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Computer Theology
Intelligent Design of the World Wide Web
Bertrand du Castel and Timothy M. Jurgensen
(Notes)
Martyr of Metaphor Symmetry
Computer Theology (page 281) studies in details the structure of metaphors. What it does not mention is the symmetry of metaphors. That understanding came to my mind when learning that wood floor installers use a tool called a "martyr" in French to push the planks next to each other. The martyr is a piece of wood that is used between the hammer and the plank to avoid damaging the plank. The concept of martyr is readily understood and the metaphor is striking.
Wouldn't a laborer using the martyr everyday get a stronger understanding of the human form of martyr? In that perspective, every facet of a term serves to reinforce all others, a strong form of cognitive reinforcement. When considering the additional hypothesis that a common term supporting various metaphorical senses serves as a cognitive bridge allowing associating ideas during the stream of a conversation, a new cognitive dimension emerges.
More missing fingers
A source of inspiration for Computer Theology is the observation of the missing fingers in paleolithic caves of France and Spain (page 401). More rock art with missing fingers has been described beyond that mentioned in the book, for example in Egypt (picture) and in the USA (Canyon de Chelly: description [certainly, a picture is missing here; in the book?]). Perhaps the additional evidence will bring more understanding on the sacrificial nature of the message left on the rock. Or perhaps will it find a different explanation (see for example the surprising if original thesis of Guthrie that it's all graffiti). Independently of the analysis, the fingers are missing and this has been communicated to the rock. That's the point that Computer Theology emphasizes when comparing this with missing information, particularly of the unexpected and therefore threatening kind, in computer networks.
Trust Reversal
Computer Theology page 246 illustrates the concept of trust reversal, the mechanism by which a trust network can be used against itself, by providing an example from computer networks.
Another example is the recent Bernard Madoff scandal. In a New York Times article entitled Madoff Exploited the Jews, Ronald Cass explains how Bernard Madoff used trust to lower barriers to inquiries into the fundamentals of his ruse. Computer Theology triages between trust by causality and trust by process. While using a common religion is an example of the former, the latter can be illustrated by repeated success, exactly the fodder of a Ponzi schemes. "I paid the last guy, so I'll pay you alright."
That begs the question of the mortgage-backed securities at the center of today's financial crisis. We could hypothesize that they also involve a reversal of trust. Being produced by the biggest names of Wall Street, trust by causality was invoked, and involving complex procedures, it was complemented with trust by process. If that analysis is correct, we might be observing a hole in the trust that's at the center of financial efficiency.
Trust lost is hard to regain. That, unfortunately, would call for a difficult rebound.
Another example is the recent Bernard Madoff scandal. In a New York Times article entitled Madoff Exploited the Jews, Ronald Cass explains how Bernard Madoff used trust to lower barriers to inquiries into the fundamentals of his ruse. Computer Theology triages between trust by causality and trust by process. While using a common religion is an example of the former, the latter can be illustrated by repeated success, exactly the fodder of a Ponzi schemes. "I paid the last guy, so I'll pay you alright."
That begs the question of the mortgage-backed securities at the center of today's financial crisis. We could hypothesize that they also involve a reversal of trust. Being produced by the biggest names of Wall Street, trust by causality was invoked, and involving complex procedures, it was complemented with trust by process. If that analysis is correct, we might be observing a hole in the trust that's at the center of financial efficiency.
Trust lost is hard to regain. That, unfortunately, would call for a difficult rebound.
Affective Neuroscience
In Affective Neuroscience p. 12, Jaak Panksepp says:
Jaak Panksepp. Affective Neuroscience. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 1998. ISBN 0-19-509671-5
"I will develop the position that a hybrid discipline focusing on the neurobiological nature of brain operating systems (especially those that mediate motivational and emotional tendencies) is needed as a foundation for a mature and scientifically prosperous discipline of psychology."
The words "operating systems" speak directly to the core thesis of Computer Theology, that trust calibrated by emotions is at the heart of both human and computer cognition. Computer Theology adds that religion is the epitome of such.
Jaak Panksepp. Affective Neuroscience. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 1998. ISBN 0-19-509671-5
Arrullo de palma
Siboney, from Ernesto Lecuona, by Connie Francis, a most beautiful primal song where she pushes the feminine voice to extremes (our translation, aiming at the ensuing discussion):
Siboney yo te quiero yo me muero por tu amor
Siboney I love you I am dying for your love
Siboney en tu boca la miel puso su dulzor
Siboney in your mouth honey flows its nectar
Ven a mi que te quiero y de todo tesoro eres tu para mi
Come to me I love you and of all treasures you are for me
Siboney al arrullo de la palma pienso en ti
Siboney to the lullaby of the palm I am thinking about you
Siboney de mis sueños si no oyes la queja de mi voz
Siboney of my dreams if you don't hear my voice moaning
Siboney si no vienes me moriré de amor
Siboney if you don't come to me I'll die of love
Siboney de mis sueños te espero con ansias en mi caney
Sibony of my dreams I wait with anguish in my interior
Siboney si no vienes me moriré de amor
Siboney if you don't come to me I'll die of love
Oye el eco de mi canto de cristal
Hear the echo of my song of crystal
No te pierdas por entre el rudo manigual
Don't lose yourself in the rough and parse nature
Computer Theology studies the role of aesthetics in communication, and the grounding of communication in metaphors. Could it be, as we tried to express in the translation, that the beauty of this song comes from two readings, one populated with palm trees, cabins, and rough patches of vegetation, and one referring to the palm of a lover, her thoughts, and the path to love?
