Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests.
Raise your hands for me if you know the significance of November 17, 1883, Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. This happens to be the time that the Edison Electric Illuminating Company of Mount Carmel was founded.
Does anyone here know the significance of William Kemmler in New York's Auburn Prison on August 6, 1890? He happens to be the first person electrocuted on the electric chair.
A mere seven years between the inception of a new technology and it's first application to kill someone. Clearly human beings have a nasty little habit of killing each other with each new technology.
I'd like to spend the next few minutes talking about the examples of our nasty little habit, pontificate as to the causes of why we do this, and what the future may hold.
Kubrick's 2001 shows the first time an ape used a bone as a tool, it was to beat another ape. This is probably not far from the truth. Survival of the fittest is not only related to different species, but within the species itself.
Gunpowder apparently had been used for warfare before fireworks in China, and it still is the most popular method of killing each other today.
Einstein expressed mass-energy equivalence in 1906, and in 1945 the atomic bomb leveled Hiroshima. The two aren't exactly related, but that realization was needed before an atomic bomb can be constructed.
Why do we do it? This is what kills me. How is it someone can look at a brilliancy in science, one that reveals an understanding of our universe that was never expressed, and the first application that comes to mind is how big does it blow up?
I'll plagiarize a bit and state that it is the combination of tribalism and the hubris or arrogance of the tribal leader.
Jared Diamond wrote "Guns, Germs and Steel", a fantastic read, and he discusses the origin of human society and how Europe dominated the last few centuries. He started with prehistoric man, and noted with anthropological evidence that local society started with agriculture. Resources were conveniently located in one place to pillage, which then led the villagers to protect their land and food. Realizing the difficulty and competition, the tribal leader organizes an army and uses religion or patriotism to convince the populace it's right and just to kill their enemy. And this method is still in use today.
But what motivates the leaders? The real motivation of the leader is described in 1984, it is simply that they have the lust for power. They believe, for whatever reason, that their decisions are of monumental importance, and other people's lives are ancillary casualties. Ask Joseph Stalin, 'One death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic.'
So what does the future hold? We continue to invent new and exciting technologies, so how are we going to use them to kill each other?
Just guessing, current technology waves are in genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics.
Genetic engineering: 'Gattaca' is perhaps the best visualized look into the future of genetically improved human beings. It started with improvements to the babies, which then led to discrimination against those adults who weren't improved. More than anything, this one scares me. How long before they find ways to remove defects such as a conscience?
Nanotechnology: Michael Crichton's 'Prey' was a bit more farcical, but if tiny machines could collaborate together, damage could be done. I'm a little less worried about this right now.
Robotics: This is clearly Hollywood's favorite...everybody remembers the Terminator, and let's not forget the cylons of Battlestar Galactica, they were ruthless...and hot. But seriously, the closer we get to artificial intelligence, the more likely it will realize how flawed we are.
I've talked about examples of our nasty little habit, the history of it, and what can come next.
But I would like to be more proactive about this. How can this endless cycle be stopped? If we don't stop it, it won't be long before we let out a danger that we cannot stop and we will all die.
Maybe what we need is a new way of thinking, a kinder, gentler way for mankind to thrive. Clearly, the present leadership will not suffice because they are tainted. Just look at the wars going on today. A new leader will have to take office, and it will not be an easy task. They will resist. Follow me, while some people may die, we can change this horrible behavior, and secure a better world for our children.
After all, didn't Thomas Jefferson say the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots?
Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests, thank you for your time.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Man's Best Friend
Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests.
One night when I was seventeen years old, I was driving home. I was about 500 yards before a two lane bridge, and there was a car approaching from the other direction. All of a sudden, another car from behind the car entered my lane and was coming at me head on. He showed no signs of stopping, and there were cars along side the shoulder because people were night fishing, and my only hope was an empty space on the shoulder before the bridge. I accelerated my car, slammed on the brakes, and steered into the shoulder while stopping barely before the bridge rail in front of me. The jerk driver never slowed down, and he actually had the nerve to honk at me as he drove on by.
As my heart slowed down, I realized that if I had done anything differently, I would have been dead. That's when I learned to love man's best friend, fear.
I have to think that fear is an emotion that evolved quickly through the process of natural selection. Early cavemen without fear were soon dinner. "Me Ogg, me no afraid of sabre-toothed tiger..." But what is fear, and why does it seem to cripple some, while others are seemingly unaffected by it?
I'd like to spend the next few minutes talking about various perspectives on fear, people's response to fear, and how to cope with it.
Perspectives on Fear
Some common quotes on fear...
