Perhaps the most practical description of intelligence is “the power to predict”. So far, I can’t think of any example of intelligence that does not fit that definition. Prediction seems to be the whole reason for it to exist.
You and I seem to live in the bizarre situation where we are constantly traveling in a direction we cannot see. We have to steer, but we can only see where we have already been. In order to travel well, we have to make intelligent guesses about how to steer, based on what we just passed; lines on the road, the nature of obstacles we almost hit, what our neighbors are hitting. This must be a fun game because judging from the crowds it is very popular. One strategy to do well in this game is to develop intelligence.
Now consider a being that lives outside of time. This being can view time as just another dimension in space. She could “see” history at a glance. Past and future have no meaning. Different times are simply different locations on a landscape.
This being has no need for intelligence; there is nothing to predict. She would seem to us to be super intelligent and wise and knowledgeable. To us she would appear to be omniscient and omnipresent
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Not consumers; Participators
Society is the brain. Individual people are the neurons.
As a student of neural networks, I was fascinated when the internet first got popular. This meant that the giant brain that we live in suddenly became much more connected. In neural nets, that usually means much smarter and able to learn much faster. I was wondering how that might manifest in society.
There is a pwerful new movement afoot. The awesome power of its timeliness struck me when I began to hear it explained this way...
People are so tired of being "consumers".
They want to be producers.
The author of an upcoming book "We-Think" phrases it this way
Google paying close on £900m for Youtube, a profitless business little more than a year old. Wikipedia continues to draw more traffic than much more established media brands, employing hundreds more people. Open source programmes such as Linux insistently chip away at corporate providers of proprietary software. Immersive multi user computer games, such as Second Life, which depend on high levels of user participation and creativity are booming. Craigslist a self help approach to searching for jobs and other useful stuff is eating into the ad revenues of newspapers. Youth magazines such as Smash Hits have been overwhelmed by the rise of social networking sites such as MySpace and Bebo. What is going on?
We-Think: the power of mass creativity is about what the rise of the likes of Wikipedia and Youtube, Linux and Craigslist means for the way we organise ourselves, not just in digital businesses but in schools and hospitals, cities and mainstream corporations. My argument is that these new forms of mass, creative collaboration announce the arrival of a society in which participation will be the key organising idea rather than consumption and work. People want to be players not just spectators, part of the action, not on the sidelines.
Check out his pre release book and help him edit it.
As a student of neural networks, I was fascinated when the internet first got popular. This meant that the giant brain that we live in suddenly became much more connected. In neural nets, that usually means much smarter and able to learn much faster. I was wondering how that might manifest in society.
There is a pwerful new movement afoot. The awesome power of its timeliness struck me when I began to hear it explained this way...
People are so tired of being "consumers".
They want to be producers.
The author of an upcoming book "We-Think" phrases it this way
Google paying close on £900m for Youtube, a profitless business little more than a year old. Wikipedia continues to draw more traffic than much more established media brands, employing hundreds more people. Open source programmes such as Linux insistently chip away at corporate providers of proprietary software. Immersive multi user computer games, such as Second Life, which depend on high levels of user participation and creativity are booming. Craigslist a self help approach to searching for jobs and other useful stuff is eating into the ad revenues of newspapers. Youth magazines such as Smash Hits have been overwhelmed by the rise of social networking sites such as MySpace and Bebo. What is going on?
We-Think: the power of mass creativity is about what the rise of the likes of Wikipedia and Youtube, Linux and Craigslist means for the way we organise ourselves, not just in digital businesses but in schools and hospitals, cities and mainstream corporations. My argument is that these new forms of mass, creative collaboration announce the arrival of a society in which participation will be the key organising idea rather than consumption and work. People want to be players not just spectators, part of the action, not on the sidelines.
Check out his pre release book and help him edit it.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Observations about anger
When you have anger welling up inside you, It reduces the clear headed thinking it takes to deal with people around you.
It is good to discuss what bugs you and get into the daylight. Keeping anger under-communicated is very similar to nutrients being held in anaerobic conditions. It festers and stinks and is toxic to our kind of life. Way better to expose it to just enough fresh air to let friendly critters break it down into healthy soil.
