Sunday, October 11, 2015

It's The End of the World! . . . Part 17

  Just kidding about the "part 17" up in the header. I used to write these things out longhand (on graph paper) and circulate a few to friends in person. Normally, I would pass out some (ten or twelve?) to folks as they were heading into church. Years ago, there was this old guy named Edgar, and he would hand a copy of the church bulletin to people as they came into the sancuary. He died of natural causes, and for some reason or another; I took over for him.
  I can't really say just why I do the job. I describe it as; "I've got to go stand around and pretend I like people". But, however the position became (more or less) mine, it was a great choke point in the traffic flow. Some people at minimum pretended to enjoy reading Crazy Pants Essays in those days. I figured it wouldn't do them any harm at least.
  So anyhow, back in those days; there were several of the  papers which were titled "End Of The World!" . . . part 3 or 5 or whatever. I just choose a number. There are not 16 more of these monsters floating around somewhere! But please do not think that in these we intend to mock or minimize the importance of the eschathon. No, it is far more like a church I vaguely recall in Albuquerque years ago advertising thus: "You can hold the Scriptures in one hand, and todays' newspaper in the other; and actually see (!) prophecy being fulfilled! Come to the XYZ conference, as Pastor Bob teaches us how".
  It is that sort of thing I hoped to blow out of the water with some humor on the topic.
 Now, we will not overly tax your patience with some plan, or scenario about some proposed "millenium". The short version is that there are "pre" (two flavors), "a", and "post" (about nine flavors). Of the many "post-mill" spins, I (willy-nilly) toss in the "preterist" speculations, and don't get me started on that! The short version please? My take on the millenium runs; "Millenium? What millenium? Where, ever; did you get that idea?". This makes me (I think) an "a" which is pronounced "ahh", as in ah-ha!
  The short and sweet a-mill position lines up with several of the Messiahs' parables, but the one I have in mind is the wheat and tares (go look it up). So, both the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of man are present on earth until a rude interruption from outside earth ends the story. As the bad are getting worse, also true the good are gaining traction, and "doing exploits". Both develop simultaneously, and are directionally opposed, got it? So this is "where" this C.P.E. is "coming from".
  This essay is spawned at least in part, by my recent viewing of "The Age of Ultron", the latest installment of the Avengers series. This is not a movie review, but it did seem striking (to me at least) that some of the sub-texts of the film were near matches to the regular day dreaming that I do. Plus that, it was on the same day that I went for a ten or twelve mile walk, and concluded (prior to the viewing) that AI cannot possibly be a good cultural developement.
  This Artificial Intelligence theme I was taught to lowball as a probability by my software genius friends Dave and Larry. In brief, a binary switching (on and off, one and zero) cannot ever, ever "come alive". The logic and the instructions of the program assign adding and subtracting tasks, at a high rate of speed, but under no circumstance can such ever become "aware". This would be true it appears to all binary switching. But, neither of my friends was speaking of "Quantum Computing" either.
  I do not pretend to grasp the theory or practice of qc, but in brief, it breaks the rule of two. One guy descibes it as a tri-phasic process. As such, it might yield a yes, a no, and a maybe. The valuation could be one or zero, or "both or neither". This is an entirely different scheme than what we are used to. And importantly (for the purposes of this essay), such a new tech solution might (one day), prove basic to an actual functioning AI device.
  Now, as an aside; I would suggest that you go read "That Hideous Strength" sometime soon. The extremely abbreviated version is that a 1950s era story features a machine with tubes (remember those?), levers, knobs and lights. That would be the quantum device in question. In the story, a decapitated head provides the mapping protocol, the directional processing occurs via established brain pathways. But, in the Lewis story, the thing cannot come to life until a "bent eldil" inhabits the contraption. Somehow, C.S. Lewis saw what I see, or vice-versa. In order for the final blasphemy to arise, a "three-ist" structure must fuse tri-disparate legs. 
