Future Utopia Topic - We Can't Fix Our Society or Civilization Until We Fix Ourselves

Indeed, I have a quote that I remind people in our think tank quite often and it goes something like this; "we don't ever want to create the perfect society and civilization because the humans will come around and mess it up the next day. Rather what we should do is make everything 95% perfect and give all the little humans something to work on, after they've seen the progress created thus far."

Now then, why do you suppose I say that? Well, there is another quote that I use often; "the great thing about running a think tank is that you have job security, because there is an unending number of problems in the world, and the humans continually run around and create more." Thus, when I talk to people about some futuristic utopia, I also warn them about how "the road to hell is often paved with the greatest intentions," and to "be careful what you wish for."

Next, I'd like to point out that we cannot fix our civilization or society until we fix ourselves. It really is humans that cause all the commotion, challenges, and problems. Evolution didn't cause the problems, as it's been solving problems for millions of years. Each time society advances, or our technology gets better, there are always unintended consequences. It's much like making a new rule, after you make one rule there's just too much incentive to keep making rules to shore up all the loopholes, or challenges that you create along the way.

From a philosophical standpoint you could say that all complex systems are like this, and it is a constant struggle between chaos and large organizations regardless of the domain. Okay so, what do we need to fix amongst humans you ask? Well, that's a very good question, and one that deserves an answer. Perhaps the first and foremost thing that I see wrong is how often we sweep the dirt under the carpet, and hide the reality behind political correctness. You can't solve real problems using false scenarios, or with fake input.

You see, it wouldn't matter if you had the world's best supercomputer which was fully self-actualized, and running the best artificial intelligent software ever created in the present period or in the future. Bad data in, means you get bad information out. Some say that humans need to all get on the same page to accomplish something great to make the world perfect. And yet, as I've said above, even if the world was perfect, who is to say that the angry masses in the middle of the night wouldn't come and destroy it? After all, hasn't history shown that to be? Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Firing Your Babysitter for Being Too Pretty and Making Your Children Insecure - Whatever

As a former business person I applaud those who get out and start their own businesses rather than complaining about how bad the economy is, or the challenges they've had trying to get a job. Not long ago, I met a young lady in Starbucks who was interviewing an older lady for a job. Her business was a babysitting company that helped hire babysitters that families could trust, and with one phone call they could call up and schedule a trustworthy individual to come do this sitting.

After the interview I asked the young lady how business was going, and also asked if she ever hired dog sitters, as most people have dogs, and in this particular neighborhood people do a lot of traveling, and often they cannot take their dogs with them. She said she had considered getting into that business, along with a dog walking services as a complementary business model. Later in the conversation she told me a horrible story about one of her customers.

You see, her customer called to complain that the babysitter she sent over was too pretty. The babysitter was fine in every other regard, she knew how to cook, was good with the children, and even helped them with their reading and homework. However, that wasn't good enough because the girl was too pretty, she had been a cheerleader, dressed impeccably, and was always sure to look sharp. It turned out the customer was also a psychologist, and didn't want her two daughters to try to emulate the all too good-looking babysitter.

Now then, I understand were all of this comes from in a society that tries to make everyone equal. Still, the reality is people are not equal in all ways. Some people are smarter, some people are more athletic, and some people are prettier based on our cultural bias. There's not much we can do about that, those are the facts of life, and these two daughters are going to learn that eventually.

When the gal running the babysitting company explained this to her customer, the psychologist merely said "I appreciate your concern and perspective on this, I really do, but we don't ever want to have that babysitter again, can you please send one who isn't so pretty." The gal running the babysitting company was upset because she didn't want to be prejudicial when hiring babysitters, and if this sort of thing happened too often, she could only hire the ugly ones.

Indeed, I think what's happened is that we've gone too far in our society with political correctness and trying to be fair, that we are actually making things unfair to the individual. The pretty babysitter just wanted to do the best job possible, and wanted to look nice while working, what's wrong with that? In this case the good-looking babysitter was penalized for trying to do her best - why? Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

My Review of Susan Boyle and Her New CD

I must admit, Susan Boyle is indeed a sensation of our times. When she burst into the scene with her exceptional performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" by Les Misérables on Britain's Got Talent in 2009 I must say I was blown away. Her powerful voice was disarming to say the least. It drowned her plain ordinary look and turned her into an overnight superstar.

Though I enjoyed her first two albums; "I Dreamed a Dream" and "The Gift", her latest album "Someone to Watch Over Me" is the best of them all. The album is simply a class act. It is one of the few albums that I can just sit back and listen to without skipping a single song. The producer, Steve Mac managed to bring out the power of Boyle's voice without being drowned by accompaniments as in the previous albums. The youthful timbre of her voice is impressive.

The album is has ten wonderful tracks which include classics such as "You have to be there" by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, "Unchained Melody" by Hy Zaret and Alex North, "Enjoy the silence" by Martin Gore and several others. The rendition of "You have to be there" brings a bit of bombast to the album and I really enjoy the track.

In the album Boyle's voice goes from soft to a soaring high in the same breath. She brings out a fresh interpretation to the songs that are indeed breath taking. The songs transcend age and can be enjoyed by almost anyone. She describes situations in her own life in some of the songs to which each one of us can relate to.

The album is generally about life, love and prevailing over obstacles. The loved the song, "Autumn Leaves". It brings out the sadness one experiences when they lose a loved one and gives the reassurance that they those that you love never really leave you.

Boyle's versatility and musical prowess is evident on every song in the album. She has succeeded engaging her audience emotionally in every song. This powerful connection will enable each and every one to find a little bit of themselves in her songs.

The album is one of those you listen to when you want to relax and reflect on life. It is indeed a must have for those who enjoy bluesy, soft music backed by powerful vocals. The song "This Will be the Year", clearly captures the life story of Susan as she proclaims that she is a woman who will always prevail over adversity as she did on that fine night on Britain's Got talent.

I would be the first to admit that "Someone To Watch Over Me" should have been a bit longer. It actually left me yearning for more though I was a bit skeptical about it at first. Boyle has grown in leaps and bounds since 2009 and is surely going places. She has definitely come of age in the industry. "Someone To Watch Over Me" has set her up for further success and I surely hope that we get to see more of her in the coming years.