It is so ODD, so stupid, so short-sighted, so ignorant, to feel either that increasing knowledge–an understanding of Relativity, the capitals of the world, the mechanics of nuclear fusion–is somehow equivalent to growth, which is the de facto belief of the Singularitians, who have somehow convinced themselves that an internalized Google would be other than a quantitative leap, if it were even possible, which I do not believe; or that a society can be improved in any way other than through the emotional and spiritual growth of all its members.
Why do, among others, Eric Schmidt and Mark Zuckerberg focus on externals, on the superficial? Why are they atheists? They are both smart enough to be smarter. The physics of metaphysics–the Zero Point Field and the retention of information–seems reasonably clear. The evidence in total is overwhelming for our energetic connection and survival of death, and evidence continues to flow in daily, all over the world, as it always has.
Why the unrepentant anger from people like Barbara Ehrenreich? I read this article and was reminded once again how emotionally and spiritually superficial the animating outrage of these people is.
Does she not know it is possible to live a very happy life in conditions of objective poverty and physical difficulty? She is the one stoking resentment, and denigrating dignity. She is one who fails to see that the non-material aspects of life are what make it heavenly or hellish. She is the emotionally callow one who fails to see that no one who does not have a good relationship with themselves–as she seems not to–can possible be loving to others. For her, yelling about pay constitutes love. But of course it is merely her vanity, her self importance, speaking. And it seemingly has a lot to say, which says something about her.
The path forward is the path inward,for all of us. It is the tragedy of our time that our idiotic and grossly unjust financial system has denied us the time and leisure to live genuinely contemplative lives, and that the systemic indolence and torpor of our universities has failed to embrace and integrate the vast quantity of non-conforming data indicating we are in fact spiritual beings and that while no religion can claim to have fully described God, that that concept is useful, and empirical.