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In my view, this is proof good public speaking can make pure nonsense sound reasonable (which sadly is how most politicians get elected). People are afraid of things that can harm them, fear can harm you only if you let it.
A quote from my favorite bad movie, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins--"Fear is a feeling, you feel hot, you feel angry, you feel hungry, you feel afraid. Fear will never kill you."
This argues that fear is largely a physiological response, and I believe this idea has merit. I'll discuss more on this later.
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."--Mark Twain. Mark Twain makes an important point, it's not that people who seem unaffected by fear are not afraid, instead, they learn to perform while they are experiencing fear.
So if fear is just a feeling, what is going on in your body when you are experiencing fear?
Responses to Fear
Fear is the body's response to a threat. Relying on Wikipedia, physical responses to fear may include:
1. Release of adrenaline
2. Pupils dilate
3. Blood vessels for muscles dilate, providing more oxygen to muscles..
4. Increased blood flow also increases the nutrients supplied to muscles
5. Perspiration increases (you've seen this on open-mic night)
6. Personal observation, time slows down, or maybe I process my information more quickly.
7. In extreme cases, relaxation of the bladder and colon, often to embarrassing consequences.
All of these responses are to assist in the fight or flight to a physical threat, and it is a great way to run from the sabre toothed tiger. However, these responses aren't ideal for social situations, and they can lead to not only freezing and panic ('going tharn' in Watership Down), but also anger or boisterousness. Often times the bully, or 'that guy' in the party is really exhibiting false bravado, they are just as scared as the person they are intimidating (or annoying).
When you recognize the many ways people respond to fear outside the normal deer in the headlights response, you learn to detect when people are afraid. When you know what someone fears, you also learn a lot about them.
Coping with Fear
How to cope with fear. An eternal question. I think the first thing to recognize is that fear is not a bad thing, it is healthy. But because it's a change in your physiological condition, you need to adapt your mindset to the body's state. Not relying on any other references besides my own musings, I would offer the following advice.
-Breathe. If the first response of the body is to increase oxygen flow to the muscles, the oxygen must be replenished. If you are not breathing to compensate, your body will feel oxygen starvation. Consider another state when the body is feeling oxygen starvation: drowning. So what does a drowning person often do when they realize their life is about to end? Panic. Which is exactly the wrong thing to do in almost any situation. So when you are afraid, remember to breathe.
-Focus and act: Now that you're breathing, you are less likely to panic. Great, but it's also time to realize that you need to act now. What put the fear in you is the realization that action is required. Assess the situation with your heightened senses, process it, and make what you perceive to be the logical choice. Most of the time, doing something is better than doing nothing. Most of the time, but remember choosing not to act can be the best action.
-For events where fear will be there...practice makes more perfect: Mary Schmich (of 'Wear Sunscreen' fame) said 'Do one thing each day that scares you.' It's good, solid advice. If you are accustomed to being afraid, you become comfortable acting while you are afraid, and then you learn how to manage it. Plus, it can be a lot of fun.
-Finally, Goethe said, 'Be Bold, and Powerful Forces Will Come to Your Aid.': Others say fortune favors the bold, but I think the reality is those that act in the face of fear have acted when others chose not to, and they yielded the rewards of their bravery.
Now let's go back to the opening of my speech. When the car entered my lane, I could quickly see that there were cars on the side of the road that I needed to pass. Remember it was dark, so my eyes had dilated. I was working with seconds, but time seemed to slow down. I made a decision very rapidly and executed it with precision. I didn't panic, I acted fast. All of the symptoms of fear were present that evening, and because of them, I'm alive today to talk with you fine people. Therefore, fear is, indeed, my best friend.
Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests, thank you for your time.
One night when I was seventeen years old, I was driving home. I was about 500 yards before a two lane bridge, and there was a car approaching from the other direction. All of a sudden, another car from behind the car entered my lane and was coming at me head on. He showed no signs of stopping, and there were cars along side the shoulder because people were night fishing, and my only hope was an empty space on the shoulder before the bridge. I accelerated my car, slammed on the brakes, and steered into the shoulder while stopping barely before the bridge rail in front of me. The jerk driver never slowed down, and he actually had the nerve to honk at me as he drove on by.
As my heart slowed down, I realized that if I had done anything differently, I would have been dead. That's when I learned to love man's best friend, fear.
I have to think that fear is an emotion that evolved quickly through the process of natural selection. Early cavemen without fear were soon dinner. "Me Ogg, me no afraid of sabre-toothed tiger..." But what is fear, and why does it seem to cripple some, while others are seemingly unaffected by it?