A most interesting expression is "arrullo de palma". The lullaby of the palm tree, or the lullaby of the hand's palm? Perhaps both. In the latter interpretation, we would observe a superposition of two metaphors. The coo of comfort, and the palm of welcome, then articulating a new meaning that reflects in inner thought and the travel of Siboney to the crystal of love. This is reminiscent of Computer Theology's discussion of a poem by Edmund Spenser ("... the lodestar of my life ...").
International Trust Infrastructure
In the November 25, 2008 Wall Street Journal article "Does Europe Believe in International Law?" Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner, authors of "The Limits of International Law" (Oxford University Press, 2006), observe that "Europeans hold their values and interests dear, just as Americans do, and will not subordinate them to the requirements of international law."
Computer Theology shows that policy infrastructures are subordinate to trust infrastructures, with trust being derived from causality or process. In comparison with smaller human congregations, there is less of both in international affairs, and consequently a weaker basis for supporting laws. As trust infrastructures find their roots in religious concepts, the international stage is an observatory of their evolution. The word "secular" comes to mind, but is probably not reflecting accurately the melting pot of religions (say from Confucianism to Taoism and from Christianity to Islam) that reaches into international law.
Soldiers, Ethics, and Religion
In A Soldier, Taking Orders From Its Ethical Judgment Center (New York Times, November 24, 2008), Cornelia Dean writes about machines making decisions on the battlefield. The article forgets religion. Computer Theology shows how machines can derive ethical decisions from religious considerations. Who's on top?
Attributes, Intension, Extension
Computer Theology provides pp 279-283 a review of cognition languages. In particular, it shows how metaphors can be understood by computers. We could have gone further, and, for example, shown how computers can understand the difference that humans make in "I love eating duck" and "I love eating this duck". In the first one, no specific duck is indicated, in the second one, an unlucky duck is presented. That difference has several names; one of them, in logic, is "intension" for the first case, and "extension" for the second one. "Intension" is a variation on "intention", the idea being that the concept of duck is involved. "Extension" tends to indicate that we're talking about an actual duck, that, may, for example, be part of a count of ducks. Well, do cognition languages used by computers make the difference? Yes they do (here we are going to be technical, going beyond the book's habitual practice of using only layman terms to reach a wide readership). Those who are familiar with the XML language can look at the difference between:
(1) <animal type="duck"/>
(2) <animal>duck</animal>
It appears that (1) would be related to intension, and (2) to extension. The nice aspect of that observation is that it gives a theoretical foundation to what would otherwise be an artifact of convenience. We'd love to hear if this was noted by somebody before us, so that we can provide a reference, or/and to hear contradicting arguments.
Trust, banks, and mortages
Computer Theology studies the relationship of trust and policy, using in particular the concept of trust formalized in computer network to understand better human networks, or, as they are known, human societies.
This morning, US Treasury Secretary Paulson declared that the Treasury had decided to not use the $700 billion authorized by Congress as originally planned a month ago for buying distressed assets in the form of mortgage-backed leveraged security, but instead that the proposal would be that they be used to take ownership in banks and other financial institutions. While he was speaking, the Dow Jones dropped 300 points, and then up to 400 points.
Computer Theology defines trust as follows (page 9):
Trust is an expectation of an outcome with some degree of assurance.
Secretary Paulson explained that he shouldn't be blamed, but rather lauded, for the new turn, because "the facts changed." The analysis that this is confusing trust and policy would explain the Dow Jones drop. According to the definition of Computer Theology, included in the initial trust is the expectation of a model that would allow to provide a level of prediction of facts with some degree. If that degree of assurance is proven to be low by declaring that the facts are outside of the model, then trust is affected accordingly. Related policy is trumped, as modern economies are based on money, an ultimate embodiment of trust.
Readable on line
Computer Theology is now readable on line, deep in the theology:
Contents
Prologue: Dieu et mon droit
Chapter 1: Tat Tvam Asi
Chapter 2: Mechanics of Evolution
Chapter 3: Environment
Chapter 4: Physiology of the Individual
Chapter 5: Fabric of Society
Chapter 6: The Shrine of Content
Chapter 7: In His Own Image
Chapter 8: In Search of Enlightenment
Chapter 9: Mutation
Chapter 10: Power of Prayer
Chapter 11: Revelation
Bibliography
Index
Contents
Prologue: Dieu et mon droit
Chapter 1: Tat Tvam Asi
Chapter 2: Mechanics of Evolution
Chapter 3: Environment
Chapter 4: Physiology of the Individual
Chapter 5: Fabric of Society
Chapter 6: The Shrine of Content
Chapter 7: In His Own Image
Chapter 8: In Search of Enlightenment
Chapter 9: Mutation
Chapter 10: Power of Prayer
Chapter 11: Revelation
Bibliography
Index
I can say anything to a god, but I can't say everything to a psychologist
Computer Theology studies the relationship of religion and trust, and of trust and computer networks.
The International Herald Tribune today quotes a Taipei man consulting with a shaman: "I can say anything to a god, but I can't say everything to a psychologist."
The "anything" expresses full trust, while the "not everything" expresses partial trust. Here is condensed in one sentence the nature of Computer Theology's trust by causality. Computer Theology's trust by process is not involved here, so we have a pure case of determination.
