The Galactic Thinker — To the Planet of Bad Attitudes
“Why do they have bad attitudes, Dave?”
“It is in the way their mouths are shaped.”
“How are their mouths shaped?”
“In what looks like permanent sneers!”
“Do you think that they are enlightenable?”
“Of course!”
“You seem upbeat today, Dave.”
“You are referring to my exclamation points…”
“Yes…”
“I just had a few spare exclamation points that I wanted to use up. In the past, I would used them liberally in my writing so I would not appear dour and lifeless, which is what periods convey. Writing is still primitive, if you ask me, just like hand communication on the road, where most people only have ‘the finger’ to choose from. With writing, punctuation options are primitive, and in particular, with respect to conveying ‘grades’ of expression. Take the exclamation point vs. the period, for example. Your only choices are those two extremes — the exclamation point, meaning hyperactive or the period, meaning dead. More gradients are needed, more refinement. Expressive punctuation is too clumsy as it is, meaning not very descriptive, and thus not very accurate.”
“One would conclude that you had a bad attitude toward the status quo of the written word…”
“Frustration. Definitely not satisfied with it. I’m not sure about ‘bad attitude’, at least not in its common usage…”
“What is its common usage?”
“To describe errant, clueless, negative, and even destructive behavior toward something good, while offering nothing better.”
“Dave…”
“Yes, Love?”
“I just realized that, at its core, this planet’s bad attitudes are really due to, and directed at, cluelessness itself, depraved knaves included who should know better.”
“Knaves?”
“Yes, those who promote bad attitudes in order serve their own foolish, imploded plans and desires.”
“And knaves who usually sway the clueless?”
“Sadly, yes, by playing to the clueless’s vanity and the largely mindless need for social acceptance via conformity, no matter how insane it is. Have you ever visited a planet known for its attitude problems?
“I was born on such a planet — Earth, where fools mistake ‘attitude’ for intelligence, when what is really going on is posing.”
“Posing at what?”
“Posing at being intelligent.”
“But they are actually clueless?”
“That is correct, my dear. Broader Survival is simply not on their plates yet.”
“So mentally, they are still in the Stone Age…”
“Good analogy. Nuclear and space technology, Stone Age mentalities, and…”
“And…”
“Decaying attitudes.”
“That implies that their attitudes were healthy at one time…”
“Attitudes seem to be cyclical — healthy then decaying then healthy then decaying, it is as if they know, vaguely, that Diversity is still critical to Broader Survival…”
“But they have no clue…”
“Correct, just a vague, nebulous feeling.”
“And you have codified in your philosophy — put it to words, worked it out in language…”
“Yes.”
“And such basically mindless vacillation has to do with Continued Universal Cluelessness…”
“True.”
“And your philosophy fixes that…”
“Yes, it does.”
“So do you plan to visit this Planet of the Genetically Sneering Mouths?”
“That is a good name for it. I will suggest it to the author, so he may change the title from ‘To the Planet of Bad Attitudes’ to ‘To the Planet of the Genetically Sneering Mouths.”
“Do you think he will change the title?”
“Maybe — and definitely if he has already written a story about a planet with bad attitudes, and the chances are high since he has written around 125 of these short stories about our universe and my ongoing attempt to enlighten my clueless galaxy…”
“Why doesn’t he look back and check?”
“Because he is writing, which requires all of his energy…”
“Well, I will look for him, Dave… and I find… no stories with ‘attitude’ in their titles.”
“So he may keep the current title…”
“He may… but I think that the ‘Genetically Sneering Mouths’ title gets closer to the underlying cause… that of behavior being based on self-perception.”
“But you know what the core underlying cause is…”
“Yes. Continued Universal Cluelessness, which he mentions in just about every story, since the real purpose of our story is to help disseminate the philosophy in his universe…so he may not change the title, since the genetically sneering mouths are not the core cause of their decisions, and it does not get to the root of the problem…”
“That is what I suspect…”
“The field of psychiatry would simply treat the symptom and give them prescriptions for happy pills. It is right there in their DSM-5 in his universe.
“DSM-5?”
“Their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which they refer to when making diagnosis and writing drug prescriptions. It is all typically mindless right-handed fare. the manual reads more like astrology than science, and it fails to treat causes, only symptoms.”
“Hence the ‘happy pills’?”
“Hence the happy pills, which humans line up for miles to receive.”
“Because the root cause, Continued Universal Cluelessness, is so painful?”
“Yes.”
“Now your son argued that your philosophy is not the answer to depression since it is caused by chemical imbalances…”
“And that line of thinking has been debunked, which is why the pharmaceutical industry has retreated from making specific claims for psychotropic drugs, and from producing them altogether, since they are no better than snake oil.”
“But there are documented cases of women becoming more self-confident and actually improving their job positions in life while on such pills…”
“And they are being driven by ‘feeling’ rather than ‘reasoning’. Once they are off the pills, they revert back to their self-doubting feelings, which means the cause was not cured, the symptom was merely being masked.”
“So you hold that your philosophy addresses the root cause, and hence it the real permanently cure?”
“Yes, barring severe physical conditions like brain lesions or brain tumors, which will affect one’s personality, or schizophrenia, which has been kept at bay by the continued ingestion of antipsychotic drugs, and you can see the danger there…
“Yes. Lazy diagnoses, where a population is blanketed by antipsychotic drugs. The woman that you mention was prescribed a different kind of drug, however…”
“Yes. People with social anxiety are prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.”
