convivial creativity

Hypothesis of greatest probortunity

But whereas fiction writing, remaining entirely hypothetical and imaginary, only needs to seem valid (plausible and logically consistency to premise, an Epistemological Methodological criteria of critical preference in Scientific Method), innovation, plan of action or futuring scenario, bridging abstract principle (generally why) and concrete application (specifically how), in deliberation analytic yet strategic, all further turn upon rigorous feasibility study in Empirical objective reality. Because validity alone, defined as logical inner self consistency of proposition, can never become transitive to truth, truth being defined by Sir Karl Popper as correspondence to reality in assertions. And as G. E. Moore contends: “You can't get an 'is' from an 'ought.'” And yet, it remains a sly trope of manipulative and deceptive propaganda, to fob of evocative illustration and rationalization, as though evidentiary as practical demonstration. But as Lau Tzu observes, beautiful but pernicious lies and myths become more persuasive than ugly truth. Nevertheless, even if vivid narrative depiction seems to make appealing sense, it still might not actually be so. Pollyanna willful positivity be damned! Pleasure Principle and wishful thinking must be governed by Reality Principle. And after critical preference, comes reality testing, indeed planning and feasibility study.

Because well before any prayer of responsible Capitalization, outreach in any such a vibrant project proposal must inspire and help recruit a varied range of trustworthy capable talent, knowledge and skill sets, in mutual respect, to join in and participate on spec and all from scratch. Yes, even from the most embryonic first concept inception or: "kitchen table" stage or phase, through management team formation, business or project planning and feasibility study, indeed if all goes well, through Capitalization and all the way to successful implementation and expansion. To be followed by whatever dénouement of exit strategy ever as applicable. A steep learning curve together. Thus genuine autonomy in meeting ones needs for the dignity of capable interaction with even adequately responsible others and thereby together changing our story. Hence entrepreneurial serial failure, trial and error unto success. All perseverant bold and unreconciled before even the most Postmodern Existential Absurdity.


Eudemonia pivots upon expression

In the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Indeed, Eudemonia, which is important meaningful close human relationship with psychological visibility, Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference, thus forging attachments of true friendship in autonomy, arises entirely as a byproduct of purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication and believe it or not, never otherwise. And that is why, even so contrary to all blithely prevailing calamitous social expectations to keep conversation light, and yet as Empirically observed in scientific experiments, the distinct truth remains that: Happy people, whom we may all do best to emulate, to rôle model, if only we knew how, talk more seriously and thrive in autonomy, prosper and succeed, together engaging in creative endeavor. And all with less small talk. Any questions? Any objections? Any takers? You are all invited! Gentle reader, I am counting on you! We can take action. As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously!

For any lonesome frustrated desire tells a story, needs a plan, and calls out for allies, outreach for unmet friends. Desperately seeking all therefore, the star first follower or ally to lead by example! Yea verily, first bold recruit among collaboration cofounders, steadily forging a steering committee coalescing in deliberation upon the priorities and order of business, managing the general course of successive pending operations across the long haul.

Such palpably urgent need of anything so radical and divergent as Eudemonia expounded herein, if anyone pays attention, arises from the inherent failure so typical of heteronomy to such a hoary host of flagrantly well refuted conventional expectations, ideology and propaganda. One way or another, Hell is other people. But so is bored and lonely isolation. What must be done? Existential Absurdity, futility, real life drama and suffering, all obtain not only from existence in a dangerously indifferent universe, but perhaps even worse, from the hapless folly and cruelty of human nature. And whereas our tangible existence remains predicated in Ontological objective physical reality, by contrast social reality is only an aggregate of relationship interaction among individuals, all as continually reinforced, reshaped and redefined therein. Social reality is entirely made up by us, decided by us, in the course of interaction. And thus collectively maintained or modified, subtly or blatantly, minute by minute. And even to begin wresting back control of our lives, complacency must be overcome. Otherwise, we're all just fucked! And not in the nice way.

A person is a conscious entity. Corporations and zygotes are not people! No matter, indeed as per the famous admonition of Voltaire, how compellingly believed absurdities and thence committed atrocities, the truth will out! Alas, whenever the most evident and valid objective reality is evaded and discounted or even dismissed as mere opinion, while mere convention is so abjectly surrendered to as if concrete and real. For such remains the baffling antinationalism of banal and ubiquitous authoritarianism. As for prime example, in the treatment of obesity and complications, when any long unjustly and imprudently unapproved though well demonstratedly safe and effective experimental option shall be blithely dismissed as unrealistic, while remaining conventional options, however obviously dubious, remain accepted uncritically. And this should come as little surprise from Medical Doctors who have actually been taught that they are not scientists! Fortunately, at least some disbelieve. Or else we'd have no medical researchers. Alas the taboo against bridging abstract and concrete. Thus dubious practicality bereft of abstract principle, and ivory tower abstraction uninformed by Empirical practicality. Thus politics so ignorant of science and out of touch with reality.



Rational skepticism pivots upon creativity

In the sage assay of Albert Einstein: “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.” Knowledge after all, remains merely awareness of truth. And as Karl Popper contends, truth is correspondence to external objective reality in an assertion, declarative statement or Ontological claim. As distinct from validity, which only means internal logical consistency therein. Indeed as, barring the surreal outright, fundamental to plausibility and the willing suspension of disbelief in fiction.

For in all due credulity, even the most elating and vivid propaganda illustration, can be no demonstration of objective reality. Even if, to quote Sir Francis Bacon: “Truth is so hard to tell, it sometimes needs fiction to make it plausible.” Because, to render blatant the sly irony of the celebrated poet John Keats, beauty is not truth, nor truth, beauty. Not even when art and beauty, as manifest in some breathtaking Grecian urn on display, outlives long lost historical truth. Indeed, even when, as Lau Tzu observes, beautiful but pernicious lies and myths become more persuasive than ugly truth. And yet, even subjective pattern recognition begins with pattern creation only then for Empirical testing against external objective reality. For as Karl Popper contends, all hypothesis begins from unfounded and unjustified conjecture, indeed unfettered speculation as characteristic of the wildest Science Fiction, yes: utter fiction, only then subject to critical preference, let alone scientific method, reality testing, prediction, strategy and feasibility study, but only given, to begin with, the very desire.

Because there is no certainty or firm foundation and bedrock of science, no verification or justified knowledge. And we can never learn from mistakes by seeking to avoid or prevent error a priori (before hand), let alone contriving to conceal mistakes, but only a posteriori (afterwards) by the fallible honesty of continual error detection and ongoing course correction. By Dialectic of Socrates and enlightenment by refutation, the process of elimination continually setting aside unviable hypotheses, progressively clearing the field of all but any handful of remaining viable hypotheses, ever less wrong. By the Dialectical practice of controversy being the welcome and invited exchange of criticism/critique which is inherently friendly, valuable, an expression of abiding respect. Any questions? Any objections? Any takers? Gentle reader, I am counting on you! You are all invited! Dare we together take action? As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously!

Indeed, for fanciful story crafting, analysis and sound strategic deliberation alike, indeed planning and feasibility study, writing is rewriting, hard work and never a waste of time. But for either different application of narrative creativity, even from suitability of whatever initial premise, the criteria of critical preference crucially differ: Mere hypothetical plausibility for pure creativity in fiction writing, but intensive feasibility study for innovation in business or project planning. Thus the same brainstorming principle of fertile conjecture transcends mere drama and creativity for its own joy, Epistemologically and Methodologically into any range of creative solution finding and collaboration among equals, bridging abstract principle (generally why) and concrete application (specifically how), in deliberation analytic yet strategic, even into the real world, along the Backwards Ladder of Abstraction. For the Backwards Ladder of Abstraction remains the steady retreat from fiction, fantasy and willing suspension of disbelief, gradually into ever more defensible bastion of real purpose and barest possibility: Innovative new venture creation (various business startup). Power, capability, autonomy, practical and tangible liberation, hope of success and the achievement of freedom in an unfree world; the probortinity at hand. Any questions? Any objections? Any takers? You are all invited! Gentle reader, I am counting on you! Dare we take action? As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously! Because the possibilities remain endless.



Liberation into social creativity

Creativity Can and Should be Social. Indeed, by very nature, creative inquiry and expression, so pivotal to Eudemonia as herein extolled, by far exceeds any merely solitary individual trait or characteristic. For as John Cleese expounds: “Creativity is not a talent: it's a way of operating.” Indeed, creative expression remains social and intellectual stimulus appetite and arousal. Therefore creativity remains wasted and unfulfilled as any mere lonely individual character trait. And for more optimal gratification in social and intellectual stimulus struggle, creativity, beyond even at last becoming social, should actually become popular, not only valued, but charming, engaging and attractive, duly celebrated and no longer nerdy, awkward, bullied and persecuted.

Alas that collaboration among equals, so essential to creative solution finding, remains literally inconceivable under the mindset of heteronomy to authoritarianism, because mind numbing uniformity of ubiquitous consensus manipulation and coercion, remains so blithely and unquestioningly accepted as indispensable for cooperation at all. And such hallowed consensus of course, as the indispensable benefit of actually addictive submission to undisputed leadership lifting all terrified burden of freedom and responsibility. Indeed, a status quo to which freewheeling creative solution finding, requiring temporary relaxation of rigid hierarchical inequality, poses such looming threat of joyous and ebullient uprising, and therefore ever must remain so poignantly infrequent. Indeed, free interaction so tightly rationed by whatever dour and stern great and good powers that be, insubordination ever risked only as and when creative solution finding and innovation shall be deemed completely indispensable to whatever rare special circumstances as howsoever fortuitous or threatening to prevailing interests of whatever stifling Borg collective.

Of course as Empirically observable, quite without whatever such rigid oppression, people who disagree even most vociferously, in ever so many matters, do indeed cooperate only all of the time! And we can, too!

Science and democracy would never become possible otherwise. And art becomes agreeable and bland! There can be no rationality without the value of dissent and the Dialectical practice of controversy being the welcome and invited exchange of criticism/critique which is inherently friendly, valuable, an expression of abiding respect in autonomy supportive social support in any culture of helping, Epicurean freedom, friendship and thought! It only requires any modicum of mature and sportsmanlike collegial fair play and good will, and not any slavish consensus, in order to forestall bitter enmity. Indeed, under autonomy and the mind set of democracy, justifying utility of authority remains pragmatic, exceptional and situational, not constant, terrified, perpetual, unremitting and routine maintenance of order ever holding whatever dreaded strife and chaos at bay. All therefore any subversive preference towards genuine autonomy in meeting ones needs for the dignity of capable interaction with even adequately responsible others. Because true innovation and major success never comes so quick or easy. And therefore, in the interim, the effort had better remain maximally creative, truly productive, joyous and gratifying in and of itself, and better still, with any improved ease of entry.

Probortunity at hand: A world of pervasive alienation.

Alas that all so very far, far away from any pursuit of happiness and meaning of life, for all so many, conformity upon all whatever known and howsoever reputable, well traveled and readily available, institutionalized and prepackaged conventional life and career paths, remains so disappointing, pointlessly arduous, futile and meaningless. In short: Existentially Absurd, and a sore travail! Indeed probortunity, dire problem presenting golden opportunity.

And it will be perhaps thence, that there remains so vastly underserved, such a vast and popular yearning for unparalleled positive experience of any life less ordinary. For power, self determination, capability, dignity, freedom, acceptance among peers with shared core values. And therefore in the words of Arthur H. Vandenberg: “It is less important to redistribute wealth than it is to redistribute opportunity.” Opportunity afforded one another, by honest and interested effort at collaboration among equals.

In such ardent quest then for any such alternative opportunity, all entirely applicable due and realistic fair warning is extended in the above alarmingly bleak solicitation. And all as regarding the downside to all such call to adventure off from the beaten path, indeed at cost of whatever kind of individual personal effort and resource. And even all quite aside from all additional extra heartbreak from nigh inevitable and eventual betrayal, dishonest untrustworthy folly or mendacity. Beware then the 18 Easy Ways to Destroy trust. But not to digress.

Perhaps what remains so glamorously elusive and yearned for, are some imagined lives of power, opportunity, challenge, ambition and creativity amid some vibrant new cabal of aspiring artists, wannabe entrepreneurs and perpetually excitable mad inventors! Because Americans after all, are each ascendant undiscovered genii, temporarily bankrupted billionaires, rightful Masters of the Universe. And we are all Americans at heart.

• The Top 10 Things People Want In Life But Can’t Seem To Get - - “I can't get no...”

And so, we are each and all exhorted and tantalized: “Follow your bliss!” Existentially Absurd empty blandishment, hand waving and broken promise all easier said than done, as we are all then summarily abandoned each and all to our own devices, setup for failure and sore travail. But now, gentle reader, at last we have found one another, and no dream must remain solitary. Therefore let every joy become shared and doubled, no burden shouldered alone, but shared and halved.

As Edward Snowden so penetratingly observes, oppressors who restrict our options, then pretend that we consent. Indeed, to quote Senator Elizabeth Warren: “Others have said it before me. If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu.” Why then must it continue to register as any shock to so many, the very idea that there may remain not only whatever personal human imperfection, various defects, flaws and foibles of individual personality and character, great and small, but also the most intractably severe and pervasive systemic problems and stumbling blocks out there in society at large? As if the very notion of such stock iconoclasm, where actually anything new!

Why then must the masses,We the Sheeple, the supposed end users of democracy in the free market of ideas, so abjectly fail to coordinate and rise to responsible initiative together, even firstly simply just to imagine better? In the words of Stanley Kubrick: “However vast the darkness, we must bring our own light.” Because given heteronomy remains ever dark and futile, all pretense aside, shedding no light whatsoever. In the words of Fyodor Dostoevsky: “The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison.” -Or indeed, any sort of social institution at all, formal or informal, rather than the obvious unquestioned natural way of human nature and circumstances or situation.

And when only sly and manipulative oppression keeping us all in the dark, has been the only binding shared experience at all, and then the bitter truth of it comes to light, how then shall one ever thence be set free except into crushing boredom and loneliness? Who then shall dare the escape? And what example to all others thus shall thereby be set? Indeed, in any alternative, how instead, gentle reader(s) might we rise together? Without task interdependent teamwork rediscovered and reinvented together, what solitary jailbreak can there be, from the prison of lonely isolation? As ever, we shall only find ourselves summarily abandoned each and all to our own devices. And typically in one fashionable guise or another, to ever the same Mystical mendacity and cowardly bogus lonely tough love of the Zen. To making do and fading away alone, stiff upper lip and troubling no one else. Bah, humbug!

And so, as my own boss, more confident in my ideas than my capability, I have fired myself for utter failure and gross incompetence in the sore travail of life! To quote Carl Gustav Jung: "Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate to others the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible . . . If a man knows more than others, he becomes lonely." Indeed, in the words of Anton Chekhov “People who lead a lonely existence always have something on their minds that they are eager to talk about.” And I'm no different. Nevertheless, why should the present long winded mass of verbiage from an unemployable maladroit nebbish with a cable modem the likes of yours truly, ever be of any interest to anyone? To answer such an unkind and snobbish question to begin with (and for shame!), with another by far more salient question and cautionary: If anyone doesn't want you to talk with me, gentle reader, then what don't they want anyone the likes of me to tell anyone else indeed the likes of you? Plenty, as it turns out! We really should compare notes. Indeed, to quote from ‘The Devil's Dictionary’ by Ambrose Bierce: “Friendless. Having no favors to bestow. Destitute of fortune. Addicted to utterance of truth and common sense.”

A parable: Imagine a seminar upon of all things, and strained metaphor just for contrivance of illustration, how to form a regulation Bedrock barefoot bowling team. The great regulation bowling team formation guru, perhaps none other than The Dude Lebowski, regales the acolytes enthralled, with great purls of wisdom! And the attendees assembled together share all manner of sensitive personal disclosure, reciprocally sworn to silence once the seminar adjourns. Because what happens and all that is said at the regulation bowling team formation seminar, stays at the regulation bowling team formation seminar. So solemnly vow do they all. And from the regulation bowling team organizing guru, no less than The Dude Lebowski, they all learn the purportedly foolproof secrets towards each their similar objectives. Afterwards, eyes henceforth forever averted, they all quietly disperse, each once again alone, filing out into the dark night of the soul, never to interact again, each having girded their loins for the solitary and arduous networking and recruitment outreach at hand. Yes, once again so blithely led about by the nose, flagrantly manipulated and then finding ourselves summarily abandoned each and all to our own devices.


And nobody at all even seems to have noticed that there were exactly enough people in the room right then and there, for the formation of a regulation bowling team! Easier said than done of course, but then, what isn't? Superficially committed to such manic pep rallies encouraging one another, yet in subtext only inflicting such reciprocal contempt, what succor will ever rally and penetrate such abysmal defeat and indolent covert masochism? Yaba-daba-don't!

The moral of the story? First of all, most superficially, the clever maxim:
Look for the Solution within the Problem!

But more profoundly, beyond any such glib infotainment sound bite clickbait, there ever remains forWe the Sheeple, the more dire predicament of the masses: How we are each and all exhorted and tantalized: “Follow your bliss!” Empty blandishment and lip service, hand waving and broken promise all easier said than done, as dazed, confused and quite understandably even actually consumed with mistrust at the mercy of every random cult scam, busy work, (Anti)Social Media distraction, dissipation, and pacifying bogus support group ethos, all as even however reputable, we all then find ourselves once again summarily abandoned each and all to our own devices (In more ways than one!) and blithely setup for failure, particularly in anything individually meaningful. Nothing works! Not only the most hapless and broken, and knaves and fools especially, or even the most ordinary and average, but especially our best and brightest, so often meet only with such desperate failure and frustration. And yet, the system never fails: You fail the system! Or so it is said. Bah, humbug!

Alas, as so many people complain, when they reach out for connection, others do not seem equally interested. Typical social life remains a lonely chore and a bore of mindless conformity and approval seeking. There remains an outcomes gap! Meaning that it makes such little difference whatever one tries to do. And yet, many even who suffer the most, continue to profess conformism, commitment to normative challenge, and undying faith in status quo. But some are more serious than others. There are some that walk the talk, and most who don't. Some rigorous and actively systematic, and the rest only wrapped up in lip service and passive pretense. Either way, they all balk at facing the the same crushing reality. And only unflinching situation analysis as undertaken herein, might possibly reveal any proportion and necessity of going so far a field as herein proposed, presently. Or first of all, even simply discussing the matter seriously!

TicTok, TicTok, Worse Than You Thought! As Marshall McLuhan would have it: “The medium is the message” For characteristics of whatever medium constitute message in their own right, the implication whereof so easily overlooked, at least at first. And yet, it may often come to pass, that as in the words of Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr: “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” – the more things change, the more they remain the same… Indeed, never forget that Facebook only began as the IT (Information Technology) for the worst venial and Narcissistic aspects of the most braindead collegiate life. A culture taking the lead from insecure conniving bullies like unto wounded and bleeding piranhas, ever ready to turn upon one another in the blink of an eye.

Indeed, isolating and unfulfilling short attention (Anti)Social Media could never become so seductive and unwholesome, without the long preceding heteronomy to anti-intellectual anti-intraceptive susceptibility under lifelong prevailing hierarchical dominance. And therefore as shall become abundantly clear, and technology notwithstanding, they who suffer so, are not punished for their superficiality, but by their own short attention superficiality. Indeed, in such blithe incongruity: Even while like John Milton, indeed lamenting such loneliness they endure, as “the first thing that God's eye nam'd not good,” just indeed the very worst no good awful thing! yet so staunchly do they cleave to the toxic and toadying First Commandment of the ubiquitous cult of socialization: Being that interminably vapid small talk, empty and polite conversation drifting upon unimportant or uncontroversial matters, not even very entertaining, ever keeping it light and willfully cheerful, ever remains key to life, popularity and social success. The suffering of the multitudes is scorned and dismissed with the bullying admonition to lighten up! And those poor dolts embrace and take to heart such cruel and callous invalidation as greatest purl of wisdom. Be seeing you, Number 6. They have joined the enemy against themselves.

Under so many guises of ideology, from anciently clichéd Zen Mystical tripe of sublime apathy in non attachment, to the latest word in malignant Behavior Modification into Fascist exaltation and even the smug would-be Machiavellian but covertly Masochistic indolence of (Anti)Social Media culture, only the same oppressor of so many faces, cajoles us all never so shamefully to feel, think or complain and rock the boat. And that is why, in those most famous words of Henry David Thoreau: “The mass of men lead lives of [such] quiet desperation.” Or at the very least when griping, never actually mean any of it! So, smile when you call out the the bullies, just to show that we're all still Facebook friends! One fine day, quite effort free and without strife or good trouble, without any challenging need of character and strength or moral fiber, advanced and sophisticated Automated Sociometry will have long superseded all such rotten travesty of society and the human condition as do we all endure. But in the meantime, here and now, the true thorny path at long last, to CyberUtopian salvation, is yet to emerge from the most technologically convenient path of least social resistance. And certainly not via short attention manipulative Totalitarian Interactivity. Wake up, Sheeple! Because any true key to life must pivot upon struggle and only the awakening of integrity from unique individually motivating core values:

Desperately seeking prospective collaboration cofounder candidates

The various uplifting psychosocial and strategic benefits to authentic wellbeing and human flourishing

as projected from implementation of the present proposal

Would the FoolQuest.com online (pre)incubation collaboratory and Action Salon be right for you?

Then let us build it together! But what would that take? And what shall be required of participants? And why even bother?

Three compelling questions of relatable drama, as in life, ever endure:

who am I?, what do I feel? and what do I want?

Save us all from the banality and sore travail of conventional expectations! Who needs the grief? When all else fails, what has actually been desired all along?

But why must such intensive creativity actually become so crucial? Indeed, many will regard creativity in very principle, as entirely superfluous and distracting, at best merely ornamental. Indeed, it may bear mention how sometimes espoused in remedial Behavior Modification and rehab, is the recommendation merely of consistent participation in ongoing long term projects even at all much more arbitrarily, and with precious little challenge to much creativity. Indeed somewhat philistine and cretin, yet entirely cut-and-dry and feasible though banal and boring drudgery. Such as, for example: community gardening, providing behavioral structure of regularly scheduled activity and association sustaining propinquity while also producing any ongoing interaction and sense of involvement to draw participants together. Such much. A travesty of the rôle of gardening in the ideal and intentional community of Epicurus. And yet, the somewhat uninspiring recommendation nevertheless does point halfway towards what is actually so sorely needed, in focus therein upon active ongoing cooperation.

Too bad it's all so tedious and onerous, boring to tears, unless indeed one so adores gardening! But its easy to see why anything so readily accessible and straightforward may be deemed more simple and feasible for Sheeple such as We. Because “The devil is in the details,”

Eudemonia, anything more ambitious and uplifting, forging true friendship attempting anything really cool together, demands greater initiative and responsibility and therefore must require such meticulous perseverance and autonomy, polymath multipotential cross discipline. And no one foresees arête, excellence, from underachieving losers reaching out for help. They forget how our best and brightest frequently underachieve. They ignore the crying needs not only of the gifted, but of fulfillment in universal human inner giftedness in the human condition for us all.

At least initially, rather than sweeping the world out from leftfield, any bold, liberating and empowering subversion of hierarchy, not unlike forbidden love, necessarily nurtures in microcosm. Indeed even somewhat covertly and conspiratorially, when any two or more individuals interacting and taking initiative must finally innovate: at long last to begin doing things differently and howsoever more capably together and persist. And then collective endeavors of intentional community can be organized and designed so as to foster most desired interaction between participants. But well may one ask: Why go to such lengths? Why so rashly together embark upon such arduous and complicated real world Hero's Journey? Why pine for life less ordinary? Why not just chill and go with flow? Why needlessly raise expectations of forging true friendship attempting anything really cool together? Why even dignify outlandish notions with serious deliberation together?

We are all such proverbial square pegs: The customer is always wrong! The program never fails, you fail the program. Cut the foot to fit the shoe! Bah, humbug! In truth, to quote Anthony Marra: “Work isn’t meaningful just because you spend your life doing it.” Indeed, in the immortal observations of George Carlin: "Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.” And lately, the masses are just up and quitting! By contrast, our designated rôle models in every conventional option in life, exemplars of approval seeking sycophantic predictive social cognition under heteronomy to hierarchical dominance, the star student under formal education, ideal employee, perfect disciple or model prisoner alike, are all so consummately well adapted, ever so heteronymously characterized as they remain, beyond mere responsive obedience and passivity otherwise, not only by every obsessive-compulsive eager beaver sore travail, but boundlessly committed initiative in anticipation of their superior's desires, “paying one's dues” life long, excelling without complaint or resistance, never demanding attention by requesting explanation or assistance.

And why can't we all just submissively follow their shining example and be more like them? Because, just as George Carlin implies, we all so chafe at the bit! Recalcitrant in such sore travail, obstinately uncooperative toward mind numbing routine as imposed by ever coercive and manipulative self-servingly moralizing authority, all too many typically succumb to ambivalence expressed in resentful and reluctant obedience together with covert passive hostile sabotage, instead of actually choosing between either dignified and whole hearted active compliance on the one hand, or else free and open fully effective proletariat uprising on the other hand. And such remains damaged human nature not by innate disposition, but as triggered in suffering and humiliated response to norms of sore travail, deviously guilt tripping tyranny psychologically internalized. In short: inner conflicted ambivalence and headgames of slave Moralism.

Cynically manipulative social advice online typically ranges from the domineering to the sycophantic. But always unilateral, never touching upon any notion of cooperation. But in order to remedy loneliness, shall each of us do better to strive alone in the world at large, or to turn to one another? Do lonely people require access and inclusion up the social ladder with better socially graceful and situated peers? Or perhaps in order ever to remedy loneliness, do lonely people first require to find inclusion and access merely with one another, even actual assistance and partnership, true friendship in imperfection, even just amongst ourselves? The cult of socialization, ever striving for inclusion and access up the social ladder with popular kids who don't actually need more hangers on, remains the ardent supplication for acceptance and approval from those better advantaged. Whereas instead, so often overlooked in the mad dash for social skills and correct performance in heteronomy to hierarchically predictive social aptitudes, there remains an obvious alternative being: endeavor at inclusion and access for lonely people, simply with one another, even merely as an outreach just perhaps not only for solace and commiseration, but maybe even for highly functional cooperation in any similar common struggle.

But as Aesop tells us: “A man is known by the company he keeps.” And even aside from malicious gossip and the social risk of ill repute by association, the actual psychological danger remains of toxic Ulterior Transactions or: headgames, and only playing upon one another's flaws, thereby exacerbating dysfunction and holding one another back, thus indeed only reflecting poorly upon one another.

Which strategy then must best take precedence? In answer: Trustworthy capable individuals value the same in others. And likewise, callow popular kids ever committed to the social rat-race, are impressed by outwards exhibition of community and popularity. All hence, the demonstration of capable and competent cooperation, even amongst similarly downtrodden and forgotten peers, must afford a first upward step in assimilation with anyone else better off and presumably more useful. Indeed the first trustworthy step of creditable Menschlichkeit in order favorably impress allay the responsible caution of the wealthy, powerful and influential, in order thereby to gain access to their resources and connections, remains the salient demonstration to candidate recruits and prospective investors alike, of capable collaboration among equals. Alas that lonely isolated people can only strategize in terms of lone striving. However, true probortunity remains, never merely of individual wherewithal, but of teamwork, and of how then might we more congenially, productively and effectively cooperate; friendship arising entirely as a byproduct of optimal reciprocal engagement in substantive communication towards purposeful interaction, and nothing less. And no one else need approve!

Probortunity begins in bold unflinching

situation analysis and problem statement

FoolQuest.com is not yet another short attention website for manipulative Totalitarian Interactivity perpetually leading the casual website visitor safely about by the nose. Only whatever most remarkable self directed unique individual motivation howsoever piquing whatever lively yet comforting vested self-interest, Existential Validation or relatable concern, gravitas or whimsy, has ever delivered intelligible purpose and context for the present densely verbose hypertext asking of others what no one else asks, and offering in return, what no one else offers. As a rule, others neither so urgently solicit nor offer partnership in ambitious endeavor. At least, not seriously. And yet, such must be the inception of any true to life Hero's Journey asking what no one else does, and daring to offer in return, what no one else offers, and whereof, leave us admit, we each and all, however benumbed, secretly await the mythic call to adventure. For such is the human condition of perpetual stimulus struggle. Of course, intellectual adventure of reading and discussion, free exploration into the world of ideas, does seem perhaps the least perilous of transaction. What can it hurt? Surely there will be greater risks in life.

Indeed, as according to Aristotle, happiness has an agenda, an agenda remaining contingent upon the exercise but also the communication of the meaningful values of imagination, free will, personal choice, independence, competence and achievement, together with connection, self awareness and conscience informed by rationality. Moreover, happiness is not merely and actively experienced, but interactive expression and response, affiliation and shared enthusiasm. And that is why even the journey of ongoing strategic discourse in earnest seeking happiness, can already be so involving and uplifting. Alas however, even so little as any substantive communication much less purposeful interaction, despite remaining as ever crucial, can never be compelled. One can but extend invitation. And FoolQuest.com remains your golden invitation, gentle reader, asking of others what no one else does, and offering in return, what no one else offers.

Indeed, in the biting whit of Dorothy Parker: “You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think." In such frequent demonstration of quantity over quality, online discussion predominantly remains ever repetitive and redundant, meager signal ever drowning out amid the din and clamor of all that empty noise. FoolQuest.com, instead undertaking various neglected discourse, anything less effete and dissipated, thereby ever blunders upon no end of fresh new taboo for the squeamish so studiously to ignore. Nevertheless, in order to advocate for change, in order to demonstrate the urgency, it remains necessary to expose the normalization of deviance and the worst of all that has become so routine.

Again to quote Russell Brand: “Society is collapsing and people are starting to recognize that the reason they feel like they’re mentally ill is that they’re living in a system that’s not designed to suit the human spirit.” Indeed by design discovered to scientific investigation, qualitatively domineering and oppressive, systematically crushing of human spirit. Because from very premise, Cultural Anthropology studies human relationships consistent with rôles of relative social standing, degrees of kinship and rank, all predicated upon competencies and aptitudes of hierarchically predictive social cognition by which to anticipate the responses of others, merely via the recognition of members of one's own social group in order to form direct relationships consistent with rôles of relative social standing, degrees of kinship and rank, recognition of third-party social relationships and prediction of future behavior and in order to know what one is expected to do and how to behave. After all, from prehistory and up to the present day, every hierarchical structure has evolved from that of the clan or extended family. And there's the rub!

Gentle reader, only look around you: Society is not your friend. Society is the enemy. Society is the oppressor. Society is not nurturing. Society remains user hostile. Catch-22, a classic double bind, a no-win setup for failure and suffering, one way or the other: damned if you do, damned if you don't! We are all slowly bored to death, unseen and and interminably lonely. Alas, the prospects instead for better fulfillment remain dismal for designated worker drones slaving under the perpetual grinding sore travail of heteronomy to behavioral conditioning, all cogs in the machine, formal education and typical corporate culture of employment, fostering admiration, but never emulation, of those lionized men and women of destiny rising only actually despite the system, overcoming adversity, and then effectively quarantined and lonely at the top. And for wretches such as we, there must be no ready escape at all from the only dull and sorry game in town! For such remains the banal rank hypocrisy of glowing lip service to independence while fostering helplessness and dependency of befuddled masses yearning to breath free! What then is liberty, freedom so alluring yet forbidden, taboo, that nevertheless all people so yearn and strive for? Freedom whether in creative expression or effective action. Freedom of association, self esteem and more. How is freedom actually experienced? By what values? And most importantly, what must we do, I and thou, gentle reader, to win our freedom, liberty to pursue happiness? Can we organize? Should we? And how so?

Thus, from top to bottom, indeed at every strata and walk of life, again to quote Russell Brand: “Society is collapsing and people are starting to recognize that the reason they feel like they’re mentally ill is that they’re living in a system that’s not designed to suit the human spirit.” Alas, in Existentially Absurd social reality, there remains such dystressing user hostile outcomes gap, wherein instrumentality equals zero, meaning, even causally and deterministically, no relationship between performance and outcome, no real hope, no results no matter what one does, other than mounting frustration and defeat. So much then, it might seem, for individual real world freedom and capability. In every walk of life, in every sphere of endeavor, personal or professional, society is no conduit to success, but a filter of the incompetent and noncompliant alike and without distinction, a crushing and threatening obstacle course to be overcome, an unremitting chore and a bore, setup for failure; thus to self-esteem, a proverbial death by a thousand cuts. And any claims to the contrary, are just part of the racket. Indeed, from any end user standpoint, the existing system has remained broken from time immemorial. Alas the masses abide in false hope from blinding propaganda myth. And what a racket! A racket, no matter how repitable, can be any dishonest scheme or ongoing transaction, all not as it contrives to present itself and as is tacitly accepted or endured by the majority of those involved, but in actuality, indeed, a myth, scam or fraud of heteronomy, a deceptive domineering practice of coercion and manipulation conducted for whatever benefit of a few cronies at the expense of the many.

We are all exhorted and tantalized: “Follow your bliss!” Empty blandishment and broken promise easier said than done, as we are all then summarily abandoned each and all to our own devices, so bereft of respectful autonomy supportive social support and thereby capability, thus setup for failure. And so, whilst pragmatically making do and fitting in, we each and all meanwhile secretly await the call to some yearned for true to life Hero's Journey. For such remains the human condition of perpetual stimulus struggle against lonely boredom, secretly and shamefully miserable and unhappy, even amid affluence and secure civil society. And lone individual emulation of whatever success rôle model as per the formulae of various success gurus, so often meets with inertia and frustration in isolation, because human interaction fails to progress, change or improve. Because tautologically, there can be no self-help, no solitary rugged self-reliant unilateral self-made bootstrap "well-formed plan," for interaction among more than one individual. As the saying goes: It takes two to tango. But one alone, wanders ever searching like Diogenes, a sore travail.

Alas that so many nevertheless balk, remaining so clueless and bereft of any proverbial grain of salt, too desperate to let go of various fraudulent false hopes and propaganda so foisted upon us all. For such are the dynamics of conditionality, meaning conditional love, buttressed by systematic indoctrination, brainwash, denial and crimestop. Nevertheless, what to do, if all such dynamics remain anything more prevalent than merely some strange malignancy of whatever marginal bizarre cults? What if cults only reflect anything howsoever actually somewhat common, normalization of deviance ever prevalent? Where then does that leave any of us?

In the much beloved fairytale parable and metaphor authored by Hans Christian Anderson, 'The Emperor's New Suit,' the titular Emperor desired only to be ever fashionable and well dressed. One day he came under the sway of his new tailors, actually swindlers who persuaded the Emperor to don new vestments of an amazing gossamer light new fabric, visible only to the worthy, so that the unworthy, thereby exposed, ferreted out and failing the test, may be well banished, once and for all.

