Intro-1976

I'm not sure how many of you got the reissued edition, but this is from the intro. The book was originally written in 1948, and the intro was written in 1976. Skinner is explaining why he thinks the book received so much attention, after first going unnoticed for a decade.

"But there was, I think, a better reason why more and more people began to read the book. The world was beginning to face problems of an entirely new order of magnitude- the exhaustion of resources, the pollution of the environment, overpopulation, and the possibility of a nuclear holocaust, to mention only four...
...How were people to be induced to use new forms of energy, to eat grain rather than meat, and to limit the size of their families; and how were atomic stockpiles to be kept out of the hands of desperate world leaders?"

Couldn't this have been written TODAY? The issues we're dealing with now (which are knocked for being "trendy") have been around a long time, and have only been growing more dire.

A thread about the sheep

Chapter 3

"The curious thing is that most of these sheep have never been shocked by the fence. Most of them were born after we took the wire away. It has become a tradition among our sheep never to approach string. The lambs acquire it from their elders, whose judgment they never question."

I wonder how many of us live our lives like the sheep? Afraid of a shock that doesn't exist? Safely guarded by a fear that protects us from too much freedom? In fear of "Bishop" the guard dog? Perhaps we see the pasture as a place of rest and safety? The flock representing those on the journey with us, their company enriching our lives rather than dictating it? I don't purport to have answers, I just found this passage curious and suggestive of self-examination in the context of society as well as our individual worldviews.

Holly

"We shake the world in other ways"

"The Actual achievement is beside the point. That main thing is, we encourage our people to view every habit and custom with an eye to possible improvement. A constantly experimental attitude toward everything- that's all we need. Solutions to problems of every sort follow almost miraculously." (page 25)
It struck me that we don't do that at all...people are very happy and comfortable with the way things are that improvement isn't considered and sometimes avoided.
_Jeff

read it and weep

Hooray for books.