  We get a proposed device, but that is not enough. The processing must follow routes of coherent and recognizable thinking, so a human mind becomes the template. But that is not enough, because we are still talking about a bunch of wires and circuits. For such to actually "live"; there must be a spirit, and the Father of spirits would never assign one of His own into such a monstrosity. Therefore, a kind of demonically "inspired" habitation is required.
  Now, before we move on I would like to interject an idea which has arisen somewhere else amid these essays. We like to imagine ourselves as modern and sophisticated, very unlike our simple and primitive ancestors who worshipped blocks of wood or statues. 
  This is a highly biased premise of ours, in that what was actually going on then was a magical interface, a mediated contact. The goal of ancient priests was to "chain or bind" a spirit to a place and an object via incantation and blood sacrifice. The petitioner approached the idol and asked of it, but that thing (the idol itself) was an "inefficient telephone" to communicate with the entity which resided (was bound to) "in" it. The basic problem of the occult then, is that you do sometimes get results! So, the artifact, plus the priest plus the oppressive ancient entity operating via the array is not (definitely not!) a new idea. The main difference I discuss today is signal strength, clarity of contact and the continual rather than intermittant nature of the "animal". But, let's return to the movie for a moment eh?
  The Age of Ultron (more accurately, the two and a half weeks of Ultron) touched upon some of these themes. But watching the film is akin to drinking from a firehose. Too much is happening, too many witty and zany lines are spoken. No, it's not there we look. The movie has a theme which I have been mulling over for nearly thirty years.
  The only way to get warring mankind to finally or ultimately unite is by a dreadful enough common enemy. Simply said, a threat from outside the world is the only working human motive which would be powerful enough to overcome our constant sniping at, and destruction of; each other. So for a true "End of the World!" scenario to logically function, the return of the Captain at the head of His armies must be viewed as a true threat, a dire future indeed! Of course, such a ploy would never mention Him by name, (except to the inner circle) and instead a proposed "alien invasion" is my guessed-at future strategy proposed to the "masses". Frankly, I spend altogether too much time (usually around dinner time) mulling this over, so trying to see better. This threat incoming (no mention of Messiah), the movie writer got pretty much correct it seems to me. The metaphor is dual in the flick. A very heavy object crashing in from above is one angle, and also, a foreseen (privately) threat alternative to, and far worse than the big rock, is the idea in the film.
  In brief, the prophecies about the un-man indicate this kind of duality. No one can (effectively) war upon him, (Ultron dressed up as the anti-christ) He is the dropper of the rock, and through dread of him earth is prepared for a much much worse danger "from above". He (Ultron) is the threat, and simultaneously ensign of a far greater danger-coming. 
  Interestingly, the prophet spoke also of a three, the beast, the false prophet and "the image built, which speaks". So, we derive a man like Hawking or some other genius type being the template. The false prophet (computer designer) does the mapping of the genius brain so to configure the "circuitry of the (itself) three-ist machine". The device speaks, but not of itself, for that voice is the voice of the dragon.
  So, it could be, we surmise; a working possibility sometime during our "natural lifetimes" (whatever that is) that such tech could produce  something along these lines? But recall that C.S. Lewis "saw" this sort of thing sixty-plus years ago. He died the same day that JFK was murdered. So, there is a "stretchy" time feature to this sort of speculation. The tech-flubs, boneheaded mistakes and the usual dead ends do not work by our schedule. It could take another century and more to build the final blasphemy, this "new creature" which the foe proposes. Or it could be here in less than twenty? I just don't know about the clock function in this type of thing.
  What we do know is the theme, the narrative and the finale. In brief, it reads; "God wins . . . bigtime slamdunk!". The enemy is simply forced into an idol-strategy of some kind. Since ancient days, the interface project has been his recurring plan of operation, because it is the only route open to him. 