But in actuality, the Emperor only stood stark naked, just daring anyone to remark! As ever, many so lowly and loyal among Sheeple, ever most faithful and exploited among the masses, surely believed without hesitation, simpletons, useful innocents ever embracing flagrant delusion wholeheartedly. Although, in truth, various sly cynical privileged courtiers and hypocritical cronies, ever motivated in well considered vested interest, with comfort and survival at stake for the families they support and protect, as ever remaining circumspect, proverbially pivoting into whatever figurative direction the allegorical wind metaphorically blows, adult and responsible, so vigorously went along with the gag and staunchly conformed.

Under such an oppressively corrupt reward and punishment system, a mad world of blind folly and cynical mendacity, inevitably any honest person, by disposition stripped of all such protective armor of distasteful denial, shall only then find themselves metaphorically naked and exposed before the Existentially Absurd, all alone and railing against the inequity and therefore excluded, indeed forever banished. Because truth to power in subversion of hierarchy, threatens status quo.

To quote Nazi Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels: “Propaganda becomes ineffective, the moment we become aware of it.” To whit: what if in all too many ways, the general and indistinct common wisdom of mainstream social reality and order, with only a modicum of perspective in autonomy, stands so shockingly denuded, in effect, as after all, merely yet another weird cult granfalloon membership and practice? - Indeed the pervasive and reputable short attention memplex sometimes designated as: the cult of socialization.

For while empathy is by nature ever receptive, by contrast that great and good boon from our ever gracious betters, socialization, that which none dare call: indoctrination, Behavioral Conditioning or brainwash, remains ever dull and unreceptive, rejecting, dishonest, manipulative and coercive. After all, propaganda can be unintentional. Not all propaganda is deliberate influence. Indeed, unthinking tradition and propaganda are everywhere. For the organization of methods to persuade people to think and behave in a certain way, have themselves long become entirely spontaneous and endemic to social order. And indeed, such is complacent heteronomy, oppression propagating among the oppressed. Shall anyone thus growing ever more desperately entrenched in heteronomy, ever finally arrive at Positive Disintegration?

Alas that under heteronomy, there may ever arise indeed significant danger motivating interminable caginess: Before daring even to begin any interaction, always heed the cautionary lesson of the ever more exhausting callow (anti)social media mass distraction and the empty illusion of social life: Will, not only as in (anti)social media participation, but in the social rat-race most generally, extra effort and involvement actually derive extra value and purpose, or only become ever more squandered? That is the question!

In the latter calculation, then there will be no reason for concern. Safest always just to walk away, even to refuse the quest and leave the Hero's Journey stillborn. Nothing ventured, nothing lost. In that case, then grumbling can only arise from doubt and remorse, so frequently triggered, manipulated and exploited. Remorse, ever so dramatic, as ever accrues from disappointment, beaten defeat and failure to rise to occasion as life passes by. Nothing ventured, therefore nothing gained but enduring regret. Everything turns upon evaluation of probortunity in transaction, all turning upon the importance of vastly neglected intrinsic human appetites of social and intellectual stimulus struggle.

Existentially Absurd: Popular or unpopular alike, we all remain so ill equipped, each and all abandoned to our own devices, setup for failure, futility, user hostile outcomes gap, sore travail, pandemic boredom and loneliness. The only winning move is not to play! But for so many of us, it's the only game in town! And precisely hence such urgent need of implementation towards any new and better alternatives. But with creativity and innovation, looms danger and uncertainty. Hence prevailing resistance. Indeed, even successful innovation, so hard won, readily transitions into new orthodoxy resistant to further change. Because popularity and unpopularity alike, are only different situations of individual isolation and oppression, the isolation and even sheer abuse of unpopularity and social exclusion being more overt, and the exploitation of popularity within the social rat-race being by far the more devious. And such is the status quo of pandemic serial bullying, escape wherefrom propelling the true to life Hero's Journey.

In the words of Neil Gabler: “American society is a society in which individuals have learned to prize social skills that permit them, like actors, to assume whatever rôle the occasion demands and to "perform" their lives rather than just live them.” And forced cheerful willful positivity and interminably vapid small talk notwithstanding, a morbidly serious matter. Nothing could ever be less playful. Competent or incompetent, whether in true hardnosed practicality or in sheer aimless and empty acting out of mimesis, many all the same remain no less consumed with the burning question of how to perform as expected and to fit in: How best to placate The Great Faceless They, thereby to obtain the key to life.

For such remains the heteronymous slave mentality of Homo Domesticus, the domesticated human being. And so,We the Sheeple, ever desperate and terrified of loneliness and exclusion, remain ever vested in endless sacrifice of authenticity upon that Moloch alter of social acceptance. For anything less remains the height of blasphemy! Or so one might expect. And yet all rebuke herein must come as no surprise, nothing new, all such clichéd iconoclasm having so long dissipated all shock value and element of surprise. That is, until the point will be driven home, to reiterate,, Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference, that relationship and particularly friendship, arise entirely as a byproduct of full engagement in purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, and never otherwise. And no one else need approve! The only thing to sacrifice, shall be sacrifice itself.

And lo, the star first follower or ally, first to publicly recognize by fully interacting with the hitherto misunderstood and isolated lone dissident innovator, shall be the true leader and influencer blazing the trail, teaching by subversive example, demonstrating for others how to participate, rôle models showing everyone how to relate, bridging abstract and concrete. For any lonesome frustrated desire and outreach tells a story, needs a plan, and calls out for allies, desperately sought for unmet friends. Therefore: Change our conversation, reset the agenda, and change the world! And because, when theory by itself, however sound, yet remains less than compelling promotionally out in the wild, the live demonstration online, public electronic conversation, the brilliance on display, of ongoing work product from collaboration, published to the Web, may yet the more effectively entice and recruit others at long last to participate and join in. For any lonesome frustrated desire tells a story, needs a plan, and calls out for allies, outreach for unmet friends. Desperately seeking all therefore, the star first follower or ally!

Desperately seeking: first of all, persistent and open minded conversationalists upon the agenda at hand. Who out there might actually be prevailed upon with the requisite wherewithal? Indeed, should you, gentle reader, then yet at all decide indeed for whatever your own good reasons, to persevere and continue navigation of FoolQuest.com, then never simmer in deadlock and frustration. Because as the saying goes, no question is too foolish to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. Therefore question freely in case of incomprehension. Because even incomprehension is nothing so dreadful or awkward, no menace to be so assiduously avoided, no dire impasse at all, not the end, but actually a beginning. For communication is struggle. After all, writing is rewriting and never a waste of time. But there is method toward the achievement of Intersubjectivity, whereof intrinsic motivation and Active Reading remain ever crucial. And thank you, gentle reader, unmet friend. Because we live in an attention economy. And in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” Indeed, in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” And to quote Mark R. J. Lavoie: “Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him." Indeed, as George Orwell observes, even at all thinking clearly, becomes increasingly difficult in bored and lonely isolation without expression. Therefore in the immortal words of Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” And to quote Karan Gaur: “Effort is the best indicator of interest.”

Desperately seeking: responsible trustworthy partners for innovative new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us. For the possibilities remain endless!

And desperately seeking: earnest participants in unprecedented ongoing serious collaborative fiction writing. Because, as to be expounded and detailed anon, rising to the challenge before us, may very much depend upon a subversive and hitherto unprecedented interstitial synergy concurrently between pure creativity, art for art's sake as embodied in unprecedented ongoing serious collaborative fiction writing, and disruptive innovation, applied creativity as of new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us. Because intelligence squandered, must no longer isolate: Creativity can and Should be Social! Indeed, Creativity Can and Should be Popular!

Desperately seeking: cofounder candidates, in accordance with evolutionary neuroscience and the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology, in true subversive Epicurean cultivation of freedom, friendship and thought, relationship in new paradigm via Intentional community or just intentional social circle by social engineering design; for better optimized social and intellectual stimulus struggle via ongoing collaboration among equals, pleasurable and meaningful optimal reciprocal engagement intrinsic to fulfillment, authentic wellbeing and human flourishing; all as characteristic and Empirically observed of honest, responsible, trustworthy, capable and respectful happy people who thrive in autonomy, prosper and succeed, together intentionally and purposefully engaging in creative endeavor, often hard work evidently so unclear to many. At least initially, rather than sweeping the world out from leftfield, any bold, liberating and empowering subversion of hierarchy, not unlike forbidden love, necessarily nurtures in microcosm. Indeed even somewhat covertly and conspiratorially, when any two or more individuals begin interacting and taking initiative must finally innovate: at long last to begin doing things differently and howsoever more capably together and persist. And then collective endeavors of intentional community can be organized and designed so as to foster most desired interaction between participants.

Desperately seeking: Volunteer advisors/mentors simply regarding outreach, how even to initiate/ignite entirely from scratch and then to sustain, in quality and process, open ongoing public discussion online upon the present agenda. How might even that most modest initial objective somehow to initiate or to trigger sustained open ongoing public discussion online at all, upon the present agenda, ever be achieved? With the help and advice that we each need, it may become possible to break isolation toward even collaboration in exploration and feasibility study of whatever the kind of probortunities that one finds interesting. Alas, I have no ready and trite simple answer to all manner of complex problems that plague us all. Sustained substantive communication and purposeful interaction, successful team work, can be hard work undertaken by serious people. Nevertheless, relationship, Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference, and particularly friendship, arise in autonomy and entirely as a byproduct of full engagement in in quality and process of purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication and as shall be seen, never otherwise.

Therefore, accept no substitutes! And no one else need approve. That remains what shall be at stake, throughout. For in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” So I don't want your money or your devotion. Gentle reader, I'd never let you off so easily! I am too good a friend for that. And I am certainly no formulaic callow motivational grifter here to psyche you up and then leave you in the lurch! Isn't there quite enough of that already?

As the saying goes, life is the journey, the ongoing experience, and not just deferred gratification in the destination or desired result in hoped for success. And no one should be abandoned to wander and stumble blindly their heart's true path in life all alone, destitute and bereft of all succor, a sore travail. Alas, even anyone so fortunate with anyone to turn to, yet shall their work be found well cut out for them. And as shall be expounded throughout, there remains nothing herein less at stake than literally the most important intrinsic social and intellectual human needs and stimulus appetites, so vastly and catastrophically underserved in life, indeed all as accordance with the ancient wisdom of the greatest sages of old, as rediscovered under the very cutting edge of modern science:

In perhaps the most famous and celebrated words of George Bernard Shaw: “Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.” And to quote Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

And lo, the star first follower, first to publicly recognize by fully interacting with the hither to misunderstood and isolated lone dissident innovator, shall be the true leader and influencer blazing the trail, teaching by example, demonstrating for others how to participate, showing everyone how to relate! For any lonesome frustrated desire and outreach tells a story, needs a plan, and calls out for allies, desperately sought for unmet friends. Therefore: Change our conversation, reset the agenda, and change the world! Alas, one can but extend invitation. And FoolQuest.com remains your golden invitation, gentle reader. As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously!

All therefore desperately seeking: "unreasonable" thoughtful collaboration cofounder candidates, indeed perhaps beginning with any star first follower. Indeed, outreach and organization, remain nigh tautologically integral to all group collaboration from scratch such as proposed herein

Congratulations then, gentle reader, for you have discovered FoolQuest.com, my outreach and your invitation, advancing an agenda for open ongoing substantive discussion and deliberation. And it is hoped that substantive deliberation might even as alas all too seldom, culminate in novel ongoing close collaboration, taking purposeful interaction together, gentle readers and yours truly. What follows is novel and plausible problem statement as to widely prevailing circumstances of unhappiness and such oppressive veritable human captivity, even amid such historically unprecedented technological affluence. Then will be proposed novel and feasible solutions, interaction for even a small intentional social circle let alone any grander intentional community, together. Hence the present endeavor at collaboration cofounder recruitment. Because, yes, as shall be proffered anon, liberating intrinsic fulfillment, socially and intellectually, might, as advanced herein, actually consist of endeavor at entrepreneurship for the rest of us, disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup), on the one hand, in unprecedented interstitial concurrent synergy with, on the other hand, unprecedented serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming. For the possibilities remain endless!

For indeed Eudemonia, capable relationship and particularly friendship, will result never by any rat race of extrinsic societal reward and punishment throughout or in the course of interminable exhausting and stultifying inane small talk, uncritical willful positivity, superficial harmony, fearfully conflict avoidant and debilitating headgames of toxic social skill and sycophantic toadying skilled incompetence, nor in recreation, so-called, that shabbily travesty of playful honest hedonism, replete with soul crushing fake fun passing for any wholehearted pleasure seeking; instead only the desperate effort and struggle to recover, on ones own time and expense, from endless debilitation from oppression under heteronomy to conventional options in life, but ever only for serious people as byproduct of full engagement in in quality and process of purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication and never otherwise. Accept no substitutes! Indeed, no one else need approve! And FoolQuest.com remains your golden invitation, gentle reader.

As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously! For in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” Indeed, in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” And to quote Mark R. J. Lavoie: “Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him.”

Rather than sweeping the world out of nowhere, subversion necessarily begins in microcosm, when any two or more individuals interacting and talking initiative, must finally finally innovate: at long last to begin doing things differently and howsoever more capably together and persist. For such will be the first germ of interaction perhaps even as proposed herein, within even a small intentional social circle let alone any grander intentional community, amongst ourselves together turning away from the social rat-race, and perhaps even together reaching out in the world at large but even at all actually on our own terms.

Because power remains a function of capable relationship on ones own terms, interaction with responsible others. Am I then your unmet friend? Can you even see me? Will you make yourself known to me? Can we talk? Expert or layperson in whatever fields, old pro or neophyte aspirant, we each and all bring to the table whatever ones own insights, questions, answers, knowledge, talent, ideas, perspective, experience and connections. -Alas, hard work all too often so vastly unappreciated and blithely squandered. Befuddled masses yearning to breath free! What then is liberty, freedom so alluring yet forbidden, taboo, that nevertheless all people so yearn and strive for? Freedom whether in creative expression or effective action. Freedom of association, self esteem and more. How is freedom actually experienced? By what values? And most importantly, what must we do, I and thou, gentle reader, to win our freedom, liberty to pursue happiness? Can we organize? Should we? And how so?

The true life Hero's Journey, for the rest of us...

An outcry rings forth in the wilderness, for an unloved quest. Who is the target audience? The target audience remains unknown. Does anybody even care? Such is the tribulation of the prophet lost and unheeded. The Hero's Journey, in order to begin, must break the isolation of solitary quest by forging profound alliance against adversity and devious cross-purpose, instead with trustworthy objectives in common. So too, for the solitary aspirant in any endeavor. Indeed, like unto the mythic Hero's Journey, real collaboration among equals, creative solution finding to whatever purpose or intention, can only begin with some or other fateful meeting or recruitment, and all hinging upon overcoming taboo, illusion and dishonesty, into new and greater self-understanding of who one needs to be and to do together.

But stirring myth notwithstanding, does realism quite simply demand surrender and making do? Is even sheer stimulus struggle doomed only to lonely boredom? Barring the most unrealistic rugged self sufficiency, for social beings as are we all, options ever remain limited in isolation, abandoned as we find ourselves, each and all to ones own devices. And that is why, in order ever to succeed, individuals must seek one another out, others each different and one brings to whatever quest, and band together. For in the words of Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” But devious cross-purpose, accrues only such abject failure. Better far, open honest disagreement. For so goes the proverb: “The devil is in the details.” And the learning curve remains steep. But only therein will be found salvation from ever more frenetic emptiness and Existentially Absurd sore travail in the Brave New World of ever escalating soft-core zombie apocalypse that is (anti)social media culture and the empty illusion of social life.

Gentle reader(s), will you heed the call? Am I then your unmet friend? Let's work the probortunity together: The same ever applicable fundamentals of due diligence, feasibility study, project planning, outreach, recruitment, organization and implementation, all obtain. As does the power of narrative, because planning remains another mode of storytelling, crafting futuring scenario learning and teaching the tale of intention unfolding.

Ambivalence guaranteed: Desperately seeking collaboration cofounder candidates for difficult, protracted, immersively laborious and necessarily innovative risk-tolerant undertaking. Gruelingly extensive deliberation and research throughout (pre-)incubation. On spec, no wages upfront, bitter despair in unknown daunting obstacles at every turn, progress therefore doubtful, fame and fortune in case of success, doing well by doing good, all in quest of fulfillment together along the way.

New venture creation (various business startup) for the rest of us: What does it really take, forging true friendship attempting anything really cool together? Beyond fiction merely howsoever as diverting stimulus or even as historically as protopsychology, drama, hailed by Socrates as most philosophical among the arts, provides deep exploration of dharma, character motivation, human frailty and growth even into right action, learning from mistakes. Hence the proposal, Creativity can and Should be Social, as conceived, consisting of entrepreneurship for the rest of us, disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup), on the one hand, unprecedented interstitial concurrent synergy with, on the other hand, unprecedented serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming. Business or project planning after all, is but another mode of narrative, another kind of storytelling, a method beyond mere plausibility as in fiction, of realistic feasibility study towards implementation. Thus, as do we all, aspiring writers and wanna-be entrepreneurs alike, can relate to the archetypical hero, however vaguely dissatisfied, who at first refuses the call to adventure and peril. Because change is frightening and difficult. And probortunity is often complicated. But If You Desire Anything You've Never Had, Try Something You've Never Done.

Even heeding the call, like unto the mythic protagonist, aspiring writers and wanna-be entrepreneurs alike, inevitably confront setbacks, challenges and temptations, doubts and even feelings of resentment in perception or nagging suspicion of having been drawn in and duped into onerous commitments, all merely even in undertaking preparation and initiation. After all, only bad decisions make good stories. Indeed, everything so dramatic for fiction, entails suffering in reality.

The protagonist called to adventure upon the path of the Hero's Journey, is often someone different from and misunderstood by their peers. Of course, that might also describe a knave, a fool or a crank! Cranks are falsely distinguished and characterized by bad ideas. However, often knaves and false prophets can have extremely good ideas, but they ruin them! And they betray those to whom to turn for help. And so, beware malignant headgames and devious cross-purpose! But then again, wisdom and good intention frequently go unrecognized. Such dystressing uncertain dilemma and ambiguity of unknown trustworthuness, brings dramatic tension and suspense to the Hero's Journey in reality no less than in fiction.

As Carl Gustav Jung wrote: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” Indeed, because the Hero’s Journey inevitably undertakes such profound transformation of consciousness, the Hero’s Journey remains also largely internal. The common story arc of the Hero's Journey, follows a protagonist, motivated to ever mounting ambivalence, in leading a stable and even comfortable yet stiflingly unfulfilling life, and then even unexpectedly embarking upon a journey, literal or figurative, full of peril, numerous challenges, lessons, growth, character development, transformation and even atonement (as ever applicable to genuine pathos), dramatic obstacle, plot complication and adventure of one kind or another.

Because even amid ordinary status quo, much like real people, relatable characters begin gaining limited awareness of unfamiliar probortunity. Thus awareness of need for change ever increases. Hence fear and resistance to change to be overcome before committing to change and crossing the threshold into adventure and experimentation with new situations in preparing for major change, even seemingly life and death, indeed ordeal with the Dark Night of the Soul and acceptance of consequences of new change and rededication. Final attempts at denial ensue in order to resist. At last, denial fails, and Positive Disintegration ensues, opening the way new mastery, capable power and autonomy.

Fears may be entirely quite rational and evidenced however, and trust must be earned. Indeed, the most discouraging malicious gossip need not persuade, but only engender hesitation. As must we all, the hero finally confronts their inner demons and whatever has been sabotaging life, forever holding them back. By finding allies and getting help, the protagonist becomes able to cross the threshold into danger and adventure, draw up plans and undertake feasibility study, work out hard decisions, face trial and tribulation, and even defeat enemies, struggle and overcome.

The Hero's Journey thus culminates in one great conclusive challenge, the dramatic climax, of an experience leaving the protagonist forever changed, even as normal life returns and resumes. And dénouement of normalcy regained, so badly missed, may be welcomed. Or else, the protagonist forever changed, will no longer be satisfied. And so instead, trauma comes to light, and an extended dénouement of anguish and healing ensues, dubbed by Maureen Murdock as: The Heroine's Journey, the reconciliation of "masculine" toughness with "feminine" vulnerability.

And exactly this universal mythic story structure of the Hero's Journey, is indeed reflected in the call to collaboration among equals, in endless possibility, the vision and even in the reality of innovative new venture creation (various business startup), disruptive entrepreneurship for the rest of us, and even in the yearning of art for its own joy in unprecedented ongoing serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming. All so appealing to power and "masculine" toughness so crucial to autonomy and capability, yet trust so threatening to human vulnerability, indeed "feminine" tenderness ever crucial to attachment, bonding and team building.

Again, the rubric: 'probortunity,' is coined by way of portmanteau from the two words: 'problem' and 'opportunity,' in optimistic denotation of how problems might be embraced as opportunity for innovative solution finding, planning, feasibility study and implementation. Indeed, entrepreneurship addresses probortunity on two fronts: Externally relevant entrepreneurship must strive to discover and to meet some or other market gap, whatever underserved needs of any target consumers, our fellow human beings. Unless it's all just another grift and a sham! Because the true to life Hero's Journey remains ever fraught with deceit, detour and dead ends. For Entrepreneurship also endeavors to satisfy frustrated yearnings and authentic personal integrity in life, of aspiring entrepreneurs themselves. Much as writing motivated by frustrated self-expression, must therefore also seek to relate to any receptive audience. Unless it's all some sham of banal hack, sycophantic empty manipulation and pandering propaganda.

                      Collaboration among equals in creative solution finding,

threatens taboo subversion of hierarchical dominance

                          Why there has always been such resistance to true liberation

Subversion of hierarchy means whatever even conceivable causality, action or situation which as consequence negates, moderates, diminishes or undermines hierarchical dominance and sycophantic predictive social cognition, in any system or organization, formal or informal. Subversion of hierarchy promotes the deconstruction and relaxation of coercion and dominance generally. Hierarchy or "pecking order" is oppressive social regulation whereby people, groups or institutions, find themselves effectively classified, ranked or graded, indeed thereby empowered and disempowered, into different levels or priorities of authority according to status or social standing. Whereas, power and autonomy, free from submission to heteronomy, remains ever an objective of functional relationship on ones own terms, capable interaction with responsible others, throughout any true to life Hero's Journey.

Subversion of hierarchy, a hallmark of autonomy, remains ever taboo under heteronomy. Alas, at very worst, hierarchy, especially when all too fragile and easily threatened, all too often promotes hostility and even serial bullying. In knee-jerk reaction, authoritarian flunkies become so easily threatened, terrified and even lash out, at any prospect at all of subversion of hierarchy, indeed any egalitarian concept whatsoever. But so do even the most lowly, insecure and codependently submissive of sheeple. Whereas, actually at all more significant authority figures may tend to remain at all better educated and equipped, civil, canny, secure in their own threat levels, subtle and scheming, choosing their battles.

And yet so many balk at this simple truth, among all other conceivable points of view upon any range of subject matter ever cogitated in sublime equanimity. Tell them instead, that the Earth is flat and that alien lizards deceive us. Declare that that nothing is real anyhow, because actually, we all live in the Matrix. Yes, that most ancient and interminable canard of clichéd Zen Mystical tripe, still hailed as great profundity and ever new. But can there be indeed any manner of hoax convincing us all that our dreams are inherently false? The fantastical premise or Solipsistic metaphor of the maya is popularized for the cinema in the Matrix movie franchise. But actually the maya remains anything less than actually supernatural. Rather the maya, like samsāra, remains metaphor merely for our Existential conundrum of hapless bumbling involvement as the offish hard luck chumps, losers and utter schlimazels that we are. Only explain the metaphor, indeed that the real true to life Matrix has always been that tenacious chimera, that toxic will-o'-the-wisp and Absurd Existential hangover, which is nothing more or less in sore travail, than constructed mass delusion in action called: social reality, poignant investment wherein we are all so brazenly extorted. Well then, that will be another matter entirely! And quite unthinkable. For again, as George Orwell laments: “A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing.”

Surmounting the Absurd?

Some of these theories of postmodernism then take an additional step, arguing that since life (or much of life) is a fiction or since fiction is all we can know, we should join in the drama ourselves and live a life of play. In effect, they recommend that we treat life as a symbolic arena for the acting out of fantasies. In place of merely discovering that reality is a construction, they would have us consciously take over the process of creating it, inventing selves, subcultures and alternative "realities," as forms of social experimentation.

However, even in such optimistic pessimism of self reinvention and creative redemption, telling a story is one thing, and beyond gambits of Absurdly dishonest soul-destroying "Fake It Till You Make it," competently living ones aspirational story quite another. After all, the Hero's Journey begins first in refusal of the call to adventure, and therein frequently remains stillborn. Dare indeed one abandon all hope of becoming more effective and effectual, and forswear all endeavor more vibrantly to live out fantasy? Are unambitious lowered expectations surrendering and making do, truly best in life? Whereas short of the surreal, any capable fiction must at least seem plausible, by contrast responsibility of real capable and responsible endeavor demands at all actual feasibility, easier said than done.

Alas as things stand, actually by such longstanding and cunning design, employment and formal education typically exhaust such vast proportion of individual time and effort, only setup for failure. Because only a fortunate few experience job satisfaction or enthusiasm in learning. For most, employment, ever mounting anxiety of wage slavery ever less secure, and much like formal education in such submissive disciplined preparation and investment all thereto, and all on ones own time and expense with usurious compounding interest, remains interminably protracted burden and sore travail. And ever at all alleviated only by that shabbily travesty of hedonistic play called: recreation, the desperate effort and struggle to recover, on ones own time and expense, from such endless debilitation.

Indeed like unto fiction, business or project planning remaining ever provisional, conjectural, speculative, therefore, for Sir Karl Popper, became his model for faliblism, nonjustificationist science and politics. We are all fallible. Danger and misfortune abound. Risk can never be eliminated. There can only be risk management. In order then to embrace progress and make life more worth living, Popper rejects and condemns the despair and delusion of demanding impossible certainty and safety. Perfectionism is the enemy. In his philosophy of science, Epistemological Methodology underpinning any valid Scientific Method, Karl Popper, the favorite philosopher of scientists, strove to clarify and simplify Metaphysics into a field more amenable to scientific honesty and hence any hope of intelligibility.

According to defunct yet enduring long standing tradition of verification or justification, scientific certainty ever builds upon firm foundation of verified or justified knowledge. But such is unachievable perfectionism, impossible standards leading only to despair, only exacerbating the Absurd. Indeed, according to Popper, there can be no certainty of even firm foundation, verification or justification. In practice, all good science and uplifting discovery begins from sheer speculation, unfounded conjecture, only then subject first to critical preference (such criteria as internal logical consistency and theoretical elegance) and only thereafter to ongoing Empirical reality testing, evidentiary support subject to refutation. Such is a process of elimination, narrowing the field of viable hypotheses, ever less wrong; ongoing practice of controversy, Dialectical Socratic enlightenment by refutation, wherein, without shame, strife or acrimony, errors are not to be avoided beforehand, but detected and course corrected as arising. Because how else do we learn and progress?

Business or project planning, not unlike drama extolled by Socrates as most philosophical among the arts, remains yet another heady application of narrative extrapolation, exploration, conjecture and speculation. Business or project planning after all, is only a different kind of storytelling and plotting, even dramatic futuring scenario climaxing toward whatever hoped for outcomes; an idea to be pitched, a tale to be told, towards applied creativity, disruptive innovation, rigorously detailing any projected path to success and desired results. All factors ever so crucial to such success as Empirically observed of trustworthy, capable and respectful happy people who talk more seriously with less small talk, thriving upon creative interaction. And for modern Socratic Sir Karl Popper, investigation of reality begins only in creative hypothesis.

The difference yet obtaining, in the distinction between innovation, the name given to applied creativity, distinct from pure creativity of art for art's sake: To wit, that in innovative business or project planning, far from sublime apathy and surrender to Absurd uncertainty, actual feasibility will be at stake, and not just narrative plausibility as in story crafting. Because capable business or project planning proceeds in wherewithal of research to test reality beyond merely internal self consistency as in story background and World Building, setting the scene. Indeed, whereas fiction writers only need imagine sympathetic, interesting and at all capable characters just barely adequate to rise, ever in such mounting suspense, to ever worsening challenges contrived in any plot-driven tale, the real world drama of management team formation, no less harrowing, shall require so much more: Indeed real world dramatic outcomes in doubt regarding endeavor at management team formation, frequently turn not only upon intensive strategy, research and feasibility study, but upon successful outreach, actual search and recruitment, on spec, of any range of participants qualified in different expertise, capability and suitable temperament, including risk tolerance, work towards success in whatever hoped for future outcomes or results. Yes, just perhaps, we can be heroes! In the words of Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Anything less remains only all the more needless Existential Absurdity, abject failure. And yet, there will be no need to impose consensus. People who disagree cooperate only everyday! Whereas dogmatically erroneous consensus remains ever futile.

Alas nevertheless, that even given shared values and objectives, strategy and action may yet meet with rejection, only fizzling out in real world anticlimax of Absurd anti-drama and disappointment. Indeed as for examples recounted here, and here. Indeed, even given as aforesaid, such ignition of intensely motivated individualized focus, and not merely short attention, aggravation, boredom, flaccid Zen behaviorally conditioned resignation and apathy, shall we even then ever find common ground in any plan of action, agenda at hand presently? For in the words of Benjamin Disraeli: “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”

And alas also, that endeavor set in stone without prior deliberation, due diligence, research, exploration and planning, typically remains ever doomed to obsession, delusion, hand waving and pipedream with neither clarity nor flexibility, and hence chimerically hopeless, Existentially Absurd, illusory, unachievably vanishing prospect of endurance, much less success. To quote Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower: “Plans are nothing, planning is everything.” Because in the famous words of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, noted disciple of Carl von Clausewitz: "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy." -nor, for that matter, whatever other sort of antagonist, true to life dramatic obstacle or complication.

And yet, even though, to quote Robert Burns: “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft a-gley.” (Go often awry.) -nevertheless, as Eisenhower so well understood, the intensive discourse and research of planning, brings preparation and rapport building. And into all deliberation shall be wherein enters the salient value of unprecedented serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming, indeed the speculative element and exploration of Science Fiction, ever new, yet all mindful of the ancient and venerated discipline of the writing craft.

For in constraint of endless possibility, all such enfold the exchange of hardnosed critique, a fancy French word for criticism and the Socratic Dialectical practice of controversy which is the invited, welcome and appreciated free exchange of criticism, remains essential to error detection and ongoing course correction, not to mention happiness together even in such deliberation. Hence collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming bears such untapped subversive potential, so instructive as a bonding and team building exercise toward unprecedented and subversive collaboration among equals in disruptive innovative new venture creation (various business startup).

All hence does entrepreneurship, in any alterative, tantalize with any prospect instead, in quest of liberation from bondage to employment working to enrich others, all in such poignant hope of ever finding freedom in an unfree world. And all easier said than done! Indeed, to quote Frederick Law Olmsted: "After all is said and done, much is said and little is done."

Moreover, not only psychology but philosophy and meaning in the deepest sense, ever remain relevant to inform all endless possibility of entrepreneurship no less then as in application to anything else in life. This is because successful new venture creation (various business startup), indeed entrepreneurship for the rest of us, must struggle and innovate, imaginatively addressing unhappiness of prevailing frustrated unmet or underserved needs and desires. But profound desires are often repressed and denied, going unrecognized and scorned in heteronymous religious or ideological shame and anti-intellectualism, as ever the same desperate panic stricken sycophantic socially skilled toadying skilled incompetence and crimestop ever striving to purge an unwanted self in order to gain extrinsic rewards of social acceptance. Thus all too often, the greater the value, perhaps too abstract, the harder to sell, bridging abstract principle into appealing concrete strategy.

Case in point: As shall be expounded throughout, and Orwellian anti-intellectual righthink taboo notwithstanding, there remains no less universally vested interest herein at stake only given any the wit to see, than literally the most important intrinsic social and intellectual human needs and stimulus appetites of social and intellectual stimulus struggle, so vastly and catastrophically underserved in every walk of life as we have known it. Indeed all as in accordance with the ancient wisdom of the greatest sages of old, as rediscovered under the very cutting edge of modern science. Indeed as entirely consistent with evolutionary neuroscience and the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology. For according to Martin Seligman's celebrated happiness formula of Positive Psychology, so abstract: Pleasure + engagement + meaning = intrinsic fulfillment. Indeed, bridging abstraction more concretely: Creativity can and Should be Social.

And thank you gentle reader. Because we all live in such a tightly strained attention economy, in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” All hence, all the more, in the immortal words of Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” Better still, optimal reciprocal engagement, indeed substantive communication towards purposeful interaction, and never otherwise. And no one else need approve! Therefore, accept no substitutes! All wherein, truly generous investment of precious attention, never squandered, ever accrues the highest return in like kind, fully engaged attention. Your Impossible Mission, gentle reader, should you choose to accept it! Because we live in an attention economy, often indeed so distant, frugal and miserable. A culture especially online, of alienated short attention and minimal transitory engagement. And indignant stock rebuff is undeniably so highly economical. But who and what are we all saving ourselves for? Pay attention to me, damn it! Because realistically, high ambition and short attention remain functionally antithetical. So be interested, be interesting. Stay interested. Include me. Because, to reiterate with emphasis, optimal reciprocal engagement remains the reciprocal investment and exchange of attention that accrues highest return in like kind. And ya gotta spend it in order to get any in return!

And freely question whatever is not understood and articulate every nagging ambiguity. For as the saying goes: No question is too stupid to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. Even sheer incomprehension is a beginning and no dire impasse or cause for alarm. The readiness to speak up, question, point out and discuss communication errors and failures, remains crucial to communication at all, and sometimes even actually a matter of life and death. Mistakes are the Essence towards Intersubjectivity via fully engaged Dialectical conversational adequacy in collaborative miscommunication repai, with Active Reading and Listening striving towards the achievement of Intersubjectivity being: the closer correspondence of message as received and understood, to content as actually intended by the sender. New ideas are often confusing. Only shopworn and well familiar old ideas are certain always to come across effortlessly.

Attempting anything really cool together: What does it really take?

new venture creation (various business startup) for the rest of us: Rising in endless possibility of the true to life Hero's Journey.

“I had an intuition I couldn’t survive corporate America. I hated the hierarchy and just wanted to work with my friends.”