Also, the sentence confirms the particular status of the shaman as direct conduit to the god (under ecstatic conditions, as indicated in the article). In computer terms, the shaman is the broker, arbitrager of trust, the intermediate that provides the trust necessitated by the conditions. An example of such an arbiter is Google: when we search and they present a list, we automatically attribute trust to that list. If the first item in the list made it that high, we think we can trust it; never mind that it is just an artifact of Google search algorithm.
Barack Obama
Here are the opening words of Computer Theology, commenting the United States Declaration of Independence (see Computer Theology page 1):
These seminal words of the social order of the United States of America provide a rare direct illustration of an evolutionary event known as speciation; the creation of new species from old. From these words, we can begin to draw parallels between biological processes and social order. The Declaration of Independence is grounded in the metaphorical understanding from which is derived context sensitive communication. Consider that a mere 15 years after it was published, a subsequent defining document of the social order, the Constitution of the United States of America prescribed that men were significantly superior to women and that black men or women were distinctly less than equal to either white men or women. Women of any hue were not allowed to participate in the governance so divined and black people of any gender were declared worth three fifths of a person for purposes of establishing participatory power within this governance structure. Otherwise, they could be property owned and traded as chattel goods. The words “equal” and “Rights” were metaphors meshed in the social interactions of the time. That one could look upon these words and derive from them something other than gender independent suffrage, and in particular could draw from them an acceptance of human slavery, is critically foreign to our current mores. Such is the double-edged sword instilled in metaphorical understanding. As the 42nd President of the United States suggested to us, “It depends on what the definition of ‘is’ is.” Despite its somewhat self-serving nature, this was in fact a prescient observation.
According to Computer Theology then, we've observed with the election of Barack Obama to the presidency a metaphorical change in the trust infrastructure of the United States. Following Computer Theology, a change in the policy infrastructure would ensue.
Laughter and Play
Computer Theology explores the role of Maslow's hierarchy of needs in both human and computer societies.
However, even as laughter and play might seem about absent from Maslow's original hierarchy, they should find their place in it, from both a human and computer perspective. Any parent knows that it is very hard to keep children from playing, and laughing; that in itself is an expression of a need. Later in life, attendance at sport events and comedy also expresses those needs. We suspect that a better understanding of laughter and play in humans would provide a fruitful path to understanding their role in computer networks. Or should it be the reverse?
Would laughter and play be a reflection of aesthetic needs?
Both are certainly heavily involved in various art forms. Both seem to engage the establishment of altered states of consciousness. Thus, both would seem to lay along the spectrum that we label as ecstasy. Both seem to impact the establishment of the trust infrastructure within the individual. For example, in politics it is perhaps more typical to attempt to paint your opponent as a fool through the use of humor than to discuss specific aspects of policy. In other words, try to impact the trust infrastructure, not the policy infrastructure.
Piaget noted that during the various development phases, the emerging human thinks in different ways. Is not the play of the child the likely precursor to the more structured art forms of the adult? Indeed, it would seem that some artistic endeavors of the adult retain the playtime characteristics of the child; e.g. farce in theater, whimsical music (a common characteristic of bluegrass and country music), slapstick comedy and the like.
Here we are. Since Computer Theology investigates the role of aesthetics in both human and computer societies, we're on the path.
Oscar Niemeyer
Computer Theology explores the relationship of trust and policy infrastructures in the fabric of society.
The Church of St Francis by Oscar Niemeyer sits on the bank of lake of Pampulha in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Its parabolic shape is matched by the parabolic shape of the pulpit, reflecting inside the church the word of God from outside. The overall form of the church is that of a gentle wave continuing the waves of the lake, with the mosaics of fish extending inside the church, itself opened to the lake, in a transparent allegory. The confessional is folded in another wave, with but one place. Outside, the cross is dwarfed by the overbearing hammer and sickle that grow from the building. Trust and policy in a single place, and the quietness of water.
Bonobos' religion
Susan Savage-Rumbaugh has shown bonobos that read, write, play music, make tools, make fire, and play with masks. Computer Theology shows that computer networks evolve similarly to human societies with religion. The religious bridge between bonobos and religion may or may not yet be built.
Nobel Prize in Economy
Computer Theology uses Maslow's hierarchy of needs to study both human and computer societies. In particular, the hierarchy has aesthetics in its scale. If we consider that aesthetics is a need for difference, then it is the need that nourishes the theory of Paul Krugman, who just got the Nobel prize in Economy. Aesthetics sells French wines in Italy and Italien wines in France. It sells Corona in the US and Budweiser in Mexico. Computer Theology shows how aesthetics feeds trust, and how trust enables policies for governance.
Meditation and Contemplation
Saint Bruno, founder of the Carthusian order almost a thousand years ago, defined the scale bearing his name:
This corresponds to the scale of Computer Theology:
Reading => Meditation => Prayer => Contemplation.
This corresponds to the scale of Computer Theology:
Policy => Evaluation => Invocation => Trust,
a scale that applies to human as well as digital social orders. Computer Theology spells out each step by comparing the elaboration of religion with that of computer networks. The following quote by a Carthusian monk provides an encompassing description of the religious scale (our translation into English of the original French text):
Contemplation is mainly a matter of the heart, in its progression it differs totally from discursive meditation, where intelligence has the largest part.
Whereas intelligence easily partakes in its own conceptions; vanity is its obstacle as well as its own punishment.
