Goat Rodeos and other things FUBAR

http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/the-goat-rodeo-complexdifficult-situation-scale-2064

But of all these terms, the newest to my ears is also my favorite: a goat rodeo. Originally referring to the use of goats as lasso targets for children, the term has come to mean a profoundly messy, complicated situation which has few-to-no good outcomes. A fair example of the original use can be seen here.

Back in my days as a rocket scientist when even "Real Men" rarely swore and consequently even acronyms were Bowdlerized Fouled Up Beyond All Repair was a useful and satisfying description of  a Stage IV or V+ Goat Rodeo.  These days when Fucked-Up is almost praise, a new term was sorely needed.  Goat Rodeo even in its original Stage I iteration is intuitively easy to grasp and as intuitively generalizable to any situation.  What better description of a paleface militia action is there other than a Stage II Goat Rodeo.

Just Wanting to Be.

From Facebook
https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/12345578_1121956801169971_8159322570596712902_n.png?oh=83e9a880d9fe2630005d68f0b768b7e5&oe=571ABC61

I want to live simply.  I want to sit by the window
when it rains and read books I'll never be tested on.
I want to paint because I want to, not because I've got
something to prove.  I want to listen to my body, fall
asleep when the moon is high and wake up slowly,
with no place to rush off to.  I want not to be governed
by money or clocks or any artificial restraints
that humanity imposes on itself.
I just want to be, boundless
and infinite.
Unknown Author

The comment 

A guaranteed personal stipend would make this possible. If your infinite boundlessness includes contributing to your society you can climb out of your narcissism and do so.

was taken as an insult by the poster who saw the image as an enjoyable reading and posted it apparently without further thought. 

The quote from the image seems to be new age and stolen by the OP, but no worries, it is a common new age failing.  They just want to be, sourcing quotes, and other intellectualizing is to be avoided.  
Possibly the new ager stole it from a Zen writing, the thinking is Zen, the word tracks are new age. 

But to our muttons.  The stipend, assuming it is sufficient for the basics of living, universal medical care as part of the package would be a fascinating gumption (Pirsig sense) filter.  Some of a new age bent would read by the window, smear paint on canvas, with no thought other than personal ego enrichment. Perhaps staring at their own reflection in a pool should be added to the list.  

Others would simply vegetate in front of whatever is popular on the big screen at the time, tweet or snapchat, and otherwise remove themselves from the gene-meme pool.  No judgmentalism, removing oneself from the gene-meme pool is a popular and possibly reasonable choice given the human condition today.  And not bothering your neighbor humans while doing so is laudable.  

A few may decide that Homo Sap. is salvagable and try to do what they can to improve the lives of others if only by giving away that painting to a friend to show that you are at least trying to bring a bit of joy to someone else.  It might end up on the refrigerator door with the kids but at least you cared enough to share.  Then again it might end up on someone's wall, probably virtual these days, for others to enjoy.   Or perhaps think about that book that you read by the rainy window.  Maybe it was good enough to share and discuss with others who can read.  They are the only ones who matter in any event, and maybe you all can teach others to read.  It may seem futile, as reading and thinking about it are discouraged by all media these days as reading and thinking about it are fatal to belief, bigotry and hatred.  But there are a few out there that do so and they are the last hope for this media saturated world bent on the destruction of all for the profit of the few.  Too bad the few won't survive in the gene-meme pool either except, if we are lucky, as warnings along with all the others that put personal ideology or gain against the rest of the world.  

It is fortunate that some of the countries in the far north are realizing that those who must spend every waking moment staying alive have no time to read books or paint even with nothing to prove. They are already providing free meds and education for as long as one can get admitted, and some sort of universal basic income is being implemented.   If I were much younger I would probably move to one of the smaller countries north of the 50th parallel which are likely to survive the destruction of the temperate zones which seems irreversable at this point.  My choice would be Iceland if only because the Universal Basic Income is already in place and the Jolabokaflod, or the "ChristmasBook Flood." is a delightful tradition where people actually spend Christmas Eve reading.      

Three Levels of Reality.

beliefnet

Sep 6, 2015 -- 9:52PM,  wrote:

In the same respects since our very first example of something that is true and certain is our self/self-awareness.     By what logic would I hop to accept anything else as being more certain or true?

I think this is important because when we attempt to measure our self/self-awareness.   It cannot be found,  it holds no weight and with heavy scrutiny it doesn't even exist.Utiltheo

Cogito, ergo sum. That the external world can influence my thinking is strong evidence that it exists as observed.  The fact that I can affect the external world is additional evidence that I exist if needed.  Solipsism ultimately fails as the external world can affect my thoughts in unpredictable ways and my effects can also be contrary to my intent. 

The external world can be thought of as consisting of three levels of reality that can affect thinking. 

Objective or sentient reality, that which can be observed, measured, and manipulated with physical tools but not directly with the mind with the exception that the mind controls most physical tools that manipulate sentient reality beginning in humans with the hand.   

Mythical reality consists of memes generally consistently understood across cultures and languages.  Mythical memes can strongly dominate thinking if they are introduced early enough in a person's life.  Note that most mythical memes are fairy tales and folklore in language that can be understood by small children and generally are one dimensional good vs. evil, obedience vs. sin, etc.  Nuance and interpretation may come later in life but generally that interpretation only reinforces the meme. Mythical reality is ultimately the creation of humans for the regulation of their cultures(s.) God(s) are frequent memes in mythical reality but all are created by humans commonly in their own image writ large.   