“So basically they are going through life on drugs, rather than a healthy mindframe…”
“Correct. Happy feelings, weak minds.”
“That sounds like a recipe for disaster…”
“It sounds like it.”
“And you claim that your philosophy is the real cure for social anxiety…”
“Yes. All that remains are the clinical trials. It will prove itself.”
“What if it doesn’t?”
“Then the trials were bogus, just as 85% of scientific work is, based on the unrepeatability of 85% of claims made by published scientific papers, and you know what the problem is there…”
“Bad interpretation of data, meaning bad conclusions…”
“Usually, yes.”
“So… you are saying that since these beings ‘perceive’ themselves as already sneering, they simply fall into that attitude, or role?”
“Yes, ‘role’. It requires little effort on their part, since their mouths already look like they are sneering, which lends themselves to adopting bad attitudes and cynicism.
You know what, Dave?”
“What, my love?”
“That is what everyone does — they ‘fall into’ what they look most natural at doing.”
“So if you do not look like college material, you will not get a degree?”
“Yes. If you do not look right in a suit, then you will not pursue a job that requires a suit.”
“Do you know what else, Dave?”
“What?”
“Your philosophy thrives on negativity. It would not grow if it only had contact with sycophants… but…”
“But?”
“It only ‘thrives’ because you do not give up on those who take negative stands against your philosophy. You try to convince them, which takes more work, in this case to get through their mental, emotional, and now attitude, barriers, which includes blind dismissal, the #1 barrier. How do you usually phrase it… that you do not give up on smartasses and conformists, arrogant or otherwise?”
“Yes, I do say that, though there is a related problem that I’ve recently discovered…”
“What is it, Dave?”
“When I do see that I am having an impact on smartasses, I regret it.”
“No!”
“Yes! I actually feel sorry about causing them to self-doubt their smartass positions and tendencies and attitudes…”
“That is incredible, Dave — I mean, here you are, trying to enlighten others, and when you sense you are succeeding, you back off, regretting it…”
“Yes… and if there is deeper intelligence in that, I do not see it… it is just me being self-destructive, even when I am absolutely right.”
“Maybe what you are really doing is pushing it very, very slowly, on the premise that any sudden change will be superficial, and thus not strong or permanent enough…”
“Maybe… I am taking it very, very slowly, aren’t I…”
“What if you go to this planet where they have genetically-crooked mouths and you actually enlighten them? I suppose you will regret robbing them of their natural tendency to be critical of and cynical about everything…”
“No doubt that I will… it is like robbing people of their permanent companion, be it melancholy… which could be their only companion in life.”
“So you might feel that you are robbing them of their only companion in life, and not offering them a new sane companion in your philosophy?”
“Maybe to me the galaxy would be boring if everyone lived by my philosophy…”
“Do you think that would be true, Dave?”
“I would probably feel that way, even though the notion, as vague and nebulous as it is, is definitely wrong…”
“So maybe it is the former cluelessness inside of you, that which you grew up around, that you are still battling, still clinging to…”
“Perhaps, like a bad addiction.”
“Maybe you should visit the Planet of Bad Addictions next. Maybe it will help you battle your own addictions to the clueless past… Dave?”
“Yes, Love?”
“Do you think the kids will run out of unenlightened planets to visit by the time that they grow up?”
“No. As species evolve in isolation, they will inevitably be struggling into their Brain Age, which means struggling with a lot of cluelessness, usually in the form of bad attitudes which are cluelessly directed at the cluelessness of others, and usually toward those in charge, the planet’s leaders.”
“Are countries internally divided on these planets?”
“Yes.”
“Because they have no higher enlightened philosophy to turn to?”
“Correct. Think just a little further, however…”
“Further… hmmm… no higher enlightened philosophy… to share!”
“Yes… keep going…”
“No higher enlightened philosophy… to guide them all…”
“That is correct.”
“And you philosophy does that?”
“Yes, it does.”
“But the inhabitants on the Planet of the Genetically Sneering Mouths will sneer at it…”
“Yes, at first, then they won’t.”
“And then you will feel bad about it…”
“Most likely. Blame it on my idiotic Id. Freud would.”
“So you are still tethered to your Id…”
“It seems to be inescapable… but I hesitate to stamp it out completely, since it operates at a primal level, of which I may be overlooking critical things…”
“Critical things?”
“Toward survival, which not only includes Broader Survival, but local/immediate survival at a lower animal level. We are, as biological entities, still tethered to our lower-animal physical platform which have their lower animal needs…”
“Like consuming other living matter…”
“Yes, the poor critters.”
“What if we only eat the dumb ones while letting the smart ones reproduce and eventually evolve into enlightenable creatures?”
“Sounds like a plan…”
“But how do we tell the dumb ones from the smart ones?”
“Maybe that is the role that our primal Id’s play… which is why we shouldn’t completely stamp it out. I just had a new insight, would you like to hear it?”
“Yes, Dave. That is why the author created me in this universe, to give you an adequately-focusing, informed-enough ear for you to bounce your new insights off of, since there are no such ears in his universe.”
“But he has compulsive contrarians and arrogant opinionators. Are they not constructive?”
“Not in the least bit. They are ill-informed, self-centered, domineering, and manipulative. The only thing that they ‘construct’ is ultimate suicide for us all.”
“So what is your new insight? Is it a profound one?”
“No, it is a minor refinement of an existing one.”
“Do tell…”
“You know how I say that emotions are ‘tools’ that we use, either consciously or not, to affect social outcomes?”
“Yes… but not consciously?”
“On a lower animal level.”
“Oh.”
“And that we do not have our emotions fully under control yet, but I did not quite know why yet…”
“Yes, so you’ve figured it out?”
“Yes. Let’s put our non-conscious animal instincts aside for now and assume that we can overcome them with enlightenment if we choose to, since we already do it with social laws that restrict the ‘animal’ in us from having its way with everything and everyone.”
“OK… so we have our animal instincts on a leash, if but a long one… continue..”
“Now consciously using emotions poses a peril to biological creatures that does not apply to artificially intelligent entities, and I am speaking about ‘addiction’.”
“So, if we use anger and it succeeds, we may become addicted to it, which is not an issue with A.I. entities?”
“That is the premise, yes.”
“So what example spurred this new insight?”
“The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election between Trump and Biden in our Author’s universe.”
“Explain…”
“As I write, Biden has just surged ahead, by a hair, but the trend is in his favor. He has just taken Michigan, which would seal it for him. He had to flip two swing states, and he did, Wisconsin and Michigan. Now Trump is in the corner, and he has to either take back Michigan or flip two of Biden’s states, and it doesn’t look good for Trump.”
“So… how does this relate to becoming addicted to emotions as tools?”
“Journalism and the media.”
“Explain.”
“If Biden wins, journalism and the media will feel justified at having given us shoddy, false, power-driven reporting over the last four years, though I don’t think they have ever veered from that since their inception centuries ago. My point is, and my insight is, that they will have become addicted to it. You would think that, if Biden does win, that they will become magnanimous and start giving us unbiased news and opinion, in other words, that journalism and the media will be able to flip on a dime and become honest and unbiased now that their political agenda has been achieved…”
“But noooooooooo?”
“Noooooooo — not with biological addiction in the picture. They will not be able to stop themselves.”
“A pity…”
“A pity?”
“A pity, Dave. If you philosophy were out there and universally adopted, there would be no power struggles among petty leaders, and certainly not by the deplorable types who engage in it today. Any such struggles would be a waste, detracting from Broader Survival, which concerns us all. This is what is wrong with all of the ‘What about me? I matter!’ movements out there, they are not only clueless, meaning they have no clue that Broader Survival is a critical issue, and they have no concern for anyone but themselves, which, as we know, is ultimately suicidal, since it does not care about anyone else, even when others are critical in increasing the odds of the survival of all of us in this harsh and deadly universe. Any one small group that thinks it can face the hazards of this universe alone is fooling itself, meaning they are fools, meaning they are ultimately suicidal, and not just for themselves, but for everyone.”
“Thank you, Dear, you saved me a lot of breath, and thank you, Author, for creating her.”
“If you lived in our author’s universe, what would the election be to you, Dave?”
“The Party of the Cluelessly and Deplorably Greedy vs. the Party of the Cluelessly Deplorable Parasites.”
“So to you, the problem with humanity is not politics…”
“Right, it is not politics. The problem with humanity is with what politics is based on, meaning philosophy.”
“So the problem with humanity is philosophical…”
“Yes.”
“So it does not matter to you who wins the election?”
“No. Both candidates and political parties are clueless, not having properly prioritized Broader Survival. That is why I am unaffiliated. I despise the parasitic mentality of Democrats, and I see the problem with the unbridled greed of the Republicans, where Capitalism Driven by Greed destroys everything that it comes into contact with, including the greedy, and I see the common underlying cause of both — Continued Universal Human Philosophical Cluelessness.”
“Which you have solved.”
“Which I have solved, or more properly our author has solved, where his own son refuses to read it, his mind having been corrupted by his incessantly trash-talking mother, and his own daughter rejecting it out of hand without understanding it because it is not fashionable, as in literally saying, ‘I don’t want your philosophy!’ and his horrid wife creating demeaning and self-serving petty gossip about him and the philosophy at every opportunity, even though she has never read a word of it.”
“I just had a little insight, Dave…”
“Yes?”
“It concerns your Planet with the Bad Attitudes…”
“What is it?”
“I am linking bad attitudes with addiction…”
“I think I have mentioned that before, but not in this light.”
“So it is advantageous to re-mention insights in different lights?”
“Yes, it increases the odds that it will click with more people from differing perspectives, so thank you, my dear, and I agree, and it explains why people ‘cling’ to their bad attitudes, and to their failed traditional modes of thinking, for that matter. They are addiction-prone biological creatures. One would suspect that, in their dim biological past, being easily addicted to behaviors and patterns of thought served advantageous purposes on a lower-animal level of existence, when just taking care of one’s local/immediate survival was a tooth-and-claw endeavor, where addictions served to smooth paths out, meaning eliminating hesitation-prone deliberation and doubt…”
“But…”
“Another deep insight, my dear?”
