Chapter 7 - The First Matrix
One of the most remarkable statements was made to me by a onetime
college professor of mine. He said the problem with people today is
that they dont think, no one has to think anymore. He will remain
anonymous, because what he said was pure phooey.
People think now more than ever! The reason they have so much more
to think about. Our knowledge base demands more of us. This is one
reason we are in a rapid matrixing environment. The amount of input
which is given to us manage is changing so fast that the old ways of
creating structure for it no longer apply. In order to manage the
chaos around us, we have to discover new ways to matrix every day.
When a prehistoric man was going about his normal daily routine,
he had to make his decisions about how to better his matrix based
upon his accumulated knowledge and the stimuli or information which
he received from the environment. We are no different. We make
decisions about how to better our own matrix based upon our
accumulated knowledge and the stimuli or information which we
receive from our modern environment.
The primitive man had a relatively small base of accumulated
knowledge. That is not to say that he didnt know many things and
that he was a stupid animal. On the contrary, he may have known a
great deal about the smells within the winds. He may have known how
to find water, and create a fire from stones. Many of the things
which we do not know, or now have no reason to know. He may not have
had knowledge, but he had intelligence. We are in a different
matrix. The primitive man did not have a set of encyclopedias on CD
ROM nor did he have years of formal education and training in
complex subjects, added to his continual bombardment from
information sources. Our knowledge base is greater because of him.
We have his informal education to build upon.
The primitive man also had a lesser amount of stimuli from which
to matrix his environment. When the sun came out, he had to find
shade. When it rained he had to find shelter. When he felt the need
for food he had to hunt. We still share all of these needs. However,
primitive man didnt have the major TV networks telling him that if
he didnt invest in mutual funds before midnight that his tax shelter
would be null and void. His 100 cable stations didnt offer the
chance of a lifetime, NBA basketball, or Politically Incorrect.
He didnt log on for his email at 2:00 in the morning because he
could always get the maximum baud rate. The early man didnt have the
information, stimuli or the knowledge base that we have today (nor
did he want it or need it).
The question this begs is: Why did man matrix at all? Why did he
change his surroundings to better suit him. The reason is that man
has an innate behavior to do so. When it is too sunny, we naturally
search for the shade. Not because it is shade and we therefore know
that it will be cooler, but because we have found that being in the
shade makes us feel a lot better. We innately like to feel better.
If it feels good we like to do it. We like feeling good, and feeling
great is even better.
About two million years ago in Africa, man first developed a
system for solving his needs, or what we call a matrix. This
primitive man had a much simpler matrix for giving an order to his
environment. He had very simple inputs and didnt have complex means
for developing his outputs. His solutions for advancing toward the
god-like state were simple. Most of his solutions were based upon
the simple matrix to relocate, move, or to change places within his
environment.
The first matrix was created when the African climate changed to
drought. Man was not well adapted to the new climate and was forced
to create a solution or perish. Since it did not rain, he was forced
to relocate to a place where there was water. His first matrixing
involved physically moving himself. This was the system he used to
solve similar problems. If he was attacked by a lion, he would
remember to stay away from the places lions liked to hunt. We know
from the cave paintings at Altimira, and in Spain and France that
about twenty thousand years ago man's culture, and environment, his
matrix revolved around his knowledge of the animals that he stalked
and movement to protected environments.
He directly affected his environment by reacting to his inputs.
Let us make a graphic representation which shows how he matrixed
within his environment.
This shows that he used a single flow of information procession.
The sources of information were direct and the person's own actions
determined the outcome of the matrix. The single thought process was
to identify the need and find the resource to fill it. This meant
that he would search and relocate. If the hunting got too thin he
would relocate. If the weather got too cold, he would move to a
warmer climate. If he needed a mate again he would move until he
located one. He was limited to manipulating his environment by
moving out of a bad situation and into something new.
It is not really necessary for us to go into all of the details of
how early man survived and developed. However we can learn something
by asking a question would this primitive man have been better off
if he: a. built a house or b. had a car. The answer is b. had a car.
