To Be – Resistant

~ RPR ~ Respiratory Pandemics Recur

~ PAE ~ Plagues Always End

JOHN CLEESE ~ CREATIVITY ~ 2020

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~ C-NWOTAT-CBSIEAOL ~ Creativity – New Ways Of Thinking About Things – Can Be Seen In Every Area Of Life

~ WYCFAWODTTIBTWHBDB-YABC ~ Wherever You Can Find A Way Of Doing Things That Is Better Than What Has Been Done Before – You Are Being Creative

~ ACBC ~ Anyone Can Be Creative

~ YCTPHTCCIWTWBC ~ You Can Teach People How To Create Circumstances In Which They Will Become Creative

~ PTWI-BGTB-O-A-CI-O ~ Put The Work In – Before Going To Bed – Often – A – Creative Idea – Overnight

~ WSTABAY-YD-YDFCETA ~ When Someone Throws A Brick At You – You Duck – You Don’t First Carefully Evaluate The Alternatives

~ Y-U-CIKTYSTTLOTU-A-TLOTUINV-ISY-I-IGY-F-INYAWYIKWIGA ~ Your – Unconscious – Communicates Its Knowledge To You Solely Through The Language Of The Unconscious – And – The Language Of The Unconscious Is Not Verbal – It Shows You – Images – It Gives You – Feelings – It Nudges You Around Without You Immediately Knowing What It’s Getting At

~ B-SMOCIATU-TIALTWYCSAI! ~ Because – So Much Of Creativity Is About The Unconscious – There Is A Limit To What You Can Say About It!

~ B-CP-AMBATTVSOWTWAGWWLSU ~ But – Creative People – Are Much Better At Tolerating The Vague Sense Of Worry That We All Get When We Leave Something Unresolved

~ N-THPOBC-HDWLTPLAC? ~ Now – The Harder Part Of Being Creative – How Do We Learn To Play Like A Child?

~ TGKOCII-IPYMAFWYWTBTA-ICT-M-TRT-YP-SOC-A-GBIA-SODF ~ The Greatest Killer Of Creativity Is Interruption – It Pulls Your Mind Away From What You Want To Be Thinking About – It Can Take – Minutes – To Return To – Your Previous – State Of Consciousness – And – Get Back Into A – State Of Deep Focus

~ WYBCTINSTAAM-YCPKIYAGDAWAUYGDI ~ When You’re Being Creative There Is No Such Thing As A Mistake – You Can’t Possibly Know If You Are Going Down A Wrong Avenue Until You’ve Gone Down It

~ WYPWIAF-YNKWAVPMCF ~ When You’re Playing With Images And Feelings – You Never Know Where A Vital Prompting May Come From

~ IIANT-HCYPUISA?-DR-LTNNOYSB-C-A-C-A-C ~ If It’s A New Thought – How Can You Possibly Understand It Straight Away? – Don’t Rush – Let These New Notions Of Yours Slowly Become – Clearer – And – Clearer – And – Clearer

~ WT-NI-HBPC-BIY-C/A/F-S-M-TAI ~ When This – New Idea – Has Become Pretty Clear – Bring In Your – Critical / Analytical / Fact-Seeking – Mind – To Assess It

~ WYFHA-NI-YDGTCTS0N-A-‘W’-I-SBABYLBUTHTTG-TB-CAS ~ When You First Have A – New Idea – You Don’t Get Too Critical Too Soon – New – And – “Woolly” – Ideas – Shouldn’t Be Attacked By Your Logical Brain Until They’ve Had Time To Grow – To Become – Clearer And Sturdier

~ S-EP-UYHACSOWIITYCUW-TYCBY-CT-I-NB ~ So – Exercise Patience – Until You Have A Clear Sense Of What It Is That You’ve Come Up With – Then You Can Bring Your – Critical Thinking – In – Not Before

~ BAFBTCMOTATAMOT-U-F-YGTSTABS-TIC-I-IW-CP-DATT ~ Backwards And Forwards Between The Creative Mode Of Thinking And The Analytical Mode Of Thinking – Until – Finally – You Get To Something That’s A Bit Special – This Is Called – Iteration – Its What – Creative People – Do All The Time

~ ‘TB’-‘HB’-TNEO ~ “Tortoise Mind” – “Hare Brain” – They Need Each Other

~ YL-A-LF-SOS-YA-INS-IC-‘BIB’ ~ You’re Learning – And – Learning From – Something Or Someone – You Admire – Is Not Stealing – It’s Called – “Being Influenced By”

~ MAIL ~ Making An Imaginative Leap

~ P-KYF ~ Playing – Keeps You Fresh

~ GDIATWOYT ~ Getting Discouraged Is A Total Waste Of Your Time

~ YTFYM ~ Your Thoughts Follow Your Mood

~ TYI ~ Testing Your Ideas

BARBARA EHRENREICH ~ BRIGHT-SIDED ~ 2009

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~ P-INSMOCOOMAIIPOOI-TWWETWATWOTFWI ~ Positivity – Is Not So Much Our Condition Or Our Mood As It Is Part Of Our Ideology – The Way We Explain The World And Think We Ought To Function Within It

