\Ophuls, William: [[Apologies to the Grandchildren]] > If those who govern us were saints advised by geniuses, and if the populace were eager to embrace change, there might be some possibility of turning this epochal crisis into a grand opportunity to reframe civilization to be both humane and ecological. Unfortunately, it is more likely that events will spin out of control, engendering widespread destruction and chaos. Indeed, we cannot exclude the possibility of a deep collapse entailing the radical impoverishment and simplification of society—in effect, the end of industrial civilization as we know it. > The worst-case scenario is that deep collapse will cause us to fall into a dark age in which the arts and adornments of civilization are partially or totally lost. We therefore need to establish arks, storehouses, and banks to preserve the knowledge, skills, and materials with which to reconstitute a complex civilization. To be clear, this does not mean providing protected enclaves for a favored few—that would be an exercise in futility, like fortifying the focsle of a sinking ship. Nor does it mean lessening efforts to forestall or mitigate collapse. To persevere as long as any hope remains is a moral imperative. But we must at the same time acknowledge the extremity of the situation and the limits of our powers. No ship is unsinkable, and long experience has taught prudent mariners to provision lifeboats and practice abandoning ship against the eventuality of shipwreck. We should do no less by bequeathing posterity the tools it will need to erect a new civilization from the ruins of the old. --- Reading the above is making me think that we need much simpler strategies from now on. The Great Simplification will require simple solutions. Most of the solutions we are coming up with are left brain solutions. Complex models, linear thinking, etc. A right brain solution is holistic, gestalt, being able to be seized in a single moment. Worst case scenario - we don't even have computers, we don't even have the technology of pen and paper (who famously said that no one person had the expertise to make a pencil?). How do we communicate, collaborate, etc? We need to go back to oral traditions, encode knowledge and wisdom into speech. Carve priorities into totem poles. From now on, communication has to be restricted to what a community can actually make on its own? We then grow organically from there. What can a community of 50 people generate from within themselves? Speech, totem poles, etc. And bootstrap from there. We have to trust that we embody our knowledge. We don't need powerpoint presentations. We have to retrain in the art of the yarn. This is the kernel of an Imaginal Seed. It's like we must all become walking TED talks of knowledge. But I'm using Obsidian to develop these thoughts. That's the paradox. It's like one of those topographic donuts, twisted through itself. The future isn't about really smart people with lots of technology. It looks more like a refugee camp. (Mike Zuckerman style) Need to talk to Cesar about this stuff. It's about homesteading. Human energy will become important again. It will be the major form of energy to take over from fossil fuels. Maybe martial arts will become very important again. The glut of fossil energy has eclipsed these other types of energy, much like a city's lights obscure the stars. What does a sociocracy in a low-energy civilisation look like? Minutes have to be brief, short. We need anyone to be able to record them. Our governance systems have to be super simple. This is the simplicity on the other side of complexity. --- Inspiration: Seeds of Vandana Shiva - documentary film [[Surviving the Future]] [[At Work in the Ruins]]