The hole in society
January 25, 2006
I have been reading The Future Does Not Compute, by Stephen L. Talbott, which is about the role of the computer in our lives. Written about ten years ago, his ideas still sound pretty fresh. Here is a quote from a chapter teasingly entitled, “Can We Transcend Computation.” Talking about what computation is not, the author says,
We can hardly expect the principle that “balances” logic and computation to be itself reducible to logic and computation. But all that, unfortunately, is itself a highly abstract statement. Let me substitute a metaphor: what I have attempted in this book is to outline the hole I find in society and myself, about which I can say, “That’s where meaning must lie. My meaningless gives shape to a void. By entering with a proper sensitivity into meaninglessness, I can begin to sense the dark hollow it enfolds. And in the darkness there begin to flicker the first, faint colors of meaning.”
Talbott sounds much like the tenth century B.C. preacher who wrote the biblical “Ecclesiastes.” After looking for what fills the void described above, the preacher despairs; “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher. All is vanity.” He finally decides that the only answer to his search for fulfilment is to,
Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
It’s interesting how life’s most pressing questions never change. This one was being asked by the ancient Jews thousands of years ago. The answer hasn’t changed, either.
Dave, sounding a tad preachy this morning.
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