~ H-IAE-AY-TEOWINEWOC-O-IA-CS-ACE-WPACDTP ~ Hope – Is An Emotion – A Yearning – The Experience Of Which Is Not Entirely Within Our Control – Optimism – Is A – Cognitive Stance – A Conscious Expectation – Which Presumably Anyone Can Develop Through Practice

~ ITRETMPWOT-O-I-H-PE-C-A-R-MIEFUTAOG-AFLRTARR-TITOTCISMW-DATPW-NT-SP-NO-W-PT-RTITFO-H-P-A-S-FBRAMR-T-TEO-PT-ISTBWWOTAA ~ In The Rational Explanation That Many Psychologists Would Offer Today – Optimism – Improves – Health – Personal Efficacy – Confidence – And – Resilience – Making It Easier For Us To Accomplish Our Goals – A Far Less Rational Theory Also Runs Rampant – The Idea That Our Thoughts Can In Some Mysterious Way – Directly Affect The Physical World – Negative Thoughts – Somehow Produce – Negative Outcomes – While – Positive Thoughts – Realize Themselves In The Form Of – Health – Prosperity – And – Success – For Both Rational And Mystical Reasons – Then – The Effort Of – Positive Thinking – Is Said To Be Well Worth Our Time And Attention

~ ITG-‘PT’-IC-A-TARGB-ITAOTUTTHAA-TWBWTMEOPT?-O-B-WDFBTTWGBOTO ~ If The Generic – “Positive Thought” – Is Correct – And – Things Are Really Getting Better – If The Arc Of The Universe Tends Toward Happiness And Abundance – Then Why Bother With The Mental Effort Of Positive Thinking? – Obviously – Because – We Don’t Fully Believe That Things Will Get Better On Their Own

~ WWTPIAOBSATAOR-A-WBWADLODAETPD-WAGTCTTWAOETET? ~ What Was The Point In Agonizing Over Balance Sheets And Tedious Analyses Of Risks – And – Why Bother Worrying About Dizzying Levels Of Debt And Exposure To Potential Defaults – When All Good Things Come To Those Who Are Optimistic Enough To Expect Them?

~ TD-H-DNSFR ~ The Dogma – However – Did Not Survive Further Research

~ TFT-TP-CWOACPLASD ~ The Failure To – Think Positively – Can Weigh On A Cancer Patient Like A Second Disease

~ IYA-‘N’-PWBMITLY-TIYAC-G/C/OOS ~ If You Are – “Nice” – People Will Be More Inclined To Like You – Than If You Are Chronically – Grumpy / Critical / Out Of Sorts

~ B-ITWO-PT-OP-ANT-TBN-O-TPURC-TAT-OT-N/P/A ~ But – In The World Of – Positive Thinking – Other People – Are Not There – To Be Nurtured – Or – To Provide Unwelcome Reality Checks – They Are There – Only To – Nourish / Praise / Affirm

~ WTGA-D-‘N’-P-TAAIAW:SABA-GWTF-O-PTBO-OC-I-T-POM-WT-‘I’-OWNHTENPFOLE-OC-FE-S-CTITBIAPW ~ When The Gurus Advise – Dropping – “Negative” – People – They Are Also Issuing A Warning: Smile And Be Agreeable – Go With The Flow – Or – Prepare To Be Ostracized – Of Course – If – The – Powers Of Mind – Were Truly – “Infinite” – One Would Not Have To Eliminate Negative People From One’s Life Either – One Could – For Example – Simply – Choose To Interpret Their Behavior In A Positive Way

~ TFTVSTL-EAP-CALB-WAP-DNMTTAFTDA-O-OC-T-W-C-MIWAP-N-DT-UP-MT-‘TMISTVTTIBP’-OT-TALTWWCEFOA-A-Q-LP ~ The Fact That Very Small Things Like – Electrons And Photons – Can Act Like Both – Waves And Particles – Does Not Mean That They Are Free To Do Anything – Or – Of Course – That – We – Can – Morph Into Waves And Particles – Nor – Does The – Uncertainty Principle – Mean That – “The Mind Is Shaping The Very Thing That Is Being Perceived” – Only That There Are Limits To What We Can Ever Find Out About – A – Quantum-Level Particle

~ ‘YMIDWFY’ ~ “You Mean It Doesn’t Work For You”

~ TSDSAS;IREO-O-TCBSWARBO-B-IAWW-‘E-YDIT-IT’-WKOCBPCTB? ~ There’s Something Deeply Sociable About Science; It Rests Entirely On – Observations – That Can Be Shared With And Repeated By Others – But – In A World Where – “Everything – You Decide Is True – Is True” – What Kind Of Connection Between People Can There Be?