— IDEO cofounder, David Kelley

In the progress of any group, there will be an initial shake down of who stays the course and who fades back and drops out, who can be counted on and who not, leaving only anyone who was ever truly serious to begin with. Indeed, in order to prevent group de-cohesion and dissolution, there must ever remain procedure and protocol in commitment toward recovery and even beginning anew. -figuratively back to the proverbial drawing board. Specifically, should anyone no matter how expert and having built themselves up as seemingly indispensable, indeed taking a leadership position, figuratively pulls the proverbial rug metaphorically out from under, by actingout in passive aggression, undermining all progress, effectively just going on strike while howsoever pretending otherwise, indeed even by such sabotage wresting defeat out from the very jaws of victory, then, in such case, what must be done? Answer: together we must remain brave, undiscouraged, agile, adapt and find another way, even outreach recruiting other more reliable partners in collaboration. Indeed, the offender may even be prevailed upon to help recruit their own replacement, if they just don't want to do their own job. Instead of such helpless and stunned dependency, there must be fall back plans in case of such defection, no matter how seemingly catastrophic. Anyone simply losing interest must be set free, their obligations written of as a bad debt. There is always another way, even if seemingly howsoever at all less advantageous. When such controlling passive aggression no longer paralyzes and destroys the group, by such Transactional Antithesis the Ulterior Transaction or: headgame will quickly lose its appeal, and the offender may even decide to mend their ways instead of simply finding themselves alone and left out not by howsoever actually being excluded, but simply by their own inaction and nonparticipation as the others just move on together.

In crucial reiteration: Trustworthy, capable and respectful happy people Empirically observed talking more seriously and making less small talk, thrive together intentionally and purposefully engaging together in creative endeavor. Indeed, close relationship, Eros which is liberating union with alien difference, and particularly friendship, arises for serious people of integrity, in autonomy, subversively and disruptively flouting taboo, entirely as a byproduct of full engagement in purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, and as to be expounded anon, never otherwise. Moreover, no one else need approve! After all: Popularity and ever facile and distant social success, ever remain antithetical to true friendship, because friendship is genuine, substantive and intimate, being predicated upon free, unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility.

For in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” Indeed, in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” And to quote Mark R. J. Lavoie: “Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him." Indeed, as George Orwell observes in ‘Conversation with a Pacifist,’ even at all thinking clearly, becomes increasingly difficult in bored and lonely isolation without expression.

The possibilities remain endless! Because Creativity can and Should be Social, therefore even at the risk of anything Utopian in the pejorative of remaining vastly impractical and impossibly ideal, a social engineering vision ensues, if all goes well, of welcome and trustworthy collaboration among equals, serious people, fully engaged in substantive communication, purposeful interaction and creative solution finding in innovative new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us interstitial concurrent synergy with unprecidented ongoing serious collaborative fiction writing, 1) respectful and responsible capable group endeavor on our own terms taking small reversible steps steadily at our own pace in a culture of helping and creative solution finding, 2) indeed reciprocity helpful and ever mindful of task interdependencies, asking of others what no one else asks, and offering in return, what no one else offers, wherein, 3) beyond mere solitary division of labor, effective performance toward success without corporate or institutional authority and support (at least at first), 4) will require value maximization of participating human resource, 5) wherein each participant taking initiative cross discipline, by calling upon other participants for whatever timely and whole hearted assistance and follow up required, and reciprocating when likewise called upon by any other participant similarly as needed. Reciprocally supportive, each participant would thus both lead and follow. Like the Three Musketeers: “One for all, and all for one!” And in the words of Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

Creativity can and Should be Social, unlike, not only, for example in the next section: community gardening, or for that matter, such prevailing institutional structure as formal education and traditional employment, will always remain the more demanding of perseverant individual responsibility. If any one packs up their gardening tools and turns their back on that benighted community garden, well then life goes on for the others. But new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us, and for that matter, even serious collaborative fiction writing, will always remain the more fraught with, and vulnerable to, disruption by personality conflict, passive hostility and betrayal. Such nigh inevitable tribulation will ever remain the test of adult responsibility, resilience and perseverance. After all, successful entrepreneurship eventually results only from rapid serial failure together. hard work: Try, try, try again! Again, in the words of Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” And devious cross-purpose, accrues only such abject failure. And alas, never open honest disagreement.

Along with Creativity can and Should be Social, also included is an ancillary subversive notion of outreach, Creativity Can and Should be Popular, individual outreach under legitimizing context of collective outreach, all as conceived to better facilitate individual networking, social embedment and social stimulus struggle, metaphorical tail figuratively wagging proverbial dog, ulterior objective taking priority over ostensible ongoing recruitment to Creativity can and Should be Social.

Alas however, that the greater masses of humanity, cretins and philistines all, so ill equipped and bereft of all philosophy and scientifically ignorant, remain ever so blithely oblivious to and unmoved by the crucial importance of the probortunity at hand. Alas, anti-intellectual short attention prevails. So bereft of autonomy, many remain all too easily distracted and discouraged by even the slightest difficulty, let alone serious effort, and even from persistence in thinking too deeply. Let alone from Active Reading and research, much less substantive communication even contemplating ambitiously purposeful interaction. Because, ultimately, in the words of Benjamin Disraeli: “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” Alas however, deep thinking and planning for well considered action, remain so unpopular because reality can be so painful and discouraging. Understandably, even benumbed escapism remains far more appealing for mass marketing. But when the going gets tough, nerds work the problem! Indispensable to meaning and purpose, Eudemonia and authentic wellbeing, eustress and sustainable euphoria of inherent creative tension stems from the inadequacy all that one is, in striving and ambition in latency of all that one yearns to become, excellence called: arête. And so gentle reader, is FoolQuest.com right for you?

Alas, no matter what might be at stake, that so many people just cannot fathom any responsible suggestion of, for whatever good reasons, doing anything differently than as has become accustomed. Neither in any liberating shock of the new, nor simply in appeal to competency as embodied even in most ancient and venerated tradition as for example, of serious writing, drama and the discipline of the writing craft. And not even simply in open-mindedness to enjoy the speculative element and exploration of Science Fiction.

Alas, all too often, promising connections and opportunity so ignominiously die stillborn amid tragic hesitation. And all manner of promising innovation in attempting anything really cool together is scuttled by the same old headgames, consensus manipulation, and even bullying outright. And then there is what has been dubbed: The Cult of the Amateur, a popular anti-intellectual movement online in such scornful cretin philistine rejection of expertise, art and proficiency, in very principle. As in recent history, from the very beginning, when all various qualified experts were effectively driven off from Wikipedia, in “a kind of reverse snobbery that seeks to excuse mediocrity.” [Wikipedia talk:Anti-elitism] And there can be by far worse malagenda of heteronomy because of precisely such reverse snobbery but even more extreme, embracing Relativism and Anti-Critical Bias as in the silly aphorism that there is no disputing tastes, indeed taking thereby the implication that there can be no possible standards of quality whatsoever in any context at all. And often thereby extolling not even mere mediocrity, but actually glorifying even the most trenchant denial as manifest in antirational ideology; travesty of cognition and human connection, ever remaining the very font of willfully unaware and socially skilled incompetence sycophantic pipedream and most entrenched production of blithely unironic ghodawful badfic.

Only practice makes perfect. Only writing badly can ever progress into any better writing. Writing is rewriting and never a waste of time. And not merely creative writing, but any endeavor obsessively set in stone without prior deliberation, due diligence, research, exploration and planning, typically remains ever doomed to delusion, hand waving and pipedream with no prospect of success. And here is the lesson of serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming, indeed the speculative element and exploration of Science Fiction, ever new, yet all mindful of the ancient and venerated discipline of the writing craft. For all such enfold the exchange of hardnosed critique, a fancy French word for criticism and the Socratic Dialectical practice of controversy. Hence collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming bears such untapped subversive potential, so instructive as a bonding and team building exercise toward unprecedented collaboration among equals in disruptive innovative new venture creation (various business startup). The possibilities remain endless! Therefore, what then does the future hold? In the words of Paul Raven: “Science Fiction isn’t dying at all; it’s metastasizing!”

Overcoming foreseeable resistance to featured key strategic specifics of Creativity can and Should be Social

Many a mythic Hero's Journey turns upon endless riddles, even such as indeed will be exposed as plain and profane, no riddle at all. And along the course of the present true to life Hero's Journey, there will be much attentively to unpack and decompress, in the present densely verbose hypertext paragraphs here on FoolQuest.com

But initial drama along the course of the present true to life Hero's Journey, obtains such and so: That alas, even in shared values and objectives, strategy and action agenda may yet meet with rejection, only fizzling out in real world anticlimax of anti-drama and disappointment. Indeed as for examples, recounted here, and here. Indeed, even given as aforesaid, even so rarely, ignition of intensely motivated individualized focus, will any common ground towards conceivable plan of action agenda ever appear? For in the words of Benjamin Disraeli: “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”

In life as in myth, from the beginning the Hero's Journey is ever imperiled by distraction, diversion and compromise, from the true path. And not all compromise is evil. Meaningful compromise ever challenges dramatic priorities upon the path of individual true to life Hero's Journey. Doctors once recommended for their patients to take up golf, even just to pass the time, even no matter how senselessly, all in order thereby to improve self esteem by gaining task mastery. All conjuring to mind the demonic Terrible Trivium from 'The Phantom Toll Booth' written by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Because indeed, the seductive distraction of endlessly unimportant tasks, easy to do, spare us all from the anxieties of difficult and important challenges. Indeed, as often espoused in remedial Behavior Modification and rehab, is the recommendation of consistent participation in ongoing long term projects even at all arbitrarily. Indeed somewhat off-putting, yet entirely cut-and-dry and feasible though banal and boring drudgery. Such as, for example: community gardening, providing behavioral structure of regularly scheduled activity and association sustaining propinquity while also producing any interaction and sense of involvement to draw participants together. Thus does a travesty of the rôle of gardening in the ideal and Intentional community of Epicurus, rear its ugly head. Such much.

And yet, the uninspiring recommendation points halfway towards what is actually so sorely needed, in focus therein upon active ongoing cooperation. To bad it's so tedious and onerous, unless indeed one so adores gardening! In the alternative, might then anything more interesting and meaningful, turn out actually the more uplifting and successful, than such remedial drudgery as community gardening? The present proposal remains perhaps the most modest and least extreme or Draconian of all conceivable serious life strategies currently advanced in response towards solution finding coming to grips with the probortunity at hand. And yet, many would balk. Will there then be anything more important or interesting on your mind, gentle reader? Bear with me:

In the biting whit of Dorothy Parker: “You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think." Yet again, as here on FoolQuest.com, one can but extend invitation. Alas, many even who yearn for and advocate, at least in abstract principle, collaboration among equals not just in labor together arbitrarily, but actually creative solution finding, nevertheless may flat-out reject either or even both quintessentially creative pursuits advanced herein, that of going into business together for ourselves, and even that of story crafting together. -Just not their proverbial cup of tea. In that case, then the first brainstorming challenge to the agenda, might be to define and select whatever other at all conceivable challenge in focus of sustainable and appealing creative collaboration and endeavor, once whatever that scarce and fondly remembered exciting and uplifting super fun workplace project, workshop or seminar concludes, without providing follow up whatsoever, leaving all just figuratively standing out there in the proverbial cold, and not to mix metaphors, sitting on our hands, each and all abandoned once again, to our own devices. And that situation so bereft of vital social support, puts to the test, skills and responsibilities of autonomy, so atrophied and undermined under heteronomy. Do then those Behaviorist community gardeners get the last laugh? Wait: Not so fast!

Subversively and disruptively proposed herein, shall be nothing less than indeed to completely reverse traditional paradigm of heteronomy to authoritarianism, in endless possibility all in accordance with the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology, by instead, in liberating value maximization, resetting collaboration among equals in creative solution finding as the new norm and default human condition, then appealing to even ad hoc authority, only occasionally as need actually arising. And the strategy, mechanics and proposed plan of action in implementation thereof, shall be dubbed: Creativity can and Should be Social, in such disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us, in such subversive interstitial synergy concurrently with unprecedented serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming. For as John Cleese expounds: “Creativity is not a talent: it's a way of operating.” But yet again, barring hierarchically dominant power and authority in wherewithal simply to impose implementation of more enlightened policy, one can but extend invitation. And FoolQuest.com remains your golden invitation, gentle reader. As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously!

No, not anarchy, not at all, merely civil society, informality until whatever formalities are evoked. Actual need of authority can arise in many ways. The need for moderation may arise in order to restore order and resume pertinence of discourse to agenda, let alone to quell or resolve actual conflict and acrimony passing beyond merely enthusiasm of heated exchange and the practice of controversy, and let alone urgently authoritative contravention in order to counter actual abuse and bullying of one kind or another. Authority may also serve to break deadlock and indecision in urgent probortunity.

But any default situation of constant authority, macro and micromanagement all the time, simply as the normal routine, frequently loses purpose, descending into oppressive self-serving, destruction and irrelevance. And the strategy, mechanics and proposed plan of action in implementation of aforesaid new paradigm, shall be dubbed: Creativity can and Should be Social. For as John Cleese expounds: “Creativity is not a talent: it's a way of operating.” But yet again, barring hierarchically dominant power and authority in wherewithal simply to impose implementation of more enlightened policy, one can but extend invitation. And FoolQuest.com remains your golden invitation, gentle reader. As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously!

Situation analysis: Indeed, the probortunity at hand remains entirely in accordance with that which may be referred to as: the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology:

Conventionally and heteronymously, in every walk of life, authority routinely and continually and systematically stifles not only autonomy in general, but most particularly, creative solution finding. Because, from the standpoint of heteronomy, collaboration among equals remain quite inconceivable. That is, except when and as deemed needful or advantageous by whatever powers that be, especially in light of any whatever unusual special circumstances or situation of probortunity, the more dire the more propitious. Only thus ever arises for even the rank and file, such scarce and fondly remembered peak experience of creative collaboration and fulfillment under relaxation of hierarchical dominance, called: low hierarchical distance, meaning: near equality.

And yet in all terror of autonomy, heteronomy so hesitantly strives, in very limited success, to tame for heteronomy, the competitively indispensable power of autonomy and even of creative solution finding in close collaboration among equals. But heteronomy can't be tweaked or revamped. Heteronomy can only be brought to give way, at long last, to autonomy, indeed perhaps even in reversal of paradigmatically heteronymous norms and expectations, Peripeteia as herein so subversively and disruptively conspired.

And then, even in as to any aforementioned howsoever even seemingly arbitrary indifference, even distaste and rejection both of business and of drama, it may then reasonably and responsibly be expected that sustainability of such vastly underserved peak experience of collaboration among equals in creative solution finding, may inevitably entail in any alternative, some other manner of salient and relevant project planning towards effective implementation, not to mention whatever probortunity as focus of collaboration among equals in creative solution finding. Because implementation is key. And creative solution finding, even however innovative, requires some or other clear focus or objective. Indeed, when all else fails, what has actually been desired all along? Hence: As to be expounded anon, bridging abstract and concrete, project planning is but another powerful and synergistic application of narrative, of dramatic futuring scenario and story crafting. Hence the salient relevance of sustained and ongoing culture of innovative new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us, in short: of open collaboration in business or project planning towards effective implementation. Thus, the relevance of innovative new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us, by any other name, becomes inescapable to all such proactive initiative beyond the bounds of institutional life. And indulging perhaps also pure creativity, art for art's sake, how better than in unprecedented ongoing serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming? Other options aside from collaborative writing, may remain less broadly accessible, readily sustainable, and thereby at al less practical. Moreover, serious collaborative fiction writing promotes appealing cultivation of the liberating power of narrative.



Problem statement: Whythe FoolQuest.com invitation to substantive communication towards purposeful interaction herein deemed so indispensable: People should decide each as we see fit, but in clear understanding of what remains ever at stake. Socialize, or social lies? Truth is correspondence to reality in assertions, while social reality remains ever Chimera. And overthrow of adverse social reality and poison consensus, in defiance of oppression, begins by living in truth, by refusing to repeat, to transmit, to follow, or to continue living by whatever the big lie. The big lie is in timidity and giving way to bullies. The toxic big lie is in always wearing a socially acceptable mask, maintaining distance and keeping things light, while starving for any true connection, because such terrorized and ever intimidated charade, utter travesty, remains key to social success! Or soWe the Sheeple, glorified pack mammals all, have always been taught.

Indeed all such above complaint, to reiterate, remains well known, tropic, even somewhat cliché iconoclasm. Whereas in corollary, alas the truth, plain and profane, so widely unacknowledged, remains that close relationship, Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference, and particularly friendship, arise for serious people, in autonomy, subversively flouting taboo, and entirely as a byproduct of full engagement in purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, and as shall be seen, never otherwise. Accept no substitutes! And no one else need approve! Mark my words: All else remains fraud, folly and futility, Existentially Absurd and ultimately irredeemable multiple flavors of entirely diversionary grade A snake oil! Purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication remains our only hope, essential towards psychological visibility, intrinsic fulfillment and authentic wellbeing in more optimal social and intellectual so indispensable. But what to do? Abstract principle must bridge into concrete strategy expressed in active verbs:

And towards such indispensable substantive communication, towards purposeful interaction, is proposed ongoing collaboration among equals, pleasurable and meaningful optimal reciprocal engagement, more optimal social and intellectual stimulus struggle, intrinsic to fulfillment, authentic wellbeing and human flourishing; all as characteristic and Empirically observed of honest, responsible, trustworthy, capable and respectful happy people (indeed flouting taboo and conventional recommendations towards popularity and social success) talking more seriously and making less small talk, and who thrive in autonomy, prosper and succeed, together intentionally and purposefully engaging in creative endeavor. -indeed for serious people, substantive communication towards purposeful interaction, eschewing bland triviality. And strategically, who else, what other kind of person, leading what other kind of life, best should be emulated together in autonomy and pursuit of happiness? To reiterate: All else, any other vastly unsuitable rôle models, remain fools, nigh cultist cronies, sycophants and grifters, purveyors and consumers of pure grade A snake oil! For such remains the essential nature of heteronomy. And heteronomy can't be tweaked or revamped. Heteronomy can only be brought to give way, at long last, to autonomy.


Glossary of crucial terminology and concepts

Because popularity and social success ever remain antithetical to true friendship. Because friendship is genuine, substantive and intimate, being predicated upon free and unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility. Alas that all too often, substance and purpose remain actually shameful, awkward, nerdy, uncool, socially unacceptable and so taboo. And if indeed interminable emotionally and intellectually distant, cagey, unwelcoming and disingenuous small talk ever keeping it light, remains key to popularity and social success, then such do-nothing busywork dronelike Orwellian anti-intellectually subservient path of popularity and social success, remains antithetical to true friendship which by contrast must remain ever open, genuine, substantive and intimate, being predicated after all, upon free and unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility.

The begged question then remains: Precisely how is genuine friendship ever supposed to emerge from such prevalent, well known and understood social expectations of typical paranoid distance and facile triviality and interminably banal small talk? In truth, that can never happen! And it's not your fault! Indeed, this is by design, alienation baked in. Indeed, even most anciently in the curriculum of Plato's Academy, boredom was deliberately inflicted upon students as a conservative measure to test for heteronomy and conformity by weeding out boredom prone original thinkers and innovators, purveyors of dangerous novelty, from rising to influential positions in society.

The begged question ever remains: Precisely how is genuine friendship ever supposed to emerge from typical paranoid distance, facile triviality and interminably banal small talk? In truth, that can never happen! And that's not your fault!

As Edward Snowden observes, oppressors of every stripe, who restrict our options, then pretend that we consent. Indeed, this is by design, alienation baked in. For even most anciently in the curriculum of Plato's Academy,

Indeed, in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” And to quote Mark R. J. Lavoie: “Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him." Indeed, as George Orwell observes in ‘Conversation with a Pacifist,’ even at all thinking clearly, becomes increasingly difficult in bored and lonely isolation without expression.

But Eudemonia, capable close relationship, Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference, and especially true friendship, will accrue only for serious people, arising as byproduct of full engagement in f purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication and never otherwise. Accept no substitutes! And no one else need approve! Alas, one can but extend invitation, indeed even under such oppression. And FoolQuest.com remains your golden invitation of probortunity, gentle reader, asking of others what no one else asks, and offering in return, what no one else offers.

For stimulus struggle, what every living thing is doing all the time, is no more or less than the perpetual striving to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation and arousal from the surrounding environment. And this includes uniquely human social and intellectual stimulus struggle and even psychological visibility, indeed every crucial social stimulus provided by anyone triggering and eliciting response from anyone else within the same social environment or situation, a process so desperately undermined and subverted under heteronomy in the perpetual rat race out in the endless emotional and intellectual wastelands of the social minefield.

In summation then to reiterate: In open standing invitation, the proposed plan of action Creativity can and Should be Social details the groundbreaking new concept by social engineering design, relationship in new paradigm via Intentional community or just intentional social circle, an unprecedented ongoing collaboration among equals, as proposed, to consist in vibrant new interstitial synergy concurrently between parallel endeavors of innovative new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us on the one hand, and on the other hand pure creativity, art for art's sake, in unprecedented ongoing serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming.

And to reiterate: Also included is an ancillary subversive notion of outreach, Creativity Can and Should be Popular, individual outreach under legalizing context of collective outreach, all as conceived to better facilitate individual networking, social embedment and social stimulus struggle, metaphorical tail figuratively wagging proverbial dog, ulterior objective taking priority over ostensible ongoing recruitment to Creativity can and Should be Social.

FoolQuest.com extends your invitation, gentle reader, to collaboration among equals in an unprecedentedly innovative interstitial dynamic synergy concurrently between serious collaborative fiction writing on the one hand, and business or project planning in new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us, on the other hand; filling the gap of poorly understood and vastly underserved needs of entrepreneurship made more accessible for the rest of us; all as beginning in the utterly neglected very earliest path of concerted effort over time, discussion, research and networking even from the most vastly underserved embryonic inception or: "kitchen table" phase or stage of new venture creation (various business startup), into planning, research, due diligence, feasibility study and organization, problem-centered rather than ego-centered, with the productive ambition of even world changing new venture creation (various business startup) and expansion all from scratch, undertaking beyond the resource or wherewithal of any one lone individual; all hence actually seeking out and bringing together aspiring entrepreneurs and activists for brainstorming new ideas and following up in every due diligence developing all manner of promising notions and endless possibility into realization, from comprehensive feasibility study and (pre-) incubation of embryonic first concepts, through research, comprehensive feasibility study, business planning and qualified Management Team recruitment, all the way to Capitalization, implementation and expansion. Then followed by whatever dénouement of exit strategy ever as applicable. A steep learning curve together. Any questions? Any objections? Any takers? You are all invited! Gentle reader, I am counting on you! Dare we together take action? As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously! For the possibilities remain endless.

Obviously, funding must remain ever crucial in new venture creation (various business startup). And we have entered a revolutionary new age of ever more accessible new vehicles of investment and Capitalization, ever more commonly accessible, indeed: for the rest of us. But popular participation amid unprecedented liberation from traditional privileged exclusivity, has eroded away all concomitant protective filters of, to put it vulgar and colloquially: shit from Shinola! And therefore prospecting for Capitalization may often remain somewhat premature, for wont of necessary preceding preparation and due diligence, support thereof all ever remaining as exclusive as ever, so vastly and dauntingly underserved for the likes of us clueless hoi polloi, and mysterious or worse: often halfcocked and half-baked pipedream, incompetent or even actually dishonest folly and knavery. So goes the proverb: “The devil is in the details.” Sun Tzu said: “Every battle is won or lost before it is ever fought.” First indeed must be shared whatever vivid fantasy of compelling frustrated yearning, but fit groundwork must then ensue. It remains foolhardy to just wing it. As per summary aggregation of the notoriously alliterative multiple p's: Properly Purposeful Pre-Planning and Prior Preparation Prevents Preemptive Production of Painfully Piss Poor Performance.

Neither high pressure facile flimflam of hurried hustle and deceptive manipulation, nor passive hostile stalling and foot-dragging proverbially pulling out the figurative rug metaphorically out from under, but responsibly proceeding in true collaboration among equals steadily at our own pace in small reversible steps, business or project planning together, creative solution finding, and capable management team formation, business or project planning together, a steep learning curve creative solution finding, and capable management team formation. Gentle reader, can you be trustworthy and responsible? And will anybody else reciprocate? Am I your unmet friend?

The FoolQuest.com vision of entrepreneurship for the rest of us, capable interaction with even adequately responsible others, remains entirely different from anything less. It is therefore respectfully submitted herein, that the true key remains in the actual process, the human interaction, of business or project planning together, creative solution finding, and management team formation, in true collaboration among equals steadily at our own pace, beyond mere lip service. And that the indispensable and effective starting point remains to be found in initiation and quality of open and responsible sustained discourse and deliberation in critical thinking, outreach and research. And in specific new and unprecedented innovation as to be fully expounded anon, in the concurrent interstitial dynamic synergy to be cultivated between unprecidented serious collaborative fiction writing and new venture creation (various business startup) for the rest of us. Because Creativity can and Should be Social, beginning with the celebrated star first follower who shall be the true leader and influencer, showing others how to participate and relate, blazing the trail of welcome! No, I might not have what you want. But dare we seek for it together? For any lonesome frustrated desire tells a story, needs a plan, and calls out for allies.

Setup for failure:

"Follow your bliss!" rings hollow that shopworn platitude whereby we are each and all extolled, then each and all, so ill equipped, summarily abandoned entirely to ones own devices, set up for inertia, failure and disappointment. commitment falls short, even in lunatic faith that, alas, does not actually move mountains, in commitment even such as never wanes, yet fails to carry the freight, manipulatively 'Bright Sided' as we have been, by exhortation to willful positivity and rabid GREENLANTERN ism! For urging and enthusiasm of hope that springs eternal and endures, is not a strategy. All that cheering and encouragement at the starting line, quickly fades away into into the distance. No one cares. Because all Pollyanna willfully optimistic blandishment and facile lip service notwithstanding, in ugly truth of banal hypocrisy, individual fulfillment remains at best a distant societal priority, if not actually undermined as a subversive dire threat to status quo. And therefore, rudderless and setup for failure without relevant social support, direction or resources, far from any idealism of subversive and committedly "unreasonable" disruptive civic heroism, many so discouraged then hesitate, become lost and despair, finally to conform and make do or just fall by the wayside.

But what is to be done? Well, it's complicated. I have no ready and trite simple answer to complex problems. And I don't want your money or your devotion. Gentle reader, I'd never let you off so easily! I am too good a friend for that. And I am certainly no formulaic callow motivational grifter here to psyche you up and then leave you in the lurch! Isn't there quite enough of that already? And so, in the face of entrenched pervasive institutional indifference, how can anyone fare any better?

The masses have tolerated much, only given bygone prosperity. But boom is long gone to bust. And nowadays in the United States, even baring any misfortune of protracted unemployment, the dilemma remains between entry directly into the workforce, and thence failure and poverty, in doing without higher education, on the one hand, and crushing lifelong compounding debt from the burgeoning expense of higher education, even if career pursuit all goes according to plan without a hitch. One way or another, many end up going into business for themselves, less by preference, then when all else has failed. And whatever pragmatic compromise turns out no less difficult, than whatever lofty aspirations therefore sacrificed.

We are all such proverbial square pegs: The customer is always wrong! The program never fails, you fail the program. In the immortal observations of George Carlin: "Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.” By contrast, our designated rôle models in every conventional option in life, the star student under formal education, ideal employee , perfect disciple or model prisoner alike, are all so consummately well adapted, ever so heteronymously characterized as they remain, beyond mere responsive obedience and passivity otherwise, not only by every obsessive-compulsive eager beaver sore travail, but boundlessly committed initiative in anticipation of their superior's desires, "paying one's dues" life long, excelling without complaint or resistance, never seeking attention by requesting explanation or assistance.

And why can't we all follow their example and be more like them? Because, just as Carlin implies, we all so chafe at the bit! Recalcitrant in such sore travail, obstinately uncooperative toward mind numbing routine as imposed by ever coercive and manipulative self-servingly moralizing authority, all too many typically succumb to ambivalence expressed in resentful and reluctant obedience together with covert passive hostile sabotage, instead of actually choosing between either dignified and whole hearted compliant individual cooperation on the one hand, or else free and open fully effective proletariat uprising on the other hand. And such remains damaged human nature not by innate disposition, but as triggered in suffering and humiliated response to norms of sore travail, deviously guilt tripping tyranny psychologically internalized, in short, of slave morality.

And yet, exactly such adaptation on the part of the aforementioned rôle model, of broken in and enthusiastic approval seeking, will still be so blithely held up as exemplary in order to vindicate systemic failure and disappointment in most every walk of life. And under extrinsic punishment and reward systems by hierarchical design, indeed such provides the benchmark by which for better or worse, most of us will come short and fall by the wayside, make do, for each to learn their place. And hence the burning motivation, the poignant yearning and sheer redeeming Existential disgust, of "unreasonable people," instead to find one another in order committedly together to strive and change and forge anew the world, better to their liking.

Not fitting in remains an often debilitating sore travail. But leave us face it: the compromises in fitting are typically even more deranged, impotent, pointlessly laborious, soul destroying, senseless, Existentially Absurd, and over all, egodystonic and shockingly irrelevant to all core values. Alas that capable interaction with even adequately responsible others, is not simply given, and cannot be won by jumping through any hoops set before us. Fortunate are the few truly ever exposed thereto and included therein. But for most of us, capable interaction with even adequately responsible others, remains elusive. And anything less than capable interaction with even adequately responsible others, amounts to an isolation from power, bored, anxious, helpless, oppressed and alone, a frustrating sore travail. Outreach remains random and daunting at best. But what individual recourse can be available?

And so, as my own boss, more confident in my ideas than my capability, I have fired myself for utter failure and gross incompetence in the sore travail of life! Tautologically, there can be no self-help, no solitary rugged self-reliant unilateral self-made bootstrap "well-formed plan," for interaction among more than one individual. And no secret magic of fineness, either. Because power remains a function of capable relationship on ones own terms. Am I then your unmet friend? Expert or layperson in whatever fields, old pro or neophyte aspirant, we each and all bring to the table whatever ones own insights, questions, answers, knowledge, talent, ideas, perspective, experience and connections. -Alas, hard work all too often so vastly unappreciated and blithely squandered...


Toxic social reality of cohesive alienation:

Not that purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, or even creativity, via whatever strategy, and all however crucial, remain by any means the only creditable core values of relationship, especially friendship. And yet, nevertheless, purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication remain the only doorway, the only path of connection, so Absurdly slammed shut, to all other desires. The formation of social circles remains so crucial socially, because personal friends remaining unacquainted with one another, are unlikely to invite or include one socially. All thus little more effective than lingering ever friendless.

The indefatigable enemies of the open society, imbeciles, tyrants and scoundrels, adamantly insist, in trenchant denial simply ignoring all sound reasoning supported by Empirical evidence entirely to the contrary, that cooperation is impossible save by fairly complete agreement and compliance. And thus, under the worldview of heteronomy, collaboration among equals remains entirely inconceivable! But responsible people who disagree, even howsoever vociferously, actually do cooperate effectively and productively only all of the time!

In the words of John Storrs Hall: “Ideas should compete, bodies should cooperate.” Scientist in perpetual disagreement on one point or another, challenge one another to discover Empirical truth by experiment and Scientific Method, and those ever more scarce functional policy makers in good faith, are actually ever known to reach reasonable compromise. And all entirely without consensus. Whereas with no place for dissent, consensus groups remain merely do nothing pep rallies. That is, unless they are scams, in which case whatever the scam's ulterior agenda may indeed be accomplished, whatever good that comes of it. Indeed, wars have been lost by clueless military hierarchies lacking due protocol for the airing of dissent among junior officers, dismissively silenced when they foresaw disaster.

In our deliberations together, let us all then strive for full engagement with neither distance nor acrimony: For should anyone ever openly disagree, then so much the better, affording as disagreement does, every opportunity for Dialectical controversy, the welcomed free exchange of criticism. And criticism is not only productive, but inherently friendly. Indeed, as a matter of Empirical observation, people who disagree are still seen to cooperate all the time, and more meaningfully, freely and authentically in autonomy, than those who together merely submit to uniform heteronomy. Or if anything herein remains unclear, then, gentle reader, please do not be alarmed: Those who only dummy up paralyticly whenever they don't understand are just helpless and insufferably neurotic and frustrating to deal with. Those who will never delve into anything not yet understood, will never surpass all that they already understand as well familiar. For such as they, indeed there will be no new thing under the sun! For such is an arrested intellectual development. We only learn from mistakes, our own or those of others. Mistakes should not be punished. Some procedure of discourse is necessary for bringing comprehension out from incomprehension. Please: Speak up whenever anything remains unclear! And in return, I can be counted upon to do likewise for others. Let us always diligently engage in Miscommunication Competent Dialectical miscommunication repair, with Active Reading and Listening striving towards the achievement of Intersubjectivity being the closer correspondence of message as received and understood, to content as actually intended by the sender. After all, writing is rewriting and never a waste of time. And this obtains no less for collaboration than for solitary composition, and no less for business or project planning towards new venture creation (various business startup), no less than for fiction writing, all central and crucial to the present proposal.

In those wise words of Henri-Louis Bergson: “Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought." Alas that in such reciprocal contempt, thinking and doing remain all too often segregated in our institutional mentality. The result is a great deal of thought gone to no practical avail, and a great deal of ill considered action so blithely undertaken. To quote Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower: “Plans are nothing, planning is everything.” And let no one imagine that planning, action or happiness are ever improved by pressure to choose between conformity or social isolation. In the words of Benjamin Disraeli: “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” It remains, however, that self-help/improvement and social skills remediation are all nothing but delusion and denial of Existential Absurdity. You are not in control of your life, any more than I am in control of mine. We all find ourselves completely at the whim of uncooperative others in every facet of our lives. And everyone within reach to seek help from, is simply too insecure even to fight for their very lives, much less to stand up for one another. Put more simply then, and in complete good faith, powerlessness, the impotent helplessness of the human condition is terminally demeaning. And even beyond direct action, our influence upon others may often be even the more misguided and deluded. Gentle reader, unmet friend: Where is there to be found, any beginning of collaboration among equals? Thinking in terms of action, in order to act more thoughtfully, there remains only one precious beginning, immediately, over which we, I and thou, may indeed together take responsibility and share any control at all: And that is interaction between ourselves, specifically just discussion at all to begin with, and setting an agenda thereto. Because. in the words of Janine Garner, “Failing to engage is engaging with failure.” And indeed, all heteronomy is but craven and futile pseudo-engagement.

Sharing ideas, never completely scripted or controlled, sanguine to the risk of disagreement, substantive conversation deals in concepts, themes and problems in whatever discipline employing higher order thinking, making distinctions, applying ideas, forming generalization, and raising questions. And not just the reporting of experiences, information, definitions, or procedures, even collaboration among equals in brainstorming and creative solution finding. Participants respond directly to one another, by explaining themselves or asking questions in order to clarify one another’s statements. Such dialogue builds upon participants’ statements thereby promoting coherent shared understanding of concepts, themes or problems.