This may seem like a silly question, but it develops the theory that
the matrix determines what elements will survive within it. The man
could not have used a house because it would not fit into the
matrix. His solution to most of his problems was to move or
relocate. What good would a house do him? Of course a car would only
do him good if it had a full tank of gas and he knew how to drive
it, and had roads to drive on. The point is that within every matrix
there are solutions that do not fit and those that do. As the matrix
changes the relationships of inputs and resources; the matrixing
(the systems to solve the problems) also changes.
Since man was limited in his ability to store food he had to move
within the environment to survive. Even though he invented tools,
such as a knife or even a spear, he was still changing his
environment by moving to a different one. This was the system for
changing his environment to meet his needs and moved him toward the
god-like state. A good way to matrix, it gave the solutions required
for the time and lasted for well over a million years. However, mans
ability to learn from his ancestors eventually gave way to a new
matrix and new problems to solve.
Matrixing:
Chapter 8
Matrixing:
Chapter 9
Matrixing:
Chapter 10
The first major changes to the matrix came when man started
forming structured societies to create more effective responses to
the inputs. This came in the form of tribes. This may have been a
creation because of the early death of the adults. If an adult life
span was only twenty, it meant that there were often young children
left alone, without parents when the parents died. If the offspring
were to survive, a social system had to develop to handle this
environment. Tribalism was an early form of matrixing, which
effected the amount of inputs, and the way in which man reacted to
those inputs.
Now for the first time he was able to pool the resources and
abilities of the tribe. Each hunter could go off in a different
direction or some could look for food while others, cared for
children, or looked for shelter or water. This added the element of
distribution.
This element was the first step toward being god-like. It meant
that a single man could receive more from his environment than he
actually made the physical effort to accumulate.
What a concept this must have been, to get more than you deserve!
Man must have really liked this matrix because, this matrix existed
for well over a million years. In fact we still use it in part
today. It is just a small part of the matrix which we live in and
probably will remain a significant addition to achieving the
God-like state. The matrix of today includes many parts of the past
matrixes. However, many of our current problems stem from trying to
use this matrix to solve the problem of a lack of resources within
todays existing matrix, which although it includes this matrix, is
nothing similar to the matrix above. If we search, locate, and take
the necessary resources today, we often call it theft, or even war.
The greatest changes to primitive man over the first million years
were not in the matrix, but mostly biological. Man became what we
have come to know as Homo erectus. His basic matrix of
relocation to find his resources created a plethora of finds for
modern archeologists. It was a Homo erectus found in China,
or Peking man, as he is called, that discovered fire. Fire was a
tool that fit into the primitive man's first matrix very well and
still fits in the matrix we have today in a much more limited way.
For many hundreds of thousands of years, through the introduction
of and development of Homo Sapiens, the basic tools remained
much the same. They were fire, spears, knifes and flints. The basic
nature of the matrix was not changing, however the tools within it
were growing. Man still used relocation as the primary method of
supplying his resources. But, even primitive man was constantly
developing sub matrixes and systems around the environment. He was
using tools to make his life easier and learning more with each
passing generation. He developed communication tools such as
storytelling, and hieroglyphics to pass on his knowledge to
following generations.
Like the rest of the grand matrix during this time, mans ability
to control his source of food developed very slowly. It took over
two million years for man to change from a hunter/gatherer Australopithecus,
in Central Africa, to his modern Homo Sapiens form. However,
he took his first major leap in the grand matrix only twelve
thousand years ago. It was again the changing of the environment
that created the change in the matrix that lead what Alvin Toffler
called the first wave. We often refer to it as the
agricultural revolution. This revolution gave way to a different
matrix, which moved and changed the relationships of many aspects of
life significantly.
