TED Community » Edward Bolton

More About Me

I'm passionate about

My ideals and philosophy of life. However these concepts conflict with social constructs and the availability of resources that limit human potential, opportunity, and creativity.

An idea worth spreading

Humanity needs to evolve past factors that create scarcity, which are artificially designed in all monetary based economies. Existence must change, purpose for existence needs to be re-examined since intellectual advancement has proven inherent limitations in survival based on monetary economics and the discredited, fablistic, and disingenuous constructs of organized religion. If existence is not pursued on another level, then the life cycle of humanity has peaked and will continue to decline. Purpose (of life) should be redefined to seek self-actualization, but not through material and social constructs created through tradition, culture, and propaganda (government, corporate, and biased, self-seeking organizational influences).

Comments

• TEDCred score: +1.40 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Conversation: Do we Ignore incarcerated men, women and juveniles or help Restore them back into community?

  May 17 2012: Citizens with criminal histories are not forgotten by society (literally speaking). Excons are not stupid and realize that they are caught in a vicious circle once they have a record. It is difficult to motivate someone who has lost hope from a psychological perspective. The parole and probation process doesn't make things any easier. Throw in a tough employment market into the mix and the delimma gets even more discouraging. People with favorable work histories and experience can't find work, so what does that tell us about the hopes for inmates after release. Heck, most employers won't even hire you if you have bad credit let alone a criminal record when the labor supply is so high. Low income jobs are mostly taken by immigrants, and they don't qualify for high level jobs, so what's left..... black market businesses are their only options under most circumstances. Now if criminals were free and clear once they paid their debt to society by paying fines, doing time, or community service etc.. then they might not lose hope and try to become productive citizens. But they are forever haunted by their past and it is a burden almost impossible to overcome. There is no mercy. Unfortunately, crime is big business for society to matters even worse. What would happen to all those people employed in law enforcement, the justice system, prisons, ATF,FBI,DEA, lawyers, etc. if they actually put an end to crime as a result of effectively doing their jobs? They would put themselves out of work, and they are not going to do that. If an enforcement agency says it has reduced crime, their budget will be cut. So it does not benefit anyone working in law enforcement to implement policies to actually reduce crime or help felons integrate back into society. I hate to be the barrer of bad news, but reality is what it is. Heck if society would just end the war on drugs and start treating drug users as an illness instead of incarserating them that would reduce so called crime by about 70%.

• A comment on Conversation: What do you think about the term "fitting in" at school, work, or an outing somewhere?

  Apr 17 2012: Fitting in sucks. We are supposed to be living in a free society, yet if you do not conform (in general sense) your life will become difficult. Obviously I mean freedom flexibility as long as no harm is done to people and society by your actions. You have to "fit in" to survive. If you don't "fit in" to certain dynamics you won't get hired. If you don't "fit in" to certain cultural dynamics you will have difficulty in finding friends or relationships. Bias, prejudice, subjectivity exists in all social interactions (at least on a subconscious level) and these processes impact behavior leading to acceptance or disapproval etc. We cannot just "be ourselves" since we must fit in many cases to function in society. Don't get me wrong, it isn't all bad, but it is what it is (Unless you move to an island and live in isolation).

• A reply on Conversation: Do introverts make better leaders?

  Apr 17 2012: You present a good argument that is for sure. But speaking as an INTP, I have analyzed all of the major issues in our society, and the failed policies of government, and my conclusions present winners and losers in all cases. In real reform, lets say in healthcare or the war on drugs for instance, policy changes that would be best for the people will not be beneficial for big business. There is no silver bullet to appease all sides of the issues. So I guess there may be a thin line between delusional and genius if Obama thinks he can have his cake and eat it too so to speak. If he was like me in any fashion (in character as an INTP) he would at least attempt to push through the better solutions for society instead of thinking he can make everyone happy. Logic and analysis would impact the reality of the situation. I know he realizes to severity of each issue, but I do not believe he is willing to take the political risk (true leadership over self-interest) to enact policies that are for the greater good of society. His actions reflect my statements. Maybe he has the correct intent, but it takes a lot more than that to make major changes. Plus he has to realize that no matter want he does the republicans will twist it negatively since they want him out of power so they can control the office again. So I am not sure of his level of complexity and whether or not it can compare with INTP traits based on what I have seen so far. That being said, I still have tremendous respect for Obama and wish him the best.

• A reply on Conversation: Do introverts make better leaders?

