BERLIN GEIST LITERATUR
ISSUE 2 | JAN. 2021
CHANGING WITH THE TIMES
From heteronomous advances like A.I. to autonomous shifts like aging, change comes seemingly at an ever-quickening pace. But changing with the times is still something we have the power to address on our own terms – fighting regressions and supporting advances that ensure the changes that occur are for the better.
What is change, really?
change
/CHānj/
verb
- make (someone or something) different; alter or modify.
“both parties voted against proposals to change the law”
- replace (something) with something else, especially something of the same kind that is newer or better; substitute one thing for (another).
“she decided to change her name”
noun
- the act or instance of making or becoming different.
“the change from a nomadic to an agricultural society”
- coins as opposed to paper currency.
“a handful of loose change”
From the physiological changes and psychological that come from the aging of our autonomous bodies to the heteronomous changes – technological advances, scientific discoveries, political upheaval, worsening climate and more – occurring around us at all times, changing with the times is not always an easy task.
There is a clear choice, however, when faced with great change:
Adapt or resist.
But this too is not always as easy as it sounds – understanding what change might have a positive outcome, or even a necessary one, while conversely identifying the shifts that must be challenged and fought, can often be elusive in the moment.
The following articles, essays, and stories shine a light on the changes that come with time – inside and out – and, with great hope, offer some clarity as time continues its endless march into the future. Solidarity remains imperative as we continue growing, shifting, learning, adapting. The mission here to ensure what changes heteronomously is changing for the better, i.e., societal changes and advances that benefit the many and not the few, and the continuous autonomous changes occur, at least, on our own terms.
“It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.”
– Isaac Asimov
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ISSUE 2: CHANGING WITH THE TIMES
You and A.I.We are finally coming face to face with the intelligent robots we've always imagined. What will that mean for humans?
You’re An @sshole: Being “Right” in the Digital AgeWith the Digital Age came computers. With computers came the internet. With internet came your post, their post, funny post, mean post, political post…
Will Humans Go Extinct?Asteroids, climate change, nuclear holocaust, disease, politics… These are certainly the End Times. But how likely is it that humans will go the way of the dinosaur?
Those Jobs Are Gone, and They’re Not Coming BackOld economy jobs are disappearing. Politicians, as hard as they might try, can't bring back jobs that don't exist anymore.
Real Websites, Fake NewsFake news has existed from the earliest days of journalism, long before Bat Boy became Hillary Clinton's alien baby. In 1835, Richard A. Locke published a series of six fake articles about the discovery of life …
A Midwestern GirlNothing stays the same and the world will always keep moving forward, as one girl learns from her father in this story of small-town Minnesota.
A Festering PastGermany has addressed its past in ways most countries, especially the United States, have not: A sort of national psychoanalysis to keep something like the Third Reich from ever happening again.
Sad Dog: Heartbreak in Rural MinnesotaThat girl Lily left in June and… there's not much difference between a dog and a man when they’re down and out like that.
The SeasonsMy memories are made of brick and cement and glass. My dreams are bathed in the waning sunlight of an autumn day. Long shadows creep over fences and pull at the sidewalk as the sun …
A City of the FutureWhat was once considered a sleepy Midwest town, St. Paul's plans for the future have residents and officials looking forward.
ON AGE AND AGEISM
Ageism, Part One: What’s the Point of Living if No One Wants to F*ck You?Ageism is a problem, but is not addressed in the same manner as other forms of discrimination. Let's talk about growing old in America.
Ageism, Part Two: The Definition of AgingWhat exactly is "old?" People share what growing old means to them in the latest segment of the Berlin Geist Literatur series on aging.
Ageism, Part Three: An Old Man’s StoryOne old man tells a story of life lived; the poetry of a world we were all forced to inherit, and that we will all be forced to someday give up as well.
Ageism, Part Four: EldercareThis companion piece to "Ageism in America" takes a look at the innovators who will change the way we age, and the limitations of aging.
