Good Intentions

Intentions are a very important part of human behavior. Almost any action can be judged as good or evil based upon our true intentions. Unfortunately, many of us only think we have good intentions, when we are actually self-deceived.

A recent incident is a good example of this. Without naming names, two people I know had an experience with this. They were planning to do a particular task, for which they would be paid $200—$100 to each man. The first man was happy to have a duo, but the second man suggested adding a third person (his son), to which the first agreed that it would improve matters. However, he said, the sum they were to be paid was too small to split three ways, and considering the distance they had to go, it was not worth adding a third man. The second man agreed to this reasoning.

It seemed it was settled that a third man would not be employed. However, the second man, went ahead and invited his son anyway. When the first man questioned this, the second replied that he would share his half with the third man (they would each get $50, while the first man would get the originally agreed upon $100). Seeing as it was the second man's son, it made sense that he was trying to help his son out financially—even a little.

The task was done, and done well. The second man accepted the payment, and gave the first man his share—$70... oops, wait. The second man had gone ahead and split the money three ways after all. Had the first man agreed to the second man's original assertion, there would have been no problem. Had the second man been more assertive about his desire to cut his son in on the money, there also would have been no problem.

The second man's actions of helping his son were good, but his intentions to pull a "fast one" were bad. This could have been miscommunication if it were an isolated incident, but this person has a history of similar stunts. He didn't personally get anything out of the deal (he lost $30), except the satisfaction of being a smooth-operator.

If a good action is to be supported by good intentions, then it must be transparent. What is the point of tricking someone into helping you help someone else. That just ruins the whole point of giving.

FEATURED MEDIA: Leadership and Self-Deception - Told as a fictional story, this book explores the intentions of people's hearts and how self-deception can ruin a business, a marriage, a life.

LOST: The Unanswered Questions—Revisited

It has been a little over two weeks since the series finale of LOST—the show that redefined television for me. As I was working on my understanding of Truth in Fiction, I was pleasantly surprised by some developments in Season 3 which began to sync up with my theories. From there, the show took the reins of my imagination, drawing me into deeper analysis than I thought possible (or necessary) at the time.

Truth in Fiction demands depth of story and depth of characters. It must be able to challenge the audience through repeated tellings. It must stand up to close scrutiny. It must connect the details to significance. The show does this beautifully, and continues to do so as fans begin to re-watch the series from beginning to end in light of "The End."

To many, myself included, the ending was a bit disappointing because it did not answer many questions. However, the interesting lesson here about Truth in Fiction is that discussion and imagination are paramount to a true liberal education. If LOST had answered many of the unanswered questions, it would have—for the first time—destroyed the integrity of what it does best.

My final verdict is that any disappointment felt at the end of LOST is caused by a misunderstanding of the show's purpose. We have been trained by mainstream media to allow the programming to passively inform us. We are not used to television challenging us to answer the questions ourselves.

Therefore, I encourage you to revisit the unanswered questions post and give me your own thoughts on the questions, or ask ones I didn't cover. Let's start a dialog. That is the most important thing.

FEATURED MEDIA: Preorder the final season!

Cognitive Surplus and the Appreciators

This month's Wired Magazine has an article which is extremely relevant to our cause. Wired contributing editor, Daniel Pink, author of Drive, goes head to head with Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus, about the themes common between their respective works. Basically, Drive points out that traditional "carrot or stick" methods of reward and punishment are not the only motivators—in fact, they're not even the best.

Pink and Shirky agree that people are more motivated by internal drives, in a word their "interests." This is not limited to monetary gains, as a superficial capitalistic definition would suggest, but includes rewards that are priceless. It is the joy of the journey, as it were, that motivates much "extracurricular" activities such as the writing of fan fiction and the editing of Wikipedia. Indeed, the increasing number of Wikis (wikia.com) devoted to fan-created content about any number of stories and products should serve as an indication that fan fiction and open-source encyclopedias are merging already.

Shirky's book argues that, while his generation spent much of its free time sitting in front of the television, consuming time, many members of the younger generations are using their spare time online to create things—rather than to just waste time. This is what he calls "cognitive surplus"—free thought that is not being put to use by a job, but is nonetheless being put to use for productive, rather than consumptive means.