Changes in the matrix happen because of changes in one of two
things, changes in the knowledge base and/or changes in the
environment. The changes will be more dramatic and far reaching, the
greater the change in these two factors. It has been said that
perhaps the largest step in the ascent of man was from the nomad to
village agriculture. This change becomes evident in the Biblical
city of Jericho. This is where the change in the environment leads
to a dramatic change in the Matrix. The turning point in the
pre-agrarian or hunter/gather matrix came about from a small but
dramatic change in the environment. It was a change in a plant that
changed the matrix and thus changed the way of life for mankind. The
change came about in around 8000 BC. (1)
The change in the environment that brought about the changes in
the matrix was the introduction of a new breed of wheat. Before this
time wheat existed as merely one of many wild grasses that the winds
had spread over the fertile lands of the Middle East. It existed as
thinly shafted grass stems that had light seeds that were randomly
spread by the wind. People harvested wheat but did not know how to
plant it. It was after the last Ice Age, that a genetic combination
between the wild wheat of Jericho crossed with a natural goat grass
and formed a hybrid. This new wheat was much fuller and plumper
called Emmer.
Emmer crossed again with goat grass and doubled the amount of
chromosomes of the goat grass, creating forty-two-chromosome bread
wheat. The new wheat didnt spread with the blowing of the wind; the
ears of the plant were too tight. This change was very useful.
Unlike the earlier wheat plants these seeds could be saved, then
broken open and planted where man decided. Mans ability to matrix
this new opportunity within the environment gave control to a new
matrix. Man learned that the seeds could be scattered, stored and
cultivated where ever and whenever he needed in order to survive.
This new environment gave way to the development of a new
matrix. A new technology evolved within it every bit as cutting edge
to them as the new age matrix of today is to us. Tools were created
based upon this new matrix. The wheat grinding stone, bricks, the
needle, the awl, the pot, the spade, the nail, and a hundred more
slowly moved this new matrix forward. Each new device, enlarging the
power of the rest, improved upon the past devise, allowing man to
move closer to a god-like state. Jericho, the oasis, changed the
matrix from search and distribute, to stay, plant and grow. The idea
of cultivate versus find was added to the picture.
Because it now was possible for man to settle, wherever there was
ground able to provide bread, the grand matrix was undergoing
significant change. The environment controls the matrix. The
cultivation process was a major environmental change. Not only were
the changes effecting the aspects of life directly related to food
production, all levels of the matrix became forced into change.
There were new responsibilities to tend crops. New tools to provide
for their growth were needed. Whole new avenues of thinking sprang
up as though man now realized that he was stationed above the plants
and animals. New social systems to support these efforts were
created. Homes could become a haven for a safe and secure
environment. This one aspect of life, cultivation, caused a
tremendous wave throughout the then current society.
As you can imagine, the matrix was continually changing, even in
prehistoric times. During some periods of our history the changes
occur rapidly as during the industrial matrix, and some changes
occur slowly as during the agrarian matrix. Each Matrix is an
evolution of the previous Matrices. A new matrix does not preclude
the old ones, it instead includes them, and slowly excludes them as
they become no longer useful.
As each new matrix is formed, with it new questions are presented
which can move the matrix forward again. When these questions are
answered, not only is the knowledge base increased, and the matrix
moved forward; the plane of thinking is increased. Meaning that new
ways of solving problems are formed; new systems are discovered
within the new matrix. Those wishing to survive within an old matrix
will find themselves stagnant, not moving forward toward the
god-like state or clashing against the new matrix.
The first wars were actually a clash of these two matrixes, the
old and the new formed during the agrarian age. The new matrix
provided a surplus which was visible to a find, take and distribute
mentality. When the nomads came out of the desert to rob the
harvesters of their wheat, the organized theft, which we today call
war, was invented. However, struggle against a matrix is futile.
Genghis Khan and his Mongol dynasty eventually became the very
Muslims that they conquered because the way of life (the matrix) was
closer to the god-like state. Even though the Mongol hordes may have
won the battles, the agrarian matrix won the war; the settlements
were victors over nomadacy. The new matrix was just an easier more
advanced way to live.
