J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Category: Culture Rants/Shares Page 18 of 21

The Rise of Ecotopia

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On May 15

In Culture Rants/Shares, Utopian Speculations

Ernest Callenbach, the author of Ecotopia, passed away on April 16th at the age of 83. I read Ecotopia in my early teens, during a family vacation in rural Oregon. Reading the worn paperback in small cabin in the woods that we had built with our own hands — the Ecotopian Pacific Coast secession fantasy seemed present and possible to my impressionable mind.

Tomdispatch.com recently published this essay forwarded from Callenbach’s publisher — his final commentary on the world as it is (and how it could and should be). In relation to my last post, Callenbach was an early/founding member of the Gaia Collective.

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Tap Your Potential by Going Deeper Into Your Comfort Zone

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On March 1

In Creative Work/Career, Culture Rants/Shares, Writing

The annoying comfort zone graphic.

The annoying graphic above has been showing up in my social feeds a lot lately. Why is it annoying? For one, it makes no sense. Why is being tired, depressed, and fearful in the comfort zone? Why can’t I be comfortable, and also wealthy, confident, and passionate?

I understand the idea that the graphic is (unsuccessfully) trying to communicate, which is that if we are never willing to leave our comfort zone, we will miss out on opportunities that require a certain amount of social or emotional risk-taking. But there is bizarre anti-logic inherent in the idea that we should always strive to push outside of our comfort zone.

For example, the other day I was standing in line with my wife and daughter at Cactus Taqueria on College Avenue. Between the front of the line and the counter there’s a space of about five feet that people usually keep clear. My wife, who was really hungry and in a hurry to order, stepped into the “in-between space” when we reached the front of the line. My inclination, on the other hand, is to wait until a cashier is actually available before stepping forward. As a mental experiment in “moving outside of my comfort zone,” I stepped into the space as well, and felt awkward until it was actually our turn to order.

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What Your Doctor Isn’t Thinking About (Dragging Medical Professionals Into the Modern Era)

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On February 25

In Culture Rants/Shares, Evolution/Biology, Health/Body-hacking

The other day I came across an alarming video of what it’s like to drive in Poland. My first thought after watching the clip was “What’s the Toxoplasmosis gondii infection rate in Poland?” T. gondii is a brain parasite easily acquired from eating undercooked meat, or contact with cats, and is associated with a six-fold increase in traffic accidents (this association has been replicated a number of times, in different countries). Well, I looked it up, and found that the latent infection rate in 2003 was around 41% (at least among pregnant women). That’s quite high — in the U.S. the infection rate is only about 11%.

Is there anything to my hypothesis that terrible driving in Poland is related to the relatively high T. gondii infection rate? Probably not. The accident fatality rate in Poland is relatively high for a modern industrialized country. But France has a very low accident fatality rate, and a much higher rate of T. gondii infection. So while T. gondii might be a contributing factor, it’s probably not the most important variable.

I’m fascinated by latent/chronic biological infections, and how they affect human health and behavior. T. gondii in particular is linked to changes in personality, and even schizophrenia.

What’s shocking to me, as shocking as the driving in Poland video above, is that so few medical professionals are considering latent infections as part of their diagnostic process. The research is here, and so are the diagnostic tests. So why aren’t medical professionals taking advantage of them?

The Future Is Here, It’s Just Not Evenly Distributed -William Gibson

The above quote definitely applies to the medical profession. How many general practitioners are doing the following?

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Disruptive Distribution – a Shareable.net Interview with Michel Bauwens and Neal Gorenflo

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On February 4

In Alternative Economics, Culture Rants/Shares, Music Business, Utopian Speculations

I met Michel Bauwens over at Marvin Brown‘s place when Michel was in town giving a talk on The Future of Peer Production. Talking with Michel (and reading some of his work) was part of the inspiration for my recent post “Watching Open Source Destroy Capitalism.” I forwarded the post to Marvin, who sent it on to Michel, which eventually resulted in the following interview with Michel and shareable.net co-founder Neal Gorenflo. The original can be found here.

Civilized comments from any point of view are welcome as always.

Michel Bauwens: You are a music entrepreneur, and reportedly doing quite well. Can you explain the basis of your success and whether you use music that can be shared, for example based on Creative Commons Licensing?

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How To Get a 1000% Return on Your Investment

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On January 23

In Culture Rants/Shares, Utopian Speculations

Multiply your money with zero risk!

Have I got an investment opportunity for you!

Sit down, relax, and pour yourself a cup of coffee. My idea might sound strange at first, but hear me out.

We’re going to make a film. A short, more accurately. It will be about one minute long. We’ll do some thirty second versions as well.

We’re going to spare no expense in making this movie. We’ll hire the cleverest, coolest director, an experienced crew, and we’ll splurge on location, talent, props, and special effects. We’ll get famous actors, athletes, and pop stars to be in it.

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