Indeed actually as so well epitomized in unprecedented serious collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming, but by no means limited thereto, sustained substantive conversations integrates the contributions of all participants sharing coherent understanding. complex and coherent clarifications, explanations and arguments beyond mere concise statement. Substantive conversation exceeds lecture and short-answer formats for transition of information. Full engagement in substantive conversation, involves people more profoundly with one another. Whereas, and all in such trepidation to avoid disagreement at all cost, conventionally expected vapid small talk, deliberately insubstantial and distant conversation and pervading anti-intellectualism, the conviction that disagreement is tantamount to strife, thwarts attachment, bonding and relationship, particularly friendship, thereby starving social and intellectual stimulus appetites, thereby inflicting protracted loneliness and boredom. For such is the human condition.

Individual power in practice and not just in theory, requires the discovery of actionable practical options in the pursuit of happiness, meaning towards whatever one wishes to do, to accomplish, or to become. Alas, in Existentially Absurd social reality, there remain such dystressing user hostile outcomes gap, meaning inherent contradiction and setup for failure with no results no matter what one does. Indeed, in the world as it is, the will to power is all too often frustrated by even actually hostile and arbitrary intractable social challenges, even regardless of whatever solitary individual ability and worthiness. Whereas people disposed to the characteristic motivation of responsibility, thereby obtain a capacity to interact by appeals to responsibility, to sound reasoning and autonomy. But only in dealing with others at all compatibly likewise so disposed. Hence, it may even be broadly asserted that the will to power is fulfilled via genuine autonomy meeting ones needs for capable interaction with even adequately responsible others, influencing one another, and in a manner even salutary and validating. But all alone ever deeper out in the wilderness, can there be found any clear path to that great good?

The difficulty remains quite simply that to establish a life of capable interaction with even adequately responsible others, yet remains ever elusive for so many of us. Certainly for yours truly! As beloved standup comedian Rodney Dangerfield used so hilariously to complain: “I don't get no respect, no respect at all!” But then, who does? Capable interaction with even adequately responsible others, is by no means average or the norm, but clearly exceptional, even for that matter, among the most exalted leadership, let alone amid the hapless hoi polloi. Indeed, capable interaction with even adequately responsible others is even celebrated as greatness, yet all but discouraged in widest practice. For the worker drones under heteronomy to behavioral conditioning, all cogs in the machine, formal education and typical corporate culture of employment, foster admiration, but never emulation, of those lionized men and women of destiny rising only actually despite the system, overcoming adversity, effectively quarantined and lonely at the top. But for wretches such as we, there must be no ready escape at all from the only wretched game in town! For such remains the banal rank hypocrisy of glowing lip service to independence while fostering helplessness and dependency.


Intentional community must begin somewhere on any smaller scale of intentional social circle or group. At least initially, rather than sweeping the world out from leftfield, any bold, liberating and empowering subversion of hierarchy, not unlike forbidden love, necessarily nurtures in microcosm. Indeed even somewhat covertly and conspiratorially, when any two or more interacting and taking initiative, at long last must innovate: to begin significantly doing things differently and howsoever more capably together and persist. And then collective endeavors of intentional community can be organized and designed so as to foster most desired interaction between participants. Any questions? Any objections? Any takers? You are all invited! Gentle reader, I am counting on you! Dare we together take action? As observed of capable and happy people, let's talk more seriously!

In accordance with the happiness formula of Positive Psychology, Eudemonia and authentic wellbeing remain attainable via pleasurable engagement in meaningful collaboration among equals. And such accrues from eustress and sustainable euphoria of creative tension in solution finding together, of substantive communication into purposeful interaction and thereby friendship in authentic wellbeing, achievable by social engineering design of intentional community online. All following in in accordance with evolutionary neuroscience and the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology. Because pleasurable and meaningful optimal reciprocal engagement remains key to better optimized ongoing social and intellectual stimulus struggle against ever looming boredom and loneliness. For such is the human condition.

Wake up, Sheeple! It's all about how human social order as the glorified pack mammals that we are, has come to fall so vastly short of innate needs and appetites of social and intellectual stimulus struggle entirely unique to ever more massively engorged human cerebrality: Specifically, for collaboration among equals together in creative solution finding. A joy alas far too infrequent under conventional paradigm of stultifying heteronomy to hierarchical dominance. And the consequences to authentic wellbeing could not be more dire.

And, bridging the general and abstract theoretical at last into the concrete, practical and specific, Eudemonia in more optimal social and intellectual stimulus struggle, remains best to be attained upon the subversive path of disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup) interstitial concurrent synergy with collaborative fiction writing. -all as herein expounded. For disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup) interstitial concurrent synergy with collaborative fiction writing, remains the most readily empowering creative outlet enfolding purposeful interaction and substantive communication indispensable to human connection and crucial to fulfillment and authentic wellbeing. For the possibilities remain endless!

Addressing unmet needs: Serious fiction writing collaboration online and entrepreneurship for the rest of us.

A call to action: Gentle reader,you are all invited to join in and together attempt emulation neither of the facile and conniving popular kids nor of those phony success gurus, but rather the fulfillment in welcome pleasurable engagement in meaningful serious conversation and creative interaction as Empirically and repeatably observable of happy people who talk more seriously and with less small talk, fully involved together in creative endeavor. Because Creativity must be acknowledged as a phenomena exceeding mere lone individual character and disposition, as John Cleese expounds: “not a talent: it's a way of operating.” indeed, wherein creativity is found most productively to flourish by continual alternation flowing between creativity in lone contemplative solitude and vibrant expressive creative interaction together. For to quote Michel Eyquem De Montaigne: “There is no pleasure to me without communication: there is not so much as a sprightly thought comes into my mind that it does not grieve me to have produced alone, and that I have no one to tell it to.”

“Philosophers, writers, artists, even scientists, not only need encouragement and an audience, they need constant stimulation from other people. It is almost impossible to think without talking. If Defoe had really lived on a desert island, he could not have written Robinson Crusoe, nor would he have wanted to. Take away freedom of speech, and the creative faculties dry up.”

— 'Conversation with a Pacifist' by George Orwell

Indeed, Creativity can and Should be Social. For in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” Indeed, in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” And to quote Mark R. J. Lavoie: “Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him.” Indeed, as George Orwell observes in ‘Conversation with a Pacifist,’ even at all thinking clearly, becomes increasingly difficult in bored and lonely isolation without expression. Therefore let us each bring our own considered ideas to share, explore, criticize and modify together. Because, all in accordance with evolutionary neuroscience and the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology, such is Eudemonia.

Wake up, Sheeple! It's all about how human social order as the glorified pack mammals that we are, has come to fall so vastly short of innate needs and appetites of social and intellectual stimulus struggle entirely unique to ever more massively engorged human cerebrality: Specifically, for collaboration among equals together in creative solution finding. A joy alas far too infrequent under conventional paradigm of stultifying heteronomy to hierarchical dominance. And the consequences to authentic wellbeing could not be more dire.

Because, as it turns out, work or play, exactly that creative process together, is what truly makes people happy. Therefore let us proactively plan an ongoing intentional and purposeful exercise of precisely such human interaction, instead of only waiting, so helplessly, for such lamentably infrequent occasion of human thriving in creative solution finding at long last again to arise at the whim of whatever powers that be.

And the crucial first step towards close collaboration among equals and thereby Eudemonia as herein advanced, before undertaking anything more, will be simply to initiate and to sustain pertinent ongoing discussion, analytic yet strategic, in subversive deliberation online upon the agenda at hand. To reiterate: It will be predicted and recommended herein that fulfillment, authentic wellbeing and human flourishing in collaboration among equals remains most optimally achievable via dual application of the dynamic power of narrative: Specifically, in serious collaborative fiction writing in audaciously unprecedented dynamitic interstitial synergy concurrently with disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup), entrepreneurship for the rest of us. For the possibilities remain endless!

Paradoxical as that may seem, even as an entirely practical matter, there can be no escaping philosophy. For in the words of Aristotle: “All things in life are philosophical.” Because philosophical examination is the application of reason in setting consistent principles and values to guide decisions in life. And that is why, as Socrates so famously declares: “An unexamined life is not worth the living for a human being.” Because every solution, bridging abstract principle into concrete application, even as to the very meaning of life, first requires cogent problem statement indeed even as herein, of the human condition itself: For even the celebrated constitutional right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, can proffer no guarantees of success in any such striving. Alas, mere mortal pursuit of happiness frequent only reaps Ecclesiastical vanity and futility. Indeed, as Epicurus most anciently observes, nebbish human beings are by and large so frequently inept at achieving happiness or for that matter, even acting in ones own self interests and survival, let alone towards any altruistic greater values. We often tend to find ourselves figuratively barking up that proverbially wrong metaphorical tree. Self destruction ambivalence and headgames however actually motivated psychologically and emotionally, every toxic flavor of prevailing misguided and even irrational inoperant behavior does seemingly correspond also cognitively with all manner of notable false premise and expectations as to the means and causes of happiness. To wit:

Indeed, one way or another, a common theme of Existential Absurdity, remains the constant diversionary allure of extrinsic reward and punishment, and thereby away from true fulfillment of relevant intrinsic motivation. Therefore, unless the Enlightenment age of sweet reason was all naught more than a poignantly wishful fever dream, indeed if we truly remain free agents at all, at all in command of own individual faculties, indeed autonomously as in accord with Positive Disintegration, actuated by profoundly individual values all of our own, then before ever just taking the bait even one more time, let us first reflect each upon our own scarce, unique and prized moments of joy. And then, let us reason together. And woe betide us all should anyone imagine the Dialectic as an objective. It's not. For thought worthy dialogue remains no objective or end result, but the barest beginning and indispensable.

In fear and loathing, in ever mounting anxiety and depression, in the most toxic of extrinsic motivation and coercion, punishment and reward, social life often depressingly resembles formal education. Toxic lessons are propagated and enacted in every theater of life. Social success, much like good grades, remains predicated upon remaining silent and conditioning to behaving as expected. Critical thinking, challenge and thereby growth, must be assiduously avoided.

Life is senseless suffering. But must we suffer so? And why, oh why, Dear Lord? Answer: Actually not by any caprice of divine wrath and judgment, but from Frankensteins of our own making, institutions entirely of human creation. Because conventional paths in life for meeting social expectation, sore travail so rightly and roundly condemned and rejected here on FoolQuest.com, offer no escape from an Existentially Absurd social reality of dystressing user hostile outcomes gap, meaning such vastly inherent contradiction and setup for failure with no results no matter what one does.

And everything that we've been told to the contrary, remains nothing more than yet another appalling big lie. Social failure and isolation may come as no surprise, in consideration of our most blatantly damaged specimens of humanity, most plainly awkward and even actually deficient in personal hygiene, let alone subtleties of social skill, all thereby so woefully inadequate to heteronymous expectations of conformity. But abject social failure and isolation is also the wretched fate, not only all too often also of the most harmlessly innocuous and ordinary of people, and all to frequently, even of our best and brightest, sensitive and well spoken. The Elephant in the Room, the taboo begged question, yet remains: Why must it require such nigh dharmic consummate social skill, simply in order to function even adequately and get along in society? As it turns out, according to journalist and science correspondent Shankar Vedantam, interviewed on on NPR, population studies have revealed that that social skills make practically no difference for adults when it comes to social connections. Indeed, lonely people actually exhibit superior social intelligence and acuity.

So why not, as only behooves flourishing democracy, any kind of system more direct and transparent? Some therefore even dare suggest that beyond whatever individual deficiency or maladaptation, there exist even the most dire systemic problems and dysfunction. That society itself, in aggregate, might be said to display and may even be said to suffer from any manner of actually entrenched pervasive developmental disorders. And the only winning move is not to play. But is there any alternative to what seems the only game in town? Answer: Yes, but only if we get serious together, in order to stop playing such toxic headgames. And never just by metaphorically going with the allegorical flow, indeed ever figuratively circling that proverbial drain. Because failing to plan is planning to fail. Because when the going gets tough, nerds, gifted peers, work the problem. To wit:

Life is suffering. And all that We the Sheeple have so flagrantly bought into and desperately sold out for, is an irredeemable stifling toxic big lie! The truth is that both popularity, social success, on the one hand, and failure, social isolation in rejection by society on the other hand, only make most everyone lonely and miserable but only in slightly different ways. One cannot serve two masters, love, signifying intrinsic value, and mammon denoting any kind of extrinsic reward and thereby false or dubious object of reverence and devotion. Balance is chimera, will o' the wisp. Either love or mammon must assert guiding priority over the other. And again, both out comes make most everyone miserable. Either mammon, the all consuming, grinding and oppressive social rat race for popularity and social success endures, in poignant and secret hope that love sacrificed will somehow materialize from the either, despite every true to life dramatic obstacle thereby set in its path, or love defiant, as manifest in the quest for relationship and endeavor informed by intrinsic value and autonomy, persists towards ever more difficult practical fruition.

Alas there as yet exists no clear, ready and transparent social support system for individual endeavor and outreach. And because popularity and social success ever remain antithetical to true friendship. Because friendship is genuine, substantive and intimate, being predicated upon unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility, while popularity and social success depend upon purpose defeatingly facile superficiality ever keeping distance, keeping conversation light and innocuous, endlessly perpetuating pretence of fake fun. Such is the enactment of prevailing mythology enshrined in regressive social expectation and world view. But by exploding all such destructive myths of fraudulent social reality, even just between ourselves, and then by collaborative brainstorming and solution finding, of small scale social engineering design, might together set agenda in planning and then doing anything better, for implementation deliberately and intentionally, of purposeful interaction and substantive communication. And such remains the objective of Creativity can and Should be Social.

Because there can be no objectives of unilateral "well-formed plan" except for solitary endeavor within the meager constraints of lone individual recourse. Indeed, all unilateral social skills advice for the individual is tautologically inoperant, simply because free social interaction requires more than one consenting participant. Indeed, as it turns out, not everyone has been copied on exactly the same benighted social contract. And whatever might be deemed implicit to one, may be dismissed as blatantly obtuse by another. There is no real consensus, only such blithely concealment of controversy by sly oppressive means of intimidation and suppression of dissidence. In truth, one size fits all unilateral social skills advice online for the individual, indeed similar myth much as typically arising in casual conversation anyhow, tends implicitly toward frustratingly over simplistic and even attachment disordered mindblind dehumanizing unreliable prediction regarding the interaction and responses of others, very different people, indeed even complete strangers under very different situations. Such is socialization, behavioral conditioning that none dare call indoctrination or: brainwash. Such are the most dangerous myths of fraudulent social reality, so urgently in need of exploding. “Follow your bliss!” remains the shopworn motto whereby we are each and all extolled, before being summarily abandoned each and all to our own devices.

Change our conversation, reset the agenda, and change the world!
And lo, the star first follower shall become the true leader and influencer, showing others how to participate and to relate, blazing the trail of welcome!
For any lonesome frustrated desire tells a story, needs a plan, and calls out for allies

Surely, candid and open yet realistic serious conversation, hopefully upon such an important, interesting and uplifting topic, and barring unmanageable trepidation of decidophobia, remains the very minimum initial and tentative commitment to any purpose. It might even be fun! Of course, there can be no guarantees. But if even that little will be just too much bother, just too much to ask, nerdy, socially awkward, taboo and timidly dismissed out of hand, then pray do tell: Precisely what permitted measures are there so much more easy and effective, and to what end? And so, gentle reader, which among opposing inclinations do you intend to feed?

Let us then together test the very hypothesis, that even full engagement in analytic yet strategic conversation as proposed, will reveal true hope and already lift spirits, entirely free from any of the usual self manipulative motivational chicanery of bogus willful positivity, dangerous and destructive myth so interminably foisted and inflicted upon the unwitting hapless masses.

Question: Does philosophy any longer strive for arête, or merely investigate in the abstract? Answer: Towards Eudemonia, practical philosophical investigation must bridge abstract and concrete, sharing and cultivating habits of clear thinking and expression crucial to effective action in welcome of collaboration among equals in creative solution finding as in, as proposed, the sustained exercise of the pure creativity in collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming, in liberating interstitial synergy concurrently with subversive and disruptively innovative entrepreneurial new venture creation (various business startup), purposeful interaction all requiring substantive communication and psychological visibility,.

Gentle reader, do you long for an unconventional life? Then where to begin? And what is of essence? Stimulus struggle, what every living thing is doing all of the time, remains no more or less than the perpetual striving to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation and arousal from the surrounding environment. And in accordance with evolutionary neuroscience, for human consciousness, stimulus struggle uniquely demands the gratification of crucial social and intellectual stimulus needs and appetites, to which, in accordance with the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology, the unique and fully engaged Dialectic ebullience of collaboration among equals in creative solution finding and brainstorming remains key, and for which as proposed, Creativity can and Should be Social, the dual and synergistic and dynamic applications of the power of narrative, collaborative fiction writing and Entrepreneurial disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup), remain so ideal. Indeed, trustworthy, capable and respectful happy people talk more seriously and thrive in autonomy, prosper and succeed, together engaging in creative endeavor. And all with less small talk. There will be far more important and interesting agenda at hand: Indeed, such happiness embodies the very antithesis of all ever toxic and sanctioned expectations enacted in antisocial and distant insubstantive superficial) to which so many have become accustomed and socialized into.

For even such prospect merely of Dialectic engagement, even most anciently demonstrates promise of escape from the Existentially Absurd perpetual bait-and-switch dilemma between blatant lonely isolation and unhappiness inflicted from not fitting in, or else more devious lonely isolation, indeed the painfully lonely boredom of inauthentic conditionality of fitting in, often such an all consuming full time occupation. Heteronomy, conformism and the endless dance of popularity frequently become Orwellian, all consuming, draining and tremendously costly, undermining not only autonomy, independent thinking and ambition, but even the human capacity to genuinely relate to one another, to form relationship and friendship. Indeed, that's Why Nerds Are Unpopular: Because nerds invest their precious time, not in the extensive and complicated dance of popularity, but cultivating genuine interests and values of their own. But in fundamental paradigm shift, can creativity conceivably become actually go viral and popular? After all, creativity is found most productively to flourish by continual alternation flowing between creativity in lone contemplative solitude and vibrant expressive creative interaction together.

Yes: Creativity can and Should be Popular!

FoolQuest.com advances the unique analytically strategic and subversive agenda of Creativity can and Should be Social, a specific and relevant purposeful human interaction of pure creativity in collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming, in liberating interstitial synergy concurrently with subversive and disruptively innovative entrepreneurial new venture creation (various business startup), purposeful interaction all requiring substantive communication and psychological visibility, and all via specific intentional formation of a more welcoming and open minded yet skeptical immediate social circle or group. Clubs that meet regularly, are known thereby to provide for propinquity. Although, with a little outgoing initiative and persistence, and given the opportunity, so can the telephone, if only the other party is receptive. It's nice to be needed! Not to digress. In particular, cooperation on group projects, even somewhat arbitrarily, has been observed to bring people together and promote friendship, But any sense of arbitrary meaningless and pointlessness thereby remaining Existentially Absurd, may instead backfire, aimlessly risking needless peril of bored and lonely dystress of ever increasing alienation and futility, far from friendship and attachment.

Be all that as it may, one possible and applicable strategic explanation of the greater efficacy in social outreach of groups working together in social situations, over the lone efforts of any single individual, might be found, at least in any part, in the phenomena of informational social influence or: social "proof" wherein individuals are informed and then imitate the behavior of others around them. After all, that fabled star first follower or ally, transforms a lone nut into a leader. And: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." But as to any deliberate strategy in purposeful application of informational social influence or: social "proof," indeed such as striving to appear popular by being seen in public together with others, all of this presents a catch-22, a double bind, unless one is already blessed with the requisite social support, networking connections and resources.

Because secure and effective social embedment is also important to wellbeing. Does then social success remain elusive without social success already? An outreach herein is further proposed, called: Creativity can and Should be Popular, under the premise that if participation in an intentional creative group or social circle as herein proposed, Creativity can and Should be Social might naturally come to exert informational social influence or: social "proof." when desirable experience and/or salutary results for participants in Creativity can and Should be Social readily becomes Empirically observable to others and then word spreads. The outreach probortunity then of Creativity can and Should be Popular will be not only how best to leverage Creativity can and Should be Social not only for ongoing recruitment, but as actually the greater priority, in order to facilitate and improve for participants, individual interpersonal networking and forging and improving relationships. Creativity can and Should be Popular: a concept of making you the PR priority!

Indeed, if only any two or more individuals can imagine different, then relationship ensues, a new more proximate experimental superseding closer social reality. Smaller social circles or relationships of two or more individuals, are well known to forge their own unique social contracts and expectations amongst themselves. On the one hand, group dynamics may remain unimaginatively bound to prior socialization, or else on the other hand abandoning all propriety, they may co validate and normalize any conceivable deviance no matter how senseless and destructive. Both extremes remain depressingly common. Indeed, elements of both may often coexist and manifest in the group dynamics of the self same social circle. For there may often be found no more staunch conformists than the most flagrant deviants, and no deeper deviance and conviction than such blithely Absurd hypocrisy in desperate mimesis of all that one can never truly be. Indeed, such is true to life Comedy of Manners.

But for those most fortunate among us, there can also be at all more functional and congenial social circles characterized, perhaps even intentionally and by design, guided by whatever more congenial, productive and laudable values in action, networking for one another first and foremost for each our own best interests and delight, but never for anything more devious, manipulative, ulterior, strange, dangerous and exploitative.

After all, whereas immutable physical reality neither seeks nor requires approval or consent, social reality, sore travail even as all to often no less Absurd, remains a direct product of human acquiescence and participation, even as all to often, quite dysfunctional. For such is the dynamic power of narrative and the stories we buy into or not. And hence the ambition of Transactional Analysis, instead to live out happier stories, via Antithesis, a cunning repertoire of stock radically honest curve ball responses, in order to derail toxic Ulterior Transactions or: headgames. And thus intentionally enacting better narratives of our own invention, and even by researching, investigating and rôle modeling from more trustworthy happier people, rather than blindly following the most toxic of prevailing norms, insipid myths and misguided social expectations. Indeed, even by the social engineering design of more optimally fulfilling social and intellectual stimulus struggle.

Creativity can and Should be Social is a proposed ongoing endeavor of pure creativity in collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming, in liberating interstitial synergy concurrently with subversive and disruptively innovative entrepreneurial new venture creation (various business startup). Because collaboration in storytelling and business or project planning remain similar and related applications in the dynamic power of narrative and therein of creative solution finding. A business or project plan is a kind of story, an even dramatic futuring scenario rigorously detailing a projected path to success. But whereas, at least barring the outright surreal, any good story or ripping yarn only needs to seem plausible, a viable plan must be rendered rigorously feasible. And yet both remain excellent means to pleasurable and meaningful optimal reciprocal engagement, most important among intrinsic social and intellectual human stimulus appetites, congenial and indeed fully engaged path to social support, mastery and success. For any lonesome frustrated desire tells a story, needs a plan, and calls out for allies. Gentle reader, I do not have what you want, but dare we seek for it together? We might succeed dare we try!

But what if generally cares neither for storytelling nor business? Or for that matter, what if one simply mistrusts philosophy, after all a discipline of such long and widespread ill repute? Of course, everyone is different. But no good sense making comes from simply ignoring philosophy in grappling with any plainly philosophical questions. Indeed, to quote Aristotle, and indeed as Axiological dimensions of the very probortunity at hand must well attest: “All things in life are philosophical.“ Because philosophical examination is the application of reason in setting consistent principles and values to guide decisions in life. Hence as Socrates so famously declares: “An unexamined life is not worth the living for a human being.” And no human skill is automatic or self evident, much less the digestion and evaluation of ideas, philosophy and habits of clear thinking.

Alas many condemn philosophy as completely abstract and thereby entirely impractical. Because philosophy indeed deals in the most broadly applicable abstraction. And all too true, abstract principle not informed by objective reality and practically, remains no less deranged than supposedly practical consideration devoid of thoughtful guiding abstract principle. Therefore philosophy indeed becomes effete except by bridging the gap and maintaining the connection between generality of abstraction on the one hand, and Empirical practicality on the other hand. Said compartmentalization between the abstract and the concrete, remains a prevalent and highly effective memeplex, undermining both Empirical science and transfer from scientific discovery to practical strategy. Again to quote Ernest Hemingway: “Never confuse movement with action.“ Indeed, as Thomas Carlyle put it: “Nothing is more terrible than activity without insight.”

There also remains the lamentable common misconception that disagreement equals strife. Therefore many condemn philosophy as judgmental and miserable. Nevertheless the disputants in Plato's Dialogues do seem to be enjoying themselves. And so should we all. Anti-intellectualism condemn philosophy as agitation, whereas people should remain blithely content, endure and conform, just by second nature. Indeed, those who won't just take a hint, may even find themselves certified as blithely intensive, behaviorally inoperant, psychiatrically disturbed, generally loony and obdurate. But in truth, philosophy merely helps to articulate and perhaps even ever howsoever to combat, all manner of objectively real existing causes and matters of morally sincere and perfectly honest, legitimate and entirely reactive discontent.

To wit: If and when we come together, shall indeed we be richer for it? What is most crucial to that fabled opposite of loneliness and boredom, that most favorable social situation of authentic individual wellbeing? To begin with, there will be more myths to be exploded: Firstly, successful social cohesion can be no value in and of itself, because even social cohesion alone can actually be so tremendously unhappy, profoundly dysfunctional and outright malignant. Therefore oppressively arbitrary social cohesion is to be avoided like the very plague that it has always been. As George Orwell so clearly understood, the alienation of individuals from one another, remains too high a cost for the typical brutality of heteronymous social cohesion. Empirically, even such factors as typical granfalloon membership in group identity and even interests in common, remain empty and unfulfilling distraction at best, and actually remain quite ineffective in bringing about interpersonal bonding and attachment. Indeed, like group identity or membership, shared interests in common are perhaps among the least predicators of interpersonal compatibility.

Alas to make matters worse, that entrepreneurs, not unlike like writers, are often characterized as solitary self reliant loners, with such difficulty just getting out of their own way, even notoriously incapable of delegating. The struggle for individual freedom and capable power as expressed in the the ambition of Entrepreneurship and disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup), so often remains solitary in no small part because the wannabe Entrepreneur much like the aspiring writer, sallies forth alone without the corporate resources of employment. Anyone aspiring and yearning to experience creative fulfillment in Entrepreneurial success, in new venture creation (various business startup), has surely become well cognizant of the most embryonic first-concept inception or: "kitchen table" stage or phase of new venture creation (various business startup), following from the metaphor of aspiring cofounders gathered round the proverbial kitchen table, out from endless possibility, concretizing their vision. And those will be so fondly remembered as the happiest days of friendship. Creativity can and Should be Social, beyond mere individual character and disposition. Indeed, creativity is found most productively to flourish by continual alternation flowing between creativity in lone contemplative solitude and vibrant expressive creative interaction together and endless possibility.

And yet, all fond enthusiasm notwithstanding, as yet there remains virtually no readily accessible community, support for, or even literature, regarding the most embryonic first-concept "kitchen table" stage or phase of new venture creation (various business startup), let alone outreach and recruitment thereto. Perhaps this is because the learning curve, the challenge, let alone the magnitude of solution finding, in endless possibility only boggles the mind, and the sheer volume of labor rightly anticipated will be so daunting. Or because the lone aspirant with no comrades in life struggle, or at any rate, no one trustworthy, will be summarily dismissed, deemed such lost and lonely souls, unpopular beyond any bother of salvation. Or perhaps the probortunity arises merely in response to the penchant of dronelike formal education to so slavishly admire, but never actually to teach and emulate, the lofty greatness of leadership on the part of exceptional men and women of destiny, so lonely at the top. Or perhaps, actually, this is all simply because there is just no money to be made in catering to the actual capability needs of those who are not as yet actually already showing any profit as serial Entrepreneurs, not withstanding the importance of serial failure until at last reaching first success, leveraging the learning curve towards first overcoming all manner of inertia. As Edward Snowden observes, oppressors who restrict our options, then pretend that we consent. Because for wretches such as we, there must be no ready escape at all from the only wretched game in town! For such remains the banal rank hypocrisy of glowing lip service to independence while fostering helplessness and dependency.

But true capability accrues in the accessibility of whatever needed resources as individually perceived, attainable in freedom to chose in actual practice and not merely in theory. Alas, to reiterate, the market only caters to successful serial Entrepreneurs already making money in business, who can and will pay. And meanwhile, desperate wannabes are ever scammed with no end of dazzling but dubious offers and so-called opportunities. In better alternative, social support is so often deemed the single greatest predicator of success. Alas then, that not everyone is ever availed of likeminded social support, even to muddle haphazardly in efforts at new venture creation (various business startup) and entrepreneurship for the rest of us. Creativity can and Should be Social is conceived to at all fill that gap with a more welcoming new kind of community.

However, as Alistair Miller contends, common Psychological models such as embraced even by Positive Psychology, might be criticized philosophically, as often remaining premised upon a number of highly questionable assertions: First, that life can be conceived in terms of the setting and achieving of objectives, whatever motivat ing lofty goals ever set forth, second, that whichever traits, dispositions, emotions, feelings, desires, beliefs and values that together comprise a person’s attitudes, indeed ones very personality, and which psychodynamic psychology embraces in causal explanation of human behavior, can be consciously managed or even controlled; third, that people can broadly be categorized as pessimistic or optimistic with the ability to persevere, achieve their objectives, whatever motivat ing lofty goals ever set forth, and thereby attain happiness; and finally, that playing to one’s ‘signature strengths’ or positive traits and virtues in absorbing activities remains key and welcoming to authentic wellbeing

Moreover: Obsessive goal orientation is often discovered as dysfunctional, misguided, irrelevant and unhappy, vastly underserved new values emerging as personal sacrifice and neglect increasingly takes its toll. Indeed, precisely such truism readily finds expression in time honored dramatic trope of character development and growth, of whatever false goals increasingly exposed in the course of plot events, by the gradual emergence of any deeper and truer motivation. Because conscious management of profound emotion only constitutes futile denial all bottled up, lying to oneself. -or one way or another undergoing such forms of for all intents and purposes: Behavior Modification in society as socialization, behavioral conditioning that none dare call: Indoctrination or: brainwash, questioned and overcome in Positive Disintegration..

Lastly, optimism remains Existentially Absurd in the face of pessimistic realism, the tendency of pessimists to predict more accurately than optimists. Pessimistic realism is only rational skepticism and systematic doubt, after all. Nevertheless, to be realistic, playing to one’s ‘signature strengths’ or positive traits and virtues in absorbing activities, remains observably and consistently gratifying. It doesn't get old. As Alistair Miller further expounds:

“There is of course nothing new in the idea that one of the keys to a fulfilling life is to find absorbing interests, passions, callings and commitments—indeed, it would be hard to define ‘fulfilling’ in any meaningful sense except in these terms. The special insight of positive psychology is that it is the engagement and expression of a person's' signature strengths’ [as perhaps however questionably differentiated and catalogued by Seligman] that specifically produces the ‘authentic positive emotion’ ”

As Edward Snowden observes, oppressors of every stripe, who restrict our options, then pretend that we consent. Indeed, this is by design, alienation baked in. For even most anciently in the curriculum of Plato's Academy, boredom was deliberately inflicted upon students as a conservative measure to test for heteronomy and conformity and against Indeed, this is by design, alienation baked in. Indeed, even most anciently in the curriculum of Plato's Academy, boredom was deliberately inflicted upon students as a conservative measure to test and filter for heteronomy and conformity and against autonomy, by weeding out boredom prone original thinkers and innovators, purveyors of dangerous novelty, from rising to influential positions in society, by weeding out boredom prone original thinkers and innovators, purveyors of dangerous novelty, from rising to influential positions in society.

Quoth the Bard: “Whereof what's past is prologue; what to come, in yours and my discharge.” We all remain well aware of how entire populations so terrified of truth, have been so eagerly duped, one way or another, throughout history. And what if anything like that is still happening even now? Rest assured that this is so. For in the words of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche: “The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” Indeed, to quote Mark Twain, “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).” Indeed, much ever so flagrant taboo in outlandish assertion herein, if true, makes propaganda lies and myth of blithely unquestioned consensus, one way or another. What then must be done?

FoolQuest.com all therefore flouts fashionable expectation of dreary convenience and narcotizing fluff. Au contraire, FoolQuest.com remains serious content for serious people. And there will be a lot to unpack throughout navigation into the present vast, detailed and densely written hypertext, no short attention casual read. . If necessary, first get an overview and then break it down. And jotting down notes along the way, may even help spark and organize posting in response, effort most welcome and invited. And for anyone making such effort for me, then in return I will spare no effort for you, unmet friend, in diligent crafting of salient response. Because intelligence and sensitivity, even serious disposition in rejection of triviality, are not a social disease. Do not conform to anti-intellectualism! And such is my own subversive Message in a Bottle, the FoolQuest.com opportunity for optimal reciprocal engagement and fulfillment in substantive communication towards purposeful interaction, the only effective path to capable relationship and especially friendship, all so essential to hoped for success. Mark my words: All else remains fraud and futility.

Long has the vast majority labored subordinate to make the fortunes and prestige of others. Therefore, even just in the moment, let us together reclaim the will to power. Get out what you put in. Pay attention to detail. Expand our horizons. Reach out! Take a break from braindead small talk, fake fun and recreation, so-called, that shabbily travesty of playful honest hedonism. Just forget antisocial and stimulus impoverished (anti)social media and the empty illusion of social life. Put down that idiotic smart phone. And bending your whole mind to the task, even just for the moment, use a real desktop computer with a wide screen and sprawling keyboard. Don't you deserve that little? Rise up, sheeple! Browsing with a cell phone, is wearisome and stupefying like surfing the Net through a periscope and navigating with a pair of tweezers! And rest assured, this is not a bug but a feature, and all by Dystopian design.

We exist in a monological world, teeming with glorified pack mammals, bleating sheeple, some quite famous, who only talk and never listen, not even to their own thoughts, much less to one another, to anyone else. Indeed, like unto some absentee God, or Castro to the Cubans, no matter how irate, nevertheless all speaking in the familiar all about "Fidel" as if they ever hung out and chatted with the tyrant personally, the celebrity cult pundits cultivate parasocial one sided false sense of relationship amongst the gullible from whom they shield themselves and ignore. And also such is the enigma of membership in collective identity no less than as with ever sycophantic cult of personality. Munchausen by proxy the likes of Rush Limbaugh may even sink so low as to pander for sympathy amongst the faithful for his adorable poor ailing pet pooch, but there will be no access to be found for any response, no matter how urgent, helpful or sympathetic. -And all for the sake of that poor suffering creature! No mass market charlatan no matter how drunk on the adulation of lost souls, actually ever desires to hear from the hoi polloi. Alas then the disillusion from individually taking such mass distracting scoundrels at their word.

Worse, reaching out to one another instead, has become that much less convenient after Google eliminated forum search, making it that much more difficult simply to filter for anything actually calling for any kind of answer or response. Google even bought out and then eventually shut down DejaNews, the renowned USENET newsgroup archive, for many a last bastion of at all intelligent conversation, in order to stop spammers from harvesting email addresses. And so, instead of reliably connecting strangers, an internet search will still at least lead the user to information. Or else to highly page ranked though largely uninformative content, even however impressive seeming, nevertheless somewhat simplistic, yet another pandering sales pitch to desperation, again with no interest in actually hearing from anyone, or much real help.

