[Hi all, I received this from India this morning. Er, I am not quite surewhat it is I am supposed to do with it. Anyhow, it looks sort of
'interesting' so I thought I would pass it along to CSL. Sometimes I get the
impression that people think I am the general manager of 'Virilio
Information Services Inc.' I'd be interested to know what anyone else makes
of this? John.]
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-----Original Message-----
From: mpyadav
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 09/11/01 04:09
Subject: seeking help
Technology,Mind and Environment
Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
Subject : Fast visuals/words/breathing make slow emotions extinct.
Subject : A fast society labels all slow /painful emotions as disease.
Subject : Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys ability
for subjective-experience.
Subject : Environment cannot be saved as long as cities exist.
Dear Dr. John Armitage,
The following article is about Technology, Mind and Environment. This
has got a direct link with harmful effects of fast culture and
consumerist society . It is the overstimulated modern/urban lifestyle
which is causing psychological distress and destruction of environment.
I request you to forward the article to other people associated with
Deep/Social Ecology.
Also seeking help for conducting experiment.
Yours sincerely,
Sushil yadav
ARTICLE
Please note : The article has been written in short sentences rather
than paragraph-form because it is about subjective experience/
emotion/elimination of thought. Emotion is different from word-emotion
can only be experienced subjectively.
Taste cannot be explained/experienced through words.
Smell cannot be explained/experienced through words.
Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
Subject : Fast visuals/words/breathing make slow emotions extinct.
Subject : A fast society labels all slow /painful emotions as disease.
Subject : Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys ability
for subjective-experience.
Subject : Environment cannot be saved as long as cities exist.
Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.
If there are no gaps there is no emotion.
Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/
language) for emotion.
When society switches-over from physical work (agriculture) to mental
work (scientific/ industrial/ financial/ fast visuals/ fast words ) the
speed of thinking keeps on accelerating and the gaps between thinking go
on decreasing.
There comes a time when there are almost no gaps.
People become incapable of experiencing/ tolerating gaps.
Emotion ends.
Man becomes machine.
[ Rate/speed of thinking = number of words/visuals processed by the mind
per minute ]
[ Gaps between thinking =gaps between words/ sentences/ visuals ]
SCIENTIFIC /INDUSTRIAL /FINANCIAL THINKING DESTROYS EMOTIONAL CIRCUITS.
IN A FAST SOCIETY ALL SLOW /PAINFUL EMOTIONS ARE LABELLED AS DISEASE.
A FAST (LARGE) SOCIETY CANNOT FEEL PAIN / REMORSE / GRIEF.
A FAST (LARGE) SOCIETY WILL ALWAYS BE CRUEL TO ANIMALS/ TREES/ AIR/
WATER/ LAND AND TO ITSELF.
I am trying to get the following experiment conducted in a
psychophysiology/ bio-chemistry laboratory.
( My background is given in the first letter ( letter No. 1 ) under the
topic " Correspondence with neuroscientists " on the website :
www.netshooter.com/emotion )
There is a link between visual / verbal speed ( in perception, memory,
imagery ) and the bio-chemical state of the brain and the body.
Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual and verbal processing
associated with the emotion slows down ( stops / freezes ).
EXPERIMENT:
Subjects (preferably actors specializing in tragedy / tragic roles )
will be asked to watch a silent video film showing any of the
following:-
(1) Human suffering.
(2) Animal suffering.
(3) Suffering ( Destruction ) of Air / Water / Land / Trees.
Subjects will be asked to intensify and sustain the subjective feeling
of pain/ grief for the sufferer.
The chemical changes associated with the emotion in the body(blood)
would be measured by appropriate methods.
The silent video film will be shown at different speeds :
(1) 125% of actual speed.
(2) Actual/real speed.
(3) 75% of actual speed.
(4) 50% of actual speed.
(5) 25% of actual speed.
Results :
(1) Intensity of emotion increases with the decrease in visual speed.
(2) Intensity of emotion is maximum when visual speed is minimum (25%
of actual speed)
(3) The amount of chemical change associated with the emotion in the
body(blood) will be found to increase with the decrease in visual speed.
(4) The chemical change is maximum when visual speed is minimum.
