Steve writes: < Whether we call it democratization or egalitarianism (I prefer the latter, as the former implies the "will of the majority", while the latter implies equal opportunity and support to every individual in a group), paying attention to these strong positive feedback loops and adjusting them to feed some of the less *obvious* candidates for excellence would seem not only like a good strategy in support of pure egalitarianism (of which Vonnegut presents the background/complement/dark-side) but also potentially a more optimum strategy for the "good of the group". > I prefer to separate the notion of the individual & group to the dimensionality of a space. Dominant individuals in a group are accustomed to working in the established dimensions and have an incentive to prohibit new dimensions. These are what we call conservatives. An unfit individual, from the perspective of the group, may simply be operating in new dimensions the group does not yet recognize or understand. It is not a question of just rough or smooth landscapes, it is a question of who gets to define the fitness function. Marcus
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