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Dear Youngjin, Nice to see one of your cartoons back on the front page! I'm trying to doublethink over your cartoon and see you drew a world of consequences. In your label you mention euthanasia; do you mean to give expression that euthanasia is a decision mankind should not consider without being aware of consequences that refer to other references that might be overlooked, like power games that extend to the complete exclusion of a person's responsibility, in the sense of 'free will'? Producing frightening scenarios beyond of what most of us would like to imagine?
Hmm, I think I smell a rat. This 'elegant' idea, while filled with possibilities, must be fraught with problems. It seems symbolic of much that already happens. Another thought-provoking cartoon. Good entertainment.
I wondered if Youngjin was about to produce a new version of the famous Schrodinger Cat experiment - with the state of someone in one place hanging on the state of say, another whose fate cannot be known... anyway it seems Yongjin's focus remains mysterious. On a more everyday level, indeed there are many couples who wish to die at the same time and make pacts to this effect - but also, perhaps more intriguingly, those well-documented cases of partners who die of NATURAL causes shortly after each other - no pills required!
There are many ways to spin this challenging cartoon. For me, the cartoon underscores the mutual dependency that naturally infuses society. By the very definition of society and its complex organization and functions, in choosing to be a member, one takes on the role of protector of both the group and the individual. Ideally, this system of presumed reciprocity works best, that is, to everyone’s advantage. If it’s nurtured, that is. The relationship of reciprocity often breaks down, however, when some people choose to see the power dynamic — such as access to resources, rights, and privileges — as competitive (even zero-sum) rather than supportive and mutually reinforcing. I see the specter of death resulting from activation of the poison pills as a metaphor for that breakdown in reciprocity and its worst consequences.
4 comments:
Dear Youngjin,
Nice to see one of your cartoons back on the front page!
I'm trying to doublethink over your cartoon and see you drew a world of consequences. In your label you mention euthanasia; do you mean to give expression that euthanasia is a decision mankind should not consider without being aware of consequences that refer to other references that might be overlooked, like power games that extend to the complete exclusion of a person's responsibility, in the sense of 'free will'? Producing frightening scenarios beyond of what most of us would like to imagine?
Hmm, I think I smell a rat. This 'elegant' idea, while filled with possibilities, must be fraught with problems. It seems symbolic of much that already happens. Another thought-provoking cartoon. Good entertainment.
I wondered if Youngjin was about to produce a new version of the famous Schrodinger Cat experiment - with the state of someone in one place hanging on the state of say, another whose fate cannot be known... anyway it seems Yongjin's focus remains mysterious. On a more everyday level, indeed there are many couples who wish to die at the same time and make pacts to this effect - but also, perhaps more intriguingly, those well-documented cases of partners who die of NATURAL causes shortly after each other - no pills required!
There are many ways to spin this challenging cartoon. For me, the cartoon underscores the mutual dependency that naturally infuses society. By the very definition of society and its complex organization and functions, in choosing to be a member, one takes on the role of protector of both the group and the individual. Ideally, this system of presumed reciprocity works best, that is, to everyone’s advantage. If it’s nurtured, that is. The relationship of reciprocity often breaks down, however, when some people choose to see the power dynamic — such as access to resources, rights, and privileges — as competitive (even zero-sum) rather than supportive and mutually reinforcing. I see the specter of death resulting from activation of the poison pills as a metaphor for that breakdown in reciprocity and its worst consequences.
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