Today ten thousand years later, we can still see how a clash
between an old matrix and new can lead to war between haves and
have-nots. As leaders of countries such as Iraq, are pulled into the
modern matrix, taking the visible surplus of ones neighbor may have
appeared to be a viable matrix. However, we have also seen that a
new matrix for war had formed as well. This became evident when the
modern war matrix clashed against the previous war matrix in the
gulf war, leaving annihilation in its wake.
Transforming the Matrix
The pre-agrarian man and many after didnt fully understand the
concept of creation. Something was not made, it was simply used,
consumed, enjoyed. Until man had learned to cultivate, he was unable
to understand how greatly he could control his environment. His
ability to control his surroundings would rise far beyond what he
had understood was possible before he understood he could cultivate
land. The agrarian mind had a basic knowledge of transformation. He
knew that one thing could be changed into another by way of some
process. Such as seeds transformed by a process eventually became
bread.
Previous to the agrarian way of life, however, transformation was
a simple process, which was barely understood and applied to the
creation of limited tools. As with most of the early mans knowledge,
his basic understanding of the transformation process came from
observing his surroundings. Summer transformed into Fall, Winter
into Spring. As he learned to use tools he also learned the
transformation process. He discovered that a tree limb could be
transformed into a spear, a rock into an arrowhead, an animals hide
into clothing. Fire transformed food and the temperature around him.
The process of transforming was one that allowed man to create tools
out of existing materials.
The learning process during this time did not change the base
matrix, but made the matrix grow and function easier.
The idea of creation somewhere grew out of transformation. This
idea was much more unique. This addition to mans though matrix
allowed him to realize that rather than simply whittling away
something, new solutions could be made by combining or creating
materials. Straw and mud, sticks and skins became houses. Weaving,
which is itself a matrix was discovered. The creation of something
by addition was discovered. I theorize that because man was
transforming one thing to another, he was able to see that hidden
somewhere within everything was an ability or use which may be
unforeseen. Such as the ability of a branch or stick to become a
spear. The stick always had the ability hidden within it, but once
whittled down the spear became apparent.
Mans discovery of the transformation process gave man the ability
to look for hidden treasures within the objects surrounding him. The
concepts of I wonder what would happen if &? and How would I
make something to &? In other words, How would I better my
environment, (or advance the matrix) if I transformed something?
This natural process of building tools eventually gave way to the
idea of creation. This idea of creating something verses
transforming something is what dragged man out of the Stone Age and
into the age of modern man. Call it curiosity if you like, but
knowledge, gathered for the sake of knowing, is not the reason man
created. He gathered knowledge to advance his matrix; he gathered
knowledge to create solutions.
Of course this new idea of creation was even evident in the lines
of the Bible. In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth. He didnt transform them as he did Adam from the dust. He
created them from nothing. This new radical idea that something
could be created or transformed led man on an eternal quest for
knowledge. The quest of searching for hidden secrets within his
environment which would lead to control over the environment itself.
This search for solutions through creation and transformation are
the bases for all the sciences of today. The ideas of transformation
were evident in the study of Alchemy in which man wished to
transform lead into gold, an idea which eventually led to modern
chemistry. Finding the hidden secrets created many new discoveries.
Discoveries often create as many questions as they answer. More
often they give rise to new ways of discovering. Such is the case of
the way we create solutions. We always try to solve our problems
that advance the current matrixes by using the best methods
(systems) we know to be available. Nowhere in matrixing is this as
evident as in mathematics and spatial thinking.
Mathematics is one way in which our perception is always enhanced.
Each time a new system of mathematics has been realized a new
foundation is added to the matrix. A new process for solving
problems is added to thought. Quantum leaps are realized toward the
god-like state because of advances in the way we perceive and
understand our surroundings. Almost all cultures have had some form
of math even in the most pre-historic of times. The earliest
recorded hieroglyphics demonstrated counting of herds and hunters.
Numbering and adding two plus two appear to be as natural to man as
the development of language.
