Protective Weaknesses

Protective Weaknesses- Too stupid to be a good liar

It's nice not to be given power beyond your maturity.

"I'm too stupid to be a good liar."

A friend of mine has a saying, which he delivers quite cheerfully: "I'm too stupid to be a good liar". It's not technically true[1], but it caught my attention. The way he said it expressed two ideas. First, that being a good liar required cunning, planning, and intelligence he did not possess.  And second, that he was grateful for the fact.

I've long accepted that there are many powers and abilities beyond my current maturity, but the idea of being thankful for not having something I'm unprepared for was interesting.

As a person who tends to Want All the Skills, I usually I look at talents others have with a wistful sigh. I wish I had a better memory, catchier comebacks, snazzier fashion sense (in addition to the standard list of more money, time, good looks, etc.). I wish I was more employable, a smarter person, a smoother talker, sweeter singer, could speed read, play the piano, and the list goes on and on. I do try to feel grateful for the good things I do have in life, but I don't often try to feel grateful for the good things I don't yet have.

That initial phrase sparked off the idea of protective weaknesses, that is to say, weaknesses in one area that immunize you against a greater problem.

It's an odd category to think up, but once you start looking for them, you see that protective weaknesses and fail-safes dot human-designed systems. For example, the U.S. government would be much more capable if we didn't split it into different branches that are often at cross-purposes, and insist that certain organizations within it not share information with other organizations. Take away those constraints, and the federal government would be much powerful and efficient. The only drawback would be the federal government would be much more  powerful and efficient.

It's possible to " cripple" your computer or smartphone with programs that block certain websites or internet access on certain times of day, to combat the temptation of technology. The programs occasionally prevent you from accessing useful sites, or turn off your devices at inconvenient times, but they also completely remove the temptation of Youtube, Facebook, and a myriad of internet time-wasters. And for many, the diminished functionality is well worth the chance to focus on work and not waste precious willpower resisting trivial distractions.

And going back to the personal weaknesses level, I've been saved from devouring junk food from the simple fact that I'm too lazy to go to the store when the craving hits. One friend told me being asthmatic makes smoking very unappealing. And I've met more than one person who said they've stayed out of drugs thanks in part to an intense needle phobia.

In these examples, what we're calling "protective weaknesses" function as fail safes  against our worse natures[2]. They impair functionality or power, but in a way that is ultimately protective against abuse or immaturity. Kind of like how we lower voltage of AC current when it gets to our house. Lowering voltage weakens the current, but won't kill you (as easily) if you accidentally get shocked. In this case and many others: weaker is safer, if there is chance of error.

In the Pluto's Republic, Glaucon questions whether any man could keep his virtue if he had a ring of invisibility. Good question. So if we take the inverse of Power Corrupts, do we get Weakness Purifies? I think that would be a bit of a stretch, but I do think that it's preferable to not have power you're unprepared for than to have power you aren't ready for[3].

If I were smart and smooth enough to be an incredibly good liar, lying would be a lot more tempting. I'm glad that I've never gotten good at lying or at cheating, theft etc. Once developed, it's hard to undevelop a skill. And using it, I'd be less responsible for my actions, less kind and upfront with my friends, and better at justifying and hiding my worse tendencies, rather than admitting and correcting them. Without a greater level of maturity than I now possess, I'd probably be worse off with superhuman cunning than without it.

So while I work on maturity I'll try to be more grateful for what I don't have. I've always been glad we don't  go around giving ten-year-olds the car keys; maybe now I can be glad I'm not an incredibly talented [insert profession] or independently wealthy. My weaknesses keep me humble, keep me friendly and empathetic, push me to strive harder, and maybe even teach me the wisdom I need to one day be ready for power I will one day have. I am a student, son, coworker. One day I will be a teacher, father, supervisor. It is almost inevitable that my power/social influence will increase in some areas at least. The only real question is will my maturity keep pace?

I like the idea that I don't have everything right now, and that's ok.

Work on your weakness, but in the right order. Know yourself, and don't forget that the flaws you complain about may not be the ones that are really holding you back.

[1] He's actually very smart. Does that make him a liar?

[2] Built-in weaknesses in crappy printers, trial programs, genetically sterilized hybrid seeds* fall under a different category. Their built-in faults are intended to produce a change of others' actions, rather than prevent a problem. Genetically sterilized hybrid dinosaurs, however...

*GMO crops are not actually modified to be sterile. Monsanto owns the patent on the technique to do so, but they've promised not to use it. Ian Malcolm would just tell everyone not to worry.

[3] Which makes one wonder if we are sufficiently mature to have nuclear weapons? Drones? The Internet? Or unprecedented leisure time and Netflix, for that matter?

World Fog

When I was a lad, I spent many hours on the most realistic simulator I had. The year being 2002 or thereabouts, this meant Simcopter.

Check out the incredible GPS map they gave you

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Our old Toshiba desktop struggled to render even these blocky graphics, so I would frequently pull up the settings menu to tweak the game until it was sufficiently simple for our old PC. It was there that I began to notice the World Fog.

