Kort Explores conundrums of the human condition

Cultures on most continents have folktales about large hairy humanoids that lurk in remote areas of wilderness. They're called Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Yeti, Abominable Snowman, etc., in different parts of the world, but all of these creatures have essentially the same basic characteristics.

The number and wide distribution of these folktales would seem to suggest that there might be something to them. However, the tendency of human perception to interpret limited information according to learned expectations suggests that what was actually seen might not be exactly what was reported.

"Call me Ishmael."*

Chances are nearly everyone in the English speaking world knows that over a century and a half ago there was a fictional character called Ishmael. How has this information been so effectively distributed? Why does this sentence from so long ago still capture our interest?

Could it be because this trivia just happens to be embedded in a story that continues to offer a desirable experience that transcends the particular time period in which it was written?

People volunteer for a variety of reasons and motivations. It's a reasonable assumption that most volunteers are motivated by a mix of desires and intentions, some of which they may not even be aware of themselves. However, for the purposes of this column I'm going to concentrate on two contradictory drives that might motivate members of an organization to volunteer, and the long term consequences these differences might have for the organization.

One of the functions of a civilization is arguably to enable some percent of its participants to engage in activities other than basic survival. Some of these activities, such as the development of science and technology, have been of obvious benefit, and have made tangible contributions to improving the quality and quantity of human existence.

One of the hallmarks of modern industrial civilization has been its phenomenal ability to make what was once the exclusive province of the rich and privileged available to the general population. Statistically this has been a good thing. Life expectancies have increased, and quality of life has improved.

I've had some trouble with my car recently, and it continued long enough to provide a number of unsought insights into the role of expectations in perceptions and reactions to failures.

Humanity has long been obsessed with establishing man's significance in the universe.

In spite of a complete absence of supporting evidence, man has at times managed to convinced himself that the continued functioning of cosmic forces far beyond his understanding let alone control, were directly dependent on his will and participation. At various times man has wanted to believe that the weather, the rising of the sun in the morning, and the regular cycle of seasons, were all dependent on the intervention of humans endowed with special powers and/or knowledge.

I wrote the following for a "5 Minute Lightning Talk" at the Oregon Mensa RG. I wrote a longer exploration of this topic for the Aug/Sept 1997 Port of Call.

It's become popular to condemn greed and laziness as flaws in the human character, but I submit that the problem is actually one of competence at being greedy and lazy. The key is the difference between the superficial and profound forms of these very human characteristics.

Humanity is the only species that is so driven to imagine a higher purpose for our lives, that we deprive ourselves of life's primary reward for living well. It has become a common mantra that there is more to life than the pursuit of happiness. In our obsession with finding purpose in our imagined unnatural world, we've become obsessed with guilt over the happiness that can be found in the natural world.

Good and evil don't exist in an absolute form. Events are inherently neutral. Only the effects of events can appear good or evil, and then only as a function of the perception and perspective of the viewer.