~ TT-PT-ERS-A-OILMBSTRM ~ To The – Positive Thinker – Emotions Remain Suspect – And – One’s Inner Life Must Be Subjected To Relentless Monitoring

~ WSSMTWOO-W-TISMRWTBD? ~ Why Spend So Much Time Working On Oneself – When – There Is So Much Real Work To Be Done?

~ T-O-S-CEO-HRFWTROTC-MEAOTBBATTT;T-NO-WLTHBHFH-CSITBW-EIIWDFTULOB ~ The – Old-Style – CEO – Had Risen From Within The Ranks Of The Company – Mastering Every Aspect Of The Business Before Ascending To The Top; The – New One – Was Likely To Have Been Hired For His – Celebrity Status In The Business World – Even If It Was Derived From Totally Unrelated Lines Of Businesses

~ YCJA-SM-WTCAASNOTBAMHCP-B-TEMTAL-FN-YCOCY-POR-F-NAB-T-PAA-TWTCWGGTIL-OEATOS-PT ~ You Could Join A – Social Movement – Working To Create An Adequate Safety Net Or To Bring About More Humane Corporate Polices – But – Those Efforts Might Take A Lifetime – For Now – You Can Only Change Your – Perception Of Reality – From – Negative And Bitter – To – Positive And Accepting – This Was The Corporate World’s Great Gift To Its Laid-Off Employees And The Overworked Survivors – Positive Thinking

~ B-TMPTFMT-SOD-W-‘TB’-AESMTIHSA-‘T-BI’-OTMI-JALWMAMOTTC-EWUTFCAASOCPATMOT-‘T’- ~ But – The Most Popular Technique For Motivating The – Survivors Of Downsizing – Was – “Team Building” – An Effort So Massive That It Has Spawned A – “Team-Building Industry” – Overlapping The Motivation Industry – Just As Layoffs Were Making A Mockery Of The Team Concept – Employees Were Urged To Find Camaraderie And A Sense Of Collective Purpose At The Microlevel Of The – “Team”

~ PT-P-A-SOC-IAWW-T-‘C’-WAM-TMHH-LALPTCTOF-B-THBGA-W-A-BS-AA-R-TCTWIF-IP-IOTC-MTOM ~ Positive Thinking – Promised – A – Sense Of Control – In A World Where – The – “Cheese” – Was Always Moving – They May Have Had – Less And Less Power To Chart Their Own Futures – But – They Had Been Given A – Worldview – A – Belief System – Almost A – Religion – That Claimed They Were In Fact – Infinitely Powerful – If Only They Could – Master Their Own Minds

~ FM-ITM-SM-ETMOIMB-A-YWBLM ~ Follow Me – Is The Message – Send Money – Employ The Methods Outlined In My Books – And – You Will Become Like Me

~ E-TSM-YCHATSITM-I-O-YBTYC-B-A-IAHU-TIT-DM-TIYDHATYW-IYF:S/D/D-YHOYTB ~ Everywhere – The Same Message – You Can Have All That Stuff In The Mall – If – Only – You Believe That You Can – But – Always – In A Hissed Undertone – There Is The – Darker Message – That If You Don’t Have All That You Want – If You Feel: Sick / Discouraged / Defeated – You Have Only Yourself To Blame

~ TA-‘IAE’-HOCBUAAEPR ~ This Argument – “Impractical And Expensive” – Has Of Course Been Used Against Almost Every Progressive Reform

~ HS-ITFO-MT-DO-OATLIG-B-TIOM-GC-CSO-RACS-MUHTCTCOBTBOBN ~ Human Survival – In The Face Of – Multiple Threats – Depended On – Our Ability To Live In Groups – But – The Imperative Of Maintaining – Group Cohesion – Can Sometimes Override – Realism And Common Sense – Making Us Hesitate To Challenge The Consensus Or Be The Bearer Of Bad News

~ PT-DNATNF-CV-IOTTVI ~ Positive Thinking – Did Not Abolish The Need For – Constant Vigilance – It Only Turned That Vigilance Inward

~ S-WNTHOFANT-A-AAT-WNTBATTWOO-EWTI-ABN-A-ETVO-‘N’P ~ Sometimes – We Need To Heed Our Fears And Negative Thoughts – And – At All Times – We Need To Be Alert To The World Outside Ourselves – Even When That Includes – Absorbing Bad News – And – Entertaining The Views Of – “Negative” People

~ A-VR-DNFTPOH-IF-IMIP-HCWET-IOS-WA-TACWFOI? ~ A – Vigilant Realism – Does Not Foreclose The Pursuit Of Happiness – In Fact – It Makes It Possible – How Can We Expect To – Improve Our Situation – Without Addressing – The Actual Circumstances We Find Ourselves In?