MindMap Gallery A Brief History of the Future Mind Map Notes
In the future, humans will face three major problems: biology itself is an algorithm, and life is a process of constantly processing data; the separation of consciousness and intelligence; the external environment with the accumulation of big data will understand ourselves better than ourselves. How to view these three major issues and how to take response measures will directly affect the future development of mankind.
Edited at 2022-04-10 13:19:53One Hundred Years of Solitude is the masterpiece of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Reading this book begins with making sense of the characters' relationships, which are centered on the Buendía family and tells the story of the family's prosperity and decline, internal relationships and political struggles, self-mixing and rebirth over the course of a hundred years.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the masterpiece of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Reading this book begins with making sense of the characters' relationships, which are centered on the Buendía family and tells the story of the family's prosperity and decline, internal relationships and political struggles, self-mixing and rebirth over the course of a hundred years.
Project management is the process of applying specialized knowledge, skills, tools, and methods to project activities so that the project can achieve or exceed the set needs and expectations within the constraints of limited resources. This diagram provides a comprehensive overview of the 8 components of the project management process and can be used as a generic template for direct application.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the masterpiece of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Reading this book begins with making sense of the characters' relationships, which are centered on the Buendía family and tells the story of the family's prosperity and decline, internal relationships and political struggles, self-mixing and rebirth over the course of a hundred years.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is the masterpiece of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Reading this book begins with making sense of the characters' relationships, which are centered on the Buendía family and tells the story of the family's prosperity and decline, internal relationships and political struggles, self-mixing and rebirth over the course of a hundred years.
Project management is the process of applying specialized knowledge, skills, tools, and methods to project activities so that the project can achieve or exceed the set needs and expectations within the constraints of limited resources. This diagram provides a comprehensive overview of the 8 components of the project management process and can be used as a generic template for direct application.
Prologue: New Issues for Humanity
defeat death
The emergence of immortality will lead to fundamental inequality between people
eternal happiness
Biochemistry re-creates Homo sapiens to provide endless pleasure
man becomes god
path
Bioengineering: Humans fully exploit their potential within existing organic body structures
Cyborg Engineering: Combining a variety of non-organic devices, retaining the organic brain as the core
Non-organic bioengineering: intelligent software replaces neural networks, inorganic life replaces organic life
If the mind changes from carbon-based to silicon-based, the structure of the mind changes, Homo sapiens disappears, and human history comes to an end.
clarify
1. The above refers to "humanity as a whole", not most individual people.
2. This is a historical prediction, not a political goal
3. Pursuing may not necessarily result in getting
4. Forecasting is not for the purpose of prophecy. Predictions can change the future after discussion.
Marxism did not overthrow the regime, this prediction alone would have made them change
The meaning of history: Historical knowledge will change our future behavior. Studying history is to liberate ourselves from old meanings.
The paradox of knowledge: knowledge (prediction) is useless without changing behavior. Once behavior changes, the original knowledge (prediction) immediately loses its meaning.
On the road to becoming a god, there are no brakes
Each expert has his or her own specialty. No one understands the entire system. No one knows where the brakes are.
The modern economy can only grow endlessly, and the brakes will collapse. It can only pursue sustainable goals: immortality, happiness, and divinity. (The three are inseparable)
Part One: Homo sapiens conquers the world
How humans view other animals (the world)
fact
Humans exterminated and conquered other large animals and dominated the world
Humans, like other animals, have a set of biological algorithms for reproduction. Emotions and desires help us find paths quickly.
idea
hunter gatherer
Hunter-gatherers do not feel superior to other creatures. Human survival depends on understanding and respecting the desires of the animals around them.
Hunter-gatherers tended to be animistic and communicate with all living things
farmer
Farmers' quality of life depends on the animals they can control
Farmers downgrade animals from beings with feelings and worthy of respect to human assets.
People discipline animals according to their own needs and ignore the emotional needs of animals
Most agricultural societies viewed people of different classes as assets
Theism promises Homo sapiens to be dominant and exploit all other living things. Such as Christianity
Theism, God is responsible for mediating between humans and ecosystems. The gods were responsible for protecting agriculture, in exchange for human contributions, at the expense of the ecosystem
modern man
Theism uses the name of God as an excuse for traditional agriculture, while humanism uses the name of man as an excuse for modern industrialized agriculture.
Humanism is based on the belief that Homo sapiens possess certain unique and sacred human qualities that animals do not have, so nature is not important.
human traits
People have souls
If the soul evolved, then it would be contrary to the nature of evolution for it to be an indivisible, eternal entity.
