one thing rebecca costa does do that is very original is spell out the super-memes that inhibit insight and form a barrier between what we believe and what we know we must do.
irrational opposition - the idea that we have to oppose without any solution, decisions are reactions not responses. instead we ignore, criticise, marginalise, misrepresent, resist rational solutions and these reactions become the normal way we deal with everything as a society, opposition has become the new substitute for advocacy.
'when a society becomes oppositional it becomes easy to manipulate. individuals who understand how opposition works become masters at swaying public opinion and negotiating outcomes that suits it's own agenda. when we are presented with two choices we chose the less objectionable option, which in effect becomes decision by default. an oppositional strategy polarises choice and choosing between two extreme options doesn't solve complex problems. when faced with complexity we immediately default to the familiar and thus generate fear.'
she goes on to say, 'the marginalisation of innovative thinking represents the most dangerous effect of the oppositional super - meme. the more we oppose the more we hinder the development of insight.'
the other super memes are the personalisation of blame, there always has to be a fall guy when in actual fact the system is not working. yet we constantly look for individuals to take responsibility.
the next super meme is the most subtle and insidious. it's the counterfeit correlation, where by two sets of facts are used to create a third. an example being: if you have more than one toilet in your home you are wasting water as some american counties have suggested. yet when rebecca herself was denied permission she pointed out, 'but i would flush the toilet exactly the same amount as if i had ten in my home.'
the counterfeit correlation is everywhere, it's now public policy and inherent in almost every decision governments make. it's not science, it's not factual and it basically assumes that you can make anything fit the argument.
next super meme that inhibits insight is silo thinking, this means reducing everything into manageable fractions of the whole, compartmentalised thinking without collaborating. this fundamentally is about hoarding information and not sharing it freely to solve problems. it's territorial from an evolutionary biologists point. this exists throughout society from the health system to education and business to government and all the way through to science itself which specialises. information is then averaged out and we work in averages. eg NASA has invented a solar panel 40 years ago that converts light to energy for free. this means no generators, no power companies, no emissions and no bureaucracy or big cost, each home can have the small panel fitted for a $100. yet when the scientists approached the energy board they were told it was not the domain of NASA. even obama refused to listen and closed down NASA. the scientists then approached the canadian government who are developing the idea with the plan to sell it back to america.
finally the last super meme is extreme economics, the idea that money is value. there are hundreds of ways to stop climate change, all very inexpensive, the most innovative is to paint all roads white, there are hundreds of products to provide cheaper energy, cleaner water in poorer countries, cure illness and disease but unless profit comes into play no one wants to touch them.
'using risk / reward to measure the value of global humanity is like using a ruler to measure humanity. it's the wrong tool.' rebecca concludes.