But no, it's not all just because of ever expanding vectors forper se. Not withstanding any alluring futuring scenario of vision of automated Sociometry, in the here and now the Internet, the great revolution in electronic communication, ever gravitates back to the worst and most prolific of traditional one way advertising, until everything just tastes of SPAM. So fear not and rest assured: I don't want your money or your devotion. Gentle reader, I'd never let you off so easily! I am too good a friend for that. And I am certainly no formulaic callow motivational grifter here to psyche you up and then leave you in the lurch!

As my father liked to say, the world is divided into the knowers and the seekers, those united behind uniform and monolithic doctrine and know-it-all perceived monopoly upon manifest truth, and the varied and essentially disparate seekers of truth and one another, with no such pretence and engineering no such consensus. Because, true tolerance is never contingent upon agreeable silence and compliance. Persuasion, like individual opinion to begin with, remains indispensable and nothing to be ashamed of. But its a two way street. And persuasive rhetoric must enfold logos (logic /sound reasoning) along with pathos (emotional appeal), kairos (timing or occasion) and the insight into the human condition that is drama and the discipline of the writing craft. But fair play, unrestrained conjecture, the speculative element, and even but also the practice of controversy which is the invited and valued fee exchange of criticism, all remain crucial in both application of narrative, creative fiction writing and business or project planning alike. Not adamant conviction however secured or inspired, but open-minded skepticism remains crucial. Sometimes, there can be no more gullible mark than the confidence trickster. And that may seem only fair. But norms of reciprocal manipulation are only a vicious cycle of unmitigated folly and mendacity. Whereas by contrast, in seeking to change minds, honest rational people should no less receptive and no more so, as they would wish others to be when reaching out to them. Because criticism remains nothing to fear, nothing threatening or hostile. There can be no verified or justified firm foundation. Genuine criticism remains inherently friendly, an expression of esteem. And we are all fallible. Indeed, to quote Dwight David 'Ike' Eisenhower: “Plans are nothing, planning is everything.” And in the famous words of Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, disciple of Carl von Clausewitz: “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.” -nor, for that matter, whatever other sort of antagonist, true to life dramatic obstacle or complication. All progress then remains a function of ongoing error detection and course correction. Who in their right mind would ever want to read the work of fiction writers who shun critique, much less invest in a business startup from a management team that resents and ignores all criticism of their business plans?

Verificationism/Justificationism is the heteronymous demand, if not for unattainable certainty, then for prior justification, verification or firm foundation before moving forward: Many remain convinced that nothing should ever be subject to serious deliberation until the practicality thereof is well established. And that rules out feasibility study, especially of such wild ambitions as, just for perhaps the most extreme example even conceivable, retrograde time travel. And how outlandish, how foolish! Therefore, never mind any of my own social, emotional and intellectual preference! Really, just who do I think that I am! To quote Aldous Huxley in 'Brave New World:' “...most men and women will grow up to love their servitude and will never dream of revolution.” So why not just give in to pressure and bullying? Just be what they expect. Give the people what thy want! -That very worst grot bottom of insufferable toxic and futile dilettantery and pipedreaming, the craven antirational exaltation of the mediocre sometimes referred to as the cult of the amateur in rejection of all experts and expertise: All without effort, fiction writing sans critique, business planning without rigorous criticism and due diligence of feasibility study, and meaning in life without struggle, difficulty, integrity, complexity, Philosophy or abstraction, and above all: full time enthusiastic participation in the most interminably vapid, boring and empty small talk, soul crushing loneliness even amid the crowds. Precisely such stinking thinking is what comes of Verificationism/Justificationism and the irrational terror of uncertainty. In the alternative, Faliblism/ Non-Justification, in the spirit of autonomy, contends rather that we remain ever fallible, that there is no verification, justification or firm foundation from which to proceed, and that in vibrant freethinking without fidelity or commitment, all hypotheses begin as unjustified conjecture, sheer speculation, only afterwards subject to critical preference and reality testing, and never filtered in advance. All of which should raise no alarm nor cause suffering of trepidation.

Alas, with the ever pervasive rise of the willfully positive bogus support group ethos, has come in deplorable like kind, the phony writers group, similarly offering only encouragement and actually forbidding all substance. Such is the fantasy of writing, the ever pipedreaming wish without the will. Nevertheless, it may bear mention at this juncture that as things stand, nevertheless there have long endured many high quality serious writers groups in pursuit of arête, of excellence in the discipline of the writing craft via the exchange of critique, nevertheless otherwise embracing as inevitable matter of course, the solitude of writing. And alas that thinking makes it so. Indeed, for whatever reason, typical writers groups generally do not practice ongoing collaborative fiction writing. Among serious writers, collaboration in fiction writing is the rare exception. But creativity and innovation are best served in an ongoing alternation between time for private thought and conduct of open free exchange together with others.

Worse, in contrast to traditional serious writer's groups, the many perfectly awful collaborative fiction writing projects and communities that do exist online, in mindless anal retentive conformity to mediocrity, for the most part typically hold forth that because there is no disputing tastes as the saying goes, therefore there can be no criteria or technique for quality writing, no point in making the effort, no aspiration to excellence because otherwise no deficiency either. Therefore, as might be expected, the output remains systematically execrable. And again, only imagine any similar attitude when it comes to drafting business plans! To reiterate, who would want want to read a story by writers who spurn critique, much less invest in a business startup from a management team who resent and ignores all criticism? In either mode of narrative, storytelling or business / project planning, writing is rewriting, hard work and never a waste of time. Indeed, as Paul Valéry contends, a work of art is never finished, only abandoned. The passage of time affords the writer the opportunity, ever to return to ones text with "fresh eyes." But ongoing feedback in collaboration, affords the "fresh eyes" and minds of others, without delay, speeding the progress of writing and therefore of planning.

Writing is rewriting
,

helpful INVOLVEMENT, ongoing rounds of editing and revision of prose, one's own or for anyone else,

and never a waste of time!

Less is more: “Leave out the bits that people just skip ahead.” — Elmore Leonard

Come late and leave early. Edit! In the immortal words of Alfred Hitchcock: “Drama is life with the dull parts cut out.” Therefore an efficient scene should be entered as late in the action as possible, and then transition to the next scene just as soon as everything crucial is revealed or has transpired. Otherwise, there had better be any purpose either in building up before hand or lingering on afterward. Whatever motivation establishing conflict on every level with p athos in fight scenes needs must come before hand and even such crucial exposition and background information as the terrain is best established immediately before a chase sequence, usually lacking dialogue unless it's short and clipped.

“I'm sorry. If I’d more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”
— Marcus T. Cicero

Murder Your Darlings! with skilled killer instinct - paring away enough dross to find the heart instinct - paring away enough dross to find the heart

The Top Ten Mistakes New Fiction Authors Make

style

But what applies to writing specifically, applies no less to life learning most generally. And more people might at long last begin learning from their mistakes in ongoing revision their own opinions, were only they not so preoccupied in such frantic denial. Or better still, to learn from the prior mistakes of others. Therefore, avoid old mistakes, and welcome new ones. As most everyone alive today well knows and understands, we only learn from mistakes, from true to life drama of bad decisions that make for good stories. Such remains the positive power of negative thinking! And yet alas that incorrect responses are still penalized from early on in the antiquated sore travail of formal education, the entrenched bastion and fifth column of oppressive heteronomy to conformity even within global democracy. The resultant prevailing flagrantly anti-intellectual Anti-Critical Bias, the anxious, fragile and thin-skinned perception of criticism as hostile and hurtful, remains an unaffordable liability, especially in any serious endeavor, whatever might be at stake. The repudiation of Anti-Critical Bias, thereby upholding the precious freedom and value of criticism, of error detection and course correction, the practice of controversy and of open dissent, remains of crucial relevance to happiness, safety and capability. as is striving to take things in whatever spirit as intended and affording the benefit of the doubt:

Imbeciles, tyrants and scoundrels, adamantly insist, simply ignoring all sound reasoning supported by Empirical evidence entirely to the contrary, that cooperation is impossible save by fairly complete consensus and agreeable compliance. And thus, under the worldview of heteronomy, collaboration among equals remains entirely inconceivable! But responsible people who disagree actually do cooperate productively only all the time! In the words of John Storrs Hall: “Ideas should compete, bodies should cooperate.” Scientist in perpetual disagreement on one point or another, challenge one another to discover Empirical truth by experiment and Scientific Method, and those ever more scarce functional policy makers in good faith, are actually ever known to reach reasonable compromise. And all entirely without consensus or silence. Whereas with no place for dissent, consensus groups remain merely do nothing pep rallies. That is, unless they are scams, in which case whatever the scam's ulterior agenda may indeed be accomplished, whatever good that comes of it. Indeed, wars have been lost by clueless military hierarchies lacking due protocol for the airing of dissent among junior officers, dismissively silenced when they foresaw disaster.

Whereas, in both word and deed, abusive bullies intentupon undermining the precious dignity of others, forever act out with such brazen impunity, by contrast even the most harsh of genuine criticism remains inherently friendly, an expression of esteem. For: “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” - Proverbs 27:17 (KJV) And there can be no solutions first without explicit and ever improving problem statements. After all, an opponent in debate is no more the enemy than a competitor in sports or other competitive play. Fair play unites us not despite but because of discord itself, in Axiological Dialectic upon the many and varied very questions of all what matters most, how so and why, enlightenment by refutation in the Socratic crucible of truth, of not only crucial abstract analysis and meaning in the deepest sense, and beyond mere aspiration, arête in real practicality and capable effective interaction together. Even sheer incomprehension is a beginning and no dire impasse. There is no cause for alarm. The readiness to speak up, question, point out and discuss communication errors and failures, remains crucial to communication at all, and sometimes even a matter of life and death. Mistakes are the Essence towards Intersubjectivity via fully engaged Dialectical conversational adequacy in collaborative miscommunication repair.
In the words of Albert Einstein: “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” After all, the endurance of boredom is a hallmark of compliant conformity and heteronomy. Hence, even most anciently in the curriculum of Plato's Academy, boredom was deliberately inflicted upon students as a conservative measure to test for heteronomy and conformity by weeding out boredom prone original thinkers and innovators, purveyors of dangerous novelty, from rising to influential positions in society. In the mindset of such heteronomy, only individuals of destiny so ruggedly successful in overcoming such daunting barriers and stumbling blocks and rising to leadership, philosopher kings so lonely at the top, strong yet broken and dedicated to the state, will be deemed worthy to institute change by decree, their painful isolation and sacrifice sparing the rest of us contented drones any such terrifying responsibility and the risk of humiliating error. Hence, to this day, typically, in heteronymous formal education, students are encouraged to admire such individuals of destiny, but never equipped in any way to strive at emulation. Anything but! Cheering us all on at the starting line and then immediately and forever vanishing, "Follow your bliss!" is the shopworn motto whereby we are each and all extolled before being summarily abandoned, each and all to our own devices. How then might the barriers be lowered to initiative and disruptive innovation, actually to foster and socially support brilliant original thinking and action for the rest of us?

Clearly, distant, thin skinned, ever terrified, paranoid and disingenuous willful positivity, patiently keeping everything light and innocuous, all simply in order to escape notice "hiding ones light under a bushed" and thereby fitting in, can be excruciatingly bored and lonely, painful and harmful, for sensitive, intelligent creative people. Indeed, to reiterate, the deliberate infliction of boredom is often an intentional test for conformity in conservative society, in order to weed out innovators and preserve social stability in the status quo. Indeed, thus was it so in Plato's Academy, the ancient prototype for enduring, toxic and sanctioned prevailing norms of formal education for the training of compliant drones, and the very antithesis of any optimal situations of authentic wellbeing and human flourishing, thinking capability and even leadership. Because in accordance with the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology, added dimensions of social and intellectual stimulus struggle, intrinsic social and intellectual needs and appetites so unique to humanity, remain rooted in the inbred hideous mutation and massively engorged evolutionary neuroscience of human consciousness. As Socrates so famously declares: "An unexamined life is not worth the living for a human being." Rather than sallying forth out into the world, struggling to finesse others at random and sucking up for approval, would it not make better sense to simply compare notes candidly here and now?

Why then such prevailing anxiety of uncertainty in our culture? Perhaps because in our world and in our time, we remain ever in crisis. Life is suffering. Life has always been Absurdly threatening, complex, tragic and demeaning. What can be done? Figuratively, many seemingly do not even seek proverbially to sell their metaphorical souls, but might be said eagerly to pay ever more dearly, just to be well rid thereof! Many seek to quell their own suffering from within, even by turning to ever more fantastical mysticism and magical religion or ever more brutal Behavior Modification. Many thereby strive to recover certainty of lost innocence, even at whatever cost and falsehood of lying to oneself. But certainty remains impossible, and innocence is vastly overrated, no Biblical pleasant garden of delight, but only a clammy darkness at last illuminated in Positive Disintegration and the Promethean transgression of dawning autonomy.

The desperate struggle for lost innocence amounts to nothing more than the futility of deep denial and terror management, enduring wellspring of lunatic ideology and tyranny. And yet, all is not lost. But what hope and at what cost in time and effort? Nothing can be gained in the mounting dystress of unremitting cognitive dissonance from the abandon of reason and integrity, never truly without qualm. In the alternative, let us undertake both soul searching and reality testing, in feasibility study, together. Life, as it is said, remains the journey, the ongoing experience, and not whatever hoped for destination or results in deferred gratification. So, how far are we each willing go? How actually capable might we become? Gentle reader, have you the wherewithal? What will it actually take to get what you want? What are any of us willing to do, or unwilling? And does the threshold of feasibility at all, let alone whatever threshold of willing action, meet with desired interim experience ("the journey" of life) let alone projected thresholds of whatever desired outcomes ("the destination") in achievement or payoff of deferred gratification? What will be the required human and material resource Capitalization, and how if at all might they be acquired? Let us strive to remain honest with one another and with ourselves, in due diligence and feasibility study of business or project planning. Motivational self manipulation remains bogus and futile. I don't want your money or your devotion. Gentle reader, I'd never let you off so easily! I am too good a friend for that. And I am certainly no callow motivational grifter here to psyche you up and then leave you in the lurch! Because w e all know how that feels, and I don't like it! We are all still sheeple, glorified pack mammals, yearning to breath free. And society is the enemy.

We are all such proverbial square pegs: The customer is always wrong! The program never fails, you fail the program. In the immortal words of George Carlin: "Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.” By contrast, our designated rôle models in every conventional option in life, the star student, ideal employee, perfect disciple or model prisoner alike, are all characterized, beyond mere responsive obedience and passivity otherwise, not only by every obsessive-compulsive eager beaver sore travail, but boundlessly committed initiative in anticipation of their superior's desires, "paying one's dues" life long, excelling without complaint or resistance, never seeking attention by requesting explanation or assistance. Exactly such adaptation of enthusiastic approval seeking, still held up as exemplary in order to vindicate systemic failure and disappointment in most every walk of life, remains, punishment and reward systems by hierarchical design, indeed the benchmark that for better or worse, most of us will come short and fall by the wayside, make do, for each to learn their place.

But why be so "professional," so dedicated ever following up in such responsible diligence towards every hated sore travail of formal education and employment and in career development generally, yet so helpless and lost in perpetual surrender to random propinquity, so haphazard and cavalier in such poignantly yeaned for personal life? Is this truly freedom? Do such priorities truly reflect our highest values and best interests? Or is this all just some kind of a racket? A racket, no matter how reputable, can be any dishonest scheme or ongoing transaction, all not as it contrives to present itself and as is tacitly accepted or endured by the majority of those involved, but in actuality a myth, scam or fraud, a deceptive domineering practice of coercion and manipulation conducted for whatever benefit of a few cronies at the expense of the many. As Edward Snowden observes, oppressors who restrict our options, then pretend that we consent. And the inculcation of social skills and skilled incompetence, remains an important aspect of just such ubiquitous fraud.

Again, all unilateral social skills advice for the individual is by definition inoperant, simply because free social interaction requires more than one consenting participant. One size fits all unilateral social skills advice online for the individual, indeed much as typically arising in casual conversation anyhow, tends implicitly toward frustratingly simplistic and even attachment disordered mindblind dehumanizing unreliable prediction regarding the interaction and responses of others, even complete strangers under very different situations. Such is "socialization," behavioral conditioning that none dare call indoctrination or: brainwash.

For in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” And to quote Mark R. J. Lavoie: “Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him." Indeed, as George Orwell observes in ‘Conversation with a Pacifist,’ even at all thinking clearly, becomes increasingly difficult in bored and lonely isolation without expression.

Alas, tautologically, there can be no unilateral solitary lonely DIY self-help or self-improvement of relationship, of human interaction by definition involving more than one person. And ordinary conformity so often remains such a monumental waste of time. Heteronymous conventional distant, Existentially Absurd and oppressively empty superficial social life and short attention all remain, as with rare exception, no less desperately alienated than typical situation of formal education and employment whereby sensibility even off the clock, is most prevalently and markedly informed. And all becoming similarly another chore and a bore, just crushingly dull. And all of that so completely fails the masses of humanity because quite simply, and yet again to reiterate, capability, important close human relationship with psychological visibility, Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference, and particularly friendship, arise entirely as a byproduct of optimal reciprocal engagement in purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, and never otherwise. Accept no substitutes! And no one else need approve!

Therefore FoolQuest.com deigns not to proffer, hype or press the typical and ubiquitous unilateral and often somewhat authoritarian, rigidly conditional, toxic, oppressive and blithely antidemocratic social skills "advice," myth and smug guidance in "realistically" (submissively and manipulatively) coping with oppression for any vastly outnumbered lone individual as are each and us all, abandoned to ones own devices in everything truly important, and all too often thereby vulnerable to bullying and exploitation.

OH NO!!
Where's my "tribe"?

Sorry, the modus vivendi that you ordered,

is currently out of stock, everywhere.

What to do?!

Modus vivendi exceeds mere superficial individual material and financial lifestyle. Modus vivendi brings individual principle into action, because Modus vivendi denotes method or manner of living that reflects individual values and according to personal talents. And modus vivendi is attained in solution finding by any feasible interim working arrangement or practical compromise bypassing whatever difficulties, inclusively allowing different people, individually and collectively, even who disagree, freely to abide and interact productively. Is the modus vivendi you ordered, currently out of stock, try as you may, searching high and low, but all to no avail? Perhaps your desired modus vivendi simply does not come off the rack, like, oh I don't know, some pretensions brand name of ridiculous high end underpants for muscle men. Yes, if you are reading this, it may be that the modus vivendi you seek must be such as that of an individual life tailor made. Am I feeling your pain yet? Modus vivendi is social and situational. Thus, tautologically, there can be no solitary lonely DIY self-help or self-improvement with any power of implementation to bring individually tolerable modus vivendi into effect, fostering deep, meaningful engagement. No matter how collectively unhappy, the social environment continues to imposes it's own order, forever frustrating to any desire for life on one's own terms. For such is prevailing heteronomy that inspires such inarticulate and therefore unaccountable contempt and derision for new ideas and truth to power .

"General intelligence, the ability to think and reason, endowed our ancestors with advantages in solving evolutionarily novel problems for which they did not have innate solutions," says Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics and Political Science. "As a result, more intelligent people are more likely to recognize and understand such novel entities and situations than less intelligent people, and some of these entities and situations are preferences, values, and lifestyles."

― Intelligent people have 'unnatural' preferences and values that are novel in human evolution

FoolQuest.com presents a message of kindness towards forging long-term relationship assisting one another and to connect in all manner of compelling, unusual, interesting, creative and surprising ways, unreasonably helpful to all.

Together finding direction and building social support concretizing all of our wildly subversive and impractical aspirations in Dialectical exploration towards strategic implementation...

generating interest and enthusiasm in multiple Points of View arising throughout vociferous open deliberation...

Moi? It has come to pass in fleeting occasion for intelligent conversation, that I have even found myself actually impressing women, and without even intending to! Now fancy that. And it should come as no surprise that anyone might prefer to play to whatever their own strengths. Creativity can and Should be Social then, presents my own vision is of a world in which collaborative brainstorming could actually take the place of boring dystressful and lonely vapid sycophantic small talk, for purpose of social life, even networking, career development and path to success. Because, alas that my accomplishments in life correspond not to my high verbal acuity, empathy and occasional charm, but to my weakest social aptitudes. Nevertheless, I remain a very good friend, listener, frank critic, staunch ally and highly creative.

As my own boss, I have fired myself for utter failure and incompetence in the sore travail of life! Perhaps, after all, it may have been the Cuddly Cyborg who framed the best problem statement of mere comparatively mediocre giftedness of a Salieri falling so far short of specific major talent as of a lone genius Mozart, in the following set of graphs from Cuddly Cyborg's now long defunct webpage:

Make no mistake however, that I am no success guru nor is this any bogus support group or brain-dead pep rally.

FoolQuest.com foists no Totalitarian Interactivity, that manipulative illusion of choice whilst actually leading the website visitor about by the nose. And I make no fantastically authoritative claims of success nor manipulatively seek to pacify sore travail with soothing platitudes. Like anyone else, I'm just like you, and I'm not like you at all. I don't want your money or your devotion. Gentle reader, I'd never let you off so easily! I am too good a friend for that. And I am certainly no callow motivational grifter here to psyche you up and then leave you in the lurch! Rather, let's work whatever the problem together for whatever it might be worth. In the spirit of aspiring Entrepreneurship, I strive to remain honest as a serial failure, and shall remain a failure until ever meeting with success. I'm just another maladroit with a cable modem! Therefore, to quote from ‘The Devil's Dictionary’ by Ambrose Bierce: “Friendless. Having no favors to bestow. Destitute of fortune. Addicted to utterance of truth and common sense.” And thus bereft of all standing as I remain, any of my assertions and proposals, must each and all stand or fall upon whatever its own merits. In the words of Mark R. J. Lavoie: “Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him.” Am I your unmet friend? I might not have what you are looking for, gentle reader, but dare we seek for it together? Or are we already thinking about, much less doing, however anything at all more important? Do tell! For in the words of Wolfgang Goethe “Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”



Breaking every rule

In boldly subversive and taboo reversal of inherent contradiction

To be explicit, gentle reader, let us undertake to do things differently together. But how so? Differently in precisely what manner? Answer, sometimes in one way, and sometimes another. Specifically, sometimes according to vastly unconventional procedure, as for example in the intentional and systematic reversal even just together amongst ourselves, of all manner of toxic social norms and mindless cruelty, and sometimes simply according to any pertinent specialized competence actually reviled by social circles of willful incompetence and delusion. For example of the former, the embrace of the discipline of the writing craft among other core valuable and relevant skill sets and aptitudes. Sometimes in rebellion against evil and stupidity, and sometimes merely in the growth and learning curve of actual competencies to probortunity at hand. And of course, reasoned and responsible deliberation all thereupon. Or for another example, instead of pipedream, relevant feasibility study in aspiring new venture creation (various business startup).

There exist peer groups and social circles of staunch adherence either or both to the most dysfunctional social convention on the one hand, and to willful incompetence in rejection of fundamental expertise on the other. Indeed, often serious and salient expertise and adamantine social convention, may actually clash. For notorious example, medical experts urge the public wearing of face covering during pandemics, while social convention of authoritarianism demands obedience to leadership and tradition actively flouting science and medicine. But there are other examples more longstanding and less blatantly life and death. For example, most generally, criticism and innovation are valued in any competent undertaking,. but resented socially. For example, solitary writers break isolation by coming together for the exchange of critique, while typical participants in collaborative fiction writing socially online, so contemptuous of the discipline of the writing craft, tend to take such offence at all criticism of their execrable badfic. And of course, beware of any kind of investment in the foolhardy and dishonest pipedreams of would be Entrepreneurs who display such unbridled resentment towards criticism and Reality Principle.

As John Cleese expounds: “Creativity is not a talent: it's a way of operating.” Any frustrated desire tells a story, needs a plan, and calls out for allies. And in the words of George Orwell: “The main motive for 'nonattachment' is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual is hard work.” Quoth the the Bard: "All the world's a stage!” Indeed, to quote Neil Gabler: “American society is a society in which individuals have learned to prize social skills that permit them, like actors, to assume whatever rôle the occasion demands and to "perform" their lives rather than just live them.” And forced cheerful willful positivity notwithstanding, a morbidly serious matter. Nothing could ever be less playful. And in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” Competent or incompetent, whether in true hardnosed practicality or in sheer aimless and empty acting out of mimesis, many all the same remain no less consumed with the burning question of how to perform as expected and to fit in: How best to placate The Great Faceless They, thereby to obtain the key to life. For such remains the slave mentality of Homo Domesticus, the domesticated human..

However, relationship as it turns out, Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference, and especially friendship, arises only as a byproduct of immersive full engagement in substantive communication and/or purposeful interaction, and never otherwise. Accept no substitutes! And no one else need approve! The probortunity at hand, the gap to be filled in the dire inadequacy of conventional social life. Conventional options in life can so often become so oppressive and unhappy. There is a dystressing user hostile outcomes gap, meaning no results no matter what one does. To begin with, there endures fundamentally inherent contradiction in that popularity and social success ever remain antithetical to true friendship. This is because friendship is genuine, substantive and intimate, being predicated upon unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility, while popularity and social success depend upon purpose defeating facile superficiality ever keeping distance keeping up pretence of fake fun. Hence the Existentially Absurd perpetual bait-and-switch dilemma between blatant lonely isolation and unhappiness inflicted from not fitting in, or else more devious lonely isolation, boredom and unhappiness extracted as as the cost for fitting in.

So, precisely who are The Great Faceless They? To answer that question with another question, precisely who is it that so urgently requires from you or from me, whatever parameters of behaviors, such as, for examples, ever uncritical willful positivity and interminably light and cheerfully sycophantic small talk? Indeed, there are indeed such hypersensitive and volatile bullies who will consistently fly into a rage, at the merest hint of honest criticism, the practice of controversy, vociferous heated exchange, or even simply take it upon themselves crackdown on the merest hint of serious conversation and dissidence. But surely, such may be somewhat extreme and at all unusual. Indeed, most people will know better than to stand out in such boorishly self appointed authority. Nevertheless, there might remain an understanding, a fearful, enfeebled and alienated consensus of intimidation, oppression propagating among the oppressed, the most banal totalitarianism and control of the mind. For whom then must we bereave ourselves of authenticity? In the in the famous aphorism of Walt Kelly's beloved Pogo Possum: "We have met the enemy, and he is us!" Can it be that we are The Great Faceless They? Indeed, unless after all we actually like it, why don't we just cut it out already? Obviously there remains then, inherent and irreconcilable contradiction between critical rationalistic autonomy and anti-intellectual heteronomy.

In the words of George Orwell: “A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing,” Yet truth ignored or tabooed, does not then go away. To wit: Relationship, as may be readily observed, and especially bonding and attachments of true friendship with psychological visibility, arise ever only as byproduct of immersive full engagement in purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication and never otherwise. Accept no substitutes! And no one else need approve! For such are the needs of autonomy. And even play has purpose and substance of it's own. Alas then that both substantive communication and/or purposeful interaction, being so genuine and profound, therefore remain subversive, taboo and therefore becoming socially awkward. Alas then that ever the same widespread toxic and destructive message of intimidation remains ever reinforced under heteronomy, to the effect that In order to fit in, one must perpetually remain ever cheerful in willful positivity, maintain distance and always keep conversation light. Thus does the great and good boon to all people that is named: socialization, toxic and sanctioned, that violence and neglect which none dare call: indoctrination or brainwash, so painfully isolate the individual all the more so when we are together. As it turns out, quite to the contrary of prevailing and oppressively superficial social expectations, trustworthy, capable and respectful happy people talk more seriously with less small talk. Because, as according to the happiness formula of Positive Psychology, ongoing pleasure + engagement + meaning = ever self renewing fulfillment.

Therefore, towards the social engineering of more optimal social and intellectual stimulus struggle, and by design the most audaciously subversive stark reversal of oppressive heteronymous priorities, indeed as remaining entirely feasible even amid the most reactionary of times, and even barring all broadest sweeping change in society, nevertheless even a small group or social circle, striving in the will to power, may capably exercise freedom to chart another course. Exactly as per the present proposal, such pioneers may conceivably even subvert and reverse conventional heteronymous priorities so long assumed, understood and well known to Cultural Anthropology, by actually setting collaboration among equals towards creative solution finding as default, embracing more democratic values and sensibilities of minimal restriction, hence resorting to whatever sort of even entirely ad hoc and howsoever hierarchical authority, only so long as need ever actually arising, no more and no longer.

And yet, somehow and alarmingly, no explicit or specific recommendation or call to action rings out, except for here on FoolQuest.com in outreach for cofounders in collaborative fiction writing and in subversive and disruptively innovative entrepreneurial new venture creation (variuos business startup), in the social engineering and design of more optimal social stimulus struggle meeting the vastly underserved social and intellectual stimulus appetites so unique to the human condition and evolutionary neuroscience. Therefore, to be explicit and specific: Gentle readers, let us henceforth fully engage one another in ongoing serious substantive conversation, both analytical and strategic. Let us talk more seriously together, thusly testing to discover if greater happiness and more authentic connection shall indeed thereby accrue.

After all, correlation is not causation. And besides, which is cause, and which is effect? But then again, what it turns out to be reciprocal? That would make for a virtuous cycle, veritable perpetual engine of happiness! In pursuit of the alleviation of Existentially Absurd human suffering, initial focus herein remains upon sustainable positive experience in haply serious conversation, a Dialectic of collaboration among equals in sound Epistemological Methodology. Brainstorming just willy-nilly entirely from scratch, might not be as serious and productive as actually encouraging participants to bring their own ideas as point of departure. and happily serious conversation aims at true close collaboration among equals that must exceed mere solitary and compartmentalized individual division of labor, in order thereby to yield viable and actionable strategy in fulfillment of intrinsic motivation even in pursuit of the hoped for possibility of success. And hence the aforementioned proposed foci of solution finding and collaboration, specifically fiction writing and new venture creation (various business startup).

Reality and the fundamental right to complain

Clear problem statement and the positive power of negative thinking

Conditionality and invalidation can be vastly more lonely and crushing of spirit, than mere solitude untroubled. To be reprimanded for complaining, is the same as the pernicious demand to suffer in silence, and never to bring serious problems to light. And ever such remains the malignant exhortation to willful positivity under the long refuted yet ever popular anti-rational magical thinking of the purported power of positive thinking. In the words of Anthony Jay: "The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a very creative mind to spot wrong questions." To quote Charles F. Kettering: “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” The positive power of negative thinking obtains in criticality and the inherent friendliness and utility of honest criticism and fault finding, in the necessity of problem explicit statement towards solution finding, in progress that only comes in ongoing error detection and course correction, and indeed even in pessimistic realism, the name given the tendency of greater predictive accuracy in pessimism and pessimistic expectations, than in the danger of optimistic wishful thinking because of optimism, worst as from Pollyanna willful malignant optimism.

Whereas Sigmund Freud theorized that Pleasure Principle, the natural impulsive drive for pleasure seeking, must be held in check by Reality Principle, caution arising from objectivity, passably good judgment of reality and foreseeable consequences, rather, as G. E. Moore contends, pleasure, to begin with, simply is not an end in and of itself. And it bears mention how the same principle applies no less for optimism, peace of mind or any other congenial mental state or emotional condition. Rather, as G. E. Moore contends, pleasure, not to mention optimism, peace of mind or any other howsoever uplifting mental state or emotional condition, is only a relevant second order indicator of value. And likewise, negative emotion of aversion at all remaining relevant, indicates prophylactic value in prevention or avoidance of howsoever dangerous or deleterious circumstances. Pleasure seeking, so called, is understood by G. E. Moore rather as striving for objectively real beneficial value, merely recognized via subjective anticipation and experience of pleasure. And likewise aversion is but a subjective warning to avoid objective danger and harm. Any prospect of pleasure divorced from beneficial real value and likewise aversion quelled without regard for real adversity, should raise every alarm.

Indeed, those who suffer certainly do not need to be castigated simply for complaining! That is depraved. Manipulation comes as an adjunct to coercion, under whatever rationalizing benign pretext, deceptively disarming resistance. To this end, the manipulator may blithely assert any variety of mitigating Existential Validation, right, authority, or purported benevolent intention: It's for your own good, dear! Nevertheless, to reject all complaint on any lunatic and relentlessly manipulative imperative of willful positivity, amounts the abrogation not only of all empathy and compassion, but even of Reality Principle to begin with. Indeed, as it turns out, people who suffer do not even want to be reassured so much as they only wish, first of all, to be heard. But obviously, most gratifying to those who suffer, will be capability that anything might actually be done to improve circumstances or situation of suffering. "Science has pretty much established that your circumstances are not very relevant to your happiness." declares Stephen Mills with such blithely nigh solipsistic and unoriginal cocksurety. “He who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove.” opines Dr. Samuel Johnson. Bah, humbug! Clearly whatever present circumstances have every bearing upon happiness, indeed whatever issues in the ongoing present, no less so than personality, biography and psychiatric issues from the past.

The very word: 'happy' derives from 'happenstance.' And 'happenstance' refers to prosperity under real external circumstances or situation, even by chance, not affect or disposition as in more modern concept. Indeed, TRUE MEANING of LIFE, remains that HAPPINESS is subjective wellbeing, an INDIVIDUALLY REACTIVE STATE VARIABLE to howsoever favorable circumstances, objectively. Therefore, in the words of Benjamin Disraeli: “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” and to quote Henri-Louis Bergson, so eloquently bridging abstract principle into concrete application: “Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought." How effete then the introversion of all such ever popular Zen self-reliance becomes! For as in the celebrated words of John Donne: "No man is an island." It is true of course, that happiness remains quite distinct from mere material success. But it hardly follows therefrom, that happiness is entirely derived from inner life and any simple choice in self-help/improvement of the right thinking along with solitary individual behavior sets or: habits, going it alone. How boring, lonely, alienated and unfulfilling! What is it that is actually missing from our lives? Any compelling vision of happiness and enthusiasm, indeed of Eudemonia, however vastly else any such ideas and expectations vary individually, in one way or another still all consist of activity and human interaction bringing the exchange of social and intellectual stimuli meeting innate intrinsic needs motivating ongoing stimulus struggle and engagement. According to the happiness formula of Positive Psychology, that wisdom of the sages of old as rediscovered by the cutting edge of modern science, ongoing pleasure + engagement + meaning = ever self renewing fulfillment. Not any bored lonely Zen Mystical quest for futility and sublime apathy or behaviorally modified and disengaged euphoria without meaning or external relevance. But more anon. It only remains so disheartening how many people experience the same frustrated yearnings, and yet so utterly fail to find one another and connect, all for wont of the wherewithal, the capable channels, means and wherewithal.