Eventually it will nourish you.
It is good to discuss what bugs you and get into the daylight. Keeping anger under-communicated is very similar to nutrients being held in anaerobic conditions. It festers and stinks and is toxic to our kind of life. Way better to expose it to just enough fresh air to let friendly critters break it down into healthy soil.
Eventually it will nourish you.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Tell your story
Have you ever wondered why fame and fortune are usually in the same context? It is no accident that the two are linked. When you ask “What is she famous for?” you are asking “What is her theme?”
You don’t have to be a superstar to make good use of the principles behind fame and fortune. It is very basic and applies well to your job, your business, and your personal life.
People love to help. If they think you have a theme, every time they run across something that reminds them of that theme, they will think of you. They will buy you gifts or send you information associated with that theme. It makes them feel good about you, and therefore talk well about you.
Some experts say, the most important part of running your business (perhaps your life too) is telling your story. It is a valuable skill to be able to explain what you do and why, fast enough and clearly enough to get the message through before your listener runs out of attention span.
One important version is your elevator story. That is the short one that can get the point across in the time it takes to ride an elevator.
Practice counts. Nearly everyone you talk to is another opportunity to fine tune your story. You want your story to hit the target (the listener’s psyche), so you sharpen and hone it to a fine edge, able to cut through the mental noise and piles of debris left by all the other stories.
Repetition counts. It is just as important for YOU to hear your story over and over as it is for anyone else. It helps create theme and focus in your life. It helps you define (and thus fine tune) your sense of purpose.
Your story helps create a point of view and a platform to act from. It also becomes a moral force in your life. Each time you tell your story, you are listening. You decide if you like what you hear. You feel the reactions from your listener. You fine tune it to better serve you and your listener.
The quality of your story defines the quality of your life.
Are you making yours better?
You don’t have to be a superstar to make good use of the principles behind fame and fortune. It is very basic and applies well to your job, your business, and your personal life.
People love to help. If they think you have a theme, every time they run across something that reminds them of that theme, they will think of you. They will buy you gifts or send you information associated with that theme. It makes them feel good about you, and therefore talk well about you.
Some experts say, the most important part of running your business (perhaps your life too) is telling your story. It is a valuable skill to be able to explain what you do and why, fast enough and clearly enough to get the message through before your listener runs out of attention span.
One important version is your elevator story. That is the short one that can get the point across in the time it takes to ride an elevator.
Practice counts. Nearly everyone you talk to is another opportunity to fine tune your story. You want your story to hit the target (the listener’s psyche), so you sharpen and hone it to a fine edge, able to cut through the mental noise and piles of debris left by all the other stories.
Repetition counts. It is just as important for YOU to hear your story over and over as it is for anyone else. It helps create theme and focus in your life. It helps you define (and thus fine tune) your sense of purpose.
Your story helps create a point of view and a platform to act from. It also becomes a moral force in your life. Each time you tell your story, you are listening. You decide if you like what you hear. You feel the reactions from your listener. You fine tune it to better serve you and your listener.
The quality of your story defines the quality of your life.
Are you making yours better?
Saturday, September 30, 2006
The mandate to create
It is usually a compliment to tell someone that they are creative. At least in our society, (and I suspect in our soul) we have a drive to create. Usually if we have an innate drive, there is a deep reason that helps us survive.
So why do we seem to have a mandate to create?
So why do we seem to have a mandate to create?
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Synchronicity
It is vaguely similar to déjà vu, but happens much more often. The last day or two has almost been weird how many things appeared just minutes after I wondered about them. It goes beyond mere coincidence. Carl Jung called it synchronicity; a manifestation of the collective unconscious.
Two typical examples:
: An advisor was shopping for a tractor for me. He said he would keep in touch, but I hadn’t heard a word from him. I also hadn’t even thought about him for a week and a half, until this afternoon when I suddenly thought about him strongly. Where is he? Should I look him up? A half hour later he showed up in person with the answer we had been hoping for.
: I had been wondering this afternoon how much a certain employee was making and if we should consider a raise in salary. I was just about to ask Lynn to look it up as I clicked on my next email. There in the email was the specific information I was just about to ask for.
Other incidents in the last 24 hours involved magazine covers boldly announcing the weird topic I just mentioned. Video programs focused on a topic I just brought up, etc.
One of Jung's favorite quotes on Synchronicity was from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, where the White Queen says to Alice: "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards".
Two typical examples:
: An advisor was shopping for a tractor for me. He said he would keep in touch, but I hadn’t heard a word from him. I also hadn’t even thought about him for a week and a half, until this afternoon when I suddenly thought about him strongly. Where is he? Should I look him up? A half hour later he showed up in person with the answer we had been hoping for.
: I had been wondering this afternoon how much a certain employee was making and if we should consider a raise in salary. I was just about to ask Lynn to look it up as I clicked on my next email. There in the email was the specific information I was just about to ask for.
Other incidents in the last 24 hours involved magazine covers boldly announcing the weird topic I just mentioned. Video programs focused on a topic I just brought up, etc.
One of Jung's favorite quotes on Synchronicity was from Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, where the White Queen says to Alice: "It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards".
Thursday, September 21, 2006
A little epiphany this morning…
One man’s order is another man’s entropy.
Entropy is a tendency toward disorder. Life tends to reverse entropy (at least locally). It tends to create order.
Nature had spent millions of years developing intricate communities of interactive plants, animals, minerals and fluids. She built up diversity so the bio-communities can be robust. Her complexity is actually a high level of order.
Historically, our western civilization has viewed nature as chaos and entropy. It needed to be civilized and ordered. We proceeded to eliminate pests and clear fields, reducing the complexity and diversity that had been built up.
Nature’s order seemed like entropy to us.
Our sense of order is entropy to nature.
Entropy is a tendency toward disorder. Life tends to reverse entropy (at least locally). It tends to create order.
Nature had spent millions of years developing intricate communities of interactive plants, animals, minerals and fluids. She built up diversity so the bio-communities can be robust. Her complexity is actually a high level of order.
Historically, our western civilization has viewed nature as chaos and entropy. It needed to be civilized and ordered. We proceeded to eliminate pests and clear fields, reducing the complexity and diversity that had been built up.
Nature’s order seemed like entropy to us.
Our sense of order is entropy to nature.
The basis of toughness
It is hard to appreciate how much my mindset has changed, until I take the time to look at its evolution in the last 8 years or so. This morning I was contemplating lessons I and those near me have been learning the last few years.
My personal relationship with the earth had been minimal until we started HUG. From then on, the projects we worked on pulled me closer to understanding the minerals and how they interact with each other. Then we had expert after expert show up in our lives to teach us about plants and the soil food web.
One outstanding lesson from all this is DIVERSITY.
Laser focus can get certain things done with incredible efficiency, but typically such focus is fragile and can only exist with the support of successful community. Diversity makes communities tough and resilient, and more productive.
Don't forget, communities come in all sizes. They exist in molecules, soil, plants, people.
My personal relationship with the earth had been minimal until we started HUG. From then on, the projects we worked on pulled me closer to understanding the minerals and how they interact with each other. Then we had expert after expert show up in our lives to teach us about plants and the soil food web.
One outstanding lesson from all this is DIVERSITY.
Laser focus can get certain things done with incredible efficiency, but typically such focus is fragile and can only exist with the support of successful community. Diversity makes communities tough and resilient, and more productive.
Don't forget, communities come in all sizes. They exist in molecules, soil, plants, people.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Passion!
Kate sent me this little inspirational / motivational video.
She said it was kind of cheesey, but it made her think of me.
Thanks Kate. I feel like high quality parmesan. (which is really good at our local co-op)
Even though it is mostly just music and printed words, after watching it several times, I still get goosebumps from it. I have always been a sucker for good self motivational stuff.
I also put it on the LINKS sidebar.
She said it was kind of cheesey, but it made her think of me.
Thanks Kate. I feel like high quality parmesan. (which is really good at our local co-op)
Even though it is mostly just music and printed words, after watching it several times, I still get goosebumps from it. I have always been a sucker for good self motivational stuff.
