I was chatting with a thoughtful tennis-playing friend and we were discussing the binary nature of life. It too often seems about us versus them, one side versus the other, Republican versus Democratic, or black versus white. I also think of the ‘battle’ sometimes as between new versus old. As my friend was suggesting, it should more about new AND old. In this manner, I was thinking of my new book project, where I’m trying to make an alliance between the old 19th century manner of writing a book in episodes in weekly publications. This was the manner that Charles Dickens, among other notables, published his novels. I’m writing my book in episodes and publishing them on this Substack platform that was created in 2017. Hopefully, a good example of the old marrying the new.
I’d love to hear from you of other binary propositions that are working together. Any suggestions and examples are welcome!
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You are spot on Minter! Binary nature of things seem to chop up the space we live in. Between each binary sides of concept is a dividing line in virtual space which seems to expand into the physical space too.
For example, Mountain lions now live in smaller patches between the diving lines (highways, cities and etc). see the article "Highways are Making California's Mountain Lions Inbred and Aggressive" https://gizmodo.com/highways-are-making-californias-mountain-lions-inbred-a-1621929166. Animals can no longer roaming the land free as 200 years ago. Their space has been divided up.
The human space seems to be similarly divided. People used to easily gather at town square or neighborhood streets where the space is not owned by anyone. Neighbors can bring coffee and a chair to the street and chat. Kids can play together while adults having coffee. The coffee cost maybe a few cents. Now people go to Starbucks to talk, pay a price 10 or 100 times more than the coffee at home. this leads to the question: Is the city landscape with all those buildings starbucks or not, a dividing line among people?
Really interesting points, Ming. The opportunity to go and MINGle is much reduced in our time-strapped, efficiency-seeking lives. One could thus argue that the creation of "safe" spaces means that the open spaces are much reduced too. The metaphysical version of inbreeding (of the mountain lions) is our echo-chamber of small, cramped communities.
This year, I’ve notice profile changes regarding gender identity changes. Male vs female vs gender neutral. Not certain if this is considered an example of new vs. old or a separate example but there are some who prefer not to identify as a female or male and refer to pronouns; she/her, they/them, he/him.
I find this very confusing. Is this to take the place of their name?
Agreed Minter! I've been thinking a while that humans seems to be very geared towards binaries - north vs south, east vs west, communism vs socialism. Perhaps we are shaped still by our tribal brains. I'm always amused professionally with the perimeter walls that are build with whatever you do - in marketing I've found it's 'agency vs client', 'in-house vs out-of-house', 'product marketing vs brand marketing', b2b vs b2c'. (in the old days: offline vs online marketing). And countless more. It's all just people doing stuff! Work - and the world - would be a trillion times better if people could switch out of this 'us vs them' mindset. We need opportunities to become more empathetic, particularly to understand other specialisations at work.
Yes, the world of AND rather than VERSUS. In competitive situations, it is a statement of fact that it's VERSUS. But when it comes to relationships, even with an outside vendor, it surely shouldn't be in the VERSUS mode. I was always shocked by the highly aggressive and ugly the "relationship" between buyer and seller in FMCG was (probably still is). In the mode OLD and NEW in the relationships, there's one constant, as Scott pointed out, which is the human element.... So, whatever the NEW tech, we still need to remember that we've been around for a while as a species... and we've got some of that programmed into our DNA...
Oh, you know where I come down on this argument! Writing Timeless & Timely, I'm a full believer of old AND new. Why? Simply put, the one constant throughout recorded history is human nature. It's why ancient mythology, the Bible, and stories from throughout our past are still relatable today: because the humans in these tales all have similar ways of thinking and reacting.
The wonderful thing about studying the past is that it gives you a pathway to the future. The future becomes far less unpredictable if we understand what the likelihood of human response is going to be.
And bravo to your Substack plan! I've heard of at least one other author doing the same, and it's a wonderful way to bend the new technology to an old method.
Indeed, Scott. In Timeless, we can read: Classic (and Old)? In Timely, we can read: Now (and New)? I had a long internal debate while writing "You Lead," about which was more important: Past, Present or Future in terms of how you organise your life. If you read the aphorisms or epithets of famous and learned people, it's all over the board. To wit:
• “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” - Buddha
• “If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future.” - Winston Churchill, “The Finest Hour” speech made June 18, 1940 in the House of Commons
• “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” - George Bernard Shaw
Ultimately, I think you'd agree Scott. It's a concoction: you must combine the reading and memories of the past, prepare for the future and yet live in the present.