The heart is humbler; it goes with simplicity and without counting, without searching oneself, toward the loved one; et when day and night, as the Carthusian monk does, it nourishes its desires from this divine marrow that the Holy Scriptures contain, and particularly the Psalms, it transforms itself, becomes flame and raises without reasoning towards regions that intelligence ignores; its faith, its adoration, its hopes exhale in a single loving effusion; it is no longer a prayer, it is an ascent, it is burning transports, it is a passionate surge; under the impulsion of the Holy Spirit, it goes once and irresistibly toward God ...
La contemplation est surtout une affaire de coeur, dans sa démarche elle diffère totalement de la méditation discursive, où l'intelligence a la plus large part.
Or l'intelligence se complaît facilement en ses propres conceptions; l'orgueil est son obstacle en même temps que son propre châtiment.
Le coeur est plus humble; il va simplement et sans calcul, sans recherche de soi, au devant le l'être aimé; et quand jour et nuit, comme fait le Chartreux, il nourrit ses désirs de cette moëlle divine que contiennent les Saintes Ecritures, et en particulier les Psaumes, il se transforme, devient flamme et s'élance sans raisonner vers des régions que l'intelligence ignore; sa foi, son adoration, ses espérances s'exhalent dans une seule effusion d'amour; ce n'est plus une prière, c'est une ascension, des transports ardents, des élans passionés; sous l'impultion de l'Esprit Saint, il va d'un coup et irrésistiblement jusqu'à Dieu ...
Dom Jacques Marie Mayaud. Le Chartreux, origines, esprit, vie intime. Imprimerie de Parkminster, Partridge green Sussex 1927. (Quote seen at the museum of the Grande Chartreuse, France, Isère).
Credit Derivatives and Faith
Computer Theology analyzes societies, whether of people or computers, as nested trust and policy infrastructures. Borrowing and lending moneys involve policies that are immediately related to trust. If I don't trust you, you won't get money from me, or, if you get it, the strings attached will be tantamount.
In most circumstances, trust is quantified by the credit rate. The more I trust you'll perform, the better the rate. Otherwise, the rate will be quite high. For example, credit agencies evaluate the borrower, and the rate ensues. But what about credit derivatives? In other life endeavors, a derivative is also a measure of trust.
A derivative measures change. A high derivative predicts lots of change, a zero derivative predicts no change. In other words, the derivative assigns a level of trust as to the future evolution of a phenomenon. When applied to credit, of course, a derivative measures the future evolution of credit. Since credit is trust, a derivative assigns a level of trust to the original trust.
We call speed the derivative of the distance a car runs. A value change in speed multiplies in the value of the distance traced by a car over time. In the same way, a small change in the trust derivative affects considerably the original credit trust. A market change in credit derivatives yields a leveraged effect to the trust associated with the original credit.
So natural market fluctuations may by themselves be sufficient to bring down the original credit trust. There may then be no other culprit than the derivative itself. Trust doesn't easily suffer being second-guessed. Here lies perhaps a formal definition of faith.
Wikipedia Society
Computer Theology is about computer networks becoming hosts to digital societies, either with humans on the network, between computers themselves, or in a mix of people and computers. A society of the first kind is best observed with Wikipedia. For the casual user, Wikipedia is an encyclopedic publication of articles written by volunteers, editing at will each other's writings.
The rationale for the publication is that in due course, some kind of consensus will emerge, perhaps representing some level of "truth". Certainly, the result, at least in terms of volume of information, is spectacular, as evidenced by the high ranking that Wikepedia takes on Google requests. Whether more "truth" is found in Wikipedia that in other knowledge repositories of repute is the subject of on-going debates.
An interesting and hidden part of Wikipedia reveals itself to any author seriously interested in doing more than local modifications to articles. Emerging from the Wikipedia society is an elite organization of about 1600 persons (at this writing) called administrators who function as arbiters as well as purveyors of governance policy within the society. Administrators have superpowers in that they can perform drastic changes, including blanking out sections of, or even deleting entire articles. The rationale for such changes derive from obvious rules like copyright violations, but also from much less obvious ones such as the forbidding of "original research".
Thus, we observe in vitro the evolution of a new social order, where creators and enforcers are yet finding their natural places, selected by their effectiveness in promoting or degrading Wikipedia articles. At the present time, a strong parallel to the Wikipedia society is that of a clergy administered religion where the enforcers have the last word, striving to maintain the creators in the "no original research" box: contribute as you will, as long a nothing original comes of it. The deity? Confucius over Diderot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Deletion_policy
Memorability of Religious Expressions
Computer Theology explores evolutionary tensions consistent with religions' role in human expansion. Bringing Ritual to Mind (p. 85) adds one not mentioned in the book: that of memorability of religious expressions, noticing that in a pre-literate society either they are remembered, and they stay, or they are forgotten, in what constitutes a selection process. Then the book proceeds on studying memorization mechanism in details, bringing good science to a subject hitherto anecdotal.
Robert N. McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson. Bringing Ritual to Mind: Psychological Foundations of Cultural Forms (2002). University Press, Cambridge, UK. ISBN 0-521-01629-0.
Robert N. McCauley and E. Thomas Lawson. Bringing Ritual to Mind: Psychological Foundations of Cultural Forms (2002). University Press, Cambridge, UK. ISBN 0-521-01629-0.
Ordinateur
[In relation to a comment by Yvon Avenel on "ordinateur" (the French word for computer) having been coined in a 1955 letter to IBM with consideration of a religious connotation.]
The approach of Computer Theology is very much in line with the reasoning of Jacques Perret in suggesting the name of "ordinateur" for the machinery that has become well known as the computer.