  Do you see? The genuine artice, of which that fraud the anti-christ is stupidly trying to best, that real deal is unbreakably sound! Christ is joined to mankind, that the "new man" be joined to the Almighty. The results of that astounding transformation coming in us, are not at this point imaginable, but we do have some hints. We understand in part, but then we shall fully know.
  The New Man has a human body and a rational soul. As such, He is "One with God", and nothing is impossible for Him. He passes through walls like we pass through the air. He speaks, and life returns, He touches and the blind see. But He is not a one of a kind exactly, but rather; the First of many! We "are one with" Him! So, to what extent in the age to come, extraordinary powers manifest in His folk, I am in no position to guess, but I do guess, almost every night at dinner time!
  The dream of transit of the heavens, flying to worlds unknown, even our hymn writers buy that much. But here is the point, the eschaton coming, is come! We have (today!) become junior partners in a never ending dance with the Bridegroom, and I guess He shall teach us some fancy steps indeed in future days. Already, we are noticing alarming differences between the two races. 
  The living are freed to courageously die, and the dead are terrified to get near the grave. The living sing songs of gladness in the darkness, awaiting the true light, and the dead are never truly happy. These are small but yet astonishing fruits of His already-operating in/with us.
  We have been sheared off from a huge catastrophe, the certainty of Judgement! The devils? They are hammered dog-meat in that coming overthrow, and they know it. There is zero hope for them, and their rage is great because of it, their time is short. But the humans can (yet!) be turned out of that path! The link, the union He has established, is a rich and never ending source of vitality, of welcome and of understanding. It is a life fully good and grand, with no terminus!
  The miserable hatchet job mockup of this, which the enemy proposes, cannot begin to equal the real deal. And this is why eschatology is really so important. That coming-age has arrived, it has commenced, and there is no authority in heaven, earth and hell combined which can reverse it! An eschatology of hope is a meaningless phrase unless we define the word "hope".
  Our coming transformation is certain for the excellent reason that it has already fully occurred in our Head, and begun in our bodies! He the fully transformed, is permanently "moving in" with us! And we are being rebuilt in that image. The everlasting and infinite God, is today and evermore also a Man (or more correctly, The Man) and that (already and not-yet) one-ness with Him, is going to be a mighty and wild and good thing, Yes-Siree!
  Hope has meaning because He Who Is (our hope) is alive and well, having busted out of the tomb, there is no going back to it . . . ever!
  For Him, or (one day) for us! So says the plumber.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

The Plenum

  It is too bad that you can't get inside my head. If you could, we could save a great deal of time. This C.P.E. is a difficult one to discuss because a mental state can only be indirectly described. So be it.
  If words were oranges, then we would know just the right ones to use. Think of a navel orange, one of those big juicy and sweet ones. Now imagine trying to verbally describe the flavor to someone who has never tasted an orange. Or how would you go about correctly describing, to a man born blind; that royal blue which appears briefly in a clear sky overhead, just after the sun goes down?
  It seems to me then, that a shared context and parallel sampling are our usual methods so to direct the attention of others to the point in which they say; "Ah! I know just what you are talking about.", otherwise it remains pretty tough sledding.
  Often (it seems to me), when we are thinking about the state of mind of another person, we are actually referring to a state of emotion. Yesterday, a woman was going berserk because our plumbing crew was "making noise". She was irrational, angry, loud and rude. We did not inquire as to her mental state at all (inferring that she is insane), and focused almost entirely upon her tirade of anger. This sort of estimating is more or less normal I would guess, humanly speaking.
  Of the mental states I recall hearing described, such as confusion or clarity there is enough experience with my own mind to be able to more or less grasp the idea. The plenum (my descriptive term coinage) is another type of mind state, and the only similarities which pop up in the vocabulary today are in the "mystical"; category-wise.
  I certainly do not think of myself as a "mystic", and so there appears to be an orange type of problem involved in this essay. Whether I surmount the difficulty is up to you to judge.
