[NetBehaviour] Accelerationism

[Alan Sondheim]

You know well that the diff. between this and the Perm. for example is 
this is the result of a particular species running amuck. And with 40-50 % 
of ocean life scheduled to disappear, etc. as a result of climate, 
microspherules, etc., the situation is a mess. Yes, there will be 
something afterwords. But we're slaughterers trashing the planet, and for 
me that's unacceptable.

- Alan

On Sun, 24 Apr 2016, John Hopkins wrote:

>> learning to listen, listening, is necessary. The fundamental problem I
>>> think is that we're blind when it comes to ecosystems, energy, micro-
>>> biomes, and so forth. The fundamentals of mycology are being rewritten as
>>> we discuss, and what's emerging are whole universes of ignorance.
>>> Meanwhile we plow ahead, destroying the planet. It seems to me that
>>> accelerationism is so fundamentally human-based (perhaps man-based for all
>>> that), that it really overlooks collateral damage. And what do we do, for
>
> Acceleration, in mechanical physics, is the result of the application of 
> directed (vector) energy to a body. It is a quantity -- 
> meters-per-second-per-second (how fast am I going faster!) -- that results in 
> ever-increasing velocity -- meters-per-second (how fast am I going?). 
> Acceleration cannot occur without an ever-increasing energy input to the 
> system. Velocity can be maintained with a steady-state energy input. Stasis, 
> death, requires no energy input.
>
> In a system with finite energy, acceleration has a limit, as does velocity.
>
> We are not destroying the planet, we are temporarily altering the local 
> energy balance. We are merely another expression of Life on the planet. Doing 
> its thing. Pulsing, expanding temporarily.
>
> Acceleration occurs in the presence of locally excessive eneergy. This is 
> demonstrated at many scales in living systems where there is an energy 
> excess. When that energy is entropically dispersed through a combination of 
> expansion/growth, it slows down...
>
> Pulsing (temporal, spatial) is a regular feature in bio-systems.
>
> When we fixate on particular material manifestations of Life (as in a 
> particular species), we miss the fact that Life is a continuous feature of 
> the planet, and will continue long after we are gone *no matter what we do*. 
> In my mind, the fixation on the material is what brings us to the hubris of 
> the Anthropocene. Which, okay, plutonium makes a fine geo-marker. But what 
> about the traces of Life from the Late Carboniferous? Talk about geo-marker, 
> and Life leaving traces! The huge Applachian coal beds are the remains of 
> Life at that time -- accelerated based on temperate climates (Appalachia was 
> at the Equator), and abundant energy sources. And it altered the chemistry of 
> the planet...
>
> So it goes.
>
> jh
>
> PS -- as for all the preparatory conceptualizing on the word 
> 'accelerationism' -- it seems mostly to be a symbolic discussion that has 
> little to do with the real world except as simply another 'ism' to be 
> discussed ad infinitum. if it cannot be connected to the real world, what's 
> the point? Maybe we need to calculate how much carbon is emitted from 'The 
> Cloud' each time we email the word.
>
> PPS -- I heartily support the concept of listening in any and all contexts. 
> It has the effect of healing many problems!
> -- 
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Dr. John Hopkins, BSc, MFA, PhD
> grounded on a granite batholith
> twitter: @neoscenes
> http://tech-no-mad.net/blog/
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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>
>

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