I have an hypothesis: biotechnology, robotics, informatics, smart software and
internationalization of economy will increase poverty in the underdeveloped
world.
I think: 1) it can be proved as the theorem of general systems theory &
cybernetics; and 2) it's a part of the fight for the
future --Mikhail
----- Original Message -----
From: Alfredo CV
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Sent: Monday, September 03, 2007 12:48 PM
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] politics and cliques
Hi,
Many years ago when I was working on my undergraduate thesis in the jungle of
Amazonas in Colombia, I knew a North American Anthropologist whom had been
working there for a long time studying the way how an indigenous culture
disappeared. I horrified with it and thought It was inmoral. Older members of
the team of researchers where I was working told me that she was making science
and that a scientific must be neutral. I think it's totally false. A scientific
has an emotional and political charge, deep inside feels himself like a
demiurge and for these reasons can't be completely impartial. What is science
for? Science have a social function, must help us to understand and resolve
problems but of course is an instruments of politics because finally we are in
a world of gangs.
I have an hypothesis: biotechnology, robotics, informatics, smart software
and internationalization of economy will increase poverty in the underdeveloped
world. I'm not a scientific but suppose I am, I take data and develop a
sophisticated model. Maybe, be sure, I'll conclude that my hypothesis is true
and I'll say for first time something brilliant like "Poverty is a emergent
process"... wow, what a conclusion!!!. If a guy which dream is to be high
executive of the World Bank, IMF or WTO takes data and develops a sophisticated
model will conclude that my hypothesis is false and will say "Richness is an
emergent process". Maybe neither of us will be telling lies, of course I'll be
right but I'll pray for his conclusion to be right because at the end he will
be a high executive and will have the last word.
Alfredo CV
Robert Cordingley wrote:
Glen,
It seems the world has had for a long time, and still has, oppression,
poverty and poor education of segments of its population. Perhaps we can say
that the developed world has managed to lower their own deprived segment size
while the un(der)developed hasn't made so much progress. (Do you remember the
TADtalk visualization on poverty?) It is considered by many, including you
and me, that having deprived segments of the world's population is unethical
because of the ethical standards we hold, have learned (and have been
indoctrinated in, if you will).
It remains ethical to work towards the reduction and elimination of these
deprived segments - it's a big job. The argument is over how. I don't believe
complexity science or studies and simulations of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)
are yet sufficiently mature to help very far in this endeavor, but I'm not an
expert in the field. It just seems that way from the perspective of an observer.
That complexity studies indicate emergent behavior that is otherwise hard
to predict and matches small systems (ie < 10^6 agents) behavior is *very*
interesting and justifies further work. I don't think it separates cause and
effect which is the primary reason for not using such studies for predictive
purposes. And there is no evidence yet of successful studies or simulations
that model social change, e.g. the French or Russian Revolutions. (Please
correct me if this is wrong). So it seems that the problems of society
(including trying to figure out what is the 'best' form of government) are not
yet subject to relief from CAS studies. Many would not want one small class of
experts to be responsible for this task anyway.
Going back to your original ethical dilemma, if one agrees with what is
ethical and one's political position doesn't then one will change/adjust/modify
one's political position to maintain one's internal integrity. Labels and
technicalities in definitions may be part of the problem:
I am a democrat because I believe everyone should have a say in government,
I am an environmentalist because we should take care of our biosphere so it
remains habitable for us,
I am a monarchist because I don't want to disband the Royal Family,
I am libertarian because I don't want a Big Brother government,
I am conservative because I think we shouldn't waste our resources,
I am a republican in the sense I don't want to dismantle the US federal
system and its three branches of government,
I am a capitalist because I believe in free-markets,
I am socialist because I believe everyone deserves basic health care,
education, justice,
I am a moderate because I believe we deserve a system of justice that can
reign in man's excesses.
etc
If complexity science turns out to be a powerful technology it may take
it's place along side fire, nuclear power and genetic engineering. All are
amoral. It's how we use them for our benefit that will exercise our morals
(ethics).
Robert C
Glen E. P. Ropella wrote:
The sides being a) the ethical consideration of
things like abject poverty, epidemic diseases, starvation, etc. and b)
the objective necessity that, with a population-based search method,
some individuals are destined for extrema, often very unpleasant
extrema. And it is especially difficult to simultaneously consider both
sides when the members of the population who are destined for horrible
extrema like AIDS or starvation are innocents who didn't have any chance
to _choose_ their extreme destiny.
- --
glen e. p. ropella, 971-219-3846, http://tempusdictum.com
Power never takes a back step - only in the face of more power. -- Malcolm X
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FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
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============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
