Philosophy “Every nation and every man instantly surround themselves with a material apparatus which exactly corresponds to . . . their state of thought. Observe how every truth and every error, each a thought of some man’s mind, clothes itself with societies, houses, cities, language, ceremonies, newspapers. Observe the ideas of the present day . . . see how timber, brick, lime, and stone have fl own into convenient shape, obedient to the master idea reigning in the minds of many persons. . . . It follows, of course, that the least enlargement of ideas . . . would cause the most striking changes of external things.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “WAR” EMERSON'S COMPLETE WORKS

2021 And we can let the imagination sparkle It is the ideas borne or caught by the imagination of our human minds that have brought us this marvellous cruel highly unjust and lovingly beautiful world. That and the use of energy and material. As Frederick Soddy said

“No phosphorus, no thought”

Everything we have around us was first an idea that then was translated into some physical form causing some change the environment. A wheel, combustion engine, tractors, a house, a bigger house, roads, international ship trade, marriage, authorship, a bomb, a property right, interest rate, utility, fairness, economic growth, oneself, a nation, an economy. Some of all the ideas of human beings have been great, orange juice for example. Some not. As the brilliant Donella Meadows says two of the worst ideas we as human have come up with is economic growth and interest. Why? These two ideas have put us the humankind in a survival chicken race against the limiting factor of the human race, our planet.

Imagination has helped us a great deal to survive under the everchanging and uncertain circumstances. We have created models of our world that have worked fairly well for some. Sun is the center of our planetary system, E=mc², nonviolence, women rights, civil rights movement to name a few had some good ones. Others models have not worked as well.

Like the Norse folks up in Greenland we all have cultural ideas and bigotries that makes us degrade our ecological life supporting systems and therefore economy resource base and ease ourselves out of existence. The Norse folk model was clearly wrong if their purpose was wanted to live forever. Our economic growth model is clearly wrong if we want to live forever.

George Box was on to something when he said

“All models are wrong, but some are useful”.

This is somehow, even though it is borderline nihilistic, uplifting as Meadows says

“to realize that no paradigm is ‘true,’ that every one, including the one that sweetly shapes your own worldview, is a tremendously limited understanding of an immense and amazing universe that is far beyond human comprehension.”

This idea helps to challenge other ideas/norms/paradigms/mindset/worldviews that feels like concrete. It enlightens us with the perspective that our current dominant cultural economic model isn’t an unmovable mountain skyscraper that have stopped helping us humans (didn’t help a lot of people in the first place). And as evolution has taught us that diversity is key in surviving, we need multiple perspectives on how to flourish within the limits.

This is the purpose of this initiative. To follow Meadows advice and ask the questions that screw up the mindsets to find answers that help us human to better prosper within the limits of the planet! And play and try to have fun while doing it! 😊

_______________ References and quotes The goal