cotton gin<\/a>….before it was invented, we separated the seeds from the cotton by hand…it took a long time, and it sucked.\u00a0 “The growth of cotton production, enabled by Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, expanded by the bale from 750,000 in 1830 to 2.85 million bales in 1850.\u00a0 As a result of the ability to produce cotton faster, the South became even more dependent on plantations and slavery making it the largest area of the economy in the South.”\u00a0 Get it?\u00a0 Efficiency caused its use to explode!<\/p>\n\tTake the Printing Press.\u00a0 Before books were made by hand, and only a few could read.\u00a0 Then making books became faster and more efficient, and as a result there are so many books now people would laugh to think they were once scarce.\u00a0 Getting better at making books simply means there will be more of them.<\/p>\n\t
Take planes, trains, automobiles….whatever.\u00a0 It doesn’t matter.\u00a0 It will work the same.<\/p>\n\t
Efficiency causes people to use something MORE, not less<\/strong>.\u00a0 I fail to see how more efficient cars (or light bulbs or whatever) will change anything. It will not save energy.\u00a0 In aggregate, it will use more energy (even if each individual unit uses less).<\/p>\n\tIf you want people to use less energy we need to become less efficient <\/strong><\/em>at making it.\u00a0 You could attempt to impose huge taxes to dissuade use, but people would create a gray\/black market.\u00a0 It wouldn’t make a difference in the end.<\/p>\n\tIn short, there is pretty much nothing except population control or space ships (population control vis a vis leaving the planet) that will change what we’re doing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\tAs technology progresses forward we MUST use more energy.\u00a0 There must be throughput.\u00a0 It doesn’t go backwards.<\/p>\n\t
Corporate Person-hood:<\/h2>\n\t
In court, Corporations often try to claim the same rights as we do.\u00a0 They want free speech; they want to contribute openly to political campaigns; they do enjoy the right to contracts, to declare bankruptcy; they sue people\/parties.\u00a0 They behave in many ways like people, and when it suits them<\/em> they claim any and all the rights entitled to people. <\/strong><\/p>\n\tHere is the rub though:\u00a0 Corporations aren’t people<\/strong>.\u00a0 Primarily, corporations can’t die, and they can shift their definition of “person”.\u00a0 You can put a person in jail.\u00a0 You can punish them.\u00a0 You can’t rightly punish an amorphous concept.\u00a0 Arthur Anderson consulting just became Accenture.\u00a0 Kill one, and it just shifts to something else.\u00a0 No person enjoys shape-shifting immortality<\/em>.<\/p>\n\tPeople are moral.\u00a0 All of them are, even if their morality is not one we agree with.\u00a0 Maybe better said, people HAVE morals.\u00a0 Corporations do not…and they behave accordingly.<\/p>\n\t
So what does this have to do with me? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\tAccountability<\/strong>:\u00a0 I am thinking of a systemic solution, a single switch, to stop the seemingly runaway power of corporations:\u00a0 make ONE person accountable.\u00a0 Abolish the ability for the CEO and Board of Directors to hide behind corporate person-hood.\u00a0 Make the CEO accountable<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\tAbolish corporate-person-hood…just one person at the top.\u00a0 If you think the company has gotten too big for you personally to take responsibility for…then you need to spin-off a business.<\/strong><\/em> Sweat-shops….ONE person is responsible for that.\u00a0 A corporation is not “following labor arbitrage to the lowest cost provider because “the market” (another non-human entity) demands it”….ONE person is supporting children working for nothing to make stuff we throw away after a few uses.\u00a0 It affects that person’s morality.\u00a0 It is the responsibility of that person.<\/p>\n\tTalk about a Renaissance of values:<\/strong> The only person it would make sense to hire in that case (when the actions of those you hire affect YOU personally)…..would be someone of impeccable values.<\/p>\n\tFor instance, take the current banking crisis.\u00a0 Tons of individual PEOPLE are underwater on their homes…they owe more than it is worth…yet they keep paying….because they have VALUES.\u00a0 They made a promise to pay and they feel bad about not paying; they are affected by the guilt.<\/p>\n\t
Corporations are NOT affected by any guilt or any morality.\u00a0 They are also “underwater” on the derivatives of the homes…and yet they feel no compunction to pay.\u00a0 They simply walk away, because they don’t care…in fact, they can’t care<\/em>.\u00a0 Not only that but they realize they’ll get more by lobbying Congress to get US, the people, to bail them out.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because they can.<\/strong><\/p>\n\tThat kind of thinking, where you do something just because you can….is the same thinking sociopaths use.<\/em><\/strong> It is dangerous.<\/p>\n\tAnd yet these entities, who cannot feel, and for whose leaders we do not vote….rule most of our days.\u00a0 We endure because they enable us a decent life (which I agree is the case); however, that does not change the fact that corporations enjoy near absolute authority:\u00a0 They tell us how to dress, where to show up, what to say, what to do for most of our waking hours……is that not pretty much slavery?<\/p>\n\t
