The Coming Singularity

As we approach 2050, it is projected that human consciousness will encounter a superior intelligence for the very first time: artificial machine intelligence. It is important for us to understand the evolutionary impact of this event, but also that we are being altered from the inside out for the singularity to arise.

Are we ready?

Will we be adaptive?

How will we change?

The Coming Singularity explores the psychological impact of the changes coming our way and the many adaptations we will have to make.

We are transitioning to a world of one degree of separation, with only the illusion of privacy, autonomy and anonymity. All of us are undergoing a transition to an electronic identity, one that can reach back and change the real you. The question going forward will be, who is the real you?

A cluster of psychological symptoms are evolving from our technology interface––Identity Diffusion. Its key feature is the de-realization of life.

Direct brain-to-technology interfaces will soon render our brains an open-source forum. We need to discuss who is in there and why!

The impact of e-technology on human identity will be profound, but it is also a prerequisite for machine intelligence to arise. We need to discuss this.

We humans reside in complex, dynamical networks. The goal of artificial intelligence will be to evolve and stabilize these networks. And we may not be the priority.

The Amazing Wildlife in the Prince Albert National Park

They say that patience is a virtue. How true that is, especially when it comes to watching and enjoying the amazing wildlife that one can see at the Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan. I certainly enjoyed many magical experiences as I watched how amazing the wildlife was. From otters to minks and from beavers to black bears, not to mention groundhogs and wolf pups.

There are amazing birds that one can see, from American white pelicans to belted kingfishers to the amazing fishing ability of the great blue heron, even ospreys, bald eagles, and merlins. It was amazing how much wildlife I was able to see by just being at the Waskesiu River. Even though I had to spend from one to almost three hours every day, it was certainly worth my time to be able to enjoy animals in their natural surroundings and to see the amazing abilities that they possess.

Roads to COVID-19 Containment and Spread

Eight democratic countries traversed the road to remarkable containment of COVID-19 in 2020-2021, five without economically damaging shutdowns. During the first two years of the pandemic, the United States and the United Kingdom each had COVID-19 death rates per population 6 times higher than any one of these eight countries and more than 135 times the best. Why?  This book reveals successes and mistakes in science, governmental policies, and politics that vastly altered the incidence and severity of COVID-19 in different parts of the world. The author explains his research in a near conversational, human-focused approach understandable to nonscientists. The topics range from the nature of coronaviruses to the economic consequences of the pandemic. The movement toward a “new normal” of living with the virus is dangerous, he writes. Without recognition of governmental policy failures and implementation of new science-based policies, periodic surges in infections will continue and more lethal mutations cannot be ruled out.

Radical Resilience

In this incredible world of diversity, there is a darkness that blinds us from recognizing the beauty and value of all humanity. We are held hostage by our misconceptions, prejudices and fears.

How do we break free?

There is hope in the darkness. Beacons of light shine amongst us revealing the goodness of mankind. These courageous ones are moved by the people before them. They see into the human heart and respond with compassion. They understand their responsibility to partner for justice, creating a Radical Resilience that causes people to rise above their circumstances to thrive.

May the power of partnership create a Radical Resilience that changes the world.

Nurturing Creativity Through Poetry Writing

After a few years of teaching high school English, Michael was disillusioned with uninspiring conventional curriculum. Good students simply tolerated the boring content-driven curriculum better than the less academically inclined students. He started reading about an old concept, through a new term: Emotional Intelligence. An epiphany struck: If emotional intelligence (EQ) development was more of an indication of future success than IQ and was vastly more teachable, why did schools not emphasize the development of emotional intelligence?

For the next 25 years as a high school English teacher, Michael drew and learned from vast resources to better understand, articulate, and embed Healthy Habits of the Mind in his everyday lessons. He developed a list of Healthy Habits of the mind which he could discuss with students. Appreciating a curriculum that became relevant and engaging, students invested energy and often discovered their own creativity and voices.

Eventually, Michael understood how developing writing skills and Emotional Intelligence strengthen and reinforce each other. Students who took more risks, succumbed to fewer fears, and developed a revision mentality were better at all life’s tasks, not just writing.

Learning, Healing, and Change: Notes on Teaching in Testing Times

Drawing on illuminating stories from thirteen years as a public school teacher, Ms. Coolidge challenges cultural assumptions about effecting learning and change, making a compelling case for a bigger-picture perspective in the classroom and in society at large. She shares personal insights about learning as an innate gift, similar to healing, which is fed by responsive interactions. Learning is at the core of all human endeavors and is essential for individual well-being, democracy, and social progress. Although rigid separation is our cultural habit, good teaching is embodied, integrated with the arts and play, and engaged with diverse perspectives. Ms. Coolidge offers food for thought on how 21st-century federal education reforms, by elevating the status of words and right answers at the expense of connection and meaning, have played a key role in a reactionary cultural backlash.

