TED Community » douglas macrae smith

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  A reply on Talk: Skylar Tibbits: The emergence of "4D printing"

  Apr 6 2013: 3D printers can print themselves!

• A reply on Conversation: Politics needs to stop being about the group

  Aug 3 2012: Sounds like you're saying that the best way to stop tribal warfare, is for there to be a lot more, smaller tribes.
  Which would in turn make people feel more concerned - presumably because of increased choice

• A reply on Conversation: Politics needs to stop being about the group

  Aug 3 2012: Politics (ie. arguing for one's own camp/tribe/party.) needs to end, thats what most people here seem to agree with.
  However, democrats, republicans, communists, ecologists etc and anarchists are tribes.
  Anarchy wont necessarily bring an end to politics (as defined above) just because it eliminates central government.
  I suppose u mean there are no public issues because of the anarchists insistance on individual rights and responsability

• A reply on Conversation: What is the source of all this trouble?

  Aug 3 2012: A logical conclusion Yuri - Sounds tricky - like a dog chasing its tail
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: What is the source of all this trouble?

  Aug 2 2012: Quite so - thought itself is not the problem
  The conflict comes from the automatic, unconscious crystallisation of that thought.
  Thoughts themselves can be wonderful movements of intelligence - they appear and dissapear like subatomic particles out of the void. in such they are the movement of intelligence.
  It is the clutcing on to those thoughts as truth, further building up our self image or world view; and the ensuing valorisation of these beliefs (that we have spent years moulding and perfecting) together with the understandable unwillingness to let go despite the problems they may cause - that leads to conflict, depression, and other unhealthy behaviour.
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What is the source of all this trouble?

  Aug 2 2012: I'd have to agree with David Bohm
  What is thought?
  Thought is a habitual reaction based on conditioning (eg logic, morals, culture), and is itself further conditioning - unfortunately both the past and current conditioning of one's world view are most certainly at odds with reality and the world view of others.So what we end up with is a conflict between reality and our beliefs/knowledge; but also a conflict between my beliefs and yours.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Which is better? Use my own shopping bags and buy bin liners or use the supermarket carrier bags and reuse them as bin liners?

  Aug 1 2012: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/
  This might be what you're looking for?
  
  Personally - the thing that really gave me the eco-tools I needed was 'permaculture' - if u can spare a week of your time I recommend joining a beginners course - there are also various books ranging from highly theoretical to practical.
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: Designing a new Education System

  Jul 31 2012: Sounds good to me
  Learning is a game - the child learns at play - nature made it so, and she usually chooses the best systems.
  
  Let the child grow into the best thing he can be, by encouraging him to do what he finds the most interesting.

• A comment on Conversation: Which is better? Use my own shopping bags and buy bin liners or use the supermarket carrier bags and reuse them as bin liners?

  Jul 31 2012: I loved your question - really funny. However it seems that u do worry a lot about the issue (not surprising, important stuff)
  Firstly, I reckon its important to do our best, but not to take things too seriously - we always do worse under pressure - just know that u are an intelligent person, and that u are now awake to the ecological issue - we will all learn as we go along.
  
  For a quick fix, what about this answer? - do what u would do if u had absolutely no money whatsoever
• +1

  A reply on Conversation: My quantum theory of everything "Quantum Philosophy"

  Jul 31 2012: I can only see 2 answers: No, everything always was (eternal existence of the whole) and Yes, cause and effect (no intrinsic existence of anything)
  
  whoops - to avoid a paradox, I suppose the best answer is I dont know