Friday, May 4, 2007

Quantum Ontology

The Physical Nature of the Human Conscious & Conscience

An early working concept

Strange Phenomena

Consciousness is perceived as a cosmic phenomenon embodied in a continuous experience of being, in our case, of the human kind. We are life forms moving along a line progressing from peaceful sleep to a highly aroused emotional state and from a zombie existence to euphoric presence. There is a definite emergence of willful, conscience driven decision making, but it is somehow connected to the depths of our uncontrollable unconscious desires. It is this realization of being through global and seemingly stable perception that cumulates into a first person perspective. In turn it is this first person perspective that gets us into trouble whenever we try to explain this complex phenomenon. Even if we know better, we still confuse illusive aspects of personal experience for global reality and then we proceed to anchor our assumptions in these nebular aspects of being and structure our theories on our assumed facts. How can such uncertain origins be explained by a formula? Do we not need a third person perspective if we hope to succeed in scientific explanation?

....


For the full text download the following document:
Quantum Ontology

Thursday, February 22, 2007

OPLEIDING - SETA BLUES

Daar was onlangs twee berigte in die media wat oor die SETA's gehandel het en beide regverdig kommentaar.

Op 14 Februarie berig Jan-Jan Joubert in die Burger as volg: "Die regering is bekommerd dat die konsep van leerderskappe misverstaan is as dat dit die ou vorm van vakleerlingskap vervang . . .". Geagte regering, julle boodskappe is baie duidelik en ek verstaan nie hoekom ek so verkeerd verstaan nie. Dit is seker ook maar dieselfde as die ‘Aids ding' en die ‘Crime ding' wat die prez stom geslaan het oor ons gekla aangesien hy dit nie sien, hoor of voel nie. Natuurlik het die prez homself weer en weer weerspreek maar hy noem die dubbelpratery goeie politiek.

Al wat ek wil ophaal is dit: op 27 - 29 September 2006 doen ek my modereringskursus. Die dame wat fasiliteer was baie duidelik dat onder die vorige bestel ons nie mense in ‘skills' opgelei het nie en daarom is daar ‘n tekort aan ambagsmense. Wel, klink my weleer se vakopleiding is nie net as irrelevant afgemaak nie maar weg gewens ook. Self het ek niks geseg nie omdat ek alreeds te veel ‘strikes' teen my gehad het - selfs die boere tannie af George met die ANC plakker ,was al vir my kwaad. Daar sit toe wel ‘n vakmens van daai-se-tyd in die groep, maar die het die heeltyd stille diplomasie gehandaaf.

Op 18 Februarie berig Chiara Carter met betrekking tot die Fidentia fiasko as volg in die Sunday Independent: ". . .sagas of alleged malpractice at some Setas have attracted attention from top levels of government." Ek kan die beleid- en wetmakers van die land die versekering gee dat die helfte hulle nie vertel word nie. So byvoorbeeld:
1. Ek het reeds gedurende Februarie 2006 my assessorsertifikaat van die ETDP-seta by die Services-seta ingehandig vir akkreditasie. Dit is nou ‘n jaar later en nog is dit nie afgehandel nie. Ene Mr Winter reageer op elke navraag deur iets te vra wat hy reeds het. Gaan ek my modereringsertifikaat ook nou aanbied vir akkreditasie? Nee. Daar is kamstig ‘n tekort aan assessors en modereerders en dit is hoekom ek gevra was om dit te doen - Services het daarvoor betaal. Maar voor daar ‘n herhaling is van die nonsens gooi ek liewer ‘government' se geld in die water.
2. Al ooit onderneem om die proses te deurloop deur ‘n opleidingsentiteit te laat akkrediteer by die Services-seta, of ‘n opleidingsprogram? Van die jaar lange frustasie onthou ek veral die woorde van ‘n personeellid wat toe nog in Bellville se kantoor was: "Sir, that is not my job". Nie net eenkeer nie, en elke keer was my vraag: " So, who's job is it then?" Die antwoord is klassiek: "I don't know". Om op te maak vir die onkunde word daar darem elke keer ‘n 90 bladsy dokument van prosedures aan my ge-e-mail.
3. Let wel, ons het akkreditasie gekry maar tot vandag toe het niemand in die inhoud van die kursus wat ons aanbied belang gestel nie.
4. Vra ek eendag iemand wat intensief betrokke was by die instelling van die hele opleidingsbesigheid, waarom die opleidingsmateriaal waarmee ek te doen kry van so ‘n swak gehalte is. Seg die man: "Dit was so ‘n gejaag om die organisasie agtermekaar te kry dat daar nie tyd was om na die kwaliteit van die opleidingsmateriaal te kyk nie". Hulle vertrou dat as jy op skrif sit dit is "ge-align" dan is dit reg. In jou drome! Seg die man hy moet erken hy het ook net goed saam geflans.

