~ Social Engineering ~

Yes ... I've had a bit of an epiphany and thus I've come to the conclusion that social engineering is quite cool actually. Hence, we shall for now no further go into why I might have thought otherwise. I mean, it's been one of those uncertainties that I've come around clearing up.

If you're catching a slightly cynical vibe - well, that's ... my bad I guess. See, the issue is this: Before we can talk about social engineering, we first have to understand social mechanics. And I think it's perfectly reasonable to think and talk about those. I'm sure there is some woke/anti-woke stuff we can go through, but for now ... the only thing that's really been on my mind, well, is a bit of a joke. And I'm being serious here. I have this idea which I suppose is at its core a comedy bit.

So far, well, you've not encountered me saying that it's not OK to make fun of the Americans; And today ... is another day where I don't do that. To be fair, it isn't an exclusively American issue either, but ... I mean, the idea with social mechanics is something about consequences; And when looking for what might be the hard facts on this matter available to us; I wasn't first of all thinking about the ins and outs of social etiquette and all that nonsense. I was rather thinking about ... oh, which reminds me: A quick detour before I forget it:

Which is the best Country?

So, I was thinking ... and to me it seemed relevant to have some standards when thinking of these things. "The best country" is, in this sense, a question for what it is we want out of life. What we want or need our governments to do. I mean, national pride is easy and easily ignorant of that question. I mean, if you check for nations with like the most national pride ... I'm not sure if those square up with what standards we'd have. Well, sure ... I'm sure the American is jumping uneasily trying to get their "Murica Best" bias confirmed - but we'll get to that in the actual bit. I mean, sure we'll then talk about living standards and the such ... but eventually things do get incredibly subjective I worry; Like ... I think I can be glad to live in a country where not everything is made of or otherwise laced with corn. And I'm not sure that Americans understand how bread is even supposed to taste.

Ahw, dang! It's ... I'm sorry. I mean, I don't have a full conclusive list or article going on here - but I think I have a start. In that sense, I would first bring two questions to the competition. Question 1: What good has the Country done internationally? And Question 2: What good does the country do for its citizens?

So, just the positives. Because - once we dip into the who did what bad ... sure, we germans may very well be the first that need to apologize. But I don't think we'll get very far by throwing around with accusations. I mean, as a German - I can think of more than just two word wars. The Greek apparently have reasons to be mad at us - the Italians also. I mean ... once money and resources are subject to the conversation ... all bets are off for how this might go. I mean ... Russia invading Ukraine is possibly just one example of that.
Then, eventually, blame arrives at the one most willing to work against the problems - and I think for years that worked well enough as anyone would do a little. But nowadays ... it's incredibly difficult to maintain a single thought ... like, I can sympathize with anyone who might still try to do serious politics these days.

Cartoonish dictatorships don't count.


But so, to the bit: The concern is 'motivation'. So, in terms of social engineering that were the mechanism by which people might do stuff. And I guess I can't really replicate the comedic momentum that convinced me that this makes for a great joke - so I'll just be straight with you; On the off chance that it might not be all that funny. Strapping a time-bomb to someone's neck and telling them that working (as in: For an employer) will disable it for a day - that technically counts as social mechanics. Just like strapping a bomb to the back of a car counts as propulsion.

But sure ... economy is complicated and stuff. Whatever. I guess I had a tough week, I'm tired and not in the mood of really writing all that deep and bright stuff anymore. Not to the extent I used to, for sure. But for this one I do have ... one more thing.

When speaking of motivation - well, I was thinking about it. What could I say or show? To maybe ... just ... expand the concept a little so we might have a clearer view of the different ways and methods and options and all that before stubbornly poking our own opinion into our keyboards or such. And the thing is ... I've seen ... motivation in my lifetime. And maybe that perception amounts to as much as a eureka moment in this. Like the invention of the wheel perhaps. Or the discovery of penicillin.
The thing in short is this: People who I used to hang around with, showed extreme patience and willingness to walk large distances - when it came to obtaining a let's say even just a small bag of weed. Sometimes it might be too small so we got mad ... sometimes it might have been bigger than expected and the day then just got that much better. But the issue is this that waiting and walking might have been two of the largest time-sinks of my late youth. Both being actually things I hated.
The morale of the story: Survival isn't the only thing that people will get to work for.