March, 2023 Download
Umm.. 1984 called, they want their dystopia back.
Updates!
This last month has been a roller coaster of emotion. The constant barrage of political and economic alarm bells has kept my mood relatively low. I’ve been trying to take time and ground myself in a world that seems to be perpetually spinning out of control. The blanket of ennui has been perforated with little glimours of joy however; I was offered graduate positions at both UBC and at UC Berkeley! I’m still waiting to hear about the financial stuff, but it feels really good to have my hard work recognized by a board of random admissions people. I’m not sure where I am going to end up next year, but I have no bad choices in front of me.
Future Plans!
If I decide to attend UBC, I will be working with Dr. Ryan Ziels towards a Masters in Applied Science (MASc) of Environmental Engineering. I’ve worked with Dr. Ziels before and he is a really kind, knowledgeable individual. I have the opportunity to work on one of two projects: the first would be the development of a wastewater treatment method for organic nitrogen removal, and the second would be the development of bioreactors for the chemical and/or biological conversion of CO2 into methane. With both of these projects I would get to work on engineering microbial systems to perform a specific task. The potential for this type of work is massive, and I think this type of technology is only going to grow more impactful the more it's developed.
The UC Berkeley program is an industry focused Master’s of biological engineering. Hopefully I will be able to work on the development of bioreactors and biological systems in this program as well. This M.Eng. program is accelerated and would only last 1 year. I have also been admitted to the MBA program at UC Berkeley (deferred admission), so after the completion of the M.Eng. program I could potentially move directly into an accelerated MBA program.
A lot of this is still up in the air, and I need a bit more information (from the schools) before I can fully make a decision.
Insights/thoughts!
In regards to Sustainability
Everyday it feels like our world takes one step closer to a LARP of The Handmaid's Tale. It’s definitely hard to feel like there is any hope for our society, but I’ve been finding glimmers of hope in some interesting places. There’s a really inspiring youtube series called Hard Reset by Freethink which explores implementable solutions to change the world. One covers vertical farming–a technology which will help our economy become more circular, grow food more locally (even in a crowded city), and make farming more sustainable. They have many videos which are super educational, ranging from new solar technologies to reshaping our roads and neighborhoods. If you are wanting to check out new technologies and emerging sustainability markets, I would definitely give the series a watch. There are also some really cool small creator pages which have really cool artesian and sustainable content: Acorn Land Labs and PARAGRAPHIC.
I’ve also come across some really interesting companies which are trying to make ethical and environmental sustainability the norm:
Etee is a company which sells toiletries and other detergents/chemicals as concentrates. When you buy detergents and other toiletries from the store they contain like 90% water. Etee sells you the concentrated chemicals, in a nifty little wax compostable package, so you can limit plastic pollution and save some bucks.
Good People Inc. is another interesting company; they are essentially an ethical amazon. They only sell products which are sustainably and ethically sourced. The company is still small, but the idea is incredible.
Sleep Trailer LLC is also a smaller startup which is tackling a really big issue. They build mobile trailers which have 8 lockable sleeping pods (each 8ftx5ftx4ft) which can be used for disaster relief, rehab shelters, homelessness, and much more. The idea is simple, but the potential social impact is massive. By giving people experiencing homelessness (refugees, disaster survivors, the socioeconomically burdened) a safe place to sleep and secure their belongings, they have the energy to pursue opportunities which can help them get back on their feet. It’s not a complete solution to homelessness (as the issue is a symptom of much more systemic social and economic problems), but it’s a step in the right direction.
In regards to Belief,
I had an interesting conversation with someone who was taking a survey on God. They believed in the traditional Christian teachings of God, and it was very enlightening to hear them talk about their beliefs. At the beginning we had a lot in common; We both believed in something greater, which is incomprehensible to the human mind; We both agreed that the meaning behind most spiritual views and Jesus’ teachings essentially boiled down to “don't be dick.” After a very engaging, and encompassing conversation we begin to find friction. I believe that everyone should be able to believe in whatever they want, as long as those beliefs don’t impinge upon other’s autonomy. I also think that every spiritual path, and–at their core–religious practices, have their merits. They are all just frameworks we use to try and understand the incomprehensible. This is where the surveyor and I found frustration. They believed that their framework was required to have a connection to a higher power, and began to pitch it. After a while I asked them this: “What is important to you out of this interaction? Do you care that I have a connection to something greater than myself, and through that find a connectedness with the world? Or do you care that I believe in your framework, and any divergence from that is a failure? If the latter is true, is that in line with your teachings to ‘not be a dick’?”
They did not have a response, but the interaction was extremely valuable to me. It helped me understand the trap of religious doctrine, and the shift of christianity away from worshiping the teachings behind the symbols (‘be a decent human’) towards worshiping the symbols themselves (‘this is exactly what the Bible says, and anything else is wrong’). When we forget the importance of myth and symbolism, we lose the benefits of our framework. The point of any spiritual practice is to simplify incomprehensible truths into neat little digestible packages. Your practice loses all its importance when you sacrifice The Meaning behind the symbols for the symbols themselves. Don’t get me wrong, symbols are important. But symbols are important only because of what they represent. To worship the symbol and ignore what it represents feels like the most blasphemous (pardon the biblical language) thing you can do.
Suffice to say, the issue is not inherently with the framework of religion(s). It’s with people’s inability to accept ambiguity. The existence of my perspective does not, and never has, invalidated anyone else’s perspectives. My reality and your reality are equally true, even if we believe in fundamentally different things. I think helping people understand this is the only way to heal the damage that immutable religious frameworks have done to our society. By allowing for ambiguity in our world views we can be exposed to so much more life and experience than if we are rigid and unable to see past our own frameworks.
Music
If you want some more soulful music, I gotcha:
Hozier | Spotify (especially the new EP)
… but if you’re feeling in the mood for a good ol’ head boppin’ check this out:
Readings
I haven’t been hitting the podcasts too hard this month, but I have been re-reading some of my favorite books:
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hess - A beautiful exploration of our struggle with duality of ‘human’ and ‘animal’
He by Robert A. Johnson - Continuing on with the usage of myth to understand difficult topics, this book explores the modern wounds of masculinity and manhood through the framework of the myth of Percival and the grail. Johnson also wrote She, a book about femininity through the framework of the Psyche mythos. I enjoyed the book, but I also took it with a grain of salt; I’m always a little hesitant to accept an old white guy's perspective on the feminine and womanhood.
Something a bit shorter:
About the Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
About the 6 companies who control 90% of the US media outlets
Closing Remarks!
Thank you all for your time and attention. I am really enjoying the process of writing these letters, and it feels good to have an outlet for all my internal ramblings. As things start getting crazy for me I may swap over to a more bi-monthly emailing schedule. I will still aim for a monthly update, but I may fall a bit behind (I apologize for the inconsistency, but those who really know me are probably not surprised). I hope everyone has a wonderful spring! Get out there and do what rabbits do! (Rabbits hop around in the sun, get your minds out of the gutter.)
All the unconditional love,
