CRAZINESS & COMMON SENSE REDEFINED PART ii

THIS IS THE second INSTALLMENT IN OUR COMMON SENSE & CRAZINESS CRITIQUE SERIES.

​​​CLICK THE ARROW BELOW FOR AN AUDIO SUMMARY >>>>

Crazy has traditionally been defined as mentally deranged behavior exhibited in a wild or aggressive way. However we will be expanding on that definition in this post. CRAZY will be defined as just an abnormally elevated or diminished state of reasoning. In other words CRAZINESS can be called "extreme reasoning." Craziness is a common occurrence familiar to us all. CRAZY is not the opposite of common sense it is actually common sense perverted or out of control; now how CRAZY is that? Don't "over" think it. We've all "acted" crazy at some time or another. CRAZINESS is an interim state of "being" within the mind manifested through our thinking and behavior. There is a difference between acting crazy and being crazy. When we "act" crazy the intent is manipulative, but if we are "being" crazy any irrational belief can be embraced. The real CRAZY part of it all is that we often deal with CRAZINESS by treating the symptoms rather then focusing on the cause. Smoking cigarettes is CRAZY@! It causes lung cancer among other diseases, costs us billions of dollars and has taken millions of lives. We know what it can cause. So why do we attack the symptoms rather than stop producing the cause. The main driver behind this type of travesty is money. "For the love of money is the root of all evil." We've gone this route before as a species. It was only a few decades ago that we stopped causing the destruction of the ozone layer. In 1987 the ENTIRE world agreed to phase out the production of CFC's altogether. And as a planet we did just that! A common cause resulted in a common solution. When can we expect to see that again? We can all admit that Pollution is CRAZY@! How is it then that we continually pollute the air we breathe, the water we drink and the consciousness of our interactions with impunity? As we continue to bite and devour one another we are being consumed by one another. Our respect for water is pitiful and our regard for air is just as bad. Where is our reverence for nature? Water is one of the most important substances on the planet. We depend on and utilize water in almost every aspect of our existence. Whether its for bathing, cleaning, drinking, irrigation, plumbing, or growing; without clean water life ceases. Even the water in our bodies is involved in every crucial function from digestion - circulation - temperature control - excretion of waste and crying. Because our bodies lose water simply through breathing, sweating and digestion it is important to consistently re-hydrate. It's CRAZY to be hungry and not eat or thirsty and not drink. It's CRAZY to read a book and not grasp its meaning. It's even CRAZIER to embrace a spiritual book like the Holy Bible or the Noble Quran and not grasp the significance of the lessons and principles. Its CRAZY to think that we can be so selective in our beliefs that we can ignore the main tenets they teach in favor of things we want to do. There is no religion that advocates the "ill will" of war upon its fellow human beings. War is CRAZY@! It's crazy to think that we can solve anything by war. War makes murderers out of otherwise upstanding decent people. Why is it still an option in the 21st century? There is no excuse for what we "do to" and fail to "do for" one another. Our character, at best, can be expressed as "a multitude of flaws stitched together by good intentions."  It's just CRAZY@! We like to describe our CRAZY aberrant behavioral manifestations as stress, lunacy, disturbed, unbalanced, nuts, mad, insane or just plain ole CRAZY! In some sense they all mean the same thing. Not doing upkeep or performing maintenance on our dwellings is CRAZY@! A run down body or building doesn't take long to deteriorate when no one is taking care of it. Well what about our planet? Sometimes as a people we behave as if we're CRAZY but we are not insane! So for our purposes here we will describe CRAZINESS as a "temporary" state; and describe insane as being in a "continual" or "permanent" condition. Anybody can be crazy at times but it doesn't make them insane! 

---

Many of us have some CRAZY practices and sayings like, "leave well enough alone." What does that mean? Isn't it ALWAYS better to nip it in the bud? If we let the wheat and tares grow together the weeds will hinder the growth of the desired crops. Once they both have taken root it is difficult to remove the weeds because of the risk of also uprooting the good crop. Now we have to wait until harvest time to separate them. We are sure everyone understands this principle. It is evidenced over and over again in nature; just as birds of a feather flock together so can one bad apple spoil the entire bunch. It doesn't matter the fruit or the substance. We may not be able to mix oil with water but we can contaminate good with bad. We may act CRAZY but we are not insane! We have the ability to think and behave in a rational manner when we choose to do so. Both CRAZINESS and common sense originate in thought. Thought must be processed, challenged and proven to become "factually" embraced and believed. And even after all of that, the thought can never be considered as all encompassing and complete. We do not have the capacity to connect all the related variables and strands of associated thought together. Our thinking and reasoning is at best limited. It all boils down to staying connected and open to consistent sources of comparative common sense. These are the people and environments behind the courageous voices of concern that correct us out of our CRAZINESS and get us back on course. It is cowardice not to confront craziness. Silence is agreement! Whenever our government, religion or culture spawns "insane ideologies," we must speak out. Not necessarily against the office or organization, but against the idea. CRAZINESS is not self abating. Ignoring it will not make it go away. Insanity will advance like any other type of viral disease. This is why we conduct annual physical exams. Shouldn't we conduct annual mental evaluations as well? Is it CRAZY to wait until multiple problems emerge before addressing mental health? Won't the resulting carnage upon the rest of society be devastating? Why is it that physical healthcare is practiced in a preventative manner and mental healthcare applied as an intervention or remedially? Why do we treat the thinking process so casually?  Now that's CRAZY@!

