The albatross cannot control the wind

Image by Ed Dunens

Nature reminds us we're not the only force in the universe—we can push and pull, but it's cooperation with our environment that ultimately brings success. Perhaps VTA, Prop 36 laggers, and e-billboard-promoting CMs could take a cue. From Aeon.

As a newborn, before your mind was transformed by social learning and language, you were ensconced in meaningful settings, each with their own meaningful tendencies. In your crib, the (captivating) mobile above you tended to sway. In the sink for a bath, the spout tended to shhhhh. There was thick wetness around you and smoothness beneath you. Parents – blurry through your not-yet-developed eyes – tended to move in many directions, put good things in your mouth, whisper, rock you, and hold you close.

… [Yet] Human environments are set up – by us – to seamlessly support manipulation and control. You live in a world of flat surfaces, doorknobs and other ‘equipment’ (to use a word from Martin Heidegger). Not so for other animals. Orangutans spend much of their time in the dense forest, negotiating with branches. Some can be pushed away, others snap back, and others can’t be moved at all – you have to go around. An artic seal labours with teeth and claws to make holes in hard, unforgiving ice. An albatross skilfully aligns their body with wind currents that speed their glide but it cannot control them.

Go Deeper:

• How modern economic debate completely misses the role of surprise and creativity
• Perspective: Why SJ/SF gov'ts are so bad at fighting homelessness—it's hard to label and count
• Like gardeners, free marketeers begin by observing—and respecting—the world around them

Nonhuman action is chara less by control and more by something like cooperation. It’s an existence where ‘doing’ means working with the environment, not dominating it. Acting is like the Serenity Prayer: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can’t change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. Think of swimming in the ocean when a big wave comes. You can decide whether to go over or under. But you can’t try to stop it – you have to go with the flow.

This worldview was once ours, too. Before the world appeared to us as manipulable and controllable, ripe to be bent to our will, it was dynamically present. It was there as a push – sometimes in support, and sometimes in opposition. It was a force to be reckoned with, demanding consideration in our doings.

This is what [human causal understanding] lets us overcome – and forget. …

Our collective capacity to make new choices about what to do with all our power will determine the fate of our species.

Read the whole thing here.

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