Because he had a lack of knowledge base to draw from, originally
man had to rely upon his perception. Counting was as easy as looking
at how many fingers he had (at the current time). Addition and
subtraction often could be performed with a knotted cord. Spatial
relations however appeared to be more difficult. In the beginning
man had only two experiences to draw from for spatial relationships.
Gravity is vertical and the horizon stands at a direct right angle
to it. In other words, if I look out at the sea, I see a flat
horizon. If I drop a plum line (string with a weight attached) it
will intersect the horizon dividing it into four equal sections.
Until something changes in the environment, or the matrix changes
man sees the world though the perceptions of the current matrix.
These are the very limitations which we all have to work with.
The matrix drastically changed when the wheel was discovered in a
time somewhere before 3000 BC, in what is now southern Russia.
Perhaps a man saw a round rock rolling down a hill. Perhaps it was
created when someone tried balancing on a log. How it was discovered
is not as important to matrixing as is the discovery itself. The
discovery of the wheel would not have been so dramatic if it were
simply the discovery of the object itself, and even the use of the
wheel. The discovery of the concept of wheel is what caused a leap
in our knowledge base and therefore a new formation of the matrix.
This new way of thinking was the creation of spatial thought.
The concept of a wheel becomes a model for other aspects of the
matrix. Not only do inventions such as the grinding wheel for wheat,
the axle, and water wheel spring forth, but the concept of rotation
enters into mans problem solving tools. Man was for the first time
able to look to the heavens and realize that it was possible that
the sun, moon and stars were rotating around the earth in a circular
fashion. This solution may have been incorrect, but the solution was
one that fit into the then current matrix, which included the
ability of objects to travel in a circle. The charting of the
movements of the celestial bodies allowed man not only to gain
significant control over his planting seasons which moved him toward
the god-like state, but to allow him to travel by sea letting the
heavens be his guide as well.
In modern science the natural motion is that of a straight line.
Once in motion an object will stay in motion. To the Ancient Greeks,
however it was not linear, but circular. The wheel gave way to a new
way of circular thinking which was absorbed into the matrix. Once
absorbed an idea becomes evident in the creation of the matrixes
around it. The circle made an entrance into the Architecture for
example. You can find it in the amphitheaters, the columns, and the
arch. This idea of spatial relations based upon the revolution of a
circle eventually gave way to Ptolemys scheme of the cycles of the
sun and moon. The tracking of the heavens gave ships the ability to
plot a course. Euclids mathematics of geometry and possibly
Pythagoras translation of movement into numbers would not have
existed except for the circle.
The point here is not to give a lesson in history, but to
demonstrate how the very concept of thinking is a matrix, which
moves along taking changes from thinking into the surrounding
matrixes of the environment. If ever there is a drastic change in
mans thinking, the matrix will reflect those changes throughout it.
Such changes within the matrix become particularly evident when the
viewing the changes in mans comprehension of mathematics. The
creation of the circle led to many new and interesting matrixes
because it allowed man to think and create in a new way. But most
importantly it offered a new method to solve problems which in turn
would move him closer to the god-like state.
Many such changes have created new matrixes and crushed the old
ones. By looking at a transforming matrix we can see that if
something doesnt fit into the new matrix, it either changes so that
it does fit, or it will eventually fall to the wayside. This holds
truth for all matrixes: past, present, and future.
So in our picture of the grand matrix we can see that even though
it continually develops and changes, it does lose one formation as
it transforms into the next. On a macro scale these changes may
become known as such things as The Renaissance, The Industrial
Revolution, The Space Age, or The Computer Age. Each age losing many
of the minor matrixes which fit so well within the previous matrix
as it developed new matrixes which advanced the matrix even further.
On a micro scale we see products such as the horse and carriage
being replaced by the automobile.
When a radical new way of thinking proves superior to a past
method, right or wrong, it replaces its predecessor. Such was the
new thinking matrix of Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin, Newton, and
Einstein. Each added enough new information to change the matrix in
a way that caused many of the previous matrixes systems perished.
Each of these great minds thought outside of the current matrix,
thus expanding it.
