" ...this is only going to work well if our mental map of reality is a close approximation of real reality. In other words our simulation had better be very close to the real thing, or our approximations will be way off, and our results will be worthless. Remember Self-Discipline: Acceptance? In order to have a chance at succeeding at this, we have to accept reality as it truly is — all of it, no matter what we must face about ourselves and how unwilling we are to face it. Otherwise our simulation will be full of glitches. Things that seem to work in our imaginations won’t work in the real world.
The more accurate your mental model of reality, the greater your ability to intelligently assess possible ways of living. This means you must know yourself in all your nakedness, both the good, the bad, and the ugly. You must develop a deep understanding of your own nature as you truly are. This relates to yesterday’s post about bringing your beliefs into alignment with your actions. You must be internally congruent, or your simulations will only spew out garbage that you won’t be able to trust."
1 comment:
As a mathematics graduate, the idea of mental modelling is one that I can really get to grips with. Mathematics is, in part, about modelling a situation in another form so as to more easily draw logical conclusions.
A model is *always* flawed, by it's very nature it is often simplified in the extreme to allow only meaningful results in one small subsection of possible enquiry. If you try and work outside that area the results will be meaningless.
The human mind however, and our mental models, are vastly more complex than most mathematical models. They are interconnected, changing one changes others, and super-imposed, changing one affects the information received by another.
The end result? Just a small change can have a massive impact well out of proportion to the amount of work involved in that one step, and yet a huge amount of work can seem to make no difference whatsoever (until that one last small change, which is usually building upon and supported by all that work).
Maths is easy when you compare it to real life. I get maths. QED
My point? If I have one, let it be this. Life is complex and interconnected. Thinking about it will never get you close to the real thing. For that you have to live it. As terrifying as that may sound, since thinking about what is to come will always give you a flawed answer, don't think too much. Just enough to get a rough image then get out there and live.
And yes, I could seriously do with following that advice some more.
Post a Comment