DrContrarian

  There is meme floating around social media that goes something like this: Think of how dumb the average guy is. Then realise that half the population is dumber than that. Whilst there is a level of smug superiority in that, there is also an element of truth. An IQ of 100 isn’t much intellectual horsepower. Not that great thinking is a prerequisite to all that matters, but by the same token the invention of mathematics, technological advancement and great art was probably not produced by the bottom half of the bell curve. Averages being what they are; gets us cultural norms that are, well, mediocre. And such is life. The people who created Facebook as a technological platform undoubtedly had well above average IQs. The platform has the potential to be and do amazing things, some of which we have experienced. But consider the average (normal) Facebook post and social experience. It’s about screaming goats on the one hand or people gloating about their breakfast o...

Today, if Twitter is anything to go by, then there is a ‘right’ way to think and believe. This list of cultural beliefs and norms that are prevalent in modern societies, include for instance. ·          Racism is wrong ·          Democracy is right ·          Gender is a fluid, social construct ·          Religion is a primitive belief system ·          Politically we should lean left ·          Diversity should be encouraged ·          Climate change is real ·          Global Trade should be encouraged Once upon a time, we believed the opposite on all of the above. I am not suggesting you (or I) should not believe any of the above. But, ...

Knowledge is fossilised intuition. Love is built on a foundation of fear. Your senses bring the trouble. Pornography is a mirror, Art is a window. Passion is ignorance. Enjoyment requires the temporary suspension of reality. Fun is a requisite illusion (for sanity.) Hierarchy is a circle. Nothing is more important. Personality is the projection of consensus. All invention is rediscovery. The end is radical step change. Everything is natural. Happiness is not meant to be. Consequence is the shadow of living. Poetry is the language of pain. (Pain is the language of poetry…) Feelings are over-rated electrical connections. Equality is an error of measurement. Luck is being surprised by destiny. A path offers least resistance. You can only see as far as you can think. Greed is the fuel of the universe. Process determines outcome. All people are afraid. (Because we think more than we are.) Values are anchors of insecurity. An ounce of failure weighs more than an ounce of success. All the...

I have been silent for a wee while. Working hard at being busy is one reason. The other is that I have started another blog and that takes up some time. (The new blog is more technical/ functional, and arguably better for business. Contrarian is just for fun.) So just for the hell of it, I thought I’d throw in a random bit about a topic du jour: car safety. Manufacturers vie for 5-star safety ratings, and as part of those desired specs you will find things like electronic stability control etc. I am all for airbags, because when the sh*t hits the fan, you wanna have cover. But I really think that ABS and ESC is resulting in fewer people learning to actually handle those near misses. Not driving the perfect car (over time) teaches you the limits of what the car can and cannot do. This is just when you need when things go wrong. Like super-safe adventure parks have turned the children away in droves (because they are no fun), super-safe cars will just be pushed harder and faster ...

This will be a real short one. (I am cheating with 2 posts today) and then none for a few days as I go away to celebrate my wedding anniversary (22 years) and the reason why it lasted this long is because I know well enough what will happen if I even try to get to a computer this weekend... Anyway, being time poor: Firstly, and most obviously, the amount of time can never ever vary. The way we measure it, the way we perceive it, means 24/7 is the amount that we have and it is the same for everybody. Get that people? It is the same for everybody, and it is the same every single day. Rich or poor, young or old; no matter how you 'feel' about it does not change the number of hours in the day available to you. (Actually, there is no 'secondly'.) People are not and can never be time poor. The only thing that has happened is that we have become option rich: we have soooo many things we can do, choices to exercise, brands buy, places to go, that we feel a bit stressed. Some sm...