6.29.2009

Delta W Over Delta T

Mondays are like the paparazzi if you're famous. You know they're there and you know they are coming, but you would never guess they would come so fast, so effectively, and so ruthlessly.

And yet there is nothing to be done about it. Well that's not entirely accurate. Every problem has a solution and if your enemy is time (or in this case dates) then just destroy the clock (or in this case calendar). Let get out of the world of time. Stop working and stop living by dates. Then mondays become sunny days which are ultimately much better. How much of their lives has the past three generations thrown away cooped up in their offices? Too much I don't doubt it. So much time lost exploring the outdoors or spending time with their families and loved ones. In the name of what exactly? Money. It's more than that though. It's power. Marx was wrong when he said religion was the opiate of the masses. It's power or the illusion thereof. Religion is just one road to it. It's power over death, over the unknown. Capitalism gives power through monetary means. Power over fellow men. Both systems give the potential for power too. Meaning in both religion and capitalism, power is promised to the people. It is achievable if only they follow a set of rules. Whether its attaining atonement or climbing the corporate latter.

Prove or disprove that point. Power is the opiate of the masses and all societal institutions are designed for the consolidation or dispersion of power. By that I mean, if people aren't in a position to wield power they are cowed by the promise of it one day (or I suppose to be more Machievellian cowed by the fear of the power). At worst this is a new way of stating some old ideas. At best its a new way of thinking about the world (at least its new to me). I mean the assertion is obvious, people crave power. My question is does motivation explain broad scale behavior at a nation-state and institutional level?


Back to small scale applications
Clearly, I'm not happy with the way I'm going about achieving power. Fueled by greed, I can't be bothered to take the long way (long working hours) of achieving power. I also can't think of any thing that would short circuit the system and propel me straight to the top. One option (and I want to say only other option left) is to redefine my worldview in such a way so that the power I have is more meaningful. Ie say fuck it leave this boring job and go do something cool and support myself through whatever means. The power that would bring is freedom, power of action. I guess it is not so much of a redefining as it is a summoning of courage to burst from the mold I've been forced into. The fear that keeps me rooted to my seat even now is the fear of failure or in these terms the fear of becoming powerless. O what a to-do.

On a final note, I just looked up the scientific definition of power because I was curious. Change in work over change in time. Meaning, scientifically, to be powerful you have to do more work over less time whereas all I want to do is less work over more time. Interesting.

and once again I am beaten to the punch. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_(philosophy)
One day I will have a thought and it will be truly original

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