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Today's paradigm mostly blames human beings for their difficulties and struggles in life
while absolving those at the top of their share of the responsibility. The Roman Catholic
Church of the Middle Ages has been replaced by another 'Church' and this one is just
as powerful or even more so. The modern world places people very much in a double-
bind situation—“You are free to realize your potential and be who you want to be” but
of course that is not true. The truth is that you are free to realize your potential if your
thoughts and behavior are in accord with those of the powers-that-be, and if you have
adequate resources and support available to you.
Copernicus’s model was revolutionary only because the existing model was so
distorted. It is the same with what I am saying—it just looks strange because our current
model is so skewed. The intent is to show that everything is following the same model—
us, the universe, bees, elephants, the Milky Way galaxy—all of it. There is so much bad
information out there. My goal is to find the truth and connecting threads, as much as is
possible at this point with our faulty measuring devices, including our brain. Our brain is
a wonderful instrument, and we will see that it is an encapsulation of the two major forces
of the universe, but it is relatively new and is still under development.
We limit ourselves terribly by the teachings we receive. Those teachings are generally
what the prevailing paradigm wants us to believe. Almost everyone buys into the
dominant paradigm because it is so powerful. There are no alternatives to it. Our
present-day world has room for only one paradigm which is really a 'prescription' for
living. But we can look at any part of history and see that the view 'in-control'” always
had holes in it. Reality has always been what we said it was—what was accepted at the
time. But times change and so do our ways of looking at things though we generally
have to be pulled kicking and screaming into a new view, even if it is the correct view.
Old habits die hard.
Occasionally someone comes along and turns everything upside down. Isaac Newton
was only 23 years old when he developed his three laws of motion. Einstein and his
formula E = mc² where energy equals the mass of an object times the speed of light
squared revealed that mass and energy are the same thing. These two men helped
explain the workings of the universe with nice clear laws and formulas. And while
human behavior does not lend itself to that kind of precise predictability currently, we
are following the same general laws and processes. How could we not be?
Let’s define what we mean by a dynamic. I think it is useful to look at its use as an
adjective and a noun in order to truly grasp its importance. From the American Heritage
Dictionary.
Adjective:
- Of or relating to energy or to objects in motion.
- Characterized by continuous change, activity, or progress.
- Marked by intensity and vigor; forceful.
Noun:
- An interactive system or process, especially one involving competing or conflicting forces.
- A force, especially political, social, or psychological.
From Collins Essential English Dictionary.
Adjective:
- Describing a person—full of energy, ambition, or new ideas.
- Relating to a force of society, history, or the mind that produces a change.
- Physics—relating to energy or forces that produce motion.
From Encarta—MSN
Adjective:
- Full of energy, enthusiasm, and a sense of purpose and able to get things going and to get things done.
- Characterized by vigorous activity and producing or undergoing change and development.
Sorry for the dynamic overload but I want you to get a solid grasp of what the word
means because it is integral to everything we discuss. You can see from above that a
dynamic is about energy, motion, intensity, change, and competition with another force.
That will be the essence of our discussion.
We currently see more of a dynamic operating in a basketball game than we do in the
universe. Isn’t that odd? Why is that the case and has it always been the case? No, it has
not. The hierarchal structure of today’s world does not allow for a dynamic to be
manifested in the physical and human worlds because the energy flow would be upset,
as we will see in our discussions to follow. So humanity’s current structure does not
favor the identification of a dynamic though it may clearly be operating.
We try to look objectively at other species but not our own. Why is that? Is it because we
might see the reality of what is really happening in the world? What would we do then?
So we tiptoe around the real issues and continue with our game of charades, in the
process enabling tremendous suffering to take place in the world.
There was a time in the development of human civilization when excellence was the
norm. Obviously now it is not. We will explore why the tide has turned.