  Have you ever read any "awareness" type of literature? I have looked over a few things, and a word which frequently bobs to the surface is "oceanic".
  I have never been on a boat in an ocean, but have stood by the shore a few times. There is a kind of noise, and there are motions and colors at the seashore which (in me at least) induce a very calmed and yet "ready" state of mind. It is an "up" similar to caffeine, minus the jitters and excessive talk. If you know what I am talking about, then you might agree that it seems at oceanside as if one doesn't need sleep, or one is in a repose better than a nap? Does any of this ring a bell for you?
  The plenum is similar in some facets to an oceanic, but not precisely so. If you were to compare the flavor of ripe cantaloupe, as a known; with that of a tree ripened peach as an unknown that might serve as a parallel? The plenum is something I find myself "in" occasionally. It is an awareness yes, but I generally distrust urges or imperatives which tell us to "raise awareness" in any case, so that is a dead end.
  In my book, there is nothing special about being aware. This can only mean that one is temporarily unaware elsewhere! When you stub your toe in the middle of the night, your awareness is quickly raised sure enough. But in those moments, you are (by definition) deeply unaware of the vast screaming majority of everything else. So, if awareness is a Boyscout flashlight, then we typically move it about in the dark in order to notice now this feature of the real, and next that one. The premise that we can and ought (morally?) raise awareness generically speaking has just never made much sense to me. But, there is an aspect of the plenum which also rings this bell . . . lightly.
  The feel of the state of mind might trigger words such as "transported", but that seems a bit iffy. "Here and not there", so to go from one to the other is not actually that acccurate a telling.
  So, perhaps we could get Mark Twain to sit down with John Calvin for a cup of coffee? The story teller meeting with the man-giant, so to speak; might be the gist?
  A recurring theme in my writing and thinking is the meta-story which theoretically could arise if Mark Twain ever met one of his own characters. The idea of cognition such that Huck or Tom realize (somehow) that Twain is their author and that they have never done and shall never do anything "not written" fuses with their memory of having "freely chosen" their deeds. It would be a tough book to write, that much is certain! But, this crosslinking function of John Calvin vigorously defending the "destinating" of the "pre" variety, comes into play; just here. Simply, what if the Twain type of scenario is in fact the reality of which we partake? If so, what then describes this fruition of insight (outsight?) in terms of human language? I am calling that "The Plenum".
  How many times I have entered this mind state in the past is really just a few. When a tyke is yet small enough for the Dad to hoist him up overhead, the little guy is being carried, and he remembers that. The idea of "carry" seems like a good enough way to convey this to you.
  You are somewhere where there is "much busy", call it walking beside a crowded highway, or attending a colorful and loud football game. Recall the seaside with the constant motion, color and sound. You are "there" and not there. A kind of "lift" occurs. And one of the problems of the oceanic description is a mention of "timeless". That is not this mind state at all, but rather a kind of effortless swinging to the rhythm of the seconds as they pass? The plenum is not "disorienting" in the least, but rather a rooting down, a real and solid orientation briefly enjoyed.
  The mind state never lasts very long it appears to me, but yet remains quite memorable. It becomes like a breadcrumb left on the trail which can be viewed from miles further down the road? If you have any memories of sitting snugly in your mothers' lap, as she pointed out words to you in a childrens' book (I have one or two), it is a bit like that. You are learning, you are grasping ahold of the patterns and connections of the actual world, by using a mirror of it.
  There is nothing infallible or permanent about such connections, a small boy both understands "everything" and not at all, at the same time. We are larger and older, that's all. No, I am not talking about some type of guru-like last word from heaven kind of thing here. It is more like the difference between reading a driving manual, and doing the driving yourself. Suddenly the rules which were memorized "come to life". And with all this said, I shall now atttempt to describe from "inside the plenum".
