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| Fig. 1 What Is The Difference Between Life And Death? |
I. Savvy Background
The question asked at the bottom of the cool graphic to the left (Fig. 1) would seem to be easier to answer if we lived in a civilization that is savvy vs one that is not.
The heightened elevation represented by the notion 'savvy civilization' would seem to indicate a civilization with a savvy nomenclature (Good Nomenclature: A Matter of Life and Death).
It would also seem, then, that a savvy nomenclature would clearly delineate the difference between 'life' and 'death'; but more than that, the more advanced institutions of learning within a savvy civilization would be the best place to find the savvy meaning and the savvy difference between life and death...in other words, what is alive and what is not alive (Weekend Rebel Science Excursion - 27).
II. The Slowest Savvy
At one time "the most often quoted historian" hiked his way through the pages of time, which are composed mostly of history with some herstory, to seek the savvy that everyone supposed would be there.
Some say that cognitive hike made him more savvy, others say not, because his conclusions indicate that there aren't hopeful historical indications of savvy civilizations:
But always TCS [the creep state] is primarily the population segment diagnosed as a despotic minority which the once most-often-quoted historian, Toynbee, fingered as one of the members of the trinity of extinction that he found in all civilizations that were about to become very successful at becoming extinct:
That something is the dementia that produces and ends up in suicide:"In other words, a society does not ever die 'from natural causes', but always dies from suicide or murder --- and nearly always from the former, as this chapter has shown."(A Study of History, by Arnold J. Toynbee). There is no cure for the final symptom of that group dementia, there is only prevention by way of avoiding it altogether in the first place.
The components of that group dementia were pointed out in an encyclopedia piece concerning that historian quoted above:"In the Study Toynbee examined the rise and fall of 26 civilizations in the course of human history, and he concluded that they rose by responding successfully to challenges under the leadership of creative minorities composed of elite leaders. Civilizations declined when their leaders stopped responding creatively, and the civilizations then sank owing to the sins of nationalism, militarism, and the tyranny of a despotic minority." ...(Encyclopedia Britannica, emphasis added). The show stopper, in terms of remedy, in this type of group dementia is that it is a contagious dementia.
(Arrested Development: The Creep State). Where does that slow trek Toynbee took over the slow pages of time leave us?
III. The Savvy of Things To Come
So is this the time for 'savvy' to arise in our civilization?
We can say that civilizations past have not been at a place that has a savvy track record concerning the knowledge of the difference between living and non-living, the difference between life and death.
If Toynbee looked through our pages of time composed of history with some herstory, would he find that savvy civilization?
Let's explore where are we now concerning "the knowledge of the difference between living and non-living, life and death" for some clues.
First of all, can we say that our nomenclature is loud and clear concerning the ability to distinguish living from non-living?
Let's revisit some shapes of "microbes" (the 'things' in Fig. 1):
("Microbe.” Merriam-Webster, emphasis added). And:"History and Etymology for microbe ... International Scientific Vocabulary micr- + Greek bios life"
(Britannica dictionary, emphasis added). And:
"The latter half of the 19th century also saw the inception of the word ‘microbe,’ which is formed from 2 Greek words, ‘mikros’ and ‘bios,’ meaning 'small LIFE'" ...
"Adding specificity to microbial conversations also allows for the
introduction of nuance into the concept of a microbe, which can be
especially helpful for introductory science classrooms. While ‘microbe’
is a broad umbrella term that is helpful to introduce beginners to the
field, understanding the differences between microbial groups builds
competency in identifying the roles of specific sub-groups in human and
environmental health. The role of soil microbes in sequestering carbon
is a hot topic in climate research, but scientists typically measure
bacterial and fungal activity to understand soil carbon storage.
Definitions
and names need to evolve with our ever-expanding knowledge, which is no
easy task. ‘Microbe’ is a convenient and practical term to introduce
novices to the multitudes of the microbial world, but professional
microbiologists might want to ask themselves what they mean when they
say ‘microbe’: did they study the fungal community? Or the bacterial
community? Or the phages that infect bacteria? In the microbial world,
the devil is in the details."
(ASM What Counts as a Microbe, emphasis added). Evolution applies to words too, so, are viruses living so as to qualify for the microbe designation ('small life')?
Well, evolution gets "jiggy wid it":
"Viruses can’t reproduce on their own (unlike bacteria) so they aren’t considered ‘living’ (Difference Between)...
"Are viruses living entities? I don’t believe so" (Viruses and the Tree of Life)..."The issue of whether or not viruses are alive, like the issue of whether or not rocks are alive, my computer is alive, Dredd Blog is alive, etc., depends on the quality of a language's nomenclature ...
One would, at first blush, think that scientists would be the first professionals to develop a professional nomenclature without defects, but think again ..." (Some Of My Best Friends Are Germs)
Since there are more viruses than stars in the sky, one has to wonder why a civilization's relevant institution doesn't have a consensus on whether either a virus or a star is alive or dead (and still consider itself to be 'savvy')... eh?
But I digress, so ...
IV. We Are Here
Maybe the most savvy of activities in Western Civilization, elections, will clear up the notion of dead or alive?
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| Fig. 2 Pence Wanted Dead Or Alive |
Maybe the civics of freedom in the home of the free and brave will clear it up?
Is our 'democracy' alive, dead, or like microbes, just being shaped (The Shapeshifters of Bullshitistan, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)?After "the greatest reelection victory of all time", The Shape Shifters Of Bullshitistan (TSSOB) held a celebration (see Fig. 2 and video below).
A special government committee is holding a followup celebration in June to render what many say will be more savvy (House January 6 committee plans eight hearings for June).
V. The Savvy Savior Then And Now
The 'savvy savior' wasn't discovered by Toynbee as he hiked through the pages of time.
But the savvy savior then is the same savior now:
"Technocracy itself is an immortality ideology that, although it is coupled with materialism, has as part of its makeup an element of the magical and a belief
that new tools and innovations provide solutions to both the small
day-to-day problems of life and the larger problems of human happiness
and mortality. Technology is entrancing, and, functionally,
technologists become creators of magic and the wizards of today,
claiming the same authority over technology that doctors claim over
human health or shamans over the cursed. This has always been so, going back to ancestral peoples who learned to use fire, tools, wind, and wheels. Even in subsistence societies, technology has a greater impact on a variety of sociological variables than do supernatural or religious beliefs (Nolan and Lenski 1996)."
...
[I repeat]"Even in subsistence societies, technology has a greater impact on a variety of sociological variables than do supernatural or religious beliefs (Nolan and Lenski 1996)."
(The Machine Religion, quoting "Ecology and Society"). The problem is that the 'savior' of civilization then and now is not savvy in the realm of life and death.
Thus:
"...human society is cavalierly in the process of (in terms of biotic life) "self destruction," but in machine language it is "regeneration"...
"It is as if "The Matrix" movie theme (machine-intelligence cultivates and farms biological humanity for producing energy) is the reality (The Matriarch of The Matrix, 2, 3).
"We" are practicing a self-destruct-sequence that comes from deep within
us, all the way down to the machines (the atoms and molecules)..."
(ibid). Within current civilization Ecocide and nuclear war are in the killing it niches near the finish line.
The previous post in this series is here.
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