[xx-10] Brick One

I tend to understand things in terms of "arguments." Arguments need to adhere to a certain kind of "logic." There's a mathematical logic, and what I would call a "human logic." We live in an era of "big data." While often touted as used to advertise and police, my concern is for how things are argued. In my attempt to display the “human logic” of an “everythingist” who cares about a whole assortment of complicated problems, I want to lay out the foundation of my argument and activist machine.

One person, in 2-3 hours can “note” 25 articles from an rss news feed. After 2 articles you'll sense a “rabbit hole” problem. But, nay, it is an opportunity. My goal is to draw as many logical lines towards the next step in as many processes as I can personally affect. So, for example, if I come across an article some new material that is supposed to make solar panels more efficient, as a “regular person” never going to be an expert in perovskite I can note it's existence, who's writing about it and when, pros and cons, and move right along.

In a way, everything can be regarded as a first step that paints a broader picture. Perovskite comes up again in another site with slightly different information to contribute, and a few articles before that you learn of colloidal quantum dots which would also like to be a player in what makes solar panels more efficient. Who knew you could even bolster your perspective of efforts pimp out panels with moth eyes? My thought immediately jumps to investing. Wouldn't you want to know the state of the various methods and compounds that are going to infuse the solar market? Barely scratching the surface I get to start a spreadsheet “Compounds to keep tabs on” which begs the question who's developing them and what time frames are we looking at?

But even this is still too abstract. I want to enable people at a local level. So, where do we go after learning about Virginia private colleges and what an $800,000 federal grant does for their efforts? Now I'm clued in to what the government is actually allocating and where. New spreadsheet “Government Grants.” If I'm trying to get you to apply, might it be relevant to hand you the program most relevant on a silver platter? These schools are just in the exploring stages, having been allocated this insane amount of cash to do the kind of fact finding that a handful of people could pull off in a few days with Google and a phone. If I can find inefficiencies and undercut other applicants, how many opportunities can I open up for similar projects in other states or schools?

And I say local and manage to not even talk yet about Indiana and net metering. My stabs into “the whole world of solar” clued me into a fight at least in my own back yard. One person, 2 hours, and now I know I dislike HB 1320 and messaged the Mark Maassel guy who's president of the old energy group making really shitty arguments against net-metering. Broad void of information condensed to something “anyone” can do.

I could find a way to artfully place every hyperlink to every article that could serve as a seed. But the point is not to inundate you with things you're not going to click and read. The point isn't to show off “how smart I am.” The point is to direct the sea of information into the most pathetically easy things YOU can do to fix things I care about. Incidentally, it'd be great if you had the time and inclination to care as well, but wish in one hand, shit in the other, then ask which fills up first.

My engine is 10 or 20 “little researchers” who can plug in the variables of any topic, not unlike what I imagine journalism used to operate like, and it boils down not into a simple “here's me reporting on what's fucked up” but “here's the smallest easiest thing you can do to see some cause and effect.” It's not mindlessly dumping money into a charity you don't whether or not is actually helping. It's not asking you to “trust” me or it to be anything more than as good as its inputs. I want facebook or Instagram level of participation leading towards change. Or better stated, I want the effort exerted to feel like that's all they're doing. Why fight the conditioning if you can figure out how to exploit it?