  Lifted now, I see. There are persons, the flags are waving, the noises of cars and birds and children giggling, I detect. All of the motions, of all of the atoms, just here in this moment in time were written beforehand. Every aspect which I can notice, plus all of the others; were more than "predicted", they were decreed!
  Each beat of each heart, each flash of smiles between friends, every eye following the focal points of range, this entire thing is a kind of "drama"! The Playwright has built the sets, written the lines, laid out the plot, and also, (and also!) each character feels very strongly that all which they do is because they have so chosen, and so it is! The plenum informs thus, that free will and destiny were never foes, but glad partners in a strangely eccentric dance.
  One partner outweighs the other by an infinite range, and the dance is merry indeed. One Partner calls all of the steps, writes all of the dialog, and the other spontaneously joins in. I hope I am speaking clearly for you, so to grasp the concept?
  The plenum is that state of mind, after lift in which we briefly grasp that this high level awareness is not really about the activity about us at all. We have a moment, a shining wink of time in which we turn to the Master of the play, and so to speak "introduce" ourselves! The plenum is an awareness yes, and we are aware also of the Twain entering to speak with the Huck. But this conversation in the plenum, is also of the plenum. That is, this lifted moment is part of the pattern preset, and for a whisker of time, even I can see it! The plenum lift was decreed prior to things, and in it, we are freed to thank the Author, in person!
  A gift is a gift, and the youngster who so enjoyed the brief hour with Mom "learning all about things" is not in a position to make demands. That is, we cannot (at least I can't) summon, we cannot make the plenum "happen again" at our own direction.
  On a dark and moonless night, the flash of lightning off in the distance allows in a fraction of time, the view of "everything", and then dark returns. I did not make the light flash, but I can (more or less) navigate afterwards upon the basis thereof. The plenum shares some similarity with lightning in this sense.
  The problems with mysticism are many, but the main one of which I object to, is the premise that in this sort of mindset we see that "all is one". Hogwash!
  The uncountable aspects of everything which is just this second occurring each remain distinct. If image we want here, then the wildly differing man to woman being shaped into a new harmony would serve far better. The plenum is much more a feast at a marriage supper, with all the guests and the banners and the music and dance. Somehow The Author conspired from prior to things to "join" not only them to them, but them to Him!
  That is, there is a hugeness, an alarming aspect here. When a second grade girl sets her sights on a second grade boy, and boldly announces that one day they shall marry, the boy has the option to beat feet and get lost pronto!
  But this joining which we speak of here, this lifting does not have an "escape clause", and as such, is the original arranged marriage.
  At this time of our development, we are unable to say with any pungent clarity what the joining will (one day) "be like". This (I think) is because we have it backwards. It will not be like anything we know, for the excellent reason that everything of which we know, is but vague whispers and hints of it! The original versus the copy directs us away from finding what the original "is like", rather; the copy is only a bit like it.
  To describe a three ring circus to a three year old as; "It will be like when you jump up and down on your bed" would be entirely misleading. But after having gone to the circus together, you might say; "You little acrobat, you are just like the tumblers we saw last night!", and that would be correct (enough for now).
  That is, the plenum is directional. Like time, it flows one way, and it brings to mind occasionally that there is an omega point, a goal to which things and persons are being directed. The plenum then is a bit like a dress rehearsal, a finding of the steps, a reciting of the lines, with solid conviction that we are learning such; for good cause!
  Our schools flounder, and our students end up confused in the study of things which will never again in their lives have any application. The plenum is the opposite end of that spectrum. Our ancestors taught their young to plant and to harvest, to aim and to shoot, not for love of trivia but to raise them up into the order of adult life. The plenum is that . . . on steroids.
  Some folks speak of mountaintop experiences, and perhaps that would be the overlap in your experience, so to better grasp the plenum? The problem I have with the term is that such episodes appear to me to be discussing an emotional release, a peace and joy. Gosh, who could be opposed to that anyhow? But, the plenum is a mind thing much moreso.
