Randal B. Adcock

Now and Forever

It was night forever. It seemed to never end. And it was completely dark too. And cold. Very cold. I remember that. There was lots of time to think about things. But there was little to contemplate. Infinity. Eternity. Coldness. And then infinite eternal cold. Suddenly and magically, it finally was dawn. The light wasContinue reading “Now and Forever”

Universal Information Architecture

I think our imaginations are being stretched to the point where we can begin to believe anything is possible. The web connecting billions of people you don’t know is a fire-hose of information that overwhelms our cognitive capacities and sends us into shock, further reducing our capacity to manage information. Is there a way out?ThisContinue reading “Universal Information Architecture”

Practise! There is still more…

Dear Diary:Practice makes perfect.As I explore the universe I realize that meanings run out to infinity, as force fields dissipate into oblivion. Is there a sharp line between the concrete and the abstract?No. It is a continuum from perception to perfection, with an asymptote at either end progressing toward the ultimate reality-in-itself, but never reachingContinue reading “Practise! There is still more…”

June 2076

Under extreme duress, such as the shock of a global pandemic, or a world war, the individual of homo sapiens sapiens will surrender its personal intelligence to join a collective intelligence, and surrender its will to the collective will. This is a pattern repeated throughout nature and generally serves a species well in the longerContinue reading “June 2076”

Use Long-Term Memory or Lose it!

Problem: As we get busier and more distracted, we lose more long-term memory, capacity for recall, and even collective memory. This is because, in order to increase our pace to keep up with change, we are constantly practicing and reinforcing quick intuitive and instinctive thinking, while avoiding deliberation. Deliberation is slow and takes effort, butContinue reading “Use Long-Term Memory or Lose it!”

Stress

Stress is drive. Too little stress and nothing gets done. Too much and you collapse. You want the Goldie Locks zone where your stress level is optimum for performance. Manage your stress level or you may enter a vicious circle – at some tipping point additional stress reduces your capacity to manage stress. Stress makesContinue reading “Stress”

Implications and Solution to Pandemic Shock

In February 2020 the world population was shocked to find a species-threatening virus was spreading quickly around the world and killing people at random. Suddenly we realised we were living in a science fiction nightmare. People were traumatized and in emotional shock. We locked down schools, businesses and governments. But when people are in shockContinue reading “Implications and Solution to Pandemic Shock”

The Shifting Notion of Morality

I sense that our human notion of morality is shifting, perhaps in profound ways. We used to think of moral behaviour in terms of the ancient codes of don’t do this or that. “If you do that you will be punished.” People were treated as ‘moral agents’ of goodness or evil, angels or demons. Now,Continue reading “The Shifting Notion of Morality”

Coping?

I am not a psychologist but… Different people are affected by the pandemic differently. Its well known that in excessive stress we resort to our areas of strength, yet overall performance drops. With a shift of priorities our weaknesses may freeze up. Many people are changing jobs now while others are not going back toContinue reading “Coping?”

Personal Resilience

I am impressed with the social media displays of personal resilience in the face of our common yet uncommon troubles. I see landscapes that ground us. I see paintings that express us. I see humor that refills us. I see poems that reframe us in our world, and hear music that reminds us of ourContinue reading “Personal Resilience”