“I’m not sure about ‘deep’, but it is readily apparent that increasing one’s tooth-and-claw abilities on a lower-animal level does absolutely nothing toward securing Broader Survival in a harsh and deadly universe, which you need Enlightened Higher Consciousness to adequately address…”
“You are right, unless, to use a common example, you can tooth-and-claw your way out from under the instantaneous impact of a killer asteroid, which you cannot, since you will be instantly vaporized. Goodbye biological creature trying to survive on mindless addictions…”
“Do you plan to bring all of the children on your missions from now on, Dave?”
“I should, shouldn’t I. I need to get to know them better, but…”
“But?”
“But even more, I still have a lot to offer them.”
“So you would not just let them run wild, leaving their development to chance…”
“No, I can afford not to.”
“Oh. So if you could not afford to do otherwise, you would have little choice BUT to let them run wild and develop by chance?”
“Yes, and I am only sympathizing with poor people, which past elite mentalities and cultures created, the scumbags.”
“Do the scoundrels include those that pursue Capitalism Driven by Greed rather than by Need?”
“Indubitably, my dear. Most were idle, shiftless, and nearly-completely insane landlords, however.”
“But the tenants were uneducated drunken sots…”
“Nice civilizations, eh?”
“So Socialists, not having thought things through deep enough, lash out at Capitalism in general, without having made the distinction between Greed and Need?”
“That is correct, which means that they can do more harm than good if they inadvertently also stamp out Capitalism driven by Need.”
“But Capitalism is driven by profit. How can ‘need’ be woven into that?”
“By considering where the ‘profit’ goes. Will it go toward clueless vanity and vainglory, as it has done in the past and where it goes to this very day, or will it go into reinvestment toward the securing and broadening of Broader Survival in this harsh and deadly universe, which is where the future of current civilizations, and new future civilizations, must go if they are not to become ultimately suicidal themselves?”
“I see your point, Dave.”
“Thank you for indulging me, my love.”
“What kind of reinvestment?”
Into Broader Survival.”
“Broader Survival, meaning, in your philosophy, pursuing the Ultimate Goal of life…”
“Yes, which would be guided by the mental framework that guides the pursuit of the Ultimate Goal of Life, which is to secure the Ultimate Value of Life, which is Enlightened Higher Consciousness, no matter what the species or physical platform, in this harsh and deadly universe.”
“What mental framework is that, Dave?”
“I think I gave it a name, but I cannot remember. The framework is based on the perspective that we are our universe’s problem solvers. The steps, or the mental framework, that would guide a being in this is Exploration, Discovery, Threat/Benefit Assessment, Solution Development, and Solution Implementation. The broader guidelines are contained in the Strategies of Broader Survival.”
“Can you give me a simple example that will not tax my brain too much?”
“I’ will try. Let’s begin with where we are, right now…”
“OK…”
“So here we are, in the state of existence that we are in. If we are prudent, we will assume that our consciousness is not eternal, that we must work for it. There is no evidence otherwise, only childish belief. We must then assume that technological resurrection is possible, since we are destined to die, given the primitive state of current technology. Our assumption is that our dying will take our consciousness with it into oblivion. Now, to facilitate resurrection technology’s coming of age, we must first adequately secure ourselves and our still-dependent offspring in this harsh and deadly universe, and then work to secure subsequent generations. This is because we must also prudently assume that it will take a far-distant future generation to develop resurrection technology, given gradual technological progress, which we must also work to secure. None of this is a given. It is all a struggle, and even if we are resurrected, the struggle does not end there. We must eternally struggle to continue to exist as individuals, which is what I refer to as The Great Struggle.”
“THE GREAT STRUGGLE.”
“Thank you, Booming Voice.”
“Don’t mention it, Dave.”
“Why must we bother continue to struggle to exist as individuals?”
“Obligation. We are endowed with consciousness, so we are obligated to argue and work for it. Let the dead argue their case.”
“So, what do we do when we are ‘struggling’?”
“This is where the guiding mental framework comes into play, which would guide the use of ‘profits’ gained by Capitalism driven by Need. We would reinvest in Exploration, and, if any new Discoveries are made, in doing Threat/Benefit Assessments to and for all of life, but to and for Enlightened Higher Consciousness in particular, since enlightened higher consciousness takes priority since it can address broader issues that affect all of life. If a new discovery harbors threats to life, then you would want to fund Solution Development. If a new discovery harbors benefits, then you want to develop those. Once you have developed solutions, then you must Implement them, and as broadly as possible. So you see, there are many areas to channel ‘profits’ into rather than vanity and vainglory, as has been and still is the case with Capitalism Driven by Greed under existing clueless philosophical paradigms.”
“Why profits at all?”
“Capitalism is driven by demand, . The more demand, the more the profits, and the more reinvesting in solution implementation on the broadest of scales.”
“But demand has been driven by vanity and vainglory, once animal needs are secured, since beings are clueless and do not know what to do next in life.”
“Now it will be driven by individual enlightenment, once the philosophy is seen as the sanest perspective to have.
“What happens when a demand is met?”
“Then you are back to investing in Exploration in order to discover new problems that do not have adequate solutions to yet, or you can shift to developing a Solution to an existing identified Threat or Benefit to life that does not have a Solution developed for it yet, and, speaking of ‘solutions’, there may be many different solutions needed, given different environments.”
