Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment
by
Sushil Yadav
"TRYING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT BY RECYCLING IS LIKE
SHOOTING SOMEONE
10,000 TIMES AND THEN TRYING TO
SAVE HIM BY TAKING OUT ONE BULLET."
[Editor's
note: the author has offered this research article in short sentences rather than
paragraph-form. This is intended, he indicated, more as poetry, because it is about subjective experience/emotion/reduction-of-thought.]
Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
Subject : A thinking mind cannot feel.
Subject : Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys the
planet.
Subject : Environment can never be saved as long as cities exist.
Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.
If there are no gaps there is no emotion.
Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/
language) for emotion.
When society switches over from physical work (agriculture) to mental work
(scientific/
industrial/ financial/ fast visuals/ fast words ) the speed of
thinking keeps on accelerating and the
gaps between thinking go on decreasing.
There comes a time when there are almost no gaps.
People become incapable of experiencing/ tolerating gaps.
Emotion ends.
Man becomes machine.
A society that speeds up mentally experiences every mental slowing-down as
Depression / Anxiety.
A (traveling) society that speeds up physically experiences every physical
slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.
A society that entertains itself daily experiences every non-entertaining
moment as Depression / Anxiety.
FAST VISUALS /WORDS MAKE SLOW EMOTIONS EXTINCT.
SCIENTIFIC /INDUSTRIAL /FINANCIAL THINKING DESTROYS EMOTIONAL CIRCUITS.
A FAST (LARGE) SOCIETY CANNOT FEEL PAIN / REMORSE / EMPATHY.
A FAST (LARGE) SOCIETY WILL ALWAYS BE CRUEL TO ANIMALS/ TREES/ AIR/ WATER/ LAND AND TO ITSELF.
I am trying to get the following experiment conducted in a
psychophysiology/ bio-chemistry laboratory.
There is a link between visual / verbal speed (in perception, memory,
imagery) and the bio-chemical state of the brain and the body.
Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual and verbal processing
associated with the emotion slows down ( stops / freezes).
The degree of difficulty of an emotion depends upon the degree of
freezing of visuals and words) required to intensify and sustain that
particular emotion.
Experiment:
Subjects (preferably actors specialising in tragedy / tragic roles)
will be asked to watch a silent video film showing any of the
following:-
(1) Human suffering.
(2) Animal suffering.
(3) Suffering ( Destruction ) of Air / Water / Land / Trees.
Subjects will be asked to intensify and sustain the subjective feeling of
pain/ grief for the sufferer.
The chemical changes associated with the emotion in the body (blood) would be
measured by appropriate methods.
The silent video film will be shown at different speeds :
(1) 125% of actual speed.
(2) Actual/real speed.
(3) 75% of actual speed.
(4) 50% of actual speed.
(5) 25% of actual speed.
Results:
(1) Intensity of emotion increases with the decrease in visual speed.
(2) Intensity of emotion is maximum when visual speed is minimum (25%
of actual speed)
(3) The amount of chemical change associated with the emotion in the
body (blood) will be found to increase with the decrease in visual speed.
(4) The chemical change is maximum when visual speed is minimum.
(5) The amount of chemical change will increase with the decrease in
breathing rate. Breathing becomes so slow and non-rhythmic that it stops
for some time at the inhalation/ exhalation stages.
The above co-relations will be valid for all subjects - even for those who
cannot feel pain/ grief.
Such subjects will experience emotion associated with
boredom/ discomfort/ restlessness/ irritability/ uneasiness. The chemicals
released will be different but the co-relation between visual speed and amount
of chemical will be same( the breathing rates will be different/ fast).
All subjects will experience some kind of emotion.
[If scientists can discover 4000 different chemicals in cigarette-smoke then
they can certainly detect the few chemicals released in blood when we
experience higher-level emotions like pain, empathy, compassion, remorse
etcÖ]
In the 2nd stage of the experiment we shall replace the silent video film with a
Narrator
(audio only) and repeat the procedure thereby establishing the link
between intensity of emotion and verbal speed. The narrator will slow down
verbal speed by-- speaking slowly, stretching words, repetition of words/
sentences & making use of pause/ silence between words.