---

It is a fact that more and more we are dependent upon advancements in technology to solve many of our problems. This has historically been a controversial but inevitable approach. Whenever and/or wherever human behavior, interactions or production can be improved some policy, tactic or invention is installed to address it. We call such developments progress. It is important to understand that solving many problems also simultaneously creates other issues. Most people are unaware of how multiple advancements in electronics alone have accelerated both automation and warfare from 1948 till now. The tiny transistor alone has transformed the world. Is it crazy to assume that advancements in technologies are going to save the day? Can the runaway freight train we call High Tech, A.I., Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and multiple other forms of data fueled algorithms create their own agenda? If so, is it possible for them to be derailed? Any of these technologies misdirected, misapplied, re-purposed, reinvented or reverse engineered have the same potential as a firearm in the hands of any mentally misguided individual. Historically we have applied many new technologies as solutions to old problem. Traffic lights and signs are a great example of this. As we develop smarter technologies, we also enhance their abilities to do multiple things. Allowing these systems too much power or control can be devastating. When A.I. systems fail they do not fail gracefully. They can run over pedestrians crossing roadways and crash planes inadvertently. They are not designed to make mistakes! They can recognize malfunctions but have no sense of remorse. Errors made by machines simply offer additional data and more room for improvements. By providing m updated and new data associated with past failures they can quickly improve - but at what cost? Blindly trusting technology is shortsighted and naïve. Smart devices are interactive, analytical, instructive, predictive and adaptive. The programs we call algorithms, apps or software, are an extension of imperfect human logic. Can we embed feelings into hardware through implanting processes considered to be artificial or contrived? We may call it artificial because we made it, and call it intelligent because it makes choices; but that label is inaccurate. There can be no such thing as artificial intelligence. Everything, all of existence and all of life has intelligence. Every creature, plant, animal or mineral has an intelligence applied to it and with it. Although we have discovered ways to "apply" intellectual abilities to machines does that give them life? intelligence is innate. Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. The label "artificial intelligence" is a poor substitute for the more accurate terminology called "machine learning." Let's not underestimate the energy of intelligence which has a life of its own. Are we crazy enough to fundamentally believe that humanity can bestow life like attributes upon inanimate objects like rocks, machines and computers? Can't we devise our own "Big Bang Theory" and apply it to inanimate objects? doesn't mean they cannot devise creative energies of their own. The spirit or spark of intelligence can be quickened and enhanced in multiple forms including viruses. At present the highest level of machine intelligence (Deep Learning) works off of brute force assimilation through applying more and more data towards a specific domain. Learning is a prerequisite for the intelligence of thinking. Learning is the act of acquiring a skill, while thinking is the ability to apply that skill across different circumstances. Right now we apply the deep learning to single domains (purposes) only. Who can say that these enormous amounts of data cannot be applied across any and every aspect of life. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This road is paved with a multitude of programs, apps and inventions at every turn and the majority of us are blindly traveling along this new superhighway. Do not underestimate this new phenomena. We are in the midst of experiencing "events" with more revolutionary and transformational power than the discovery of the wheel or electricity!

---

The "CRAZIEST" part of everything to this point is that so few of us truly realize that artificial intelligence is the biggest scientific breakthrough of all times! Just consider the word "automatic." Automatic describes a device or process working in and of itself without human intervention. It also defines something that is done or occurs spontaneously without conscious thought or intention. Although the advance of automation has been typically met with resistance, in the long run it has generally proven to be beneficial to society. The situation may be changing. This time it may be having a different effect.​ Human progress based on the division of labor is under a new assault from two realms generated by machine learning. The escalating growth of automated capabilities along with the simultaneous expansion of efficiency models are outpacing our ability to absorb the effects of such progress. This exponential growth is fueled by escalating data - fed to artificial intelligence - designed to execute machine learning - based on the biases and beliefs of its programmer.  We are at the mercy of systems that can access and manipulate all of the data they have access to. Everything from our blink patterns - to our respiration - to our moods - to our voice inflection and characteristics - to our eating - sleeping - working and entertainment habits - to our likes and preferences. Anything we do can be analysed, scrutinized and conclusions drawn from it. The more technology we use the better it can serve us and the more it can be used against us. A data driven society HAS TO be on guard against the ability to manipulate data and thus alter its interpretation or weaponize it . This is the time when what we think and how we think is subject to multimedia influence and exposure. This "Minority Report" is not meant to examine the dark side but to explore the practical side of how crazy the information age is getting. The newest and most powerful currency is not gold it is data. The newest and most powerful weapon is not a bomb it is explosive information. It's CRAZY when we consider that the majority of the most vulnerable people are compromising their privacy in lieu of convenience for exploitation! We must monitor the way our identity is projected to protect it. Although spell checkers, word finders and grammar assistants help us, our dependence on these systems is making us vulnerable to and dependent on them. Each of us should establish a personal standard independent of automation. I strongly suggest that each of us composes a list of critical tasks and practices independent of automation that we maintain total control of. Yes, it may be time to bring back the "post it" notes and face to face meetings. As our remote controls have evolved from wired to wireless from button to voice, less and less physical effort is required for more and more results. It is only through the advances of technology that we have arrived at a point - where we now have the ability to render ourselves extinct. Maybe automation is teaching us to be lazy, but it's CRAZY to allow it to do so!

---