What prompted my study of all of this along with the subsequent discoveries? It started
in a time of turbulence for me which I discovered is the way that many important
discoveries are made. Several years ago, I started a new business at the demise of
another one, nothing exceptional for small business entrepreneurs. I was excited about it
and was even looking forward to the long, hard slog that accompanies such ventures. I
figured I would get very involved in charitable and other community activities as I built
the business, and would then develop franchising for it. I did get involved in the
community but the franchising got sidetracked. Why? Because I started making
extraordinary discoveries—or rather a set of discoveries—that revolutionized my
thinking about how the world works and provided me with an entirely new worldview.
Actually, the discoveries were an accident as is often the case. I was just trying to
deliver results and maximize the potential of my new business. I would learn later that
these two related concepts would be the keystone to my discoveries.
The business was based on a simple concept—the need for household storage,
specifically in the homeowner’s garage. At first I offered cabinets, pegboard,
workbenches, tool hangers, and a three-foot-deep Big Shelf, 7-8 feet off the floor.
Soon it became apparent that 98% of my sales were for the Big Shelf. So I
dropped everything else and the business became Big Shelf – Garage Storage
Solutions. Very simple and little overhead. The major home improvement stores
became my warehouse.
Of course I had no idea how important the issue of storage is to understanding
the development of human civilization. But now I do and you will too as we
proceed.
Most people were whispering, "You can't make a business out of a big shelf." But not
only did I make a business out of it but I also made some incredible discoveries about
business and marketing AND human civilization and the physical universe. There is a
strong lesson here--do not let others tell you what you can and cannot accomplish. They
cannot see what is inside of you; they do not know your circumstances. People can make
major discoveries digging a ditch, and have done so. Quite simply most people have bought
into the prevailing energy field and are trying to get everyone in there with them.
Let me tell you a little about the process that enabled these discoveries. After four years
of doggedly pursuing the 'best' business strategies and obtaining only mediocre results,
I decided that traditional marketing approaches were not working. I needed a new
process of customer identification. You would think that the customer for my product
would be anyone with a storage problem, a garage, and a few hundred bucks to spare.
But it was not that simple. Nothing ever is. Sometimes, it’s better to tear up the plan and
start over rather than continually trying to force a square peg into a round hole. So that
is what I did. I invented my own process of customer identification.
I started paying attention to everything in my customers’ environments. I had no way of
knowing that by taking this approach I was replicating the attitude and behavior of the
personality profile that was the centerpiece of the development of modern humans from
over 100,000 years ago.
I paid no attention to demographics because most of my customers came from the same
middle socioeconomic group. So I looked for other clues. I started noticing that half of
my customers lived on cul-de-sacs and about 15% on corners. Most all were living close
to a buffer of some sort—a stand of trees in the back, a vacant lot next door, near a
dead-end, perhaps a small park-like area in front—anything to give a little privacy. And
very often water was nearby—a stream, river, lake, pond, even an outdoor fish pool.
With all of these remarkable commonalities among customers, I began to believe that I
was dealing with a particular personality profile—a “getting-things-in-order” profile.
Upon talking with friends in other businesses and industries, it became clear to me that
what I had identified was a specific group that made very specific purchases based
around strong values, the strongest being the home and family. I called this group of
people the IMPACTS.
Then, as I read books about people who were influential in business, cutting-edge
technology, science, medicine, the arts, and many other areas, I began to see that they
shared the same profile as those I was calling IMPACTS. In Good to Great and Built
to Last, books by Jim Collins that researched why certain businesses succeeded above
and beyond others, I saw the strong imprint of the IMPACTS leading the way. In the
many works of James Burke (Connections, The Day the Universe Changed, The
Knowledge Web, and others), I saw the IMPACTS on every page of every chapter. I
was enthralled with what I was seeing. What I had believed was a purchasing
group appeared to be a unique personality profile that had always led civilization
forward. But when and how did the profile develop? I was hooked on finding the
answers.