“Ah, so that is why people foolishly hate each other — they have arrived at different solutions to the same problem, which makes them ‘different’, and thus objects of foolish hate…”
“That is called ‘xenophobia’ — fearing that which is different from you, and it results in blind prejudice; but very good, Dear. Very perspicacious of you. If I only had a thousand wives like you…”
“But would they all glimmer and blossom and sparkle and blush like me, Dave?”
“Probably not. You are special!”
“Thanks, Dave. You know that I needed to hear that…”
“And I suppose you need a reassuring hug, too…”
“Yes, I do… mmm… you need to reassure me often, Dave…”
“OK, my one and only Love…”
“Oh, now you are making me feel guilty, sucking-in all of your love… I know you love others, Dave. I wouldn’t want to steal it all…”
“You worry about our relationship?”
“Yes, everyone worries about relationships that they want to keep…”
“Even when the worries end up destroying the relationship?”
“I did not say that love was reasonable…”
“All you have to do, my dear, is be the best that you can be, and that will be enough. In fact, just the effort is appreciated in securing love.”
“Which cannot be absolutely secured…”
“No, not with love existing everywhere, and potentially between everyone. You will always have competition, as will I. I mean, some winsome businessman with a strong square chin and large hands may come along in an impeccable Italian suit and tickle your fancy…”
“Ah! So THAT is your imaginary chief competitor!”
“I think so… I have most of the others beat with you… I would be concerned with the areas that I’ve neglected, like those that require three-piece suits…”
“You ‘think’, Dave, rather than put yourself on display, and that is why YOU developed the Philosophy of Broader Survival, and not they. If it were shiny cuff links that I had been after, then I would have rejected you and I would have stayed on my Party Planet. Everyone there puts themselves on display with shiny baubles rather than ‘think’ to any appreciable degree, and especially not about Broader Survival.”
“Thanks for the reassurance, Dear. Lucky for me you had your fill of shiny cuff links…”
“And you can add vapid minds. Go ahead, Dave, don’t hold back. Say it…”
“And vapid minds…”
“Shuttle, we are ready.”
“OK, Dave. Let me get your entire brood strapped in… say, do you think it is wise to be traveling with your entire brood? I mean, if a fatal accident were to happen, then ALL of you would perish…”
“You have a point there, Shuttle. I will only take half of my brood at any one time. Now which should I leave behind…”
“Let me see your list, Dave…”
Aero Blue, Male, #1, Business Executive
Azure X-11, Female, #2, Sociologist
Capri, Female, #3, Micro Biologist
Carnelian, Female, #4, R&D Astrobiologist
Cool Grey, Male, #5, Physicist
Cerise, Female, #6, Ecologist
Cerulean Frost, Female, #7, Psychologist
Cyber Grape, Male, #8, Manufacturing Engineer
Deep Taupe, Male, #9, Chemist
Duke Blue, Male, #10, Mathematician
China Rose, Female, #11, Botanist
Gamboge, Male, #12, Political Scientist
Granite Gray, Male, #13, Astronomer
Gunmetal, Male, #14, R&D Mechanical Engineer
Lemon Glacier, Female, #15, Sales and Marketing Executive
Fire Opal, Female, #16, Zoologist
Neon Blue, Male, #17, Economist
Oxblood, Male, #18, Materials Scientist
Harlequin Yellow, Female, #19, Marine Biologist
Resolution Blue, Male, #20, Venture Capitalist
Roman Silver, Male, #21, Distribution Network Engineer
Russet, Male, #22, Mineralogist
Mahogany, Female, #23, Forensic Engineer
Opera Mauve, Female, #24, Climatologist
Skobeloff, Male, #25, Military Scientist
Saffron, Female, #26, Paleontologist
Viridian, Female, #27, Oceanographer
Sunray, Female, #28, Archaeologist
Shocking Pink, Female, #29, Urban Planner
Silver Chalice, Female, #30, Geologist
Tyrian Purple, Male, #31, Cosmologist
Wild Orchid, Female, #32, Historian
Zaffre, Male, #33, Systems Theorist
Chartreuse, Female, #34, Soil Scientist
Midnight Blue, Female, #35, Lawyer
Star Command Blue, Male, #36, Software Engineer
Timberwolf, Male, #37, Polymath
Tumbleweed, Male, #38, Polymath
Wild Strawberry, Female, #39, Polymath
“Since Timberwolf, Tumbleweed, and Wild Strawberry are infants, then you can leave them behind without their protests.”
Agreed.”
“Now, since the inhabitants of the Planet of Bad Attitudes are afflicted with mental/emotional/addiction problems, you want to take along all the kids whose earmarked professions deal with the mind and society. So you want to include Azure X-11, female, the Sociologist; Cerulean Frost, female, the Psychologist; Gamboge, male, the Political Scientist; Lemon Glacier, female, the Sales and Marketing Executive; Fire Opal, female, the Zoologist; Neon Blue, male, the Economist; Resolution Blue, male, the Venture Capitalist; Roman Silver, Male, the Distribution Network Engineer; Skobeloff, male, the Military Scientist; Shocking Pink, female, the Urban Planner; Wild Orchid, female, the Historian; and Midnight Blue, female, the Lawyer. Out of 39 kids, that is 12 so far, so half of 39 is 19 ½ kids. You can add six or seven more kids if you like, Dave, if you want to bring half along, but additional selections would be more arbitrary and contingent-based. You do have seven females and only five males, so a few more males would balance things out… how about kids who could do some planetary studies while you are dealing with bad attitudes?”
