Superpowers_Introduction

The transcription is a mix of a speech by Winston Churchill, an introduction to a book written by Paul Cromwick, and his reflections on life and his hopes for his children. It discusses the unpredictability of events, the pursuit of happiness, and the metaphor of catching a big wave to represent success in life. Cromwick reflects on his own achievements and setbacks, emphasizes the importance of family, and contemplates the future and the challenges faced by society. He hopes that his children will make a positive impact on the world. Superpowers and Suffering, the First Fifty Years. Written by Paul Cromwick, and read to you by Paul Cromwick, that's me, dedicated to my two wonderful children, Gabriel and Isabel. Self-published in March 2023. Long and hazardous years lie before us, but at least we entered upon them united and with clean hearts. One day we may all pass our own conduct and our own judgements under a searching review. It is not given to human beings, happily for them, for otherwise life would be intolerable, to foresee or predict with any large extent the unfolding course of events. In one phase men seem to have been right, in another they seem to have been wrong. Then again, a few years later, when the perspective of time has lengthened, all stands in a different setting. There is a new proportion, there is another scale of values. History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days. Winston Churchill, 12th of November 1940, in a speech for Neville Chamberlain, the outgoing PM, or Prime Minister. Introduction. Why am I writing this? The meaning of life is to find your gift. To find your gift is happiness. Larry Pratchett. A favourite movie scene of mine opens with a close-up shot of pro surfer Mike Parsons being towed by a jet ski over the white caps of a choppy sea. The ambient sounds then fade to silence as the camera gradually pans out and we start to understand the magnitude of what Mike Parsons is about to attempt as he releases his grip on the tow rope. The scene zooms out further, allowing the viewer to take in the immensity of the nearly 70-foot wave now reaching its zenith, the angry foam of white water boiling at its crest, while a diminutive Mike Parsons begins a precipitous descent down the almost vertical face. Piahi, a notorious big-wave surf spot on Maui's north shore, is appropriately nicknamed Jaws. Indeed, the wave resembles the toothy, menacing jaws of a gigantic liquid shark as the full weight of the wave curls over and comes crashing down, swallowing up all before it in a frenzy of foamy whitewash. But Mike Parsons boldly defies the odds as his board carves its way diagonally across the massive face, a streak of white water in his wake. For several seconds, Parsons is lost from view as he becomes completely enveloped within the massive tube and the viewer holds its breath. Then the silence is broken by the symphony of an uplifting soundtrack as Parsons, still upright, emerges triumphantly from the whitewash. David had slayed Goliath, and with that performance he received a perfect ten, winning that year's Billabong big-wave competition. The real-life opening scene from the 2003 documentary movie Billabong Odyssey truly captivated me, and still does. For me, it was more than just an epic surf scene or the awesome display of nature's raw power. For me, it was a metaphor for life, or more precisely, how I wanted the arc of my life and career to play out. Like Mike Parsons, I wanted to catch my big wave and know true success. I was around 31 years old when I saw that scene for the first time, and my career was still in its early stages. I had only a vague notion then of what my metaphoric big wave might look like, and at the time I didn't feel anywhere close to catching one. I knew then, as I do today, that success is an amorphous concept, difficult to define. In 1900, the average lifespan for men and women was right around the 50-year-old mark. Reaching that age was generally considered to be a major milestone and represented a full life, probably the equivalent of reaching 80 years of age today. Most of the significant accomplishments of the world's most famous people have occurred in the first 50 years of their lives, Churchill being one of those notable exceptions. I believe it is a logical age at which to pause and reflect, to put pen to paper and try to understand and put into perspective the significance of those last 50 years. I am writing this in part to satisfy my ego and accomplish a goal, but more importantly I wish to better know my inner self. What I write here is not simply a recounting of my life history over the last 50 years. It is more than that. This compilation of vignettes in loose chronological order during different phases of my life delves deep into my inner thoughts and feelings to provide an introspective insight into who I was and am emotionally, spiritually, morally and intellectually. Yet these pages can really only scratch the surface. This book is written specifically for my beloved twin children, Gabriel and Isabel. What I want for my kids is to understand the kind of person I was and how I came to be the person I am today. At the time I write this introduction, they are 11 years old, an age at which they are beginning to grasp the complexities of human nature. Their idealised and often naive view of the world is beginning to be replaced with life's often harsh realities. It may not be long before they choose not to view me with the same rose-coloured glasses they had previously. The teenage years mark the beginning of their journey towards independence and critical thought. They know the past me from stories related to them by myself, my wife and my parents. But I wish to control that narrative more thoroughly by putting together a series of short stories which hopefully capture my essence. I intend to relate both the high and low points of my life to demonstrate to them that life is not simply an upward trajectory. I have had some setbacks and hopefully there is much for them to learn from those setbacks. I believe you learn more from failure than you do success. Has my life so far been a success? The short answer I believe is yes, but how does one even define success over a period of 50 years? It is certainly more than simply building wealth, although having enough money to be able to live the way you want is something to celebrate. Beyond that, making money for the sake of just making more money should not be the goal. There should be a lot more to