About
THE THEMES
Wu-wei and Extropy are the two most fundamental concepts I can personally identify. Both are given equal footing in what I post here on Thrivenotes as I try to define and refine them. In basic terms Wu-wei and Extropy are representations (respectively) of our need to both harmonize with and also build upon the universe — in my mind two sides of the same symbolic coin that I quite enjoy tossing around on a quiet Sunday morning... Now for more elaborate definitions:
WU-WEI is peace and contentment with the present moment and the movement of the universe, a sense of patience with the balancing out of forces in life. It signifies non-action, or action through non-action more precisely, and is an avenue for non-violent expression and the reduction of aggression and impulsiveness in our behavior. It is the willful abdication of the forcing of one’s will. This is the spiritual and meditative side of Thrivenotes, very Taoist, nature-loving, go-with-the-flow type stuff. I feel like this is needed in a world wacked-out on infotainment, various addictions, and manic quests for knowledge and power. Equilibrium is important.
EXTROPY is the amalgam of all human technologies, knowledge, and abilities. Extropy is, so to speak, a “counter to entropy” in that instead of things being pulled apart by time, things are being put together over time, the successive additions of knowledge and techniques compounding the overall level of organization and innovation in the cosmos. Extropy is the continually accelerating and evolving product of human intelligence and ingenuity, which when viewed from the outside, seems to take on a life of it’s own and, as such, is an intriguing force which I seek to highlight on this blog. To watch extropy is to be aware of many of the interactions between different areas of progress in the world today, so the focus here is on technology and scientific research, dipping sometimes into the cyborg/transhumanist arena. (As an aside or response to the balance-seeking of Wu-Wei, we must point out that while progress may not be guaranteed or consistent in the world, change certainly is; thus, we must be observant.)
ABOUT ME
My name is Adam. I am from Seattle (US). I am a teacher by trade.
I currently live and work in Turkey as an international teacher. I blog as a hobby and I like thinking about how to stabilize the self in a chaotic and tricky world. I am very much into thinking about technology and scientific discoveries, and I love sci-fi. I feel I have a natural inclination to think about the future and all the wild things that it could bring.
Living in a foreign country helps me to see and understand the world as a whole much better than if I had just toured around or read about various places. Part of me wanted to go down the international teaching path for this reason, but also I saw so many more interesting career options for me abroad. The biggest benefit for me personally is the chance to learn a new language, however. I am truly a language-geek. I studied Spanish and Japanese for many years (I also hope to teach these). In the future I would also like to study the other romance languages, and perhaps German or Russian too. For now, Turkey has brought me a good career-starting opportunity and, of course, a totally new and different language to study. Turkish people I find to be warm and passionate, and the country is full of history and also the potential to grow and mature greatly as a nation in the next few decades. I look forward to revisiting it.
Enough about the academic and professional. I am a big fitness-junky. My favorite activity is slacklining. I am also a lover of soccer, volleyball, weight-lifting, and frisbee. My hobby is reading, which I’m trying to shift away from online news and towards more book-reading. In the summers, I spend time in my home town of Seattle and try to take in as much of the beautiful Pacific Northwest as I can. For those curious book-fiends who may wonder, I am currently reading The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand and A Gypsy on the Rez, by Quorri Scharmyn. I generally get my news from Slashdot and Reddit, btw. You can find my reddit under the name “thrivenotes” if you wish…
If you have any questions please send me an email here: ( 84adam at thrivenotes dot com ).
