I will say one thing though. We may not have that much time. Progressive activism is fantastic, when you have a democracy. I think in order to preserve our democracy in the coming decade or two, however, we're going to need a very political approach, the exact kind decried in the Harvard essay.

Just to avoid the risk of descent into large scale violence. Because I personally just don't see the trends towards extremism stopping soon. Not that a counterfactual like this is good for much. We're in unprecedented conditions, though.

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migration_Period
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Warm_Period#Research (see: MWPI in this section)

Oh yes, history does repeat (see above). There is a boom and bust cycle here; regardless, you can only do what you can do, and if that is how you know you need to do it, go that way. Mine is teaching; I am too passive and weird for politics. I've got too many health problems for being a boots-on-the ground person. I am a small group 1:1 person, book nerd. So, I could not compete in those places, but maybe I can motivate others to do that or get them to make good voting choices, or otherwise. That's what that guide is all about—finding your niche where you could do the most good, then seizing it.

[–] Candelestine@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

History doesn't repeat, but often rhymes. Twain's quote better includes the effects of new technologies popping up all the time since the Renaissance, and sending things in odd, slanting directions sometimes.

Cheers though, I definitely agree we will need all sorts of people and methods. Just because in order to reach certain people, you have to be a certain sort sometimes. With enough perspectives and talents coming from the more cross-disciplinary approaches becoming more common, maybe we get outta this. Worth a shot anyway.

I mean, we did just find a new way to evaporate water. No small feat, people watched that process right in front of their faces for thousands of years. Just lacked the tools to see it.

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Oh yes, and often, technology comes out of need. :)

https://futureoflife.org/guest-post/90-of-all-the-scientists-that-ever-lived-are-alive-today/