I think it’s possible to say in a somewhat sarcastic fashion, that when Galileo proposed the idea that the Sun was actually at the center of the solar system and that the Earth orbited around it, he was cringe. At the time, making pronouncements that went contrary to the Churches stated beliefs by anyone was considered cringe. He was deprived of his freedom until he recanted his theory, and so fell in line with the accepted ‘truth’ of mainstream society, thereby (somewhat) having his reputation and social status restored (but not.)
I’m a firm believer that there are “ugly truths”, “beautiful truths”, and “inconvenient truths” among others, and you are more than likely going to find more social status by discovering and proselytizing for “beautiful truths” than the other 2; find more sympathy and support for discovering and sharing “inconvenient truths” than “ugly” ones; and potentially be stigmatized and ostracized for discovering and insisting people see the “ugly truths.”
Of course these are all fads in typical human form; yesterday’s beautiful discovery of atomic science and all the scientific benefits thereof, as well as the codification of the modern and efficient “Nuclear Family” Model and suburban sprawl, becomes today’s terror of Nuclear Weapons, Radiation induced Zombification, the overflowing Nursing and Retirement home system where Moms and Dads have hidden their parents away for decades after abandoning inter-generational households, and the plethora of abandoned suburbs, strip malls and roadways as the younger generations attempt to move back to ‘revitalized’ inner cities through gentrification.
This makes me wonder what horrific unintended consequences will come about tomorrow because of the Quantum age we’ve entered. I’m steady trying to figure out how Quantum science will destroy humanity, what the “Quantum Family” Model looks like, and how it’ll screw up society even more, and how quantum understandings will negatively affect city planning for the foreseeable future. What I see is an interrelated series of “ugly truths” about societies inability to learn from our past mistakes.
So do I step into cringe and tell the truth I see there, hoping that people will see my contributions as valuable, and therefore raise my social (financial status), or do I let someone else do it, someone with more social status to start with so that they can do it in a more ‘socially acceptable’ way, and thereby devalue my own social status by passing up an opportunity to point to an issue and take a stab at trying to come up with solutions?
Truth is subjective—Beauty is in the eye of the beholder—When in Rome, do as the Romans do—But, Nero did fiddle...and I don’t want to be rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Some people get to spend their lives surrounded by beautiful truths, and nothing but the purest gold falls from their lips whenever they speak. Some people spend their lives surrounded by ugly truths, and can’t speak of their lives for the gag in their mouths, and when they do pull it from their jaws, people run away screaming and clutching their ears after only a few words. The inconvenient truth is that people surrounded by beauty can only speak about beauty, and people surrounded by ugliness can only speak about ugliness, and most people would much rather hear about beauty.
I think it’s possible to say in a somewhat sarcastic fashion, that when Galileo proposed the idea that the Sun was actually at the center of the solar system and that the Earth orbited around it, he was cringe. At the time, making pronouncements that went contrary to the Churches stated beliefs by anyone was considered cringe. He was deprived of his freedom until he recanted his theory, and so fell in line with the accepted ‘truth’ of mainstream society, thereby (somewhat) having his reputation and social status restored (but not.)
I’m a firm believer that there are “ugly truths”, “beautiful truths”, and “inconvenient truths” among others, and you are more than likely going to find more social status by discovering and proselytizing for “beautiful truths” than the other 2; find more sympathy and support for discovering and sharing “inconvenient truths” than “ugly” ones; and potentially be stigmatized and ostracized for discovering and insisting people see the “ugly truths.”
Of course these are all fads in typical human form; yesterday’s beautiful discovery of atomic science and all the scientific benefits thereof, as well as the codification of the modern and efficient “Nuclear Family” Model and suburban sprawl, becomes today’s terror of Nuclear Weapons, Radiation induced Zombification, the overflowing Nursing and Retirement home system where Moms and Dads have hidden their parents away for decades after abandoning inter-generational households, and the plethora of abandoned suburbs, strip malls and roadways as the younger generations attempt to move back to ‘revitalized’ inner cities through gentrification.
This makes me wonder what horrific unintended consequences will come about tomorrow because of the Quantum age we’ve entered. I’m steady trying to figure out how Quantum science will destroy humanity, what the “Quantum Family” Model looks like, and how it’ll screw up society even more, and how quantum understandings will negatively affect city planning for the foreseeable future. What I see is an interrelated series of “ugly truths” about societies inability to learn from our past mistakes.
So do I step into cringe and tell the truth I see there, hoping that people will see my contributions as valuable, and therefore raise my social (financial status), or do I let someone else do it, someone with more social status to start with so that they can do it in a more ‘socially acceptable’ way, and thereby devalue my own social status by passing up an opportunity to point to an issue and take a stab at trying to come up with solutions?
Truth is subjective—Beauty is in the eye of the beholder—When in Rome, do as the Romans do—But, Nero did fiddle...and I don’t want to be rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Some people get to spend their lives surrounded by beautiful truths, and nothing but the purest gold falls from their lips whenever they speak. Some people spend their lives surrounded by ugly truths, and can’t speak of their lives for the gag in their mouths, and when they do pull it from their jaws, people run away screaming and clutching their ears after only a few words. The inconvenient truth is that people surrounded by beauty can only speak about beauty, and people surrounded by ugliness can only speak about ugliness, and most people would much rather hear about beauty.
I think that’s pretty cringe myself.