One of the great sources of evil in our time is the pursuit of purity. Purity of thought. Purity of practice. Purity of process. Purity of ideology.
The language of tyrants, rent-seeking NIMBYists, spiritual hypocrites, gatekeepers, small-minded middle managers, the petty, and the self-righteous gather their roots in the pursuit of purity. Purity is absolute, and the absolute is incapable of change. And being incapable of change will paralyze us and leave us severely disadvantaged for navigating what is to come: the age of seven broken invariants. They have co-existed with us since we took our first hesitant steps onto the plains, and consciousness first ignited in our small corner of the universe. Now, not just one but seven of these invariants are on the precipice of being broken:
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Minds are biologically-bound - Only biologically-born humans are capable of the depth of pattern recognition, planning, introspection, and intelligence humanity has. Nothing thinks faster than we do.
Minds are born roughly equal - Our brains’ size and capabilities fall within a tight distribution of outcomes, enabling near intellectual parity between individuals.
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Physical agency is biologically-bound - Navigating, manufacturing, and using tools through diverse and sophisticated environments.
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Consciousness is Earthbound - We are limited to a single planet1.
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Energy is scarce - We must always operate within its limitations and downstream effects on production.
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Genes are gifted - Only our parents and the heavens are capable of sculpting our genetic code.
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Death is the great leveller - It comes for us all.
Artificial intelligence, brain-machine interfaces, robotics, off-planet colonization, net positive energy output (nuclear fusion), gene editing, and life extension will each break and falsify these axioms2. Each is a watershed moment with no analogous historical equivalent.
Given the singularity curve, perhaps in the future there will be moments where even more will be broken in a shorter duration, but today’s testing ground will serve as an example for those future generations - if we are successful.
That's exciting and beckons of a future full of unimaginable depth, mystery, and discovery, but it's also quite scary. This isn't a book. We need to get it right. I'm working to gather and sort out for myself what are the principles for reaching a meaningful outcome3. The good news is that such seismic changes do not invalidate our hard-earned, collective wisdom. As Marcus Aurelius said about change:
Is any man afraid of change? Why, what can take place without change? When then is more pleasing or more suitable to the universal nature? And canst thou take a bath unless the wood undergoes a change? And canst thou be nourished, unless the food undergoes a change? And can anything else what is useful be accomplished without change? Dost thou not see then that for thyself also to change is just the same, and equally necessary for the universal nature. [...]
The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
When a new idea or perspective is birthed in a group of people, whether that individual is labeled improper and impure or innovative and visionary is a matter of perspective and interpretation. How can the definition of what is pure ever change if that purity doesn't introduce some impurity - some change into itself? Each year the ideologic test for passing as "woke" or "religiously devout" shifts a little, always impossible to pass for no two administrations are the same. What then is responsible for these small differences even amongst those who misguidedly seek purity? It's change.
Purity is an impossibility and a rejection of the universe itself. The purest state of the universe is complete entropy and its inevitable heat death. That would not be a very pleasant place to live! Luckily the universe has given us the gift of time to discover ourselves and who we can and should be. For change is the universal essence, and our power lies in choosing the what and why of that change.
[1] I expect this to be the last to be broken in any meaningful way. Physics and the speed of causality are cruel mistresses.
[2] There are likely more, but seven is a beautiful number for a quick tentative list. Please drop me a note of any other invariants you may think of.
[3] Similarly, please drop me a note if there are any principles you’ve been mulling over for navigating the upcoming era.