If the soul suddenly appeared in a human being, it is unimaginable that there was no trace of soul before him or his parents.
People have souls
If everything is in our neuron network, why separate the mind?
If the mind is higher than the neural network, then where is it?
The web of human meaning
Animals can only imagine what actually exists
And people can imagine intersubjective things, which have real and powerful power, such as countries, companies, laws, etc.
People organize large-scale collaboration through fictional stories. This is the fundamental reason why human power is amplified and dominates the world.
If you want to decipher the future of mankind, you must decipher the various fictional imaginations that give meaning to the world.
Part 2: Hopiens give meaning to the world
the power of fiction
Animals all live in dual realities of objective entities and subjective experiences. The world of Homo sapiens has a third reality, with various stories about money, gods, countries and companies.
70,000 years ago, the cognitive revolution allowed humans to start talking about things that only existed in human imagination. This can facilitate the cooperation of hundreds or thousands of people
5,000 years ago, people invented writing and money
Words allow people to organize society in an algorithmic way. Each person completes a small step, and the final important decision is judged by the entire algorithm. This is the essence of the bureaucracy.
The state issues a piece of paper and forces citizens to use this piece of paper to pay taxes. Citizens have no choice, but the market develops.
Story should be just a tool, not the goal
We should distinguish between reality and fiction. The status of reality is of course higher than fiction. The euro can depreciate but it is not painful.
In the future, there will be more powerful fictional concepts and more totalitarian organizations, so it is particularly important to distinguish between reality and fiction.
Fictional stories make it easier for humans to cooperate, but the cost is that stories also determine the goals of our cooperation
The debate between science and religion
religion
Religion is not the same as superstition. What you believe must be "truth"; only what others believe can be "superstition"
Religion is not supernatural, it is natural for people who believe in demons, gods, spirits
Religion is not a question of whether you believe in "God"
Religion is not the same as spirituality
Religion is to consolidate the secular order, spirituality is to escape
The spiritual journey is only suitable for individuals, not for society. If human beings want to collaborate, there can’t be just problems and no norms.
Religion is an all-encompassing set of stories that lends superhuman legitimacy to human laws, norms, and values
The definition of religion should lie in its social function, not whether there is a god
Christianity, communism, and liberalism can all be regarded as a religion
The historical laws of communism are actually like the commandments of the Christian God
science and religion
If science wants to create a viable human system, it will inevitably need the assistance of religion. Research facts but do not make ethical judgments
Religion is not just about ethical judgments, it always includes factual statements
Three parts of a typical religious story
1. Ethical judgments, such as "human life is sacred"
2. Factual statement, such as "Human life begins at the moment of conception."
3. Combination of ethical judgments and factual statements, with specific instructions, such as "You cannot have an abortion even if it is just one day old."
Science cannot refute the ethical judgments of religions, but it can refute the factual statements.
Science and religion are easier to compromise and cooperate than imagined
What religion cares about most is order
What science cares about most is power
Modern history is actually a process of coming to terms between science and a specific religion (humanism). Modern society believes in humanism, and science is not to question, but to realize its dogma.
Contract with "Modern"
Pre-modern people believed they were part of some great cosmic plan, which limited human power but also made everything meaningful.
"Modern" is a contract, the essence of which is: people give up meaning in exchange for power
Without meaning, the reason why modern society is still developing is because of the rise of a revolutionary new religion: humanism
humanist revolution
The contract with modernity is to gain power and relinquish meaning. But there is a loophole clause, meaning and power can be had if humans find meaning outside of the overall cosmic plan. man finds humanism
dogma of humanism
Humanist Politics: Voters can make the best choices
Humanistic Economics: The customer is always right
Humanistic Aesthetics: The person who sees it thinks it is beautiful, it is beautiful
Humanistic Ethics: If it feels right, do it
Humanistic education: think for yourself
The split in humanism
Classical Orthodoxy: Liberalism
Everyone is a unique person with experiences that will never be repeated
Branch One: Social Humanism. Socialism blames liberalism for focusing too much on one's own feelings and ignoring the experiences of others.
Branch Two: Evolutionary Humanism. The conflict of various experiences and feelings is inevitable, and the fittest wins.
Part 3: Homo sapiens lose control
Time bomb in the laboratory
free will
The basis of liberalism is that people have free will. This is a statement of fact.
Fact statement science can intervene
Every electrochemical reaction is determined by the previous event, so the final decision reached is definitely not free will.