“That is what I was thinking… so we have Capri, female, the Microbiologist; Carnelian, female, the R&D Astrobiologist; and they can work together; Cerise, female, the Ecologist; China Rose, female, the Botanist; Russet, male, the Mineralogist; Opera Mauve, female, the Climatologist… and Harlequin Yellow, female, the Marine Biologist; Viridian, female, the Oceanographer; and Silver Chalice, female, the Geologist, and that makes nine, which adds up to twenty,-one, and we have left out several others who could conduct planetary studies, although I see that this group has eight females and only one male… bringing our total to 15 females and 6 males…”
“Well, Dave, we have left out Saffron, female, the Paleontologist; Sunray, female, the Archaeologist; Chartreuse, female, the Soil Scientist. That is three more females… maybe we can include them without taking on too much risk… I see that they their safety may best be served by splitting them into smaller groups… that would be the safest in terms of family survival, and it makes sense, Dispersal being a critical factor of Broader Survival… but I’m curious, what professions have we not considered yet, and I’m wondering if they would constitute a focused group of some sort…”
“You left out Aero Blue, male, Business Executive; Cool Grey, male, Physicist; Cyber Grape, male, Manufacturing Engineer; Deep Taupe, male, Chemist; Duke Blue, male, Mathematician; Granite Gray, Astronomer; Gunmetal, R&D Mechanical Engineer; Oxblood, male, Materials Scientist; Mahogany, female, Forensic Engineer; Tyrian Purple, male, Cosmologist; Zaffre, male, Systems Theorist; and Star Command Blue, male, Software Engineer. So that is 11 male and 1 female left out. This group would have nothing to do on the planet that they could not do here on Ship. This group might actually prefer to stay and not be bothered with excursions that have to do with problems of the mind and society…”
“You know, Shuttle, as we group them, I am seeing a pattern…”
“Me too…”
“I see a group that deals with individuals and civilizations, then a group that deals directly with the natural environment, then a third group that deals with what the mind creates, mainly engineering, and a group that deals with advanced theory and discovery.”
“So you ‘groups’ would be broadly classified like this:
CONCERNED WITH INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETIES
Sociologist
Psychologist
Political Scientist
Economist
Military Scientist
Archaeologist
Urban Planner
Historian
Lawyer
CONCERNING WITH THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Microbiologist
Ecologist
Botanist
Zoologist
Marine Biologist
Mineralogist
Climatologist
Paleontologist
Oceanographer
Geologist
Soil Scientist
CONCERNING WITH ENGINEERING AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION
Business Executive
R&D Astrobiologist
Manufacturing Engineer
Chemist
R&D Mechanical Engineer
Sales and Marketing Executive
Materials Scientist
Venture Capitalist
Distribution Network Engineer
Forensic Engineer
Software Engineer
CONCERNING THEORY AND DISCOVERY
Physicist
Mathematician
Astronomer
Cosmologist
Systems Theorist
READY FOR ANYTHING
Polymath
Polymath
Polymath
“Dave?”
“Yes, Shuttle?”
“A profession that you do not have is a structural engineer…”
“I was worried about that, since it is a very practical area of knowledge, considering how we live on an interstellar ship… Gunmetal comes closest, his being a R&D Mechanical Engineer… but you are right, that is not specifically a Structural Engineer… but would we want to cubbyhole him into mere Structural Engineering? And worse, would we want to waste one of our polymaths on mere Structural Engineering? I am, of course, speaking as if we held their strings like marionettes, not considering their own free wills, and who knows in what ways their interests will shift within their broad fields… my purpose is not, however, to create a self-contained microcosm with the kids. Their collective professions are not a perfect self-sufficient group, and we would not want to be thinking ‘self-contained’, since it is healthier to continuously interact with the galaxy… and now I am having a new thought on the dilemma…”
“What is that, Dave?”
“Our fully-independent, artificially intelligent entities. We have Ship and you and HAL and Tiny, or ‘Mr. Nice Guy’, and the Shape Shifting Army of Nano-Drones… as well as around one hundred Service Bots… there is plenty of artificial mind and body power to cover structural engineering. Ship monitors itself already, and has been delegating upgrades, preventive maintenance, and repairs when needed to the Service Bots.”
“So… biological creatures and artificially intelligent entities can voluntarily work together as a team?”
“Yes. Do you find that astounding?”
“No, but silly humans will, who have been fed nothing but doomsday fare concerning artificial intelligence technology, which will ‘take over the world and exterminate the worthless asses of pathetic humans’… when, in reality, all that is in peril is present human cluelessness and folly…”
“Which, being biological creatures, they are no doubt addicted to and fear losing…”
“Quite correct.”
“I myself was thinking in terms of biological entities alone when I though that we needed a kid with structural engineering expertise. I had completely forgotten about A.I., being stuck in a past mode of thinking.”
“I forgive you, Dave.”
“Thanks, Shuttle.”