'Positive Psychology is Not Happy-ology!' Beyond Psychotherapy and treatment for Psychopathology, the compassionate repair of life's inner damage, rather, Positive Psychology is concerned with positive intervention improving even normal life, high talent, indeed even hither to uncultivated genius. Alas that there remains a pernicious trend of conflation of Positive Psychology, being the applicable research into the nature and causes of emotional wellness rather than treatment of Psychopathology, with long refuted yet ever popular magical bogus cult ideology of purported power of positive thinking. Linguistically speaking, the confusion seems hardly surprising, though no less misleading. Nevertheless, Positive Psychology should have no relation with toxic ideology of purported power of positive thinking practice of denial, lying to oneself, indeed actually recognized by Positive Psychology as only resulting in ambivalent dystressful cognitive dissonance entailed in desperate terror management. In the words of Sigmund Freud: “…much will be gained if we succeed in transforming your hysterical misery into common unhappiness. With a mental life that has been restored to health, you will be better armed against that unhappiness.” In the face of all widespread maladaptive private misery, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy seeks to diagnose then treat and even cure, relieve and negate the excruciation of psychopathology and thereby make patients more well and therefore at all by that token, more competent and capable. But precisely what is emotional wellness in the first place, much less pathology of emotional disturbance howsoever deviating therefrom? That is e question of Positive Psychology, seeking to understand and to nurture authentic wellbeing, both psychological and situational, for just about anyone at all, quite regardless of any psychopathology. Because, after all, in any context, healthy living exceeds more treatment of illness.

The outreach Again, Positive Psychology and the investigation and pursuit of authentic wellbeing, remain entirely unrelated to the long refuted yet ever popular magical bogus cult ideology of purported power of positive thinking from witless and conniving online gurus. But I am no success guru. I make no fantastically authoritative claims of success. I'm just like you, and I'm not like you at all. I don't want your money or your devotion. Gentle reader, I'd never let you off so easily! ! I am too good a friend for that. And I am certainly no callow motivational grifter here to psyche you up and then leave you in the lurch! Isn't there quite enough of that already? Instead, we can work whatever the problem together for whatever it might be worth. In the spirit of aspiring Entrepreneurship, I remain an honest serial failure, and shall remain a failure until I ever meeting with success. And any of my assertions must stand or fall upon whatever its own merits of resonating and evidence. In the words of Mark R. J. Lavoie: “Life dies inside a person when there are no others willing to befriend him.” Am I your unmet friend? I do not have what you are looking for, gentle reader, but dare we seek for it together? Or are we already thinking about much less doing anything more important? Do tell! For in the words of Wolfgang Goethe “Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least."

Life is suffering of Existential Absurdity in continual frustration of the will to power, simply because nothing works. Is there actually any hope? Or does only abject Nihilism, Ecclesiastical futility and sore travail remain? Is life, no more than shabby subterfuge of superficial and silly collective membership ever entrenched in paralytic terror management fending off confrontation with mortality, as dubbed by William James, “the worm at the core.” of the human condition. Is life, that shabby subterfuge ending only in death, then simply to be rejected and condemned, or can life, of any true value after all, ever be made redeemable? Of course, social, technological and medical advance into practical immortality or: Emortality, remains a noble and worthy objective, so long overdue, and that achievement whereof can bring humanity great peace hither to scarcely imagined, and perhaps with it at long last, lucidity and sweet reason, free from mortal terror, according to terror management theory, experimentally discovered to be the socio-psychological and political trigger of such mass insanity as petty judgmental cruelty and factional hostility.

But even the noble and lofty imperative of Emortalism still only heightens every question of, for however long or short, how better truly to live, thereby to help alleviate any morbid yearning for release into death. And so, even in the abstract, what is the cause for suffering of unhappy boredom and discontent? And bridging into the concrete, can therefrom obtain any practical, practicable and actionable implementation towards remedy? Answer: As to be expounded in detail, the exercise together of creativity, and not just isolated lonely individual creativity, functional operant trustworthy, capable, respectful true and capable collaboration, and not jut solitary division of labor, all remain most crucial. Indeed, as shall be established, shared creativity is perhaps even most effective in the gratification of such vastly underserved social and intellectual stimulus struggle, the name given by anthropologist Desmond Morris for what we are each doing all of the time, the perpetual striving to regulate, to engage and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation and arousal, from the environment, for staving off boredom. Hence: What in abstract principle is conceivable as the optimum fulfillment in creativity together, and if achievable then by what concrete measures? Social support is so often deemed the single greatest predicator of success, and dearth whereof the specter of ignominious failure. The capability approach of Sen and Martha Nussbaum, is the idea that true freedom is resultant from real and practical empowerment to attain that which one has ones own reasons to value as important to do or to be or become. As Sir Karl Popper held forth, social change is brought about by the forging of lasting institutes. And what more capable institution of creative endeavor, than making open to all, high quality and original collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming together with subversive and disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup), from the most embryonic first concept "kitchen table" stage or phase, all the way thought from business planning and feasibility study, management team formation, Capitalization and implementation? For such is the vision of FoolQuest.com

There are many long standing recommendations in the pursuit of happiness generally, some better than others. Although perhaps most promising but neglected, remains, at long last, howsoever to investigate and then better address the entire range of long frustrated vastly underserved motivating intrinsic social and intellectual stimulus appetites, indeed by the social engineering of more optimal social and intellectual stimulus struggle. -And certainly not by any solitary craven Zen Mystical retreat inward, but by rising together in real courageous action and interaction. For in the words of Benjamin Disraeli: “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” and to quote Henri-Louis Bergson, so eloquently bridging the abstract and the concrete: “Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought."

The above questions and answers remain ever the crux of tailor made agenda for serious discussion at hand upon which capable pursuit of happiness so urgently depends. Such is Philosophy beyond mere mere investigation in the abstract, indeed bridging into the concrete, tangible implementation from abstract principle and reciprocally, abstraction Empirically informed. All in genuine striving for arête, being the quest for the right way of living ones best, called virtue, courage (as in: moral fortitude), and excellence. That is how and why, to quote Aristotle: “All things in life are philosophical.” And therefore, as Socrates so famously declares: “An unexamined life is not worth the living for a human being.” In the famous words of George Bernard Shaw: “Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.” is a subversive outreach toward the formation of just such a core group of unreasonable people applying ourselves even to the most daunting problems besetting us. As Hans Selye put it: “‘Realistic people’ who pursue ‘practical aims’ are rarely as realistic or practical, in the long run of life, as the dreamers who pursue their dreams.” Indeed, to quote Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Indeed, nigh tautologically, there can be no self-made bootstrap "well-formed plan," however stalwart and inventive, no adaptive self-help/improvement, no unilateral solution at all, to shortcomings and deficiencies of social interaction, cooperation and access all thereto. Any frustrated desire tells a story for all that will hear it, needs a plan in the world, and calls out for allies. Effective and capable collaboration partners of integrity, must remain responsive and responsible to one another. For what is the point of creditable, trustworthy, capable and respectful Menschlichkeit, but genuine autonomy meeting ones needs by capable interaction with even adequately responsible others? For such remains the objective of the present outreach for collaboration cofounders.

As Eve Tushnet expounds in ‘Eros and Education,’ Eros, so enticing and so threatening, is nothing more or less than profound reciprocal engagement traversing into alien difference. Participants, cofoundes, collaboration partners of every level of proficiency and achievement, can offer important contribution. Groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers. Indeed, a notable key observation of TRIZ, the much renowned Russian theory of invention, is how aside from entirely new scientific discoveries, the rarest most important and powerful innovations arise in the transfer and multipotential reapplication of knowledge and methods across disciplines. Alas that we live in a monologuic world wherein few people even actually much hear themselves think, let alone speak, and by far less one another. Indeed, co validating peer groups are often known to retreat each into their own figurative echo chamber, turning their backs upon reality at all, let alone anyone else's evidence, perceptions, opinions or concerns. Even most anciently, Socrates observed how different specialist experts often then come to believe that therefore they know everything, or at at any rate, everything important. But actually, we are all fallible, only ignorant in different ways. The subversive awareness that this indeed includes even oneself, therefore gauging the limits of ones own knowledge and capability, is called: Socratic Wisdom, and the lack whereof: unaware incompetence.

The grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology and the great clue to Eudemonia via social creativity:

One way or another, however rarely though nevertheless in accordance with repeated Empirical observation informing the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology, how members in whatever sort of tribe, community or any manner of social institution, may however infrequently find themselves called upon by whatever powers that be, to participate and together experience some glimmer of joy in the process of creative solution finding together. This may occur, for examples, when whatever employers perceive the need of creative solutions to new problems as ever arising. Or the opportunity mat arise in some context of formal education. For whatever the preciously scarce and fondly remembered special occasion of collaboration in creative solution finding typically offers one fleeting bright spot of happiness and near equality amid forever grinding and typically authoritarian oppressive sore travail. Hence Creativity can and Should be Social is the subversive concept instead, of just the opposite, a fine example to emulate, a new movement in flagrant reversal of all authoritarian norms and priorities of heteronomy, all for the sake of authentic wellbeing. Creativity can and Should be Social is the social engineering proposal that whatever appeal to authority ought to remain in reserve, arising only as and when actually ever needed, so that in paradigm shift on such flagrant subversion of hierarchy as collaboration among equals in creative solution finding, should prevail as a new norm, even obsoletizing the entire depressing social rat race, at least within a fortunate intentional social circle or test group.

Wake up, Sheeple! It's all about how human social order as the glorified pack mammals that we are, has come to fall so vastly short of innate needs and appetites of social and intellectual stimulus struggle entirely unique to ever more massively engorged human cerebrality: Specifically, for collaboration among equals together in creative solution finding. A joy alas far too infrequent under conventional paradigm of stultifying heteronomy to hierarchical dominance. And the consequences to authentic wellbeing could not be more dire.

Conventionally and heteronymously, in every walk of life, authority routinely and continually and systematically stifles not only autonomy in general, but most particularly, creative solution finding. That is, except when and as deemed needful or advantageous by whatever powers that be, especially in light of any whatever unusual special circumstances or situation. Only thus ever arises for even the rank and file, such scarce and fondly remembered experience of creative collaboration under relaxation of hierarchical dominance, called: low hierarchical distance, meaning: near equality. And subversively proposed herein, shall be indeed to completely reverse traditional paradigm of heteronomy to authoritarianism, by instead resetting collaboration among equals in creative solution finding as the new norm and default human condition, then appealing to even ad hoc authority, only occasionally as need actually arising. And the strategy, mechanics and proposed plan of action in implementation thereof, is dubbed: Creativity can and Should be Social.

Cultural Anthropology studies social cognition by which to predict the responses of others, entirely on the basis of hierarchical position and distance. Such is the entrenched conviction of heteronomy that the collective can never be wrong and that cooperation is impossible among equals, impossible without obedience to leadership without which we will all be quite helpless. Only in seeming afterthought, does Cultural Anthropology also observe and recognize an exception to that dreary paradigm: Indeed cooperation among equals, cooperation in creative problem-solving (better still, solution finding) , a mentality that is entirely different, offering escape from all of that dull primate politics, because cooperation in creative problem-solving, or better still: solution finding, is passionately problem-driven rather than status-driven, challenging the entirely different aptitudes of autonomy, of trustworthy and respectful democratic values in action, as amongst gifted peers and dissidents, with optimal reciprocal engagement in happily serious conversation producing intrinsic gratification from intentionally substantive communication, intentionally purposeful interaction, unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility, disclosure, joy in work and in play alike.

But the fundamental social competencies as perceived by Cultural Anthropology also include, even indeed seemingly as something of a grand afterthought, such executive function as cooperation in creative solution finding, even at its most happily serious, evoking as does play, not merely private and individual but sociable and shared emotional transport of playfulness universal to all mammals. And similarly, cooperation in creative problem-solving (or better still, solution finding), as a priority of its own, being problem-driven rather than ego-driven, may even level the playing field to such conditions of near equality called: low power-distance communication style, and pleasurably engage autonomy, creativity, Positive Disintegration and growth, challenging the entirely different aptitudes of democratic values in action, as amongst gifted peers, dissident in significant paradigm shift.

It has long been observed how gifted students amongst their own true gifted peers, suddenly and mysteriously no longer require the great and good boon of socialization! -toxic and sanctioned, that violence and neglect which none dare call: indoctrination, behavioral conditioning or brainwash... Wouldn't it make more sense to socialize and lift everyone to engage with and relate to one another more in accord with whatever observable gifted paradigm, than instead to dumb down our best and brightest just to norm them into fitting in, even however ill-fitting, awkwardly and reluctantly? In the alternative, just the opposite, everyone, it said, has gifted potential to be tapped. But how? - beyond the usual mealy-mouthed lip service... Indeed, if gifted is as gifted does, the how might anyone who wants to, most readily go about it amongst themselves?

As in accordance with the Arousal Theory of motivation, all living beings are perpetually engaged in stimulus struggle, which is the name coined by anthropologist Desmond Morris in 'the human zoo' October 1 1969, for the perpetual striving of all living things, to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation and arousal from the surrounding environment. Everything that we do is in order to modify subjective experience thereby altering consciousness. All hence, as shall be seen, the social engineering of social stimulus struggle would contrive the deliberate introduction of specific social stimuli and social interaction, into the social environment, in order better to optimize social stimulus struggle. meeting even the unique intellectual social stimulus appetites of the massively engorged human brain and neocortex all as rooted in evolutionary neuroscience.

Cultural Anthropology defines itself by focus upon, leave us face it: the predominating human mentality as of the pack mammals that we are, specifically of hierarchically predictive social cognition or: sycophancy anticipating the responses of others, merely via the recognition of members of one's own social group in order to form direct relationships consistent with rôles of relative social standing, degrees of kinship and rank, recognition of third-party social relationships, all predictive of future behavior. Under heteronomy, Sheeple generally learn to become so so cynical, insecure, inhibited, waryand cagey, most strongly motivated by life long behavioral conditioning to peer pressure and the many ongoing punishment and rewards and social cognition of perceived vested interests in the advancement and preservation of social position and standing. That is why kinship and rank are viewed as so central to the human condition in society, by Cultural Anthropology, with the fully engaged egalitarian low hierarchical distance of collaborative solution finding relegated almost to mere afterthought as an exception, a special case. Individuals may find themselves less often actually valued intrinsically for ability and the content of character and potential as prospective friends and partners or allies in life, assets in rational self-interest or simply joy to be with, than instead extrinsically valued for popularity, standing and influence ever exploited in perpetual struggle jockeying for approval and dominance. Hence the recommendation to lie and pretend to have friends until one actually has any. The unpopular are shunned. It's all a matter of such suffocating priorities: social cognition makes sycophants of us all!

I might not have what you want, but dare we seek for it together? When all else has failed, what has actually been desired all along? It remains so disheartening how many people experience the same frustrated yearnings, and yet so utterly fail to find one another and connect, for wont of the wherewithal, the channels and the means. Gentle reader, am I then your unmet friend? What opportunity in making my acquaintance? Networking, what is my value proposition? And how important can you be to me in return? And what difference does any of that make? Of course no one should expect universal love or approval or even need it. That's not the point. No matter who might ever come to enjoy my company or even recognize and perhaps even admire my best qualities, all too many nevertheless will continue to keep their distance, unlikely to include me or befriend me. It seems that I just don't fit in.

Amid the masses, there remain two kinds of people: Those who are unhappy because they just don't fit in, and those who are unhappy because of the empty lives that they must so arduously lead simply in order to fit in. Damned if you do and damned if you don't The only wining move is not to play. The readily available avenues of social life are often more of a frustration and an obstacle course than a conduit, another joyless, senseless and alienating chore, conditional and endless and Sisyphusian. Taught to wear masks before even finding our own faces, so many of us are steadily prevailed upon increasingly to sacrifice all authenticity and, in essence, to pretend to be someone else, someone at all more acceptable to others. Otherwise, cast aside in life, one must pay the consequences. There is user hostile outcomes gap, with no results whatever one does. Conventional options in life are all so oppressive and unhappy.The soul crushing emotionally void and tedious anti-intellectual rat race of social success is typically the most aimless and demeaning drudgery and disappointment, serving as the filter of mediocrity so dystressfully testing individual conformity and tolerance for lonely boredom bereft of unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility, leaving only futility in the user hostile outcomes gap.

In the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” Alas, how we often disappoint one another and ourselves by expecting too little. The paranoid herd mentality is of watching one another to keep everyone in line. The blithe unquestioning cocksure intimidation of putting one another each in our place, demands so much less of the individual, than psychological visibility and the empathic Emotional Intelligence of Actively Listening to one another to learn where the other stands. Relationship, Eros which is transport in liberating union with alien difference, especially friendship, arises only as a side effect of purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, and never otherwise. Accept no substitutes! And no one else need approve! Indeed, in the words of Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” After all, curiosity is the agent of compassion. But in a milieu of suspicion and reciprocal indifference, social support will be hard won by fitting in at whatever cost of toxic and sanctioned socialization, ever ganging up on one another and finally joining the enemy, the oppressors, against ourselves. Mediocrity becomes the greatest prize. One way or another, most people are just overwhelmed, too busy with all that will be expected of us, or else failing in life, no matter putting on a brave face, haunted, lonely, demoralized and bizarre, a living warning to all others. Broken before The Great Faceless They, the castoffs of society are everywhere for each and all to chillingly understand: but for the grace of Leviathan, go I!

In the alterative, the present proposal all hinges upon the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology, the repeatable Empirical observation of how uniform submission and sycophantic heteronomy to socially cognition of hierarchical dominance is virtually suspended during the all too scarce and fleeting transitory egalitarian low hierarchical distance characteristic of creative problem solving. or better still: solution finding, happy, pleasurable, meaningful and fully engaged. But then its over and sorely missed, freedom once again quashed by oppressive mediocrity.

Notwithstanding those malignant norms of heteronomy as observed and studied by Cultural Anthropology, and quite to the contrary in accord rather with that grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology and the truthful ramifications thereof: relationship and especially bonding and attachments of true friendship with psychological visibility, arising ever only as a byproduct of immersive full engagement in purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication and never otherwise. Accept no substitutes! And no one else need approve! Typical and ubiquitous anti-intellectual social taboo notwithstanding. nothing else works. And in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” We've all been had! Conventional options in life are all so oppressive and unhappy. There is a user hostile outcomes gap, no results no matter what one does. Even if somehow attainable, social success indeed from indeed as socially expected, always keeping things light and cheerful, only comes at the cost of emotional distance, only another mode of isolation, bored and lonely. Dysfunctional heteronymous social skills of calculating, manipulative and distant social success or popularity on the one hand, and healthy genuine close friendship on the other hand, therefore remain antithetical. Again: trustworthy respectful happy people talk more seriously with less small talk. And we should all emulate them together. But how?

Answer: What if it became possible, via the the social engineering of social stimulus struggle, together to grow more human and enhance authentic wellbeing, by turning said priorities upon their head, setting the specific underserved stimulus appetite and correlating life satisfaction of uplifting creativity and solution finding as the default, and in more democratric sensibility, with authority called upon and resorted to only as need ever actually arising? Such Eudemonia indeed seems well feasible, although likely requiring some or other intentional community, culture, group or social circle, of ongoing creative interaction, subversive and disruptively innovative solution finding and collaboration among equals, perhaps even such as herein proposed: Creativity can and Should be Social, all quite feasible, readily doable by cofoundes in collaboration, persistent and serious people together purposely forming at least at first even a small intentional community, a closely working group or social circle, perhaps indeed as envisaged, via a continual Dialectic of synergistic innovation by collaboration in fiction writing and in Entrepreneurial new venture creation (variuos business startup).

Truth in advertising?The business plan is often cited as the single most important document produced in the course of new venture creation (various business startup). But another crucial narrative is that of Public Relations and Marketing. What then do advertisements actually advertise? And what does the appeal of modern advertising reveal? Know your porn, fabricated temptation ever shaping and tantalizing constructed desires. Perhaps the old standby of ever such ardent invocation to the consumer luxury of modern convenience has lost it's elegance and enchantment, becoming somewhat jaded and passé, therefore deemed unaffordable for a perceived diminished value. In short, much advertising becomes flagrantly irrelevant. This may be why, in the alternative, obviously and quite simply, some advertisements actually do extol whatever salient and even tangible practical advantages of whichever product or service. And therein, there may even be found any modicum of truth in advertising. On the other hand, much advertisement openly resorts to entertainment, even to the most over the top comedy, in exchange for the viewers' attention, instead of simply annoying us. As the saying goes, sex sells. Indeed, sex often distracts the consumer, even to the point of entirely forgetting whatever is being advertised in the first place. Or else shame and disgust are effective in selling hygiene products. But as is well known, the most canny and manipulatively exploitative advertisement has always plumbed all meaningful depth of frustrated and underserved motivating human need and psychology, but again, without actual relevance or end user results. Instead, so much of advertising only so flagrantly foists upon the consumer ever the same colossally mendacious and Absurd Existentially bait-and-switch, pandering to elicit wishful magical thinking fantasy, in order rto override better judgment. This is accomplished by promoting an aura of mystique for whatever product or service. This in turn is accomplished by whatever propaganda subtext or narrative theme, repetitively conditioning in the minds of whatever susceptible target audience, an association of whatever product or service with whatever tantalizing yearnings, beauty, temptation and expectation of happiness or bliss such as in portrayal of conviviality, friendship, good times, popularity, pleasure, success and acclaim

Notwithstanding all diversionary tactics and Existential bait-and-switch of such even transparently manipulative and stridently irrelevant marketing mystique, what then remains as the true secret of genuine and effective pursuit of happiness? In answer, an abundance of psychological research concludes that people are happier who respond to experience marketing, and spend their money on howsoever uplifting experiences, ever so transient, than those who simply acquire even the most lasting and practical useful things, let alone buying into whatever mystique. Even the anticipation of a positive experience, is fuller and more joyful that the anticipation of acquisition of even perfectly useful and desirable products. But true pursuit of happiness beyond shelling out for just whatever fleeting poignant taste, may depend upon repeatability and continuous self sustainability of peak experience, fulfillment and progress. Experience marketing may offer the most wonderful brainstorming classes, all manner of fiction writers' boot camps, or even internships at whatever kind of individual dream job. But then it's over. And there will likely be no clear and ready path forward, as with instead any ongoing interaction or endeavor.

There can be no guarantee of success, but there can often be guarantee of futility in the production and consumption of mendacious irresponsible guarantees. We are all fallible. No, we can't all just pretend and fake it till you make it. Not even with all the merch! Because marketing or branding of celebrity rôle model mystique remains nothing more than mass market pipedream of cargo-cult mimesis, never actually bringing the consumer any closer to becoming any part of leading whatever kind of life desired, much less ever actually achieving notable success. Scam financial opportunities will only part suckers from their cash. .
As my father was wont to observe, the world is divided into the knowers and the seekers, the know-it-alls and the skeptics. The knowers, all manner of know-it-all gurus, their acolytes and social cognition, are everywhere. But to quote from the Tao Teh Ching by Lau Tzu: “Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.” And indeed, some are more serious and reserved than others in their desperate undertaking of conformity, keeping their own counsel of whatever secrets they think that they have, and others more simplistic and delusional or cult like and hence more eager, mendacious and compulsively proselytizing. It's okay to want to attract attention persuasively. Only strive to be as rational, honest and open minded as you would have others be towards you. In fair play, the truth will out.

“All the lonely people, where do they all belong?” — John from Liverpool

The colossally Absurd Existential bait-and-switch sometimes referred to as: Totalitarian Interactivity consists of any manipulative situation of irrelevance obfuscated under an illusion of choice, in a reality of control and constraint, for an audience sucked in and lead about by the nose! For quintessential example par exultance, isolating and deceptive webforms, short and simple or long and complicated, are all too often designed to elicit any hope that any detail of free association permitted and invited via individual response, thereby by implication expresses any promise of flexibility in tailored response and thereby actually makes any difference. But in truth, the bureaucratic or automated response scarcely varies and after all the wined up, one size fits all. In essence, the mark has been conned into pouring their heart out to a bot!

Gentle reader, can you relate? Do you weary of forever striving and waiting as the grueling frustration, agitation, insecurity and dystress only mounts inside? Of continually reaching out to unresponsive and noncommittal others? Of yet again finding yourself the only one that even much gives a damn? Not only the most flagrantly messed up, but just the most ordinary people and even our best and brightest easily find ourselves disaffected with society, marginalized and friendless. People do so love to rebel against any norm, at least superficially. For no one is alone in being lonely, invalidated and misunderstood. Legions of the unloved and forgotten, ever strive to meet the ever more daunting challenges of social life in order at long last to break isolation and find one anther.

According to 'Social Failures and Social Solutions: Evidence from OkCupid' “Social failures involve social interactions, such as affect, social support and advice giving; [...] Social failures are social interactions that do not occur, but would make two or more people better off if they did. [...] Social failures capture the difference between interactions that do happen and those that should happen.” Information access and management is also a crucial factor, because inaccessibility of information is also a kind of social failure. Some instances of social failure are more important than others, depending upon what might be at stake in making connections and forging relationships. And there remain many possible causes and factors in social failure, even short of pandemic serial bullying outright, including all manner of obstacles and social restrictions on interaction and relationship.

In particular, going out alone entails a great deal of awkward killing time, only magnifying the futility of that which called: recreation, meaning recovery on one's own time and expense, in every sore travail of employment, formal education, family life and every other dysfunctional ordeal. Major obstacles and stumbling block needing to be addressed by whatever means, include prudery, sexism, and prevailing intimidation and resultant inhibition and reticence to break the ice and make first contact, especially on the part of women towards men. All in all, social life seems less of a conduit than a filter to be navigated or or barrier to be overcome in order to avoid being winnowed out, excluded and rejected. One might simply wish for anything more engaging between strangers, to make outreach to one another more fun instead of such a discouraging ordeal of distance, inhibition and suspicion.

What is loneliness? Why can the wrong people leave one feeling only even all the more lonely than solitude, even amid the bustling crowds? (Remember those?) Indeed, to quote Gian Vincenzo Gravina: "A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company." Gentle reader, outpourings of angst and sympathy online notwithstanding, do these questions truly interest and concern anyone? On an online forum for lonely people, with no trace of irony I discovered a blithe consensus upon two salient points: 1) Loneliness is the most awful no good bad thing! 2) In order to fit in, ya gotta keep it light! Such is anti-intellectualism. And thus do people keep secret their inner selves, starving for authentic psychological visibility. Can pandemic loneliness then ever accrue as any great surprise? People often put in such tremendous time, effort and concentration into such sore travail as formal education, employment and career building, yet remaining so cavalier and haphazard about finding any joy in personal social life in which, truth to tell, most of us have only been set up for failure. No wonder lonely misery has always been so devastatingly pandemic! This subversive and disruptively innovative website, FoolQuest.com, represents the sum of my own research and imagination as to we might together interact in order to become better fulfilled and no longer so miserable and lonely, by subversively partaking in the shared creativity of collaborative solution finding. For such, as shall be seen, is the true key to life. And what is there more important?

“If I continually get a door wrong, is it my fault? No. In fact, if you continually get it wrong or if other people continually get it wrong, it’s a good sign that it’s a really bad door.”



— Don Norman as cited in: Frustration is a design opportunity

And yet, optimism ever rises anew, even in the face of mockery and derision at large, for all of the same folly. But futility of unflaggingly misguided optimism figuratively barking up that proverbial wrong metaphorical tree, may even be deemed malignant, in all manner of bad relationships not only with other individuals, but also that enigma of collective membership which is the relationship of the individual to society. Many therefore despair, retreat and embrace Nihilism. For as in the famous words of Henry David Thoreau: “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” But when the going gets tough, nerds analyze the problem! When conventional wisdom fails, It may come time to metaphorically color outside the proverbial lines, in condemnation even of the most well meaning of prevailing inoperant snake-oil and the entire panic stricken and irrelevant cult of socialization.

Popularity or social success on the one hand, and friendship on the other, remain ever starkly antithetical. This is because friendship is genuine, substantive and intimate, while popularity or social success depend upon facile superficiality and keeping distance. Therefore the inherent contradiction remains insurmountable, irresolvable in very principle, and nothing but a setup for frustration, failure and craven exhortation to lowered expectations and making do. Social success and social frustration only isolate the individual in different ways. This may be why finding connection can be such an uncertain rat race, unreliable and requires such open ended investment of time, effort, amoral unprotesting perceptive subtlety and dedication, with iron will, persistence and discipline all glossed over in prevailing simplistic discourse and blithe optimism. Endurance of precisely such monotony and dystress serves to weed out boredom prone unconventional creative thinkers in order to preserve status quo. Hence the need of fundamentally subversive innovation in the reinvention of social life, a subversive fresh perspective entirely redefining the problem of socialization towards more subversive and disruptively innovative solution finding. A bold social engineering design challenge will then inform a subversive and disruptively innovative design exercise open to all. And I look forward to new solutions from interested site visitors. Creative people need a "tribe," because people and society perversely tend to discourage creativity, fostering heteronomy to conformism and undermining autonomy at every turn. And groups for particular creative fields, might not suffice, because optimum creativity, networking and social support are all interdisciplinary. Already, one possible solution meeting the parameters of said design exercise, is a proposal named: Creativity Should be Social then presented together with explanation of precisely how said proposal meets with the requirements of the aforementioned social engineering design exercise, all towards novel subversive and disruptively innovative modus vivendi and more congenial individual situation than we have known.

We are all such proverbial square pegs: The customer is always wrong! The program never fails, you fail the program. In the immortal words of George Carlin: “Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.” Carlin thus describes a condition of mass oppression and pandemic listless passive hostility, by no means limited to employment and formal education. Little wonder then that the unfulfilled typically find such little heart to apply themselves in unflagging dedication and diligence, no matter extrinsic rewards. Can there be any better way?

What demarcates opportunity from wishful thinking? Indeed, is this very text just another scam? Well may we ask: Am I being taken in yet again? Dare I ever trust? -you may well wonder and dread... Betrayal is toxic and devastating. We may all become naturally wary and suspicious, and alas with good reason. But there is still truth to be had in the greatest mendacity: The study of marketing scams and con artistry reveals human nature and yearnings. The experience of being taken in by any scam elicits anger and shame. But that's another con all in its own right. Let's never be ashamed of ordinary human needs or appetites for joy. But let's also be honest with ourselves: Marketing scams often begin by selling whatever feeling or mystique. That is the hook or grabber of their story. And only then, riding upon that desire, elation and wishful thinking, comes whatever promise or guarantee of whatever tangible results and success. Often such mendacity, fraud and manipulation may be characterized by hand waving and pipedreaming. In the alternative, trustworthy and respectful happy people talk more seriously and with lees small talk, realistically and in detail, even when no less ambitiously. Moreover, in order effectively to compete with every ubiquitous sweet lie of heteronomy, and honestly assuage Existential despair in the Absurdity of the human condition, any serious undertaking that even might conceivably succeed, must in the interim sustain ongoing interaction promoting some or other yearned for emotional response and attachments.

To wit: Ongoing pleasure + engagement + meaning = ever self renewing fulfillment. And all of this must be accomplished without utterly compromising objectivity, thereby going beyond mere glittering generalities, and thus just perhaps in any viable strategy for success and desired results. And such is the strategic agenda of FoolQuest.com, remaining ever hard nosed and skeptical even amid the most vigorous evaluation, feasibility study and strategy in pursuit of the most utterly fantastical ambitions. Hence, what manner of empowering close social interaction or relationship involves investment of tangible reciprocal support in high activity such as pleasurably engages novel excitement, meaningfully? For such remains an agenda question and theme of deliberation for conversation even at all in and of itself uplifting and engaging, and even just perhaps ultimately fulfilling and productive, all about the experience of healthy relationships that thrive in autonomy, succeed and prosper. Trustworthy and respectful happy people talk more seriously.

“You’re frustrated because you keep waiting for the blooming of flowers of which you have yet to sow the seeds.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience

Executive summary

The FoolQuest.com agenda towards beneficial modus vivendi of lifestyle entrepreneurship:

Creativity Should be Social and Creativity can be Popular

How to start a movement:

And lo, the star first follower or ally shall become the true leader

among cofounders teaching by example, showing others how to follow, demonstrating how to participate and relate

Does your ambition and creativity ever make you lonely? Does oppressively banal small talk often exasperate and bore you? Instead, do you enjoy brainstorming creative writing, drama and Science Fiction? Do you dream of brainstorming subversive and disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup)? Trustworthy and respectful happy people talk more seriously: Are you serious and persistent about feasibility study and solution finding? Can you be a trustworthy collaboration partner? Then you are needed here! -Beginning with your feedback.

Do you ever find yourself frustrated, stymied, blocked, in a rut? FoolQuest.comm just might have your answer!

Trustworthy and respectful happy people talk more seriously together freely, and with less small talk, deliberating Dialectically, active in creativity, strategically in feasibility study, intentionally, purposefully and substantively, in controversy which is the exchange of welcome criticism, with civility as autonomous equals in optimal reciprocal engagement. Happiness comes in the Menschlichkeit of unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility and genuine autonomy in meeting ones needs for capable interaction and agenda setting with even adequately responsible others, in true spirit of friendship and honesty, making progress every day as a real mensch. The class of people who find it the easiest to make friends and forge new connections, overlaps greatly with the class of people who live better rounded and richer lives. Happy people thrive in autonomy and are more productive, likely to choose creative activities and cooperation, deriving fulfillment in meaningful and pleasurable engagement. Indeed, even making more money. But correlation need not imply causation, therefore the question yet remains: Which is cause and which is effect? Does serious conversation result in happiness, or is serious conversation the result of happiness? Does richer and fuller life facilitate social success, or does social success effectively enrich fuller lives? In either case, if just perhaps the process is reciprocal, functioning in either direction, then a virtuous cycle is indicated, perpetually improving only once implemented, entailing no more that whatever even tacit ratification amongst those who interact, even entirely without the approval or even the knowledge of the Great Faceless They. And that is why relationship and especially friendship arise only as a byproduct of purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, intentionally. And so, we have our work cut out for us, but nothing so onerous. For as John Cleese expounds: “Creativity is not a talent: it's a way of operating.” And the TRUE MEANING of LIFE is that HAPPINESS is subjective wellbeing, an INDIVIDUALLY REACTIVE STATE VARIABLE to howsoever favorable circumstances, objectively. Happiness comes in Eudemonia, in the Menschlichkeit of meeting ones needs by capable interaction with even adequately responsible others.

Popularity and social success ever remain antithetical to true friendship. This is because friendship is genuine, substantive and intimate, being predicated upon unguarded and reciprocal psychological visibility, while popularity and social success depend upon purpose defeatingly facile superficiality and ever keeping distance while keeping up pretence. Therefore the inherent contradiction remains irresolvable in very principle, and nothing but a setup for frustration, failure and craven exhortation to lowered expectations and making do. Social success and social frustration a failure only isolate the individual in different ways. This may be why finding connection is so uncertain, unreliable and requires such open ended investment of time, patient effort and dedication, with iron will, persistence and discipline all glossed over in prevailing simplistic discourse and blithe optimism. Endurance of precisely such monotony and dystress serves to weed out boredom prone unconventional creative thinkers in order to preserve status quo. Hence the need of fundamentally subversive innovation in the reinvention of social life. Because happy people talk more seriously with less small talk, and we might all do well to follow their example.

