<font size="4"><font face="times new roman,serif">Asante sana. It's good to hear you like KI. And that really was an excellent piece, even though I say so myself. (I'm a <a href="http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/research/emotion/cemhp/documents/dalgleish_bramham.pdf">cognitivist</a> about emotions---so I'm not sure I can follow the author all the way, but it's a v. good piece).</font></font><div>
<font face="'times new roman', serif" size="4"><br></font></div><div><font face="'times new roman', serif" size="4">We also published <a href="http://www.kenyaimagine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2799&catid=269:review&Itemid=227">another piece</a>, from Binyavanga Wainaina in 2009, which spoke to something very similar. This time, it was the centrality of vocation. See what you think.<br>
</font><div><font size="4"><font face="times new roman,serif"><br clear="all"></font></font>Daniel Waweru<br><a href="http://www.kenyaimagine.com">www.kenyaimagine.com</a><br>Art and analysis; debate and opinion.<br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 26 January 2012 05:45, Francis Hook <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:francis.hook@gmail.com">francis.hook@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
@Daniel, I went to <a href="http://www.kenyaimagine.com" target="_blank">www.kenyaimagine.com</a> after seeing the link under<br>
your email signature and happened across this article, which I feel<br>
broadly underscores what we are trying to discuss here....it might be<br>
in the periphery but helps lead to the core:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.kenyaimagine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3189&catid=278:environmental-issues&Itemid=235" target="_blank">http://www.kenyaimagine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3189&catid=278:environmental-issues&Itemid=235</a><br>
<br>
If I may lift an excerpt:<br>
<br>
"In The Happiness Hypothesis , psychology professor Jonathan Haidt<br>
compares human brain/behavior to a man riding an elephant. There<br>
exists a complex choreography between our newer rational cortex (the<br>
'man'), and our older, more primitive brain structures (the<br>
'elephant').<br>
<br>
His point was that our brains can accomplish amazing things when we<br>
mesh our analytical abilities with our baser emotions and impulses,<br>
but that quite often the 'elephant' (our limbic and reptilian cores)<br>
unwittingly assert their dominance, and in the process override any<br>
rational, reasoned intentions. In aggregate we are a society that has<br>
become both habituated to and confused by 'more facts'. "<br>
<br>
and the closing part:<br>
<br>
"I would guess 30-40% of our population is cognizant that something is<br>
wrong with our current path. They don't need to know the details of<br>
net energy decline. They don't need to understand dispersive discovery<br>
or decline rates to know we are dependent on fossil fuels. They don't<br>
need to have read Murray Rothbard or Frederick Soddy to understand we<br>
can't print our way out of a physical bind. However, I suspect that<br>
though my Aunt knows <5% of what the average people on TOD do, it is<br>
people like her, one day, perhaps soon, that are going to force<br>
change. They will do it not out of some epiphany of of<br>
multidisciplinary understanding but rather out of outrage. "<br>
<br>
For the first excerpt, I'd like to think that in Africa we are more in<br>
touch with our primal selves - I am not saying that in a negative way<br>
but broadly meaning we are largely not westernised and sullied by<br>
western culture. However, we can still adopt what works in order to<br>
adapt it to our realities. But we must also hold the "elephant" in<br>
check - let it be both wild and tame - if that makes sense.<br>
<br>
For second excerpt - while the "intellectuals" out there may give<br>
reasons why x cannot be done, and make our aspirations collapse under<br>
a pile of facts, theories, isms and statistics (and eventually cause<br>
us to think little of ourselves and therefore become inferior), I<br>
think if we allow ourselves to return to a somewhat primal state (as<br>
alluded above re: the elephant) we can rise to whatever challenge<br>
there is. I know it calls for a little social re-engineering (esp<br>
when we read statements like "we can't", "we have never been know to",<br>
"its beyond our ability to..", etc).<br>
<br>
I should point out that I am not in any way deriding true<br>
intellectuals or ridiculing anyone. Verily there are those on this<br>
list with very good visions of where Kenya can go (and are already<br>
putting us firmly on that path despite so many side shows and nay<br>
sayers). But the word needs to get out there among the population.<br>
<br>
Good site BTW - I esp like the book reviews...<br>
<br>
F<br>
<br>
On 25 January 2012 23:43, Matunda Nyanchama<br>
<div><div class="h5"><<a href="mailto:mnyanchama@aganoconsulting.com">mnyanchama@aganoconsulting.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Friends<br>
><br>
> Here are my off the cuff remarks on the provocative piece.<br>
><br>
> My suggestion: let's not be too defensive; truth can be bitter.<br>
><br>
> On innovation: take the example of the automobile and semiconductor<br>
> industries. A lot of countries started with fabricating parts; soon they did<br>
> sub-assemblies as their precision engineering developed and soon they were<br>
> making whole cars/computers/etc/. The Nyayo Car project was on the right<br>
> cause if only it has realized capacity in the fabrication of parts and<br>
> needed engineering and manufacturing processes.<br>
><br>
> I recently saw news of a mechanic that used to service shock absorbers but<br>
> now fabricates them; and people find these last longer that original ones<br>
> not suited to our rough roads! He is on the right path and should, in fact,<br>
> be encouraged with incentives and (possibly) injection of capital.<br>
><br>
> In the west, investors would be hovering around to offer the person either a<br>
> buyout or equity investment in order to expand the business which has huge<br>
> regional potential as few people are in the business. Where is old money<br>
> when it is needed here??<br>
> Regards.<br>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
> Matunda Nyanchama, PhD, CISSP; <a href="mailto:mnyanchama@aganoconsulting.com">mnyanchama@aganoconsulting.com</a><br>
> Agano Consulting Inc.; <a href="http://www.aganoconsulting.com" target="_blank">www.aganoconsulting.com</a>; Twitter: nmatunda; Skype:<br>
> okiambe<br>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
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