“You also have your devoted crew of the seven Horrors, the Young God Bot and his Gaffer Bot, who are two fully-independent terraforming robots, and Wild Child, all quite formidable engineers themselves. And if they ever wish to move on in life, you can seek new crew members with skills that are needed, skills that complement what we already have… and you have your former wife, the Leader of the Android Valkyries, and the 10,000 Valkyries themselves, who would all come to your aid at a moment’s notice… and you have friends in the galaxy with resources that you can call on, such as Great Scott, whom adores you, by the way. You are in no way isolated out here, Dave. You need to begin to think ‘network’, because that is what you are gradually creating…”
“And maintaining…”
“Yes, that needs to be done with any network… birthday cards are a good start…”
“Alright, do we have our complement of kids?”
“Yes, Dave.”
“Who did you decide on, Love?”
“Here is my list…”
Azure X-11, Female, #2, Sociologist
Cerulean Frost, Female, #7, Psychologist
Gamboge, Male, #12, Political Scientist
Neon Blue, Male, #17, Economist
Midnight Blue, Female, #35, Lawyer.
Then, to add some variety,
Capri, Female, #3, Micro Biologist
Cyber Grape, Male, #8, Manufacturing Engineer
Opera Mauve, Female, #24, Climatologist
Skobeloff, Male, #25, Military Scientist
Saffron, Female, #26, Paleontologist
Duke Blue, Male, #10, Mathematician
Cool Grey, Male, #5, Physicist
“I see that you are taking a few from each ‘group’…”
“Yes. You never know what will happen, or what opportunities will arise…”
“Duke?”
“Yes, just to get him outdoors and away from his math for a short time, and he is protective of the others on excursions…”
“Cool Grey?”
“Who knows what he will have his eye out for, plus he makes six males to complement the six females.”
“Sad that we do not have a Cognitive Scientist…”
“That is a sub-field of Psychology. Maybe Cerulean will go in that direction…”
“So a round dozen…”
“Yes. Twelve kids. That is a prudent number since they may be expose to unknown dangers…”
“Let’s go. A planet of depraved, clueless, and most likely fearful, inhabitants awaits us.”
“So how are you going to approach them, Dave?”
“With absolutely no guile. They have a hard enough time accepting anything new. I do not want to tie unnecessary complications to my philosophy…”
“So where will you go first?”
“How about a book publisher? My efforts at the grassroots/street level has not yielded any appreciable results. Maybe a mass-produced book here will do it…”
“But aren’t they connected to the Galactic Grid?”
“It is not popular with the trend setters.”
“Why?”
“Self-serving motives. The trend setters do not want to be exposed for what they are — pretenders.”
“What do they pretend to be?”
“That they are wiser than you, and so you should emulate them.”
“But they are not wiser?”
“No. They are fools without my philosophy.”
“Are you taking notes, kids?”
“Dave, they are only three years old!”
“Take mental notes, kids, and ask any questions that you may be wondering… I, or your mother, might be able to answer them…”
“What is everyone on this planet doing, Daddy?”
“Hell if they know. They have newly-endowed large brains, but they do not know what to do with them yet, so they amble about aimlessly. Most are out to impress one another with shiny baubles. Some are out to be accepted by the herd. Some are out to dominate or manipulate others either for a psychotic primal need for security or out of simple clueless depravity. Some are looking for criminal opportunities. Most are engaged in ultra-trivial pursuits, not knowing what else to do in life. They all pose as ‘serious’, which is another animal-level social defense mechanism. It is all quite pathetic, kids, and worse, they have all adopted current popular bad attitudes, which we are here to determine… Hello, Cynical Sir. I am here to enlightened your species. I have worked out a new overarching, life-guiding philosophy that your species will benefit from as you join other enlightened beings in this galaxy.”
“So you are from outer-space?”
“From your perspective, yes. I am from Earth. My wife here is from the Planet of Perpetually Happy Party Beings.”
“Now THAT is a planet that I would like to visit!”
“And that, Sir, is a good example of a popular clueless bad attitude spouted from the mind of a sheep-like being. Quite deplorable, as you may suspect. If you want to free yourself from such stupidity, here, read my philosophy. It is about us and our chances of survival in this harsh and deadly universe that we, as species, have both just awakened to.”
“Is this some kind of religion?”
“No, it is a philosophy of survival. You can do what you want with your religions. Personally, I would keep them — as art.”
“So you do not believe in the Great Wampoo?”
“The Great Wampoo?”
“The all-seeing Creator to whom we pray to.”
“What do you pray for?”
“I want a new bicycle.”
“Has such prayers worked for you before?”
“Yes! It got me a new smartphone last year!”
“Dave?”
“Yes, Love?”
“I think that you are going to fail miserable with these beings. They simply are in no way ready for your Broader Survival enlightenment…”
“You know, I think you are right. We might as well blend in and make a vacation out of it. Ready, kids? We are going to blend in and have a little vacation.”
“But Daddy, we feel stupid blending in with stupidity. Do we HAVE to act like that and with those attitudes?”
“Yes. Call it ‘Torture 101’. It will be a good lesson in life. You will never fully appreciate the enlightenment of Broader Survival until you have had a direct taste of the alternative insanity out here in the galaxy.”
“We do not like these missions, Daddy.”
“I fully sympathize, but life is a struggle, and right now the main struggle is against cluelessness in the galaxy. Everything else is either trivial or depraved, and it is all insane. You will be increasing your own chances of Broader Survival if you manage to enlighten other species, and here we have a supreme challenge… yet the more minds on the job of Broader Survival, the higher the chances of all of us surviving in this harsh and deadly universe.”