  We are suddenly astounded when we first realize that the Father Almighty actually does hear us when we call for help. Why are we surprised? And in my opinion, it is the busy-ness, it is our getting lost in details which is so completely normal for us, that we begin to surmise that; "Nobody is out there".
  We begin to believe the lies we tell ourselves;  that (for instance) the insane woman "needs medication", and not an hour in her Papas' lap as He reads the words aloud, pointing at each in sequence. We confound self-talk with conversation, and we lose the delight in hearing from the Other.
  The plenum restores delight!
  If you could get inside my head (it would be a tight squeak) then you would know what I discuss. But until that day, trust me as a friend; we not so much find, as are found. We not so much know, as are known. And we are more and more coming to know this.
  And to know that we are embraced!

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Gee Whizmo! (Date unknown)

  Thinking back some, and reflecting upon these essays; I have noticed something. Rarely (if ever), do they discuss the cultural "gee-whiz factor". I think you know what I mean.
  Back in the 60s, we were regularly treated to a "march of progress" type of material. One venue for it was "documentaries", and there were also plenty of books published to boost the concept. It was a premise that "this generation" is seeing changes in science, technology, earning power and education which are unlike any previous. Progress (whatever that is) was "marching" indeed, and the wonders of our age yadda yadda yadda were in some special sense forming a kind of distinctiveness to the "modern age" which shamed all of our ancestors' doings.
  I was never really that impressed by such talk, but when you listen to old people talking about farming using teams of horses, and how exciting it was when electricity came to the county, we begin to realize something. Techno-change, machines, then electricity; followed by aircraft and orbital space craft all sequencing in a three generational period; is pretty odd historically speaking.
  When gee-whizism actually began I wouldn't know. The use of steam power began in earnest about two centuries ago. Internal combustion engines are a century-plus old. I am old enough to have been "wowed" by jet aircraft. But all of these combined cannot begin to compete "change-wise" with the digital revolution, nor with the sciences as they plot out genomes for instance. Some people speculate that we may see genuine "artificial intelligence" and physical immortality manifesting in under 50 years?
  The; "Gosh, what are they going to think of next?" type of thought appears to be getting swamped lately by simply a glut, a regular torrent of innovation tech-wise. The rate of change is changing dramatically!
  Reading these C.P.E.s, one might (correctly) guess that I frankly just don't much care about such stuff. Instead, what interests me is that across the culture there appears to be an "inevitable" aspect. There is an unquestioning acceptance and a blind embrace of "progress, and of all things modern". It is an oddity worth investigating to me; that folks endorse "progress", and never once think to inquire "where" it is heading!
  Hey, I'm just a lowly blue collar working stiff, a mere construction worker. I am just another termite in the nest, but even I take a look occasionally at the blueprints to find out what it is, that we are so very busy building. With all the digital doo-dads employed, with all of the new materials to build with, with all of the excitement over the project as it "goes up", how come nobody seems to know what the structure is, or its' purpose? And I have found that if you are silly enough to ask what all the "new platforms are for", you get a sneer, a dose of derision, or worse; no answer at all . . . dialtone time.
  Oddly indeed, not only does the question remained unanswered, the asking is treated as if some "Roberts Rules of Order" moderator has already deemed such to be "obviously out of order". Now, my interest is really peaked, this "not-saying" makes things so much more interesting! Clearly then, we are dealing with a "blind spot", and those are always tons of fun.
  Offhand, I would guess that the classic blind spot of modernism . . . would be (ahem) "modern"! The premises of such may be many, but the central axel is that we; "the mods" have (amazingly enough!) dispensed with "myth".
  In order to grasp mod thinking; just listen to what is said about myth. In usage, it is a synonym for "a lie". But way beyond being simply an untruth, myth is unfit for mature adults. So then, only congenital idiots, children or "primitives" buy into myth from this perspective. Far contrary to the pathetic numbskullery of myth; we "the sophisticated" have done away with the dependancy and immaturity in ourselves. In brief, we have "evolved".
