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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Forwarding this link to a draft of a new paper by Francis Heylighen
that is extremely relevant to extropian thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>This paper effectively communicates the basis of much of my own epistemology,
but violates my self-imposed limit of five-paragraphs for postings to the list.
;-)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Add a layer of evolutionary psychology and resolve some implicit
discontinuities involving the nature of subjective agents, and you would arrive
at my Arrow of Morality theory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Some of my few quibbles:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>While the paper effectively states fundamental drivers and
mechanism of progress, it comes across as over-optimistic in not mentioning the
possibility of evolutionary cul-de-sac.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>There are a few Copernican epicycles present. One in the
description of agents as acting to achieve goals, rather than acting as an
expression of their values. This is of minor significance with respect to this
paper but obstructs the conceptual way forward. Another is in the unnecessary
introduction of a "medium" of interaction, in addition to agent and environment,
with the implication of a discrete separation between an agent and its environment
while ignoring the essential interdependency.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Highly recommended!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>- Jef<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>Francis
Heylighen wrote:<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>I just finished a paper in which I elaborate my new ideas on
stigmergic organization. All comments welcome!<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'>Accelerating Socio-Technological
Evolution:</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span
style='font-size:13.5pt;color:black'> from ephemeralization and stigmergy
to the global brain</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span
style='font-size:7.5pt;color:black'>Francis Heylighen</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>to appear in: T. Devezas & W. Thompson (eds.)
Globalization as Evolutionary Process, Routledge, London (2007).
(publication details may still change)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>URL: <span style='color:#1F497D'><a
href="http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/AcceleratingEvolution.pdf">http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/AcceleratingEvolution.pdf</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='color:black'>Abstract:</span></b><span
style='color:black'> Evolution is presented as a trial-and-error process that
produces a progressive accumulation of knowledge. At the level of technology,
this leads to ephemeralization, i.e. ever increasing productivity, or
decreasing of the friction that normally dissipates resources. As a result, flows
of matter, energy and information circulate ever more easily across the planet.
This global connectivity increases the interactions between agents, and thus
the possibilities for conflict. However, evolutionary progress also reduces
social friction, via the creation of institutions. The emergence of such
"mediators" is facilitated by stigmergy: the unintended collaboration
between agents resulting from their actions on a shared environment. The
Internet is a near ideal medium for stigmergic interaction. Quantitative
stigmergy allows the web to learn from the activities of its users, thus
becoming ever better at helping them to answer their queries. Qualitative
stigmergy stimulates agents to collectively develop novel knowledge. Both
mechanisms have direct analogues in the functioning of the human brain. This
leads us to envision the future, super-intelligent web as a "global
brain" for humanity. The feedback between social and technological
advances leads to an extreme acceleration of innovation. An extrapolation of
the corresponding hyperbolic growth model would forecast a singularity around
2040. This can be interpreted as the evolutionary transition to the Global
Brain regime.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>For a related paper, see:<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>Francis Heylighen: Why is Open Access Development so
Successful? Stigmergic organization and the economics of information, to appear
in: B. Lutterbeck, M. Bärwolff & R. A. Gehring (eds.), Open Source Jahrbuch
2007, Lehmanns Media, 2007<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/OpenSourceStigmergy.pdf<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<pre>-- <o:p></o:p></pre>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><br>
Francis Heylighen <br>
Evolution, Complexity and Cognition group<br>
Free University of Brussels<br>
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html<o:p></o:p></p>
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