Stream Theory

Published on January 31, 2016 (↻ June 6, 2021), filed under Philosophy (RSS feed for all categories).

Not just since the Law of Attraction is there this idea of “like attracts like,” of self-fulfilling prophecies, of better being “careful” what we wish for. While I do believe in (but don’t practically grasp) the Law of Attraction, I don’t like to work with it philosophically yet (perhaps because of said grasp). But there’s a similar concept that I do like to work with, and that’s focus.

Here I’ll put up one more brief thought experiment. Look at the following ideas and associations.

Against terror	For peace
Take revenge	Recognize root causes
Bomb people	Take care of people
Mistrust	Find out motivations
Tighten control	Reach out to dissenters
Cut rights	Strengthen liberties
Reject	Talk
Resent	Forgive

Compare (note that these aren’t and don’t have to be opposites). Then look at this one.

Against cancer	For health
Condemn disease	Celebrate health
Increase research	Build up faith
Worry about life’s weaknesses and insufficiencies	Trust life’s resilience and strength
Complain about injustice and unfairness	Understand disease as a space to grow and learn
Transcend technical limitations	Transcend philosophical limitations

Compare again. Extend if you like. Now this:

Against gender bias	For gender equality
Emphasize injustice	Highlight desirable outcomes
Blend gender and oppression	Understand the importance of all beings
Build up rage against other gender	Develop a feeling for differences and similarities across genders
Propose quota to force one gender into, the other out of functions	Allow for equal educational opportunities to permit people to assume functions by qualification, not gender

Understanding that we’re looking at these from a light philosophical point of view, what do you notice? Do you think the sides are equally valid and useful? Do you think they lead to the same results? Which course should we take—individually, collectively?

I will conveniently fall back to my student role and, until I can find out whether someone else has done similar with like intent, label this: stream theory. Why? Because how we think seems to impact how we further think, making for thought… streams. Stream theory. But maybe I’ve just lacked patience to think about a better title for this post.

About Me

I’m Jens, and I’m an engineering lead and author. I’ve worked as a technical lead for companies like Google and as an engineering manager for companies like Miro, I’m close to W3C and WHATWG, and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

With my current move to Spain, I’m open to a new remote frontend leadership position. Feel free to review and refer my CV or LinkedIn profile.

I love trying things, not only in web development, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my views and experiences.