This fits with what FITmedia is intending to do. Though they rail against television media in its current form, it is important to remember that we seek to change the purpose of the medium, thus fitting it to a more productive use. In order to do this, we must encourage and employ the cognitive surplus of fans of the medium.

This is the fourth (and most populated) lobe of the FITmedia model. Überfans make up a group I have off-and-on referred to as the Appreciators. I've spent a lot of time describing the other three, which likewise have names (Orchestrators, Promoters, and Developers), but have not had a platform to discuss the active role of the fans until now.

There is no better way to learn the truth about fiction, which is the very truth of human nature, I believe, than to go directly to the fans for help creating the stories they—not advertisers—want to see put into existence. The open-source community (in which I include wikipedia.org and wikia.com, among a throng of freeware programmers) creates because it is the right thing to do. They create because the world needs what they can give, and the world is a better place because of it.

When the world is a better place, opportunities flourish, freelance gigs abound, and new jobs are created. The new age we find ourselves in is one of giving before getting. If we improve ourselves, we'll improve the world. If we improve the world, everything will be just gravy.

May '10: The Month in Posts

This month saw the end of television history. LOST came to a close. And while I will spare you in this post from further mourning, I do hope these posts will spark your imagination about what is possible in media in the years ahead knowing that such an epic drew an earnest überfanbase. Enjoy.

A Story is a Cypher - May 11, 2010

Give your audience all the secrets of your story, but give it to them in code. Then treat the remainder of your tale as that code's key. The earlier you give this information, the more concise you have to be, and the more central the symbols you use are. (read more)

What If You Got Paid? - May 16, 2010

There was a time when people were self-sufficient. They worked only when there was work to be done. The rest of the time they spent with their families and friends. Now we have debt and other financial obligations. We have to work to meet these obligations. We do it begrudgingly because somewhere inside we know that most of these obligations could have been avoided with better information and planning. (read more)

Battles of Heart and Mind - May 30, 2010

Certainly, the veterans of physical warfare, remembered at Arlington National Cemetery and other places, are the most obvious heroes to memorialize. However, there are many more unsung heroes: those both of ages and battles past, and of present battles fought in everyday life. I'm talking about the battles of heart and mind. Many people live in the grip of ignorance and fear. Many more live with a knowledge base that keeps them afraid. To do anything of significance, fear must be overcome. (read more)

Faith and Fences

There is a difference between religion and faith. Religion is a set of rituals, stories, and artifacts. It is the science of remembering one's faith. Faith is a set of principles—irrevocable, inalienable laws of human conduct.

As such, faith is difficult to grasp by itself. Therefore, it manifests itself in religious practices. On the whole, religion does not exist only in a church, synagogue, or masque—nor does it require them as anchor points. In its most general definition, it does not even have to be a matter of theology, but perhaps one of ideology. Every tribe has its ideals.

The problem comes when religion is followed in lieu of any faith. Without faith, the rituals of religion are merely handicaps. The routines are just meaningless routines. The artifacts become mere trinkets. The stories, while still entertaining, lose their fire with repeated tellings.

Lack of faith leads to a scarcity mentality—the feeling that resources are finite and running out. Ironically, this mentality kills the courage which is required to make the bold moves necessary to grow resources into abundance. It is the role of free thinking media creators to liberate others' minds from such a mentality.

Sometimes, it is possible to change the system from within, but other times it is necessary to begin anew. Performers are leaders who rekindle the fire of dying religions—those which lack faith, and those which are tyrannically rigid. Creators are leaders who start a new fire where there is no fixed religion, or where there is so much schism that a new order is needed.

For our media to become useful to a free and democratic society, it must begin to focus its stories on the division between a true heart of faith and empty religious rituals. This need not be theistic, but it requires a belief in something, even if it's belief in one's own abilities.

FEATURED MEDIA: Rabbit-Proof Fence - When the "protector" of Australian aboriginal people places three young girls in a camp where he intends to "civilize" them with the religion of the whites, they escape. To find their way home, they follow (on faith) the 1500 mile long "rabbit-proof fence" which divides the continent.

Battles of Heart and Mind

Memorial Day is more than just the beginning of the Summer tourist season and a great excuse for an extended weekend, beer, and barbecuing. It is a day meant to commemorate those who have died in service for this country—or rather, those who have died for the cause of liberty. I agree that there are many things wrong with our world today, especially politically speaking, but if the idea of memorializing veterans fills you with pessimism as to the purpose of their deaths, let me remind you that there were days of glory once.

