With the clock ticking at COP29 in Azerbaijan, negotiators remain locked in intense discussions over the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate financ

First full draft on climate finance today

As the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance approaches at COP29, China’s stance is drawing significant attention

Will China assume more responsibility for global climate finance? | Dialogue Earth

As the COP29 summit unfolds in Baku, the Global North faces mounting pressure to fulfill its climate finance obligations. Despite numerous geopolitical distractions and the absence of key leaders, this summit is crucial for determining the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance.

Global North Faces Pressure to Fulfill Climate Finance Pledges at COP29 Amid Trump Presidency

The New Collective Quantified Goal needs a human rights-based approach to loss and damage – and we need to talk about the military, writes Maria Syed

We need radical action on climate finance at COP29

BAKU: At COP29, the G77 bloc of developing nations, alongside China, took a firm stance on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for climate finance, callin

G77+ China demand 1.3 trillion dollars in climate finance from developed nations at COP29

At COP29, negotiations are underway to establish the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) in climate finance, aiming to succeed the unmet $100 billion annual target.

COP29: What Is NCQG New Global Climate Finance Goal After $100 Bn Pledge Fell Short

At COP29, the biggest sticking point in negotiations over a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) is “who pays?” Whatever the outcome, multilateral development banks (MDBs) will play a critical role.

Interview with Avinash Persaud: How to Break the Climate Finance Deadlock at COP29 with Multilateral Development Banks - IPI Global Observatory

Theoriq has launched the Prediction Collective, a suite of AI agents designed to predict outcomes on everything from market trends and political elections to sports events

AI predictions are ‘one of the exciting use cases’ in Web3, says Theoriq CEO

Collective

collective

According to a new study in the journal , highly intelligent people are more likely to be diagnosed with various mental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (20% more likely), ADHD (80%), anxiety (83%) and they have a 182% higher likelihood of suffering from one or more mood disorders. The study compared data from the American Mensa Society to data from national surveys in general. According to another study published a couple of years back in the , highly intelligent people are more likely to have fewer friends than those less fortunate in the cognitive departement. In addition to this, many separate studies show that ADHD-brains are linked to higher performance in some measures of creativity than their “normal” counterparts. Intelligence British Journal of Psychology Having suspected that having a brain “on the spectrum” runs in my family, both up and down the generations, I’ve dived a little deeper into the subject lately. I’ve done this mainly because I’m curious about myself and why I function the way I function, but also because of the fact that these “diseases” were almost unheard of when I grew up. I’ve done a couple of tests online. They all say I’m quite likely to suffer from one of these conditions, mainly ADHD. I’ve heard pre-school teachers voice suspicions about spectrum disorders in one of my kids and, even though I suspect that some teachers look a little harder for these things than they probably should, I wouldn’t be surprised if the child’s behaviour matched more than one of the spectrum-conditions criteria. A thing that did surprise me though was that the Swedish Ministry of Education recently decided to pay extra attention to children. Very un-social-democratic indeed and probably a sound thought. I got curious and looked at the paper on what behaviours teachers should look for in these children. They were similar to those who could label another child with ADHD or ADD. extraordinarily gifted remarkably So, one child gets to skip a class and another is given amphetamine to be more like the rest of the flock, all depending on the judgement of that particular child’s teacher. Ritalin and other amphetamine like drugs have for a long time been prescribed en masse to children with suspected ADHD and ADD across all western societies though it’s worse in some countries than others. People are being given anti-depressants all over the world and there’s an opioid epidemic in the U.S. Could it be that we’re seeing this from the wrong perspective? What does society’s institutions and schools have to do with our recent love for mental medication? Here’s a scary thought — maybe we’re medicating the wrong segment of the population. Could it be that the less intelligent are unable to understand the behaviours of the more intelligent. I’m not saying that everyone “on the spectrum” is hyper intelligent but maybe there’s a grain of truth here. Not being able to properly adjust to groups might just be a side effect of rather being alone. Not being good at submitting to the will of a mentor may be a sign of independence rather than simple disobedience. Imagine if Nikola Tesla or Albert Einstein had been given Ritalin at an early age. Would they ever have come up with the amazing innovations and insights that they did if they’d been medicated into being good sheep instead? Without the crazy ideas of Tesla, who allegedly was considered little more than a weird loner by his peers, we wouldn’t have had alternating current and without that the world would be a very different, much, much darker place than it is today. Good ideas are about the only thing that propels humanity forward and we have what we’re missing out on by turning our would be future mad scientists into mindless zombies instead. Keeping the ducks in line might seem beneficial to the but it is only the that can spawn an idea. no idea collective individual Our societies are built upon institutions and institutions, once in place, have a tendency to act in their own best interest. The people in them have a lot to lose by not giving in to the will of the machine so to speak. This includes our schools in which the children are lumped together for many years with virtually nothing in common but their age. They are then forced to recieve a flow of information adapted for the tiredest minds among them, neatly packed into different subjects and are then graded by the person most likely to be biased toward their talent that exists — the teacher. The internet has long since obsoleted this system but only those with a free thinking mind are able to see it. If anyone should be medicated, it is not the kids “on the spectrum”. Instead of giving them mind-numbing drugs, maybe we should try giving everyone else mind-enhancing drugs instead? The sad story about dumbing down the gifted for the sake of the collective is nothing new. The Arab world for instance, thrived scientifically between the 8th and the 14th century until the collective interest of religion effectively killed it. Socialist states keep collapsing, Venezuela being the latest tragic addition to this collective madness. Russia threw one of their best brains ever, Garry Kasparov, in jail. In short, any society that puts the collective before the individual is on a very dangerous path. Thanks to Keynesian economic theory and central banking counterfeiting a.k.a. Quantitative easing, countries are on this path right now. Be vigilant, stay on your toes, get some Bitcoin. What are the odds that Satoshi was on Ritalin when he wrote the Bitcoin whitepaper? all

User Activated ADHD

We humans are biased by nature. Everything we think we know is distorted in one way or another by our cognitive shortcomings. The human brain has been forced to evolve and adapt to whatever environment it can end up in and having a brain that sets aside personal aims for the sake of the collective has proven to be advantageous for the evolution of our species as a whole in some cases. The same is true for any social life-form. However, to let these parts of our brains guide our political judgement can lead to disastrous results in the long run. Not because of bad intentions but for the simple fact that a few individuals will always thrive by playing the systems in their favor. From an evolutionary perspective an army of ay-sayers and martyrs, regardless of whether we’re talking about an an army of humans or an army of ants or bacteria, has an advantage over a less disciplined one. From an evolutionary perspective though, it is better to like you’re a martyr but to run and hide when the actual battle happens. This at least partly explains the high percentage of sociopaths in leadership positions all over the world. If you can appear to act for the good of the collective but dupe your way into more and more power behind people’s backs, you’re more likely to succeed than if you’d been playing a fair game. individual’s appear So what has this got to do with politics? In short, political system you set up favour those who learn how to play system. This explains how something like 80 people effectively own half of the world’s resources and why you equality or anything like it by political means. The only thing financial politics does, whether implemented by governments or central banks, is . Inflationary monetary politics might be the most obvious example of this even though it’s mostly ignored by a majority of the world’s population. The only way to prevent this power-funneling is to empower the individual, the collective. In this day and age political forces that truly want to empower individuals are rare. We’re brought up in societies where we’re led to believe that “rights” to do, say or own things are given to us by a higher power. Having to have a “right” to own, say or do something is just a measure of how narrative distorts morale. To sell someone the idea of a “right” to something you first have to take that right away. It’s not very righteous. In addition to this all of the most hideous crimes ever committed by humans were all carried out under the false pretense of a collective good — the good of a country, a religion or a societal class. any will that cannot achieve funneling wealth from the lower and middle classes to the elite not Bitcoin was invented as a countermeasure to these destructive forces. Believers in the free market the phenomenon of every boat rising with the tide were quicker than others to grasp the idea and to hop on the train early. Most people still find it hard to believe that a computer protocol can be immune to the influence of humans and many misinterpret what the truly groundbreaking aspect of the invention is — . These misinterpretations are being exploited and they’re being exploited The amount of false information circulating around on social traditional media is simply astounding. Out of all the insights a year of deep-diving into Bitcoin has given me this is the most profound one. Altcoins, and the proponents of them, are to be trusted. The number one reason a person can have for inventing an altcoin or starting an ICO is to pyramid-scheme themselves into accumulating more Bitcoin. Numerous charlatans have duped hordes of twitter-minions into helping their dubious causes, most of them completely unaware that they’re being fooled. Bitcoin, or , was invented by and for those who refuse to trust authority. This insight has, for better or worse, made me even more skeptical about all the different worldviews that we’re constantly being shown by both the old the new media. seems to have a hidden agenda and this scary insight seems less preposterous when you take into account the system’s predistribution of psychopathic traits in positions of power. I think the fact that I fell into the Bitcoin rabbit hole had a lot to do with my skepticism of authority but I didn’t know at the time that Bitcoin could make me question authority even more. And yet it did. Losing faith in the very foundations of our societies can be a scary experience but knowing that there’s a better alternative out there soothes the nerves. sound money a lot. and not financial atheism and Everyone There’s an imminent national election coming up in my home country, Sweden. Like in so many other countries on earth, the false narratives of the left and the right are challenged only by the false narrative of the nationalists. No one seems concerned about real, long term issues like what to do about our perpetually inflating currency or how to tackle the algorithms that are slowly eating away at our souls and our jobs. Environmental policies are cosmetical efforts at best and are only there to ease the bad conscious of the ever spending modern consume-o-sapien. The best possible thing I can come up with when trying to think of something to say about said election is that it is At least in the long run. At least after hyperbitcoinization happens. A leaderless society is almost unthinkable to most people but the toolkit to achieve just that has already been invented. Time is on its side. Bitcoin is sound money and sound money is here to stay. It’s history has already been written and the ink is dry. There will never be more than 21 million Bitcoin. They will be unbelievably valuable. Just wait. irrelevant. For more on the subject of personal liberty and the cult-like behaviour of states, look up the and Saifedean Ammous’ thought provoking book Mises institute The Bitcoin Standard.