I also put it on the LINKS sidebar.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
War on Terra
Tonight, after reading some international news on the web, Lynn and I spent 20 minutes sampling news channels on TV. We marvelled at how shallow and easily manipulated american news really is. Very little interest in saving the planet; tons of talk about Iraq and the war on terror.
We thought we coined a new term when we asked "What about the War on Terra?"
The term sounded good enough to try to blog something clever about it. Just before starting to write, I googled the term.
"War on Terra" has 11 million hits, including a wikipedia entry.
We thought we coined a new term when we asked "What about the War on Terra?"
The term sounded good enough to try to blog something clever about it. Just before starting to write, I googled the term.
"War on Terra" has 11 million hits, including a wikipedia entry.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Assignment
For the past week or so, as I wake up I find that in my sleep I have been designing houses of cob (a mixture of clay, sand and straw). It even happens during a short nap.
Perhaps the teacher is trying to tell me something.
Perhaps the teacher is trying to tell me something.
I propose a scalable law of quantum physics:
For a given organization, the amount of structure required is proportional to the amount of conscious scrutiny it receives.
The IRS has a lot of scrutiny. It has a lot of rules, policies and procedures.
Sandlot ball games have little structure. Professional games have a lot.
Amateurs can do things pretty much any way they please.
Professionals have to do it by the rules.
Structure is created and enforced by consciousness.
The IRS has a lot of scrutiny. It has a lot of rules, policies and procedures.
Sandlot ball games have little structure. Professional games have a lot.
Amateurs can do things pretty much any way they please.
Professionals have to do it by the rules.
Structure is created and enforced by consciousness.
Structures and behavior repeat themselves
One of my favorite ways to observe life and the universe is by finding analogies in different scales. You can discern important rules by finding principles that work the same on the microscopic scales, people size scales, country size, even astronomical size.
It is useful in every day life because it lets us use what we know about one scale to shine light on another scale. For instance; how your body functions and how an entire country functions have a lot of analogies.
This learning technique has helped me understand electronics and physics and business and social issues. Now it may shed light on a new topic.
Quantum
Experts in quantum mechanics tell us that any given thing is undefined until a conscious entity observes it. Then what had been ambiguity suddenly resolves into a clear reality. I am beginning to realize that forming a new organization of people works the same way.
A new organization such as a business or church starts out with a few ideas and very few rules. When there are very few people in it, there is little need for policies and procedures. You just do what seems right. As more people join, they don’t have the same background and understandings as the founders. They often have to ask what the policy or procedure is for a given situation. Then a policy is created and what had been ambiguity resolves into a clear structure.
Perhaps quantum physics isn’t so bizarre after all.
It is useful in every day life because it lets us use what we know about one scale to shine light on another scale. For instance; how your body functions and how an entire country functions have a lot of analogies.
This learning technique has helped me understand electronics and physics and business and social issues. Now it may shed light on a new topic.
Quantum
Experts in quantum mechanics tell us that any given thing is undefined until a conscious entity observes it. Then what had been ambiguity suddenly resolves into a clear reality. I am beginning to realize that forming a new organization of people works the same way.
A new organization such as a business or church starts out with a few ideas and very few rules. When there are very few people in it, there is little need for policies and procedures. You just do what seems right. As more people join, they don’t have the same background and understandings as the founders. They often have to ask what the policy or procedure is for a given situation. Then a policy is created and what had been ambiguity resolves into a clear structure.
Perhaps quantum physics isn’t so bizarre after all.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Dream Time
Quantum particles are the dreams that stuff is made of
-- David Moser
One of the themes that seemed to pop up a lot recently has been the quantum universe. As we look into our theoretical microscopes at ever smaller particles , I am getting more and more convinced that the most basic particle in our universe is consciousness. It ultimately makes up time, space and inertia, which in turn makes up quantum physics, which ultimately creates the more familiar Newtonian physics, and everything that we see here in time-space.
Perhaps dreams really are the basis of our reality.
-- David Moser
One of the themes that seemed to pop up a lot recently has been the quantum universe. As we look into our theoretical microscopes at ever smaller particles , I am getting more and more convinced that the most basic particle in our universe is consciousness. It ultimately makes up time, space and inertia, which in turn makes up quantum physics, which ultimately creates the more familiar Newtonian physics, and everything that we see here in time-space.