To be sure, the masses at any given moment have always been largely a selfish group, consumed with their present plight and unable to see clearly the glorious future won of present suffering and sacrifice. However, every era of human civilization has its cast of heroes, who shape the course of history. Whether they are divinely guided or whether their own reason enables them to take the longview, may well be a question that is not answerable. One thing is certain though, through the actions of heroes, the human race is carried to higher levels.

Certainly, the veterans of physical warfare, remembered at Arlington National Cemetery and other places, are the most obvious heroes to memorialize. However, there are many more unsung heroes: those both of ages and battles past, and of present battles fought in everyday life. I'm talking about the battles of heart and mind. Many people live in the grip of ignorance and fear. Many more live with a knowledge base that keeps them afraid. To do anything of significance, fear must be overcome.

This is mankind's greatest battle. It is only most obvious and most unavoidable in physical warfare, but it is no less present in the mind of a young professional who conceives of a brilliant idea to change his industry. In the mind of an artist, fear can stop the very buds of imagination like an unexpected freeze. Whenever something significant comes to light, it always brings change. Change is uncertain, change can be bloody.

However, physical wars are rarely (if ever) started suddenly in a time of peace, however the papers may read. Wars are—with no exception I can think of—the result of individuals delaying confrontation and change. Physical wars are the inevitable results of political turmoil and dogmatic stubbornness, which is allowed to go unresolved. Free thinkers know it doesn't stop there, however. These problems aren't quarks of political and social systems (though they might exacerbate the situation), instead they are flaws in individual character.

When people of like minds come together, they must be careful not to bring like flaws. If they do, the flaw becomes compounded into a significant blind spot. These blind spots, in turn, cause turmoil which each party in the conflict blames on the other. Therefore, the more groups (political, social, or religious) that are founded on developing individual character, the less flaws will exist in the world. Less flaws, less turmoil—more peace.

On Memorial Day, let us also remember the brave souls fighting to do what is right—no matter how small the act. There are different stumbling blocks for different people. We each wage daily wars against our personal vices—something which goes unsung. I know you're fighting that battle, and I appreciate your efforts.

Never give up the good fight.

FEATURED MEDIA:
1776 - An intensely interesting account of American history, lush with quotations from actually letters written by the people who where there—Generals and privates, alike. It begins in 1775 with the rebels preparing for a siege on British-controlled Boston, continues through the Declaration, and ends after Washington's famed crossing of the Delaware River.
The Anatomy of Peace - This is a remarkable book which brings to light the deepest issue behind all human conflict: the heart at war. When our "way of being" toward others is not founded on a heart at peace, we create conflict in all of our relationships. The challenge is accepting that we are to blame for many of our problems, but we also hold the solution.

"1776" by David McCullough

Few of us Americans really appreciate what struggles where borne by the Continental Army during the long war for American independence. Nor do most of us care. Years ago, I would have given you a vile (and ignorant) opinion of the revolution, based solely on my simple disgust of present day politics. I also would have been entirely unable to explain what was meant by "independence."

In his book 1776, David McCullough gives an enrapturing account of the events of that historic year, beginning with what I feel is a fair treatment of the situation on both sides. He tells of the splendor and good character of George III, and of the many loyalists who resided in the colonies at the time. He also extols the virtues of George Washington, who had just taken command of the then nameless "rabble" which barely constituted an army.

Chronologically, the account begins with British forces trapped in Boston by the American rebels. It continues to describe the major figures on both sides, supported with accounts from privates and non-military persons. The siege of Boston was a brilliant one in the history of military action, and was very successful.

The next move was the defense of New York, which went terribly for the rebels. Being a water-laden city and the British Navy being world-class at the time, the Americans could not hold it. McCullough details Washington's failures in the New York campaign with an honesty too gentle for a critic and too, well, honest for traditional American bias.

McCullough's telling of the tale demonstrates the brutal conditions in vivid color, allowing one to be transported to the time and place and situated among the ranks. From those suffering from sickness and wounds, to those who deserted both sides, to those who fled the battlegrounds in terror, it is a raw and detailed account—well-supported by preserved documentation where it exists, with fairly labeled speculation used where it is not.

Overall, a must-read for free-thinking people about one of the most important battles in human history.