(5) The amount of chemical change will increase with the decrease in
breathing rate. Breathing becomes so slow and non-rhythmic that it stops
for some time at the inhalation/ exhalation stages.
The above co-relations will be valid for all subjects -even for those
who cannot feel pain/ grief. Such subjects will experience emotion
associated with boredom/ discomfort/ restlessness/ irritability/
uneasiness. The chemicals released will be different but the co-relation
between visual speed and amount of chemical will be same( the breathing
rates will be different/ fast).
All subjects will experience some kind of emotion.
In the 2nd stage of experiment we shall replace the silent video film
with a Narrator ( Audio only ) and repeat the procedure thereby
establishing the link between intensity of emotion and verbal speed.
Please note:
(1) A THINKING MIND CANNOT INTENSIFY / SUSTAIN ANY EMOTION.
While this statement is generally true for all emotions, it is
particularly true for all painful emotions.
(2) In a society in which visual ( verbal ) speed and breathing- rates
are fast , pain / remorse / grief cannot be experienced. It is
impossible.
PROOF.
Proof of the link between pain and slow visuals / words :-
In the last century man has made thousands of movies / films on various
themes / subjects. Whenever pain / tragedy is shown in any film the
visuals ( scenes ) and words ( dialogues ) are always slowed down. In
many films tragedy is shown in slow motion. At the most intense moment
of pain the films almost become static / stationary.
Tragedy-films provide direct proof / evidence of the link between pain
and slowness.
Painful/ higher-level emotions can intensify / sustain only when visual
( and verbal ) speed slows
down( stops/ freezes) and breathing/heart-rates slow down as well.
CHANGE IN VISUAL SPEED OVER THE YEARS
One thousand years ago visuals would change only when man physically
moved himself to a new place or when other people ( animals / birds )
and objects ( clouds / water ) physically moved themselves before him.
Today man sits in front of TV / Computer and watches the rapidly
changing visuals / audio.
He sits in a vehicle ( car / train / bus ) and as it moves he watches
the rapidly changing visuals.
He turns the pages of a book / newspaper / magazine and sees many
visuals / text in a short span.
The speed of visuals ( and words ) has increased so much during the last
one hundred years that today the human brain has become incapable of
focussing on slow visuals /words through perception, memory, imagery.
If we cannot focus on slow visuals / words we cannot experience emotions
associated with slow visuals /words.
Before the advent of Industrial Revolution Man's thinking was primarily
limited to :
(a) visual processing ( slow visuals )
(b) verbal / language processing ( slow words )
Today there are many kinds of fast thinking :
(1) visual processing ( fast visuals )
(2) verbal / language processing ( fast words )
If visual / verbal processing is fast we cannot feel slow emotions.
(3) Scientific / Technical thinking ( fast )
(4) Industrial thinking ( fast )
(5) Business thinking ( fast )
(3), (4) & (5) ARE ASSOCIATED WITH NUMBERS / SYMBOLS / EQUATIONS /
GRAPHS /CIRCUITS / DIAGRAMS / MONEY / ACCOUNTING etc...
As long as the mind is doing this kind of thinking it cannot feel any
emotion - not an iota of emotion.
In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
In a thinking ( scientific / industrial ) society emotion itself becomes
extinct.
EMOTION IS WHAT REMAINS IN THE MIND WHEN VISUAL /VERBAL PROCESSING SLOWS
DOWN (STOPS/ FREEZES )
There are certain categories of people who feel more emotion (subjective
experience ) than others.
If we attempt to understand why (and how ) they feel more emotion we can
learn a lot about emotion.
Writers, poets, actors, painters ( and other artists )
WRITERS
Writers do verbal ( and associated visual) processing whole day- every
day.
They do slow verbal ( and associated visual) processing every day.
(A novel that we read in 2 hours might have taken 2 years to write. This
is also the reason why the reader can never feel the intensity &
duration of emotion experienced by the writer )
POETS
Poets do verbal ( and associated visual ) processing whole day- every
day.
There is more emotion in poetry than in prose.
This happens because there are very few words ( and associated visuals )
in poetry than in any other kind of writing.
There is a very high degree of freezing / slowing down of visuals &
words in poetry.
