Held in Motion

Power uses hierarchies for control & influence. I think morals conceptualized within environments of power are tainted in similarly unhelpful ways. We focus on being “good” or “not bad”, while people & situations are demoted to context. Disassociating us from the greater responsibility found in being present, in relationship with, in bidirectional feedback looping with others. Here you'll find how I’ve come to think being “good” doesn’t matter, & what I’m attempting to replace it with.Resources & Notes:Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

There's a lot of shit happening in the world, right now. Some see it, feel it. Others see it, but dismiss the degree of shit. Then, there are the arguments that arise over feelings, perceptions, & even what to do. Who's right? What if patriarchy & white supremacy filter the threat & shape what we see, what we feel, & when? And these same systems keep us from seeing & hearing one another, let alone understanding & addressing the threat before it becomes apocalyptic/catastrophic? Resources & Notes: Exposing a Global "Rape Academy” (CNN investigative report.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

What if feedback loops were more popularly understood as dynamic looping? Not a noun, but a verb. Signals sent, uninhibited. Signals acknowledged & metabolized. Leading to a reorganizing of the system, resulting in a change, a shift. A changed output ready for a new feedback signal. A continual looping. The very essence of life! What if shifting our collective understanding shifted us internally? Relationally? How we design? How we govern, do business, educate?Resources & Notes:Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall KimmererA rendering of an atom.A rendering of the solar system moving through space.(Images can be seen on Substack.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

From the design of AI to its responses, attention has often been oriented towards fitting into the "bits & bytes" mechanics ('This is how we code file systems/logic gates/etc... Now let's fit this idea of AI into this paradigm.'), when LLMs (large language models) are inherently, messily human. What if we shifted our orientation to look at how humans exist multidimensionally, and then tried to build a similar multi-system integration into AI? From human memory to our ideas of right and wrong.Resources & Notes:Human Memory Was Never A Filing System by A. E. Larrson (@aelarrson)Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

Building on ideas from the "Morals as functional theatre?' episode, I share how my thinking has complexified and expanded. Combining the previous conceptual framing with this new one, they seem to make me & others more legible; taking two dimensional perceptions to 3D in high definition.(For reference, I do a complexified recap of that previous episode for context, if you're wondering whether to go back or not.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

Sometimes, I think we humans are very funny in our audacity. To think that we could remove any and all influences in the practice of science. I love science! I do! But it is imperfect, and IMO is far more powerful when combined with additional knowledge/lenses. Then we can see the "force fields", the relational & multidimensional context.Ready for a rollercoaster? Think systems, hormones, mosh pits, many worlds, science as, dare I say, messy, and more. Buckle up! Resources & Notes:Mosh Pit Fluid Dynamics (Hannah Fry)A Socio-cultural Context of Rape: A Cross Cultural Study (1981 paper)Power Causes Brain Damage (Originally published on The Atlantic. This is anon-paywall link.)Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking by Leonard Modinow (My thinking may shift. I'm currently reading How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

In the previous episode, I tried to do the ridiculous; take a non-gender-essentialist/exceptionalist look at patriarchy & matriarchy. After taking a step back to really look at matriarchy, to me, it's looking a lot like a projection and reflection of the patriarchy.Resources & Notes:How AI sources can increase openness to opposing views This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

When hierarchies of dominance teach us to understand everything in boxes, then to evaluate how accurately a thing, a person, each of us, fits in a box, should be evaluated according to that box, in contrast to another box, that the boxes need to be shuffled up and down in importance, according to some ideal, objective valuation that is defined by those in power... What if we rejected the boxes & the complex shifting hierarchies, and reintegrated understanding? Of self, of one another, of categories of information, etc. To understand everything through relational dynamics, multidimensional influences, instead of rigid boxes & hierarchy that need constant policing & enforcing? What if this allowed us to breathe easier, to exist more expansively WITH one another instead of OVER anyone? What if this shift — in thinking, being, relating, creating — was a shifting from patriarchy to matriarchy? Not a gender essentialst destination, but a living, breathing celebration of human diversity? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

What if morals are functional theatre? For us? For others? What if they really aren't about what is good or right conduct? What if that's just the story? And how we embody & live out the story, is entirely different? And what if those inconsistencies are less about good & evil and instead evidence of moving parts - different cognitive infrastructure, storytelling, & sociological signaling? All moving according to inputs, context, & time? Resources & Notes:The four tethers referenced in the example given: • Hierarchy over mutuality • Rules-based legitimacy over contextual assessment/judgment• Order over ambiguity• Certainty over accuracy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

We're often led to believe that only certain people can or can't be imaginative, that only certain contexts & times are "appropriate" for "childishness". I endeavour to show that everyone is creative, and then how unexpected, practical steps can reignite the imagination. How play can simply be for the fun of it, for playfully addressing heavy challenges, or for creating a different tomorrow. Not only individually but collectively. Resources & Notes:@human.sparks on Instagram This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

What if Goliaths could be brought down in more ways than one? What if, instead of a flashy moment or a single hero... What if we could destabilize the "ground" beneath a Goliath but reinforce the "ground" for the rest of us?Resources & Notes:Instagram reel talking about allegorical stories (Like Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc.) where the hero takes out the big baddie, show us how to recognize fascism and that we are impotent to stop it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

If cognitive empathy is done selectively and sharing how sexism & misogyny are literally costing women's lives is not a motivating factor... If patriarchy is a self-reinforcing & rewarding prison costing men's lives, and that is not a motivating force... How do we connect with men about the importance of off-ramping the patriarchy? I unpack & explore some of this, as I attempt to re-orient my thinking for moving forward. Resources & Notes: Preference for hierarchy is associated with reduced empathy and increased counter-empathy towards others, especially out-group targets.Is the patriarchy really ending? I may have this wrong. Apparently, "sociologists" are not saying this. Or at least, I can't find the piece I previously read about the stages of patriarchy, and I can only find Substack & Medium articles supporting the idea. Systems analysts are supposedly seeing patterns that could infer an end, but is it, really? Hard to say.The New Age of Sexism by Laura Bates Musk’s AI chatbot faces global backlash over sexualized images of women and children.Precarious Manhood, Risky Behavior, and Physical Health: A Multi-Nation Study This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

I think we're at a pivotal point in history. Previously, we could build less complex systems that significantly relied on individuals doing the "right thing" — it was, essentially, an assumed cog in the machine. We used cultural narratives to create "moral" systems, so an individual would be 'moral, responsible, and accountable'. When capitalism puts everything permanently on fast-forward & there's an atomization of cultural narratives, how do we think about building & maintaining systems that can no longer rely so heavily on individuals, corporations, politicians, etc. doing "the right thing"? More complexity seems to require more complexity of thought, forethought, intention, design, etc. So, maybe it's not an all or nothing with respect to AI, social media, the internet, etc. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com

The early explorations of: How do we create different online experiences? Using multiple lenses to look at the stabilizing tethers of real life vs the dissassociated experience of online life. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit heldinmotion.substack.com