You are spot on Minter! Binary nature of things seem to chop up the space we live in. Between each binary sides of concept is a dividing line in virtual space which seems to expand into the physical space too.
For example, Mountain lions now live in smaller patches between the diving lines (highways, cities and etc). see the article "Highways are Making California's Mountain Lions Inbred and Aggressive" https://gizmodo.com/highways-are-making-californias-mountain-lions-inbred-a-1621929166. Animals can no longer roaming the land free as 200 years ago. Their space has been divided up.
The human space seems to be similarly divided. People used to easily gather at town square or neighborhood streets where the space is not owned by anyone. Neighbors can bring coffee and a chair to the street and chat. Kids can play together while adults having coffee. The coffee cost maybe a few cents. Now people go to Starbucks to talk, pay a price 10 or 100 times more than the coffee at home. this leads to the question: Is the city landscape with all those buildings starbucks or not, a dividing line among people?
Really interesting points, Ming. The opportunity to go and MINGle is much reduced in our time-strapped, efficiency-seeking lives. One could thus argue that the creation of "safe" spaces means that the open spaces are much reduced too. The metaphysical version of inbreeding (of the mountain lions) is our echo-chamber of small, cramped communities.
This year, I’ve notice profile changes regarding gender identity changes. Male vs female vs gender neutral. Not certain if this is considered an example of new vs. old or a separate example but there are some who prefer not to identify as a female or male and refer to pronouns; she/her, they/them, he/him.
I find this very confusing. Is this to take the place of their name?
It's definitely dans "l'air du temps." It's how they wish to be addressed or referred to.
True, it’s all part of the changing times.
Agreed Minter! I've been thinking a while that humans seems to be very geared towards binaries - north vs south, east vs west, communism vs socialism. Perhaps we are shaped still by our tribal brains. I'm always amused professionally with the perimeter walls that are build with whatever you do - in marketing I've found it's 'agency vs client', 'in-house vs out-of-house', 'product marketing vs brand marketing', b2b vs b2c'. (in the old days: offline vs online marketing). And countless more. It's all just people doing stuff! Work - and the world - would be a trillion times better if people could switch out of this 'us vs them' mindset. We need opportunities to become more empathetic, particularly to understand other specialisations at work.
Yes, the world of AND rather than VERSUS. In competitive situations, it is a statement of fact that it's VERSUS. But when it comes to relationships, even with an outside vendor, it surely shouldn't be in the VERSUS mode. I was always shocked by the highly aggressive and ugly the "relationship" between buyer and seller in FMCG was (probably still is). In the mode OLD and NEW in the relationships, there's one constant, as Scott pointed out, which is the human element.... So, whatever the NEW tech, we still need to remember that we've been around for a while as a species... and we've got some of that programmed into our DNA...
Agreed, the 'Yes, And...' model here could help frame thinking. Working with rather than in opposition.
Oh, you know where I come down on this argument! Writing Timeless & Timely, I'm a full believer of old AND new. Why? Simply put, the one constant throughout recorded history is human nature. It's why ancient mythology, the Bible, and stories from throughout our past are still relatable today: because the humans in these tales all have similar ways of thinking and reacting.
The wonderful thing about studying the past is that it gives you a pathway to the future. The future becomes far less unpredictable if we understand what the likelihood of human response is going to be.
And bravo to your Substack plan! I've heard of at least one other author doing the same, and it's a wonderful way to bend the new technology to an old method.
Indeed, Scott. In Timeless, we can read: Classic (and Old)? In Timely, we can read: Now (and New)? I had a long internal debate while writing "You Lead," about which was more important: Past, Present or Future in terms of how you organise your life. If you read the aphorisms or epithets of famous and learned people, it's all over the board. To wit:
• “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” - Buddha
• “If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future.” - Winston Churchill, “The Finest Hour” speech made June 18, 1940 in the House of Commons
• “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” - George Bernard Shaw
Ultimately, I think you'd agree Scott. It's a concoction: you must combine the reading and memories of the past, prepare for the future and yet live in the present.
Thanks for popping along for the ride, Scott!