Reference: "Brain Wave Diary" (July, 1975)

Times don't change;

Job interview in Roman times. He said he was a lumberjack in the Sahara. "Huh, but there are no trees there." "I know," he said. "I was very good at it.")  The timely orb

It was way back in the 70's, a period, (for me), of weekend campouts and an avid interest in everything. On this particular night an impromptu campfire debate ensued. It was one of those special unplanned events that happen from time to time where a group of strangers, in this case, earnest young professionals, keenly sought to solve the problems of the world. It was midsummer and the night spectacular, with no city lights to wash the stars away or clouds to obscure, the sky was ablaze with heavenly bodies.

Being the lone, hopeless philosopher, it was tough sledding for me to introduce and keep a philosophical point within the various topics. Most issues were a "done deal" and resolutions comprised well-engineered, logical, conventional solutions borne of "fixed belief" approaches and scientific reasoning. For me, there needed to be more than a "slide rule" component and so insisted on a voice. For instance, when well engineered projects are delivered, did the scope factor in any "down side" aftermath? like pollution, disease, harmful radiation, road kill statistics, disturbed animal migration patterns, loss of habitat, specie extinction, unfavourable human impacts and displacements or a myriad of other commonly witnessed maladies delivered unwittingly or covertly with "well" engineered solutions.

What about THESE things?

You can imagine the spirited viewpoints around these questions. "Someone else's issues," the engineering side said. But whose issues are they? (I insisted on knowing.) Perhaps it is difficult to strike a balance when committing huge advances and benefits to the conveniences of humanity, but should "progress" always have an untenable and lasting cost to planet and life upon it? I remember trying to defend the notion that no one individual or group could know or even guess what realities existed outside of the rigid discipline of that sectors "hard facts".

I likened it to an individual who can only see the world through a drinking straw.

You can point it anyway you choose but can never view the entire spectrum of possibility. Facts gathered in this way then are limited to a disjointed, fragmented set of observations, hardly accurate reference resource appropriate to making far-reaching conclusions and hence decisions.

What about other lost opportunities for knowledge?

What is missed when a person is sleeping? What is going on behind you? What goes by while you blink, what is it your pet "sees" that you cannot? What is happening above and below you at any one point in time? Because you did not witness them, does that make these things untrue? Perhaps there is merit in acknowledging the existence of undocumented, unexplained phenomena, forces and faith's as tangibles, to be considered within a thought vision or design philosophy.

Perhaps all solution-seeking teams should have a philosophical, esoteric or metaphysical member to ask these questions or at least provide a conscience for the group? Imagine this proposition put to the boardroom - "What's this, project philosopher! V.P. of what? No... we need the money for image fixers, damage controllers and spin doctors". Of course, my cause and points were lost that night, good natured ribbing, derision and scoffing my reward.

I remember saying, "There are many examples of mysterious………" I never completed the thought, for one of them exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!" and pointed skywards to our left. All turned to see, it was an orb or globe of quite large dimension, it was flying noiselessly West to East, neither fast nor slow and at a consistent altitude. It had no tail, plumes or trails; it appeared crisply defined and perfectly round. The orb shimmered with an iridescent, lime green colour that lightened and darkened as it went. It was a sudden and spectacular turn of events. It lasted for some fifteen or twenty seconds until it passed beyond the scope of our collective "drinking straw" view. There was no further conversation. We packed it in for the night.

My point had been rested for me. Go Figure.

Still, I have yet to see an advertisement in the "Help wanted" pages like, "Senior Philosophy Manager wanted to join a progressive design team". There again my view is through a drinking straw. 

Have you seen one?

"Whatever you pursue gains credibility... even undeserving things."