The Gullible Ape

A Concept of Collective aI on Ethereum and Ethereum Swarm

Ethereum এবং Ethereum ঝাঁক নিয়ে সম্মিলিত AI এর একটি ধারণা

Ein Konzept der kollektiven KI auf Ethereum und Ethereum Swarm

Un concepto de IA colectiva en Ethereum y Ethereum Swarm

Un concept d’IA collective sur Ethereum et Ethereum Swarm

एथेरियम और एथेरियम झुंड पर सामूहिक aI की अवधारणा

イーサリアムとイーサリアムスウォームにおける集合的AIの概念

이더리움과 이더리움 스웜의 집단 AI 개념

Um conceito de IA coletiva em Ethereum e Ethereum Swarm

Концепция коллективного ИИ на Ethereum и Ethereum Swarm

Ethereum ve Ethereum Swarm'da Kolektif Yapay Zeka Kavramı

Khái niệm về AI tập thể trên Ethereum và Ethereum Swarm

以太坊和以太坊 Swarm 上的集体人工智能概念

Note: Hello, I am V. Before you read on I just want to say that I understand the magnitude of my ambition and am not afraid to reach higher. I may not know everything, but that won’t stop me. All feedback is accepted. The more there is to fix, the better the final product will be. MANA - A Community Directed Decentralized Price Prediction Market Abstract The concept of cryptocurrency has been in existence for around 40 years and has now become a significant asset for investors to consider. Cryptocurrencies enable tradable exchange without the involvement of a third party, leading many individuals to pursue cryptocurrency trading as a career. With tradable cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and more, it's increasingly possible for people with limited experience in cryptocurrency and investing to quickly acquire knowledge and skills in this field. This often leads to a deep interest in the financial markets. MANA is positioned as a platform for profitable trading and a community-driven marketplace. While other organizations have introduced features enabling users to make predictions and interact, MANA aims to welcome users of all experience levels to test their expertise. It's a place where users can vote on the price movements of cryptocurrencies. Project Overview MANA is a decentralized platform leveraging blockchain technology to enable community-driven price predictions for various assets. Utilizing the MANA Token (MNAT), participants can vote on future price movements every two hours, stake their tokens, and earn rewards for accurate predictions. The MANA platform aims to harness collective intelligence for market analysis while providing all participants with a fair, transparent, and engaging experience. Price prediction is a valuable tool for traders and investors. Traditional methods often rely on expert analysis or algorithmic predictions, which can be biased or lack transparency, but the markets are run by people. If an entity sold a large amount Bitcoin the price of bitcoin would go down due to supply and demand. MANA offers a decentralized alternative, where community members contribute their insights to predict price movements, creating a collective intelligence that enhances market understanding. Voting Mechanism & Staking Community members must submit their predictions on where the price of a specific asset will be every two hours. This continuous voting cycle ensures up-to-date and relevant predictions that reflect the latest market sentiments. To participate in voting, members must stake MNAT tokens. Staking serves as a commitment to their prediction and helps prevent spam or malicious activities. The amount staked reflects the voter's confidence in their prediction. By staking tokens, users contribute to a larger pool of staked tokens that are then distributed amongst voters with the most accuracy. To maximize potential gains, members will need to stake more tokens. In other words, the more you put in, the more you'll get out. Data Collection The smart contract records all votes and the corresponding staked amounts, ensuring complete transparency and immutability of the voting process. This data is publicly accessible and verifiable by anyone. While the voting data is public, the identity of the voters remains pseudonymous, linked only to their wallet addresses, to maintain the utmost security and privacy possible. Outcome Verification & Reward Distribution The voting period will take place once every two hours, during that time users can vote on where the price will be by the end of the voting period. Although to prevent potential security flaws voting will pause 10 minutes before the next interval. At the end of each voting period an oracle will retrieve the actual price data from a reliable source. The smart contract will then verify the outcome by comparing the actual price change to the community's predictions. Participants who make the closest predictions about price movements will receive rewards from the pool of staked tokens. The rewards are distributed proportionally based on the amount staked, which encourages accurate predictions and active participation. Those who make the furthest incorrect predictions forfeit their staked tokens, which are then redistributed among the correct predictors. Security & Fairness The smart contract ensures that the voting process is secure and tamper-proof. Utilizing a reliable oracle minimizes the risk of manipulation, maintaining the integrity of the prediction outcomes. Community Engagement My vision for MANA is promoting active community engagement by enabling members to actively participate in market predictions. This initiative not only provides invaluable insights into market trends, but also fosters a gamified experience that is both educational and rewarding.  I want to allow users to get people stake as much money as they want so long as they can afford it, essentially balancing balances user autonomy with their own discretion. Use Cases: Trading Signals: Traders can confidently utilize the collective predictions as signals to inform and enhance their trading strategies.
Market Analysis: Analysts and researchers can rely on the aggregated data for in-depth market sentiment analysis.
Gamified Learning: Trading novices can confidently immerse themselves in learning about market dynamics in an engaging, low-risk environment.
Competitive High Risk Earning: Traders with the most confidence can stake MNAT tokens for potentially higher gains allowing users to mix their earning with their day trading tasks. Technical Details Smart Contract & Oracle Integration The MANA smart contract is built on the secure and stable Ethereum network, ensuring efficient and reliable execution of voting, staking, and reward distribution. A robust and decentralized oracle system fetches accurate price data, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the outcome verification process. Tokenomics Token Name: Mana Token Token Symbol: MNAT Total Supply: 333,000,000 MNAT MNAT tokens are used for staking, voting, and reward distribution within the MANA platform. Please take note of the following planned token allocation (ACTIVELY SUBJECT TO CHANGE): Founder's Allocation: 15% (49.95M MNAT)
Development Fund: 15% (49.95M MNAT)
Marketing and Partnerships: 10% (33.3M MNAT)
Community and Ecosystem Incentives: 20% (66.6M MNAT)
Liquidity Pool: 35% (116.M MNAT)
Reserve Fund: 5% (16.65M MNAT) Roadmap Q3 2024: Concept Development and White Paper Release
Q4 2024: Smart Contract Development and Testing
Q1 2025: Oracle Integration and Platform Beta Launch
Q2 2025: Full Platform Launch and Community Building
Q3 2025: Expansion to Additional Assets and Enhanced Features Conclusion MANA represents an approach to decentralized price prediction, leveraging the power of community intelligence and blockchain technology. By allowing participants to stake MNAT tokens and vote on price movements, MANA creates a transparent, fair, and engaging platform for market predictions. Join us in revolutionizing the way we understand and engage with financial markets. Lets see what the effect of the platform (if grown large enough) has on the greater crypto market. Thanks for reading, V. Link to Git Repo (Don’t bother reading the README): MANA - Global Participation in the face of uncertainty Note: Hello, I am V. Before you read on I just want to say that I understand the magnitude of my ambition and am not afraid to reach higher. I may not know everything, but that won’t stop me. All feedback is accepted. The more there is to fix, the better the final product will be. Note: Hello, I am V. Before you read on I just want to say that I understand the magnitude of my ambition and am not afraid to reach higher. I may not know everything, but that won’t stop me. All feedback is accepted. The more there is to fix, the better the final product will be. MANA - A Community Directed Decentralized Price Prediction Market Abstract The concept of cryptocurrency has been in existence for around 40 years and has now become a significant asset for investors to consider. Cryptocurrencies enable tradable exchange without the involvement of a third party, leading many individuals to pursue cryptocurrency trading as a career. With tradable cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and more, it's increasingly possible for people with limited experience in cryptocurrency and investing to quickly acquire knowledge and skills in this field. This often leads to a deep interest in the financial markets. MANA is positioned as a platform for profitable trading and a community-driven marketplace. While other organizations have introduced features enabling users to make predictions and interact, MANA aims to welcome users of all experience levels to test their expertise. It's a place where users can vote on the price movements of cryptocurrencies. Project Overview MANA is a decentralized platform leveraging blockchain technology to enable community-driven price predictions for various assets. Utilizing the MANA Token (MNAT), participants can vote on future price movements every two hours, stake their tokens, and earn rewards for accurate predictions. The MANA platform aims to harness collective intelligence for market analysis while providing all participants with a fair, transparent, and engaging experience. Price prediction is a valuable tool for traders and investors. Traditional methods often rely on expert analysis or algorithmic predictions, which can be biased or lack transparency, but the markets are run by people. If an entity sold a large amount Bitcoin the price of bitcoin would go down due to supply and demand. MANA offers a decentralized alternative, where community members contribute their insights to predict price movements, creating a collective intelligence that enhances market understanding. Voting Mechanism & Staking Community members must submit their predictions on where the price of a specific asset will be every two hours. This continuous voting cycle ensures up-to-date and relevant predictions that reflect the latest market sentiments. To participate in voting, members must stake MNAT tokens. Staking serves as a commitment to their prediction and helps prevent spam or malicious activities. The amount staked reflects the voter's confidence in their prediction. By staking tokens, users contribute to a larger pool of staked tokens that are then distributed amongst voters with the most accuracy. To maximize potential gains, members will need to stake more tokens. In other words, the more you put in, the more you'll get out. Data Collection The smart contract records all votes and the corresponding staked amounts, ensuring complete transparency and immutability of the voting process. This data is publicly accessible and verifiable by anyone. While the voting data is public, the identity of the voters remains pseudonymous, linked only to their wallet addresses, to maintain the utmost security and privacy possible. Outcome Verification & Reward Distribution The voting period will take place once every two hours, during that time users can vote on where the price will be by the end of the voting period. Although to prevent potential security flaws voting will pause 10 minutes before the next interval. At the end of each voting period an oracle will retrieve the actual price data from a reliable source. The smart contract will then verify the outcome by comparing the actual price change to the community's predictions. Participants who make the closest predictions about price movements will receive rewards from the pool of staked tokens. The rewards are distributed proportionally based on the amount staked, which encourages accurate predictions and active participation. Those who make the furthest incorrect predictions forfeit their staked tokens, which are then redistributed among the correct predictors. Security & Fairness The smart contract ensures that the voting process is secure and tamper-proof. Utilizing a reliable oracle minimizes the risk of manipulation, maintaining the integrity of the prediction outcomes. Community Engagement My vision for MANA is promoting active community engagement by enabling members to actively participate in market predictions. This initiative not only provides invaluable insights into market trends, but also fosters a gamified experience that is both educational and rewarding.  I want to allow users to get people stake as much money as they want so long as they can afford it, essentially balancing balances user autonomy with their own discretion. Use Cases: Trading Signals: Traders can confidently utilize the collective predictions as signals to inform and enhance their trading strategies. Market Analysis: Analysts and researchers can rely on the aggregated data for in-depth market sentiment analysis. Gamified Learning: Trading novices can confidently immerse themselves in learning about market dynamics in an engaging, low-risk environment. Competitive High Risk Earning: Traders with the most confidence can stake MNAT tokens for potentially higher gains allowing users to mix their earning with their day trading tasks. Trading Signals: Traders can confidently utilize the collective predictions as signals to inform and enhance their trading strategies. Market Analysis: Analysts and researchers can rely on the aggregated data for in-depth market sentiment analysis. Gamified Learning: Trading novices can confidently immerse themselves in learning about market dynamics in an engaging, low-risk environment. Competitive High Risk Earning: Traders with the most confidence can stake MNAT tokens for potentially higher gains allowing users to mix their earning with their day trading tasks. Technical Details Technical Details Smart Contract & Oracle Integration The MANA smart contract is built on the secure and stable Ethereum network, ensuring efficient and reliable execution of voting, staking, and reward distribution. A robust and decentralized oracle system fetches accurate price data, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the outcome verification process. Tokenomics Token Name: Mana Token Token Symbol: MNAT Total Supply: 333,000,000 MNAT MNAT tokens are used for staking, voting, and reward distribution within the MANA platform. Please take note of the following planned token allocation (ACTIVELY SUBJECT TO CHANGE): Founder's Allocation: 15% (49.95M MNAT) Development Fund: 15% (49.95M MNAT) Marketing and Partnerships: 10% (33.3M MNAT) Community and Ecosystem Incentives: 20% (66.6M MNAT) Liquidity Pool: 35% (116.M MNAT) Reserve Fund: 5% (16.65M MNAT) Founder's Allocation: 15% (49.95M MNAT) Development Fund: 15% (49.95M MNAT) Marketing and Partnerships: 10% (33.3M MNAT) Community and Ecosystem Incentives: 20% (66.6M MNAT) Liquidity Pool: 35% (116.M MNAT) Reserve Fund: 5% (16.65M MNAT) Roadmap Q3 2024: Concept Development and White Paper Release Q4 2024: Smart Contract Development and Testing Q1 2025: Oracle Integration and Platform Beta Launch Q2 2025: Full Platform Launch and Community Building Q3 2025: Expansion to Additional Assets and Enhanced Features Q3 2024: Concept Development and White Paper Release Q4 2024: Smart Contract Development and Testing Q1 2025: Oracle Integration and Platform Beta Launch Q2 2025: Full Platform Launch and Community Building Q3 2025: Expansion to Additional Assets and Enhanced Features Conclusion MANA represents an approach to decentralized price prediction, leveraging the power of community intelligence and blockchain technology. By allowing participants to stake MNAT tokens and vote on price movements, MANA creates a transparent, fair, and engaging platform for market predictions. Join us in revolutionizing the way we understand and engage with financial markets. Lets see what the effect of the platform (if grown large enough) has on the greater crypto market. Thanks for reading, V. Link to Git Repo (Don’t bother reading the README): MANA - Global Participation in the face of uncertainty (Don’t bother reading the README): MANA - Global Participation in the face of uncertainty

