Admiration, inspiration, jealousy and defeatism

Fishes. Ponds. Once, any size of fish could be matched with an appropriate pond. Now there is one pond, which is planet-sized.

Globalization #

As the bigger fish migrated to bigger ponds, eventually, the biggest fish found even the biggest pond inadequate.

So they conglomerated. Less ponds, but bigger! This suited the big fish, who grew bigger yet.

Self perception #

The small ponds drain into the mega-ponds, and with the small ponds the small fish.

The appropriately sized ponds had fostered a naive belief in the fish - that they too were appropriately sized. But this illusion is impossible to maintain in the planet-sized pond - the scale has been redefined. Suddenly, the fish feel small.

The bigger fish #

The biggest fish are the most visible, and the water magnifies them further. These fish look appropriately sized in the mega-pond.

Some of the small fish resolve to grow bigger. “Surely they were once small fish too. I will emulate the big fish and I will grow big.” Others are not so hopeful. “They have always been big, and I will always be small.”

Bigger and smaller #

Evaluative comparison demands hierarchy. A hierarchy can be arbitrary, absolute, subjective, objective, or anywhere in between.

Value judgements are composed of infinite hierarchies, and the value of these hierarchies are given by other hierarchies. The fish are more or less incognizant of this complexity, but are shaped by it all the same.

Gone fishin’. #

More thoughts will surely follow but this fish metaphor is wearing thin.