Friday 25 May 2007

The reasons behind Otoom

As the affair with Griffith University and its associated problems drag on year after year the question might be asked, why bother? Quite apart from the sheer tedium, an obstacle created by humans usually implies an intent and with it comes the story - the concocted picture painted by those of ill-will. An unhappy situation all around, to put it mildly. So why not move on?
The world faces a number of problems that in their sheer extent pose dangers unimagined only a generation ago. There is no need to go into hyperbole. When even scientists, not noted for their exaggerations, avail themselves of descriptions that go way beyond the usual kind of warnings, it is time to take stock in a serious way.
Much has been said about climate change and its effects. A summary of what the changes entail and what they can cost us can be found in the Stern Review. Some have criticised the findings as too pessimistic, others say they don't go far enough. Hardly anyone argues about the central premise however, and considering the inherent unpredictability of complex systems that should be an achievement in itself. But how can any initiative be successful unless there exists an understanding of how reality is perceived and interpreted by the various demographics on this planet?
Consider the state of the world as of now. Some sense of the problematic nature can be gained from the Worldmapper site. Territories are re-sized according to subject matter. Compare the sources of international food aid with a map of war deaths. Despite the infusion of US$2.5 billion in the year 2005 alone from developed countries it does seem as if such aid merely fuels the intent of so many demographics to continue destroying each other (the discrepancy in year numbers - 2002 vs 2005 - hardly detracts from the argument). It would make sense to understand why this is so. Now take a look at the GDP wealth map. Although the gross domestic product is not the sole arbiter of livability, as a comparative parameter it does have its purpose. Imagine what those differences mean in a global mix of communication, expectancy, and population flows and one gets some idea of the driving forces behind our ongoing conflicts, world-wide finances and immigration - all factors which have a considerable impact everywhere. At the bottom of it all is the system of mind.
Take the Iraq war. One would think with a situation precarious as it is the last thing we should do is create even more disruption. But no - estimates of its costs range from a best-case scenario of US$100 billion to a worst-case of US$2 trillion over a decade. Now keep in mind that the war is still ongoing and there is no price one can put on human suffering and the dead. Furthermore these sums apply to the United States only, they do not include the costs born by all the other countries. And in any case, they refer to those items that can be translated into a monetary equivalent; there is much else that is missed. Surely, a means to analyse what is actually going on here would have some use.
How many decision makers have seriously analysed the phenomenon of China? Here is a nation of a size and growth that already supports the economic basis of the major Western powers. And yet it is a hybrid system of a central command structure and market dynamics totally unproven in its ultimate effectiveness. What happens when its internal dynamics, for whatever reason, cease to fuel the traditional expectations of the West and start to constrain the latter's profligacy in terms of international affairs, administrative extravagance, and welfare? China also happens to be an old civilisation containing many layers of cultural perspectives, there to be studied.
How then does the Otoom mind model stack up?
The main work, "On the origin of Mind", comes in two parts. Part I represents a deconstruction of 21 philosophies down the ages where their thought structures are analysed and found to be consistent in type across the entire range. All in all there are 527 references taken directly from those texts.
Part II addresses the subject of mind from the bottom up, from the neuronal dynamics to the mind of an individual to society at large. It features 441 references from science and human events in general to support its arguments. They can be seen as pieces of a giant mosaic which are placed into a coherent whole. There are no inconsistencies, no tweaks to bend reality to suit some purpose.
Since the completion of that work in August 2003 over 150 instances from science, politics, and human affairs in general have been collected that confirm the validity of the model. For example, the interpretation of the nature of terrorists under Otoom is one gradually being adopted by security agencies after so many mistakes made by them; the ultimate futility of the Iraq war has been predicted from its very beginning; ditto the engagement in Afghanistan; the riots in France have been foreseen; so was the implosion of so many Pacific island states; or the effects of immigration in Western regions. As one British diplomat in Washington was quoted by Max Hastings, from The Guardian in London, as he was referring to the current US administration: "We must just somehow stagger through to the end".
And so here I sit, faced with an idiotic arrogance by some (there are no other words for it), which prevents such material from reaching a wider audience. Enough years have been spent in exile under virtual house arrest, and something just has to be done.
PS: In my previous post I mentioned that the response from Queensland Education was still outstanding. Not any more. To their credit it has to be said theirs was the most constructive reply of them all. While not acting directly, they nevertheless offered some advice about whom to contact next. We'll see.

No comments: