Beautiful piece Jeff. I actually looked into joining the faculty of Deep Springs when I lived in the Owens Valley. Seems like an incredible place.
I think you're right that "wisdom" is only becoming increasingly more valuable in the coming tech era. Unfortunately, it seems to be growing increasingly rare as well. I've also thought a lot about how we gain wisdom and agree that we need to define it. Digging up an old note, I found my definition of wisdom is very aligned with yours. Here's what I came up with:
1. Wisdom is Self-Consistency - Alignment between your beliefs, values, and actions.
2. Wisdom is Causal Control - both the ability and propensity to consider the complex situation that you are in. Then, through your understanding if yourself, the world, other people, produce what is *on average* better outcomes. You can actually produce good outcomes.
3. Wisdom = Action x Knowledge x Good - its a multiplication so if any factor is zero or very low, the outcome is still low. We need to act, in an informed way, with good intentions toward good outcomes.
Good is so nebulous but I suppose there's an element of benevolence.
Finally, this makes me think of one of my favorite articles called "What Do You Want to Want?"
Thanks Justin. So cool that you know Deep Springs and looked into joining the faculty there! I like your notes on wisdom. I feel like the entire essay could've focused on how to define it - it's so abstract and slippery, and hard to measure, and yet most people would acknowledge it's real. I will check out that article - thanks for sharing it.
Your writing is always so good and cogent Jeff. I'd guess that the wisdom you have to offer comes from life experience, which I believe is the real key to gaining wisdom. Real life engagement with nature, physical endeavors (ala Deep Springs), face to face relationships and hands on experiments and service. Those are the foundations of wisdom. Which leaves the question, how is wisdom shared or passed along. Storytelling. So I agree with your assessment of what is missing in the world. Wisdom. And add my vote for more personal experience storytelling.
This was a great read Jeff. As I go deeper into the different techno-accelerationist movements in my own exploration, it's easy to see how one can get caught up in the zeitgeist and forget to stay grounded. This is a beautifully written reminder.
Small batch education, I agree, is the way to go. Large institutions - at least in the press coming out - don't seem to be teaching common sense let alone how to achieve wisdom. In all but the most exclusive circles, Thinking appears to have been abandoned for sensory distraction and gratification. I hope a few of your neighbors are reading this and take up the baton as one of the Koch brothers did by funding an academy. The video was well worth the hour. Thank you.
...my main takeaway from this piece is i would never get accepted into that school...jk...i love the way you used the desert and its voice as motif throughout, so poetic...
Bro now you have me picturing you making jokes while doing ranch work. You so have Deep Springs physiognomy and hair! But seriously, thank you for your feedback. It was transformational, as always.
"I first learned about Deep Springs from a guy who transferred to my college from there. I didn’t know him well but still remember his face all these years later. He had long hair, rough hands, and the deep, disquieting stare of someone comfortable with silence and soul, as if he’d been solo hiking the Continental Divide Trail for months. Deep Springs captured my imagination since hearing about his experiences there, since seeing the desert in his eye."
this is a hauntingly poetic paragraph. beautiful piece of writing, jeff
Beautiful piece Jeff. I actually looked into joining the faculty of Deep Springs when I lived in the Owens Valley. Seems like an incredible place.
I think you're right that "wisdom" is only becoming increasingly more valuable in the coming tech era. Unfortunately, it seems to be growing increasingly rare as well. I've also thought a lot about how we gain wisdom and agree that we need to define it. Digging up an old note, I found my definition of wisdom is very aligned with yours. Here's what I came up with:
1. Wisdom is Self-Consistency - Alignment between your beliefs, values, and actions.
2. Wisdom is Causal Control - both the ability and propensity to consider the complex situation that you are in. Then, through your understanding if yourself, the world, other people, produce what is *on average* better outcomes. You can actually produce good outcomes.
3. Wisdom = Action x Knowledge x Good - its a multiplication so if any factor is zero or very low, the outcome is still low. We need to act, in an informed way, with good intentions toward good outcomes.
Good is so nebulous but I suppose there's an element of benevolence.
Finally, this makes me think of one of my favorite articles called "What Do You Want to Want?"
https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/advice/what-do-you-want-to-want/
Thanks Justin. So cool that you know Deep Springs and looked into joining the faculty there! I like your notes on wisdom. I feel like the entire essay could've focused on how to define it - it's so abstract and slippery, and hard to measure, and yet most people would acknowledge it's real. I will check out that article - thanks for sharing it.
Your writing is always so good and cogent Jeff. I'd guess that the wisdom you have to offer comes from life experience, which I believe is the real key to gaining wisdom. Real life engagement with nature, physical endeavors (ala Deep Springs), face to face relationships and hands on experiments and service. Those are the foundations of wisdom. Which leaves the question, how is wisdom shared or passed along. Storytelling. So I agree with your assessment of what is missing in the world. Wisdom. And add my vote for more personal experience storytelling.
I love how you're tying this to storytelling. I know you're biased (ha), but you're so right! Story is way we transmute wisdom through generations.
ha ha yes, storytelling bias. Definitely have that. it’s a form of confirmation bias where you see storytelling everywhere.
It's a good bias if you ask me! Story is life.
This was a great read Jeff. As I go deeper into the different techno-accelerationist movements in my own exploration, it's easy to see how one can get caught up in the zeitgeist and forget to stay grounded. This is a beautifully written reminder.
By the way, as you probe techno-accelerationism, you may find my attempt to carve a techno-realist path of interest - https://boydinstitute.org/p/the-technorealist-alternative
thanks John!
Small batch education, I agree, is the way to go. Large institutions - at least in the press coming out - don't seem to be teaching common sense let alone how to achieve wisdom. In all but the most exclusive circles, Thinking appears to have been abandoned for sensory distraction and gratification. I hope a few of your neighbors are reading this and take up the baton as one of the Koch brothers did by funding an academy. The video was well worth the hour. Thank you.
Agree John and well said. I'm impressed you watched the full video!
...my main takeaway from this piece is i would never get accepted into that school...jk...i love the way you used the desert and its voice as motif throughout, so poetic...
Bro now you have me picturing you making jokes while doing ranch work. You so have Deep Springs physiognomy and hair! But seriously, thank you for your feedback. It was transformational, as always.
"I first learned about Deep Springs from a guy who transferred to my college from there. I didn’t know him well but still remember his face all these years later. He had long hair, rough hands, and the deep, disquieting stare of someone comfortable with silence and soul, as if he’d been solo hiking the Continental Divide Trail for months. Deep Springs captured my imagination since hearing about his experiences there, since seeing the desert in his eye."
this is a hauntingly poetic paragraph. beautiful piece of writing, jeff