Fictional reality is a tool for manipulating minds, mythical reality and occasionally sentient reality but is more limited than mythical reality in that it is language and culture specific, although the best are translatable across languages and cultures.  Fictional reality normally has an identifiable creator, and includes art and music as well as the written word.  The memes generated by fictional reality can approach mythical memes in power and utility. 

Meme Theory vs. Concepts

beliefnet

So, I'll ask you again: Can you think of any new insight gained from calling it the 'God meme' than we had when we called it the 'God concept?'freespirit

Meme theory focusus on the transmission mechanisms:  The hooks that embed the meme in the brain.  The concept being embedded is relatively unimportant.  It is not necessary to know much about God to understand how the vuvuzelas get their version of God to become a strongly buttressed belief system in the brain.  It works whether the God concept is God, Allah, YHVH, or Cthulhu.

The God concept is impossible to deal with rationally, as the characteristics of the concept must be defined before you can even talk about it.  Most believers don't even know what the God they believe in is. 

Group Selectionism

beliefnet

To many if not most biologists, the selfish gene approach is the best idea anyone ever came up with for explaining altruism in the animal kingdom. The only significant rival explanation, group selectionism, is extremely controversial by comparison. The issue is not yet settled.  Faust

For biologists the gene is the only hammer they have to bang on things with.  Dawkins was a biologist who established his credibility by showing how a gene for distinguishing brighter from darker areas in the environment as an example could have survival value and drive the evolution of complex visual structures collectively known as eyes. He was necessarily working on individual members of the phyla he was studying.  As it became necessary to study more complex traits like altruism the gene hammer became the wrong tool and group selection became an alternative for social animals which are a relatively recent evolutionary development.  I suspect the two theories are not rivals, but are different tools for investigating different evolutionary structures.

The meme theory, still in its scientific infancy (it's developer isn't even dead yet) may well be the tool needed for studying group selection, as social animals must have a non-genetic behavioral modification adaptation for survival as a group.  Group selection works in relatively few generations which make biologists very uncomfortable.  Predatory pack wolves evolved extremely quickly into a larger social structure of follower wolves and eventually dogs (and a smaller individual social organization coyotes etc.) with essentially no genetic adaptation.  Dogs, wolves, and coyotes can crossbreed with viable offspring, although the strong social differences make crossbreeding unlikely in normal environmental conditions.

The God meme has been extremely powerful in group selection at least for predatory human groups.  While it may not prove the existence of God as a real thing, it certainly proves the existence of the collective consciousness of the idea of God.  Whether there is a significant difference is not really a scientific question.  

Whether the God meme can survive above the tribal social level is an open question that is evolving even as we speak, but that is a different topic entirely.  

Positive Religious Memes

beliefnet
The guy most of the positive religious memes came from was executed in a joint effort of religious and secular authorities.  Most of those positive religious memes were buried for most of two millennia by religion many literally at Nag Hammadi.

Empathy and compassion are evolved human traits normally ruthlessly suppressed by religious and political authorities.  It is necessary to get rid of both religion and power politics to create humanistic society. 

Meaningful Living

beliefnet
There are many ways gays can have biological offspring if they want them.  Others may adopt which is just as beneficial for the species.  Others, heterosexuals as well as homosexuals may choose other ways to benefit the species, without contributing to the overpopulation problem by breeding.  Teaching of various kinds, Medicine, and even art and music to pass on the lore of the society are all meaningful choices for living.

Communities Rules About Sexual Conduct.

Rational Christian All religions have rules about sexual conduct.

Believer No, I said that I didn't feel that some forms of marriage are of equal dignity and honor as others.  I commented on aberrations from traditional, normative marriage.

All communities have rules about sexual conduct.

Right now in universities throughout the developed world are having vehement discussions and legal battles about what constitutes rape.  These all boil down to the issue of whether a man has the right to have sex with whoever he wants to.  Note that universities are generally secular institutions. 

These issues have nothing at all to do with the traditional definitions of marriage and adultery, just whether a woman has any choice in the matter. The issue of choice by women is why many religions are so protective of their normative marriage rules.   

In my ERSSG affirmatively consensual, non-procreative, responsible sex has few other restrictions or rules.  And cohabitation agreements may or may not be legally formalized and generally have little to do with sexual conduct.  

The exception is when a (usually) couple decides to include children in their relationship either naturally or by adoption.   At that point all of society's rules, laws, and traditions of marriage become important and the formalization of the relationship becomes imperative.  It is perhaps ironic that the religious marriage traditions which assumed lots of children a few of which survived to puberty, became an established legal structure in which to raise the few children required for replacement of ones memes and/or genes.    

Memes in Evolution.

Is This Life All There Is?. - Beliefnet

While for 3.5 billion years, reproduction has been key and is still important in evolution, in the last 10,000 years of so Homo Sap has thrown an incredible wild card into the picture in the form of memes. Suddenly that moral element has become one of the most important determinants of survival for life on earth. The 'moral' failing of not getting along with the dominant humans is detrimental for survival as a species and as an individual I might add.

The human species is no exception. Morality, that is compliance with the mores of the tribe whatever that tribe is, is critical not only to survival as an individual but survival for the memes that might become part of the culture of the tribe. In a real sense the tribal memes are the modern mechanism of human evolution. The meme of divine right king led tribes is effectively dead, although the despot led tribal meme is unfortunately alive and well.

I suspect that in the lifetime of my grandchildren the religion meme will have disappeared, and certainly the trip-omni God gene associated with many religions. Out breeding resources is always a fatal mistake, although the death throes of that meme suicide are always ugly.