> The Shaman is in the business of *creating* value.
>
> But /value/ exists on it's own, you say. It's not created or
> manufactured. A thing either has value or it doesn't, right? Depending
> on it's characteristics.
>
> No. Look at the stock market. Is the value of a stock a reflection of
> the worth of the company issuing it? No. If that was the case, the Dow
> Jones would still be at 1000. (Are Wall Street traders Shaman? That's a
> loaded question!)
>
> The marketplace discovered 200 years ago that *value* could be generated.
> Created from thin air, with only the most dubious link to "real" worth.
>
> The Shaman learned the same thing about humans and human culture, only
> they did it 20,000 or more years ago. They learned that *value* is a
> thing that exists outside of the material world. It is something we
> impose over the top of reality.
I recommend "Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M.
Pirsig
He talks about exactly this, although his word is "Quality"...
I read that book three times in two weeks, just to be sure I understood.
> What are you doing for the next ten years, anyway?
If I knew, I wouldn't have to live them!
ERiC