What we will not evade

The core concept of stoic philosophy is to “accept what we cannot control”. A number of significant processes that exists in our world and the universe is constantly including us in the mix and I always take solitude in accepting that it is what it is.

Death and Biology. There is no escaping the dying off of our cells and reaching the limit of our ability to consume energy and oxygen. It is a fact that our DNA has a clock that started when we were conceived as a fetus and it is ticking up until our body reaches some biologically predetermined years.

Physics and Entropy. A physics concept that engulf all forms of animate and inanimate things in the universe where all are destined to dissipate. This concept explains the mass of heavenly bodies, gravity, blackholes (in some degree) etc. From a reductionist viewpoint, everything is literally a form of application of physics - all kinds of science and its applications always include its physics component.

Natural Selection. I find it very hard to accept that our species are becoming weaker on the average if we are going to talk about this topic. The current state of consumption of sugar, alcohol and poor motor habits are coding our genes to become less and less more adaptive to the natural world. The birth control pill have also allowed our species to use sex as a tool for pleasure and not to propagate. Natural selection is the constant code of the universe, allowing the natural world to select what aspects of life and non-life will become part of the loop.

History. Most walk not knowing enough knowledge on why they are walking safely on the street in the present. Historical events have propelled us to today and literally all the blood that have been spilled just for us to hold a smartphone is the truth we cannot escape from.

Pollution. Eventhough I try to minimize the amount of garbage that I create, I find it that our modern world is predicated on abundance of technology and its by-product cannot be disassociated as of the moment. One of the great challenges of our generation is to develop a more sustainable world as Earth is yet the only existing planet in the whole universe that we know of that can harbor dynamic forms of life. Our science is still incapable of solving this very complicated experiment at scale especially as 3 billion chinese and indians are primed for massive consumption in the coming decades.

Social Media. Everyone is a media company nowadays. I for one have decided to remove myself from the loop but I feel to be still connected somehow as 99% of the people I interact with are still using all dominant platforms. This experiment baffles a lot of psychologists as it instigates non-natural responses, making our primal nature stand into unthreaded waters. We have yet to see the significant effects off too much artificial social connection.

Artificial Intelligence. This one needs a bit of technical ability to digest. Though jobs have change drastically in the last 100 years (women now can work extensively till their late 40s), the significant changes that robots will create in society in the near future is so immense that we are threatening our stability now in the western world. Universal basic income is a hot topic as of late to counter this but the concept of it goes against the very concept of why jobs are significant to us - as it gives the average person the meaning of existence.

Good and Evil. Yin and Yang, chaos and order - two opposite components of our human consciousness either creates or destroys another. This concept is a hard one for most to chew as they think that the world is all good only. Most fail to recognize that they too have the capacity for great harm. I talked about this extensively in this post.

Anthropocene. We humans have influenced drastic changes in the biosphere. Since the 1800s where we have been using fossil fuels for energy and deforresting a lot of forrests and convert such to farms and cities. We are continuously consuming day in and day out and the positive feedback loop as we continue to pump carbon in the atmosphere of which is deeply troubling. United Nations estimated that we only have 11 years to counter this and avert catastrophe. Rising oceans will expose major cities and tech infrastructures that we so depend as of the moment. Extreme weather conditions can bring havoc to land through category-5 supertyphoons and storm surges as big as three storey buildings. Extreme heat will be felt in the middle east and equator…making this places unliveable. Though the science to counter such is on the horizon, the problem that I see is the lack of cooperation between the 7.7 billion of us especially the nation state governments that represent majority of the world. It’s like we’re waiting for the cataclysmic event that will shake our safe thinking about the world we have today.

This is a random and dense blog worth revisiting a lot. Practicing stoicism have really propelled my capacity to comprehend the bitter aspects of life that we will never escape from.