Andrei Tarkovsky
A book read by a thousand different people is a thousand different books.
Welcome to
The Life of a Human
(HoaHuman)
a digital book(-in-progress),
about the current human condition on earth,
told through memes,
woven through a narrative,
written by its characters.
This is an understanding we are making with our future (selves).
Transcribing conversations between algorithms, from gossip to programs to policies.
This book is a representation of what we are already doing.
It’s an agreement manifested by its creators.
Various collaboration tools
including this website and its linked documents/references
are being used by tloaHuman contributors
to generate the content published here.
This is Chapter 0.
There are 15 + 1 chapters to HoaHuman; each chapter features 15 essays.
The essays are just as much about the humans writing them as they are about the subject matter.
Think of an essay as a portal generated by the context,
diving into the experience of its contributors.
Contribution is a vague term used to encapsulate the different ways people have helped “write” this book; this includes assistance with or direct contributions to writings (in the traditional sense), visual content, photos, sketches, paintings, audio content, editing, formatting, etc…
This book is made of up contributions by :
@benjamin.michael.curry @morgan.van.beerschoten @sylvie.a.castonguay @lauren.galpin @déja.friesen @armin.forouzan @ben.k.d.pearce @richard.norris @lindsey.tourand @nicola.anderson @michael.solberg.schellenberg @genevieve.gastonguay @nicola.anderson @carley.spencer @sian.e.ford @ross.h.noble @steve.curry @abigail.harmon @jack.lawson @kim.elliott @claire.thomas @enyalevaque @jordann.harman @brodie.schmidt @camille.irvine @erica.burton @surraya.aziz @rebecca.pix.pixley @jessica.kainth @frank.borrmann @grace.kindness @claire.cole @hugh.jass @norman.barmeier @eryl.mcaffrey @héctor.vignon @lance.rotton @jodi.golinsky @jemuel.roberts @daniel.elford @lara.gardner @adam.griese @thomas.tasker @alex.hale @miriam.bulnes @shane.oregan
Essay 0.4a - Human Contributors.
[The anthropologist Robin Dunbar theorized that]
150 is just about the largest number of human individuals that a person can be (~in community with/in a stable relationship with) before their cognitive ability and the social structures they use to interrelate (gossip, reliance, trust, etc.) start to reach their limit and break down.
How does faith play into how humans interrelate?
We are 151 contributors because transcendence exists at the brink of chaos!
Contributors are agreeing to the following, which earns them membership into the experience. This membership may be withdrawn or revoked at any time.
Essay 0.4b - Human Contributors.
The anthropologist Robin Dunbar theorized that 150 is just about the largest number of relationships the average human can ~keep track of.
If we’re having thoughts right now, so are others, and so have others, and so will others. This book is by us who are thinking and speaking about these thoughts while we are seeing other people having them. We then contribute and curate the contribution until we settle on a set of 151 memes that contextualize or convey or conclude each meme.
Essay 0.9 - WWWWW+H
Ben Curry
It’s a mix between Chicken Soup for the Soul and World War Z and an encyclopedia.
This is the life of a Human: a documentation of human communication and interaction through the internet. It is a collaboratively written, evolving story. It’s a digital, interactive book of essays; it’s a book of memes.
We start with 15 blank volumes. The volumes fill with dialogue and sort into conversations we’ll call essays. The essays appear in the volumes as they are written. We want to distill/develop one meme for each essay, one meme for each volume, and, ultimately, one meme for the book.
THE VOLUMES
communication and media
reality
gender and sexuality
sex and kink
WHY?
Erica Burton
We’re trying to unearth better narratives than the ones we currently use.
Benjamin Curry
That’s one way of looking at it, yeah. But that phrasing sounds to me like it is coming from a place of seeing our current narratives as needing improvement. Do you think the narratives people use today are insufficient? Or is it that the better narratives just don’t seem to be told/understood by enough people?
Ben Curry
There are no physical boundaries to where this book is being written. We're especially trying to not limit ourselves to the four sensible dimensions of time and space! The book is being written and edited through the Facebook group, Reddit, various Google Documents in notebooks and on napkins.
The book is sort of writing itself…
The content of this book is fluid but generally speaks to the current human condition. We’re trying to document what it’s like to share ideas in community.
Morgan van Beerschoten
Why are we writing this book from here? Geographically, physically? Why now? What’s the relevance? Emotionally, spiritually?
Rainer Maria Rilke
… love the questions themselves.
Essay 0.8 - Dedication
This book is dedicated to the pursuit of reconciling the past with the future.
The Anishinaabe are guided by seven principals:
Zah-gi-di-won; To know love is to know peace.
Ma-na-hi-won; To honour all creation is to have respect.
Aak-de-he-won; To face life with courage is to know bravery.
Gwe-ya-Kawasaki-zi-win; To walk through life with integrity is to know honesty.
Dana-dem-diz-win; To accept yourself as a sacred part of creation is to know humility.
Nbwaa-ka-win; To cherish knowledge is to know wisdom.
De-bwe-won; To know of these things is to know the truth.
Bakaan nake’ii ngii-izhi-gakinoo’amaagoomin.
We Were Taught Differently: The Indian Residential School Experience.
Essay 0.5 - Disclaimer
This content is for a mature audience. Discretion is advised.
If you or someone you know is in a mental health crisis, call toll free: 1-833-456-4566 or text 45645 for support from the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention;
If you would like to talk about an assault, call 1-866-863-0511 for support from the Association of Sexual Assault Centers. They provide crisis counseling, safety planning, emotional support, information and referrals accessible 7 days a week, 365 days a year;
If you would like to talk to an LGBTQ-sensitive trained counselor, call The Trevor Lifeline at 1-866 488-7386 or chat at The Trevor Project’s website, available 7 days a week, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
Essay # - How to read tloaHuman.
There is order, but you don’t have to find it.
A list of terms and language commonly used in the book (this is a method of sorting/navigating the essays). See Essay
Essay # - Glossary of Terms and Tags
These aren’t typical [definitions]; they are enough to get readers on the same page, to allow us to engage with these topics with the minimum amount of ~direction.
#science - chemistry, biology, mathematics, physics, observation, test, hypothesis, measurements, study, peer review
#computer -
#government -
#animal -
#A.I. -
#privacy -
#religion - truth, faith, confidence, meaning, purpose
#food - gut, energy, nutrients, energy
#earth -
#social -
#art - daw, paint, co
#maths - proof, number, zero, infinity, graph, chart
#politcs -
#beauty -
#quantum -
#reconcile - to bring back together; to make whole again.
#binary - keep definition general enough to incorp. gender binary and computer binary.
#relationship -
#holy matrimony -
#economics
#technology - energy, digital, internet,
#mental health - @ the societal level
#sex -
#environment -
#inhabit -
#reality -
#life -
#kink -
#colonial - the philosophy or practice of inhabiting a space.
#drugs - substances that alter our state of perception.
#body - the physical form.
#terrorism - using fear as a weapon of war.
#conciousness -
#millenial -
#free speech -
#media -
#psychology -
#strife -
#space -
#celebrity -
#fame -
#philosophy -
#conflict -
#sexual - expression, freedom
#mind -
#love -
#indigenous -
#health -
#depression - @ the personal level
#social media -
#anxiety - @ the personal level
#baby boomer -
#polyamory -