Why I Wrote This Book
You might ask why I embarked on such an ambitious venture and why it has compelled
me to spend years studying and writing about it. Well, just as you probably have your
own questions about the world and the universe, so too do I. I just may be a little more
aggressively obsessive about finding the answers. I never stop digging until I am
satisfied that I have gone as far as I can go.
Are people today different from human beings of 5,000 years ago? Ten thousand years
ago? Fifty thousand? Why did it take humans so long to invent the wheel? It is only
about 5,000 years old, modern humans over 100,000 years old. How did we go from cave
paintings 20,000 years ago to landing on the moon? How is it possible that people were
able to construct such impressive structures as Stonehenge in England, the Pyramids in
Egypt, and the Parthenon in Greece with such rudimentary tools? But then, maybe they
weren’t so rudimentary after all. Why does art and architecture from long ago seem so
much more exquisite than it does today? Why has the world taken off like a rocket in
technology areas? Why do some people seem to do many things so well? Why do some
seem to see needs and act on them while others do not? How could people like the
Vikings be so brutal and so advanced at the same time? Why do we have constant
warfare around the globe? Has it always been the same? Why do the 'bad guys' seem to
end up running the world instead of the good guys? Why do the great inventors and
discoverers like Einstein and da Vinci usually remain adamantly opposed to the
'insanity' of war though their inventions and discoveries are often used for horrible acts
of destruction? Are we going backwards as far as being civilized is concerned? Is there
any hope for a better world?
These are just some of the questions that intrigue me. And I have come to realize that I
cannot accept others' versions or explanations of the way things are. I have to discover
the answers for myself.
It turns out that the book I have written is the book I always wanted to read, a book that
connected as much as is possible at this particular time, all of the variables of our
existence—the universe beyond, the earth and life on it, people, science, art, history,
business, everything. And I know that millions of others have searched high and low
for just such a plausible template. I want to share what I have found with the world in
the hope that it may help people find answers to their questions. IMPACTS especially
can feel quite alone and frustrated in today’s world though at an earlier time in human
development they actually “ran” the world. Today they provide the fuel on which the
world runs.
It is my sincere hope that this book will help IMPACTS everywhere better understand
themselves by showing them the derivation of their unique energy and why it is
sometimes so difficult for them to find their particular spot in the order of things. There
is another reason for writing as well. I want this book to help IMPACTS around the
world discover new ways to use their precious energy. It has to be utilized; the world
needs it desperately.
What makes me qualified to write such a book? Nothing really—but then Einstein was
not qualified to write his five papers in 1905 about the universe either. He was not
affiliated with a university—he was a clerk in a patent office. Isaac Newton was not
qualified to discover the laws of motion when he was 23 years old either. He
developed almost all of his theories within his own head with very little input from
anyone else. Leonardo da Vinci, possessing one of the most brilliant minds ever,
disdained organized education. I have learned that credentials mean very little as it
relates to knowledge, the quest for knowledge, or the desire to make a difference.
It appears that most of the great discoveries and applications of those discoveries in
human civilization, including today, were made by people ‘on the periphery’ with few
credentials, people who were somewhat or markedly detached from the structure
around them.
Thomas Edison had only a few months of organized education before his mother, a
former teacher, decided that she could do a better job teaching the curious youngster at
home. The school said he was slow and confused; at home he read Shakespeare and
Isaac Newton. Plus he had what you will see a lot of in this book—personal initiative.
By age twelve, Edison was selling newspapers, books, vegetables, and candy on the local
train, and by age fifteen, he was printing and selling his own newspaper. One day, he
acted fast and saved the life of a boy who was about to be run over by the train. The
boy’s father was the stationmaster, and to show his gratitude, he taught Edison how to
work the telegraph. Though he had a hearing problem, no college, and very little
electrical engineering training, Edison produced one patent for every two weeks of his
working life—1093 in all. Likewise, James Watt of steam engine fame was sickly as a
child and therefore schooled mostly by his mother in his early years. He never went to
college either except as an employee to work on instruments and machinery. We will see
why Edison, Watt, Einstein, Newton, da Vinci and other great hands-on discoverers,
explorers, and inventors like them are more the norm than the exception. We will also
see how the periphery plays an important role throughout the universe as the change
agent.