Feite
1. Meeste materiaal wat die "FET" kolleges gebruik is slegs in naam "ge-align".
2. Die "FET" kolleges (meervoud) waarby ek insae het is ‘n organisatoriese en akademiese gemors ten spyte van berge "red tape" waarmee die setas hulle "QMS" beheer.
3. Uitkoms-gebaseerde-onderwys is nie ‘n ANC ding nie.. Lees gerus JS Barnard se "Sielkunde vir Onderwysstudente" (1972). Die ANC het vir mooi woorde en goeie opvoedingsbeginsels geval. Om mee te begin het ons nie die hulpbronne wat nodig is om so ‘n intensiewe sisteem te bedryf nie, maar dit is die politieke speletjies en Seta- burokratisering wat besig is om die hele ding te laat inplof. Meeste stry nog, maar die fondasie sak al klaar.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

CRIME

and Visionaire Africa's Objective Global Morality.

The FNB strategy to alert government about crime was aborted at the last second. In my view it had the potential to alert government that crime is a real problem for us plebs. But, listening to the State of the Nation Address, the aborted campaign did cause some discomfort amongst the political executives. ENB did succeed in generating dianetic energy into a patient that has been sick for a long time if one take note of the supportive rapports in news media , from PSG, Remgro, Solidarity and others. Congratulations!

The main question in the president's mind seem to be, why? Why did ENB do it, and why outside the established forums? One answer is in the wheelbarrow brigade that will carry the cries of help to a leader who publicly questioned the existence of the e-mails. What this wheelbarrow demonstration proofs is that the president is a brilliant politician and is well skilled in the game of ambiguous communication. Contradicting talk and politicizing is not the required medicine for a patient that has been very sick for more than a decade. More so if it is about the grief and fear of millions of people. That sir, in my humble view, is the answer to your question.

The government has forced lots of ‘Grande Scheme' medicine down the patient's throat and publically quantified its percentage of improvement, but ignored the patient's senses of his or her own health. Everybody's own specially extracted reasons and accusations for crime as well as their isolated solutions to crime do not help either. We must accept that anti-social behaviour such as crime is a phenomenon that naturally emerges within a complex and conscious society and so is assigning reasons for such behaviour. We are incurable pattern seekers. Unfortunately, creating cause-and-effect patterns and then putting forward one reason, no matter how valid, is of little value in a complex context. We need to highlight each modus and its connections - a more holistic approach. Just listing causes and consequences of crime have limited value. To create value we need to distill simple rules from it with which to empower every one of us to change the status quo from within ourselves. We need to be aware of what is ethical and what not, and we need to know how to apply the rules in order to illuminate the twilight zones. It is time for us to formulate a new moral lifestyle and to popularise it throughout society.

At Visionaire Africa we have been developing such proprietary training material since 2003, using simple parameters to guide us. In view of the ENB move we now make our parameters available to everyone. Use it as is to develop your own material or change it if you can improve on it. This was our effort to structure a reasonably universal moral lifestyle code and you can flesh it out or amputate from it.