I'd like to spend the next few minutes talking about various perspectives on fear, people's response to fear, and how to cope with it.
Perspectives on Fear
Some common quotes on fear...
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In my view, this is proof good public speaking can make pure nonsense sound reasonable (which sadly is how most politicians get elected). People are afraid of things that can harm them, fear can harm you only if you let it.
A quote from my favorite bad movie, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins--"Fear is a feeling, you feel hot, you feel angry, you feel hungry, you feel afraid. Fear will never kill you."
This argues that fear is largely a physiological response, and I believe this idea has merit. I'll discuss more on this later.
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."--Mark Twain. Mark Twain makes an important point, it's not that people who seem unaffected by fear are not afraid, instead, they learn to perform while they are experiencing fear.
So if fear is just a feeling, what is going on in your body when you are experiencing fear?
Responses to Fear
Fear is the body's response to a threat. Relying on Wikipedia, physical responses to fear may include:
1. Release of adrenaline
2. Pupils dilate
3. Blood vessels for muscles dilate, providing more oxygen to muscles..
4. Increased blood flow also increases the nutrients supplied to muscles
5. Perspiration increases (you've seen this on open-mic night)
6. Personal observation, time slows down, or maybe I process my information more quickly.
7. In extreme cases, relaxation of the bladder and colon, often to embarrassing consequences.
All of these responses are to assist in the fight or flight to a physical threat, and it is a great way to run from the sabre toothed tiger. However, these responses aren't ideal for social situations, and they can lead to not only freezing and panic ('going tharn' in Watership Down), but also anger or boisterousness. Often times the bully, or 'that guy' in the party is really exhibiting false bravado, they are just as scared as the person they are intimidating (or annoying).
When you recognize the many ways people respond to fear outside the normal deer in the headlights response, you learn to detect when people are afraid. When you know what someone fears, you also learn a lot about them.
Coping with Fear
How to cope with fear. An eternal question. I think the first thing to recognize is that fear is not a bad thing, it is healthy. But because it's a change in your physiological condition, you need to adapt your mindset to the body's state. Not relying on any other references besides my own musings, I would offer the following advice.
-Breathe. If the first response of the body is to increase oxygen flow to the muscles, the oxygen must be replenished. If you are not breathing to compensate, your body will feel oxygen starvation. Consider another state when the body is feeling oxygen starvation: drowning. So what does a drowning person often do when they realize their life is about to end? Panic. Which is exactly the wrong thing to do in almost any situation. So when you are afraid, remember to breathe.
-Focus and act: Now that you're breathing, you are less likely to panic. Great, but it's also time to realize that you need to act now. What put the fear in you is the realization that action is required. Assess the situation with your heightened senses, process it, and make what you perceive to be the logical choice. Most of the time, doing something is better than doing nothing. Most of the time, but remember choosing not to act can be the best action.
-For events where fear will be there...practice makes more perfect: Mary Schmich (of 'Wear Sunscreen' fame) said 'Do one thing each day that scares you.' It's good, solid advice. If you are accustomed to being afraid, you become comfortable acting while you are afraid, and then you learn how to manage it. Plus, it can be a lot of fun.
-Finally, Goethe said, 'Be Bold, and Powerful Forces Will Come to Your Aid.': Others say fortune favors the bold, but I think the reality is those that act in the face of fear have acted when others chose not to, and they yielded the rewards of their bravery.
Now let's go back to the opening of my speech. When the car entered my lane, I could quickly see that there were cars on the side of the road that I needed to pass. Remember it was dark, so my eyes had dilated. I was working with seconds, but time seemed to slow down. I made a decision very rapidly and executed it with precision. I didn't panic, I acted fast. All of the symptoms of fear were present that evening, and because of them, I'm alive today to talk with you fine people. Therefore, fear is, indeed, my best friend.
Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests, thank you for your time.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
An Inconvenient Truth
Written and presented by Dennis Hussey at
Electric Toasters Club Contest (first place out of two)
Area C3 District 4 Humorous Speech Contest (first place out of three)
Division C District 4 Humorous Speech Contest, October 23, 2009. (third place out of five).
Electric Toasters Club Contest (first place out of two)
Area C3 District 4 Humorous Speech Contest (first place out of three)
Division C District 4 Humorous Speech Contest, October 23, 2009. (third place out of five).
Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests. Does anybody here know the name Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? For those who don't, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was considered one of the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks, and after his capture he was, and I believe still is, being held at Guantanamo Bay. During his imprisonment, he was reportedly waterboarded 183 times.
When I heard about this, two things came to mind. The first thing is what is it like to have a job where you go to work so that you can see someone repeatedly say (take a sip of water and gargle) "I'm telling you that's all I know!"