Futurecide

Every civilization in history has faced moments of overwhelming existential crises, and they all eventually collapsed. Was this failure inherent in the evolution of civilization, something within the human species, or a combination of both? More importantly, was it predictable and unavoidable? Most civilizations believed they had a special relationship with the divine and were beyond the laws of nature. Our current economic civilization is now global and interdependent. Today’s economy is responsible for the most rapid mass extinction in Earth’s history. We face imminent catastrophic climate change and environmental disruption, yet the same sense of exceptionalism and hubris clouds humanity’s judgement and ability to act rationally.

Environmental disruption is making the planet uninhabitable. No economy can consume its way out of scarcity. This law of nature conflicts with many longstanding economic theories. Sheltered and self-absorbed elitists promote lies and prey on humanity’s most vulnerable instincts of pecking order, conformity, and obedience to authority. These primal instincts may be maladapted to civilization in its current form. Today’s elitists are choosing mass extinction in a false belief in their own invincibility. To survive, humanity can no longer follow delusional leaders to self-destruction.

In non-technical language, the author explores common phases in the development of past civilizations, and the critical junctures and decisions that made collapse inevitable. He investigates the linkages and contradictions between human social behavior, the economy, and the environment. In the closing pages, he identifies a clear path to redemption.

Economic Myths and Economic Realities

The world’s ten richest countries have about 60 times the income per capita of the bottom ten. Nobel Prize-winning economists have acknowledged their ignorance regarding the sources of economic growth. This explains why, despite considerable financial assistance, the gap between poorer and richer countries has grown year after year, both globally and within countries like the USA and Europe.

Using straightforward statistical diagrams, this book explains approximately 90% of the variance in income among countries or states. First, it empirically demonstrates what does not work – the myths – from reindustrialization to Keynesianism. Then, it examines the real drivers of growth by evaluating whole countries (public, social and private sectors combined, including the non-working population) as companies, assessing their business administration across areas like marketing, work culture, strategy and operations. After all, numerous multinationals are larger than countries.

The lessons are twofold: First, nothing is more pointless than perfecting the irrelevant. Second, there are no underdeveloped countries, only undermanaged ones (P. Drucker). The wealthiest countries are, overall, the best-run companies.

Discover the Matrix

The most dangerous move in business is the failure to see the space between. What's the greatest crisis among Leaders today? According to Harvard Business Review (Apr 2020), leaders are living in crisis with no modern-day precedent. Governments, corporations, hospitals, schools, and other organizations need now, more than ever, are "real leaders" people who "help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own."

Like most, real leaders are not born; having the ability to help others see the space between is not written into their genetic code. Many leaders are forged in crisis. Prime Minister Winston Churchill encouraged his people to keep the faith: "We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle, nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools, and we will finish the job."

This book provides today's leaders with the tools to get the job done; the skills to see the space between. Challenging conventional wisdom, self-imposed limitations, and abstract obstacles, global business coach and leading keynote speaker Angela Cusack dares you to Discover the Matrix.

Curious Facts from the Deep

Oceans cover about 70% of the Earth's surface. Only 5% of the oceans have been explored so far. Most people know little about marine life. We love diving, and in Curious Facts from the Deep, we bring stunning photography and interesting little-known facts to your attention.

Cry Tears of Blood

Cry Tears of Blood is a testament of Cpt. Jose ‘Pepi’ Granado’s (Ret) passion and service within the law enforcement community and a cleansing of his spirit. It was meant to purge the inner demons he encountered while investigating one of his most horrific cases as a young investigator. This book will transport the readers to a crime scene so gruesome that even seasoned veterans were shocked. 

Cpt. Granado was haunted by this investigation for many years, unable to speak of the disturbing act. His account will guide the reader throughout the course of the investigation, trial and bring them face-to-face with evil and the heartbreak of a mother. After so many years, this book was his way of beginning the healing process.

Conscious (R)Evolution, Humanity, Insanity, and the Planet

In Conscious (R)Evolution, Humanity, Insanity, and the Planet, the author brings together two powerful insights: that all life on this planet is interconnected, and that humanity’s current path of consumerism and industrialization is leading to catastrophe. From deforestation to pollution, we are damaging the very environment that sustains us. This book asks us to stop and consider the bigger picture: as an intelligent species, why would we willingly destroy the planet that gave us life? With urgency and clarity, the author calls for a new way of living, one that recognizes our place in the natural world and uses our intelligence to create a better future for all.