ADD, MULTIPLY, DIVIDE and SUBTRACT<\/i><\/p>\n
Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n
This exploration uses the set of basic mathematical operations as a means of providing a mnemonic framework to highlight weaknesses in comprehension tending to accelerate processes of global civilizational collapse, as variously foreseen (Thomas Homer-Dixon<\/a>, The Upside of Down: catastrophe, creativity, and the renewal of civilization<\/a><\/i>, 2006; \u00a0 Jared M. Diamond<\/a>, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed<\/a><\/i>, 2005; Johan Rockstrom<\/a> and Anders Wijkman<\/a>, Bankrupting Nature: Denying our Planetary Boundaries<\/i><\/a>, 2012).<\/p>\n The exploration can be seen as consistent with the work of George Lakoff and Rafael Nu\u00f1ez (Where Mathematics Comes From: how the embodied mind brings mathematics into being<\/i><\/a>, 2001). However, the focus is on associating the much-discussed strategic challenges of the times with the familiar mathematical operations: ADD with problematic forms of growth; MULTIPLY with increasing population; DIVIDE with the tendencies to divisiveness; and SUBTRACT with ensuring less than the whole truth.<\/p>\n The argument concludes with recognition that mathematics offers a multitude of other possibilities, most notably that associated with INTEGRATION — so obviously a challenge with respect to the many domains of human affairs. However, as recent research has indicated, humans have instinctive capacities in that respect — well demonstrated in acrobatics and the capacity to catch a ball, with which so many are familiar.<\/p>\n