The saving grace is that we can largely choose our job, which allows us to choose our slavery<\/em>….a decent proposition I\u00a0 think (I really do)….just align yourself with a corporation that largely shares your values……..Oops:\u00a0 Corporations don’t have values.<\/strong><\/p>\n\tThen again, most people don’t either when faced with survival.\u00a0 Oh well.<\/p>\n\t
Artificial Intelligence:<\/h2>\n\t
I had big hopes for this, in the sense that surely we need to be smarter than we are now…even if the robots take over?\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 Also, I thought it wasn’t that far away; I mean we can process the shit out of some shit with computers.\u00a0 It won’t be long before we can simulate the processing of the human brain.<\/p>\n\t
A few thoughts…..if we ever COULD simulate the processing of the human brain, how much energy would it take at this point<\/strong>?\u00a0 Shit…my computer (one computer) requires a up-voltage converter, and runs so hot that it needs a heat sink to avoid melting the metal.<\/p>\n\tMy brain runs at 98.6 degrees.\u00a0 And it doesn’t require an up-converter at all.\u00a0 I can shove a few beers and a slice of bread into it and it will run all day.\u00a0 Imagine if you could shove a few leaves and a cup of water into your computer, and that was it?\u00a0 That’s nuts!!!\u00a0 The brain is, simply put, so far beyond anything we have now that its a joke.\u00a0 Show me a computer that runs on beer and a plate of rice!?!?!!\u00a0 Our brains are so energy efficient it is SICK.<\/p>\n\t
Next:\u00a0 Free Will<\/strong><\/p>\n\tIsn’t that the issue?\u00a0 Computers (despite their poor efficiency) can already process more than we can in most situations (though they aren’t as flexible).\u00a0 But they can’t DECIDE to process something.\u00a0 If they could I might simply stay at home and let my computer be curious<\/strong><\/em> about the data that I work with for a living.<\/p>\n\tSo what is free will<\/strong>?\u00a0 And why can’t processing devices (computers) that are already “smarter” than we are in some situations simply decide to do something?<\/p>\n\tProposition<\/strong>:\u00a0 The brain is a pattern recognition machine.\u00a0 At its simplest, the brain stores information and turns it into patterns.\u00a0 I didn’t invent this idea (see TED.com).\u00a0 You have to take this one on belief somewhat.<\/p>\n\tAnother Proposition<\/strong>:\u00a0 The brain is leaky.\u00a0 Computers work with 1s and 0s….and that is hard to do.\u00a0 The smaller the circuits, the more the circuits leak…and 1s bleed into 0s.\u00a0 The way you separate the feedback from the signal is to turn up the volume (energy throughput)…..so the smaller the processing circuits get, for the most part the larger we must turn up the energy to separate the signal from the noise.\u00a0 This is true (no belief required).\u00a0 The brain doesn’t work like that…it simply leaks, and trades accuracy for speed and efficiency….and the brain has trouble telling the noise from the signal.<\/p>\n\tWE ARE THE NOISE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\tThat is why there is no artificial intelligence, no free will in machines.\u00a0 They don’t have enough noise;\u00a0 they are TOO accurate.<\/p>\n\t
Imagine a brain that is programmed to see patterns.\u00a0 It sees lots of them, because the world is largely patterned (follows trends).\u00a0 Because it errs though, it also sees trends where there aren’t any (optical illusions are an example).\u00a0 It is well documented that the brain sees patterns where they don’t exist, it “fills in the blanks” where our sensory input doesn’t match previous patterns we’ve seen.<\/p>\n\t
But there is one source of random noise that is always present….it is the leak in our brain circuits…the trade off between efficiency and accuracy.\u00a0 From the day we are born the brain tries to process the ghost in our machine<\/strong> (the leak in our signal, which is completely random).\u00a0 Because it is so good at seeing patterns…it invents a pattern….WE ARE THE PATTERN.<\/strong>…completely unique, un-reproducible, always shifting with new input <\/em>(which produces new randomness, which causes us to shift more…but on the whole the brain creates a way to interpret that randomness, and refines that interpretation with time).\u00a0 We tell ourselves to do different things in different situations (or the same situation) because it is somewhat random.\u00a0 Free will is that randomness. We…are the randomness<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\tAnyway, that is my theory, and that is why there is no free will in computers, nor is there any “artificial intelligence” upcoming in computers:\u00a0 they work too well.<\/p>\n\t
