Spiral Dynamics

biopsychosocial systems. Sounds nice. The phrase is from the web site spiraldynamics.com, with the intellectual legacy of Dr Clare W. Graves, visionary Homo Universalis in the mid-twentieth century in the USA. Includes eight levels of 'life conditions' with corresponding 'brain/mind coping capacities'. Starting with 'instictive' up to 'next neurological capacities'. I liked the idea as a source of inspiration. But sure enough it is now being used by consultants as a model of growth, in which one can 'move along the spiral'. I'm skeptical of that. but as Dr Graves wanted it, it's definitely a nice framework to 'think about things'. The middle levels of 'life conditions' express different cultural orientations, and as such seem appropriate: after all culture is all about coping with social circumstances.

the Kite Runner

I read a wonderful book, the Kite Runner by Afghan Khaled Hosseini, see www.khaledhosseini.com. He is a medical doctor in California, and this is his first novel. If you wonder about cultural differences, are from the Anglo world, and would like to live a collectivist, hierarchical, masculine, uncertainty avoiding, short-term oriented culture from within, this is a chance. But above all it is a heartbreakingly beautiful book about many things, among others guilt and redemption.

The origins of mankind

How to resolve the conflict between evolutionists and creationists? Have a good laugh at the original viewpoint at www.besse.at/sms/descent.html.

Airline security craze

Congratulations to air terrorists. You have succeeded in keeping all airline and airport personnel, and all travellers, hostage.
I believe this is not only shameful but also counterproductive. It stimulates fear among the poplation and it encourages would-be terrorists.
Will my toothpaste be destroyed if I keep it in hand luggage? I'm traveling to Trondheim this week so I'll soon find out.

leer van het verleden

Erg goed artikel gelezen van Hans Goedkoop, in NRC van 28/29 oktober. Hij betoogt dat we de neiging hebben om de geschiedenis te scheppen die we nodig hebben, om onze identiteit te versterken. Zo maakt elke groep zijn eigen variant: "Al die versies hebben het gelijk van de emotie en houden zich dus ongevoelieg voor kritiek van buitenaf." "Geschiedenis wordt een geloof". Ja, zo leer je niet van de geschiedenis. Mijns inziens slaat hij de spijker op zijn kop. sterker nog, dit geldt niet alleen voor de geschiedenis maar voor allerlei instituties in de samenleving. Alleen voor de geschiedenis is het schrijnend omdat je die in principe gewoon kunt kennen.

On http://www.acta-informatique.fr (get a subscription!) I read this:
Dans une large mesure, la prolifération des blogs tient au fait qu'ils permettent d'entrer en contact avec des gens d'origines beaucoup plus diverses qu'on ne pourrait le faire dans la vie réelle. En fait, ils remplissent la fonction qui, autrefois, était assuré par les cafés – Loïc LE MEUR, directeur pour l'Europe de la plate forme de blogs Six Apart et pionnier de la blogosphère française (Le Monde – 27 – 28 août)
Is that true? Not for me, at least. In a blog, there is no direct link between what you say and what others reply, if anything. It's more like 'dear diary'. But the illusion of writing to the whole world appeals to my megalomaniac side.

Stemadvies op splinters

Stemwijzer adviseert mij om D66 te stemmen. Maar ja, op wie stem ik dan nog? Alexander Pechtold is mij wat teveel ego. Dat is trouwens toch de pest in de politiek, al die kleine politieke kruideniertjes. Grappig is dat, vroeger had je kleine winkeltjes en grote politieke partijen en nu zijn het enorme winkelketens geworden en politieke splinters alom. Maar wie weet worden veel van die splinters wel weer opgeveegd en krijgen we wederopbloei van nichemarkten. Alles draait.
Moet ik dan toch maar PvdD stemmen, de tweede keus? Hè, en ik wou nog wel dierenrechten uit de grondwet houden...

More digital TV channels!

Digital TV is coming to us. Great. But what do we need it for if we have the Web? Oh, it's for those of us who cannot cope with the Web. Well, OK, every now and then somebody will purposely look up something really memorable or useful on digital TV - but that's not going to be the majority of applications.
Why do we keep chasing the ghost of individual choice, endless, mind-defeating labyrinths of lonely choice? What my society needs, it seems to me, is more cohesion, not more choice. more responsability, not more gratuity. More loyalty, not more volatile networking.

Elvis richest dead singer

Today's newspaper featured a small entry stating that Elvis was found to be the richest dead singer. Little good will it do him. And little good does the knowledge do anybody. Who has investigated this and why? Well, we are obsessed with rankings and this is a ranking so people are interested...but rankings have become a craze. Yes, we need to know who got the most votes in an election. But what good do income rankings do us? And beyond money, does it make sense for us to try and establish, for instance, what singer, country or university is 'top'? I do not think so. We are driven to think in rankings, that's all. In my jargon I'd say this is a sign of increasing individualism in society. We'd do better to be more concerned about relationships. Top potential friends that we have not yet met, perhaps...