How To Break Anything

Thoughts and insights on culture and human behavior, living blissfully at the intersection of rationality and irrationality (but mostly irrationality)

I sometimes wish we could freeze a person and examine - in a very comprehensive way - how any one person's thoughts and experiences have led them to see the world in the very specific way they perceive it. Why any one person is exactly where they are, making the decisions they believe they are making, when they could be in an infinite number of other places, thinking and deciding an infinite number of other things.

This site exists because I've come to believe that we learn something from everything we experience. It's not always big. It's not always what we expect it to be. We might think it's contrary to what we already know. Or believe. But it's always something. And it always has a greater impact on our choices and experiences than we ever realize.

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perception

February 23, 2010

re: persistence of 'identity' online: "In 20 Years No One Will Be Qualified to Be President"

Another potential outcome is that we as a culture will learn to be more tolerant of what people do in their personal lives, especially as youth. Americans are plagued by an endearing notion of “Character”–that what we do in our personal lives speaks to our fitness for professional tasks. When complete lives are increasingly archived, we may need to step back from that ideal and let our leaders be human.

via nextbison.wordpress.com

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Filed under // identity perception

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February 10, 2010

When we finally figure out quantum mechanics, humanity will look back on the Newtonian era like we were a bunch of Neanderthals.

Classical diagram

Classical Physics
According to classical physics, an electron will pass through a potential barrier if it possesses enough kinetic energy to overcome the barrier.If it has less kinetic energy than the height of the potential barrier then it will be unable to pass through the barrier under any conditions.

Quantum Mechanics

Quantum mechanics shows that electrons can be described as waves under certain conditions, and a finite probability exists of an electron tunnelling through a classically forbidden barrier due to its wavelike properties.When a wave meets a potential barrier, the wave does not instantly go to zero, but starts to decay exponentially within the potential barrier. If the wave has not reached zero by the time it has reached the other side of the barrier then there is a finite probability that it will be found on the other side of the barrier - the wave has effectively "tunnelled" through the non-conductive barrier.

"Principles of Quantum Tunnelling: Classical physics and Quantum mechanics" via QTC Science

(Which of course means our current perceptions of the world, down to their very fundamental assumptions - they're all so utterly silly.)

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Filed under // future perception

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February 10, 2010

"Everything Is Amazing And Nobody Is Happy"

via rumplo.com

This has always been the case, and will continue to be the case in the future. Today is not special.

(this is pretty much just a reiteration of my last post re "the future is scary." How appropriate.)

UPDATE: @linneamc passed along this clip that I got a good laugh out of. I'd ultimately say that we'll always be able to laugh at our ridiculous expectations; again, the present is no exception.

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Filed under // future happiness perception

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February 6, 2010

More insight on cultural externalities and the arbitrary nature of what is important to us

via proseandconrad.com

Conrad put together a good collection of examples here: The good old days of advertising

(the 'more' part refers to my earlier post re: Tim Stock's The Structure Of Trends)

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Filed under // culture human insight perception

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February 2, 2010

I think the concept of things being 'ruined' is absurd.

Mostly because it's hard from me to think that the last x number of years of humanity [choose your own number, anywhere from 30-3000] have been an exercise in things getting worse. I mean, when did things first start to get 'ruined'??

Most people you ask this question, should they happen to be on the 'things need saving' side of the world, will give you a very predictable answer. Humanity stopped progressing usually when they were either in their early 20's, or when they were established in their careers.

Which I of course find laughably hilarious.

Who will save book publishing?

What will save the newspapers?

What means 'save'?

If by save you mean, "what will keep things just as they are?" then the answer is nothing will. It's over.

If by save you mean, "who will keep the jobs of the pressmen and the delivery guys and the squadrons of accountants and box makers and transshippers and bookstore buyers and assistant editors and coffee boys," then the answer is still nothing will. Not the Kindle, not the iPad, not an act of Congress.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

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Filed under // doomsday perception time-orientation

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February 1, 2010