life. I am proud of many things, many of which I will recount in this book, and not least of which was marrying Maria and guiding Gabriel and Isabel into this world. I believe in them and am proud of them, no matter what they end up doing with their lives. They have been brought up the right way to understand how to be a positive influence in this world. For me to know my kids are on the right track and continue to believe that hard work will pay off fills me with great happiness. This is the proudest achievement of my life and the greatest contribution any parent can make. If I accomplish nothing more than bring two wonderful people into this world, then I have truly made a difference to this planet. Why are we here? Human beings exist because life, despite the low odds, somehow exists, and the forces of evolution and natural selection after millions of years developed an animal with the capacity for self-thought, consciousness, reflection, socialization, and amazing intelligence. Evolution has endowed us with this incredible brain and enables me to write these stories and preserve for posterity who I am. I do not believe our future is preordained. Instead, I believe we write our own stories as we go. Every moment in our lives is an opportunity to shape what comes next. At nearly 50 years old, I cannot escape the feeling sometimes I have not done enough in my first half century. We are granted the miracle of life somehow, and we have just one opportunity to live it. It is an incredible gift, which should not be taken for granted nor squandered. I had hoped, perhaps, that by now I would be on the path to making more of a difference in this world. I fantasize that I will make an important scientific discovery or start a business that fundamentally changes people's lives for the better. I could make the case that in some ways the work I have done so far has been a force for good, but there has been too much procrastination. I know I can do more, and should. How do I avoid succumbing to the many excuses I have for failure? That is the easy path. The hard path, the road less travelled, is to never accept failure and doggedly search for a way through. In the end, it just might make you stronger. Perhaps the next 50 years will enable me to do so, but I also feel confident my children will be able to pick up on that notion and strive for the same goal. The world I entered was fraught with palpable fear due to the shadow of imminent nuclear war between the United States and the USSR. That shadow still hangs over the world in a different form, like a background hum, never quite strident but nonetheless perceptible. It has now receded in the collective consciousness and been replaced by other threats, including environmental degradation, species loss and climate change. The capacity for human intelligence to solve problems for itself is astounding, and we may find a way to avert the worst of what is expected to come from climate change. I do hope that for my kids, and I know in some measure, small or large, they will be a force for good and change towards helping the world heal itself. I wonder sometimes whether or not they perceive the future with a sense of anticipation for a better world to come, or instead perhaps wonder if they can ever achieve more than their own parents have accomplished. To that I would note the many positive impacts new technologies are having on our lives, such as breakthroughs in treating various forms of cancer, or developing a vaccine for COVID-19 in record time in under a year, or the development of electric and driverless cars, or robotic and AI devices that can assist us with our everyday mundane activities with ChatGPT, just the latest in AI. But those same technologies, particularly those related to automation, also portend tougher economic circumstances for low-skilled workers, and maybe even high-skilled workers with ChatGPT. Children of today should develop skills that will enable them to participate in the burgeoning high-tech economy, such as programming and robotics, or perhaps in human social work, requiring the kind of empathetic skills AI or robots will likely never have, which will be in higher demand than ever. There will be ever-increasing income inequality unless governments take action to actively redistribute wealth to those displaced by automation. The kids of today also experienced a life-altering pandemic, the worst the world has seen since 1918, and it will have a profound impact on their lives going forward. They have been plunged into a world of social media, forced to navigate the unwitting negative effects of online communication. Despite all of this, I am confident Gabriel and Isabel will be well-positioned for this changing social and economic environment. Writing this book is a major accomplishment for me, a hugely important bucket list item. Increasingly, I put more thought into what I say to people, even to a stranger on the street, because who knows what impact your words may have. With any luck, they will be words of inspiration, which is what I strive for in this book. With no exaggeration do I say it has given me immense joy to write this, the way an artist can lose themselves when immersed within that indescribable feeling of flow. The words of Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount, as written in the Gospel of Matthew 514-16, are poignant. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. I wish to shine a bright light, a moral pathway for my kids to follow. If I have learned anything over my first 50 years, it is that the only thing we can really count on is getting surprised. I hope reading this book helps to ground them, particularly during testing times. If they lose their way, maybe these writings will help them listen to their inner voice to find their true north and a better path. Naturally their world and their generation are different to mine, but history can repeat, and hopefully they don't make the same mistakes I have made. At least they will realize that mistakes can be overcome, happiness and joy can still follow. The story of my life begins with those responsible for creating and shaping me, my parents and grandparents. To do this takes us back to the old world, Europe, around the time of World War II. Part one of this book was actually written during the 20 years earlier in 2003, and so my writing style has evolved since then. Nevertheless, please bear with it, as I think the only way to understand the present or the future is to understand what came before it.