Proposal for a Collective Price Prediction Protocol

একটি সমষ্টিগত মূল্য পূর্বাভাস প্রোটোকল জন্য প্রস্তাব

Vorschlag für ein kollektives Preisvorhersageprotokoll

Propuesta de protocolo colectivo de predicción de precios

Proposition d’un protocole collectif de prévision des prix

सामूहिक मूल्य पूर्वानुमान प्रोटोकॉल का प्रस्ताव

集合的価格予測プロトコルの提案

집단 가격 예측 프로토콜에 대한 제안

Proposta de Protocolo Coletivo de Previsão de Preços

Предложение по протоколу коллективного прогнозирования цен

Toplu Fiyat Tahmin Protokolü Önerisi

Đề xuất về Giao thức dự đoán giá tập thể

集体价格预测协议提案

Engage! Exploring Technologies of the Final Frontier Cutting-edge technologies are shaping our world, yet a lot has been lost to the complexities of their development. So, I decided to write a trilogy that would simplify the understanding of these emerging technologies that are shaping our future. 1 - The Collective loves Data: How Big Data is Shaping, and predicting, our Future 2 - Warp Core of Confidence: How Blockchain Creates Trust in the Digital Frontier 3 - Holodeck Heroes: Building AI Companions for the Final Frontier First, A Little About Me. I am Manoj Boopathi Raj a Software Engineer at Google. I’ve worked on Google products used by hundreds of millions of users, perhaps even you. If you’ve ever used Google AI Assistant in your car, I made sure it actually understands you past all the noise of the road and highway. I made sure that when you say ‘take a selfie,’ your Android phone does exactly that. I’ve also kept spam out of YouTube so your search results are exactly what you’re looking for and made sure your e-sim-enabled Android phone is always connected to the strongest network so you are never stuck with a loading screen. And yes, I believe humanity should ‘boldly go where no man has gone before’. What Is Big Data? Big data isn't your typical data. It's a massive and ever-growing collection of information that comes in all shapes and sizes: structured (think spreadsheets), unstructured (like social media posts), and somewhere in between. Traditional data tools struggle to handle this data flood. But within this chaos lies a hidden treasure! By analyzing big data, organizations can unlock valuable insights through machine learning, predictive modeling, and other advanced techniques. Here's what makes big data unique: Volume: We're talking terabytes, petabytes, even exabytes! The sheer amount of data is mind-boggling. Variety: Forget neat rows and columns. Big data can be text, numbers, images, videos – a wild mix of everything. Velocity: This data keeps flowing in, constantly generated and collected at an ever-increasing speed. These three characteristics, often referred to as the "3 Vs of Big Data" (Volume, Variety, Velocity), were first identified by Doug Laney in 2001. While these are the core Vs, some add others like Veracity (accuracy), Value, and Variability. Big data isn't defined by a specific size but by the challenges it presents and the opportunities it holds. By harnessing its power, organizations can make smarter decisions and unlock a whole new world of possibilities. Big Data Examples Big data isn't just company records. It's a giant melting pot of information from all corners of the digital world: Our Digital Footprint: Every click, search, and purchase we make online generates data. Imagine all that activity adding up! Behind the Scenes: Businesses have mountains of data from transactions, emails, and customer interactions. The Machine World: Sensors in factories, power grids, and even our homes are constantly creating data about how things work. Social Pulse: Social media is a huge source of big data, with every post, like, and share adding to the information pool. External Insights: Big data can also include external sources like weather data, traffic patterns, and scientific research to give a broader picture. This isn't an exhaustive list, but it shows how big data truly comes from everywhere. And it's not just text – images, videos, and audio files are all big data too. Some big data applications even deal with information that's constantly flowing in, like live traffic updates. Storage and Processing Big data can't be squeezed into a traditional filing cabinet. Instead, it's often stored in a vast digital reservoir called a data lake. Unlike data warehouses that hold only structured data in neat rows and columns, data lakes can handle any type of information – structured, unstructured (like social media posts), or something in between. They typically rely on powerful platforms like Hadoop clusters, cloud storage services, or NoSQL databases. Big data systems are like complex ecosystems. Many use a distributed architecture, where a central data lake interacts with other systems like relational databases or data warehouses. This allows for flexibility in how data is stored and accessed. Sometimes, data is kept raw in the lake and processed on-demand for specific needs, like business intelligence. In other cases, it's prepped beforehand using data mining and preparation tools for regular analysis. Processing all this data requires serious muscle. Clustered systems, often powered by technologies like Hadoop and Spark, distribute the workload across numerous servers to handle the heavy lifting. This kind of power can be expensive to maintain, which is why the cloud has become a popular option. Organizations can set up their own cloud-based systems or leverage managed big-data-as-a-service offerings. The beauty of the cloud? You can scale resources up for big data projects and then down when they're finished. This way, you only pay for what you use, keeping costs under control. Big Data's Secret: Analytics Big data is a treasure trove of information, but to extract valuable insights, we need the right tools and techniques. Here's how big data analytics works: Data Preparation: Laying the Foundation Before diving in, data scientists need to understand the data they have and what they're hoping to find. This crucial first step involves data preparation, which includes cleaning, organizing, and transforming the data into a usable format. Unleashing the Power of Analytics Once the data is prepped, it's time to unleash the power of analytics! Data scientists use various techniques, like machine learning, deep learning, and statistical analysis, to run different applications. Here are some examples using customer data: Customer 360 View: By comparing customer behavior and engagement with competitor data, businesses can gain valuable insights and tailor strategies accordingly. Social Listening: Analyzing social media conversations about your brand helps identify potential issues and target the right audiences for marketing campaigns. Marketing Insights: Data empowers you to optimize marketing campaigns and promotions for better results. Sentiment Analysis: Uncover customer sentiment by analyzing their experiences. This helps improve customer service and satisfaction levels. Big Data's Future The future of big data is brimming with exciting possibilities fueled by cutting-edge technology. Here are some key trends shaping the landscape: AI and Machine Learning: As data sets balloon in size, human analysis becomes less efficient. AI and machine learning algorithms are stepping in to handle large-scale analysis and even preliminary tasks like data cleaning and preparation. Automated machine learning tools will play a significant role in streamlining these processes. Storage on Steroids: Cloud storage capabilities are constantly evolving, offering ever-increasing capacity. Data lakes and warehouses, both on-premises and cloud-based, are attractive options for storing this ever-growing data deluge. Data Governance Takes Priority: As the volume of data we use explodes, data governance and regulations will become more comprehensive and commonplace. Safeguarding and regulating this vast resource will be paramount. Quantum Leap for Big Data: While still in its early stages, quantum computing holds immense potential for big data analysis. Its superior processing power could significantly speed up data analysis, but for now, it remains accessible only to large enterprises with substantial resources. These advancements promise to unlock the full potential of big data, leading to even deeper insights and groundbreaking discoveries across various industries. With the right tools and regulations in place, the future of big data looks bright and full of possibilities. Engage! Exploring Technologies of the Final Frontier Engage! Exploring Technologies of the Final Frontier Cutting-edge technologies are shaping our world, yet a lot has been lost to the complexities of their development. So, I decided to write a trilogy that would simplify the understanding of these emerging technologies that are shaping our future. 1 - The Collective loves Data: How Big Data is Shaping, and predicting, our Future 2 - Warp Core of Confidence: How Blockchain Creates Trust in the Digital Frontier 3 - Holodeck Heroes: Building AI Companions for the Final Frontier First, A Little About Me. First, A Little About Me. I am Manoj Boopathi Raj a Software Engineer at Google. I’ve worked on Google products used by hundreds of millions of users, perhaps even you. If you’ve ever used Google AI Assistant in your car, I made sure it actually understands you past all the noise of the road and highway. Manoj Boopathi Raj Manoj Boopathi Raj I made sure that when you say ‘take a selfie,’ your Android phone does exactly that. I’ve also kept spam out of YouTube so your search results are exactly what you’re looking for and made sure your e-sim-enabled Android phone is always connected to the strongest network so you are never stuck with a loading screen. And yes, I believe humanity should ‘boldly go where no man has gone before’ . ‘boldly go where no man has gone before’ ‘boldly go where no man has gone before’ What Is Big Data? What Is Big Data? Big data isn't your typical data. It's a massive and ever-growing collection of information that comes in all shapes and sizes: structured (think spreadsheets), unstructured (like social media posts), and somewhere in between. Traditional data tools struggle to handle this data flood. But within this chaos lies a hidden treasure! By analyzing big data, organizations can unlock valuable insights through machine learning, predictive modeling, and other advanced techniques. Here's what makes big data unique: Volume: We're talking terabytes, petabytes, even exabytes! The sheer amount of data is mind-boggling. Volume: We're talking terabytes, petabytes, even exabytes! The sheer amount of data is mind-boggling. Volume: Variety: Forget neat rows and columns. Big data can be text, numbers, images, videos – a wild mix of everything. Variety: Forget neat rows and columns. Big data can be text, numbers, images, videos – a wild mix of everything. Variety: Velocity: This data keeps flowing in, constantly generated and collected at an ever-increasing speed. Velocity: This data keeps flowing in, constantly generated and collected at an ever-increasing speed. Velocity: These three characteristics, often referred to as the "3 Vs of Big Data" (Volume, Variety, Velocity), were first identified by Doug Laney in 2001. While these are the core Vs, some add others like Veracity (accuracy), Value, and Variability. Big data isn't defined by a specific size but by the challenges it presents and the opportunities it holds. By harnessing its power, organizations can make smarter decisions and unlock a whole new world of possibilities. Big Data Examples Big Data Examples Big data isn't just company records. It's a giant melting pot of information from all corners of the digital world: Our Digital Footprint: Every click, search, and purchase we make online generates data. Imagine all that activity adding up! Our Digital Footprint: Every click, search, and purchase we make online generates data. Imagine all that activity adding up! Our Digital Footprint: Behind the Scenes: Businesses have mountains of data from transactions, emails, and customer interactions. Behind the Scenes: Businesses have mountains of data from transactions, emails, and customer interactions. Behind the Scenes: The Machine World: Sensors in factories, power grids, and even our homes are constantly creating data about how things work. The Machine World: Sensors in factories, power grids, and even our homes are constantly creating data about how things work. The Machine World: Social Pulse: Social media is a huge source of big data, with every post, like, and share adding to the information pool. Social Pulse: Social media is