Parameters for an Objective Global Morality
1. We need a moral imperative based on a rational logic
2. We need a moral code that accounts for human emotions and perception
3. We need a moral code that is simple enough to become habits of behaviour
4. We need a moral code that is in line with our complex self-adaptive nature
5. We need a moral code that balances rights with responsibilities and competencies
6. We need a meta-ethic that is rooted in diversity, but bears common fruit
7. We need a meta-ethic that reflects its history, its inherited diversity
8. We need a meta-ethic that is fit to battle with globalization dilemmas
9. We need a meta-ethic that has a double-pointed arrow of influence
10. We need honesty and discipline on all levels of scale

Please note that these parameters can be used to structure the training material as ‘personal development'. Doing it in this way puts it outside of the SETA jurisdiction. Although Visionaire Africa has SETA accreditation, at the time of posting this, for an ethic related course, and although I have SETA accreditation as assessor and moderator there are many reasons not to accredit such a course. Unfortunate, but true.

Elucidation of the parameters

The plea for a rational logic excludes circle logic but not emotional reality. We are emotional beings shrouded in subjective feelings but which can't be quantified for good measure. It must promote structured debate and discourage stale rationalization.

The plea for recognising our human state of being sculpts the context of our everyday reality. A model of morality can only be sustainable if it does not deny the illusive character of our senses of being conscious, of having a conscience, of possessing free-will and intuition. All these subjective attributes support our cognition and influence our behaviour.

The plea for simplicity is also the first plea for a model that will be universally accepted. We need only a few sentences that can easily be understood and memorised as well as easily recalled and interpreted when the need arises. If it is simple, there is no need to guess, resulting in less stress and less emotional turbulence. We literally take raw emotions (qualia)out of the moral dilemmas. We must not be fooled to believe that a few simple rules can only result in a few simple behaviours, because if we see it like that, we have forgotten that we are dealing with complex systems. In these systems a few simple rules can definitely trigger an array of sound moral decisions and accompanying effective behaviours.

The plea to recognise our complex nature adds to our rationale for context. Fact is, we are self-adaptive systems in a competitive environment. We need the moral model to allow for extensive connectedness, computationality and feedback loops. A moral rhythm. Teleology is an example of a computational ethic.

The plea for balance is a desperate attempt to attract attention to a disastrous trend in western ‘civilization'. The philosophy that ‘more is always better' imprinted on the concepts of equality and justice is sweeping through all levels of social structure. This psychological pathology is the belief that ever more equality and justice are good and never reach a saturation point or a turning point where more is bad. In reality the right to freedom of the innocent is now being curbed and the criminals are, true to human nature, taking advantage of this. The letter of the law still stands but spirit of the law is sacrificed. The new reasonable ethic must find a better balance by adding and subtracting weights at both sides. Balance freedom with discipline, responsibility and competence. Balance reward and punishment. Balance the rights of the victims of crime with the rights of the criminal. Balance the rights of the person who has to fend-off a surprise attack during a state of emotional turmoil with the person who planned and willfully executed the attack. Calculate the financial burden to victims and potential victims in a morally defensible way. Declaring that it's acceptable because the loss suffered is covered by insurance, is nothing less than corrupt thinking that can serve as a measure to calculate the level of immorality of the thinker. Add to this that the state collects taxes for the protection of its citizens according to an ancient agreement. If due to the government's incompetence these citizens are now urged to barricade themselves in and to employ private security. The moral deterioration is significant, because the payment of protection money to others is an old racket. Even in its new legal cloth it is only a small step for such an organization to manipulate the crime situation in a self-serving way. This is already happening in South Africa. Stop questioning people's loyalty to this or that, because in this new model of morality it is important that loyalty must be earned just like integrity.

The plea for a morality that can operate on all levels of the human state of being is also the second plea for universality. Moral growth can only succeed if we first account for the full cultural, religious and gender diversity and simultaneously explore commonalities. We need this meta-ethic to exploit the richness of the many theologies and cultures and bring it to fruit.