To sum up:<\/h2>\n\t
While there is no apparent theme in my three topics…..the theme is that it pays to think about the things that go on around us.\u00a0 If you take at face value all the information we’re fed…..you’re the same as dumb.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
People and their values.\u00a0 Anyway, 1st up today is: Energy Efficiency It’s a red herring.\u00a0 ENERGY EFFICIENCY WILL NOT AFFECT GLOBAL WARMING.\u00a0 It will make it worse. Econ 101:\u00a0 If you make something more efficient people will use it MORE, not less.\u00a0 Take the cotton gin….before it was invented, we separated the seeds from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[6],"tags":[62,61],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3IMYj-4h","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":514,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=514","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":0},"title":"Cheap energy, the environment, and why we don’t have more stuff","author":"kellio","date":"November 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The concept of 5 Whys is generally applied in process improvement to get to the root cause of a failure; though the practice of asking why is generally useful if you want to get to the root of an issue. I saw in the news recently more talk of cold\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=514#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":193,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=193","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":1},"title":"Health Care, Alternative Energy and the Cost of Doing Nothing: Are people getting dumber?","author":"kellio","date":"August 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes I think so.\u00a0 It can't be true though.\u00a0 IQs are going up (Flynn Effect).\u00a0 I do think people are uniformed, but certainly people have always been uninformed.\u00a0 With the Internet providing more information that we can ever\u00a0possibly wade though, and college attendance at an all time high, there is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inside My Head"","block_context":{"text":"Inside My Head","link":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"health_care_costs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasingeden.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/health_care_costs.bmp?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasingeden.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/health_care_costs.bmp?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chasingeden.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/health_care_costs.bmp?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":178,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=178","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":2},"title":"The Kingdom","author":"kellio","date":"June 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I've never seen anything like Saudi Arabia.\u00a0 I would not call it awe, or interest.\u00a0 I would describe it as a dull itch looking for an outlet, an uneasy boredom. Most of my exerience in the Middle East has been with more moderate countries:\u00a0 Turkey, Morocco, and to a lesser\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=17","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":3},"title":"The Rise of Autism Spectrum Disorders","author":"kellio","date":"October 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I added a twitter widget to my sidebar.\u00a0 I think the concept is interesting.\u00a0 Its not enough to have email, or a blog, or telephone #, or RSS....now there is a way to feed your whole life....every mood, every action.\u00a0 The next step would a webcam that streams a picture\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":183,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=183","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":4},"title":"Unsourcing","author":"kellio","date":"July 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd never heard that term before a few weeks ago, but I get the concept. Sometimes jobs are not outsourced or offshored...they simply disappear and no one gets them...or at least that is the concept. As I think about machines taking blue collar jobs, and computers taking increasingly white collar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"economics\"","block_context":{"text":"economics","link":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?tag=economics"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":113,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=113","url_meta":{"origin":265,"position":5},"title":"Finance: Is it useful?","author":"kellio","date":"November 19, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Not all \"stuff\" is created equal....or is even useful at all. I'm not talking about diamond studded toothbrushes for your toy poodle.\u00a0 That's fine with me.\u00a0 If you want to waste money on your dog's oral hygiene, so be it. 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