by Redemption
"When it comes to things like mindsets your generation, in our terms, was rather childish," she says, starting the film again before he can protest.
~
Kent was speaking. "Earlier I felt the concept of Mentology had been foisted on me, but not for long. It's logical. Getting the mind to rise above and lead our senses and emotions rather than follow them. Liberating us from greed and fear - the two negative influences prevailing on humanity since it came into being (and which I was not averse to using to my own advantage from time to time). Its relevance dawned on me when we got around to discussing the 'homework' Guy had given us before the Manor fire. His promise of 'interesting revelations' had caught the attention of the group and they were keen to put him to the test".
~
"Wait a minute," protests Andrew. "I'm still coming to grips with Mentology!"
"This will help," responds Christiana soothingly.
~
Guy: "I'm going to start with a subject familiar to you, and re-present it in a way which could have radical implications for what we are trying to do. The subject is 'partnerships'. The concept is well known - several people or entities with different skills or resources get together and work towards a common goal. All partners are expected to contribute, and success of the partnership depends on this.
"Paradoxically, while we struggle in our society and with our environment most people don't realise each and every one of us lives and operates within a very important partnership. We all have an extremely accomplished personal partner at our disposal throughout our life." He paused for effect, taking in the enquiring looks before continuing.
"That partner is our 'body', and it is capable, works automatically and is unquestioning. Its brain is a sophisticated computer, already hard-wired, to which we and our environment add programming. Our partner beavers away silently, looking after us, waiting for our commands. The heart, lungs, organs, brain and other aspects of a human being are extremely complex objects - 'miraculous' if you look at them in any detail.
"The second partner in the relationship is our mind - 'ourselves' if you like. We are supposedly the senior member - we are in charge of the other partner and it serves us. Hardly an equal partnership as the 'body partner' has no vote. All we have to do is feed and exercise the body and it loyally does our bidding, in an extremely competent manner, as you will see. A great arrangement."
~
Andrew suspects a facile analogy. It has to be challenged. He dinks 'D'.
V
D: Partnerships (A):
The film showed Guy addressing the group. "I hope you didn't find the homework too difficult. I don't want this to appear a full-blown biology lesson; I think you'll realize my intentions as we proceed. I've asked each of you to digest supplied information about one aspect of the body and summarize to a paragraph. If you would please speak in order of the number you find at the top of your instructions."
Kent: "I'm first, and my subject is the human cell. Cells are the basic building blocks of the body. Our organs, muscles and bones are communities of cells held together by supporting structures. Each cell is designed to perform a particular function and contains coded instructions to this effect in the form of DNA, grouped into genes, arranged into chromosomes. Cells are about one hundredth of a millimetre in diameter, each containing 30 to 40,000 genes and using up to 10,000 different proteins as part of their function. There are over 100 billion cells in the body."
Ed: "I'm number two, and frustrated at having so much information to squeeze into one paragraph, as doubtless Kent was. The heart is a powerful pump that circulates blood around the body. It draws 'used' blood from the veins and pumps it to the lungs where it is 'refreshed' with oxygen and returned to the heart to be pumped through the arteries to the body. At 60 beats a minute it will typically pump 2.5 billion times and 48 million gallons of blood in a lifetime. If it was a car engine and a heartbeat equated with an engine revolution it would motor around the world some 35 times."
Rose: "When we breathe our diaphragm and chest enlarge the lungs, drawing air into about 600 million tiny air sacs. The sacs are surrounded by fine capillaries (blood vessels) where carbon dioxide is drawn from the blood and exchanged for oxygen, in less than a tenth of a second. Air containing carbon dioxide is then discharged from the lungs as the diaphragm and chest relax."
Mario: "It is an impossible task to describe the eye in one paragraph, but I will do it. Light comes into the eye through the iris which automatically controls the amount of light. It passes through a lens that is adjusted by muscles so that the image is focused on the retina at the back of the eye. Light-sensitive cells, 130 million in each eye, detect information about the image, consisting of about (his eyes widened to emphasise the magnitude) one billion bits of visual data per second. Information is transmitted to the brain via the optic nerve. Direction of the eyeball is controlled by eye muscles and head movement. Slightly different images in each eye allow us to gauge distance."
Pip: "The ear gathers sound waves in the outer part, magnifies them about 20 times in the middle ear, and then measures sound characteristics such as pitch and loudness through thousands of tiny nerve fibres in the inner ear. Slightly different information is transmitted by the auditory nerve from each ear to the brain, allowing us to sense direction of sound. The inner ear also contains sensors that help our balance."
Trevor: "Where do I start and, just as difficult, where do I finish? "Blood circulation. Blood is pumped by the heart through 60,000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries, as small as one hundredth of a millimetre diameter, to the body cells. Red blood cells carry food, vitamins and oxygen to the cells and collect waste products and carbon dioxide. Platelets in the blood promote clotting in wounds. White blood cells fight bacteria and toxins and stop clotting within cells.
Raj: "The digestion system breaks down substances so they can be absorbed by the body for energy and growth and repair. Enzymes are emitted from glands in the mouth, stomach and intestines as part of sophisticated controlled chemical processes. Even hydrochloric acid is produced, plus mucus to protect the body from its harmful effects while it is breaking down food and digesting carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Digestion is completed when absorption takes place into the blood stream from the small intestine, followed by processing and purifying in the liver. Waste products are emitted via the large intestine."
Rick: "You lot thought you were complicated? The nervous system has about 45 miles of nerve fibre in a complex communication and control network radiating from the brain through the spine to all parts of the body. The autonomic nervous system provides automatic control of functions such as heart, breathing and digestion. The somatic nervous system is partly under our control and includes 656 muscles, body movement and gathering of information. There are other systems, and systems within systems, such as immune, lymphatic, metabolism, endocrine, reproductive and urinary in addition to digestive, muscular, skeletal, respiratory and various circulatory systems. There are massive information science implications of which most of us are blithely unaware as millions of impulses per second course through our body. My mind, for one, as a practitioner in information technology, boggles."
Yvonne: "Sorry Rick, I can cap even that. My subject is the brain, and I'm not quite sure whether my brain can quite grasp its enormous significance, let alone condense it into a paragraph. The human brain weighs only about three pounds, but is the most complex and sophisticated structure in the known universe. It directs all our bodily activities. Each brain consists of around 100 billion neurons (that figure is many times the entire human population of the world), interconnected by 100 trillion synapses. There are millions of firing patterns over a large variety of brain circuits every second. Nerves transmit minute electrical impulses to the brain which processes the information, makes decisions and sends instructions back through the motor nerves. There is a 'primitive' part of the brain that controls heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, etc., and a more advanced section that relate
s to deep-seated emotions. Further sections process the five senses and body movements. The most 'advanced' sections handle thinking, memory, consciousness and the higher mental processes."
Xena: "You all got so excited, but I'm going back to basics to complete the cycle - with conception. To our limited minds, despite those billions of neurons, this process is almost inconceivable. When two adults get together (with an almost imperceptible wink to Mario) an egg and a sperm (one of 400 million injected) unite to form the beginning of a new human being. 23 chromosomes from each combine to make a complete new cell, which then begins to subdivide and multiply. Creation, the ultimate answer to Social Entropy? Each cell has the wherewithal and capacity to function as any cell in the growing infant. The genes make this decision and issue instructions as part of an overall plan."
=
Unable to contain himself any longer, Andrew blurts out "This is a biology lesson. I admit it makes me even more amazed that Cameron was able to keep me healthy, but what the hell are they driving at?"
"Ssh," Christiana whispers in his ear, keeping the film going. Her scent inflames his nostrils and other parts.
~
Guy: "Thank you all. I will now draw conclusions from your offerings. They demonstrate that the human body is an incredibly complex and sophisticated piece of 'machinery'. And to make it even more bizarre, most of your body cells renew themselves regularly (for example, seven million red blood cells every second), so that very little of the body you have today is the same as it was a year ago.
"There is one major item I will add to complete the general picture, so to speak. It is the mind. The mind is not the brain, but the brain in action. Whereas the brain supplies all the information which enables us to perceive the world about us, and processes and stores that information and controls certain functions automatically, it is the mind that selects and reacts to information, feels and thinks about it, applies reason, logic and creativity.
"One partner, the body with its brain, performs amazing services, regularly and reliably, enabling the other partner - the mind - to exist and function on this planet. It is impossible for any of us to undertake or manage the sophisticated physical activities of our body, and in return for so doing that partner asks little of us, merely to feed and shelter the body and keep it out of danger. We are thereby enabled to do many more things - to enjoy company, work, garden, listen to music and innumerable other activities. But whereas the body does its part efficiently and responsibly, 'we', the other half of the partnership, fall down in two major areas.
"Firstly, we lead or allow our body to do things which are against its best interests. A small example - smoking. Over a period it severely affects our partner's ability to function properly and reduces the eventual quality and length of life of our partner - and 'ourselves' of course. The same with other forms of substance abuse, poor diet, lack of exercise, careless or reckless behaviour, and so on. One partner is behaving very capably and responsibly, with fantastic complexity and precision, the other is irresponsible, immature and, let's face it, dangerous. Short-changing its honest, hard-working partner.
"The second major area of shortcoming is where we overlook the ways in which each of us, with our personal partner, has an inherent ability to do so much more. If we see a commercial partnership where one partner is irresponsible we readily criticise the arrangement and censure the faulty party. It's obvious, and for that reason there is pressure and responsibility for all partners to contribute, and repercussions if they don't. In the case of the 'human partnership' the relationship is not obvious, there is less or no responsibility seen and, in particular, there is virtually no awareness of the significance and importance of the structure and respective contributions to the partnership - and that makes for an unsatisfactory relationship."
Raj: "In the East our holistic view incorporates the mind / body relationship. In the West your analytical and atomistic approach has divorced you from the rich possibilities that await all who open their minds. The important step is to realise what you are missing so as to clear the decks for corrective and positive action and benefit."
Guy: "Whereas the brain can only develop at the speed of evolution, the mind is not burdened by the same restriction. 'Conscious mental evolution' can develop a thousand times faster than physical evolution. Although it could have developed much faster in the past, and that development was desirable, it didn't, and that is why the world is currently experiencing major problems. But all is not lost; I say the mind can not only 'keep up', it can 'get ahead'. Things like Living Phil and Pals could kick-start the mind to where it can appreciate its own potential and then actively achieve it.
Raj: "As a contribution to social evolution, I feel our group is looking in the right direction at Mentology - using the mind positively and proactively, leading us, in due course, to Deeemocracy. (I am sure India would love to become the biggest Deeemocracy in the world.)"
"Well done team," enthused Kent. "Partnerships will never be the same again for me. Rose, can you devise a suitable name for this different but fundamental and ubiquitous form of partnership?"
"Yes, I have been thinking, and I offer 'PPartnership'. No, I haven't developed a stutter, it stands for 'Personal Partnership'. A most valuable concept, overlooked and overdue, if I might say so. Our PPartnership is free, it doesn't cost us a cent to acquire. And it's not something to debate about whether we will join or not, we each have been in our own PPartnership all out lives. All of us have missed out on the full benefit of the relationship because we haven't appreciated the significance or value of it. I suggest we use PP1 for the body and PP2 for the mind."
"Sounds perfectly logical to me," said Kent. "Although people will ask why not, for example, just use the word 'body' instead of 'PP1'".
"Because the word 'body' has many shades of meaning in different contexts, whereas 'PP1' has a specific meaning and use, which we all will experience in due course," explained Rose, with patience.
Kent: "Getting back to Mentology, I see the concept has more weight, more drive with PPartnership behind it."
V
D: Mentology:
KBVO: "The mind is fascinating. Pity I hadn't thought much about it before. Mentology is using the mind to develop our human abilities towards their potential and managing our inter-relationships and human affairs in the interests of a better society. Mentology can be the accelerant of conscious evolution. Expanding PP2 abilities to enhance its side of the PPartnership, which, in turn, results in a much better overall PPartnership performance. A year ago I couldn't have entertained these thoughts, but now it's so obvious. Mentology can take its place with technology and sociology - making Rose's three-legged stool on which humanity can perch and launch to greater heights. Perhaps precariously in the beginning, but with increasing confidence and stability as a foundation for future growth."
Rick: "Technology has been racing ahead rapidly, too fast for our limited abilities to keep pace. That's why there are poor practices and misapplications giving technology a bad name in some quarters. Mentology can exert leverage on life. Allow us to make best use of technological developments and to progress in the direction of our supposedly superior status compared to, say, termites."
Pip: "A couple of other useful concepts about mental processes are 'memes' and 'morphic resonance'. These will be integrated later. (Memes and morphic resonance: definitions deferred)
=
"Now you may well ask exactly how Mentology achieved remarkable results over such a short period," Christiana suggests.
"Yes, yes, YES." replies Andrew impatiently.
"It is because it gave rise to people with the series of qualities referred to by Dr Dench yesterday. Individually each quality is unremarkable but in concert the combination is, in terms of your generation, distinctly remarkable. The end result is people who are creative and energetic, resourceful and motivated, versatile and effective, responsible and co-operative. PP2 has been developed from its stunted (some say bonsa
i) form, and now many people have what we call the 10 Q. I'll show you the list of them from the film."
"Lists! In a film?" Andrew queries mockingly. "How boring things must have become nowadays. What's happened to the 'significant events' every fifteen seconds?"
"That was in your time. We now understand viewers have more intelligence and attention span than a mere child. See how many of the qualities would have been common in any individual in your time."
2050 QUALITIES (10 Q)
Q1 Input. High energy, drive, enthusiasm, persistence, endeavour.
Q2 Creativeness. Innovation, problem-solving abilities, initiative, enterprise, self-activation, resourcefulness.
Q3 Approach. Positive attitude, high self-esteem, confidence, 'can-do'.
Q4 Direction. Defined goals, achievement philosophy, success orientation, self-direction.
Q5 Versatility. Flexibility, coping with change, adaptability, resilience.
(Already Andrew could see few people of his time would have all 5 Q's)
Q6 Inter-relatedness. Interpersonal skills, ability to work with and motivate others, empathy, teamwork, cooperativeness, group dynamics, leadership. (Hardly anybody with all 6 Q's, except maybe Kent.)
Q7 Control. Handling stress / anxiety, managing change, self-motivation, self-management.
Q8 Efficiency and effectiveness. High performance, learning skills, productivity, capacity to deliver, 'doers', empowerment, actualisation.
Q9 Responsibility. Commitment, accountability, morals, ethics, integrity.
(Gotcha Kent! - at least the Kent of old would have failed Q9)
Q10 Balance / all-round. Well balanced, realistic, practical, mature, able to achieve potential. Plus 'humanising' elements such as compassion, forbearance, forgiveness, tolerance, courage, romance, humour.
=
Andrew tries to think coherently - not easy with pressure on him from without and within - physical, mental and emotional. After a brief effort he gives up. "Superman!" he exclaims sarcastically. "Just a lot of words. Straight out of management school and self-development manuals. We've seen it all before." He glares defiantly at Christiana.