Terrence Fugate wrote: > OK a bit of my background so what I'm going to say has some context. > [My background is odd] > I have a BS in electrical engineering and that was my professional > life, I also have a BS in physical anthropology, a masters in European > history with special emphasis on the 30 years war. Physical > anthropology required taking ~90% of the same classes as the cultural > folk. Mathematics, economics, and East Asian languages degrees here. Plus long-term residence outside the United States. > So I look at HBP's universes from a odd perspective. I'm fascinated > by his technology and his sociology. Paula was one of my favorite > characters. I want videos of her Quinceañera. > Societies are complex, really complex. Can't begin to understand them > with our best computers complex. Try to understand finance and drive > yourself crazy complex. > > A lot of things have to work just right for the society to function > and survive. It doesn't make any real difference if the society is a > theology, democracy, socialist, communist or representative democracy. > Some forms of governance increase the chances a society will face the > challenges necessary to survive. > > In spite of 50 years of study, I'm not sure we humans understand all > the things that have to work right. There are so many feedback loops, > some positive, some negative. I accept we humans may never know all > the variables necessary for a society to survive. > > Foxx et al (the command staff with Merlin) were presented with enough > data to convince them the Federation was beyond its use by date and > the collapse couldn't be changed. > > Let us say you (every member) is the head of government of the > Canada, Russia, Great Britain, China or the USA and your specialists > came to you with illruftable data showing your polity's days were > numbered, and if you released that data, everything would collapse but > keep quiet and someone might manage to build something new before the > long darkness fell. But why wait for someone? Why not try to deliberately get ahead of that amorphous someone or someday?