There is a strong thread running through the development of human civilization that
asks, “What are the critical needs in the environment at this particular time and what
results can be delivered that will optimize the potential?” In other words, what is out of
balance and what can be done to bring it into balance? The people mentioned above
were part of that thread.
Why This Book Is Important
As I dug into the characteristics of IMPACTS, I began to see that their profile matched
certain principles of the physical world and the universe. As I mentioned, I am one of
those people who believes in going back to the first atom if need be to find the answers.
In this case, I actually had to go back further—to the Big Bang.
I used to think that the more we learned about the universe, the more we would learn
about ourselves. Now I believe the opposite—the more we learn about ourselves, the
more we will learn about the universe. After all, everything is based on energy and we
are just manifestations of the energy that exists in the universe. If we are going to learn
more about ourselves, we will have to drop time-honored preconceptions and put
ourselves back where we belong—in the natural world. Only then will we be able to see
with enough clarity to start building a more accurate picture of what is really happening
with us, within us, and around us.
We mentioned the hydrogen atom with its proton and electron. We tend to think of the
atom as the smallest form of matter but the atom is actually an amalgam of different
kinds of matter, principally protons and electrons. Neutrons are really an amalgam of
protons and electrons. Besides having opposite charges, protons and electrons have
opposite energies also. Protons are 'pulling-inward' in the nucleus while electrons are
in constant motion around the nucleus. If the outer energy level of the electron field is
not full, then these peripheral electrons or electron—valence electrons—will hunt for
electrons nearby with which to bond, and in doing so, molecules will be formed.
Perhaps the opposite charges of the proton and electron are really the opposite energies
and these energies attract because they exist in a closed system and therefore are
complementary.
These two opposite energies exist in the human species as well. There is IMPACTS
energy (valence electron energy) which I identify as creative, formative, nurturing,
connecting, cooperative, sustaining, improving, and facilitative of change, and there is
the structural-nucleus (SN) energy, analogous to the proton, which I describe generally
as the 'head-of-the-hierarchal-structure' energy. The SN is primarily interested in
acquiring and maintaining power and control. It does so by 'capturing' the IMPACTS
energy and using it for its own ends, often with disastrous results for the IMPACTS and
the SN. I will discuss the push-pull relationship between these two forces throughout
the book. Without an understanding of these two energies, we have no chance of
understanding human civilization or human behavior.
Important points I will emphasize: 1) Simplicity is very important. Let’s strive to avoid complications, which often arise
when we insert our own prejudices and preconceptions into our research. Renowned
American psychologist William James (1842–1910) said, “A great many people think
they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” Or as American
humorist Josh Billings (1818-1885) phrased it: “Education is a good thing generally, but
most folks educate their prejudices.” In other words, we develop our own reality
template and then stick new information into it rather than seeing that maybe the new
information requires a new or more flexible template.
2) The basic dynamic appears to be structural-nucleus (SN) energy versus creative-
formative-productive IMPACTS energy—proton energy versus electron energy. Energy
organization in the universe appears to follow the template of the atom with a small
massive core of 'pulling-inward' energy surrounded by creative-formative-productive
'pushing-outward' energy. The human social model appears to be the same.
3) The creative agent or energy generally comes from the periphery though the
periphery can be nuanced.
4) The IMPACTS are the fuel, engine, and glue for the human race.
5) The future well-being of the world rests with more political (decision-making) power
in the hands of the IMPACTS.
After you complete the book, you should be able to see IMPACTS energy and the
IMPACTS Dynamic operating ubiquitously in your everyday life in an ever-present
manner, including at work or play or within the pages of your favorite book.
How Are We Going to Proceed?