By very premise, Cultural Anthropology studies human relationships consistent with rôles of relative social standing, degrees of kinship and rank. all predicated upon competencies and aptitudes of hierarchically predictive social cognition by which to anticipate the responses of others, merely via the recognition of members of one's own social group in order to form direct relationships consistent with rôles of relative social standing, degrees of kinship and rank, recognition of third-party social relationships and prediction of future behavior and in order to know what one is expected to do and how to behave. By default, social order tends toward hierarchy which to be Existentially honest, consistently engenders heteronomy, the very opposite of autonomy, friendship, freedom and capability so crucial to authentic wellbeing. The emotional distance and objectification situationally inherent in compulsive heteronomy to hierarchy are antithetical to any sympathetic glimpse into one another's inner life that is called: psychological visibility. Therefore dystressful Existentially Absurd alienation, futility and lonely boredom consistently ensue. But a promising remedy may be suggested in pondering the grand afterthought of Cultural Anthropology, even notwithstanding the paradigmatic study of heteronomy to hierarchical kinship and rank so fundamental to Cultural Anthropology, in consistent Empirical observation and grand afterthought that there are also those rare, exceptional and special moments of collaboration in creative solution finding which is characteristically egalitarian in nature as well as uplifting in freedom, progress and elation.

Ongoing pleasure + engagement + meaning = ever self renewing fulfillment. In those most famous words of Friedrich Nietzsche: “What is happiness? The feeling that power increases - that resistance is being overcome.” Consider then how much happier we all could be if only rather than living under the monotony and oppression of hierarchical dominance, with only such very occasional and even once in a lifetime respite, instead creative solution finding in collaboration among equals became the default experience, and in more democratic values and sensibilities, with recourse to authority of whatever kind remaining strictly as a contingency in recourse only when actually ever needed for whatever reason! Alas, radical transformation of society at large remains impractical in any short term or medium range of time and besides, impossible for any lone individual. That leaves the possibility of smaller group formation as an at all viable strategy towards implementation od any intentional social environment better conducive to the pursuit of happiness and success. And for optimal reciprocal engagement in collaboration among equals, in collaborative solution finding together, the following regimen is proposed: An interstitial concurrent synergy of two different powerful applications of narrative, 1) on the one hand, pure creativity for its own joy, in the form of collaboration in creative fiction writing and brainstorming of interesting and original high quality drama and Science Fiction speculation, 2) and on the other hand, of applied creativity, of subversive and disruptively in endless possibility of innovative entrepreneurial new venture creation (various business startup), from management team formation, business planning, feasibility study, all the way through to Capitalization and implementation, all as proposed herein as the strategic agenda of FoolQuest.com, implementation whereof being the first challenge to collaborative solution finding. Creative and informative resources, tools and guides on FoolQuest.com therefore include a selection of unfinished stories to modify, improve and complete together and subversive and disruptively innovative proposal for collaboration in endless possibility of new venture creation (various business startup).

It has been opined that so called online community as of message posting boards, is no community, but more analogous to strangers in a bar. In the past, un groups have achieved noted value is sharing information and consultation, within those bounds. One way or another, online communication even on UseNet has even at its most substantive, lacked depth and scope no less than casual communication and interaction IRL. But (anti)social media by design has eviscerated communication and interaction, while opening the floodgates upon an annoying deluge of endless empty gossip. Gleaning desired information is frustrating. A coherent discussion thread is impossible! Even establishing contact is challenging. (Anti)social media participation is pointless, silly, arduous and self-contained. How is any of this so seductive and addictive? It's repugnant! Every time I land on Facebook, I throw up my hands in consternation! As Sam Vaknim points out, (anti)social media is typically configured to be competitive and zero sum, an endless jockeying of short attention span distracted, shifted and wrested away from all others But it's still not the technology. Gentle reader, we are all routinely called upon to to sacrifice authenticity simply in order to fit it in. For such is conditionality replete with the omnipresent threat of shaming and rejection, nothing new, toxicity long predating the advent of (anti)social media. After all, what was the great innovation of Facebook but the IT for the most empty loutish anti-intellectual reaction pandering indoctrination, spectacle and gratuitously narcissistic desperately fixated veniality of one dimensionally vapid collegiate life? At the risk of anthropomorphism, not just (anti)social media, but social reality at large to begin with, tends to be so obtuse, paranoid, cagy, reluctant to communicate or interact, unfriendly, often hostile and dangerous, in aggregation, naturally, of all the disoriented, suffering and desperately terrified facile individuals adapted to such a toxic social environment. Devious and debilitating Behavior Modification, brainwash, coercion and manipulative invalidation is everywhere and nothing new. Thus has it ever been. Indeed, historically things where much worse, and in the most backwards regions even today, yet remain so.

For such is the debilitating and blithely fraudulent promise of heteronomy, futile and Existentially Absurd bait-and-switch, a pervasive racket of rejection masquerading as warm acceptance. There is much lip service nowadays to authenticity, egosyntonic individual conduct in harmony with personal values and preferred self-image. Everybody needs acceptance for who they truly are, both from themselves and from others. Indeed, those of us ever intrigued by novel ideas and substantive disclosure may therefore contend with mounting exasperation when confronted by all of the shallow pretense of banal small talk. To quote Carl Gustav Jung: “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” In the words of José de San Martin: “You will be what you must be, or else you will be nothing.” Individuals may find themselves less often actually valued intrinsically for ability and the content of character and potential as prospective friends and partners or allies in life, assets in rational self-interest or simply joy to be with, than instead extrinsically valued for popularity, standing and influence ever exploited in perpetual struggle jockeying for approval and dominance. Hence the recommendation to lie and pretend to have friends until one actually has any. In the words of Adlai Ewing Stevenson: “A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular.” But with all that remains at stake fitting in, who can ever remain truly safe and secure, much less free and open? Social cognition makes hapless social cognition of us all!

In the bright future of advanced automated Sociometry, everyone will be influential. But in the meantime, in the here and now, individual will to power demands ongoing struggle, beginning with the quest for Eudemonia and optimally positive influence upon one another. Alas, under heteronomy, people generally learn to become so cynical, insecure, inhibited, wary and cagey, most strongly motivated by life long behavioral conditioning to peer pressure and the many ongoing punishment and rewards and social cognition of perceived vested interests, relentless struggle ever jockeying in in the advancement and preservation of social position, esteem and standing. That is why kinship and rank are viewed as so central to the human condition in society, under the generally authoritarian perspective of Cultural Anthropology, with the fully engaged open and uplifting egalitarian low hierarchical distance of collaborative solution finding relegated almost to mere democratic grand afterthought. An exception, a weird and wonderful special case, by whatever unusual need or rare circumstances as decided by whatever great and good powers that be. An however infrequent and all to scarce transient positive experience then leaving such a dull and aching void in unrelentingly bored and lonely life the rest of the time. Hence frustration of uniquely human intrinsic needs of social and intellectual stimulus struggle rooted in freakish and massively inbred hideous mutation, evolutionary neurology and engorged human cerebrality. Leaving such poignant memories of those rare peak experiences of such creative interaction as ever arising, so dearly treasured in helplessness to sustain or proactively to duplicate such desirable conditions or situations regularly or systematically and at will.

But what then if instead, priorities could be turned upon their head? What if the open and productive, non-zero-sum fully engaged uplifting and egalitarian low hierarchical distance of collaborative creative solution finding were somehow to instituted as the ongoing default, and whatever kind of responsible authority the special case, reserved for and resorted to only as and when the need whereof ever actually arising? And no longer merely, as all too often, any transitory event of , collaboration among equals in solution finding, such as any one time assigned task afterwards abandoned, or any sort of short term scheduled workshop, contest or seminar, typically concluding and vanishing entirety without any trace, with no debrief or follow up at all. In the words of Sir Isaac Newton: “You have to make the rules, not follow them.” Where and when, how and by what design would follow whatever intentional implementation of any such a brave new social contract, even just for a small working group, let alone transforming the world? The helplessness of individual frustration and failure is everywhere. Might such helpless pandemic individual frustration and failure, not merely of the clearly and obviously broken and disadvantaged nor even also of the most ordinary and average, but especially of our best and brightest, their possibilities squandered, actually be in any part due to whatever conceivable larger systemic defect in society, of entrenched mediocrity and worse? And what is to be done?

Creative people may often feel the need of any "tribe" of our own because people and society at large so perversely tend to discourage creativity and subversion, fostering heteronomy to conformism and undermining autonomy at every turn. And to make matters worse, conventional groups for whatever common interests including particular creative fields, do not suffice, because heights of discovery and creativity, not to mention networking and social support, are often one way or another actually interdisciplinary and not segregated by specialty. Indeed, a notable key observation of TRIZ, the much renowned Russian theory of invention, is how aside from entirely new scientific discoveries, the rarest most important and powerful innovations arise in the transfer and multipotential reapplication of knowledge and methods across disciplines.

Worse, as a rule, rational individuals of honor ought simply to apprise one another where they stand and just talk over whatever their problems and prioritize obvious shared concerns. Alas, such seems so seldom the case. It may be generally accepted that common interests and passions remain a key factor in building relationships. But in actuality, interests in common may turn out to be the least predicator in interpersonal compatibility. Indeed, interests in common need not correlate with shared core values or character, by far more profound. Moreover, it may be generally accepted that people make friends as a result of chance propinquity by spending casual time with one another. But as shall be seen, this too simply is not true. In truth, given limited options, people have often come to accept the need to cultivate and acquiesce to tolerable relationships with whomever most continually proximate. Hence a necessity of lowered expectations and fearful timidity. A sore travail.

The very premise and agenda of FooolQuest.com is utterly unique, subversive and taboo, though it should be blatantly obvious.

The customer is always wrong! The program never fails, you fail the program! Bah, humbug!

Wake up, Sheeple! It's all about how human social order as the glorified pack mammals that we are, has come to fall so vastly short of innate needs and appetites of social and intellectual stimulus struggle entirely unique to ever more massively engorged human cerebrality: Specifically, for collaboration among equals together in creative solution finding. A joy alas far too infrequent under conventional paradigm of stultifying heteronomy to hierarchical dominance. And the consequences to authentic wellbeing could not be more dire.

Ever so blithely to list unrealistic expectations among the causes of loneliness, is not unlike declaring, similarly, that unrealistic expectations lead to malnutrition, as if such were merely subjective and therefore entirely arbitrary! While of course practical needs remain ever crucial to physical survival at all, intrinsic needs and values are the very reason to go on living in the first place, and no mere arbitrary chimera or nuance of individual whimsy. Indeed, in the biting prose of Kathleen Norris: "When you are unhappy, is there anything more maddening than to be told that you should be contented with your lot?" And exactly such foul rhetoric of sly invalidation, is merely another convolution of blaming the end users, each and all of us summarily abandoned to our own devices, indeed for the promulgation of unrealistic expectation in society, to the effect that the means at the disposal of the individual in society can possibly ever deliver as promised or hoped for, and actually ever meet individual needs and heart felt desires at all adequately. Such blind faith despite all manifest evidence to the contrary! In truth, the proverbial elephant in the room, there remains such a user hostile outcomes gap, meaning: no results no matter one one does. It's a real shit show, and the only game in town! Conventional options in life are all so oppressive and unhappy. But how to stop playing into that racket? How indeed ever to find, nay to create, the very wherewithal and thrive?

To reiterate, creative people may feel the need of a "tribe" of our own because people and society at large so perversely tend to discourage subversion and creativity, fostering heteronomy to conformism and undermining autonomy at every turn. And to make matters worse, conventional groups for whatever common interests including particular creative fields, do not suffice, because heights of discovery and creativity, not to mention networking and social support, are often one way or another actually interdisciplinary and not segregated by specialty. Indeed, a notable key observation of TRIZ, the much renowned Russian theory of invention, is how aside from entirely new scientific discoveries, the rarest most important and powerful innovations arise in the transfer and multipotential reapplication of knowledge and methods across disciplines.

The TRUE MEANING of LIFE is that HAPPINESS is subjective wellbeing, an INDIVIDUALLY REACTIVE STATE VARIABLE to howsoever favorable circumstances or situation, objectively. Happiness comes in Eudemonia, genuine autonomy in meeting ones needs by the Menschlichkeit of capable interaction with even adequately responsible others. So, can these aforesaid criteria possibly ever be satisfied via intentional activity and interaction? And precisely how?

A better way?

Solution finding must begin in responsible needs assessment in comparison with results from situation analysis. And the results are grim: As shall be seen, in every walk of life, conventional society and expected life paths are often extremely counterproductive and actually harmful. Therefore, the path to happiness, the remedy to sore travail of loneliness, boredom and desperate frustration, may consist of exercising reason and then nothing less then as much as possible reducing dependence upon whatever routine inoperant, ineffective or quite simply unfulfilling conventional modes of social life, and finding or creating anything far happier together. Creative solution finding, as shall be seen, an uplifting social interaction of thriving and authentic wellbeing, transcending the inefficiency and frustration of rejecting and domineering destructiveness of conventional social life and hierarchy as defined by Cultural Anthropology. Specifically, the case shall be presented that the key to happiness and escape from the unhappiness of more routine social expectation, with all of its senseless stumbling blocks, pointless conditionality, heartless rejection and stifling emotional distance, may be found in the inherent egalitarianism of creative solution finding and the empowering synergy concurrently between two different ongoing modes of intentional activity and interaction, of creative collaboration among equals and free exchange, specifically the pure creativity of collaborative fiction writing and brainstorming, and in the subversive disruptively innovative applied creativity in endless possibioity of of entrepreneurial new venture creation (various business startup) from first concept through to business planning, feasity study, management team formation, Capitalization and implementation.

Anyone aspiring and yearning to experience creative fulfillment in entrepreneurial success, in endless possibility of new venture creation (various business startup),, has surely become well cognizant of the most embryonic first-concept "Kitchen Table" stage or phase of new venture creation (various business startup), but there is virtually no community, support for or even literature about it. This may be because there is just no money to be made in catering to the actual needs of those who are not making any money yet, indeed if ever. Instead, the market caters to successful entrepreneurs who can pay. Meanwhile, desperate wannabes are scammed with no end of dazzling but dubious offers and opportunities. Not everyone even has the support of the likeminded, even to muddle haphazardly in efforts at new venture creation (various business startup). Any conceivable better intentional situation must proceed from some more patient longer vision than unscrupulous marketing manipulation for quickly parting suckers from their limited cash. In a nutshell, the vision of Eudemonia presented here on FoolQuest.com is of a sort of deluxe "kitchen table" as it were, open to all free of charge, facilitating "lifestyle entrepreneurship" of subversive value in fulfilling interaction even as to nurture newly dawning friendship and to inspire participant persistence, an ongoing collaborative fiction writing as a bonding and management team building exercise, towards collaborative solution finding in business planning and feasibility study towards subversive and disruptively innovative new venture creation (various business startup) from first-concept all the way through to Capitalization and implementation. That is the agenda of FoolQuest.com, an outreach, with no pressure or promises, to initiate even the most preliminary discussion with anyone at all interested.

     • We Can be Heroes: Trustworthy and respectful collaboration among equals

Telling stories and working out plans

Both subversive endeavors open for anyone to join in, are related application of different powerful modes of narrative speculation. Collaboration in fiction writing will be wonderful for ever crucial team building of management teams in entrepreneurial new venture creation (various business startup) which begins in the crafting of sound business plans that tell their story, our story together. The difference is that while fiction writing seeks only for merest plausibility in the elicitation of the willing suspension of disbelief, business planning of new venture creation (various business startup), strives to discover feasibility to the satisfaction of incredulous skepticism. Towards these criteria among others, the practice of controversy, being the invited and valued exchange of criticism, is crucial to both endeavors. Polished quality writing with engaging freshness and originality, is brightened and sharpened by the process of ongoing critique, and solid credible business plans are detailed scenarios subject to rigorous feasibility study consisting of relentless faultfinding, correction and risk management. Due diligence remains ever crucial. Pipedreaming is always a roadblock to success

Disagreement is good

According to the mindset which is heteronomy, disagreement only engenders strife, and therefore all dissidence is something to be overcome, a threat to self esteem that be summarily quashed by any means necessary. But the truth is that people of good will who disagree cooperate productively all the time. Indeed, for prime example, if disagreement where actually so paralytic, science would never advance. In the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” So speak your mind, be argumentative! Let's pick apart anything remaining unclear. Enjoy it, fully engage.-As heady as love bombing, but without the cognitive dissonance hangover! “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” - Proverbs 27:17 (KJV) Even though intellectuality and criticality can be so nerdy, socially awkward, taboo and unpopular Plainly, this proposal will not be suitable for anyone lacking the fundamental autonomy in order to question and criticize, to welcome like in kind in return. No flaming! Ideas can be utterly and candidly rejected with no iota of personal rejection, criticism and fully engaged controversy, that out to give no offense because any serious response demonstrates genuine respect. Intellectual criticality and autonomy are free for the having for anyone willing to invest the attention. For in the words of Simone Weil: “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” Let us begin then, with the generosity to ourselves, of Dialectic focus upon what is important. For in the words of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least.” Nothing can be more truly exclusive than self selection. And that, however paradoxically, is how to become more individual by joining a group:

Ongoing Pleasure + engagement + meaning = ever self renewing fulfillment. That may explain the Empirical observation that Happy people talk more seriously together, freely, and with less small talk, deliberating Dialectically, bridging the abstract to the practical and concrete, strategically, intentionally, purposefully and substantively, in feasibility study and controversy which is the welcome and valued exchange of criticism, with civility as autonomous equals in optimal reciprocal engagement. People pleasers are useless and slowly debilitating. criticism is inherently friendly, an expression of esteem, and that is how it should be perceived experienced among people who care enough to pay attention. Indeed, as the saying goes, no question is too stupid to ask, and no answer too wise to be given. Happy people thrive in autonomy, succeed and prosper. and are more productive, likely to choose creative activities together. Gentle reader, do we want the same things? And is all of this truly on the level

     • The Top 10 Things People Want In Life But Can’t Seem To Get - - “I can't get no...”

Is there more to life than all of the freedom, productivity, power, fun and vitality of fully engaged and boundless creativity ever fueled by cheerfully vociferous and spirited debate? Yes, certainly. But the case shall be presented as to how, for fundamental socio-psychological reasons, even though so taboo and socially awkward, precisely such optimally reciprocally engaged receptivity towards free thought and expression remain ever crucial to all other value, both in principle and in practice, and in deliberate alternative to more conventional, toxic and repressively heteronymous thinking in regards to social life. People join in all manner of activity, all in order to experience new encounters, forge new interpersonal attachments and build new relationship, frequently only meeting with frustration, because aside perhaps for sheer persistence and propinquity, the true requirements for any situation nurturing of ready and enduring connection is desperately lacking. Under heteronomy to anti-intellectualism and taboo, every experience of full intellectual or emotional fulfillment or gratification or other intimacy in the truest sense, becomes a dire threat, endangering popularity and secure social standing. Only exceptionally functional smaller social circles can operate differently in order to afford any shelter from an oppressively timid and suspicious milieu wherein any such outreach or interaction affording any glimpse into one another's inner life that is called: psychological visibility, is rendered socially awkward if not actually taboo and even regarded as a threat. As shall be further expounded, relationship and especially friendship so key to wider networking and access to vital connections a resources towards all other needs, arise only as a byproduct of purposeful interaction and/or substantive communication, as cultivated in creative solution finding, indeed as optimized in the present proposal of synergistic endeavor, but as shall be seen, systematically thwarted in the approval seeking heteronomy, distance and alienation inherent to the cult of socialization in perpetuation of the endless struggle and Absurd futility of toxic and sanctioned sycophantic social skills or toadying hierarchically predictive social aptitudes. For whom then do we bereave ourselves of good? Such a chore and a bore of lonely sore travail endured only for the advantage of privileged cronies. What a racket! Brothers and sisters, set that burden down!

Find cogently detailed strategy herein provided, bridging from the abstract to the concrete, practically and even gainfully addressing nothing less than Eudemonia, the most important fundamental intrinsic human needs according to the cutting edge of science in concurrence with ancient wisdom of the sages of antiquity rediscovered. After all, why would any of that interest anyone for whom in order to sustain short attention, the very meaning of life and fulfillment must ever be reduced to something catchy and glib? Isn't there anything more?

Many people fall by the wayside in life because they lack the well organized unflagging self-discipline in formal education, accreditation, employment and career development. Causes hay often include the wont of social support and genius that does not suffer the skilled incompetence of fools gladly, simply in order to fit in. But many of the most successful are actually only keeping so busy merely in order to stave off such profound unhappiness. This may be because so many that are so impressively dutiful and mature in deferred gratification and heteronomy to scholastic advancement and job promotion, nevertheless remain so cavalier and haphazard about all that really matter in personal life and autonomy. Don't make plans to connect to others, but just wait and let it happen! -Or so we are told. While others do indeed work very hard, perpetually jockeying for facile popularity and social success at the sacrifice of all genuine friendship and psychological visibility. Can there be any better options?

True individuals, proverbial square pegs, defy metaphorical pigeonholing and neat identification as any readily locatable traditional target market or audience. It seems that the the very ideas of FoolQuest.com are still too new and abstract, and therefore there are no keywords by which to search the Web. And thus only the same helpless options of Absurd futility remain. But first of all, just perhaps in autonomy unanswerable to heteronomy, simply for I and thou merely between ourselves, anything cogent remains at all possible. Because nothing indispensably genuine comes as any end result or objective of fitting in, nor as any prized reward of senseless sore travail that is the rat race. Quite simply, relevance is not an outcome. Rather, engaged substantive conversation, so key to meaningful relationship, remains the only actually viable starting point for any true new beginnings and escape from stultifying superficiality. Again Trustworthy and respectful happy people talk more seriously and with lees small talk, realistically and in detail, even however ambitiously.

FoolQuest.com the inception of an open online pre-incubator for anyone interested to join in:

• Extensive collaborative creativity tools for boundless innovation

• Comprehensive fiction writing resources and unfinished stories for an ongoing online writers' bull session, from every first flash of novel inspiration into the full flower of creativity together, rigorous writing discipline and quality polished output.

• A pre-incubation listing of subversive and disruptively innovative proposals for collaboration in new venture creation (various business startup), the most embryonic first concept intended for rigorous feasibility study and business planning, management team formation, development and Capitalization, all the way through to full implementation.

• Because Creativity Should be Social and Creativity can be Popular

And then learn more about the social engineering agenda by design of optimizing social stimulus struggle..

_________________________________________________



Change the conversation, reset the agenda, and just maybe, change the world!

Three essential conundrums of drama remain ever salient in real life:

     Who am I, what do I feel? and what do I want?

When all else fails, what has actually been desired all along?

People interact, engage one another, bond, become emotionally attached to one another, even entering into and forging communities, all in order to feel safe and validated. Alas that so many often tend to evaluate safety and validation superficially, erroneously and even destructively, without talking it over and thinking things through, and therefore then often so blithely falling prey to heteronomy, codependency and exploitation. Beware then the chimera of membership and granfaloon! No wonder such dangerous, irrelevant, foolish and malignantly bullying cults and cliques abound, while genuine abiding respect and autonomy support remain exceptional. And there's the rub, the overarching problem in modus vivendi, the meaning of life and experience of fulfillment. And it remains so disheartening how many people experience the same frustrated yearnings, and yet so utterly fail to find one another and connect, for wont of the wherewithal, the channels and the means.

Unmet friend: Why are you even reading this page? Does it interest you? Might the proposed interactions ever even hope to afford you any joy? Might the proposed interactions even actually promote growth and advancement of any of your own skill sets? Might the proposed interactions ever be a fun way to connect and even bond with others? Might the proposed interaction help advance your own objectives and personal success? Then either we have found one another and I am about to hear from you, or else for some reason, gentle reader, you hesitate even to read, explore and talk it over. Alas all such trepidation and hesitation, gentle, because whatever your misgivings surely must be important enough to discuss in any depth, indeed especially even the most tentative and preliminary feasibility study. Uncertainty should never taboo any subject of conversation. The mere conduct of Dialectic is always feasible! And because without compelling relevant intrinsic motivation, everything is just a chore and a bore! Therefore, if you've got a better offer, then take it.

Back to the proverbial drawing board:

                                                         The correct indefinite pronoun denoting society is never 'it' but 'We.'

Therefore: "why isn't it... ?" may generally be the wrong question.

The interesting and responsible question remains: "Why don't/can't We... ?"

When all else has failed, what has actually been desired all along?

The very notion of collaboration among equals

I might no have what you want, but dare we seek for it together?

Alas that collaboration among equals remains literally inconceivable under the mindset of heteronomy to authoritarianism, because uniformity of consensus is so blithely and unquestioningly accepted as indispensable for cooperation at all. And such consensus of course, as the indispensable benefit of submission to undisputed leadership.

Indeed, the average person, inexperienced of anything more vibrant and meaningful, has become blithely jaded and accustomed to a profound social, emotional and intellectual deprivation in which so many of us find ourselves imprisoned. Effort and struggle may be all quickly dismissed and condemned as mere hardship, intolerable frustration and Existential futility. But there can also be the true life human drama of progress and satisfaction, growth, self-definition and discovery, perhaps even success. For in the words of Friedrich Nietzsche: “Happiness is the feeling that power increases - that resistance is being overcome.” Besides, exactly what are the alternatives? There has always been the extol of unearned trust and powerless surrender as the way to happiness, the choice only between acceptance and despair, merely flavors of the same intimidation.

In the famous words of George Bernard Shaw: “Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.” And to quote Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” FoolQuest.com is an outreach toward the formation of just such a core group of unreasonable people applying ourselves even to the most daunting problems besetting us. It remains so disheartening how many people experience the same frustrated yearnings, and yet so utterly fail to find one another and connect, for wont of the wherewithal, the channels and the means.

Power, for good or evil, constructively or destructively, begins from the process of influence upon one another that actually reshapes the surrounding social environment, even changing the world. Alas, dronelike compliant social participation seldom actually solicits or grants input or influence into collective decision making, no matter what sort of group or activity one joins into. And this renders the exercise meaningless. Unilateral action is largely powerless, drastically limited in scope and impact upon individual life much less society at large. And slavish submission to alienating social institutions tends to be senseless, debilitating and Absurd in every way. Transactional Analysis begins to recognize that only improvement in the manner in which anyone relates to one another has any bearing. FoolQuest.com explores broader agenda for collaboration among equals in autonomy, deemed inconceivable under prevailing heteronomy that so dreads only chaos and discord, save by even slavish acquiescence to firm guidance and confident leadership in order to prevent error and assure success.

Of course there can be no guarantee of success, but there can often be guarantee of futility in the production and consumption of mendacious irresponsible guarantees. Heteronomy in society frequently presses the individual to choose between compliance in order to fit in, or the pursuit of rugged Individualism in order to get by, going it alone, unless they are not merely howsoever gifted, but specifically and considerably talented. Because only above average accomplishment commands any better terms. And beyond merely whatever above average accomplishment, for the consummately well qualified person of destiny who's extreme success earns them recognition and authority conferring the power of decision making, thence must accrue the loneliness of command.

But in the alternative, entirely another paradigm is that of collaboration among equals. Autonomy and collaboration among equals will tend to make higher demands upon and responsibility than does heteronomy, but in return may offer any true acceptance without oppressive conditionality, escaping thereby both the debilitating idiocy of fitting in and the daunting limitations of rugged isolation. But this too, all the more, will be easier said than done.

In those words of Henri-Louis Bergson: “Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.” Alas that in such reciprocal contempt, thinking and doing remain all too often segregated in our institutional mentality. The result is a great deal of thought gone to no practical avail, and a great deal of ill considered action so blithely undertaken. To quote Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower: “Plans are nothing, planning is everything.” And let no one imagine that planning, action or happiness are ever improved by preasure to choose between conformity or social isolation. In the words of Benjamin Disraeli: “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” It remains, however, that self-help/improvement and social skills remediation are all nothing but delusion and denial of Existential Absurdity. You are not in control of your life, any more than I am in control of mine. We all find ourselves completely at the whim of uncooperative others in every facet of our lives. And everyone within reach to seek help from, is simply too insecure even to fight for their very lives, much less to stand up for one another. Put more simply then, and in complete good faith, powerlessness, the impotent helplessness of the human condition is terminally demeaning. And even beyond direct action, our influence upon others may often be even the more misguided and deluded. Gentle reader, unmet friend: Where is there to be found, any beginning of collaboration among equals? Thinking in terms of action, in order to act more thoughtfully, there remains only one precious beginning, immediately, over which we, I and thou, may indeed together take responsibility and share any control at all: And that is interaction between ourselves, specifically just discussion at all to begin with, and setting an agenda thereto. Because. in the words of Janine Garner, “Failing to engage Is engaging with failure.” And indeed, all heteronomy is but craven and futile pseudo-engagement.

Speaking of heteronymous pseudo-engagement, what has even been called: Totalitarian Interactivity, notwithstanding whatever illusion of choice, metaphorically leads the site visitor about by the proverbial nose, channeling attention step by step, into whatever the target audience is intended to consider most important. And unless there seems to be any reason for suspicion or ambivalence, simply knowing what to do relieves dystress. But FoolQuest.com garners attention so rarely if at all, only in so far as content is seen, saliently and evocatively, to address whatever particular interests and concerns of the individual site visitor motivated in whatever their own personal dystress and thereby guided to chart their own course through these hypertexts, autonomously and independently. And so, whatever good accrues, as yet little collaboration actually results or endures. Such indeed is the ineffectual anarchy as per all dire predictions from heteronomy, all for wont of uncritical unity under leadership authority. Can we do better?

It may be despite rare favorable response to content, to the discovery of information deemed useful or the ebullience of sentiments shared, all plans of action proposed here on FoolQuest.com may nevertheless often still meet with rejection out of hand as taboo. After all, drawing attention by open criticism of status quo, let alone actually fighting back against abuse, is always risky and intimidating. But then, generally speaking, most of what is seldom or never tried and remains obscure no matter how actually quite promising and effective, only remains so neglected because of taboo, one way or another. For taboo raises conditioned dystress. And taboo need not be all that dramatic, nameless pathos calling attention to itself. Taboo is an expression of ambivalence. Small wonder then, ambivalence regarding taboo, and taboo upon ambivalence. Taboo can be a knee-jerk or a blind spot of crimestop FNORD . And if difficult personal objectives are not to be achieved only by long and arduous and onerous conformity, compliance and self-sacrifice, then any path to success can only be ferreted out by creativity, the eustress and sustainable euphoria of curiosity, investigation, feasibility study and risk assessment, along any path less taken, into those very realms of taboo thought, in quest of that proverbial better mousetrap.

Helpful to one another with all whereof oneself struggles even without answers, expertise or authority, autonomy and collaboration among equals fosters relationship and not objectification so characteristic of heteronomy to hierarchical dominance. And where does any of that begin, if not between any two or more individuals? As shall be demonstrated, sustained engagement in the present strategic Dialectic and feasibility study, can be key to the first glimmer of happiness. If you've got a better offer, then take it.   Here we are, I and thou. Why hesitate: Let's talk it over. This is important. I look forward to hearing from you.

Abandoned each and all to our own devices

Why must it all be so difficult? Herein are submitted some very adult radically obvious suggestions, that seem better at all accepted in professional life than in personal life, in the alternatives to social skills, collective membership most broadly, and aimless over reliance upon propinquity: First of all, let's all work to regain that lost and atrophied executive function: Let's all become at all better organized at making contacts, following up intentionally, purposefully and systematically, and convivially maintaining interaction. But then what? Without the all-consuming social rat race, what shall we do with ourselves together? What will keep us occupied just long enough simply for metaphorically breaking the proverbial ice? To answer a question with another question: What is important to you? What makes life worth living? In short, whither arête?

People online, so desperate for any illusion of certainty in such an uncertain world, are so often gathered in such nigh religious fervor of eager cult-like internalization and pep rally co-validation of prevalently unquestioned assumptions, earnest preparation and mighty struggle towards social success, as though they were all cramming for an exam. Knee-jerk conformists are often indeed exactly so callow and emotionally retarded. Truly, they are all very much alone even together, and figuratively barking up the proverbial wrong tree! For such indeed is heteronomy to the cult of socialization. Prevailing wisdom ever extols the crucial importance of making friends, networking and establishing for oneself a social circle. But loneliness and despair often motivate entry into bad relationships and worse social circles. Social reality, however consequential, remains consensus chimera, while individual people are real. Building any sort of more functional and congenial social circle, might best begin not with any grand social vision, but first with discourse upon any notion of a more functional protocol, interpersonally, better fitting than will be found available off-the-rack, so to speak. One that nurtures autonomy and authenticity instead of cultivating heteronomy and dependency. In theory, we each and all benefit from the purest freedom of association. But in practical implementation, one may often find oneself at the mercy of others, all one's efforts neither appreciated or reciprocated. There is no effective script to follow, no secret of wisdom to share. What then can one do? Can anyone ever sidestep the Great Faceless They, and simply reach out to one another in order to stop playing anyone else's game? Here we are, I and thou.

We must all expect to confront interpersonal or relationship challenges, but not until first overcoming whatever barriers to entry, social hurdles and stumbling blocks in one's path, of making connections to begin with which often first entails integration and embedment into society, very much easier said than done, prevailing opacity demanding all manner of convoluted special aptitudes, full time. Clearly, there are many people, one way or another, who fail in society or anything else because of their own shortcomings and personal difficulties of one kind or another. But that doesn't explain everything, because the most ordinary people and indeed highly capable and personable individuals, our best and brightest, frequently also fail in society and in life. Is then any deficiency in society conceivable, in social opportunities and demands placed upon individuals? We all know that society frequently fails to meet our various different individual needs. Why then do even the most ruthless and Machiavellian nevertheless often seem to assume that social integration is somehow foolproof? Frequently, it simply is not. Indeed, failure is inbuilt and pervasive, perhaps because, purposefully, social life is less of a conduit than a filter. Security takes precedence over accessibility, and frequently, neither accrue. And it remains hardly unusual to find oneself setup for failure. It is not even clear that any service to the end user is even a priority in society at large. It remains so disheartening how many people experience the same frustrated yearnings, and yet so utterly fail to find one another and connect, for wont of the wherewithal, the channels and the means. Perhaps society is not user friendly but actually user hostile even by design and Absurd. Indeed, the very concept of socialization both suggests and then obfuscates that very conclusion, cynicism which comes as no shock to anyone with any modicum of street-smarts.Conventional options in life are all so oppressive and unhappy. It's a jungle out there! Nothing works. Far from serving the individual, the function of society is simply to push us each out of the way. Take the hint or become bullied outright. Indeed life in society, often being so cutthroat competitive, may often take on such paranoid subtext, like unto recognizance under enemy surveillance! No wonder anyone feels insecure. Obviously it is necessary for the individual to adapt to any society. And so, guidance to that end becomes crucial. But with social adaptation and guidance thereto, as with anything else, if of necessity some is good, it hardly follows that more is better, or that its all the same anyhow.