a huge source of big data, with every post, like, and share adding to the information pool. Social Pulse: External Insights: Big data can also include external sources like weather data, traffic patterns, and scientific research to give a broader picture. External Insights: Big data can also include external sources like weather data, traffic patterns, and scientific research to give a broader picture. External Insights: Big data can also include external sources like weather data, traffic patterns, and scientific research to give a broader picture. External Insights: This isn't an exhaustive list, but it shows how big data truly comes from everywhere. And it's not just text – images, videos, and audio files are all big data too. Some big data applications even deal with information that's constantly flowing in, like live traffic updates. Storage and Processing Storage and Processing Big data can't be squeezed into a traditional filing cabinet. Instead, it's often stored in a vast digital reservoir called a data lake. Unlike data warehouses that hold only structured data in neat rows and columns, data lakes can handle any type of information – structured, unstructured (like social media posts), or something in between. They typically rely on powerful platforms like Hadoop clusters, cloud storage services, or NoSQL databases. Big data systems are like complex ecosystems. Many use a distributed architecture, where a central data lake interacts with other systems like relational databases or data warehouses. This allows for flexibility in how data is stored and accessed. Sometimes, data is kept raw in the lake and processed on-demand for specific needs, like business intelligence. In other cases, it's prepped beforehand using data mining and preparation tools for regular analysis. Processing all this data requires serious muscle. Clustered systems, often powered by technologies like Hadoop and Spark, distribute the workload across numerous servers to handle the heavy lifting. This kind of power can be expensive to maintain, which is why the cloud has become a popular option. Organizations can set up their own cloud-based systems or leverage managed big-data-as-a-service offerings. The beauty of the cloud? You can scale resources up for big data projects and then down when they're finished. This way, you only pay for what you use, keeping costs under control. Big Data's Secret: Analytics Big Data's Secret: Analytics Big data is a treasure trove of information, but to extract valuable insights, we need the right tools and techniques. Here's how big data analytics works: Data Preparation: Laying the Foundation Before diving in, data scientists need to understand the data they have and what they're hoping to find. This crucial first step involves data preparation, which includes cleaning, organizing, and transforming the data into a usable format. Unleashing the Power of Analytics Once the data is prepped, it's time to unleash the power of analytics! Data scientists use various techniques, like machine learning, deep learning, and statistical analysis, to run different applications. Here are some examples using customer data: Customer 360 View: By comparing customer behavior and engagement with competitor data, businesses can gain valuable insights and tailor strategies accordingly. Customer 360 View: By comparing customer behavior and engagement with competitor data, businesses can gain valuable insights and tailor strategies accordingly. Customer 360 View: Social Listening: Analyzing social media conversations about your brand helps identify potential issues and target the right audiences for marketing campaigns. Social Listening: Analyzing social media conversations about your brand helps identify potential issues and target the right audiences for marketing campaigns. Social Listening: Marketing Insights: Data empowers you to optimize marketing campaigns and promotions for better results. Marketing Insights: Data empowers you to optimize marketing campaigns and promotions for better results. Marketing Insights: Sentiment Analysis: Uncover customer sentiment by analyzing their experiences. This helps improve customer service and satisfaction levels. Sentiment Analysis: Uncover customer sentiment by analyzing their experiences. This helps improve customer service and satisfaction levels. Sentiment Analysis: Big Data's Future Big Data's Future The future of big data is brimming with exciting possibilities fueled by cutting-edge technology. Here are some key trends shaping the landscape: AI and Machine Learning: As data sets balloon in size, human analysis becomes less efficient. AI and machine learning algorithms are stepping in to handle large-scale analysis and even preliminary tasks like data cleaning and preparation. Automated machine learning tools will play a significant role in streamlining these processes. AI and Machine Learning: As data sets balloon in size, human analysis becomes less efficient. AI and machine learning algorithms are stepping in to handle large-scale analysis and even preliminary tasks like data cleaning and preparation. Automated machine learning tools will play a significant role in streamlining these processes. AI and Machine Learning: Storage on Steroids: Cloud storage capabilities are constantly evolving, offering ever-increasing capacity. Data lakes and warehouses, both on-premises and cloud-based, are attractive options for storing this ever-growing data deluge. Storage on Steroids: Cloud storage capabilities are constantly evolving, offering ever-increasing capacity. Data lakes and warehouses, both on-premises and cloud-based, are attractive options for storing this ever-growing data deluge. Storage on Steroids: Data Governance Takes Priority: As the volume of data we use explodes, data governance and regulations will become more comprehensive and commonplace. Safeguarding and regulating this vast resource will be paramount. Data Governance Takes Priority: As the volume of data we use explodes, data governance and regulations will become more comprehensive and commonplace. Safeguarding and regulating this vast resource will be paramount. Data Governance Takes Priority: Quantum Leap for Big Data: While still in its early stages, quantum computing holds immense potential for big data analysis. Its superior processing power could significantly speed up data analysis, but for now, it remains accessible only to large enterprises with substantial resources. Quantum Leap for Big Data: While still in its early stages, quantum computing holds immense potential for big data analysis. Its superior processing power could significantly speed up data analysis, but for now, it remains accessible only to large enterprises with substantial resources. Quantum Leap for Big Data: These advancements promise to unlock the full potential of big data, leading to even deeper insights and groundbreaking discoveries across various industries. With the right tools and regulations in place, the future of big data looks bright and full of possibilities.

The Collective Loves Data: How Big Data Is Shaping and Predicting Our Future

The Value of Diversity and Inclusivity in the Arts Since time immemorial, the arts have been an effective tool for encouraging diversity, campaigning for reform and fostering inclusive societies, for example, the Egyptian civilization, like building the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx! Ancient Greek society building beautiful pottery, and sculpture! Artistic variety is essential for creative originality and creativity. Further, the and the highlighted the value of the marginalized people expressing their experiences and viewpoints in the form of art to empower them and make them be heard. feminist art movement in 1970s Harlem Renaissance When the art experience is shared with different audiences, it improves and becomes more representative of the diverse aspects of society. In terms of the labor force, having a diverse workforce for programming and community participation jobs makes art more relevant and approachable. An artistic society leads to more innovation and creativity all around, which leads to new discoveries and inventions….. The era of the renaissance was so critical in Europe’s history because the artistic tendencies of the human were awarded, which led to better outcomes for the medieval society. Even though it may appear tough, numerous organizations have successfully navigated the hurdles of in the arts. PepsiCo and , for example, have profited from a diverse workforce by allowing them to innovate and give excellent customer service to a wider spectrum of clients. Initiatives such as East-West Players' 51% Preparedness Plan for the American Theatre are excellent examples of how enterprises in the arts and culture sector may thrive by embracing diversity at all levels, including board members, artists, and audiences. Further, cultural instructions such as the and the theater demonstrated the importance of diversity and inclusivity but promoted empathy and diversity through sharing stories from various backgrounds, thereby bringing and democratizing art for everyone to enjoy and share. establishing diversity AT&T Sundance Film Festival Alvin Ailey American Dance The Palm Collective's Visionary Leap The Palm Collective is spearheading a new generation of Web3 and art in New York City. The Obscura Community is a groundbreaking platform created by this forward-thinking artist collective. Its goal is to empower artists in the rapidly expanding Web3 landscape. As we celebrate Women's History Month, this initiative serves as a testament to the transformative power of art and a beacon of inclusivity. The registration link for artists to register to the Palm Collective, can be found here. Participants must ensure that they follow the Palm Collective’s terms and conditions, and must be ready to provide a high-definition version of their work for projection in case it’s selected. Call x Digital Art: Egalitarian Utopia is accepting submissions in all formats ofall digital media, including images, videos, music, 3D, and artificial intelligence (AI) works though submissions using AI must be disclosed. Celebrating Womxn's Month with a Vision of Utopia March marks the arrival of spring as well as the commemoration of women's accomplishments across history and cultural contexts. Taking advantage of this historic time, The Palm Collective presents "Call x Digital Art: Egalitarian Utopia". It is a call for designers and artists of all gender identities to present their utopian worlds that are based on egalitarian values. This project advances the discussion on diversity and inclusiveness into the field of digital art in addition to honoring Women's History Month. With the transformation and shift to the digital age, artists now have unprecedented means of expressing their creativity at scale. The Palm Collective's most recent initiative, which provides artists with enticing incentives and a unique space to display their work, serves as more evidence of this move towards building an artistic society which fosters creativity and innovation at scale, for the people and by the people. Final Thoughts An important turning point in the history of the relationship between art, technology, and social reform has been reached with the introduction of the showcase project by The Palm Collective and the Obscura Community, as it brings together blockchain technology, NFTs, artistic creations and creative mindfulness together to create value for the society just like in the days of Renaissance. This innovative initiative is a celebration of the strength of the human imagination and the impact that artists have on the future. Through the celebration of Womxn's Month, The Palm Collective not only pays tribute to the accomplishments of women throughout history, but also lays the groundwork for a more equitable and inclusive creative community. The Palm Collective's effort is not just an art competition; it is a desperate cry to artists everywhere to imagine, make, and inspire a better future. It's evident from gazing out over this new terrain that art, in its most imaginative manifestations, possesses the keys to unlocking a more inclusive and harmonious world. Don’t forget to like and share the story! This author is an independent contributor publishing via our brand-as-author program. Be it through direct compensation, media partnerships, or networking, the author has a vested interest in the company/ies mentioned in this story. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR Vested Interest Disclosure:

Empowering Artists in the Digital Age: The Palm Collective's Visionary Platform

ডিজিটাল যুগে শিল্পীদের ক্ষমতায়ন: দ্য পাম কালেক্টিভের ভিশনারি প্ল্যাটফর্ম

Künstler im digitalen Zeitalter stärken: Die visionäre Plattform des Palm Collective

Empoderar a los artistas en la era digital: la plataforma visionaria de The Palm Collective

Donner du pouvoir aux artistes à l’ère numérique : la plateforme visionnaire du Palm Collective

डिजिटल युग में कलाकारों को सशक्त बनाना: द पाम कलेक्टिव का दूरदर्शी मंच

デジタル時代のアーティストに力を与える: パーム コレクティブの先見の明のあるプラットフォーム

디지털 시대의 예술가 역량 강화: The Palm Collective의 비전 플랫폼

Capacitando Artistas na Era Digital: A Plataforma Visionária do Palm Collective

Расширение прав и возможностей художников в эпоху цифровых технологий: концептуальная платформа The Palm Collective

Dijital Çağda Sanatçıları Güçlendirmek: Palm Collective'in Vizyoner Platformu

Trao quyền cho các nghệ sĩ trong thời đại kỹ thuật số: Nền tảng tầm nhìn của The Palm Collective

为数字时代的艺术家赋能：The Palm Collective 的愿景平台

The Problem of Philosophy, by Bertrand Russells, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF UNIVERSALS ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF UNIVERSALS In regard to one man's knowledge at a given time, universals, like particulars, may be divided into those known by acquaintance, those known only by description, and those not known either by acquaintance or by description. Let us consider first the knowledge of universals by acquaintance. It is obvious, to begin with, that we are acquainted with such universals as white, red, black, sweet, sour, loud, hard, etc., i.e. with qualities which are exemplified in sense-data. When we see a white patch, we are acquainted, in the first instance, with the particular patch; but by seeing many white patches, we easily learn to abstract the whiteness which they all have in common, and in learning to do this we are learning to be acquainted with whiteness. A similar process will make us acquainted with any other universal of the same sort. Universals of this sort may be called 'sensible qualities'. They can be apprehended with less effort of abstraction than any others, and they seem less removed from particulars than other universals are. We come next to relations. The easiest relations to apprehend are those which hold between the different parts of a single complex sense-datum. For example, I can see at a glance the whole of the page on which I am writing; thus the whole page is included in one sense-datum. But I perceive that some parts of the page are to the left of other parts, and some parts are above other parts. The process of abstraction in this case seems to proceed somewhat as follows: I see successively a number of sense-data in which one part is to the left of another; I perceive, as in the case of different white patches, that all these sense-data have something in common, and by abstraction I find that what they have in common is a certain relation between their parts, namely the relation which I call 'being to the left of'. In this way I become acquainted with the universal relation. In like manner I become aware of the relation of before and after in time. Suppose I hear a chime of bells: when the last bell of the chime sounds, I can retain the whole chime before my mind, and I can perceive that the earlier bells came before the later ones. Also in memory I perceive that what I am remembering came before the present time. From either of these sources I can abstract the universal relation of before and after, just as I abstracted the universal relation 'being to the left of'. Thus time-relations, like space-relations, are among those with which we are acquainted. Another relation with which we become acquainted in much the same way is resemblance. If I see simultaneously two shades of green, I can see that they resemble each other; if I also see a shade of red: at the same time, I can see that the two greens have more resemblance to each other than either has to the red. In this way I become acquainted with the universal resemblance or similarity. Between universals, as between particulars, there are relations of which we may be immediately aware. We have just seen that we can perceive that the resemblance between two shades of green is greater than the resemblance between a shade of red and a shade of green. Here we are dealing with a relation, namely 'greater than', between two relations. Our knowledge of such relations, though it requires more power of abstraction than is required for perceiving the qualities of sense-data, appears to be equally immediate, and (at least in some cases) equally indubitable. Thus there is immediate knowledge concerning universals as well as concerning sense-data. Returning now to the problem of a priori knowledge, which we left unsolved when we began the consideration of universals, we find ourselves in a position to deal with it in a much more satisfactory manner than was possible before. Let us revert to the proposition 'two and two are four'. It is fairly obvious, in view of what has been said, that this proposition states a relation between the universal 'two' and the universal 'four'. This suggests a proposition which we shall now endeavour to establish: namely, All a priori knowledge deals exclusively with the relations of universals. This proposition is of great importance, and goes a long way towards solving our previous difficulties concerning a priori knowledge. The only case in which it might seem, at first sight, as if our proposition were untrue, is the case in which an a priori proposition states that all of one class of particulars belong to some other class, or (what comes to the same thing) that all particulars having some one property also have some other. In this case it might seem as though we were dealing with the particulars that have the property rather than with the property. The proposition 'two and two are four' is really a case in point, for this may be stated in the form 'any two and any other two are four', or 'any collection formed of two twos is a collection of four'. If we can show that such statements as this really deal only with universals, our proposition may be regarded as proved. One way of discovering what a proposition deals with is to ask ourselves what words we must understand—in other words, what objects we must be acquainted with—in order to see what the proposition means. As soon as we see what the proposition means, even if we do not yet know whether it is true or false, it is evident that we must have acquaintance with whatever is really dealt with by the proposition. By applying this test, it appears that many propositions which might seem to be concerned with particulars are really concerned only with universals. In the special case of 'two and two are four', even when we interpret it as meaning 'any collection formed of two twos is a collection of four', it is plain that we can understand the proposition, i.e. we can see what it is that it asserts, as soon as we know what is meant by 'collection' and 'two' and 'four'. It is quite unnecessary to know all the couples in the world: if it were necessary, obviously we could never understand the proposition, since the couples are infinitely numerous and therefore cannot all be known to us. Thus although our general statement implies statements about particular couples, as soon as we know that there are such particular couples, yet it does not itself assert or imply that there are such particular couples, and thus fails to make any statement whatever about any actual particular couple. The statement made is about 'couple', the universal, and not about this or that couple. Thus the statement 'two and two are four' deals exclusively with universals, and therefore may be known by anybody who is acquainted with the universals concerned and can perceive the relation between them which the statement asserts. It must be taken as a fact, discovered by reflecting upon our knowledge, that we have the power of sometimes perceiving such relations between universals, and therefore of sometimes knowing general a priori propositions such as those of arithmetic and logic. The thing that seemed mysterious, when we formerly considered such knowledge, was that it seemed to anticipate and control experience. This, however, we can now see to have been an error. No fact concerning anything capable of being experienced can be known independently of experience. We know a priori that two things and two other things together make four things, but we do not know a priori that if Brown and Jones are two, and Robinson and Smith are two, then Brown and Jones and Robinson and Smith are four. The reason is that this proposition cannot be understood at all unless we know that there are such people as Brown and Jones and Robinson and Smith, and this we can only know by experience. Hence, although our general proposition is a priori, all its applications to actual particulars involve experience and therefore contain an empirical element. In this way what seemed mysterious in our a priori knowledge is seen to have been based upon an error. It will serve to make the point clearer if we contrast our genuine a priori judgement with an empirical generalization, such as 'all men are mortals'. Here as before, we can understand what the proposition means as soon as we understand the universals involved, namely man and mortal. It is obviously unnecessary to have an individual acquaintance with the whole human race in order to understand what our proposition means. Thus the difference between an a priori general proposition and an empirical generalization does not come in the meaning of the proposition; it comes in the nature of the evidence for it. In the empirical case, the evidence consists in the particular instances. We believe that all men are mortal because we know that there are innumerable instances of men dying, and no instances of their living beyond a certain age. We do not believe it because we see a connexion between the universal man and the universal mortal. It is true that if physiology can prove, assuming the general laws that govern living bodies, that no living organism can last for ever, that gives a connexion between man and mortality which would enable us to assert our proposition without appealing to the special evidence of men dying. But that only means that our generalization has been subsumed under a wider generalization, for which the evidence is still of the same kind, though more extensive. The progress of science is constantly producing such subsumptions, and therefore giving a constantly wider inductive basis for scientific generalizations. But although this gives a greater degree of certainty, it does not give a different kind: the ultimate ground remains inductive, i.e. derived from instances, and not an a priori connexion of universals such as we have in logic and arithmetic. Two opposite points are to be observed concerning a priori general propositions. The first is that, if many particular instances are known, our general proposition may be arrived at in the first instance by induction, and the connexion of universals may be only subsequently perceived. For example, it is known that if we draw perpendiculars to the sides of a triangle from the opposite angles, all three perpendiculars meet in a point. It would be quite possible to be first led to this proposition by actually drawing perpendiculars in many cases, and finding that they always met in a point; this experience might lead us to look for the general proof and find it. Such cases are common in the experience of every mathematician. The other point is more interesting, and of more philosophical importance. It is, that we may sometimes know a general proposition in cases where we do not know a single instance of it. Take such a case as the following: We know that any two numbers can be multiplied together, and will give a third called their product. We know that all pairs of integers the product of which is less than 100 have been actually multiplied together, and the value of the product recorded in the multiplication table. But we also know that the number of integers is infinite, and that only a finite number of pairs of integers ever have been or ever will be thought of by human beings. Hence it follows that there are pairs of integers which never have been and never will be thought of by human beings, and that all of them deal with integers the product of which is over 100. Hence we arrive at the proposition: 'All products of two integers, which never have been and never will be thought of by any human being, are over 100.' Here is a general proposition of which the truth is undeniable, and yet, from the very nature of the case, we can never give an instance; because any two numbers we may think of are excluded by the terms of the proposition. This possibility, of knowledge of general propositions of which no instance can be given, is often denied, because it is not perceived that the knowledge of such propositions only requires a knowledge of the relations of universals, and does not require any knowledge of instances of the universals in question. Yet the knowledge of such general propositions is quite vital to a great deal of what is generally admitted to be known. For example, we saw, in our early chapters, that knowledge of physical objects, as opposed to sense-data, is only obtained by an inference, and that they are not things with which we are acquainted. Hence we can never know any proposition of the form 'this is a physical object', where 'this' is something immediately known. It follows that all our knowledge concerning physical objects is such that no actual instance can be given. We can give instances of the associated sense-data, but we cannot give instances of the actual physical objects. Hence our knowledge as to physical objects depends throughout upon this possibility of general knowledge where no instance can be given. And the same applies to our knowledge of other people's minds, or of any other class of things of which no instance is known to us by acquaintance. We may now take a survey of the sources of our knowledge, as they have appeared in the course of our analysis. We have first to distinguish knowledge of things and knowledge of truths. In each there are two kinds, one immediate and one derivative. Our immediate knowledge of things, which we called acquaintance, consists of two sorts, according as the things known are particulars or universals. Among particulars, we have acquaintance with sense-data and (probably) with ourselves. Among universals, there seems to be no principle by which we can decide which can be known by acquaintance, but it is clear that among those that can be so known are sensible qualities, relations of space and time, similarity, and certain abstract logical universals. Our derivative knowledge of things, which we call knowledge by description, always involves both acquaintance with something and knowledge of truths. Our immediate knowledge of truths may be called intuitive knowledge, and the truths so known may be called self-evident truths. Among such truths are included those which merely state what is given in sense, and also certain abstract logical and arithmetical principles, and (though with less certainty) some ethical propositions. Our derivative knowledge of truths consists of everything that we can deduce from self-evident truths by the use of self-evident principles of deduction. If the above account is correct, all our knowledge of truths depends upon our intuitive knowledge. It therefore becomes important to consider the nature and scope of intuitive knowledge, in much the same way as, at an earlier stage, we considered the nature and scope of knowledge by acquaintance. But knowledge of truths raises a further problem, which does not arise in regard to knowledge of things, namely the problem of error. Some of our beliefs turn out to be erroneous, and therefore it becomes necessary to consider how, if at all, we can distinguish knowledge from error. This problem does not arise with regard to knowledge by acquaintance, for, whatever may be the object of acquaintance, even in dreams and hallucinations, there is no error involved so long as we do not go beyond the immediate object: error can only arise when we regard the immediate object, i.e. the sense-datum, as the mark of some physical object. Thus the problems connected with knowledge of truths are more difficult than those connected with knowledge of things. As the first of the problems connected with knowledge of truths, let us examine the nature and scope of our intuitive judgements. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Bertrand Russell (2009). THE PROBLEMS OF PHILOSOPHY. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022, from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5827/5827-h/5827-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