ACTORS
Actors do verbal ( and associated visual ) processing whole day- every
day. During shooting / rehearsal they repeat the dialogues ( words )
again and again ( the associated visuals / scenes also get repeated
along with the dialogues )
PAINTERS
Painters do visual ( and associated verbal ) processing whole day- every
day.
They do extremely slow visual processing - The visual on the canvas
changes only when the painter adds to what already exists on the canvas.
There are some important points to be noted :
(1) All these people do visual & verbal processing - whole day - every
day.
(2) They do slow visual & verbal processing.
(3) They do not do scientific / industrial / business processing whole
day - every day.
Most of the city people doing mental work either do this kind of mental
processing which is associated with Numbers / Symbols/ Equations /
Graphs / Circuits / Diagrams / Money / Accounting etc... or they do fast
visual ( verbal ) processing whole day - every day.
This kind of thinking ( processing ) has come into existence only during
the last 200 years and has destroyed our emotional ability ( circuits ).
Please note : In today's modern world even artists have started using
machines/ technology for their work and they are also involved with
financial/business/commercial thinking. In addition to this they are
also exposed to highly overstimulated environment like the rest of the
population.
Because of these factors even the mind of an artist of a fast society
has become quite different from the mind of an artist who lived in any
slow/non-industrial society of the past. A modern artist is thinking
more and feeling less than an artist of the past.
Please note :
Fast emotions =emotions associated with fast breathing/fast
heart-rate(anger/pleasure/fear etc).
Slow emotions=emotions associated with slow breathing/slow
heart-rate(pain/remorse/grief etc).
There are several kinds of slow breathing. What kind of subjective
emotion we experience is determined by the combination of
breathing-rate and heart-rate.
SELF-ASSESSMENT OF ( SUBJECTIVE ) INTENSITY OF EMOTION IS ALMOST ALWAYS
WRONG.
Suppose the maximum intensity(and duration) of a particular emotion that
can be experienced by any human being is 100 units.
Let us suppose the maximum intensity(and duration) of that particular
emotion ever
experienced by two people A & B in their entire life is :
A - 100units
B - 20 units
Now suppose A & B are made subjects on a particular day and are asked
to feel that particular emotion under experimental conditions ( or
outside the laboratory ) and the intensity &duration they actually
experience is
:
A - 90 units
B - 18 units
If A &B are then asked to indicate the intensity &duration of emotion on
a scale
of 0 -10 their response is likely to be ;
A - 9
B - 9
Who is right and who is wrong ?
A is right.
B is wrong - B is wrong by a wide margin - B has experienced an
intensity(and duration) of 18 units out of a maximum of 100 units and
his correct /
actual score should be 1.8
Self- assessment ( self rating ) can be accurate only if people have
the capacity to experience the highest intensity &duration ( units ) of
the
particular emotion under study.
Because of physical work and slow visual/verbal processing in
small(slow)agriculture based societies of the past, the mind used to
experience a state of emotion all the time. They used to experience a
kind of high which urban people today experience after doing
physical-exercise. There is an inverse corelation between physical-work
and thinking. Mental activity automatically gets reduced during
physical-work. If we read one thousand-year-old literature we will not
come across the term "boredom" -the concept of boredom did not exist in
slow societies. There were long gaps between different visuals and
between words/ sentences -and people had the ability to experience/
tolerate the gaps -it was normal for them.
Emotion can intensify / sustain only when visual / verbal processing
slows down ( stops / freezes ). In an Industrial (thinking) society
people experience very little emotion because of fast ( visual / verbal
/ scientific / industrial / business ) thinking
Suppose the maximum intensity and duration of a particular emotion ( for
most people ) in a fast society has reduced to 5 units ( from 100 units
that people used to experience in earlier /slower societies ).
If such people experience 4 units of emotion they will give themselves a
rating /score of 8 on a scale of 0-10 whereas their actual score should
be 0.4
IN A FAST SOCIETY SLOW EMOTIONS BECOME EXTINCT.
THE MORE WE THINK THE LESS WE FEEL.
A society that speeds up mentally experiences every mental slowing-down
as Depression / Anxiety.
A ( travelling )society that speeds up physically experiences every
physical slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.
A society that entertains itself daily experiences every
non-entertaining moment as Depression / Anxiety.
