A Thumper Stumper

Most people are innumerate. Let me break down what I mean. Recognizing the 26 letters of the standard alphabet as such does not mean you're literate. Similarly, recognizing the digits 0 through 9 does not mean you understand what the numbers are telling you. Let me illustrate with a simple example. Imagine the following sequences:

1,2,3,4...

2,4,6,8...

How do you distinguish between the two sequences in the long run? You might recognize the 1st set as the set of counting numbers and the 2nd set as the set of even numbers. That's looking at each set separately and locally. But if you keep going both sets go towards infinity.

1,2,3,4...∞

2,4,6,8...∞

How do you distinguish between the end results if they both go towards infinity?

Which ∞ did I just pluck from the sequences above? You wouldn't know. Both sequences just keep marching on their respective paths forever.

Won't every number in the second set be found in the first set eventually? So how do we make meaning and evaluate these dual and dueling infinities. Well, to answer the question outside of these specific examples, you might begin by recognizing that not all infinities i.e. infinite sets of numbers are created the same. Some infinite sets are dense in a way others are not but, in this example, density isn't the issue. The way to gain an understanding of both is through comparison or a ratio. That's how you illuminate the relationship between the sets and see what's happening long term between the two. I'm using the simplest example possible with numbers to prime you to eventually deal with people.

So now let's switch to a real world example. Imagine if we have a bunch of rabbits in a field. The rabbits begin consuming everything and reproducing wantonly. You then attempt to restore balance to the ecosystem by selecting every other individual rabbit you find and training them. You train them to be disciplined. You train them when to eat and when to f#ck. It takes 6 -12months. But you did it. You now have many well-trained, well-behaved rabbits that you can release back into the field. What's the problem with that as a way to improve the life of rabbits overall? The problem is, what happened to the environment you released them back into while you were training them? It got worse. The remaining rabbits breeded and so did their offspring. You actually have more rabbits now than before your selection. You taught them etiquette and then released them back into an environment worse than the one you pulled them from. Pulling rabbits one or even several at a time simply prolongs the inevitable...at best.

This is the problem with bootstrapping as a solution to systemic problems. The effort required to make a so-called good one can't counterbalance all the damage done by the so-called bad ones during the same time period. To employ this strategy may mean a possible short term W for the individual when they are removed and retrained, but it is an inevitable L for everyone in that current conceptualization of the community. Bootstrappers can be seed planters for a better future, but understand they will be planting seeds in the ashes of the communities they came from.