This writing is going to be a blog entry but it also, as usual, offers some observations.  For a period of time, I have not been writing on any of my sites.  This is, of course, the foremost address where I would be posting.  Aside from this, there are other places as well.  Everything connects here at skditta.com, though.

Social networking has a different appeal, perhaps greater appeal for writing

In the meantime, much time has been spent not being idle but learning practically by engaging with others. This is on social networking sites, primarily Twitter.  Yes, sometimes it has exclusively been Twitter.  One truly can’t stop marveling at this chance of interacting with people in real-time, and sometimes with understandable delays.  While it may be true that it is impossible to quickly form a working relationship or a steady conversation with someone, not having the all-important emotional or situational context, it still is a chance worthy of respect.

Writing or social networking?

What can one say?  Since the possibility of disappointment and misunderstanding is so present, one should abandon the entire process of conversations, the possibility of communication!  Well, that is a possibility.  However, it is abandoning of an avenue that is open to us.  And to be honest, who knows how long is it available to someone personally!  Besides, there is another thing to consider.  The possibility of communication and the transmission of ideas does not terminate with the end of a conversation.  The way it is possible to touch human lives for the better – our own and that of others – the ripple can extend far into the unforeseen future.  They – the ripples – do!

Another question that comes to mind is: Should these experiences always be pleasant?  There genuinely are people I have come across with whom it seems possible.  They are such gentle souls, seemingly untouched by the divisive influences of politics or ideological stances, one could be forgiven for thinking that these people dwell in a different world.  In a way, they do.  It is the better world – of arts, of enjoyments of nature, admiration for beauty, the pleasure of observing animals, birds, and fishes etc.  Deliberately or out of the inclination of their own hearts, they stay uninvolved with the decaying inhumanity.  Good for them!

Writing pro-actively using social networks, especially Twitter

Those, who out of fear or anxiety or some other reason find themselves pre-occupied with politics or divisiveness, have taken upon themselves a difficult role.  Why have they done so?  Is it because they enjoy that world?  Or, Is it the desire for gaining power?  Could it be because they suppose, they could wash this world clean by getting involved?  The last one would be an assumption stemming from naiveté.  Still, they are free to assume as they please.

Once again, it is my firm belief that with the passage of time, their own errors and those they have sought to expose will become fully manifest before all.  It takes time.  There is no other way to convince them. This simply is a trustworthy principle.  Sometimes, we can also admire those people who have decided to venture into the ugliness of our man-made world to seek solutions.  We can admire them without yielding to their negative influence, is what I believe.

Coming back to my own writing… I will in just a moment.  In the meantime, I have enjoyed reading books, listening to music, and enjoying the arts.  These are the treasures that have arisen out of individuality.  I am reminded of a few lines by Will Durant, he writes in the story of philosophy:

Philip had no sympathy with the individualism that had fostered the art and intellect of Greece but had at the same time disintegrated her social order; in all these little capitals he saw not the exhilarating culture and the unsurpassable art, but the commercial corruption and the political chaos: he saw insatiable merchants and bankers absorbing the vital resources of the nation, incompetent politicians and clever orators misleading a busy populace into disastrous plots and wars, factions cleaving classes and classes congealing into castes: this, said Philip, was not a nation but only a welter of individuals—geniuses and slaves; he would bring the hand of order down upon this turmoil, and make all Greece stand up united and strong as the political center and basis of the world.

Will Durant. The Story of Philosophy

Today, as well, in the Western and the Eastern world, there is an insistence toward individualism.  The forces of populism, on the other hand, are seeking to balance this, but with it bring speedy chaos and disorder where they seem to get a hold.  Strange as it may seem, it is the populists who are bringing disorder because of their lack of specific solutions, such as are possible in our time.  Of course, the imbalance toward extreme individualism also exists.

Think about how items are customized and produced by an artist to fit the requirements of specific individuals, as an example.  These practices and industries have risen because it is possible to do so.  Now, it may not be possible to have such customization for each person to a level that it can give satisfaction; still, it is possible to have the effort.  It might even be possible to learn some things oneself and produce those ideal, sought-after results. A totally general, rash, speedy, populist ¹ answer is not satisfying to the intelligent observers.  This, I believe.

Writing and how it reveals individualism vs. populism

On the other hand, I have also come to observe (and I realize, still there is so little to do with the original title of this post) that smaller units like communities and families have the possibility for cohesive functioning.  There is the possibility for greater communication through writing – much of it finding efficacy and peace due to privacy.  Social networking seems to have put all that used to remain private out in the open.  Maybe, there is still a getting used to this and a regaining of balance.  Perhaps, some will find the wisdom of discarding the lower thoughts and practices of human society and maintain a personal level of standards.

I feel inclined to conclude this post here. It seems to be one where it would be possible to go into months worth of details.  However, it would really have very little to do with the title.  So, it is sufficient to say: “Knowledge could be found and stated in isolation, but wisdom is found through its connections.”  The test of knowledge is to finally engage with other sentient holders of knowledge.  From those connections, let us hope to continue finding wisdom that would work in our favor.

1. The use of the word populist is not limited to or intended to be specific to politics.  Rather, it is used to indicate the tendency for answers deemed fit for crowds or worse, for mobs.