Each thing in nature is a question containing its own potential answer.
— Christopher Bamford, Green Hermeticism: Alchemy & Ecology

Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.
— Stewart Brand

Two things however are clear about any religion that might derive from cybernetics and systems theory, ecology and natural history. First, that in the asking of questions, there will be no limit to our hubris; and second, that there shall always be humility in our acceptance of answers. In these two characteristics we shall be in sharp contrast with most of the religions of the world. They show little humility in their espousal of answers but great fear about what questions they will ask.

— Gregory Bateson (Angels Fear)

Thought

I just pulled out two snippets of conversation between Gregory Bateson and Mary Catherine Bateson from the book Angels Fear. The main topic of their conversation is addiction but their speak about entertainment is the highlight for me, in this time of the pandemic. Confined to our homes, surrounded by gadgets, equipped with high bandwidth connections, besides bad news, we are having to deal with endless streams of information & entertainment through various channels and in various forms.

Sorry if the conversation snippets seem disconnected or even severed. I found these quite meaningful and worthy of sharing. I recommend reading this book but, be warned - Its not entertaining.

Daughter: {…}Daddy, do you think consciousness is lethal?

Father: Mmm. Empirically it seems on its way to being so. Human consciousness linked with purpose might turn out to be rather like the tail of the argus pheasant, an extreme elaboration of a particular trait that sends a species into an evolutionary cul-de-sac. But that’s happened before. What is frightening is the possibility that the presence of a creature like us anywhere in the system may eventually be lethal to the entire system.

— Mary Catherine Bateson (Angels Fear)