workings of change

I realize that this article is shit, but I'll probably return to it to continue working on it. It still conveys the general message I meant, so I'll leave it up for now.

intro

I've often wondered about how change works. Everyone seems to fear change, yet many people also seek change in their own lives. Changes occurs in many forms, though the main two may be classified as personal change and mass change. Personal change may be defined as the altering of things in one's own life different from one's routine or the things they have grown used to. Mass change would be the altering of things which impact everyone, though usually impact each individual less than their own personal changes do. Change can be both voluntary and involuntary.

Personal change is most common, and it is the one that most people think of when they hear of change, except in the context of politics (though the political sphere never changes and never makes any meaningful changes to the rest of the world). The voluntary changes are usually intended, though sometimes people are uncomfortable by them and feel forced to do them by other people (though obviously only you control your own choices, and if you don't then you should probably change that). These voluntary personal changes may come in the forms of an altering in one's routine or schedule either merely for the purpose of trying to prevent themselves from falling into the same boring routine, or to "improve" themselves in one way or another i.e. dieting, exercising, or picking up a new hobby. Involuntary changes come from the person's environment. These changes may be more subtle, such as the way someone's stylometry may change as they consistently talk to someone who talks differently from themselves. It also may be change that one feels forced into by a change in their environment, such as the introduction of a child into their home. These personal changes, of either kind, are usually contemplated by people with intent or occur subtlely with a focus on the subconscious. These subtle changes ultimately cause the biggest decisions in someone's life.

The mass changes are rare. Very little ever changes in the world, as it seems to be controlled by the same people as most others follow like sheep. However, they do occur similarly to personal changes. Though it is very different in that it happens more as a mass concept than as one inside of each individual's mind fully fleshed out, it still is essentially the same in the way it occurs. They can happen voluntarily by a group of people, in things such as reform, civil war, and revolution. These also happen involuntarily through cultural and social changes, such as a change in appropriate dress and mannerisms. They also happen through subtleties, or at the very least through many small changes.

As I have noted, the biggest changes in one's personal life and in society generally occur involuntarily or subtlely. In a stroke of genius, Dostoevsky displays his own psychological knowledge when Raskolnikov chooses to sit on the couch in Crime and Punishment. In this very moment, he chooses his fate to murder. It is not the thoughts that follow, nor is it that he had some grand moment wherein he randomly thought to murder. Rather, it is his choosing to sit down on a specific couch at a specific moment that caused for such great actions to occur. Miniscule details and subtle changes ultimately lead to massive consequences and great changes.

personal change

Now that this has all been established, I may begin to scrutinize specific types of change within these two categories which I have given myself. I have already begun to do so a bit, but I will continue to do so further on the rest of this page. {Section Under Construction}

mass change

To begin, I would like to examine a type of mass change: (inter)national change in society and/or politics. Specifically, I am examining the major changes which people would like to make in the world; either in people's behaviors or in government, economics, standards, etc.

To begin, people seem to all want to make major changes to the world. Most people merely complain about the topics which are approved for them to complain about, such as some sort of make-believe injustice or adding restrictions to people to satisfy some random loudmouth sheep i.e. mandating masks or creating traffic laws. Even the actual revolutionaries or idealists seek out imaginary change that they have been taught to seek. In reality, this type of change does not exist and is a trap designed to prevent real change. The trap is the belief in sudden or large change. In reality, as I have previously established, true change comes from extremely minor changes clustered together or subtleties which impact people's ways of thinking with rapidity. One cannot tell another what change ought to occur and expect for it to occur; rather, one must slightly nudge a person in a direction and allow for the person to do the rest. They will come to a similar conclusion if the initial person is even slightly rational. This goes along with the idea that people respond better to being led to the truth, rather than told the truth. The radicals have always focused on making these major changes, often through violence, and have always failed. The actual changes come from a mere suggestion to the right ears at the right time, or things gradually building up until all the little things shout at us that a change must occur, and that we can no longer remain silent. The former may also be seen by some as the manipulation used in the film Inception, through the planting of a seed in someone's mind. This is a bit different, as what I am suggesting requires no manipulation, but rather the truth.

This is why no real changes have occurred; why we aren't living in anarchy; why we aren't living as the teachings of Jesus have taught us to. We continue trying to make major changes, instead of allowing for the slight changes to occur in ourselves and allow them to be noticed by others. The point I am trying to make is that even mass change in many people occurs through many slight things, instead of a large explosion or a single moment of realization. Though some thinkers, such as Nietzsche or Tolstoy, have stated that their ideas all came together and hit them at once in a major epiphany, they are either exaggerating or not acknowledging their own progression. The process of change in oneself, and in this case by many individuals by mass change, is the product of many subtle or small things all clustering together. They may shout at you an epiphany, or it may still be gradual even when they are right in front of your eyes. Either way, if we want change in the world then we must allow for it to occur slowly and perform small actions which merely show people the change we wish to make. The intelligent will soon follow, and they will lead the sheep with them.

The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.

George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman