It makes me wonder how much of this is just an unconscious attempt to mold reality to fit our desires.
Like the woman who longs for her husband to see and reflect the image she holds of herself in her mind—only to be disappointed because, deep down, she doesn’t fully see herself either.
Or the basketball coach chasing perfection, so consumed by the game that they lose their soul along the way.
Thanks for reading Emma, I think there’s definitely an aspect where we want reality to fit our desires. I think another aspect is that a lot of people refuse to acknowledge that there are some things that we will never truly understand, and it’s beyond our control. I think that aspect is very scary to a lot of people, so they try to boil things down into a simple and quantifiable process, without realizing what they give up along the way.
Good one -- there are mathematical reasons why what you write is true. Optimization as you describe it is a meta linear refinement, and as such, new concepts cannot break into the idea space. It ends with parthenogenesis, and then entropy takes over. You make the best one cell bacterium. But it will never swim, because it cannot grab a tail. If you're interested in understanding this in detail, read this: https://empathy.guru/2019/03/24/closing-the-doors-on-disruptive-innovation-and-bacterial-parthenogenesis/
This article really makes you think. Optimization has made life more efficient, but in the process, a lot of the beauty and spontaneity seems to have disappeared. You can see it in sports, movies, even the way people interact. I wonder if there is a way to keep progress moving forward without losing the things that make life feel rich and meaningful.
All great examples Noah! One of the problems that I plan on writing about on my personal blog is the fact that Internet creates a winner take all structure, which means that a small number of voices get disproportionally represented.
As you mentioned, literature becomes homogenized, as well as movies and TV shows, and this is primarily because the people who are making these shows have a very specific world view that doesn’t actually map onto what the majority of people believe
Thank you for reading everyone 😀
This is a great think piece.
It makes me wonder how much of this is just an unconscious attempt to mold reality to fit our desires.
Like the woman who longs for her husband to see and reflect the image she holds of herself in her mind—only to be disappointed because, deep down, she doesn’t fully see herself either.
Or the basketball coach chasing perfection, so consumed by the game that they lose their soul along the way.
Thanks for reading Emma, I think there’s definitely an aspect where we want reality to fit our desires. I think another aspect is that a lot of people refuse to acknowledge that there are some things that we will never truly understand, and it’s beyond our control. I think that aspect is very scary to a lot of people, so they try to boil things down into a simple and quantifiable process, without realizing what they give up along the way.
And yet, overcoming the fear of uncertainty is the very thing that sets you free.
Good one -- there are mathematical reasons why what you write is true. Optimization as you describe it is a meta linear refinement, and as such, new concepts cannot break into the idea space. It ends with parthenogenesis, and then entropy takes over. You make the best one cell bacterium. But it will never swim, because it cannot grab a tail. If you're interested in understanding this in detail, read this: https://empathy.guru/2019/03/24/closing-the-doors-on-disruptive-innovation-and-bacterial-parthenogenesis/
Thanks for reading Chuck, I’ll take a look at that article for sure
This article really makes you think. Optimization has made life more efficient, but in the process, a lot of the beauty and spontaneity seems to have disappeared. You can see it in sports, movies, even the way people interact. I wonder if there is a way to keep progress moving forward without losing the things that make life feel rich and meaningful.
It’s a tough balance for sure, but I think the first step is to acknowledge that something is being lost in the first place
All great examples Noah! One of the problems that I plan on writing about on my personal blog is the fact that Internet creates a winner take all structure, which means that a small number of voices get disproportionally represented.
As you mentioned, literature becomes homogenized, as well as movies and TV shows, and this is primarily because the people who are making these shows have a very specific world view that doesn’t actually map onto what the majority of people believe
Thank you for reading!