Please note:
(1) A THINKING MIND CANNOT INTENSIFY / SUSTAIN ANY EMOTION.
While this statement is generally true for all emotions, it is particularly true for all painful emotions.
(2) In a society in which visual ( verbal ) speed and breathing-rates are fast, pain / remorse / empathy cannot be experienced.
It is impossible.
PROOF.
Proof of the link between pain and slow visuals / words: -
In the last century man has made thousands of movies / films on various
themes / subjects. Whenever pain / tragedy is shown in any film the
visuals (scenes) and words ( dialogues ) are always slowed down. In
many films tragedy is shown in slow motion. At the most intense moment
of pain the films almost become static / stationary.
Tragedy-films provide direct proof / evidence of the link between pain
and slowness.
Pain can intensify / sustain only when visual ( and verbal ) speed slows
down( stops/ freezes).
CHANGE IN VISUAL SPEED OVER THE YEARS
One thousand years ago visuals would change only when man physically
moved himself to a new place or when other people (animals / birds)
and objects (clouds / water) physically moved themselves before him.
Today man sits in front of TV / Computer and watches the rapidly
changing visuals / audio.
He sits in a vehicle (car / train / bus) and as it moves he watches the rapidly changing visuals.
He turns the pages of a book / newspaper / magazine and sees many visuals / text in a short span.
CHANGE IN VERBAL SPEED OVER THE YEARS
In ancient times verbal processing was ìliveî in nature ó i.e., it happened
when people actually spoke. Today there is non-stop verbal processing inside the mind through print and electronic media (newspapers, books, magazines, radio, television, computer
etcÖ)
as a result of which the verbal content & speed has increased
thousands of times.
The speed of visuals (and words) has increased so much during the last
one hundred years that today the human brain has become incapable of
focusing on slow visuals /words through perception, memory, imagery.
If we cannot focus on slow visuals / words we cannot experience emotions
associated with slow visuals /words.
Before the advent of Industrial Revolution Man's thinking was primarily
limited to :
(a) visual processing (slow visuals)
(b) verbal / language processing (slow words)
Today there are many kinds of fast thinking :
(1) visual processing (fast visuals)
(2) verbal / language processing (fast words)
If visual / verbal processing is fast we cannot feel slow emotions.
(3) Scientific / Technical thinking ( fast )
(4) Industrial thinking ( fast )
(5) Business thinking ( fast )
(3), (4) & (5) ARE ASSOCIATED WITH NUMBERS / SYMBOLS / EQUATIONS /
GRAPHS /CIRCUITS / DIAGRAMS / MONEY / ACCOUNTING etcÖ
As long as the mind is doing this kind of thinking it cannot feel
any emotion - not an iota of emotion.
In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
In a thinking (scientific / industrial) society emotion itself becomes
extinct.
EMOTION IS WHAT REMAINS IN THE MIND WHEN VISUAL /VERBAL
PROCESSING SLOWS DOWN (STOPS/ FREEZES )
There are certain categories of people who feel more emotion (subjective
experience) than others.
If we attempt to understand why (and how) they feel more emotion we can learn
a lot about emotion.
Writers, poets, actors, painters (and other artists)
WRITERS
Writers do verbal (and associated visual) processing the whole day - every day.
They do slow verbal ( and associated visual) processing every day.
(A novel that we read in 2 hours might have taken 2 years to write. This is
also the reason why the reader can never feel the intensity & duration of
emotion experienced by the writer)
POETS
Poets do verbal (and associated visual) processing the whole day - every day.
There is more emotion in poetry than in prose.
This happens because there are very few words (and associated visuals) in
poetry than in any other kind of writing.
There is a very high degree of freezing / slowing down of visuals & words
in poetry.