Computer Theology concerns itself with establishing a model for "social orders," an interesting term in its own right given that it suggests a mechanism through which to achieve a specific end; an infrastructure (social order) through which to bring order to a social (that is group) setting.
We suggest that for collections of computers to function in a manner akin to social orders, we must define for them a theology. Through this theology, we establish the basis of trust necessary to support an effective policy infrastructure. All social interactions occur within the confines of this policy infrastructure.
Hence, our perspective of the individual computer and of networks of computers, could well be viewed as an illustration of "Dieu qui met de l'ordre dans le monde."
Jacques Perret's letter reference (in French): http://www.languefrancaise.net/news/index.php?id_news=253
The approach of Computer Theology is very much in line with the reasoning of Jacques Perret in suggesting the name of "ordinateur" for the machinery that has become well known as the computer.
Computer Theology concerns itself with establishing a model for "social orders," an interesting term in its own right given that it suggests a mechanism through which to achieve a specific end; an infrastructure (social order) through which to bring order to a social (that is group) setting.
We suggest that for collections of computers to function in a manner akin to social orders, we must define for them a theology. Through this theology, we establish the basis of trust necessary to support an effective policy infrastructure. All social interactions occur within the confines of this policy infrastructure.
Hence, our perspective of the individual computer and of networks of computers, could well be viewed as an illustration of "Dieu qui met de l'ordre dans le monde."
Jacques Perret's letter reference (in French): http://www.languefrancaise.net/news/index.php?id_news=253
Generics and Metaphors Unified - Logic and Rhetoric
Computer Theology is written for the large public, and therefore avoids the formalism that would otherwise be part of its discourse, preferring instead to point interested readers to more intricate material. For reference, one of the articles presenting such formalism is now available on line:
"We establish a unified semantics to interpret generics and metaphors, showing that they have much in common beyond their apparent differences, with no firm line separating the two. This proposition unifies logic and rhetoric, separated by Greek philosophy more than 2000 years ago."
Generics and Metaphors Unified
under a Four-Layer Semantic Theory of Concepts
Bertrand du Castel and Yi Mao
Bertrand du Castel and Yi Mao
"We establish a unified semantics to interpret generics and metaphors, showing that they have much in common beyond their apparent differences, with no firm line separating the two. This proposition unifies logic and rhetoric, separated by Greek philosophy more than 2000 years ago."
Religion and Politics
Computer Theology provides a model of interaction between religion and politics, using the concepts of trust infrastructure and policy infrastructure.
In democracies, the politics is essentially one of two sides battling each other, while typically only one religion dominates. Whether democracies or not, we do not see countries where two religions would share the population evenly, as soon as we exclude geographical considerations such as the North-South distinction in Nigeria; in countries where religions seem to be competing evenly, the country is actually an assembly of territories each having a dominant religion. In politics, there are geographical identifications, but overall, the opinions are mixed in the population.
That is compatible with the model of Computer Theology which considers that trust infrastructures cap policy infrastructures (which themselves cap trust infrastructures that cap policy infrastructures in a recursive way).
That is also compatible with an appreciation of a US system based on a global Christian trust infrastructure caping a bipartite policy infrastructure ("I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.").
In democracies, the politics is essentially one of two sides battling each other, while typically only one religion dominates. Whether democracies or not, we do not see countries where two religions would share the population evenly, as soon as we exclude geographical considerations such as the North-South distinction in Nigeria; in countries where religions seem to be competing evenly, the country is actually an assembly of territories each having a dominant religion. In politics, there are geographical identifications, but overall, the opinions are mixed in the population.
That is compatible with the model of Computer Theology which considers that trust infrastructures cap policy infrastructures (which themselves cap trust infrastructures that cap policy infrastructures in a recursive way).
That is also compatible with an appreciation of a US system based on a global Christian trust infrastructure caping a bipartite policy infrastructure ("I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.").
IACSR
International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion
From www.iacsr.com:
"The objective of the IACSR is to promote the cognitive science of religion through international collaboration of all scholars whose research has a bearing on the subject. This objective is attained through scholarly activities such as the arrangement of biennial conferences as well as interim local meetings, the encouragement of research projects and support of scholarly publications, and the exchange of information through electronic or other means."
Transcendent Personal Devices
Computer Theology defines Transcendent Personal Devices as computers that represent humans on digital networks across the entirety of their cognitive prowess. Here is a recipe to build one. The article has been prompted by a personal question by Merlin Donald, whom we thank here for having triggered this reflection.
John Updike's Roger's Version
Perhaps the first mention of Computer Theology in fiction:
http://books.google.com/books?id=PXtbAAAAMAAJ&q=%22computer+theology%22&dq=%22computer+theology%22&pgis=1
http://books.google.com/books?id=PXtbAAAAMAAJ&q=%22computer+theology%22&dq=%22computer+theology%22&pgis=1
John Updike. Roger's Version. New York: Knopf, 1986. ISBN: 0-7366-1297-1.
Zimmerman's theory of the great leap forward
There is a quantum leap between earlier human artifacts and the paleolithic cave paintings of southwestern France. Jared Diamond has called Great Leap Forward whatever progress allowed this advance in human cognition and societal prowess. Tom Zimmerman spelled out to me a theory for it derived from Computer Theology.