The plea to honour the historical development of ethics is to find the ultimate synergy by exploring all past human efforts. We need to acknowledge past efforts even if ancient and contradictory. We can be provocative and still put in effort to ensure that sharp differences in past thinking gravitate closer together.

The plea for a morality of high fitness is yet another cry for universal acceptance. Technological advancement and the closely coupled shrinking of the modern human's space and time experience, as well as the always present drift in social values can antiquate moral rules rendering them ineffective. Fitness will therefore mean less specialisation and more versatility.

The plea for a double-pointed arrow is to increase the versatility of the moral model. Currently people have a ‘follow the leader attitude' when it comes to moral behaviour. This trend to follow the example of leaders and other celebrities is unhealthy and we need to redistribute the weights in favour of the common human. No more: ‘ Look, if they can do it why not me?' or ‘What's good enough for them is good enough for us'. By training plebs on all levels we can force our executive to follow our lead. The reference to plebs is a spectrum that includes workers on grass-roots level and middle management. For this to happen the moral rules must be easy and widely applied and therefore implies mass training and development. The goal is not to create stronger political opposition in the form of new competing ideological parties, but to empower people to demand more of their existing political leaders. The right to vote has no value if leaders just manipulate the emotions and opinions of the masses. Voters must demand to be listened to and for the leaders to also be followers of the values of their constituents.

The plea for honesty at all levels is to focus on those power grabbing, above the law politicians whose corrupt practices are leaving citizens impoverished. But it also covers the everyday trivial things, like being late for appointments or hiding incompetence.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Eie persepsies

Die ENB debakel wys vir ons die gesig van die regerende party vanuit ‘n heel ander hoek.

Die mees gerespekteerde hoek is die ekonomiese sukses wat die M-trio: president Mbeki,, minister Trevor Manuel en mnr Tito Mboweni reeds vermag het. Verskaffing van dienste en werkskepping om die ongelykhede van apartheid te verminder is redelik, maar die bekendste hoek is die een van leë beloftes en idiotiese verskonings. Dit is hierdie laaste hoek wat reeds onooglik is wat verder met ‘n diep lidteken geskend is. Die regering is bereid om sy mag te laat geld om sy swakhede te verberg.

Vraag is, tot watter mate het die president se staatsrede die ENB veldtog irrelevant gemaak? Baie mooi dinge is belowe, soos meer polisie met beter opleiding en hoër salarisse, maar . . .
Ek weet dat ek steeds goeie diens vanaf die polisie ontvang, maar ek weet ook dat daar mense is wat in vrees vir die polisie leef en hulle is nie kriminele nie. Self vertrou ek bitter min van die polisie lede, wit sowel as swart. Meer polisie gaan nie die probleem van vertroue oplos nie.
Ek weet die polisie, met uitsluiting van die paar topposte, behoort meer geld te verdien maar ek weet ook dat sulke verhogings net ‘n verskil sal maak as dit wesenlik is. Selfs 10% is in meeste gevalle nie wesenlik nie.
Terwyl gerugte oor uiterste interne politiek binne die polisie gereeld uitlek, gaan meer polisie nie ‘n verskil maak nie.
Terwyl werksekerheid en bevordering nie vir sekere lede bestaan nie sal om geld na die probleem te gooi geen verskil maak nie.

Die grootste aanduiding was die president se stemtoon. Weg is die sterk toon waarmee hy in vorige redes Afrika se hoop verkondig het en in is ‘n eentonige aflees van erkennings en beloftes. Waar is die passie in sy stem wat ons hom sal laat glo?

Ek vra ENB, PSG, Remgro, Solidariteit om nie op te hou om oplossings na te jaag nie. Miskien moet ENB nou van taktiek verander maar moet nie laat los nie.

My bydra is dat ons op voetsoolvlak ‘n morele rewolusie organiseer, maar een wat algemeen aanvaarbaar kan wees en nie ou skeidslyne net herdefinieer nie.