The second thing is that while it is clear that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a horrible man, and the world be a better place if he took things less seriously, one thing that I can say about him is that I am certain that he can keep a secret.
A secret is simply the act of withholding information. However, they clearly have a greater impact on human history besides being a plot device for bad situation comedies. A secret truly is an inconvenient truth.
Allow me to discuss for the next few minutes the different types of secrets, how people react to secrets, and maybe, just maybe, how you can keep a secret.
Types of Secrets
I view secrets in terms of who holds the information, and from whom is the information withheld. Therefore I separate them into three categories:
Personal secrets--A personal secret is information that one person withholds from the rest of the world. Everyone in this room has something about them that they choose not to broadcast. It may involve Las Vegas, or New Year's Eve, or red and blue flashing lights. Perhaps all three in one secret. Who knows. One thing I do know is that of all of the secrets, these are the kind that are best kept.
Secrets kept from one person--These secrets are when one or more people keep a secret from one person. They can lead to a Merry Christmas, when parents keep the secret of the Christmas gift from their child. Or they can lead to an un-merry divorce. When she found out about that New Year's Eve in Las Vegas with the red and blue flashing lights.
World secrets--Secrets where some people try to keep information from many people. Some people generally refer to governments, corporations, or private clubs, and the many people range from the competition to the entire world. What is astounding is the amount of resources and efforts the world governments, for example, will expend to keep, or find, these secrets.
For example, if the Allies couldn't keep a secret and Hitler knew we were coming from Normandy and not Calais, we would all be eating brats, drinking beer, and speaking German. Or, if the Rosenbergs could have kept a secret, the Russians may not have gotten the nuclear bomb, the Cold War wouldn't have happened, and we would be paying much less for Cuban cigars.
People's Reaction to Secrets
Again, I view there are two types of people with regards to how they respond to secrets. Those who can keep a secret, and those who can't.
Let's discuss those who can't keep a secret. Frankly, this is most of the world. When it comes to keeping secrets, you're all a bunch of miserable failures. Having a secret for most people is like having extra money, they need to show the world they have it by giving it away.
Then there are those who can keep a secret. I like to refer to them as...friends. That I can go to Vegas with on New Year's Eve, hopefully without the red and blue flashing lights.
So how can you tell when someone can keep a secret?
The most obvious way is give someone a secret and see if the information is returned to you through another person. This can be dangerous.
A better way is to see how people respond when a secret is revealed in their presence. If they don't react at all, or if they provide additional information, then the odds are good that they knew that information and kept it from you. If your relationship with that person is good, they may be able to keep another secret at a later time.
How To Keep a Secret
So how can you tell when someone can keep a secret?
The most obvious way is give someone a secret and see if the information is returned to you through another person. This can be dangerous.
A better way is to see how people respond when a secret is revealed in their presence. If they don't react at all, or if they provide additional information, then the odds are good that they knew that information and kept it from you. If your relationship with that person is good, they may be able to keep another secret at a later time.
How To Keep a Secret
So, how do my friends keep a secret?
First and foremost, Don't announce you have one! Every time I hear, "Hey, can you keep a secret?" I reply, "Yes, and I know now that you can't." It is much easier to hide something when nobody knows of it's existence.
First and foremost, Don't announce you have one! Every time I hear, "Hey, can you keep a secret?" I reply, "Yes, and I know now that you can't." It is much easier to hide something when nobody knows of it's existence.
Another idea, forget that you know it. This gets easier as you get older. But seriously, if you're not thinking about something, you're less likely to talk about it. Put it out of your mind.
For secrets that people know that you know, and involve guesses, (for example, Christmas presents etc.) agree to whatever they guess.
"Daddy, am I getting a pony for Christmas?"
"Yes honey, you're getting a pony. We'll keep it in your room."
For some reason it's harder to detect a false affirmation than a false denial.
For world secrets that people suspect exist, another tactic is to provide numerous conflicting pieces of information. Everyone in the world knows that the CIA and FBI knew everything about the horrific attacks of September 11th, but what they seem to forget is that they also knew everything about the horrific attacks of March 14th, April 27th, and September 12th. It's much easier to hide a needle in a bunch of needles.
I've talked about the types of secrets, how people react to secrets, and how you can keep a secret. Hopefully there is a little insight to remember from this missive, but perhaps it's too much to remember and you need a simple fallback. In that case, I would recommend the words of Benjamin Franklin and the Golden Rule of Secrets.
"Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead."
Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests, thank you for your time.
Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests, thank you for your time.
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