I seem to remember reading something Socrates suggested back-in-the-day that went like this: at least I know that I don’t know – which makes me less of a fool than the fellow who thinks he knows.
As I look over my Doctor’s Inn oeuvre – I notice that I’ve been writing “as if” I have some esoteric knowledge on certain matters – when, in fact, I am probably as naïve as the-man-on-the-street in most matters. I may-or-may-not-be gearing up for a hiatus (my regular readers know that I want one) – but I am continuously reminded that we only know what we know. So I continuously strive to know more!
And now I’ve had two people in the last 3 weeks tell me that the U.S. has more gold in Fort Knox than anyone can shake a stick at…and this vexes me – as it seems to fly-in-the-face of HBO’s movie: “Too Big to Fail” – which suggested that the Chinese and Russians could economically topple us with one phone call…
I guess I should simply get used to Chinese neighbors in the way I enjoy Chinese restaurants – because that’s the only way I see the U.S. getting rid of its massive debt…unless…unless…unless – we really DO have lotsa gold in Fort Knox. But if we do…then why did we get off the gold standard? Why did we go to the petro dollar?? Why are so many countries dumping their dollars and screaming at the U.S. to stop its destructive economic practices???
As-many-of-us-know, after pissing off much of Athens, Socrates was given a choice: git outta Dodge, or, drink hemlock. If I am not mistaken, Socrates had 5 children by Xantippe and if she was anything like the shrew he described her as – he opted for the poison: quite a statement.
I am definitely NOT comparing myself to Socrates in the wisdom department (nor am I suggesting that Giti is a shrew) – but I wonder what else he might have suggested had he opted to live longer. Perhaps he would have told Plato something else that would have gestated in Plato to be passed on to Aristotle – to gestate some more and eventually be passed on to Alexander.
No matter, one-of-my-buddies sent me a 17-minute-video-clip by a socio-bio-futurist by the name of Juan Enriquez (I’d never heard of him – but will now have to buy his latest book). J.E. suggests that human beings are still evolving (which I agree with) and that at some point in-the- not-so-distant past – there were 24 variants of our species, and approximately 10,000 years ago – the first blue-eyed human child was born (things I didn’t know).
Anyway, the real ass-kicker in J.E.’s talk – is that we humans are taking charge of our own evolution – something that no other species can do. So when the human system is attacked by a virus – we work on creating antibiotics to cure ourselves – rather than succumbing to the “survival of the fittest” – this is how we’ve changed our evolutionary pattern.
So I still have-a-lot-to-learn – but I think I feel a gestation period coming…HG told me about “Saturn Return” recently – in fact, we’ve decided to title our musical meanderings thusly. I’m thinking that Memorial Day in Yosemite must have begun my 3rd cycle – and I’ve got to make sense of it…since Socrates didn’t!