  Apr 17 2012: Exactly, introverts and extroverts are defined through self-assessment, not a behavioral research study/ Only you truly know what is going on inside your head. However, it is possible to lie and be dishonest in assessment, but it is difficult because you get asked the same questions over and over again throughout the test with different wording and slightly different twists and spins, which is the genius behind self-assessment. Someone else is not determining who you are, you are just finding out who you already are.

• A reply on Conversation: Do introverts make better leaders?

  Apr 16 2012: I also am an INTP and write left-handed. No wonder I voted for him. I knew I liked something about him. But, honestly, I think he is more likely a ENTP because he can sling a speech as good as anyone. He may have great leadership abilities, but I understand that getting policy changes through Congress is next to impossible. So unfortunately his potential is somewhat limited. Plus most INTP's don't usually go into law, they are usually more creative and analytical. Plus I am not sure of his resolve and integrity. HIs actions display to me that he is more concerned about being re-elected than sticking to the principles he projected in his initial campaign. He has towed the status quo line more than not in most cases. True leaders do what's best for others, not themselves. Lastly, INTP's are really rare, less than 3% of the population, so the odds stand against the propability of Obama being an INTP.

• A reply on Conversation: Do introverts make better leaders?

  Apr 16 2012: Being an introvert does not necessarily make a person weak, because like you stated many other elements make up personal characteristics. For instance, I am an introvert, but I also have a dominant personality (blanchard assessment), and am Type A on the Type A/B personality scale (organizational behavior test). If anything, I am overconfident, too outspoken, stubborn, too much of a perfectionist, and too demanding. However, since I know my strengths and weaknesses, I have the ability to enhance my strengths and limit my weaknesses. To know thyself creates the ability to improve thyself. However, I should also add that my personality is very rare according to myers-briggs (less than 3% of the population). I also think everyone should take the personality assessment tests to find out who they truly are for self-improvement purposes.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Do introverts make better leaders?

  Apr 16 2012: Because humans are complex creatures. That being said, we still need to explore the nature of humanity to gain a better understanding of what makes us human. It is in our nature to explore and be curious about ourselves and everything around us, and categorization is just a tool in the research and examination process.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Do introverts make better leaders?

  Apr 16 2012: Introverts get drained by being around people too long because in most social situations people do not act true to themselves, they put on a front, or a projection of how they think they should behave, a form of political correctness or self-monitoring in psychological terms. Introverts can see through this (speaking about myself as an introvert on the myers-briggs test) and so this type of environment becomes unpleasant in long durations. Of course if the social setting is a true reflection of people projecting their true personalities, then introverts do not get drained and gain satisfaction from the experience.

• A reply on Conversation: Do introverts make better leaders?

  Apr 16 2012: I think you are examining the issue from a definition that describes who usually ends up being leaders instead of what characteristics make a great leader. People who pitch their ideas and convince others to buy into those ideas are salesmen, but not necessarily good leaders, they may be great conartists at best. Being a leader is not something that you can push on people. A great leader is defined by his or her actions and people then choose to follow of their own free will. Just because someone is in charge does not make them a leader either, only a boss.

• A comment on Conversation: Do introverts make better leaders?

  Apr 16 2012: Many qualities are needed to make a truly great leader. And the topic is not as simple as classifying people into an either/ or scenario. If you have taken the myers-briggs or blanchard DISC assessments or the type A/B personality test you will come to better understanding of personal character design. Introverts and extroverts exist in varying levels of the defined terms. There are high level introverts and low level, and many levels in between. Obviously the same goes for extroverts. That being said, I believe introverts in a general sense are less subjected to being influenced by group think than extroverts. If a person wants or needs to fit in a social order or desires to be popular, that person is more likely to adjust his/her behavior to gain acceptance instead of sticking to a high level of internal principles, a trait normally found in extroverts. True leaders strongly believe in thier principles and are unwaivered in resolve, a trait necessary to make tough decisions that may not be popular, but are better solutions for difficult problems, since major societal issue resolutions will result in winners and losers in most cases. I firmly believe that an introvert is better suited to make tough decisions at the risk of being unpopular because introverts do not need popularity to build self-esteem. However in society a dilemma exists because of the nature of elections. Introverts do not fair well in selling themselves to raise campaign money or votes. Extroverts perform better in this task. So we end up getting great pitch men/women or great salesmen as our elected leaders, instead of true leaders who could inact sound policy for a society.