The World Fog was just that, a fog that enveloped the entire world, limiting your visibility from anywhere from a few blocks on a cloudy day or miles[1] on a clear one.

While the fog made it harder to find my way through the city, it injected a certain magic into the game.  Yes, I can't see as many buildings, or the details of the mountains on the far side of the lake, but now I hold my breath as I round the corner, ready to dodge the next skyscraper, spotlight a fleeing criminal or swoop down to put out a fire.

You'd think more details, more pieces and things, would make the world seem more real, but the opposite was true in this case. The fog drastically limited my view of the world, but that very limitation endowed the world with greater suspense-- a sense of mystery and discovery.

Allure of the unknown

The most immersive and engaging fiction often reveals only a small portion of the total created world. Tolkien's Middle Earth is the perfect example. Readers barely glimpse many of the ancient conflicts and heroic epics in that world, but even without knowing the whole story they can feel the weight of world, sense their foundations rooted in the history and fabric of Middle Earth.

In Sabriel, a favorite of mine, Garth Nix paints an intriguing world in the Old Kingdom, but the unexplained corners are the most fascinating. Instead of wrapping all plot points up with a ribbon at the end, he gives enough for a satisfying conclusion and leaves a few major questions half-explained, mysteries with two or three possible solutions, each more intriguing then the last. That mystery of the unknown, the excitement of discovery, the tension of danger-- That is one of the reasons I love to read.

In Real Life

It's a foggy, foggy day

There are World Fogs in real life as well as in fiction, but one that reflects the limits of human knowledge rather than a graphics card. This can be surprisingly easy to forget in an age where what we do know is more comprehensive and better organized than ever before. Every branch of human knowledge-- history, physics, math, technology-- they all have limitations. Some are more clearly defined than others (8 * 6 = 48, vs. exercise is good for you, vs. what are the mediating factors of anxiety?, vs. why does matter exist?).

We don't really know why gravity works on every simultaneous particle in the universe while being so weak. We don't fully understand how behaviors and environments shape gene expression in successive generations. We haven't explored most of the ocean floor. The economy is way too complex for any model to accurately predict. There are billions of things we don't know about our own bodies and brains, including everything from schizophrenia to why the heck we need to spend a third of our lives sleeping.

People often assume that we do completely understand all these things. Why? Because it's more comforting to think so, or because we confuse familiarity or prediction with explanation, or because we think our current models are 100% correct, despite the track record of thousands of years of theories being proved wrong[2] [3].

So when people claim that we know everything there is to know about X, take it with a pinch of salt. Figure out how where the theories falter, or under what conditions those lab experiments where performed. We've learned a lot, true, but there's always an edge on the map. Find the edge, and you'll know better under what parameters that knowledge will remain robust and useful.

So go out and explore

Compared to what we don't know, what we know isn't much. In one way this is a humbling realization. In another it is wonderfully exciting. It is on the edges of the map that we make discoveries and connections. I implied before that books that "tie up everything in a bow" lose their sense of wonder. Don't fall into that trap in real life. The world is open-ended. Who knows what exciting changes in science or history are about to be revealed. We need not live in a sterile plot where every loose end is tidily wrapped up by narrative convention. So go out and explore. There's always something to discover.

[1] Sim-miles... similes?

[2] The vast majority of theories that were once popular are now debunked. That's not to say they haven't grown successively more and more useful, nor that they have not been useful stepping stones to something greater. Much as I hope our current theories progress.

[3] This happens a lot. For a poem on this ad hoc tendency in historical analysis, check out Luther's post here. http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~lat7h/blog/posts/72.html

Family Journal

So, maybe this is a good idea that will be conducive to more regular writing. I thought weekly posts highlighting things might be good for us.

This past week:
Andrew and Olivia set their date for marriage: January 31, 2015!
Johnny comes home in T-minus 10 days!
Lasse has been in the US for a while now. He's super awesome!
Dad, Becky, Devon, and Lasse visited Buffalo (?) Beach.
Joseph and Richard visited Virginia Beach. Lack of communication prevented them from meeting up with the above group. Joseph also got very sunburnt.
School starts this week and next for several of us!
Everyone continues in their awesomeness!!

Testing

Testing.

Life is good

As many of you know, I am really "awwwwwhhhed" by little photos, such as the one above. There are simple ways that we can actually remind ourselves that life is good, and truly see it as good with all the challenges. With honesty, kindness, and patience we can find the good of life.

What are some simple things that can help you remember the good in life, besides PB&J's?

Nice things

I found this quote this week. Really liked the imagery.

In other news, I had a great time with Dad, Becky, and Devon watching fireworks here in C-ville. It was nice. :)

I know some guys...

... who are really great. I also know some girls who are great as well.

We think of things that make someone great. I think of courage in new places and facing difficult situations. I remember selfless service that they have given to me over the course of a long time. As we often say, the small acts and demonstrations are what prove underlying attributes. It's when no one else will probably notice that we show who we are.

We can remember those family members, ancestors, and friends that have done these small things, and record their goodness in our private journal, so as to be a witness of who they were and are.