Xarker Manifesto: Change

On change, both personal and large-scale

1. It is always harder to propose something new, brilliant and unproven than it is to defend something old, failed, rotten and nasty.
2. Most human beings are not changed by evidence and reasoned argument, at least not on matters they identify as being of fundamental importance. This is because we are naturally hardwired by our evolutionary, sociobiological past to conform unconsciously to a group norm.
3. Awareness of this human trait does not make xarkers immune to it, but it offers us a tool for making changes in our lives. Sociobiology helps us understand human nature, but human nature is not limited by sociobiology.
4. You cannot force change in yourself or in others. You can only create the circumstances in which change may occur.
5. Change may occur gradually, like a rock eroded by water, or suddenly, like slow pressure on a light switch that has no effect until the instant the entire room goes pitch dark. The latter is known as phase change, and it is an important concept in a variety of new ideas ranging from chaos theory to global climate modeling.

Editor's Note: The original Xarker Manifesto was published on this site on June 29, 2005. Subsequent changes and additions appear with a date attached.

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