Re: Random vs. Systematic Growth

Max M (maxm@maxmcorp.dk)
Mon, 21 Jul 1997 16:03:49 +0200


> From: Anders Sandberg

> In what ways can we
> make the personal growth and maturation process more efficient, less
> painful and more transhuman?

What you are touching here is really a subset of the apparent conflict, as
seen by many on this list, between:

Linear <> nonlinear
Mechanical <> biological
Controlled development <> evolution / self organising
Newtonian physics <> chaos theory
Planned <> Random

I think the solution is to find a balance between these artificial
opposites. All of these things exists. The nonlinear side tends to think
that beacuse many things have a tendency to self organise in an rather
efficient manner, that it is the only way to do things. Also a lot of
people find that because the fractal ideas are new, that they also are
better. That I think is a complete misunderstanding. Extropians and
Transhuman ideals stands for exactly the opposite. Transhumans wants to
controll and transform the universe the way we like it. The most powerfull
force on earth (and perhaps in the universe) is the logic, planning and
controlling mind.

Chaos theory can help describe complex systems. It dosn't have to be the
way intelligence design these systems to work.

Your subset is the conflict between Planned education <> Random
experiences.

It's all part of the thing we call life, and I don't really think that it
can be planned. If you try to plan which part of your education should be
planned and wich should be random, then then there wouldn't really be any
random experiences. :-)

You can plan to spend a part of your life experimenting though, and that's
probably a vise thing to do.

Max M Rasmussen, Denmark
mailto:maxm@maxmcorp.dk