More on the Global Mind

by phil on Monday Oct 20, 2003 4:42 PM
Singularity

Let me tell you a little secret, if you don't already know: Some people think that what we are all doing is together building a mind. Said less often, but perhaps at least as interesting, is that -that- mind is building -our- minds. (Abyssal Mind)

If the global mind is a machine with the individual components or neurons being individuals, then the individual parts must be deterministic for an effective whole to emerge.

Fortunately this is the case with humans, we are reactive and respond with tremendous structure. Given impetus or impulse X, there are fairly good probabilities that certain behaviors will result.

How do I know this? Take David Blaine's recent stunt for example. The knee-jerk reactions were obvious as were the throngs of fans drawing inspiration from the event. Maybe we all have free will individually, but to say that you (a male perhaps) won't pursue that girl by the counter, or won't defend your thesis when questioned, or won't eat at least one meal a day would be indicative of an ascetic personality, one that our "happiness engine" rejects with high frequency.