Abstraction and Embodiment
Here’s an abstracted problem for you. There is a group of widgets that always point west. The reason they always point west is because they take a vote every so often and 51% of them agree that west is the right way to point. Over time, some number of new widgets are introduced. Some of the new widgets agree that west is best. But some amount of them feel like east is better. At some point enough east-pointers have arrived and that it tips the balance of the vote enough that now west-pointers are in the minority, and so in the next vote every widget points east. Also, pointing east means no more democratic elections. From now on, all widgets will point east, or else... If I was more clever I’d have an abstraction that didn’t involve voting so the imagery would be more abstract. But this blog isn’t about me being clever; it’s about me trotting my inner workings into the light of day for interrogation and cross-examination. I have a problem righ...