Our Collective Knowledge of the Universals 

Exploring applications of Web3 tech for the collective management of ‘real world’ cyber-physical infrastructure Web3 evangelists preach the promise of a new Internet of Value and multidimensional democratization where the first iterations of the Internet failed. They say blockchain and cryptocurrency technology offer new modes for economic expression and socio-political paradigms where people-powered organizations can create their own currencies, pool funding, collectively own and manage infrastructure, and self-govern. The vision is ambitious, to say the least, and 14 years after the introduction of Bitcoin, many question the “real world” impact of these technologies as ecological degradation accelerates, and with it, economic and political instability. A recent event, CyborgCamp, illustrated this criticism of Web3 in its memetic governance experiment with “Lamp DAO”. The project’s creators not only poke fun at the crypto space’s inability thus far to create the deep systemic shifts needed to tackle our planet’s most wicked problems, but ironically, what started as a meme may actually hold promise for that bigger change and possibility. This piece takes us underground (literally a basement) to the lesser-known pioneering edges of Web3 space exploration, where cyberpunk is making a comeback and creative solutions engineering is based in play. Here, the hope for a brighter future rests in the hands of a neuroversal group of multidisciplinarians whose greatest weapon of revolution just might be - a lamp. Enter the Lair: CyborgCamp & A World Beyond Techno Feudalism I'm in a basement painted bright primary green. There's a TV streaming fractal, psychedelic art, while high-intensity electronic dance music pulses in the background. There are lamps of varying shapes and computer chips strewn about on a long, polished wood table. On another desk nearby, electric engineering and soldering equipment rest on the table with a hand-drawn picture of a dead stick figure labeled "danger" in red permanent marker. Zargham: "Don't f@!* with that one, Isaac already soldered it! Use the fresh breadboards." Barton: "Breadboards - now that sounds like it's for the people!" Michael Zargham, Founder and Chief Engineer of - a pioneering operations research and complex systems engineering firm - and Barton Rhodes, co-founder of , a visionary research and development exploration simulating and building energy microgrid infrastructure - yell at each other excitedly over the music. They cross the room to a whiteboard, covered in system diagrams, ontology mappings, and new applications of lambda calculus. BlockScience Plurigrid "We just have to sniff our Bluetooth signals!" Zargham says loudly as he draws another diagram. Janita Chalam, a developer with an advanced tooling stack, tries not to get distracted from coding, but can’t help laughing. decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) DAO DAO This is , an event started by Cyborg Anthropologist, public speaker, author of Calm Technology Amber Case in 2008. This year, it found expression in a suburban Albany, New York neighborhood home. The area, known as Rensselaer, was named after a 17th-century and one of the original founders of the Dutch West India Company. CyborgCamp Dutch feudal lord It is only fitting that 20 engineers and researchers gathered here for CyborgCamp 2023 to discuss and the possibilities for global systemic change amidst increasing . The backdrop - economic, social, and political unrest around the world, aging and underfunded public infrastructure, the rise of AI, and the transition from Web2 to Web3 technologies. technological feudalism overshoot of planetary boundaries From Feudalism to Commons: Rebuilding the Internet for Resilience in an Era of Collapse As witnessed in the last few decades, the promise of a democratized and open internet was crushed by the conglomerization and in Web2. Some critics have likened the role of participants of social networks and ride-sharing platforms to feudal peasants, hooked to dopamine drips and the pittance of wage slave economies. While they toil, the feudal overlords of transnational corporate platforms harvest data and build psychometric profiles to profit from advertising. The system is underpinned by a vast substrate of computation in an accelerating feedback loop of black box algorithms with the power to turn geopolitical tides (heavily documented and outlined in documentary films like ). monopolization of internet platforms “The Great Hack” With the introduction of Bitcoin in 2009, there has been a foray into the possibilities of a new “Internet of Value.” Proponents envision not only increased agency and revenue sharing of platform participant’s data via and cooperative models, but more transparency and expanded collective governance of . Discussions across crypto communities range from more distributed ownership of network capital, assets, production, and infrastructure to greater resilience through more decentralized infrastructure, to improved pathways for fundraising, democracy, political action, and governance via new organizational structures and voting tools. data trusts algorithmic policy This drama is playing out within the four corners of our screens, but if we look up and out, we see another backdrop and frame - environmental and planetary collapse. With this, an even more important purpose of a new internet comes into view - systemic and paradigmatic shifts to reverse the extractive and destructive feedback loops we find ourselves in. A new iteration of the internet with enabling tools for the coordination of self-organized networks for local and global problem-solving, economic diversity and shelter, infrastructure with enhanced adaptive capacity, and overall greater resilience - . a regenaissance Cyborgers Unite! (Around a Lamp) The potential of Web3 and planetary collapse were just some of the countless discussions and impromptu talks at the un-conference style salon event. The grid of sticky notes on the living room wall displayed other topics like , , , , , and . Metaphysics: How do we formalize and apply it From Agents to Agency Xenomodernism: Dreams of a common language Macro Oriented Programming Exploring Post-Network Connectivity: Connectivity Fields Seizing the Memes of Production: A Memeathon In between bagels, sunset-watching breaks, and discussions on language models, the origins of the universe, and constitutions of science and truth, the Cyborgers were primarily focused on a hackathon experiment deemed “Lamp DAO.” The idea had been brewing for some weeks. Back in the basement, jokingly called “the lair" on the sticky note program grid, the experiment was taking shape. Jake Hartnell, __ __and DAO DAO co-founder was sitting on an office chair, bent over his computer wearing a blanket strung with LED lights around his shoulders like a cape. The  wires led to a Raspberry Pi, which he was using to test newly created voting tools. "So the lights on the blanket are blue now, but say we voted to change it to green - green's my favorite color - the vote would execute. I'll sign the transaction. I always love this part." Juno network Why Lamp DAO and What is it? Lamp DAO is a memetic-inspired demonstration, living art installation, and research and development project. The mission: To map, test and develop a DAO that can collectively control the brightness and hue of a lamp. cybernetics Chalam and Zeke Medley, another developer, are giggling wildly as they code JSON hue inputs generated from conversations with the conversational agent they build with . They query it about vibe preferences, referring to moods such as "dark and gloomy Japanese city in the rain," "bright, bold and glittery,” and “candy-colored hues” to generate a correlating number representing a light brightness and hue. OpenAI’s GPT-3 model "It sounds kind of stupid, I mean, it's a lamp. Why are we voting on the state of the lamp? The point is what it represents, a physical reality that's affecting all of us and we have a way to aggregate our preferences to change the physical reality. We can create a loop where we are reacting to that loop and continually updating it,” Chalam says excitedly. Event organizer, Case expands on the cybernetic aspects - human-machine assemblages and feedback loops of information and processes - emphasizing the importance of play in creativity and problem-solving. "By doing these things we create a temporary reality, a temporary autonomous zone, a liminal space betwixt and between the here and there in which people can come together and make something actually interesting. In this case, a socio-technical cybernetic assemblage that includes lamps, people, networks, DAOs, connectivity, voting, large language models like GPT-3, and other fun tools to demo out what we can do," Case explains. The lightbulb flicked on for Zargham when he was thinking about how to explain and demonstrate cyber infrastructure - socio-technical systems, with human and tech interfaces and feedback loops - and their power in shaping the "real world." Although cyber-physical infrastructure can include various layers of technology, the CyborgCamp group is well-versed in digital infrastructure design and systems engineering, including blockchain and cryptocurrency technology. Zargham discussed the idea with Case, Hartnell, colleagues at BlockScience, and the interdisciplinary research collective, - who all came to the quick and full consensus that Lamp DAO must happen. MetaGov Zargham explains his motivation in experimenting with Lamp DAO: "My dad was an engineer for the state of New