I thought I'd touch on a couple of subjects just briefly.
1. Access to information
2. Organizational manners and obsessive compulsive disorder
3. Where we plan on taking ourselves in the future?
All three somehow intermingle with one another as I sit here thinking to myself, looking out the window from the third floor of Portland State University's Miller Library.
Feeling at the center of many different routes in the pursuit of education is good in the sense that it presents, if we choose to recognize; the many facets of our existence, the problems or issues we face as a species, and all those details that, I believe, we as humans tend to want to control.
Rummaging through the daily emails can be a headache. Because I want to stay up to date with the news local and abroad. Because I want to be ambitious, attempt to do as much in as little time possible, and all because the world around us will not stop, so why should we?
1. Access to Information
Over the years, with the help of various organizations and companies, the use and access of the internet is now simple and effortless for most. Millions upon millions of people have access to a whole lot of information. This is an interesting topic, just today I came across the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). And, for many of us that use Google and or Yahoo on a daily basis, we might find these bills potentially harmful as they allow others to control what we can and cannot access online. I won't go into specifics about these bills, but you're more than welcome to leave your thoughts below.
With limitations on web content, how would this affect our use of the internet? That is, limit our ability to gain access to useful information; historical data, academic articles, quotes, news, and other resources that contribute to our social, economic, and environmental efforts. I focus on sustainability because that is what interests me and ultimately sustainability should be at the forefront of our efforts in everything we do. I will be sure to reflect on sustainability as I believe it relates to our lives in another blog later this month.
2. Organization manners and OCD
In business offices every, whether you're a student or a professional in the field, you will run across someone who says they are OCD or as the saying goes, although I dislike the phrase, "anal retentive." As a species we have studied natural systems that exist all around us, we have implemented systems, ways of tracking data, taxonomic order for plant and animal, cultures, languages, etc.
When we have copious amounts of information on the web and a variety of items to track in our own lives let alone the news and other current events that seem to draw our attention; what do we do with it all? How do we organize and manage that data? How do we create order in what appears to be chaos? How do I manage to maintain the scope of my blog when there is so much that appears to stem off of one subject?
For me, having many interest, ambitions, and goals... notably, to contribute to this world before I die. How am I to filter everything, to organize and manage the mass of data and address that which needs to be addressed? I don't have an answer, I was hoping you could chime in and provide your own thoughts on the matter. Honestly, I see more people just trying to get by, put food on the table, get from point A to point B, and ensure they keep a roof over their heads. Because, at least for now, that effort alone takes a great deal of energy.
3. Where do we plan on taking ourselves in the future?
In economics, the idea of one specializing so that we make trade with the other really makes sense. And yet, it seems we are all after the same end result, sustainability. As individuals, we desire to sustain our freedom, our right to natural resources such food, water, air, and the right to shelter. If I were to have it my way, I would lead a simple life satisfying these "simple" needs. But the world and our obstacles as a species are far from simple.
I believe it was Einstein who said, "We can't solve problems with the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." I am not implying that we have created problems through history, although some historians and political scholars would tell you otherwise. That being said, how do we go beyond our initial thinking, in a collaborative environment, and establish a concrete system that is sustainable and benefits all who has a right to the basic resources I reviewed earlier?
Will the answers to our problems reveal themselves in time? It may be that I am the type to answer a question with a question. I haven't had one absolute answer in mind for any of the complex problems such as those we are seeing today in the economy and with issues of inequality.
Thank you for reading, I look forward to any comments you may have.
Sincerely,
