Science and technology are two things that are often confused. This comes naturally because advancement in knowledge seems to lead directly to advances in the way we live and the stuff we have in our lives. New things require new origins, or so it seems. There is no difference biologically between us and the people who first cultivated crops and built cities which relied on their bounty 10,000 years ago, since there hasn’t been enough time for us to evolve – what separates us is nothing more than everything that has been written down or crafted since. As powerful as this idea is, it ignores the realities of invention.
Systemic Connections
This is a summary of the main theme of Barataria so far, written for the purpose of taking the discussion off to a new level. If you need more explanation, just follow the links. Thanks!
Pick a system that influences your life. You might start with the obvious physical networks of technology like the internet, telephones or highways that make it possible for you to meet the world on a daily basis. You might branch out to the systems that distribute food to grocery stores or electricity to every household. These link up eventually to more “soft” systems of people and ideas, such as religion, politics or academics. They are all systems that have their own purpose and daily grind that keeps it all keepin’ on.
Unread Influence
Minnesota politics crossed a threshold when Michael Brodkorb was elected Vice Chair of the state Republican Party. His name was well known to many people as a blogger for Minnesota Democrats Exposed (MDE), a site that has a name that pretty much speaks to its content. To many, this signals an endorsement of blogging as a way to advance in politics. Yet if you look closely at the political blogs here in Minnesota, you can see that the influence MDE enjoys is masked by an amazing fact – hardly anyone reads it or, for that matter, most of the other Minnesota political blogs.
Scaminars
We’ve all seen the pitches in our inbox. They careen from the aggressive “Make Money Fast!” to the more subtle “The Financial Freedom You Deserve.” Most people ignore this mail and go on with their lives – but the invitations keep coming all the same. Is there something to this? I decided to spend some time finding out.
Beer
The problem started soon after people started messing around with barley and other grains. Sure, they were an interesting crop that you could make a lot of with this “plow” thingy, but what could you do with it? You can imagine the debate running on and on, with the Sumerians that were pro-grain being called all kids of names by the anti-grain faction of Sumeria. Somewhere along the line, some of this grain rotted in bowl of water in a very careful kind of way and soon there was something everyone could agree on – it was a tasty and good thing, and not just because it was alcoholic. The whole debate got a lot more mellow after a few bowls full of it were downed, and everything was allright.
That’s about how making beer was the first act of civilization.
Barataria - The work of Erik Hare 