The number of words/sentences/ visuals(and other units of
scientific/industrial/financial thinking) processed in a single day by a
person living in today's urban world is thousands of times greater than
the number of words/sentences/visuals processed in one day by a person
who lived one thousand years ago.
As a result of this there are hardly any gaps between thinking -between
words/sentences/visuals.
This is the reason why emotion has ceased to exist -It only exists for
nanoseconds/ microseconds & milliseconds.
Most people think society is speeding-up because it wants to speed-up
and does not want to slow-down.
This is completely wrong.
Society is now continuously speeding-up because it has become incapable
of slowing-down.
Once the mind speeds-up it becomes incapable of slowing-down.
The choice to slow-down ceases to exist.
The future consequences of this lifestyle will be catastrophic.
(1) A thinking species destroys the planet.
(2) Animals lived on earth for billions of years (in very large numbers)
without destroying nature.
(3) They did not destroy nature because their thinking / activity was
limited to searching for food for one time only.
(4) Man has existed on earth in large numbers for only a few thousand
years / a few hundred years.
(5) Within this short period Man has destroyed the environment.
(6) This destruction took place because of Man's thinking.
(7) When man thinks he makes things.
(8) When he makes things he kills animals / trees / air / water / land.
( Nothing can be made without killing these five elements of nature ).
(9) A thinking species destroys the planet.
There was a time when Man knew nothing about the number of species and
millions of species existed.
Today Man knows the names of millions of species and nothing is left of
the species.
MENTAL WORK IS INJURIOUS TO THE MIND AND PLANET.
There is no higher purpose behind work.
People do not work because they want to work.
People work because they cannot stop working.
People cannot stop physical activity and mental activity
(simultaneously) for even 2 minutes.
For most people it is a choice between physical and mental work.
The switch-over from physical work to mental work is disastrous for the
planet.
Man can do the same physical work every day.
Man cannot do the same mental work every day.
When man used to do physical work ( farming and related activities ) he
could do the same repetitive work day after day- generation after
generation.
After the Industrial Revolution when man switched-over to mental work he
began a never ending process of making new machines / things /
products--
a process which can only end with the complete destruction of
environment ( planet ).
The nature of mental work is such that man has to do new mental work
every day-in fact he has to do new mental work every moment- Man cannot
do in the next moment the mental work that he has already done in the
previous moment.
A mathematician cannot solve the same problem of mathematics every
day-once he has solved it he will be forced to take up a new( unsolved)
problem. Even when he is solving one particular problem he has to move
from one step to another - there is a continuous change involved --
there is no constancy at any stage.
An engineer cannot design the same machine again and again -once he has
made a machine he will try to make changes/ design a new one.
A writer cannot write the same article every day-he will be forced to
write something new every day/ every moment (This is also the reason
behind endless discussions/ debates/ arguments).
AS LONG AS CITIES EXIST WE CAN NEITHER SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT NOR THE
MIND.
To save the ( remaining ) environment from destruction man will have to
return back to physical work ( smaller communities ).
To save the mind from mental diseases man will have to return back to
physical work ( smaller communities ).
Environment can be saved only if we stop production of most ( more than
99% ) of the consumer goods we are making today.
ENVIRONMENT CANNOT BE SAVED BY RECYCLING
TRYING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT BY RECYCLING IS LIKE SHOOTING SOMEONE
10,000 TIMES AND THEN TRYING TO SAVE HIM BY TAKING OUT ONE BULLET.
The following is about to come true.
Nature can exist
(1) before man.
(2) after man.
(3) not with man.
Yours Sincerely,
Sushil Yadav
www.netshooter.com/emotion
Please note: Neuroscience/ Brain-Imaging experiments are NOT needed for
proving the corelations. Analysis of blood-chemicals and other body
fluids can easily give the proof.
If scientists can find out there are 4000 different chemicals in
cigarette-smoke(then) they can certainly identify and measure the few
chemicals associated with pain/ remorse/ grief in body fluids and
corelate them with visual/verbal/breathing rates. In fact they have
been analysing body-fluids for several decades to measure the so-called
stress levels. Intensity &duration of all kinds of emotions can be
measured this way.
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