Structure
Structure is the difference between sand and a sand castle, between paper & ink and a book. When you have structure, the structure has value. I will call this the structure's intrinsic value, as opposed to its perceived value, which requires a sentient being/intelligence to perceive it. This may be the opposite of entropy, at least in the sense I understand entropy.
It may be that structure requires intelligence, but I don't think that's true. I don't even know if it is a property of our physical universe/ reality, or a fundamental property like 1+1=2.
Whatever be its source, and whatever be its long term behavior, it is clear that on our planet structure is constantly being created. It seems that there are two primary sources:
Goals
The strangest thing about this whole setup is that nobody knows what it's for, and yet it keeps going. "Write down your goals!", the consultants and career advisers say. "Why don't you have a plan yet?", your family and friends will ask you. These are valid questions, and I think individuals should answer them, and continually refine their answers as they go through this journey called life. But let's not forget that as a group, as a species, we have no idea what the goal is, or if there even is one.
This means that we (i.e. humans) are all trying to advance, to get ahead, to progress, but without any common goals.
We have goals in common, here are some obvious ones:
So there are plenty of goals we hold in common with one another. But it's harder to write down common goals, goals for the species. Here are some questions:
Individuals have their own opinions (or not), societies may have majority viewpoints, but as a species there is little that we agree on regarding the direction we should move in. And so far, that hasn't stopped us from moving.
Ideas
Ideas are created, some are adopted and some are ignored. Some catch on like wildfire, some take years to incubate. Ideas gain power through adoption, one could even define the power of an idea via the number of followers it has. But let's ask why an idea would gain followers - you will find that people will follow/believe/propagate an idea if it does something for them.
The power of an idea lies in its ability to create value.
Notice that I am not talking specifically about economic value. Some value could clearly be called economic, but some can't and then there's an entire gray area so I'm not going to get into that.
Structure is the difference between sand and a sand castle, between paper & ink and a book. When you have structure, the structure has value. I will call this the structure's intrinsic value, as opposed to its perceived value, which requires a sentient being/intelligence to perceive it. This may be the opposite of entropy, at least in the sense I understand entropy.
It may be that structure requires intelligence, but I don't think that's true. I don't even know if it is a property of our physical universe/ reality, or a fundamental property like 1+1=2.
Whatever be its source, and whatever be its long term behavior, it is clear that on our planet structure is constantly being created. It seems that there are two primary sources:
- The Sun - by providing energy for life (whatever that is). Without the maintenance of certain temperature ranges, the chemical reactions for life would not occur. Worth making note of is also photosynthesis, which creates the structures of plants, which provide food to animals, which provide food to more animals.
- Intelligence - here I will focus on human intelligence since it has the most impact. We build things - farms, houses, roads, cities and global communications networks. We have ideas (whatever those are) and record them - in writing, painting and song.
Goals
The strangest thing about this whole setup is that nobody knows what it's for, and yet it keeps going. "Write down your goals!", the consultants and career advisers say. "Why don't you have a plan yet?", your family and friends will ask you. These are valid questions, and I think individuals should answer them, and continually refine their answers as they go through this journey called life. But let's not forget that as a group, as a species, we have no idea what the goal is, or if there even is one.
This means that we (i.e. humans) are all trying to advance, to get ahead, to progress, but without any common goals.
We have goals in common, here are some obvious ones:
- Stay alive
- Stay warn
- Stay healthy
- Find love
- Find sex
- Find ways to get high
- Pursue hobbies and interests
- Acquire property
- ....
So there are plenty of goals we hold in common with one another. But it's harder to write down common goals, goals for the species. Here are some questions:
- Is the planet to be treated as a source of resources to be farmed, or as a cradle to be nurtured?
- If we had to choose, should we pursue Knowledge, or Love & Happiness?
- Should we try to improve upon our biology, or is that "playing God"?
Individuals have their own opinions (or not), societies may have majority viewpoints, but as a species there is little that we agree on regarding the direction we should move in. And so far, that hasn't stopped us from moving.
Ideas
Ideas are created, some are adopted and some are ignored. Some catch on like wildfire, some take years to incubate. Ideas gain power through adoption, one could even define the power of an idea via the number of followers it has. But let's ask why an idea would gain followers - you will find that people will follow/believe/propagate an idea if it does something for them.
- People in a city will follow traffic rules if it eases the flow of traffic and allows them to get to their destinations faster
- Some people follow a religion to give them a sense of belonging and security
- Some people follow a religion to get answers to fundamental questions on the meaning of life and their purpose for being
- People in companies will follow business processes to avoid making mistakes and extra work for themselves and their co-workers
- Programmers will use certain languages and tools which allow them to be more productive
The power of an idea lies in its ability to create value.
Notice that I am not talking specifically about economic value. Some value could clearly be called economic, but some can't and then there's an entire gray area so I'm not going to get into that.