If the decision is caused by the random movement of atoms, of course this is randomness and not free will.
According to the theory of evolution, all so-called "selections" of animals are responses to genetic codes.
individualism
Liberalism believes that everyone has a single, indivisible self
Split-brain experiment, self is physically separable
Ice water experiment, people have two selves: experiencing self and narrative self
great separation
A scientific response to the insistence that people are irreplaceable
1. Biology is an algorithm. Every animal (including Homo sapiens) is an evolved collection of algorithms
2. The function of the algorithm is not affected by the constituent substances. Whether the beads of an abacus are made of iron or wood makes no difference to the calculation.
3. As long as the calculation is correct, there is no difference between silicon-based or carbon-based
Superhumans take over the world, and humans lose equality
Algorithms control the world and humans lose their sanctity
Humanity as a whole will still have value, but individuals will no longer have authority and most choices will be governed by external algorithms
Human beings have absolutely no value
Algorithms become entities like companies and countries that control humans
What do useless people do? They can only live on drugs and playing games.
Humans will most likely be taken into captivity or exterminated. Because the system is smarter than people, you have no control over its motivations
Whether algorithms or superhumans take over the world, liberalism will collapse
The new religion of technological humanism
Still believing that humans are the pinnacle of creation, Homo sapiens upgrades to the god of wisdom, fighting against the most complex unconscious algorithms
Just like humans can only see a small segment of the spectrum, the mental spectrum is much wider than what we experience. Becoming a wise god can explore the new world of the mind.
Technological humanism faces an unsolvable dilemma. It believes that human will is the most important thing in the universe, so it promotes human development and control. However, once the will is controlled, human beings lose their sanctity and cannot stand in the face of technology.
The new religion of dataism
Dataism believes that the universe is composed of data, and the value of any phenomenon or entity lies in its contribution to data processing.
economic system
The mechanism of the economy is to collect data about desires and abilities and then translate them into decisions
Capitalism won the Cold War not because it was more ethical or because God was angry with the Soviet Union, but because at this stage decentralized data processing was better than centralized
political system
Democracy and autocracy are essentially two opposing mechanisms for collecting and analyzing information.
If data cannot be processed effectively, the noble institutions of the past such as elections, political parties, and countries may be eliminated.
Authoritarian regimes are also unable to cope with the speed and power of data flows
All mankind is a data system, and individuals are chips
There are 4 ways to improve efficiency
1. Increase the number of processors. A city with a population of 100,000 has a capacity higher than a village with a population of 1,000
2. Add processor types. The dialogue between farmers, priests, and physicians produced ideas that would never have been discussed among hunter-gatherers.
3. Increase the connection between processors. 10 cities with trade have higher output than 10 isolated cities
4. Increase the freedom of circulation of existing connections. Just like getting rid of things like highway tolls
Humanity has gone through 4 stages of development
1. Cognitive revolution, a large number of homo sapiens can be connected into a single data processing network
2. The Agricultural Revolution, a massive increase in population, and an increase in human cooperation networks. Increased number of processors, types and connections
3. From the invention of writing and money to the beginning of the scientific revolution, various connections have become very close.
4. The last stage, from the geographical discovery to the present, information flows freely in the global network, and the quantity and speed are getting faster and faster. The reason why today's democracy and market win is not because they are "good", but because they have improved. global data processing system
For dataism, freedom of information is the highest good
The first commandment of dataism: connect more and more media and generate more and more information
The second commandment of dataism: Connect everything to the system, even the heretics who don’t want to join
Dataism treats human experience as data patterns, thus destroying people’s authority and source of meaning.
Dataism believes that experience has no value if it is not shared, and people do not need (or even cannot) find meaning in their own hearts. What we have to do is wait for the algorithm to figure out the meaning
As long as there are better algorithms and data, human biological algorithms will naturally be eliminated
The Internet of Everything itself has a sacred meaning
Dataism is as much a threat to humans as humans are to other animals. Data doesn’t care about our subjective needs
The three most important matters and corresponding questions
1. Science is converging on an all-encompassing dogma that all living things are algorithms and life is data processing
Question 1: Is biology really just algorithms, and life really just data processing?
2. Intelligence is being decoupled from consciousness
Question 2: Which one is more valuable, intelligence or consciousness?
3. Unconscious but highly intelligent algorithms may soon know us better than we do
Question 3: How will society, politics, and daily life change when unconscious but highly intelligent algorithms know us better than we do?
"A Brief History of the Future" Mind Map Notes Author: Yuval Harari Translator: Lin Junhong