Falling Back

It is that time of year once again when we change our clocks by an hour. With that change, it has been suggested that this is a good time to check on those things in life that require periodic adjustment. The most common thing in this semi-annual ritual is to check the batteries in the smoke detector in our homes. While these devices can be life savers in providing warning of a fire, they only work with a live battery, and one seldom thinks about the batteries in a box hung on the ceiling.

Note: This is the combined articles of Jan. 9 (Part One) and of Jan. 16 (Part Two)

Understanding the Problem

Rewriting History

In his acclaimed work Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell wrote “He who controls the past controls the future; he who controls the present controls the past.” These words, written to describe an oppressive dystopia have been proven by the propaganda efforts of several brutal regimes. The Nazis sought to rewrite German history as to control her future. Numerous efforts of agitprop within the Soviet Union sought to cover the atrocities of a very bloody past.

An Innate Need

There seems to be an innate need in man to have changes in the norm take place, even if minor in consequence, somewhat frequently. This is not, of itself, a negative quality, as the call for change for the better is the driving impetus behind invention and innovation. Without change, our standard of living would remain as poor as the ancients.

An Unfair Change

Have you ever, perhaps when you were a child, played a game with someone who changed the rules in the middle of the game? Maybe it was a game you had never played before and, always right before a move that would benefit your opponent, he\she reveals a rule they “forgot” to tell you. Or maybe it was a game of “cops and robbers” or a variation; you use your weapon against your opponent and he\she suddenly has a “shield.”

Perfection’s Impossibility

Perfection is an incredibly difficult, and ultimately impossible, goal to attain. This is true in the life of man in a moral sense, and also just in day to day experience where we will inevitably make mistakes. This is true in a manufacturing sense where all materials have a degree of imperfection, the concept of entropy means everything will at some point break down, and design flaws eventually occur. This is true in the realm of government where, inefficiency and corruption aside, the best worded law will never perfectly encompass every situation.