York's Department of Transportation, so naturally I am versed in public infrastructure. What I do now involves a new technological substrate, but the same engineering and scientific principles apply.” “We must find ways to rewire our current systems to account for environmental, economic, and social externalities that have us in this incredibly destructive feedback loop. One challenge of working with young and smart, but all-too-often inexperienced builders in Web3 is, they're governing their governance to govern; at least " laughs Zargham. lamps are real, The BlockScience founder has a background in electrical and robotics engineering and is particularly interested to see Web3 capacities applied to enhance and control (in the sense) cyber-physical infrastructure. This could be especially useful in outdated systems - like national power grids - in need of upgrades in tech, as well as policies and governance tools that enable quicker response and adaptation to the increasing challenges of the . control theory polycrisis "It's a great time to apply this new technology to our existing physical systems, and at the same time create new digital public infrastructures – such as practical participatory governance for algorithms, especially in emerging technology like AI", Zargham added. How Does Lamp DAO Work? I get a notification from the Lamp DAO Signal chat with several people sending their Juno wallet addresses, and I follow suit. Without even speaking members reply with theirs, the signal that membership NFTs are being minted - the energy in the room - magnetic. The NFTs represent membership in Lamp DAO. From the DAO dashboard, the members can chat with the conversational agent using GPT-3 (built by Chalam and Medley) to set their preferred lighting aesthetic. The agent can translate between a Lamp DAO member’s preferred aesthetic and a JSON configuration. The DAO members can then stake tokens on their preference, while the back-end aggregates the preferences through a weighted average, and the JSON file feeds the chip wired to the lamp and adjusts the lamp accordingly. Chalam explains: “The point of this is to demonstrate a way for people to express their preferences in natural language without having to understand the underlying configuration format, thereby "democratizing" the configuration space. You can imagine using [AI] agents in similar ways to offer people more control and understanding of different governance levers.” Many aspects of the configuration are customizable (such as how to represent membership, token distribution and vote weighting) and Lamp DAO will continue experimenting with different aspects of the system and governance possibilities. I ask if the hue could be “rainbow disco” rather than one color. Within seconds, programmer Colten Jackson types a few lines of code, and the blanket - formerly worn by Hartnell now on the table in front of me - flashes wildly in an array of colors. From Lamp DAO to Energy Grids: Exploring “Real World” Applications After Jackson codes the disco for me, the hackers break from testing components for Lamp DAO to listen to a talk from one attendee’s father, Carl Paatka, on New York’s energy infrastructure. Energy grids are a fitting example (especially for Lamp DAO) of an infrastructure sector facing several challenges - increased demand from population shifts, global warming, and the switch to more electric vehicles to name a few. Patka is an energy and environmental lawyer working on climate change policy and tells me energy grids could employ decentralization and more distributed connectivity and supply to give the grid real-time capacity to load balance and respond to shifting needs. He tells me the intergenerational exchange was fruitful for both sides. “I gained insight from CyborgCamp on how blockchain and automated contracts can provide more tools to achieve climate change goals and actually enhance reliability and transparency of the power system for investors, operators, and customers. The ability to establish algorithmic markets and contracts will enable a two-way grid where the largest power lines are actively integrated in real-time with microgrids and small distributed energy resources and storage. The potential is huge,” said Patka. Lucas Chu, a former researcher at Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society’s metaLAB was especially interested in the grid talk. Chu wasn’t short on puns, but also sees the serious potential of the hackathon experiment as a potential solution to impending infrastructure crises. "Only at CyborgCamp would you have a room full of PhDs asking Chat GPT whether vanilla was the right vibe for an internet-controlled lamp. But what we're really asking is, ‘How do we change energy systems? How do we connect smart devices, wisely?’ We're at the door between data and oil, microgrids and markets, and elections and electrons, and we're just opening the door.” He continues, “Last September, over 1.5 trillion dollars was needed to keep energy trading just in Europe. Bitcoin was created in response to the Great Financial Crisis; we're building Plurigrid as a response to the Great Energy Crisis. Let there be light.” Seizing the “Memes of Production” While discussions of energy crises and AI continued, some of the hackers and I are making memes - like “I love lamp!” and “The future is bright” emulating a classic, cartoon-style propaganda poster. Lamp DAO is not only a cybernetics demonstration, playful experiment, and a , but it is also a chance for DAO DAO to build and battle-test new governance tooling. Medley and Zargham are at the whiteboard again, deriving algorithms for a new, DAO DAO version of a real-time voting tool called that allows people to continuously stream their preferences via a token staking mechanism. larp Conviction Voting While they work at the board, BlockScience researcher Jeff Emmett talks excitedly about the new voting tool and the need for better governance mechanisms in our existing political systems. "Right now in most countries, we vote once every four years. Imagine you touched a hot stove and it took four years for you to decide to move your hand. We need to upgrade our governance systems so they can be more responsive to the existential threats we face as a collective. We have new tools, that when used in the right context, can support more adaptive governance,” said Emmett. While discussions of governance continue, a new guest arrives - a prominent labor lawyer. She is exploring DAO technology for her organization - a network of unions, cooperatives, mutual aid groups, and faith-based institutions serving communities. Hartnell gives a walk-through of DAO DAO tooling for her on the TV in the house's child's playroom - the only vacant room in the house. Other Cyborgers join in and discuss various applications. Case participates in the discussion in between minting NFTs, using a Discord bot to blend AI-generated images. "The DAO tooling can be customized for anything - Delaware BCorps, clubs, coops, municipalities. We don't want to limit what people and DAOs can do with it. To illustrate the point, we have a pretty great larp going - there's a DAO in DAO DAO called 'The Corporation,'" Hartnell continues the walk-through. Hartnell demos the layers of the DAO, one-click smart contract deployments, and "The  Corporation's" sub-DAOs including "Non-Human Resources" and a board layer with an NFT membership profile of CEO, "Chairman Meow." The lawyer laughs and the group exchanges more experience, envisioning how and in what contexts this new tooling could be used. A Dimension Where the Future is Bright With the hackathon and event nearing an end, __ __is for now, a few smart contracts and 14 $LAMP tokens - one for each participant. The DAO managed to execute only one vote - changing the color of the LED blanket from blue to green. The group, however, has lofty dreams and plans to continue experimentation when possible amidst full-time work on projects and companies. Lamp DAO member and Research Fellow at Metagov, Isaac Patka, says running tests at graduated levels of risk is a must before actually deploying any of this tech with high-stakes infrastructure. Lamp DAO "Lamp DAO is a tangible experiment that will help us figure out how to design decentralized, resilient infrastructure. Think about the connection between the lamp and the internet, the internet and the state of the DAO, the DAO and the smart contracts that define the behavior, and the validators that run the nodes. There is counterparty risk everywhere. Before we can replace the lamp with real critical infrastructure we need to figure out how to manage this risk, and ideally without traditional centralized regulators," said Patka. The journey from hackathons and voting on LED lamp colors to power grid deployments and collective governance of major public infrastructure may be a long one, but as CyborgCamp attendees will remind you - the space between digital and physical worlds is shrinking and after all, space and time are relative. I pass various encampments of air mattresses as I head back to the lair. The basement has quieted as the CyborgCamp hackers had to tend to their “bio” needs (going out to dinner). The disco blanket, with its lights off, looks just like a regular blanket. Still on - Lamp DAO’s test lamp with the sticker "The future is bright" on its shade, with a "harmony contingent chill" hue, #42 glow. Acknowledgements Written by with edits and input from , , , , , and . Cover image generated with Stable Diffusion. Jessica Zartler Amber Case Michael Zargham Jeff Emmett Kelsie Nabben Janita Chalam Jakob Hackel Scott Moore

Lamp DAO: a Cybermemetic Experiment in Collective Governance

Group Psychology and The Analysis of The Ego by Sigmund Freud, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . OTHER ACCOUNTS OF COLLECTIVE MENTAL LIFE OTHER ACCOUNTS OF COLLECTIVE MENTAL LIFE We have made use of Le Bon's description by way of introduction, because it fits in so well with our own Psychology in the emphasis which it lays upon unconscious mental life. But we must now add that as a matter of fact none of that author's statements bring forward anything new. Everything that he says to the detriment and depreciation of the manifestations of the group mind had already been said by others before him with equal distinctness and equal hostility, and has been repeated in unison by thinkers, statesmen and writers since the earliest periods of literature. The two theses which comprise the most important of Le Bon's opinions, those touching upon the collective inhibition of intellectual functioning and the heightening of affectivity in groups, had been formulated shortly before by Sighele. At bottom, all that is left over as being peculiar to Le Bon are the two notions of the unconscious and of the comparison with the mental life of primitive people, and even these had naturally often been alluded to before him. But, what is more, the description and estimate of the group mind as they have been given by Le Bon and the rest have not by any means been left undisputed. There is no doubt that all the phenomena of the group mind which have just been mentioned have been correctly observed, but it is also possible to distinguish other manifestations of the group formation, which operate in a precisely opposite sense, and from which a much higher opinion of the group mind must necessarily follow. Le Bon himself was prepared to admit that in certain circumstances the morals of a group can be higher than those of the individuals that compose it, and that only collectivities are capable of a high degree of unselfishness and devotion. 'While with isolated individuals personal interest is almost the only motive force, with groups it is very rarely prominent.' (p. 65.) Other writers adduce the fact that it is only society which prescribes any ethical standards at all for the individual, while he as a rule fails in one way or another to come up to its high demands. Or they point out that in exceptional circumstances there may arise in communities the phenomenon of enthusiasm, which has made the most splendid group achievements possible. As regards intellectual work it remains a fact, indeed, that great decisions in the realm of thought and momentous discoveries and solutions of problems are only possible to an individual, working in solitude. But even the group mind is capable of genius in intellectual creation, as is shown above all by language itself, as well as by folk-song, folk-lore and the like. It remains an open question, moreover, how much the individual thinker or writer owes to the stimulation of the group in which he lives, or whether he does more than perfect a mental work in which the others have had a simultaneous share. In face of these completely contradictory accounts, it looks as though the work of Group Psychology were bound to come to an ineffectual end. But it is easy to find a more hopeful escape from the dilemma. A number of very different formations have probably been merged under the term 'group' and may require to be distinguished. The assertions of Sighele, Le Bon and the rest relate to groups of a short-lived character, which some passing interest has hastily agglomerated out of various sorts of individuals. The characteristics of revolutionary groups, and especially those of the great French Revolution, have unmistakably influenced their descriptions. The opposite opinions owe their origin to the consideration of those stable groups or associations in which mankind pass their lives, and which are embodied in the institutions of society. Groups of the first kind stand in the same sort of relation to those of the second as a high but choppy sea to a ground swell. McDougall, in his book on The Group Mind, starts out from the same contradiction that has just been mentioned, and finds a solution for it in the factor of organisation. In the simplest case, he says, the 'group' possesses no organisation at all or one scarcely deserving the name. He describes a group of this kind as a 'crowd'. But he admits that a crowd of human beings can hardly come together without possessing at all events the rudiments of an organisation, and that precisely in these simple groups many of the fundamental facts of Collective Psychology can be observed with special ease (p. 22). Before the members of a random crowd of people can constitute something in the nature of a group in the psychological sense of the word, a condition has to be fulfilled; these individuals must have something in common with one another, a common interest in an object, a similar emotional bias in some situation or other, and ('consequently', I should like to interpolate) 'some degree of reciprocal influence' (p. 23). The higher the degree of 'this mental homogeneity', the more readily do the individuals form a psychological group, and the more striking are the manifestations of a group mind. [19] The most remarkable and also the most important result of the formation of a group is the 'exaltation or intensification of emotion' produced in every member of it (p. 24). In McDougall's opinion men's emotions are stirred in a group to a pitch that they seldom or never attain under other conditions; and it is a pleasurable experience for those who are concerned to surrender themselves so unreservedly to their passions and thus to become merged in the group and to lose the sense of the limits of their individuality. The manner in which individuals are thus carried away by a common impulse is explained by McDougall by means of what he calls the 'principle of direct induction of emotion by way of the primitive sympathetic response' (p. 25), that is, by means of the emotional contagion with which we are already familiar. The fact is that the perception of the signs of an emotional state is calculated automatically to arouse the same emotion in the person who perceives them. The greater the number of people in whom the same emotion can be simultaneously observed, the stronger does this automatic compulsion grow. The individual loses his power of criticism, and lets himself slip into the same emotion. But in so doing he increases the excitement of the other people, who had produced this effect upon him, and thus the emotional charge of the individuals becomes intensified by mutual interaction. Something is unmistakably at work in the nature of a compulsion to do the same as the others, to remain in harmony with the many. The coarser and simpler emotions are the more apt to spread through a group in this way (p. 39). This mechanism for the intensification of emotion is favoured by some other influences which emanate from groups. A group impresses the individual with a sense of unlimited power and of insurmountable peril. For the moment it replaces the whole of human society, which is the wielder of authority, whose punishments the individual fears, and for whose sake he has submitted to so many inhibitions. It is clearly perilous for him to put himself in opposition to it, and it will be safer to follow the example of those around him and perhaps even 'hunt with the pack'. In obedience to the new authority he may put his former 'conscience' out of action, and so surrender to the attraction of the increased pleasure that is certainly obtained from the removal of inhibitions. On the whole, therefore, it is not so remarkable that we should see an individual in a group doing or approving things which he would have avoided in the normal conditions of life; and in this way we may even hope to clear up a little of the mystery which is so often covered by the enigmatic word 'suggestion'. McDougall does not dispute the thesis as to the collective inhibition of intelligence in groups (p. 41). He says that the minds of lower intelligence bring down those of a higher order to their own level. The latter are obstructed in their activity, because in general an intensification of emotion creates unfavourable conditions for sound intellectual work, and further because the individuals are intimidated by the group and their mental activity is not free, and because there is a lowering in each individual of his sense of responsibility for his own performances. The judgement with which McDougall sums up the psychological behaviour of a simple 'unorganised' group is no more friendly than that of Le Bon. Such a group 'is excessively emotional, impulsive, violent, fickle, inconsistent, irresolute and extreme in action, displaying only the coarser emotions and the less refined sentiments; extremely suggestible, careless in deliberation, hasty in judgment, incapable of any but the simpler and imperfect forms of reasoning; easily swayed and led, lacking in self-consciousness, devoid of self-respect and of sense of responsibility, and apt to be carried away by the consciousness of its own force, so that it tends to produce all the manifestations we have learnt to expect of any irresponsible and absolute power. Hence its behaviour is like that of an unruly child or an untutored passionate savage in a strange situation, rather than like that of its average member; and in the worst cases it is like that of a wild beast, rather than like that of human beings.' (p. 45.) Since McDougall contrasts the behaviour of a highly organised group with what has just been described, we shall be particularly interested to learn in what this organisation consists, and by what factors it is produced. The author enumerates five 'principal conditions' for raising collective mental life to a higher level. The first and fundamental condition is that there should be some degree of continuity of existence in the group. This may be either material or formal; the former, if the same individuals persist in the group for some time; and the latter, if there is developed within the group a system of fixed positions which are occupied by a succession of individuals. The second condition is that in the individual member of the group some definite idea should be formed of the nature, composition, functions and capacities of the group, so that from this he may develop an emotional relation to the group as a whole. The third is that the group should be brought into interaction (perhaps in the form of rivalry) with other groups similar to it but differing from it in many respects. The fourth is that the group should possess traditions, customs and habits, and especially such as determine the relations of its members to one another. The fifth is that the group should have a definite structure, expressed in the specialisation and differentiation of the functions of its constituents. According to McDougall, if these conditions are fulfilled, the psychological disadvantages of the group formation are removed. The collective lowering of intellectual ability is avoided by withdrawing the performance of intellectual tasks from the group and reserving them for individual members of it. It seems to us that the condition which McDougall designates as the 'organisation' of a group can with more justification be described in another way. The problem consists in how to procure for the group precisely those features which were characteristic of the individual and which are extinguished in him by the formation of the group. For the individual, outside the primitive group, possessed his own continuity, his self-consciousness, his traditions and customs, his own particular functions and position, and kept apart from his rivals. Owing to his entry into an 'unorganised' group he had lost this distinctiveness for a time. If we thus recognise that the aim is to equip the group with the attributes of the individual, we shall be reminded of a valuable remark of Trotter's, to the effect that the tendency towards the formation of groups is biologically a continuation of the multicellular character of all the higher organisms. [20] About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Sigmund Freud (2011). Group Psychology and The Analysis of The Ego. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/35877/pg35877-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

OTHER ACCOUNTS OF COLLECTIVE MENTAL LIFE

Dear Bankless Nation, Sometimes exploring around NFTs can feel like a solo mission in a strange new world. What we need is better tools to own and govern the internet’s new class of digital collectibles. collectively One project that’s working on precisely such resources? . Tessera This week Tessera launched a trio of interesting products that are aimed at streamlining collective NFT experiences in new ways. Let’s get you up to speed on what these rollouts are all about! -WMP Collective NFT ownership with Tessera The tl;dr ❓ Tessera just the new website, Tessera Marketplace, and Tessera Protocol. This trio of products marks Tessera’s official debut in the NFT ecosystem after the team rebranded from Fractional, the project’s 1.0 system, in August 2022. introduced tessera.co The context 📱 In recent days, the Tessera team has been paving the way for its official launch by publishing explainers for some of the 2.0 mechanisms of the new Tessera Protocol. These new mechanisms have included: — a non-custodial smart contract wallet that can lockup an NFT or NFTs for collective ownership, the creation of which kickoff auctions for “Raes” 🏛️ Vaults — ERC1155 NFTs that represent governance and ownership over a vaulted NFT or NFTs 🌟 Raes — “LPDAs” are currently the main way to distribute Raes on Tessera, a Dutch Auction-style system with decreasing prices similar to Tyler Hobbs’s QQL sale 🛒 Last Price Dutch Auctions — a new way to offer to buy vaulted NFTs that emphasizes fair price discovery 💰 Optimistic Buyouts How it works 🧱 If you want to take a peek at the new Tessera rollouts, head to and sign in with your Ethereum wallet. The homepage will feature the project’s curated NFT Vaults, the first of which is for . tessera.co CryptoPunk #4847 While the initial auction for Punk #4847’s 1,000 Raes , the zero-fee Tessera Marketplace is now live and makes it possible to buy or sell these Raes, and future sold-out releases, via secondary sales. Punk #4847’s Raes were trading around 0.09Ξ each at the time of this post’s writing. are over To buy or sell Raes, you’d simply head to your Vault page of choice and select either from the “Buy Raes” or “List Your Raes” options. You can also click on the “Secondary Marketplace” tab to review above-floor Rae listings. Alternatively, if you’re interested in vaulting one of your NFTs, the Tessera team is curating interesting opportunities right now, so feel free to contact them if you think you have a good fit. via submission form Why it matters 🫂 Tessera’s mission is to make “owning cool stuff on the internet with other people” easier than ever. Of course, the web3 collective ownership sector is early and wide open, but with releases Tessera is advancing how groups, and not just individuals, can come together on-chain with new sorts of NFT tools. People often joke that crypto is “PVP,” a reference to the cutthroat gaming notion of players versus players. As projects like Tessera and its tool continue to gain steam, I think we’ll see a growing emphasis on squadding up and working together through NFTs in contrast. What to watch 👀 Going forward, the Tessera team plans to continue curating “culturally significant and historic pieces of internet history” for its new Vaults system. That means be on the lookout for new Raes secondary marketplaces to keep popping up around notable NFTs. Additionally, look for other NFT projects to start plugging into Tessera’s open infra. For example, Tessera co-founder Andy Chorlian just teased that Uniswap’s NFT aggregator system is poised to plug into Tessera Marketplace soon. Action steps 🪟 Check out the newest Tessera releases 🎄Read my latest if you haven’t yet! Bankless Holiday Crypto Gift Guide Author Bio William M. Peaster is a professional writer and creator of Metaversal —a Bankless newsletter focused on the emergence of NFTs in the cryptoeconomy. He’s also recently been contributing content to Bankless, JPG, and beyond! First Published here .

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