So, I really hope At One Ventures are paying indigenous elders and permaculture folks very well as consultants when working with ecosystem restoration. I’m not convinced at all by the techno fetishization (actually I’m a bit turned off). If they aren’t changing the incentive structure, I’m sorry, it’s not the good work we need. It’s just more startup hype. The cost/benefit breakdown would need to be waaaay more diverse and inclusive to start getting at these eco-issues. We need more political activism and less engineering.
Ideology can absolutely be constructed via our chosen focal point on particular information in addition to the facts contained in that information. So facts (or stories) by themselves aren’t that helpful if that’s what you think you have. It’s the way we relate information to the patternings we desire (all with our own biased set of values and experiences). So it’s important to admit these values and experiences keeping in mind that we are usually pushing what has worked for us in the past (or those around us) and also pushing against what has not worked for us.
I’m pushing against the engineering mentality because I’ve been there and have done it to momentous effect for a couple large companies, but these solutions always directed people toward a mentality of reductionism with substantial blind spots to the underlying resource stack. To boot, the companies substantially underpaid me compared to the automation value I produced for them. So yeah, I’m a bit angry at corporate hierarchical design. Does this bias nullify my perspective? I guess it depends on how much it resonates with others.
Tom, you sound like a nice guy, but you need to be more transparent about the outsized benefits you’re receiving for stroking the egos of capitalists in order to build trust with those on the ground. The more you align with a perverse incentive structure, the worse the conditions are for those struggling to end perverse incentives. It may mean you have to give up some things like multiple properties in the most beautiful places in the world—smallest violin, etc. Trust me, there’s plenty of intellectual stimulation in the lower working classes, so no worries there. The difference is that you will be less focused on clever tech and more focused on caring closely for others.
So, I really hope At One Ventures are paying indigenous elders and permaculture folks very well as consultants when working with ecosystem restoration. I’m not convinced at all by the techno fetishization (actually I’m a bit turned off). If they aren’t changing the incentive structure, I’m sorry, it’s not the good work we need. It’s just more startup hype. The cost/benefit breakdown would need to be waaaay more diverse and inclusive to start getting at these eco-issues. We need more political activism and less engineering.
Ideology can absolutely be constructed via our chosen focal point on particular information in addition to the facts contained in that information. So facts (or stories) by themselves aren’t that helpful if that’s what you think you have. It’s the way we relate information to the patternings we desire (all with our own biased set of values and experiences). So it’s important to admit these values and experiences keeping in mind that we are usually pushing what has worked for us in the past (or those around us) and also pushing against what has not worked for us.
I’m pushing against the engineering mentality because I’ve been there and have done it to momentous effect for a couple large companies, but these solutions always directed people toward a mentality of reductionism with substantial blind spots to the underlying resource stack. To boot, the companies substantially underpaid me compared to the automation value I produced for them. So yeah, I’m a bit angry at corporate hierarchical design. Does this bias nullify my perspective? I guess it depends on how much it resonates with others.
Tom, you sound like a nice guy, but you need to be more transparent about the outsized benefits you’re receiving for stroking the egos of capitalists in order to build trust with those on the ground. The more you align with a perverse incentive structure, the worse the conditions are for those struggling to end perverse incentives. It may mean you have to give up some things like multiple properties in the most beautiful places in the world—smallest violin, etc. Trust me, there’s plenty of intellectual stimulation in the lower working classes, so no worries there. The difference is that you will be less focused on clever tech and more focused on caring closely for others.