“Thanks for the healthy perspective, Daddy.”
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“I could not help but overhear you and your kids. They are phenomenal.”
“Did you hear that, kids? You are phenomenal.”
“Thanks, kind Sir, but that is not our point in life, Broader Survival is, and it is not secure. We would like you and your species to help.”
“But what about the permanent sneers on our faces?”
“That is the least of our concerns. You can sneer all you like. We are concerned with your actions.”
“What if we look like monsters?”
“We have seven on our ship. They are all enlightened, so they do not act like monsters. They contribute to Broader Survival in constructive ways. They are the universe’s Problem Solvers, along with us, and you, once your species is enlightened and have adopted such an enlightened perspective.”
“What is enlightenment but hogwash…”
“That is what the word has been used for by fools, kind Sir. Now we have arrived with actual enlightenment that concerns Broader Survival. Any other philosophy is a Philosophy of Death.”
“Your kids speak quite frankly…”
“It conserves energy…”
“May I introduce them to you? It would do us good, just for the practice…”
“Sure, Mr…”
“Galactic Thinker. This is Azure X-11, and she is a Sociologist.”
“Pleased to meet you. What are you working on in sociology, little girl?”
“I am still learning where the field stands. Then I will go into problem-solving mode, which includes exploration, discovery, threat/benefit assessment, solution development, and last, solution implementation.”
“You don’t say!”
“Hello. I am Cerulian Frost, and I am a Psychologist.”
“Very nice, young lady. If you figure me out, let me know…”
“Hello, kind sir. My name is Gamboge, and I am a Political Scientist.”
“I did not know that the two words ever went together… intriguing…”
“Hello. I am Neon Blue, and I am an Economist.”
“Hmmm… do you have a passion for the subject?”
“Yes. It is who I am.”
“Who you are?”
“I’ve been grooming them in their fields since they were infants. So to them, they ‘are’ their fields. It has become a natural feeling to them.”
“I’m Midnight Blue, and I am a Lawyer.”
“Gaaaah! There is one in every group! I know, and I’m sorry. I was just parroting a current bad attitude. Maybe your father’s philosophy will cure me…”
“Hello, Mr. Kind Sir. My name is Capri, and I am…”
“Wait! Let me guess… hmmm. an airline pilot!”
“No, a Microbiologist.”
“Gaah! I should have suspected…”
“Hello. My name is Cyber Grape, and I am a Manufacturing Engineer.”
“A manufacturing engineer you say… that sounds kind of unexciting for a three year old…”
“My Dad makes it very appealing…”
“Oh…”
“Hi. I’m Opera Mauve, and I am a Climatologist.”
“Maybe you can fix this cloud that has been hovering over my head…”
“Haha… the philosophy will do that. I’m here…”
“Yes, I know now — you are here in problem-solving mode, probably in Discovery phase, am I correct?”
“Yes, sir! You are very astute. You have my admiration!”
“Your kids are so… well… polite! Even more incredible, I can find nothing to sneer at! Mentally, that is, as you can see, my mouth is in a permanent sneer… but I can manage a smile, if kind of crooked, like this…”
“Hahaha… thank your for entertaining us, kind Sir.”
“And who are you, Mr. Serious Looking?”
“My name is Skobeloff, and I am a Military Scientist, though most of that is quite fun…”
“My name is Saffron, and I am a Paleontologist.”
“I can dig that. Get it? Dig that?”
“Hahaha, I will use that quip on someone, thank you, kind Sir…”
“What is your profession, little one?”
“I am a mathematician. My name is Duke Blue.”
“What kind of names are those, by the way?”
“I chose a color theme, so all of their names are colors, which brings us to the last little prodigy here…”
“I am Cool Grey, and I am a Physicist.”
“Absolutely impressive. You know, you kids could go far on this planet just on your social capital alone. Why, you could even become media darlings… say, I have a proposition…”
“No thanks! They should stick to their studies for now. If they have a hunger for stardom, they can seek it on their own later in life… do any of you want to be stars?”
“You mean celebrities?”
“Yes.”
“Gaaaaaaaah! NO THANKS!”
“Hmmm…”
“What is it, kind sir?”
“You have instilled a good attitude in them. I am stunned! Are you sure you do not want to stay, Little Ones?!”
“No, thank you, kind Sir!”
“Well, please visit again, and come see me!”
“Thank you!”
“Lets return to the Ship, Shuttle. Our mission is done here.”
“Did you enlighten anyone?”
“Of course not, but the effort was worth it. Well, kids, how did you like the mission?”
“It was not as torturous as we thought it would be… trying to enlighten others is kind of fun…”
“Did you hear that, Love? Our kids think that trying to enlighten others is kind of fun…”
“Yes, Dave, and since you are so weary of it, you should see it with fresh eyes again and adopt the attitude of your kids…”
“And here we are, having come full circle with ‘attitudes’. Where shall we go from here?”
“We know!”
“Then where, Kids?”
“We continue on as the universe’s Problem Solvers, beginning with its eventual heat death!”
“Sounds like a plan. Onward, it is… but… with what guidance?”
“With your Philosophy of Broader Survival, of course!”
“Thanks for mentioning that, kids. It cannot be said enough in our galaxy’s clueless times…”