  Even a child could see that what is meant by such talk, is that the myths which our ancestors lived by, simply are not the same as ours. But in "living-by" axioms, those become (defacto) the current mythos. Furthermore, the arrogant folly of assuming that our (currrent) myth is not classsifiable as myth means something quite obvious.
  Obviously, the myth of "progress from primitive to (us)" has been swallowed hook, line and sinker! Witness the emotional outrage, the shunning and loss of position for a tenured professor who offers even the mildest of challenges to the "orthodoxy" of Darwinism. The modern myth speaks volumes just here.
  Said dogma proposes a "slope up" as the very bedrock of knowledge and truth. Now, never mind for the nonce that such a slope would be an entirely meaningless one if chance plus time equals reality. We shall allow the mods the luxury of their thieving of the concept of "high versus low" for now.
  Using it, we get a cosmology and an anthropology which is "uppish" generally speaking. Gases "tend" to form solids, and such solids "usually" spontaneously combust into stable fusion reactions. Dust "migrates" into orbit about these, and "often forms" planets. Water (from who knows where?) "attracts" amino acids which "occasionally" rearrange into life. Said primitive goo "struggles" up the "chain of being" into life; first as amoebas, then guppies, trout, dinosaurs and lemmings. Well, what with one thing and another, these uppity organisms just don't know when to quit, and "naturally" become gorillas and then you and me. The "modern" mind buys this type of moonshine by the metric ton! And if "all is from chaos to order" then (of course!) what the termite builder wants a look-see at, is the blueprint for the "next step up".
  Now, this man to super-man theory is obviously a religious doctrine, and cannot possibly be denied as part of the modern myth. Yet, modernism is dead set against religion. I think that this is due to the historical connections made with its' application in the Third Reich. As such, it is not a topic for polite audiences. But supposing for a moment that it even makes a little sense to think that a chance plus time randomness produced us, then our sense of "right and proper" and thus of "progress" itself; are clearly products of chance. An egg fell on the floor. So what? And if by mere happenstance, we have come to fancy one thing over another, how so the; "Poof, it becomes universally valid" gig? Okay, let us play along in this game for a few minutes.
  Let us pretend that if you orbit a C-5A long enough over the plains of India, and continue to randomly toss bricks out the tail end (for long enough), that you will eventually build the Taj Mahal. How is it that such a structure could ever be deemed (importantly!) "better" than the rest of the debris of the experiment? Debris in stacks is still debris, and what can be made of that?
 And I'd say that the "what" in question, is that "mod-new-man" is destined for the stars, and that stack of bricks down there is none other than a superluminal craft! The object being built is an ark to flee our world before the earth dies! People believe this, it is their religion.
  So, the next obviousness to the modern myth is thereby "clock pressure". Moderns are nothing at all, if not hurried. Most of the current behavior of human-kind is impossible to decode minus a clock function. We are on a deadline down here, and the project we build "must go up soon"! This feature is part of why we find it so dreadfully interesting that the rate of change is changing, and why the speeding up of innovation is so very intoxicating for us. The logo involved here is the "countdown", and surely very modern; that! Likewise, the doom and gloom of "warming globes" urges us onward, away and off planet before "it is too late!".
  In this religion, we require no Savior for we are are own saviors, and the deliverance we promise is a flight from a doomed world. Uhm, why would it be "important" for hairless apes which arose by chance in the first place to continue to exist? Why would that be a "good thing" to have happen, especially considering that we were the ones (supposedly) responsible for the demise of our home, and also the ones who invented the notion of "good" randomly ourselves? Why spread this cancer called "man" to other worlds? A meaningless and malignant growth, nothing but a tumor, but you gotta admit; it's BIG!
  So, we are thus deriving an upwardly mobile organism which is a world burner. This aggregation of randomness is on a deadline to escape the rewards of its' own doings, and how shall that be done? Why "narually", with panache, swagger and verve it goes! Pointless it is, but to be carried out with style and flair.
