4 ms·
What if the box IS more-or-less bounded by the limiting cultural restrictions we place on the word "invention"? In our cultural spectrum, we constrict our inve
by Lambdanaut 9y ago
What if the box IS more-or-less bounded by the limiting cultural restrictions we place on the word "invention"?
In our cultural spectrum, we constrict our inventions to optimize for "use", but perhaps "use" is too narrow.
If you look at cultural events like Burning Man, you see all sorts of completely useless inventions. Fascinatingly useless inventions.
I actually hope that one day when we do enter post-scarcity that we can stop obsessing so much on whether or not something has the subjective quality of "use", and allow the boundaries of our hyperdimentional invention-space to grow exponentially.
I think "toy-space", or "art-space" if you will, is a logical expansion of "invention-space".
A delightful example of an invention outside of our current culturally accepted bounds of invention-space: https://youtu.be/apVR5Htz0K4 https://youtu.be/apVR5Htz0K4
- sergiosgc 9y agoYou are describing evolution without an utility function. That won't work. We may be able to come up with an alternative utility function but, given past history, I'm afraid we won't and will be aimlessly exploring the solution space. A good parallel can be draw to evolution in painting. Up until the invention of photography, painting evolved to be photo-realistic. It made amazing strides, with breathtaking results. Once photography made that evolution path obsolete, painting struggled to find a new utility function. Out of that struggle, we got amazing outcomes in conveying feelings, a new utility function. Work in the first half of the XX century, from the likes of Munch, Dali, Picasso, optimized this function up to its limits. From then on? Painting is somewhat lost in the solution space without an utility function.
- darkerside 9y agoNew utility function seems to be consensus-based monetary value as modern art becomes a store for value and/or an investment.
- whatshisface 9y agoUtility keeps us honest, we really don't want to end up firing on all cylinders towards the perfect combination of drugs, VR and storytelling that will shut us down forever while explaining the Fermi paradox.
- darkerside 9y agoYou and I don't, but it sure starts to seem like most people are fine with that...