MindMap Gallery A Brief History of the Future Reading Notes
The reading notes of "A Brief History of the Future" tell about the new issues of mankind, Homo sapiens conquering the world, Homo sapiens giving meaning to the world, Homo sapiens losing control, etc. It is worth collecting and reading!
Edited at 2021-10-21 13:25:11One 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.
"A Brief History of the Future"
Prologue: New Issues for Humanity
Three major issues in the 21st century
pursuit of eternal life
happiness
Recreate Homo sapiens by controlling the biochemical system, allowing people to enjoy eternal pleasure
Become a wise god
Development cannot be put on the brakes
1. No one understands the entire system, so no one knows where the brakes are
2. If the brakes are applied, the economy will collapse and society will be brought down.
paradox of knowledge
The more you know, the less you can predict
historical significance
The reason for studying history: not to predict the future, but to get rid of the past and imagine another destiny
Part One: Homo sapiens conquers the world
Anthropocene
fact
Over the past 70,000 years, humans have become the single most important factor in global ecological change
three phases
ancient time
Religion: Animism. Believes that humans are basically no different from other animals and that everything has animism
Attitudes of other living things: the need for constant communication and negotiation with all things in nature
after the agricultural revolution
Religion: Theism. There are only two main characters, humans and gods, and other animistic characters are ignored
Attitudes towards other living things: humans are superior; reduces animals from beings with feelings and worthy of respect to being nothing more than human assets
After the technological revolution
Religion: Humanism. The belief that Homo sapiens possesses some unique and divine essence that is the source of all meaning and power in the universe
Attitude towards other living things: Animals do not have the nobility of humanity and will only be doubly exploited
human traits
soul does not exist
Evolution cannot explain the existence of the soul
unknown mind
What is the necessity for the soul to exist? Is the mind part of a biochemical algorithm?
There is no way to definitively prove that anything other than yourself is conscious.
web of meaning
Intersubjectivity: The third level of reality
People collaborate on a massive scale through the stories they tell each other, outperforming other living things
Part 2: Hopiens give meaning to the world
the power of fiction
imaginary entity
The Sumerians invented writing and currency 5,000 years ago, allowing people to imagine intersubjective entities that could effectively organize the entire society.
life on paper
Reality gives way to words
Fictional entities alter reality with words (canon, etc.) so that reality conforms to the words
Distinguish between fiction and reality
Fictional stories are just tools and should not become goals and standards.
Try to see things from the perspective of real entities
The debate between science and religion
definition of religion
Any all-encompassing story that lends superhuman legitimacy to human laws, norms, and values is a religion
spiritual journey
"Kill the Buddha when you meet him" challenges religious beliefs and practices
The relationship between science and religion
contradiction
Three parts of a typical religious story: 1. Ethical judgment 2. Statement of fact 3. A combination of the two to give specific instructions
Science and Religion Dispute Only Factual Statements
compromise and cooperation
Modern history is a process of coming to terms between science and a specific religion (humanism)
Contract with "Modern"
Humanity agrees to give up meaning in exchange for power
The scientific revolution made mankind believe in growth and solve all problems by "expanding the pie"
The threat of ecological collapse requires technology to continue to come up with new miracles
Free Market Capitalism: A Chaotic System for Alleviating the Anxiety of Desire
humanist revolution
The emergence of humanism
Background: Humanity seeks to find meaning without a grand cosmic plan, to create meaning in a meaningless world, to achieve both meaning and power
Concept: Human feelings are the source of all meaning, and free will is the highest authority
Politics: Voters can make the best choice; Economy: Customers’ free will comes first; Ethics: If it feels right, do it; Aesthetics: If the person who sees it feels beautiful, it is beautiful; Education: Guide students to think for themselves
Humanistic ethical formula: knowledge = experience * sensitivity
The split in humanism
Cause: If all authority and meaning comes from personal experience, what happens when it conflicts with one another?
Three major branches
Liberal Humanism: Everyone should be free to experience the world, follow their heart, and express their ideas
Social Humanism: All people should put aside their own desires and prioritize the needs and experiences of others; requires understanding of the current socioeconomic system
Evolutionary humanism: When experiences conflict, the fittest should win, promoting natural selection and promoting progress.
Part 3: Homo sapiens lose control
Time bomb in the laboratory
free will does not exist
Experiments point out that people's so-called free will is probably just the product of biochemical algorithms. Human desire is not a "choice". We can only "feel" desire and then act accordingly.
what is self
Narrating the Self: Using the Peak-End Law to Record the Value of Experience
Experiencing the Self: Moment-to-moment awareness, but no memory
There is no "single self"; human decisions are the result of the constant pull of many different and often conflicting internal entities.
meaning of life
A seemingly coherent story spun by the narrative self
great separation
Humans will lose their economic and military usefulness, so economic and political systems will no longer recognize that humans have much value
The separation of intelligence and consciousness
The emergence of the useless class
Social systems still believe that humans as a whole have value but individuals do not
Know yourself through data; everyone will be part of the entire global network
Algorithm's status: Prophet->Agent->Monarch
The social system will still deem certain unique individuals valuable, but these will be a superhuman elite rather than the general public
new technology religion
Technological Humanism
Concept: Continuing traditional humanism, turning Homo sapiens into the god of wisdom by upgrading the mind
Pathway: Exploring the full spectrum of psychology and developing human mental abilities
Dilemma: Human will is the most important thing in the universe, and at the same time humans are developing technology that can control and redesign will. If successful, human beings will no longer be sacred, and technohumanism will have no idea where to go.
Dataism
Concept: The universe is composed of data streams, and the value of any phenomenon or entity lies in its contribution to data processing
explain the present
Economic system: collects data on desires and abilities and translates them into decisions
Political system: the mechanism for gathering and analyzing information
Human history is a process of data processing
Four ways to improve efficiency
1. Increase the number of processors 2. Increase the types of processors 3. Increase the connections between processors 4. Increase the freedom of flow of existing connections
Four stages of human development
The religion of dataism
Freedom of information is the highest good
Two commandments: 1. Dataists should link more and more media, generate and use more and more information, and maximize the flow of data. 2. Connect everything to the system.
relationship with humanism
Dataism has no ill intentions towards human experience, but it does not believe that experience is intrinsically valuable.
It may be time for Homo sapiens to retire
Epilogue: three key questions
Are living things really just algorithms, and life really just data processing?
Intelligence or consciousness, which one is more valuable?
What will happen to society, politics, and everyday life when unconscious but highly intelligent algorithms know us better than we do ourselves?