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GeneralRe: I just had a very odd Google reminder come up ... Pin
oofalladeez34324-Dec-21 5:44
professionaloofalladeez34324-Dec-21 5:44 
GeneralRe: I just had a very odd Google reminder come up ... Pin
OriginalGriff24-Dec-21 5:49
mveOriginalGriff24-Dec-21 5:49 
GeneralRe: I just had a very odd Google reminder come up ... Pin
Slow Eddie24-Dec-21 6:39
professionalSlow Eddie24-Dec-21 6:39 
GeneralCCC 2021-12-24 - with clue Pin
Peter_in_278023-Dec-21 22:11
professionalPeter_in_278023-Dec-21 22:11 
GeneralRe: CCC 2021-12-24 - with clue Pin
pkfox24-Dec-21 0:46
professionalpkfox24-Dec-21 0:46 
GeneralRe: CCC 2021-12-24 - with clue Pin
Peter_in_278024-Dec-21 0:53
professionalPeter_in_278024-Dec-21 0:53 
GeneralRe: CCC 2021-12-24 - with clue Pin
pkfox24-Dec-21 1:26
professionalpkfox24-Dec-21 1:26 
GeneralMonster Theory Pin
honey the codewitch23-Dec-21 21:25
mvahoney the codewitch23-Dec-21 21:25 
And now for something completely different.

When I went over the high wall in 2017 I entertained the idea of monsters.

Monster is a role. Everyone spends a little time in it at least, some more than others. It's easier to be a people than be a monster, so most of us spend the majority of our time being a people. Smile | :)

A monster is a particularly difficult, stubborn, even recalcitrant role. People don't warm up to monsters very well, because monsters are problematic. But *sometimes* monsters have gifts for us, and we have to look harder at the monster to see. But monsters can be dangerous too.

The way I'm using it, it's morally neutral - monsters aren't *necessarily* "good" nor "bad" by definition (but can be either). A monster is simply difficult and we don't tend to play nice with them until/if we recognize their worth. That's why I chose "monster" despite the moral neutrality I intend to convey - it's a deliberate dysphemism to highlight the fact that we typically find monsters messy and often ugly, regardless of their human potential.

Monsters are important, because they are change agents. They are where human innovation comes from, FOR BETTER OR **WORSE** (WWII era European fascism was itself a kind of "innovation" - horribly so). But also Turing was acting in that role on more than one front, and was imprisoned for it. Arguably that shakeup of Europe ended the practice of empire building, and maybe it was a fait accompli or at least *something* had to bring that about, whether it be fascism and a world war or some other catastrophic human event. Either way, monsters played a central role, be they Churchill, Truman, Hirohito, Stalin or Hitler.

People in the role of monster (whether real or not - take the stories as they are as not everything has to be history), include Tesla, Buddha, Edison**, Jesus Christ, and Moses but also Mao, Pol Pot, and Constantine because they either facilitated a massive social reset, altered the human course of history, or otherwise played a role in shaping our human condition.

At least those are the famous ones.

But difficult humans often touch our own lives in some substantial way as well. Our individual lives in some ways, are a microcosm of our collective experience.

One of the reasons I find all the above useful is it gives me a way to look at history, not as a battle between the forces of civilization and chaos, but rather through the currents of change.

Another reason is sometimes it helps me have patience with people I find difficult. Perhaps I haven't uncovered their value to me in that moment.

I'm not saying it will be useful to anyone else, or that you even have to agree.

This for me isn't so much about the "right" or "wrong" way to look at things, but rather, is it a "useful" way to look at things.

For me at least, sometimes it is.

** I'd argue Edison's innovation was more social and therefore "successful", and Tesla's more scientific, but they both changed our world, so they both get lumped together despite the differences.
Real programmers use butterflies


modified 24-Dec-21 3:41am.

GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
Jon McKee23-Dec-21 22:01
professionalJon McKee23-Dec-21 22:01 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
honey the codewitch23-Dec-21 22:14
mvahoney the codewitch23-Dec-21 22:14 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
pkfox23-Dec-21 22:44
professionalpkfox23-Dec-21 22:44 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
honey the codewitch23-Dec-21 23:12
mvahoney the codewitch23-Dec-21 23:12 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
pkfox23-Dec-21 23:33
professionalpkfox23-Dec-21 23:33 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
honey the codewitch23-Dec-21 23:37
mvahoney the codewitch23-Dec-21 23:37 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
pkfox24-Dec-21 0:01
professionalpkfox24-Dec-21 0:01 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
BernardIE531724-Dec-21 7:31
BernardIE531724-Dec-21 7:31 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
honey the codewitch24-Dec-21 11:00
mvahoney the codewitch24-Dec-21 11:00 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
Super Lloyd23-Dec-21 22:54
Super Lloyd23-Dec-21 22:54 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
RickZeeland23-Dec-21 23:58
mveRickZeeland23-Dec-21 23:58 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
oofalladeez34324-Dec-21 5:44
professionaloofalladeez34324-Dec-21 5:44 
GeneralRe: Monster Theory Pin
englebart25-Dec-21 15:05
professionalenglebart25-Dec-21 15:05 
Generalperformance idle musing about WinUI Pin
Super Lloyd23-Dec-21 20:43
Super Lloyd23-Dec-21 20:43 
GeneralRe: performance idle musing about WinUI Pin
honey the codewitch23-Dec-21 21:02
mvahoney the codewitch23-Dec-21 21:02 
GeneralRe: performance idle musing about WinUI Pin
Super Lloyd23-Dec-21 21:21
Super Lloyd23-Dec-21 21:21 
GeneralRe: performance idle musing about WinUI Pin
honey the codewitch23-Dec-21 21:31
mvahoney the codewitch23-Dec-21 21:31 

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