Metcalfe's Law of Minds

Here's what I wrote for the annual Edge question, which this year was "What are you optimistic about?"

Our species is unique in its power to use communications to spread learning across populations, allowing us to get smarter and more capable far more quickly than evolution alone would allow. What makes me constantly hopeful is that those tools of communications continue to get so much better, so much faster. Anyone who can explore Wikipedia and not be both humbled and filled with confidence in the collective potential of the people all around us is a cynic indeed. And we've only just scratched the surface of such networked intelligence.

Metcalfe's Law says that value of a networks grows with the square of the number of nodes. Today's Web, which is as much about contributing as consuming — two-way links, as opposed to the old one-way networks of broadcast and traditional media — allows the same to apply to people. Connecting minds allows our collective intelligence to grow with each person who joins the global conversation. This information propagation process, which was once found in just a few cultures of shared knowledge, such as academic science, is now seen online in everything from hobbies to history. The result, I think, will be the fastest increase in human knowledge in history.

This morning I was explaining to a nine-year-old about Moore's Law and the magical power of the continuous learning curve. "Will it ever end?" he asked. "I don't see why it should," I answered. That's optimism for you.

Comments

[Irene Grumman]

Thanks for steering me to Edge, and World Question, for stimulating opinions and observations.

[GrahamHill]

Chris

Quote, "Our species is unique in its ability to use communications to spread learning across populations", Unquote.

I suggest you take a look at the book "Swarm Intelligence" for many more examples of species who communicate to spread learning across populations.

http://www.swarmintelligence.org/SIBook/SI.php

Of course we humans have the Internet, for which we should be grateful, but we are not alone in our communications capabilities.

Graham Hill

[Erik]

Chris,

I appreciate your response to the question, but can't help but feel that a focus on building knowledge of external systems and entities is only part of the solution. Wisdom, or discernment in how to use knowledge, is another important piece of the puzzle.

Likewise, a thorough exploration of the inner systems (mind, psyche, consciousness) is just as, if not more important to the entire endeavor. I wish, but am not hopeful, that data networks (like the internet) will provide the tools explore these inner realms.

Best wishes,
Erik

[oyun]

there are so many people who even do not know about IE7 although they will not soon run into this one.