This post is part one of a four-part series of articles examining the nature and scope of influence and functionality of agile and flexible power structures outside the more recognized and influential ones. The articles will briefly discuss the major and minor systems and propose the potent capability of a set of smaller power structures to reform, restructure, or dismantle an older, more powerful, and stronger framework if necessary.
In this post, I start with the simplest yet less intuitive of such power functions in our minds, which are personal and easier to understand and work with. The other three essays will focus on the rise of authoritarian intelligence, AI, and the inevitable need for structuring smaller, agile, and strategic intelligent structures to encounter it. Finally, the other two will focus on corporational and governmental power structures. I hope that the reader arrives at the conclusion that smaller power mechanisms can confront, penetrate, modify, reform, or, if necessary, dismantle larger, widely recognized, and influential power structures.
The purpose of this post is to describe a commonly unrecognized power that we have at our disposal to overcome the power and influence of the older, structured, and well-architected framework of beliefs. We have previously discussed the old framework as the interconnected network of entities of the mind. These virtual entities are the concepts, ideas, perceptions, perspectives, ideologies, and belief systems constructed throughout our lives and deeply recognized as the standard and unquestionable order of beliefs.
The mind’s framework gradually becomes a stronghold of beliefs through reinforcement processes. For instance, a teen is generally far more flexible to new ideas, modifying or omitting perceptions, and adopting new perspectives than someone twenty years older. The reason is not that the older we get, the wiser we get, and we refuse to change. The reason is that we feed the pre-existing belief system and reinforce its strength through time. We deceive ourselves into believing in the validity and reliability of our rigid framework of beliefs, and we often argue that “it works and has worked for me.”. Therefore, the older we get, the harder we make it for the old and non-constructive ways to change; although it is not the case for all of us, most of the time, it is the standard approach for the majority.
If we recall from previous posts, we have assumed that the brain constructs the mind and its contents. Therefore, I argue that the brain can observe the contents of the mind, examine it according to whatever metric and standard it has, and modify it accordingly. In other words, one can observe the contents, such as perspectives on specific subjects and perceptions of things and decide whether they should be modified, removed, replaced, or kept as they are.
Therefore, the intellectual brain can create new frameworks and systems of ideas, concepts, etc., upon demand; who makes the demand? The brain itself. Assume the individual’s mind hosts a significantly reinforced, rigid and protected framework of beliefs over years and years of biased and unbiased interpretations of experiences. Now the person has realized it’s time for a change; it’s time to reconstruct the mental system and let go of the old ways. However, the old stronghold of the mind is way too fortified and deep-rooted to tear down. In other words, the aging network seems a formidable power structure too big to change.
The alternative to giving up is constructing a new framework within the mind. In other words, the brain can architect a parallel power structure within the mind to challenge, reform, remove, uproot, and overcome the older deep-rooted power structure. This ability of the brain is not a hypothetical concept; we all have done it and enjoyed seeing its impact. For instance, I always hated running throughout my life until 2008. When I started running in 2008, I had no coach. Not only that, but I also had a very old mindset that I sucked at running; I hated it, it was boring, and I hated pushing my lungs to aerobic/anaerobic levels. I studied, learned and implemented techniques into my running.
Nearly during all my runs, for the majority of the time spent on foot, I told my brain to adjust and modify my body movement to replicate a high-performance form. In other words, I created a parallel power structure to penetrate and influence the older and resistant power structure. One part of my mind was reforming the older and stronger part of it with the aid of the brain. The following year I completed two ultramarathon races of 80 km and 100 km. Each year I got faster, more technical, and improved my endurance. In the summer of 2011, I finished six ultramarathons, including the 330 km toughest ultra in the world, the Tor Des Geants, finishing top 25%.
In 2013 I returned to school after 15 years of gap, and in 2015, I completed a B.Sc. degree in Geophysics with a first-class honour GPA of 3.84. In 2015 I was invited to the University of Toronto for a Ph.D. program in Geodynamics and completed the program in 2021 with a 280 pages research thesis on rapid earthquake detection.
We all have experienced the potent power of creating a working and agile power structure within the mind to overcome and modify the older, fortified framework of concepts. Unfortunately, I don’t have it figured out completely, and I currently struggle to find a job that suits my skills, knowledge, and experience. But I know that I need to implement the same concepts I have used before to change my mindset and reconfigure my diminished confidence. Therefore, I encourage everyone, myself first, to examine our minds and restructure them with constructive content.
We can either openly and transparently examine the contents of our minds and make appropriate adjustments and modifications to the framework of beliefs or create a new dynamic power structure to overcome and reform the older system. Or do we give up and stay with the same old crap we are content with and accustomed to.
The concept of constructing dynamic and agile power structures parallel to or within an older, more fortified, influential power system is supported by historical and more recent evidence. When a recognized, well-supported, and resourceful power structure seem impenetrable and nonreformable, a set of smaller, agile, strategic, and unbound systems can create enough inertia to overpower the bigger one. The story of David and Goliath is a great example. David possessed 1- skills/strategy, 2- element of surprise, and 3- nothing to lose. When you have been convinced, by any means, that an old and rigid framework is too big to defeat or reform, you can architect one, two, or a swarm of structured or non-structured agile and skillful power systems to work from within and outside the more extensive system to bring it down. You can take down and rebuild an old and going-extinct framework of beliefs and perceptions and replace them with a new, evolving, and agile one, no matter how old or small you are.
Payman Janbakhsh, Ph.D.