Perhaps dreams really are the basis of our reality.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Big Stories work best
The lesson of the week seems to be that our species has an incredible ability to ignore the obvious when a different story is more convenient. Professional magicians (also known as illusionists) trade on that. Apparently many other professionals or their institutions also do.
Religions, military, history books, politicians, news organizations, our entire culture survives by creating stories that don’t hold water. We believe them because it is easier than believing the truth.
Our brain is designed to believe what we experience. If it is repeated enough times, it is true. Once we decide what is true, it takes enormous energy to change our minds, so it is much more convenient to just believe the original story.
I have seen tons of apparently well documented evidence about the biggest stories in modern history being faked, or being mere distractions from the real objectives; World War 1, Pearl Harbor, JFK assassination, even 9/11. The story is so big and replayed so many times, and we saw it live. We know how and why it happened. Don't try telling us otherwise.
The bigger the story, the more completely we accept it. Evidence to the contrary can freely circulate with little chance of penetrating our collective consciousness. Our most powerful leaders and marketers know this well. They often get away with preposterous things because their story is bold and the truth is inconvenient.
Religions, military, history books, politicians, news organizations, our entire culture survives by creating stories that don’t hold water. We believe them because it is easier than believing the truth.
Our brain is designed to believe what we experience. If it is repeated enough times, it is true. Once we decide what is true, it takes enormous energy to change our minds, so it is much more convenient to just believe the original story.
I have seen tons of apparently well documented evidence about the biggest stories in modern history being faked, or being mere distractions from the real objectives; World War 1, Pearl Harbor, JFK assassination, even 9/11. The story is so big and replayed so many times, and we saw it live. We know how and why it happened. Don't try telling us otherwise.
The bigger the story, the more completely we accept it. Evidence to the contrary can freely circulate with little chance of penetrating our collective consciousness. Our most powerful leaders and marketers know this well. They often get away with preposterous things because their story is bold and the truth is inconvenient.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Global Warming
Tonight Lynn and I watched Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.
Afterwards I looked up a few videos on the web. These two really stood out.
A short and fun message from the Blue man group.
After scanning many of them, only one video in google was rated full 5 stars. It made me curious. If you have 45 minutes I totally recommend watching Robert Newman's History of oil.
He is a comedian doing a great job of using comic relief to make powerful learning palatable. It is smart and fun.
WARNING: It takes mental energy to pull all the lessons out of this performance. Even the second time I watched it I had to set aside all distractions to fully follow the meaning within his acting.
Have fun
Afterwards I looked up a few videos on the web. These two really stood out.
A short and fun message from the Blue man group.
After scanning many of them, only one video in google was rated full 5 stars. It made me curious. If you have 45 minutes I totally recommend watching Robert Newman's History of oil.
He is a comedian doing a great job of using comic relief to make powerful learning palatable. It is smart and fun.
WARNING: It takes mental energy to pull all the lessons out of this performance. Even the second time I watched it I had to set aside all distractions to fully follow the meaning within his acting.
Have fun
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Steep
Quote from Ryan regarding the challenging enterprises we are working on:
"If your learning curve doesn't require ropes and rock climbing equipment, you are in the wrong job."
"If your learning curve doesn't require ropes and rock climbing equipment, you are in the wrong job."
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Good conditions don't breed addicts
Lab rats have been used for a long time to teach us about addiction. We should be learning from these ones.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Emily
Tonight we met our new house guest / temporary daughter. She is 17, the ninth of 13 children, intelligent, creative, likes to write, was home schooled.
Church social services were looking for a place where she can get a break from her home while she works through some teen turbulance.
We are spending the evening getting to know each other.
Church social services were looking for a place where she can get a break from her home while she works through some teen turbulance.
We are spending the evening getting to know each other.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
TED
I have really been enjoying the high quality presentations at TED conferences.
Each year they gather 1000 interesting people to share ideas. Lately they have been making the videos available; neat little 15 minute presentations, usually very powerful.
Each year they gather 1000 interesting people to share ideas. Lately they have been making the videos available; neat little 15 minute presentations, usually very powerful.
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