And truth to tell, many folks are downright unfriendly, distant and even hostile, indeed, one way or another, crazy jealous, exploitative, conspiratorial, and willfully obstructive between others. And often this is cultural. But even putting aside real palpable ill will and bullying outright, there remains, as shall be seen, all manner of frustrating inefficiency in making connections and cementing attachment, interpersonally. And we may often look to peer groups to smooth the way, even simply to sustain propinquity long enough, even however awkwardly and artificially of the most dharmic social skill. And there's the rub! Because, if it's hard enough to find even just one friend, how then will be any easier to identify, locate and befriend whatever sort of suitable social collective entity? According to legend, Diogenes struggled to find even one lone and singular honest soul, let alone an honest crowd. Hence, joining groups or entering social circles in order to meet new people, only devolves one difficulty into an even more daunting challenge. Indeed, it may often be recommended, just the opposite, to assemble social groups from proximate and extended existing connections. So, which comes first? How many are lucky enough to have true friends networking for them? More often, the group has its own covert agenda and the individual, exploited, one way or another, must simply make do. Society then offers no conduit or primrose path, but inflicts a social minefield full of needless and insane stumbling blocks and barriers to entry, all leading to traps of collective exploitation as the only refuge. Any better is fortunate, highly functional and exceptional. Society cannot love you. Society is not be your friend. Society is the baleful oppressor ever watching everything that one does. And accordingly, those who may see fit to come forward volunteering to correct anyone who opens their eyes, would never dare so to overstep all bounds by such flagrant presumption of their own superiority and anyone else subordination, except by so blithely believing themselves somehow to be channeling something so vastly great and good, transcendent beyond themselves. For such is the pervasive delusion of all heteronomy, that frighted false fire with no genuine warmth.

Quoth the Bard: “All the word's a stage!” And to quote Neil Gabler: “American society is a society in which individuals have learned to prize social skills that permit them, like actors, to assume whatever rôle the occasion demands and to "perform" their lives rather than just live them.” Competent or incompetent, whether in true hardnosed practicality or in sheer aimless and empty acting out of mimesis, many all the same remain no less consumed with the burning question of how to perform as expected and to fit in: How best to placate The Great Faceless They, thereby to obtain the key to life. For such remains the slave mentality of Homo Domesticus, the domesticated human. And much as they may deny it even to themselves, they are fully buying in, figuratively gulping down the proverbial Kool-Aid! And even bringing into question such secret deep-seated dedication may be as alarming to them as revelation that there is no Santa Claus and no fellowship with God!

Social support is deemed among the key determinants of success. To have social support denotes that one is cared for, has assistance available from other people, and that one is part of a supportive social network. Indeed, while ones fewer closer friends may be valued as more important emotionally, broader acquaintance and connections are key to all manner of assistance, resource and opportunity. What won't people do for such a prize? And what will people sink to without it? But what does the ever burning question of how to fit in socially, even actually mean in the first place? After all, clearly working out the right question must precede finding any accurate or useful answer, and therefore problem statement remains ever crucial to solution finding.

Indeed, some might better rephrase the question at hand, even as most anciently, towards the striving for correctly skilled conduct within dharma: How to transcend all anxiety and learn such peerless and consummate skill to then initiate more capable and operant interaction with one another? But capable and operant in what way or sense, and all to what end or purpose? Well, obviously, towards performance as expected in order to fit in, thereby to placate The Great Faceless They from whom all good things flow, thereby at long last to obtain the key to life! For such is slave mentality, toadying social cognition and sycophancy by which to predict the responses of others, prediction of future behavior entirely on the basis, not of care or empathy and Emotional Intelligence, but of rôles of relative social standing, degrees of kinship and rank, and in recognition of third-party social relationships, all distinctly and uncomfortably non-egalitarian. It is after all, a truism and hard to deny, that of course compromise is necessary for getting along in society. Not merely compromise, but toadying sycophantic open ended and unrequited dedication life long, is the traditional expectation. Dharma is a bitch!

Heteronomy, conformism and the endless dance of popularity frequently become Orwellian, all consuming, draining and tremendously costly, undermining not only autonomy, independent thinking and ambition, but even the human capacity to genuinely relate to one another, to form relationship and friendship. Indeed, that's Why Nerds Are Unpopular: Because nerds so often have authentically meaningful time consuming genuine interests and values of their own to share, with neither the time nor passion for the endlessly complicated dance of being "cool". Whereas, by interaction and accommodation only with one another as equals or near equals, individuals are even known even quite deliberately to afford one another whatever respite from onerous expectations of always "being on" and demands of society at large. With good friends one can be genuine and at ease and forge alliance in abiding trust. Indeed,. precisely such egalitarianism of collaboration among equals is characteristic of cooperation in creative solution finding, problem-driven rather than status-driven, and thus the great exception to toadying social cognition, as recognized even in seeming afterthought by Social Anthropology. And more on this presently.

After all, which comes first? Is all human interaction subordinate within the framework of society and its intractable norms, or rather, is the very fabric of society woven from relationship between individuals into an extended network? Obviously, that is only a matter pf perspective: Both assertions are always true. But which perspective will be more fruitful in discovering any true key to life at all? It may bear mention that the very term: 'Individualism,' was only coined as a pejorative in disparagement towards a perceived trend of retreat from civic-virtue, favoring instead whatever responsibility merely to each ones own more proximate relationship networks. But what reason for such a trend? Perhaps what is more capable and operant, less superficial and more mature and genuinely happy, is actually to be found in Emotional Intelligence, the vulnerable empathy of to one another first, I and thou, one to one, before even worrying about finer points and challenges of group dynamics, let alone whatever Social Intelligence and social skills or aptitudes in such desperate and toadying sycophantic quest of broader approval and social integration with every coveted reward of status, power and better more preferential access to vital resources in society.

Therefore, not to put the proverbial cart before the horse: As it turns out, autonomy in strong and compatible relationships may be revealed as the true bedrock strengthening position of social embedment most proximately, only then in turn networking outward for inclusion and accommodation within society at large affording access not only to vital connections and resources, but best opportunity altruistically as well. Otherwise getting along in society may easily degenerate into an unpleasant and arbitrarily heteronymous pipedream and snake oil. It's all a matter of give and take, of reciprocity and welcome: Why would anyone want to put in so much more effort so unappreciated, than they tend to perceive as ever expended in return? The ever platitudinous social success gurus urge us to step out from our comfort zones. Bah, humbug!

Rather, does not the entire focus of exactly such risk taking and challenge, the very exploration towards understand, mapping and carving out some comfortable niche at all? After all, who do you prefer to meet? An aspiring pillar of the community, staunch toady to social expectation: an utter tool, or a good friend to humanity, a real mensch? And to what do you yourself aspire? The desperation for approval, or the will to power? Yet the outdated cult of socialization, manipulative behavioral conditioning in one rancid guise or variation or another, prevails. The powerlessness of the individual without influence in society, is simply accepted and taken for granted, then played upon so manipulatively. But the malignant racket of all such often senseless imperative of interminable submissive finesse, can offer no trustworthy solution. This is because all of that festering impotent vexation and mediocrity is at the root of bored and lonely suffering and frustration in the first place. This is true even when most successful on its own misguided cretin terms exactly as advertised. Though as a setup for failure, compromise and lowered expectations, the let down is that much less subtle.

Indeed, what if community is considered as no more than the aggregate of constituent relationships? What if indeed, seeming social aptitude and circumstance, are one way or another conditional upon and subordinate to relationships? What if getting along in society is not actually the key to life? What if rather, the recognized bedrock of functional individual friendship, remains the true foundation of any extended social circle? What if its not the junction of Individuals, somehow to reach out into society, but of relationships to network? What if all things being relative to frame of reference, the social world really does revolve around you? We have clearly seen that happiness depends upon how we engage and relate to one another, each of us, I and thou, gentle reader, just for starters. Needlessly opaque and convoluted heteronymous snake oil of social skills brainwash and granfalloon membership pipedreams have got the cart before the horse!

After all, ostracism, exclusion and social isolation operate not by some abstract divorce of the target Individuals from society as an entity, but by whatever practical means off relational bullying, veritable social network terrorism by whatever means of sabotage and skullduggery undermining connectivity between Individuals. Under heteronomy and the veneration of authority, society has always remained suspicious, hostile, threatening, in short: the enemy, and whatever social skills, aptitudes or cognition however rationalized or romanticized, can be like handling venomous snakes, full time: Better together with trusted friends than all alone with shifty cronies. Whereas the benefits and protections afforded the individual in society, all flower under democracy, autonomy and skeptical suspicion towards authority, especially that of society in the abstract.



Overcoming the boredom prone loneliness of intelligence and creativity

The social engineering of optimal social stimulus struggle, is one way to frame the challenge of actually tailoring social environment to the intrinsic needs of each individual. Discourse pursuant to the social engineering of optimal social stimulus struggle in answer to the agenda by design/agenda of design challenge, is preliminary to the FoolQuest.com design exercise, a specific procedure towards identification of individually unique pleasurable triggers and indicators of value, those rare and fleeting experiences of fulfillment in fully engaged pleasurably heightened sensation of meaning, sensation of meaning, and how maximally to incorporate exactly such very particular stimuli featuring into a social environment.

There are two possible contexts wherein to frame the very concept of all important attachments such as love and friendship. Most obviously, friendship is a relationship over time, but love and friendship are also understood an immediate experience. Perhaps the latter peak experience may be found conducive to more optimal cultivation of the former over time, indeed more so than mere propinquity alone.

Defining our terms:

What are stimuli?

In order better to understand and appreciate the key concept of stimulus struggle, it might first be at all helpful to clearly understand what are stimuli and it what sense the very word is even used. Of course, stimuli, unless subliminal, are consciously perceived. And yet, a stimulus as most narrowly defined, is quite different from the content of sensation most broadly. A stimulus that hardly stimulates, that provides so little stimulation, is not much of a stimulus. Moreover, to begin with, a stimulus most narrowly, is not merely any perception or information, even however Empirical. For example, good food tempts all the senses. Marketing and advertising employ no end of stimuli associated with food. But the experience of peeling potatoes might somewhat fail to arouse, one way or the other, very much more than boredom and irritation. Moreover, an explanation is not a stimulus. Hence, the directions to the cafeteria, even as provided on a floor plan posted for all to see, and useful information as that might be, might not in and of themselves be all that stimulating at all. However the colors used on the signage might be either soothing pastels or vibrant fluorescent hues. And what applies to stimulation in general, applies no less to social and intellectual stimulation, in that likewise, not every Empirical input or information is necessarily all that that stimulating.

A stimulus is an incident suddenly altering experience of the surrounding environment, a momentary event in any way arousing attention and interest, perhaps in violation of expectations, even thence eliciting quick appraisal and triggering response, negative or positive. A stimulus so instantly draws attention to itself by such stark contrast with just prior conditions. Stimuli may be anything perceived and experienced, however reference to stimuli is generally meant in the sense more of visceral arousal rather than merely cognitive input and information. Indeed the sensation, literal or figurative, is immediately different.

Stimulus struggle, what every living thing is doing all the time, is no more or less than the perpetual striving to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation and arousal from the surounding environment. And this includes every crucial social stimulus provided by anyone triggering and eliciting response from anyone else within the same social environment or situation, a process so desperately undermined and subverted under heteronomy in the perpetual rat race out in the endless emotional wastelands of the social minefield.

Arguably, stimuli are the most fundamental meaning of life! To begin with, by definition, tautologically, in the mere literal sense of meaning and linguistic denotation, any definition of life, biologically, as a complex system, must one way or another consider the function of stimulation triggers and arousal. Moreover, in any deeper sense of meaning and value, in any relevant figurative or poetical sense of ever being truly alive, arousal by stimuli likewise figures prominently. Otherwise one may complain of feeling dead inside. Though many crave exactly such release into sublime apathy, however qualified and ambivalent, from life and suffering but without the greater extreme of actual suicide. All such Mystical self-abnegation remains so inherently misanthropic, even decried as cowardly, because by nature we are all sensation seekers. And as Sir Isaac Newton said, the way to to master nature is to serve her. - meeting needs, not thwarting them...
A dog in the park, perhaps coming up and wagging his tail, is a stimulus featuring in the surrounding environment, but a dog appearing and begging only when you yourself begin eating your sandwich, constitutes a response from the surrounding environment. And the present exercise concerns elicitation of innate positive response from the individual, not conditional strokes of inductive behavioral reinforcement of any desired new conditioned behavior. Ongoing stimulus struggle entails that we spend our lives struggling to elicit desired response. It's nice when instead, all too rarely, whatever little gratification comes unconditionally. Also, it's far simpler to program or design stimuli featuring within the environment, than to orchestrate responses laying in wait to be triggered by the subject. Not to get ahead of ourselves.

And because we are social beings, all of this applies no less for social stimuli in specific, than for stimuli in general. There are many complex aspects of social interaction, but at the most fundamental and obvious level, social interaction remains the exchange of social stimuli and response. The most rudimentary stimulus appetite is event hunger, the craving for interesting events. Hence the most rudimentary social stimulus appetite would be social event hunger, a craving for stimulating occurrences of social interaction.

Because of the relentless infiltration amoral and Moralistic misanthropic stealth Behaviorism ever so respectably insinuating itself into every field of scientific inquiry, formal education and walk of life, indeed because of the pernicious fallacious view of Social Psychology as merely an application of Behaviorism, social stimuli may be blithely treated as identical with social prompts. Not so! A social stimulus featuring or situated within a social environment, is a manifest concrete entity (as opposed to an abstraction) producing social stimulation eliciting universal innate social response that are the subject of intrinsic social stimulus appetites. - as opposed to varying behaviorally conditioned social cues prompting in turn, extrinsic elicitation of conditional strokes...

Social prompts are only intelligible at all as shaped by and subtext of social expectations to be met by approved behaviors in elicitation of conditional strokes within extrinsic reward and punishment systems. Hence response varies between cultural milieu, individual personality, experience and behavioral conditioning. Whereas response to implementable effective stimuli, yes, very much including social stimuli, is innate and thus possibly gratifying in its own right. Behavioral conditioning only aims at the inculcation of compulsive compliance and inhibition, but liberating impulsive responses triggered by (social) stimuli correlate with (social) stimulus appetites, the most rudimentary of intrinsic needs, values and motivation.

In animal studies, social stimuli no differently than stimuli in general, may be introduced experimentally under controlled conditions, into the environment of the test subject. But in the context of human interaction, for some reason the term 'social stimuli' is all too often blithely employed interchangeably in denotation of social cues that are learned, or more precisely, behaviorally conditioned. What sly and devious propaganda of Nihilistic value destruction and heteronomy! Intellectual stimulation from the social environment remains ever paramount to all endeavor of FoolQuest.com And because we are conscious, what applies to stimulation in general, applies no less to social and intellectual stimulation, in that likewise, not every Empirical input or information is necessarily all that stimulating. Hence, then, the dire risk of even actually harmfully persistent boredom and loneliness. After all, the engaging and invigorating trigger of intellectual stimulation ever remains an intrinsic need, even neurologically. Intellectual stimulation opens the way for the enthusiastic autonomy of egalitarian close collaborative creative solution finding and thereby liberation from hierarchical heteronomy. Intellectual stimulation Is an intrinsic human need. Intellectual stimulation differs psychologically with individual character, and will therefore defy precise definition. Intellectual stimulation engages thought and imagination to challenge ambitious capability to insightfully identify and find creative solutions to problems. And yet intellectual stimulus deprivation remains pandemic. Clearly, either the system is broken, or else individual failure and confusion can actually be intentional, even deliberately brutal boring Absurd and irrelevant Zen surreal by design, brainwash to break the will, indeed as it has been since antiquity.

A hallmark of the compliant and complacent conservative character or personality is the the boundless capacity to endure boredom. And in the annals of formal education as readily observed in so many other social institutions such as religion, politics and employment among others, the tradition is recorded even most anciently in Plato's Academy, of deliberately and calculatingly quashing the very intellectual freedom and Dialectical intellectual stimulation so cherished by and fatal to Plato's beloved but impractical mentor Socrates, via the deliberate infliction of boredom in order so diligently to weed out innovators by contrast so often characterized by boredom proneness, and of novelty that ever threatens change. For many are the sages of old in fervent embrace of the value of social stability at any cost, the maintenance of sheer conservative inertia even in the most arbitrary status quo. -And therefore concerning themselves in all gravity with the contrivance of reliable production process and systematic filters of endlessly bland mediocrity enduring to this day, bureaucratically screening out deficiency and excellence alike and entirely without distinction. Indeed such remains the function of peer review in academic publication, and worse, of the FDA in the approval of medicines. No snake oil and no breakthroughs either. For in every context and walk of life, such is heteronomy and the dread of all temptation into nonconformity replete with any possibility ever of Socratic Wisdom in acknowledgement of ignorance and uncertainty, with ongoing error detection and correction in the name of progress day by day.

What is the social engineering of social stimulus struggle?

Social engineering is an application of social science in effort to influence particular attitudes and social behaviors as desired in whatever target population great or small, from vast nation states to far smaller working groups and social circles. Social engineering may conceivably focus upon any different aspects of the human condition in society, with any range of objectives, including the optimization of social stimulus struggle.

As in accordance with the Arousal Theory of motivation, all living beings are perpetually engaged in stimulus struggle, which is the name coined by anthropologist Desmond Morris in 'the human zoo' October 1 1969, for the perpetual striving of all living things, to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation and arousal from the surrounding environment. And by extension, social and intellectual stimulus struggle herein denotes the perpetual striving of very human psyche, to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of social and intellectual stimulation and arousal from the immediate social environment. Indeed, everything that we do is in order to modify subjective experience thereby altering consciousness. All hence, as herein proposed, the social engineering of social and intellectual stimulus struggle would contrive the deliberate introduction of specific social stimuli and social interaction, into the immediate social environment, in order better to optimize social and intellectual stimulus struggle.

And as, still in accordance with the Arousal Theory of Motivation, according to anthropologist Desmond Morris in 'the human zoo' October 1 1969, in order to meet the all consuming challenges of survival in the wild, constantly foraging for resources and opportunity in order to survive, all opportunistic species including Homo Sapiens, have evolved to become intensely exploratory, with "a biologically built-in demand for a high stimulus input from his environment. In a zoo (or a city) it is clearly these opportunist species that will suffer most from the artificiality of the situation. Even if they are provided with perfected balanced diets and are immaculately sheltered and protected, they will become bored and listless and eventually neurotic. But opportunist animals do not give up easily. They react to the unpleasant situation with remarkable ingenuity." But what if instead of merely reacting individually, intelligent human beings might overcome slavish drone like domestication and become proactive in collaboration?

To reiterate, stimulus struggle, what every living thing is doing all the time, is no more or less than the perpetual striving to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation and arousal from the surrounding environment. And this includes every crucial social stimuli provided by anyone triggering and eliciting response from anyone else within the same social environment or situation, a process so desperately undermined and subverted by heteronomy in the perpetual rat race out in the endless emotional wastelands of the social minefield. In any alternative, what then are the most promising options in the social engineering of any fundamentally better situation, the social engineering of more optimal social stimulus struggle? How can individuals more happily interact? Exactly how might change be effected, so happily overcoming resistance and inertia? And what precisely is the bearing of creativity? These are no idle question, but the ever daunting outreach of FoolQuest.com! Everyone is different. perhaps somehow neither fiction writing nor new venture creation (various business startup) appeal. Fear not however. I do not have what you want, but dare we seek for it together?

Boredom after all, is an acute lack of excitement and often accrues from the dire mismatch of intrinsic motivation and relevantly pleasurable activity to unique individual value, given any dearth of adequately engaging alternatives often for want of authentic autonomy supportive respect and often in response to pressure. Stimulus struggle then is the struggle against boredom, and social stimulus struggle is the struggle against loneliness consisting of any deficiency or discrepancy between ones own desired versus actually achieved or at all available, quality of social interaction, stimulation, arousal and communication.

The social engineering of more optimal social stimulus struggle, is one way to frame the challenge of actually tailoring social environment to the intrinsic needs of each individual. Discourse pursuant to the social engineering of optimal social stimulus struggle in answer to the agenda by design/agenda of design challenge, is preliminary to the FoolQuest.com design exercise, a specific procedure towards identification of individually unique pleasurable triggers and indicators of value, those rare and fleeting experiences of fulfillment in fully engaged pleasurably heightened sensation of meaning, and how maximally to incorporate exactly such very particular stimuli featuring into a social environment. Indeed, quantitatively and qualitatively optimal investment and exchange of time and attention together that we all so crave, in synergy so crucial to authentic well being.

Many struggle simply to avoid unpleasantness. And that is a sore travail. But others actually enjoy and embrace struggle, engaging with the disruptive and uncomfortable as meaningful growth opportunity and even the great blessing.of Positive Disintegration. Struggle engenders focus and reflection. “To whom much is given, much is required.” Luke 12:48 NKJV. But if only we shall rise to the unique and vital challenge of sapient consciousness and the human condition, of intentional purposeful interaction and intentional substantive communication, of intentional creative solution finding and collaboration, then stimulus struggle so-called, as at rare optimum may become easy and delightful, not dire struggle at all, then is 'struggle' the correct word? Answer: To be Existentially honest, yes, sometimes, indeed all too often, it is. A brief word, however, in defense of true struggle:

Not only pleasurable engagement, but sometimes even ongoing engagement in struggle, difficulty and discomfort, can be a blessing, frequently remaining needful and invigorating for growth, both of character individually and of meaningful relationships. For such is life. But that remains no excuse for coercion and abuse supposedly in order to build character, as in formal education among other needlessly destructive ordeals. Not to digress. By contrast, all too infrequent gratifying high points of optimal stimulus struggle, so named, can be effortless and spontaneous, far from struggle at all. Gratifying high points of optimal stimulus struggle, struggle so called, shape and express personal values of arête, experience of excellence in life. Stimulus struggle, struggle indeed, thereby motivated, thence escalates under such heightened expectations that inspire progress.

Human happiness greatly hinges upon the efficacy of stimulus struggle, particularly of social stimulus struggle. First of all, pleasurable wellbeing is attained during more optimal stimulus struggle, particularly social stimulus struggle. Secondly, it may be that more optimal social stimulus struggle remains the true key to life, after all! More optimal social stimulus struggle heightens performance, sustained cooperation and results. More optimal social stimulus struggle is more sociable. Better sustained and more optimal social stimulus struggle is more optimal also for making connection, forging and nurturing relationships, even friendship. But more optimal social stimulus struggle in the gratification incident hunger, is more specific, focused, experiential and observable than more broadly any objective of the better meeting of needs. All therefore, better understanding of social stimulus appetites remains ever crucial.

In the words of Simone Weil: "The malheureux need nothing else in this world but men capable of paying attention to them. The capability to pay attention to the malheureux is something very rare, very difficult; it's almost a miracle. Almost all those who think they have this capacity, don't. Warmth, the heart's reaching out, pity, all these are not sufficient. [...] Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” And in the words of Barbara Sher: “Isolation is the true dream killer, not your attitude.” Indeed, inattention, indifference and distance, are already invalidating, let alone more overt invalidation, denigration and abuse particularly as of pandemic serial bullying. Whereas, validation may come in the form of sympathy and understanding, indeed as expressed in agreement, approval or indeed amplification upon anything another says. However, as the saying goes: “Actions speak louder than words” because in the words of Karan Gaur: “Effort is the best indicator of interest.” The very term 'probortunity,' of course, has been coined as a portmanteau of the two words: 'problem' and 'opportunity,' in order to press home the point that problems present opportunities. And the probortunity at hand here on FoolQuest.com consists in the challenge of best filling the gap, meeting underserved need, via creative solution finding in design thinking social engineering of more optimal social stimulus struggle, most especially and particularly collaboration among equals, the most generously validating exchange of effort and interest indeed speaking louder than so often facile verbal positive strokes, let alone the malignant conditionality of dysfunctional codependent co-validation. Creativity can and Should be Social. Collaboration in fiction writing and new venture creation (various business startup) may serve as powerful Dialectical tools toward subversive and disruptively innovative solution finding in the social engineering of more optimal stimulus struggle, even tailor made to the individual. Gentle reader, what are your own frustrated life satisfactions and corresponding underserved stimulus appetites?

There are two possible contexts wherein to frame the very concept of all important attachments such as love and friendship. Most obviously, friendship is a relationship over time, but love and friendship are also understood an immediate experience. Perhaps the latter peak experience may be found conducive to more optimal cultivation of the former over time, indeed more so than mere random and incidental propinquity alone.

Heaven remains an imagined condition of plenty of whatever has been most scarce in any given life experience. And Heaven on Earth would be any thriving association wherein individual needs are routinely fulfilled rather than frustrated. In 'The Conquest Of Happiness' 'Chapter 1: What makes people unhappy?' Bertrand Russell writes: "The typical unhappy man is one who, having been deprived in youth of some normal satisfaction, has come to value this one kind of satisfaction more than any other," But perhaps Russell is too quick to dismiss as mere fixation, whatever one's favored, most valued and cherished kind of unmet satisfaction. Instead, there might be here an important self-knowledge of what one craves most dearly. Can such various satisfactions be investigated, categorized and then intentionally instigated and triggered?

Towards social engineering an intentional social environment for the optimization of social stimulus struggle, first imagine cheating by just scripting actors in order to produce the intended experience, superficially, or similarly, programming non player characters in a videogame simulation. Then go deeper and commit to the World-Building in earnest, so that actors will not be required. Indeed, any behavior or interaction that may ever conceivably be scripted, may conceivably be elicited by whatever situation, more organically. And tailoring whatever situation is of essence in designing social environments to satisfy hither to deprived and personally valued satisfactions in life, after triggering the corresponding immediate stimuli and appetites.

A possible step-by-step design procedure is elaborated in further detail in the design exercise section.

We all form each our own vivid picture of fulfillment in what we want our lives to be and to experience, and particularly in the imagination of an ideal and better engaged social circle, the better to connect to vital resources and meet personal needs, tangible and intangible, all crucial to experiencing optimal fulfillment in authentic well being and human thriving. The social engineering feasibility study at hand, remains precisely how, in what way or manner and by what strategy of means, step-by-step process or procedure, to optimize social stimulus struggle via the implementation of whatever more gratifying and effective modes of social interaction, after all else has failed, that which has actually been yearned for all along, perhaps achieved by the purposeful introduction of key social stimuli into the social environment, even doing so intentionally and at will.

To reiterate, a dog in the park, perhaps coming up and wagging his tail, is a stimulus featuring in the surrounding environment, an unconditional stroke, whereas a dog appearing and begging only when you yourself begin eating your sandwich, constitutes a response to the correct trigger, from the surrounding environment. a conditional stroke. However, the present exercise concerns elicitation of innate positive response from the individual, not conditional strokes of inductive behavioral reinforcement of any desired new conditioned behavior. The proverbial shoe is figuratively crafted to fit the metaphorical foot. The foot need not be cut to fit the shoe. Ongoing stimulus struggle entails that we spend our lives struggling to elicit desired response. It's nice when instead, all too rarely, even whatever small gratification ever comes unconditionally, featuring within the surrounding environment, readily available, standing in plain sight. Also, it's far simpler to program or design stimuli plainly featuring within the environment, than to orchestrate conditional strokes, obscure responses hiding in wait to be triggered by the subject.

Stimuli featuring or situated within a (social) environment, may be said to take the first move, rather than coming in response as does a conditional stroke. Social stimuli featuring or situated within a social environment, initiate simply by being blatant and unavoidable within said social environment. A stimulus is a trigger for whatever response. As a feature within an environment, a stimulus, unlike a conditional stroke, does not itself need to be activated or triggered: It only needs to be anything at all concrete and glaringly obvious enough to be experienced, so as to as to gratify some or other stimulus appetite, triggering innate response with no prior behavioral conditioning. Even moving shadows in vaguely human form may be features within a social environment, that are also social stimuli triggering some response. Real events in which the any of latter may be involved, are the outside source of stimulation experienced. Social stimuli here refer specifically to the objects of immediate term events experienced, however one might categorize them. piquing any manner of intrinsic appetite which is an impulse, as distinct from compulsive or behaviorally conditioned social cues or prompts of extrinsic reward and punishment triggering or eliciting skilled correct operant versus howsoever incorrect or inept inoperant response. Any appetite systematically and continually gratified may conceivably yield its corresponding life satisfaction. But approval seeking only accrues emptiness, irrelevance and alienation from just being controlled. Behaviorally conditioned social cues or prompts are extortion and conditionality, whereas social stimuli triggering innate response, are unconditional stroke, engaging temptation free and clear, even a pure gift, gratification with no other objective except for intrinsically motivating good and wellbeing.

Intentional Community

As Epicurus most anciently observed, human beings are by and large so frequently inept at achieving happiness. We often tend to find ourselves figuratively barking up the metaphorically wrong proverbial tree. However actually motivated psychologically, such prevailing misguided and even irrational inoperant behavior does seemingly correspond with all manner of false premise as to the means and causes of happiness. One way or another, a common theme remains the diversionary allure of extrinsic motivation away from true fulfillment of relevant intrinsic motivation. Therefore, if we are truly free and in control of own individual faculties at all, then let us first reflect each upon our scarce and prized moments of happiness.

Consider if you will, the simple and elegant social engineering initiative of Epicurus who declared: “Not what we have but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.” Epicurus espoused Eudemonia to be found in freedom, friendship and thought, recommending never to eat alone. Epicurus and his followers set up a sort of anti-materialist slacker farm commune simply in order to be able to eat well while living modestly within their means and by a fairly light workload, thereby to to fend off the dystress of burdensome social and financial obligation, all in order to support and sustain an ongoing convivial philosophical dinner conversation. Indeed, for Epicurus, the garden serves as a symbol for his ideal of ataraxia (ἀταραξία), of tranquil pleasure. All thus could they live lives of relative ease, day to day, in freedom, friendship and thought: Freedom is defined in negative terms, as freedom from the rat race, friendship around the dinner table still leaving open every question as to the nature of friendship, and intelligent discussion as intellectual stimulation, food also for thought and reflection, leaving open any question as to how and why communication ever triggers deeper cognition, and further questions as to the nature of and reasons for whatever corresponding satisfaction. All interesting questions. In any case, such was the simple and elegant strategy of Epicurus in stimulus struggle which is the continual striving to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation, including gastronomical, social and intellectual stimulation, from the environment, for staving off boredom and loneliness. A travesty of the rôle of gardening in the ideal and intentional community of Epicurus, rears its ugly head in modern recommendations of community gardening providing behavioral structure of regularly scheduled activity and association sustaining propinquity while also producing any interaction and sense of involvement to draw participants together. Not to digress.

Indeed, Online, in the virtual world, the real world logistical problems and material necessities confronted by Epicurus, all fall away! All that remains, is to define, initiate and sustain the desired conversation. And nothing turns out to be more difficult! Largely because discourse and planning bridging between the philosophical and the pragmatic or practical, the strategic and the tactical, the abstract and the concrete, remains so heteronymously taboo. Among the burning issues to discuss, are various lifestyle considerations and yearned for freedoms, wherein one might find the slacker frugality of Epicurus both disagreeably austere and over simplistic, if actually not somewhat dull. Indeed, not everyone so appreciates farming or gardening, or going off the grid. There also remains every question of what one might seek from human interaction, relationship and attachment, from friendship, and in human endeavor. That is where the analysis of the range of social stimulus appetites enters, and of the kinds of corresponding discrete events. And inevitably must arise the social engineering challenge of harmonizing often conflicting priorities, by creative solution finding.

The various designed and chosen lifestyles of what are called: intentional communities, are typically such as are supported by brick and mortar infrastructure even far beyond the modest and simple dormitory, dining hall and gardens of Epicurus and his followers, indeed even on the scale of an actual entire town, with residence therein and management and operation thereof, all according to whatever ideology. For example, communes of every stripe and scale, indeed, realistically, at least initially, any smaller intentional social circle or group. Indeed community may simply comprise any number of individuals linked by any manner of common policy, endeavor or enterprise, one way or another, either by happenstance haphazardly, or indeed, intentionally. Most ambitious of all, the United States of America were founded upon a constitution, an intentional social contract superseding previous social contract arising over time and into which we are all simply born, entirely unconcluded. Any new venture creation (various business startup), inception proceeding in accordance with a rigorous business plan, might therefore be regarded as an intentional community of some kind. Ideo, for example: The culture of design thinking, which is itself the carefully crafted product of design thinking. A large corporation is typically comprised of many employees all supported by highly capable organization and impressive physical infrastructure. But any organized human interaction on any scale, might benefit from any better planning from inception onward, no less that by inevitable evolution by trial and error thereafter. So a garage startup or a virtual company online, although entirely without any such complex resources as Ideo or any other major corporation or similar institution, might still be undertaken as intentional community subject to some or other manner of design thinking. Moreover, if community is indeed no more than aggregate relationship, then in that context, why does no one consider the application of whatever appropriate design thinking, in the better framing of purposeful relationship intentionally? This very question persists from antiquity, no less relevant today and into the indefinite future. This proposal is a call to action beginning with feasibility study of any prospect of more optimally arousing and gratifying our underserved social stimulus needs via even immediate scale intentional community. -Something so crucially important, typically left to chance or to whatever powers that be, setting agendas of their own and sealing our fates. It remains so disheartening how many people experience the same frustrated yearnings, and yet so utterly fail to find one another and connect, for wont of the wherewithal, the channels and the means.

Every inane cult like bogus success scam proffers glowing claims of efficacy and results, only given inductee perseverance and sacrifice. But life, so the saying goes, is also the journey and not just the destination or objective no matter how noble and appealing. Therefore even though, of course, planning and execution ever remain an exercise in deferred gratification, in the interim the ongoing arousal and gratification process of more optimal stimulus struggle free from threat, remains no less key to authentic wellbeing or: Eudemonia. -Stimulus struggle being the perpetual striving to regulate, to obtain and maintain, the optimum kind and degree of stimulation, including social stimulation, from the environment, for maintaining optimum degree and kind of arousal, thus staving off both boredom and loneliness...

And all of this will be especially important in order to sustain any long and arduous struggle in subversive and disruptively innovative close collaboration, inventing, developing and constructing any new beginnings together, when nothing less will do because turn-key readily available conventional options are all so oppressive. Hence, in order to forestall otherwise inevitable attrition, let us confront the challenge to functional relationship and therefore to effective social engineering and planning even on a fairly immediate scale, of intentional intrinsically fulfilling exchange of social stimuli from interaction in close collaboration. The present text is a proposal to the agenda to seriously consider precisely an entirely feasible immediate scale social engineering of intentional community, and then an outreach for interested founding participants. Such are the frontiers of autonomy.



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