13 October 2024

Collective Intelligence

 There is a long list of fascinating cognitive biases in humans, including confirmation bias, conservatism bias, clustering illusion, selection bias, cognitive dissonance, egocentric bias, agent-detection bias, and anthropomorphism, among many others. Individuals exhibit a range of behaviors, driven by both emotional and rational motivations, in response to varying environmental stimuli. From an individual perspective, it is possible to identify numerous instances of failure and error that can be attributed to specific behaviours. 

Although psychological vulnerability is a factor, it would be a mistake to underestimate the achievements made at the sociological level. This is not to discuss crowd erratic behaviours, for example, but rather sophisticated social constructs such as institutions (school, town-halls, states, sports, cultures, religions, businesses, scientific corpus, and so on).

Institutions usually survive their founders. They can have a finite lifespan but some are so persistent, beyond the people who have created them, that we must conceptualise them as "new organisms" in the Third Evolution model. This is Collective Intelligence from human beings with a firm longlasting influence.

 The United Nation General Assembly Photo ONU/ Manuel Elias


03 March 2024

No Purpose

We would like to dispel the intent bias once and for all. As human beings, we have always looked at our surroundings in awe. Finding a cause for observed events has usually led to positive action. Noise in the bush: act like it is a tiger: run! We assume (perhaps too much) the intent of other people in their actions. This behaviour clouds our view of the three Evolutions.

No purpose in the first evolution

The Big Bang scenario makes no mention of a superior intelligence leading to the Universe as we know it. Nor does the evolution of the Universe necessarily imply the appearance of life anywhere. At least, the conditions in the universe are just compatible with life. But they do not imply it. After the Big Bang and the physical Universe, chemistry is working towards the complexification of some open systems in very localised parts of the Universe. For example, in molecular clouds there are many unexpected reactions leading to complex molecules (i.e. containing at least a dozen atoms). Terrestrial planets with liquid water are likely to be sites of even more complex chemical reactions. But we do not observe anything in the Universe that cannot be attributed to spontaneous physical interactions and chemistry. We see no intent! The Universe just is, and evolves.

 No purpose in the Second Evolution

It is one of Darwin's (many) great discoveries. There is no reason why a particular species arose. Only natural selection which is the main mechanism available to sift through random mutations in the DNA of species. There is no purpose in the evolution of life. For a long time people were misled into looking at how well species are adapted to their environment and concluding that something is guiding the manipulation, that there is a clear intention to adapt each species to its environment. We now know, thanks to neo-Darwinism, that this was a mistake. A blind mechanism (natural selection) is a much more sophisticated and powerful means by which we have seen complex organisms emerge that are well adapted to their environment. For example, the eyes of bats are very sensitive, adapted to night life, but they do not provide sharp or colourful vision.

The tree of life is not reproducible.

No purpose in the third evolution

For a long time, it was clear to mankind that everything was organised around human beings. A cast soon invented gods to explain what we could not understand. For example, Nordic gods like Odin were there to explain the Northern Lights. The god's territory has since shrunk with the advance of science and technology. Nowadays, human beings cannot reasonably use gods as an explanation of every mystery.

 The third evolution is about human social organisations. They are not controlled by genes. These organisations (for example money, countries, a football club) have a purpose on their own. But this is limited in scope, and not a single human being or organisation has a control over all organisations. 

For a long time it was clear to mankind that everything was organised around man. Soon gods were invented to explain what we could not understand. For example, Norse gods like Odin were there to explain the northern lights. The territory of the gods has shrunk with the advance of science and technology. Nowadays people cannot reasonably use gods to explain every mystery.

 The third evolution concerns human social organisations. These are not controlled by genes. These organisations (e.g. money, countries, a football club) have their own purpose. But this purpose is limited, and no single person or organisation has control over all organisations.

In short, there is no overall purpose in the Third Evolution. This conclusion is at odds with the major ideologies (Marxism, Socialism, Capitalism) and the powers of dictators/monarchs. There are many people who still believe that higher powers (be it a god or big capitalist corporations) control the world. I think this is again the intent bias showing up. In practice, the Third Evolution with complex organisations has no purpose. The gradual change we see around us is still very pregnant for all of us. But it is not written down anywhere.

Perhaps this is what really struck Albert Camus when he wrote about the absurdity of life. Life simply has no meaning.

 

By Jean Louis - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18139299
L'étranger de Camus