ACTORS
Actors do verbal (and associated visual) processing the whole day - every day.
During shooting / rehearsal they repeat the dialogues (words) again and
again (the associated visuals / scenes also get repeated along with the
dialogues)
PAINTERS
Painters do visual (and associated verbal) processing the whole day - every day.
They do extremely slow visual processing - The visual on the canvas changes
only when the painter adds to what already exists on the canvas.
There are some important points to be noted :
All these people do visual & verbal processing - whole day - every day.
They do slow visual & verbal processing.
They do not do scientific / industrial / business processing whole day - every
day.
Most of the city people doing mental work either do this kind of mental
processing
which is associated with NUMBERS / SYMBOLS/ Equations /
Graphs / CIRCUITS /
DIAGRAMS / MONEY / ACCOUNTING etcÖ or they do fast
visual (verbal)
processing the whole day - every day.
This kind of thinking (processing) has come into existence only during the
last 200 years
and has destroyed our emotional ability (circuits).
SELF-ASSESSMENT OF (SUBJECTIVE) INTENSITY OF EMOTION IS ALMOST ALWAYS WRONG.
Suppose the maximum intensity (and duration) of a particular emotion that
can be experienced by any human being is 100 units.
Let us suppose the maximum intensity (and duration) of that particular
emotion ever
experienced by two people A & B in their entire life is :
A - 100units
B - 20 units
Now suppose A & B are made subjects on a particular day and are
asked
to feel that particular emotion under experimental conditions (or outside the laboratory) and the intensity &duration they actually
experience is:
A - 90 units
B - 18 units
If A &B are then asked to indicate the intensity &duration of emotion
on a scale
of 0-10 their response is likely to be ;
A - 9
B - 9
Who is right and who is wrong ?
A is right.
B is wrong - B is wrong by a wide margin - B has experienced an intensity (and duration) of 18 units out of a maximum of 100 units and his
correct /actual score should be 1.8
Self-assessment (self rating) can be accurate only if people have the capacity to
experience the highest intensity &duration (units)
of the particular emotion under study.
Because of physical work and slow visual/verbal processing in small (slow)
agriculture
based societies of the past, the mind used to
experience a state of emotion all the time.
If we read one thousand-year-old
literature we will not come across the term "boredom"
-the concept
of boredom did not exist in slow societies. There were long gaps between
different visuals and between words/ sentences -and people had the ability to
experience/ tolerate the gaps - it was normal for them.
Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual / verbal processing slows
down (stops / freezes).
In an Industrial (thinking) society people
experience very little emotion because of fast (visual / verbal / scientific
/ industrial / business) thinking
Suppose the maximum intensity and duration of a particular emotion (for most
people) in a fast society has reduced to 5 units ( from 100 units that people
used to experience in earlier /slower societies).
If such people experience 4 units of emotion they will give themselves a
rating /score of 8 on a scale of 0-10 whereas their actual score should
be 0.4
IN A FAST SOCIETY SLOW EMOTIONS BECOME EXTINCT.
IQ Vs EQ
IQ always has an element of change in it ñ IQ is about trying to make/
discover/ invent something new all the time.
Change is an inherent feature of IQ.
IQ is also about thinking more in less timeóit involves speeding up of mind.
Someone who does more mathematics in less time is considered more intelligent
in mathematics. IQ is about more and more change.
EQ [emotional quotient] is about sustainment of the same feeling/experience over a period of time.
When we experience any higher-level emotion for 10 minutes we experience
the same feeling (subjective experience) over and over again for 10 minutes.
The (same) feeling can sustain only if there is Repetition.
EQ involves RepetitionóConstancyóSameness.
IQ and EQ are contradictory.
IQ and EQ are opposites.
IQ and EQ are inversely proportional.
(1) A thinking species destroys the planet.
(2) Animals lived on earth for billions of years (in very large numbers)
without destroying nature.
(3) They did not destroy nature because their thinking / activity was
limited to searching for food for one time only.
