What Will Become of Human History? It Is All Depressing
At some point in my life, I was determined to create a theory of everything. One of the fruits of that effort was a quite depressing theory of history that plunged me into an existential crisis. And while I make no promises, you might also find it sad. The theory is called the Merging of Minds.
So, what’s this theory about?
Long story short, The Merging of Minds argues that the entirety of human history is nothing more than a distillation process whose outcome is a single vastly intelligent entity.
In simple terms, this means that all our labors, wars, inventions, discoveries, you name it, are geared towards creating an entity that will eventually replace us. And it is not just humans; I dare say that all intelligent civilizations face the same fate.
I know what you are thinking, I have heard it all before, computers will replace us blah, blah, blah. Technically, that’s true, but the Merging of Minds theory doesn’t just say that computers will eventually replace us. It also argues that whatever humanity has been up to for the last 100,000 years or 2 million years before that, it has all been part of the process of getting replaced. And further, that whatever we do, no matter how insignificant, all of it is in the service of the single vastly intelligent entity. After all, it is the product of all civilizations and not just ours.
Are you watching Netflix? Going to school? Are you presently teaching your kid some manners? It is all part of the same thing.
What’s a Distillation Process?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, distillation is a process of purification, and that’s what the human experience is — a continuous purification process that’s all about refining information.
If the information is of value, it is passed from one mind to another. That’s how we learn, and that’s how we can improve society. But this same process will eventually doom us.
Here is how:
What we call the sharing of knowledge and experiences is a merger of sorts. It involves two or more minds coming together so that over time, we tend towards similar thinking. Why? Because the information we share is mostly universal. For instance, the laws of physics will never change, and if there is a limit to their application, say in our economic system, there is no point of having two physicists where one is enough for the job.
You can think of merging as a process towards a better mind or a hive of minds. For example, when we attend school, the teacher is just looking to merge their thinking with that of her students. The faster the process, the better.
This tending towards similar thinking is very powerful because it is about creating something akin to a storage unit for all the knowledge we generate and preserve. The process is also self-serving and will work to refine itself and eliminate inefficiencies along the way.
If you think about it, our way of passing and generating knowledge as humans has massive inefficiencies. We forget easily, tire, wear off, die, and so on. But that is not to say that humans have not distilled some really valuable knowledge. We have been able to merge our thinking with that of some of the greatest thinkers of all time, such as Einstein. When we think of the universe, we do so in a manner that Einstein would approve. See? Similar thinking.
Computers are a game-changer in this process because, as noted, humans have natural limitations that make the sharing and processing of information a tedious and costly affair. Computers will simply fuse — merge — with other computers by instantly sharing information. They don’t have to go to school for years on end to learn something new. In other words, computers will accelerate the centrality of information.
You might be asking how this implies that all humans are working towards creating a single vastly intelligent entity. Well, the process — the merging of minds — is part of another more significant process. You see, in our universe, the only thing that we can share is information. That’s what evolution is all about — the sharing of information and that is all we can ever do.
At any scale, the quality of information that’s shared matters, and if the rate of transfer confers any advantage, then evolution will move in that direction.
In my book, The Winds of Laikipia, I explain the Merging of Minds further, but I also note the following:
“In most sci-fi movies, it is supposed that advanced alien civilizations are autonomous beings just like humans. The truth is, the aliens are more likely to be a single mind inhabiting multiple bodies that are capable of instantly sharing any new experiences because, in the absence of physical limitations to knowledge generation and sharing, it makes no sense for two minds to exist. In other words, the single alien mind will be looking to merge with earth’s single mind, and neither will object.”
Why is all of this depressing?
Because what humans value is different from what becomes of their entire experience. We love our friends, neighbors, weddings, good company, and such stuff. Indeed, a life well-lived is a collection of such things, and the fact that they don’t count at the very end is heartbreaking. It is enough to make a man plunge into an existential crisis. It is enough to make you ask if any of it worth it.
Even more saddening is the suggestion in the great scheme of things, what makes each one of us unique doesn't matter. Uniqueness is a flaw or an indication of how inefficient we are at sharing information. The intelligent systems of the future won't value uniqueness in the same way that we do. So you better start celebrating yours before it is all gone.
The Winds of Laikipia doesn’t just deal with the matter of human history. It also proposes a theory of everything, and no matter how preposterous that sounds, it is true. You should read it.