In the first chapter, we will look at the basic concept. In Chapter 2 we will discuss some
present-day IMPACTS and their characteristics and how they fit into the concept.
Chapter 3 will delve a little deeper into the theory and Chapter 4 will discuss the origins
of modern humans from the San tribe of Africa. In Chapter 5 the out-of-Africa group
will be highlighted along with the long journey of modern humans from hunter-gatherer
to agriculturalist, including the dramatic changes to how people interacted with one
another and nature.
Later sections will look at recorded history with the new variable of the IMPACTS
included, which will provide us with a completely different story than the one we are
accustomed to hearing. Dates and wars and generals will hardly be mentioned at all; in their
place will be the discussion of the IMPACTS Dynamic operating at that time in history.
Some topics and chapters will be: What really happened in Greece? Why did the
Renaissance start in the Tuscany area of Italy? What caused the Industrial Revolution
and why did it begin in England? Why was the little-educated inventor of the
refurbished steam engine, James Watt, indicative of the IMPACTS discoverers? Plus
there are other topics such as major science contributors and the French Revolution. All
will be viewed through the prism of the IMPACTS Concept which will be different from
anything you have ever read.
Another section will be devoted to business issues and the IMPACTS Concept including
identification of IMPACTS and everyday practical applications. Finally we will explore
the IMPACTS in today’s world, why the contemporary world works as it does, and possibilities
for change.
Throughout the material there will be examples of how the IMPACTS Concept applies
to the works of other authors such as Jared Diamond, Stephen Gould, David Lewis-
Williams, Stephan Harding, Bill Bryson, Nigel Spivey, James Burke, Jim Collins, and
others. We will discover that the IMPACTS are integral to what they have to say and
integral to the understanding of human civilization on every level.
They say the universe is what we say it is. By inference, everything else is what we say it
is too. Existing paradigms are defended by those who benefit from their design and
construction. The elements in charge try to shape reality to their advantage. Paradigms
have staying-power because they continue to serve those who control them. Truth
doesn’t really have anything to do with it. But this is the same story everywhere—the
attempt to control the structure—and it begins within the hydrogen atom with its one
proton and one electron.
They say that history is written by the victors. Let’s look at another view of the
development of human civilization, a view that could have been written by the
'captured'. I think most of us are familiar with the term ‘the Stockholm Syndrome’,
named after an event in Sweden in 1973 where bank employees, held hostage by bank
robbers for 6 days, appeared to form an attachment to their captors. How does the
Stockholm Syndrome relate to human history and the present regarding the control of
society by the structural-nucleus or SN? In the Stockholm Syndrome, you have an
abusive element and you have a captured element that identifies with the abuser(s). Is
the study of human civilization for the past 5,000-10,000 years actually a study of the
Stockholm Syndrome? You be the judge as we go forward.
I am trying to do what a scholar tries to do—make you think. Why? Because the world
desperately needs alternative views and workable solutions. In the end it comes down to
this—what can we do with this newfound knowledge to make the world a better place
for human beings and for the earth and all of her creatures? Can we put human
civilization on sounder footing? Is it possible for values such as justice and
humanitarianism to become ascendant or have we gone too far in the wrong direction? I
do not know but we will discuss the issues.
On this trip, we are going to see the same things we have always seen but all of it is
going to look totally different. It is kind of like going back to a place from your
childhood—everything looks the same and everything looks different at the same time.
I hope this book aids you in better understanding yourself and others and the universe
in general. Like IMPACTS do everyday of their lives, I am just trying to fill in some of
the blanks, and there are many. Our current paradigm does not come close to answering
all of our questions and actually leads us astray in many areas. Even its hierarchal
structure is a deterrent to our quest for answers. We will see that most discoveries come
from a nurturing circle at some distance from the prevailing structure.
The universe is actually not what 'we' say it is; it is what some of us say it is. The rest of
us are still asking questions. Knowledge truly is power and it carries tremendous
potential energy. Thank you for reading.
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