Computer Theology presents the convergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web in the beginning of the 1990's in a way that Tom compared to the Great Leap Forward. Computer Theology explains in details how the technology behind the World Wide Web dates back to the 1960's via clearly delineated changes, and the Internet also traces back to its predecessor of the 1970's, the Arpanet, and in fact even to the end of the 1960's.
Tom observed that the combination of two progress streams created a sudden and explosive progress that translated very rapidly into the recursive formation of digital societies in and on the worldwide network. That leads to the hypothesis that the two streams that Computer Theology associates with religion, creative ecstasy and conservative rituals, may be the source of similar progress by human beings in the form of religion enabling the constitution of larger and larger groups through shared trust infrastructures.
What I found particularly interesting is that in this perspective there is no need to invoke a mutation. If the convergence of two innovative streams is clearly at the source of the explosive growth of digital networks, perhaps the same cause was at the origin of our own explosive growth.
Jared Diamond (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-3930613-1-0.
Computer Theology presents the convergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web in the beginning of the 1990's in a way that Tom compared to the Great Leap Forward. Computer Theology explains in details how the technology behind the World Wide Web dates back to the 1960's via clearly delineated changes, and the Internet also traces back to its predecessor of the 1970's, the Arpanet, and in fact even to the end of the 1960's.
Tom observed that the combination of two progress streams created a sudden and explosive progress that translated very rapidly into the recursive formation of digital societies in and on the worldwide network. That leads to the hypothesis that the two streams that Computer Theology associates with religion, creative ecstasy and conservative rituals, may be the source of similar progress by human beings in the form of religion enabling the constitution of larger and larger groups through shared trust infrastructures.
What I found particularly interesting is that in this perspective there is no need to invoke a mutation. If the convergence of two innovative streams is clearly at the source of the explosive growth of digital networks, perhaps the same cause was at the origin of our own explosive growth.
Jared Diamond (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-3930613-1-0.
Olympics, Trust, and Policy
Computer Theology studies the respective roles of trust and policy, in both human societies and computer networks.
Olympic medals were published August 24th, 2008 in the Austin American-Statesman. The policy was evidently to list medals by ordering first on gold medals.
However, in a possible conflict between trust and policy, the United States were listed first, albeit with less gold medals than China. In the web version, trust and policy concord, in an ordering based on the total number of medals. (24-Aug-08 1:45 pm CST: www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/other/olympics.html)
Definition of trust
Trust is an expectation of an outcome with some degree of assurance.
Definition of religion
A religion is a system of trust provisioned by ecstasy and sustained by ritual.
Aesthetics and symmetry
The relationship of aesthetics and symmetry is well-studied. Symmetry allows to minimize description, and therefore replaces an otherwise random construction by one that is built on rules, or, said otherwise, in process. Computer Theology associates process with trust, in that with set processes comes predictability, and henceforth trust in results. Aesthetics is therefore a means to establishment of trust, itself an aspect of religion. In computer networks, aesthetics can also be considered in relationship to symmetry: an example is the concept of elegance of an algorithm.
Donald E. Knuth. The Art of Computer Programming:
Volume 1. Fundamental Algorithms, Third Edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997. ISBN 0-201-89683-4
Volume 2. Seminumerical Algorithms, Third Edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997. ISBN 0-201-89684-2
Volume 3. Sorting and Searching, Second Edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1998. ISBN 0-201-89685-0
Hermann Weyl. Symmetry. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1952. ISBN 0-691-02374-3.
Donald E. Knuth. The Art of Computer Programming:
Volume 1. Fundamental Algorithms, Third Edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997. ISBN 0-201-89683-4
Volume 2. Seminumerical Algorithms, Third Edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1997. ISBN 0-201-89684-2
Volume 3. Sorting and Searching, Second Edition. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1998. ISBN 0-201-89685-0
Hermann Weyl. Symmetry. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1952. ISBN 0-691-02374-3.
Recursion
Recursion plays a central role in Computer Theology, in particular in the parallel build up of groups in human societies and computer networks. In human societies, one application of recursion is the description of Maslow's hierarchy of needs applying equally for the family, the clan, the tribe, the congregation and that next grouping we call égalité. ComputerTheology considers the same needs, expressed in a digital form, in the constitution of computer groups.
Going beyond Computer Theology, one may wonder about other possibilities of recursion. A frightening thought is that from individual suicide to communal forms of suicide, is there an end to that recursion?
Abraham H. Maslow. Toward a Psychology of Being. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, NY, 1968. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 68-30757
Going beyond Computer Theology, one may wonder about other possibilities of recursion. A frightening thought is that from individual suicide to communal forms of suicide, is there an end to that recursion?
Abraham H. Maslow. Toward a Psychology of Being. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York, NY, 1968. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 68-30757
Theory of Content and Content Model
As Computer Theology explores the relationship between human societies and computer networks, the concept of memory takes an important role, detailed in Chapter 6, The Shrine of Contents. Scholarly studies of Theory of Content(1) and Content Model(2) address human and computer cognition. Written for a general audience, Computer Theology presents human and computer content memories together in an encompassing framework subsumed by an overall trust infrastructure qualifying that content.