  That is, the third aspect of the mod man is a love of wealth, of fame and notoreity. Power and money and sex appeal all with a "fan-base", there we see modernity. Thereby, our "mission to the stars" features our own homegrown stars. Ophrah, the Beiber and Kanye West become astronauts (so to speak) in this system, We "propel them upward", and so character and loyalty and courage mean zip in this mode. Instead, being flamboyant, loud and obnoxious (provided the "risee" is rich!) is in this case an "asset".
  When I was a kid, being a millionaire was pretty hot stuff. Nowadays, we yawn at mere billionaires eagerly awaiting the worlds' first trillionaire! And if that person turns out to be just another vulgar rap-star, or crooked politician, all the better! So the mod-myth is proposing a fame at any cost. In this system, the soul is definitely for sale, and such power as this is thought to be unassailable. It is the best kind of "safe and secure" in that it is pre-disastered! It is already condemned, and so nothing worse "could" happen! This is the shape of the mod brainwave as I see it.
  So then, those outmoded and "primitive" ideas of sin or of indecency are the new taboo. We the evolved, are way too "sophisticated" for such as that! Sin is the norm in the mod myth, and so there is no shame in being found out as a liar, there is no sanction against corruption, for the "big-new-man" is "far above" such petty concerns . . .
  So, let us step back for a moment and fit the key into the lock. We will open this door, and see if any of this mod-myth ties back into the "outmoded and primitive" myth of the past.
  Our spontaneously combusting organism which "tends upward" wishes to flee to the stars does he? And furthermore, this is on a clock-based fear of a coming crash of the system eh? This evolved-one thinks he cannot be condemned because he spurns all standards of kindness and humble friendship does he? Hmm, have we heard something of this sort before somewhere?
  How very interesting! The ancient way also spoke of this very thing. A Warrior Champion coming with "armies of bright ones" to shatter the world, this; the dire threat of those days. And to escape this calamity, the (lookee!) lowly and simple are lifted to the heavens. How's about them apples? The ancient way spoke of man purposely forgetting his origin, and inventing foolish stories to substitute for it, so that they would not be bound by conscience to his Mighty Maker. How flukey is that anyhow, all these parallels?
  That path taught that wicked man beside being a liar, is a thief and he tries to hijack the excellencies above as if he had invented them all. It was as if he were the one to determine all on his own; high from low, good from evil; and true from false. Isn't that a remarkable coincidence? The tycoon sheltering in his palace from the storm, the "stars" (high ones) fleeing from the wrath coming. It certainly appears that all of this material has been "borrowed without permission" to this termite.
  I see it thisaway as one termite speaking to another. The true gee-whizmo isn't really the race using all of its' wits to build "safety" in that coming day. The actual and authentic Gee(sus) Whizmo is the one shelter which He has built with His blood and body. The "true Ark" far more certain than Noahs' boat, the "true Blood" above the doorposts to ward off the angel of destruction, this the actual gee-whizmo. See the True Son and Inheritor of all; freely sharing of His riches with beggars, this is the stunner! This is the "remarkable development" of history, for it happened one day on a miserable hill.
  And in that day, lifted up with Him we shall be, we the lowly, we the nobodies, and in that day; sprinting to other worlds bearing glad tidings indeed.
  "The Mighty Maker . . . is become a (The) Creature! He, sitting upon His emerald throne, dwells bodily upon our re-made home-world, come and see!" The true New-Man, forged in union with a mighty host of the glad (and friendly!). They (we, I mean) shall then move worlds, and dance upon the air shouting the fury of love in the brilliance of His fierce welcome.
  And they shall shout; "Thank You Sir!".
  That glad throng clad in immortality, light and joy will only "have eyes for" the One who loved them, and gave Himself for them.
  So now, who is "the primitive"?