(4) Man has existed on earth in large numbers for only a few thousand
years / a few hundred years.
(5) Within this short period Man has destroyed the environment.
(6) This destruction took place because of Man's thinking.
(7) When man thinks he makes things.
(8) When he makes things he kills animals / trees / air / water / land.
( Nothing can be made without killing these five elements of nature ).
(9) A thinking species destroys the planet.
MENTAL WORK IS INJURIOUS TO THE MIND AND PLANET.
There is no higher purpose behind work.
People do not work because they want to work.
People work because they cannot stop working.
People cannot stop physical activity and mental activity (simultaneously) for
even 2 minutes.
For most people it is a choice between physical and mental work.
The switch-over from physical work to mental work is disastrous for the
planet.
Man can do the same physical work every day.
Man cannot do the same mental work every day.
When man used to do physical work ( farming and related activities) he could
do the same repetitive work day after day - generation after generation.
After the Industrial Revolution when man switched over to mental work he
began a never ending process of making new machines / things / products--
a process which can only end with the complete destruction of environment (planet).
The nature of mental work is such that man has to do new mental work every day
- in fact he has to do new mental work every moment - Man cannot do in the
next moment the mental work that he has already done in the previous moment.
A mathematician cannot solve the same problem of mathematics every day
-- once he
has solved it he will be forced to take up a new (unsolved) problem.
Even when he is solving one particular problem he has to move from one step to
another -- there is a continuous change involved -- there is no constancy
at any stage.
An engineer cannot design the same machine again and again ñ once he has made
a
machine he will try to make changes/ design a new one.
A writer cannot write the same article every day - he will be forced to write
something
new every day/ every moment (This is also the reason behind endless
discussions/
debates/ arguments).
Change is an inherent feature of mental work.
Since change is an inherent feature of mental work ñ a society that does mental work can
never be at peace with itself ñ it is impossible.
A society that does mental work will always be restless.
Only those societies that do physical work [agriculture and related activities] can find
contentment and peace.
AS LONG AS CITIES EXIST WE CAN NEITHER SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT
NOR THE MIND.
To save the (remaining) environment from destruction man will have to
return back to physical work (smaller communities).
To save the mind from mental diseases man will have to return back to
physical work (smaller communities).
Environment can be saved only if we stop production of most (more than
99%) of the consumer goods we are making today.
ENVIRONMENT CANNOT BE SAVED BY RECYCLING
TRYING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT BY RECYCLING IS LIKE
SHOOTING SOMEONE 10,000 TIMES AND THEN TRYING TO
SAVE HIM BY TAKING OUT ONE BULLET.
There was
a time when Man knew nothing about the number of species and
millions of species existed.
Today Man knows the names of millions of species and nothing is left of
the species.
It took
millions of years for millions of species to slowly come into existence on
earth ñ and Man has decimated all other species.
After
destroying millions of highly-developed species on earth Man is today
searching for a few molecules of life in outer space.
If a few
microbes, a few molecules of methane / water are found on Mars ñ it becomes
the newspaper headline.
They call
it progress.
The following is about to come true.
Nature can exist
(1) before man.
(2) after man.
(3) not with man.
Time is running out for this planet.
We are in the last 20 years.
Yours Sincerely,
Sushil Yadav
www.netshooter.com/emotion
Please note:
Fast emotions = emotions associated with fast visuals/fast words/fast
breathing/fast heart-rate.
Slow emotions = emotions associated with slow visuals/slow words/slow
breathing/slow heart-rate.
Rate of thinking = number of visuals/words processed per minute.
Gaps between thinking = gaps between visuals/ words/ sentences.
I am seeking help from volunteers in spreading this message far and wide.
____________________
The author said to Culture Change: "All issues in this world are connected to one another. Cultural
issues and environmental issues are interlinked.
"I am not working in any organization / office. For the last 15-18 years I
have been trying to understand the mind and the kind of life we are living on
this planet. This has been my full-time activity. Thanks once again, sushil
yadav"
____________________
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