Idiotiese verskonings is nie redes nie.
Die regeerders en hulle arm vir misdaad bestryding en geregtigheid weerkaats graag ons bekommernisse oor midaad terug deur van speëls gebruik te maak.
1. Dit is omdat mense arm is! Die skelms is dan seker moderne weergawes van Robin Hood's, helde wat hulle vryheid op die spel plaas om hulle gemeenskappe meer gelyk te maak. Die wat mildelik besit moet nou hulself in die spieël eien, skuldig voel en ophou kla. Bog. Hierdie windeier laat drie vrae onbeantwoord.
Hoekom is diefstal en geweld minder in ander arm lande, selfs in Afrika? As jy steel omdat jy arm is hoekom moor jy dan ook? Hoekom wil die regering nou die verantwoordelikheid na die skelm se familie toe afwentel as dit juis hulle is wat in hulle armoede by die seun se onbaatsugtige steel baat?
2. Skep werk en hulle sal nie steel nie! Bog. As jy sleg is van inbors gaan jy steel en veral as die regering wit handskoene dra as hulle jou moet vasvat. Selfs groot ekonomië het hulle diewe. ‘n Skelm soek nie ‘n uur se sweet vir ‘n uur se loon nie.
3. Dit is apartheid se skuld! Hoe?

Lys van menseregte skendings
Ons sien gereeld dat iemand skendings van ons regte lys, maar wat van die een: Om voortdurend paraat te wees is om in voortdurende ongesonde spanning te leef.
Bloot die gedagte dat iemand jou gaan aanval en dat die aanvaller dalk aan jou hand sal moet sterf is vir geestelik gesonde mense sielkundig uitmergelend en maak ons depressief.

AARDVERWARMING

Die IPCC se stelling dat meer as 90% van aardverhitting die mens se toedoen is het die debat laat snewel en hierdie standpunt tot ideologie verhef. Die voordeel is dat daar nou baie navorsing geld sal wees en sir Richard Branson bewys dit. Die nadeel is dat die teorie nou bo debat verhef is en al hoe meer in klip gegrif sal word.

Soos met vele wetenskaplike dinge is die glashelder voorstelling ‘n illusie. Die sir beweer James Lovelock het hom oortuig ons is reeds deur ‘n ‘threshold'. James Lovelock is al lank een van my idols maar ek verstaan nie wat hy daarmee bedoel het nie. Wat wel waar is, is dat as ons deur ‘n sogenaamde ewewigs ‘threshold ‘ is dan is navorsing te laat. Let wel, ek ontken nie dat die mens oor die afgelope 40 000 jaar ‘n
geweldige impak op die omgewing gehaat het nie. Ek sê slegs dat 90% sekerheid om die invloed en gevolge te kwantifiseer is ego strelery.

Drie sinarios is moontlik en daar is geen manier om te sê watter een gaan gebeur nie.
1. Die sir-hulle is reg en die Aarde skud die ystydperk vir die soveelste keer af. Die keer gaan Gaia baie seerkry en ons is maar net deel van Gaia.
2. Gaia verhoed enige ernstige nagevolge en alles bly soos dit is. Vir al wat ons weet is ‘n bakterium reeds in die ruimte besig om ons gemors na iets beters toe te omskep. Die baterium kon natuurlik ontwikkel het omdat ons gemors ‘n geleentheid geskep het - ‘n attraktor - wat net potensiaal ontsluit. Of die sir se pryswenner gebruik nanotegnologie om so ‘n bakteruim te skep.
3. Ons gaan binne ‘n paar dekades in ‘n volbloed ystydperk in. Daar is ‘n lang maar baie goeie argument voor uit te maak.
Feit is al bogenoemde is ewe moontlik en die nuut gebore ideologie sal dit nie verander nie. Onse verstandjies is nog heeltemal te klein om te weet. Ons egos is egter oneindig groot. Selfs oom Newton se wette is slegs ‘n proksie vir die waarheid , self is dit nie die waarheid nie.