(1) Jerry A. Fodor A Theory of Content pp. 230-249 Mind and Cognition: An Anthology. William G. Lycan (editorr), Blackwell Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0-6312054-5-4
(2) A Semantic Web Content Model and Repository. Max Völkel. pp. 254-261. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Semantic Technologies, Graz, Austria. September 2007. xam.de/2007/2007-05-voelkel-ISEMANTICS-swcm-CR.pdf
(1) Jerry A. Fodor A Theory of Content pp. 230-249 Mind and Cognition: An Anthology. William G. Lycan (editorr), Blackwell Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0-6312054-5-4
(2) A Semantic Web Content Model and Repository. Max Völkel. pp. 254-261. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Semantic Technologies, Graz, Austria. September 2007. xam.de/2007/2007-05-voelkel-ISEMANTICS-swcm-CR.pdf
To Bruce Schneier
Quote from Bruce Schneier's CRYPTO-GRAM newsletter today:
"That's what a good design looks like. It's not just secure against known attacks; it's also secure against unknown attacks. We need more of this, not just on the internet but in voting machines, ID cards, transportation payment cards ... everywhere. Stop assuming that systems are secure unless demonstrated insecure; start assuming that systems are insecure unless designed securely."
Computer Theology shows how a computer can defend against unknown attacks using mechanisms similar to humans, i.e. guiding mythologies, and then theologies, that provide repeatable and transmittable guides for action. Their working is their warrant of survival, less they adapt. How such mythologies and theologies are provisioned in the mind is the other subject that Computer Theology covers on the topic, showing how rituals linked with ecstatic states convey between human and computer societies.
Reference: Bruce Schneier, Chief Security Technology Officer, BT, http://www.schneier.com, the quote is at http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0808.html#11.
"That's what a good design looks like. It's not just secure against known attacks; it's also secure against unknown attacks. We need more of this, not just on the internet but in voting machines, ID cards, transportation payment cards ... everywhere. Stop assuming that systems are secure unless demonstrated insecure; start assuming that systems are insecure unless designed securely."
Computer Theology shows how a computer can defend against unknown attacks using mechanisms similar to humans, i.e. guiding mythologies, and then theologies, that provide repeatable and transmittable guides for action. Their working is their warrant of survival, less they adapt. How such mythologies and theologies are provisioned in the mind is the other subject that Computer Theology covers on the topic, showing how rituals linked with ecstatic states convey between human and computer societies.
Reference: Bruce Schneier, Chief Security Technology Officer, BT, http://www.schneier.com, the quote is at http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0808.html#11.
Review
Today we got a review from a very well-known editor, but it is a private review not for attribution, so we'll leave it at that. The content was very interesting, as the reviewer agrees with members of the Computer Theology Review Committee, in that he thinks that we diverge sometimes from the central theme, which is how the new generation of computer devices (e.g. cellular phones, smart phones, chip bank cards) takes more and more the guise of our digital representation to the network at large. Doing so, they build interactions in the network akin to our interactions in societies. And historically, societies have built up with religion at the center.
Our thinking is that we're not diverging, but rather constructing our argument with the rigor it deserves, taking each trace of similarity between human societies and computer networks and following it to enough length that we are comfortable with the parallel we're establishing. On this we got good reviews, but readers will need to judge by themselves. We sure appreciate the feedback.
Our thinking is that we're not diverging, but rather constructing our argument with the rigor it deserves, taking each trace of similarity between human societies and computer networks and following it to enough length that we are comfortable with the parallel we're establishing. On this we got good reviews, but readers will need to judge by themselves. We sure appreciate the feedback.
Artificial Life
At Artificial Life XI (Alife XI) in Winchester, UK, great video on humans and animals robots evolving movement through self-organization in reaction to sensori-motor input. For example, when a human robot gets sensory input in reaction to spontaneous movement, it would try, say, to minimize the length needed to describe it. We see then that this evolves into movements that are getting close to mimic ours, or at least ours when we were infants.
Computer Theology then explains how this construction of minimal descriptions is the basis for mimetics and then metaphoric elaboration at the center of our cognitive system. The mechanism of evaluation via minimum descriptions is a foundation for the trust system that allows progressive self-actualization.
The associated paper clearly explains what's going on in the video:
Ralf Der, Frank Güttler, Nihat Ay (2008). Predictive information and emergent cooperativity in a chain of mobile robots. In S. Bullock, J. Noble, R. A. Watson, and M. A. Bedau (Eds.) Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Artificial Life, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. [To appear: the link above is to the conference pre-proceedings]
Computer Theology then explains how this construction of minimal descriptions is the basis for mimetics and then metaphoric elaboration at the center of our cognitive system. The mechanism of evaluation via minimum descriptions is a foundation for the trust system that allows progressive self-actualization.
The associated paper clearly explains what's going on in the video:
Ralf Der, Frank Güttler, Nihat Ay (2008). Predictive information and emergent cooperativity in a chain of mobile robots. In S. Bullock, J. Noble, R. A. Watson, and M. A. Bedau (Eds.) Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Artificial Life, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. [To appear: the link above is to the conference pre-proceedings]
Metaphors
At least since Metaphors We Live By, cognitive science has been rooted in the metaphors derived from the human sensori-motor experience. Computer Theology shows how computer cognition is rooted in the sensori-motor experience of the computer. Evolution of the computer towards new interfaces on one hand, new computer representations of human artifacts on the other, bring the two cognitive systems closer together.
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-44801-1.
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-44801-1.
To the Olympics
During the opening ceremony on NBC, one commentator outlines the references to Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism in the magnificent dances and presentations. The hoisting of the Chinese flag was preceded by children carrying it to the military who then slowly raised it while the Chinese hymn resonated with the audience standing up and Hu Jintao singing along. Using the trust and policy infrastructure model of Computer Theology, is that the state (the policy infrastructure symbolized by the military) reclaiming the religion (the trust infrastructure symbolized by the dances)?
