It is said that the United States of America, in particular California, have granted a life-style that offers ample choices for the individuum. Is this true , I asked myself.

Last year in April I had a chance to fly around the world. Since then, I can confirm, that our planet is (at least approximatively) round. On my way from Asia, I landed in Taipei, then LAX. The plane first followed a pristine-looking Northern California coast, then turning a little left before delving in the huge Los Angeles valley kettle towards LAX.

Before landing, I noticed an ocean of very similar-looking houses. It came to my mind that every house, garden, car could very well be described by a very simple computer program:

Probably everybody down there hedged the view of living individual lives. From a mile up it looked more like a lego set plus several fairly very basic mathematical rules or statistical formulas governing car type, house color and the location of trees in front of each house. Some of the choices were:

House foundation: 1 (= rectangular)
Location of car, in front of house: 3 choices
Type of car: including age, range perhaps 50 choices

Swimming pool: 2 choices (yes, no) 
Location of tree within plot: 8 choices
Building material: 3 choices (brick, concrete, sheetrock)
House color: 20 choices

plus the hidden/intangible/invisible ones:

Sexual preferences: 4 choices

Religious orientation: 5 plus choices

Politics: 2 choices (rightwing 1, rightwing 2)
etc etc etc

Welcome to the matrix of modern life. If anywhere, individualism exists in the mind. I wonder, how much of this option is being developed, or rather neglected.

(c) 2007 by Franz L Kessler