To Daniel Dennett
Is laïcité free-loading, or is religion free-loading? Computer Theology looks at computer network properties akin to religion, centered around trust as a formal concept. Then if trust is indeed at the center of human societies as an expression of religion, would it be a valid hypothesis that laïcité also provides a source of trust, independently from the religion that is historically in the culture of that society?
Daniel C. Dennett (2006). Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. Penguin Books, New York, New York. ISBN 0-670-03472-X
Daniel C. Dennett (2006). Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. Penguin Books, New York, New York. ISBN 0-670-03472-X
To Justin Barrett
Computer Theology compares computer networks and human societies, with the proposition that the trust infrastructure found in religion is indeed providing "utility" (Justin Barrett, page 58). However, it also considers that ecstasy, in the form it spells out for both human societies and computer networks, is, combined with rituals, the establisher of trust, be it trust by causality or trust by process. In human societies, theism correlates.
[1] Barrett, Justin L. (2007). Is the spell really broken? Bio-psychological explanations of religion and theistic belief, Theology and Science, 5:1, 57 - 72. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14746700601159564
[1] Barrett, Justin L. (2007). Is the spell really broken? Bio-psychological explanations of religion and theistic belief, Theology and Science, 5:1, 57 - 72. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14746700601159564
To Stuart A. Kauffman
Computer Theology considers and compares the emergence of human societies and computer networks. Also emerge principles of orders that are parallel; the analysis of order in human societies in contrast with order in computer networks allows to present vectors of emergence. Order in computer networks emerges from the intelligent design of computers and communications.
Stuart A. Kauffman. Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason, and Religion. New York, New York: Basic Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-465-00300-6.
Stuart A. Kauffman. Reinventing the Sacred: A New View of Science, Reason, and Religion. New York, New York: Basic Books, 2008. ISBN 978-0-465-00300-6.
To Maupertuis
Maupertuis, Oeuvres completes (Complete Writings; Tome 1 published in 1761 and Tome 2 in 1768; scan by Google of the versions owned by Oxford University) (Note: Lamarck was born in 1744 and Darwin in 1809) [our translation from French to English]:
Page 11, Tome 1, Essai de cosmologie:
But couldn't we say that in the fortuitous combination of Nature's production, as there were only the ones which had certain rapports of convenience, which could subsist, isn't it marvelous that this convenience is found in all the species that currently exist? Chance, could we say, had produced an innumerable multitude of individuals; a small number found itself built in such a way that the parts of the animal could satisfy its needs; in another infinitely larger, there was no convenience, nor order: all those died; animals without mouth couldn't live, others that were lacking organs for generation couldn't reproduce: the only ones that would remain are those where order and convenience are found; and those species, that we see today, are only the smallest part of what a blind destiny had produced.
Page 84, Tome 2, Vénus physique:
It is true that when we say that the embryo is formed by the mixture of both semens, we are far away from having explained this formation: however, the obscurity, that remains, should not be held against the way we reason. Who wants to know an object laying too far, and who discovers it only confusedly, has better success than who sees more distinctively objects that don't make up that one.
Although I respect infinitely DESCARTES, and that I believe, like him, that the embryo is formed with the mixture of both semens, I cannot believe that anybody be satisfied with the explanation he gives, neither that we can explain by an intelligible mechanics how an animal is formed by the mixture of two liquors. But however the manner by which this prodigy is done keeps being hidden for us, I still believe is nonetheless certain.
Page 90, Tome 2, Vénus physique:
If each part is united to those that should be its neighbors, and only to those, the infant is born into perfection. If some parts are too far away, or of a form that is not appropriate, or too weak in union rapport to unite to those to which they should be united with, there is born a monster by default. But if it happens thats superfluous parts still find their place, and unify with parts whose union was already sufficient, here is a monster by excess.
Page 11, Tome 1, Essai de cosmologie:
But couldn't we say that in the fortuitous combination of Nature's production, as there were only the ones which had certain rapports of convenience, which could subsist, isn't it marvelous that this convenience is found in all the species that currently exist? Chance, could we say, had produced an innumerable multitude of individuals; a small number found itself built in such a way that the parts of the animal could satisfy its needs; in another infinitely larger, there was no convenience, nor order: all those died; animals without mouth couldn't live, others that were lacking organs for generation couldn't reproduce: the only ones that would remain are those where order and convenience are found; and those species, that we see today, are only the smallest part of what a blind destiny had produced.
Page 84, Tome 2, Vénus physique:
It is true that when we say that the embryo is formed by the mixture of both semens, we are far away from having explained this formation: however, the obscurity, that remains, should not be held against the way we reason. Who wants to know an object laying too far, and who discovers it only confusedly, has better success than who sees more distinctively objects that don't make up that one.
Although I respect infinitely DESCARTES, and that I believe, like him, that the embryo is formed with the mixture of both semens, I cannot believe that anybody be satisfied with the explanation he gives, neither that we can explain by an intelligible mechanics how an animal is formed by the mixture of two liquors. But however the manner by which this prodigy is done keeps being hidden for us, I still believe is nonetheless certain.
Page 90, Tome 2, Vénus physique:
If each part is united to those that should be its neighbors, and only to those, the infant is born into perfection. If some parts are too far away, or of a form that is not appropriate, or too weak in union rapport to unite to those to which they should be united with, there is born a monster by default. But if it happens thats superfluous parts still find their place, and unify with parts whose union was already sufficient, here is a monster by excess.