14. Playing the Infinite Game
347 “could the steam-engine make men better?”:
Wendell Berry. (2000)
Life Is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition
. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint Press, p. 74.
350 Missing Technologies:
Collage by the author.
352 “act to increase the number of choices”:
Heinz von Foerster. (1984)
Observing Systems
. Seaside, CA: Intersystems Publications, p. 308.
353 “infinite players play with boundaries”:
James Carse. (1986)
Finite and Infinite Games
. New York: Free Press, p. 10.
354 “never quite reaching this ideal”:
Ray Kurzweil. (2005)
The Singularity Is Near
. New York: Viking, p. 389.
355 called Process Theology:
John B. Cobb Jr. and David Ray Griffin. (1977)
Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition.
Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
356 so far under the stars:
Loren Eiseley. (1985)
The Unexpected Universe
. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, p. 55.
357 “universe knew we were coming”:
Freeman J. Dyson. (2001).
Disturbing the Universe
. New York: Basic Books, p. 250.
357 “starstuff pondering the stars”:
Carl Sagan. (1980)
Cosmos
. New York: Random House.
Index
Page numbers in
italics
refer to illustrations.
abacus
Abbey, Edward
Adams, Henry
Adams, John Couch
affluence
of hunter-gatherers
Africa
antimalarial DDT spraying in
hominin migration from
slavery and
Against Civilization
(Zerzan, ed.)
Age of Electricity, The
(Benjamin)
agriculture
atmospheric carbon increased by
crop domestication in
decentralized
DDT spraying in
fertility rate and
genetically modified crops of
industrial
land areas needed for
tools for
alphabets
Amazon
blowgun culture of
Amish
buggies of
cell phones of
communal motivation of
community support of
credit cards rejected by
dependency on outside world of
diesel generators of
education of
fertility of
genetically modified corn crop of
grid-free electricity of
internet and
leisure time of
limited choices of
Mennonite
motor vehicles rejected by
owning vs. using distinguished by
pneumatic power system of
religious belief of
rumspringa
tradition of
selective adoption pattern of
sense of fulfillment in
volunteer work of
see also
minimalism
anticivilizationists
alternative lifestyle envisioned by
destruction advocated by
modern lifestyle of
see also
civilization, collapse of; Kaczynski, Ted
ants
Apaches
Applied Minds
Apter, David
Arabia
archetypal forms
of convergent inventions
Aristotle
Arthur, Brian
artificial intelligence (AI)
arts
Asia
Asimov, Isaac
“Aspects of Plant Intelligence” (Trewavas)
aspirin
Australia
automobiles
Amish and
second-order effects of
specialty
steam-powered
ubiquity of
Axial Age
Bachrach, David
Bacon, Francis
Bakker, Bob
Balinese culture
bandwidth, communication
Bangkok, slums of
bar codes
barnacles
batteries
beauty
in evolution
technophilia and
in uselessness
Beckmann, Johan
Bedouin tribes
beehives
Bell, Alexander Graham
Benjamin, Park
Berry, Wendell
Better Off
(Brende)
big bang
bilateral symmetry
biophilia
birds
tool use by
Blake, William
blowguns
body, human
size of
specialized cells in
technological extension of
Borneo
blowgun culture of
Boyd, Albert
Boyle, Robert
brain
Brand, Stewart
Brazil
Brende, Eric
Briggs, Henry
Broderick, Damien
Buffon's Needle
Burgess Shale
Burgi, Joost
Calvin, William
Cambrian explosion
camera eyes
cameras
digital
specialty
ubiquity of
Cameron, James
Caporale, L. H.
carbon
atmospheric
Carlson, Rob
Carroll, Sean
Carse, James
Carty, John J.
Caspari, Rachel
Cavendish, Henry
cell phones
Celtic tribes
Chaisson, Eric
chimpanzees
China
chlorophyll
choices
affluence and
in cities
collective
consequences of
convergent inventions and
enforced
expansion of
as historical contingency
in intentional domain
limited, of Amish
mistaken
of others
paradox of
within preordained development
quantum
willing
chromosomes
cities
evolutionary beauty of
global population of
green
historical
homesteading in
increased choices offered by
megalopolises
slums of,
see
slums
civilization
as devolution
as ecumenopolis
freedom and
tribal wars against
civilization, collapse of
death toll of
in postcollapse period
see also
anticivilizationists
Clarke, Arthur C.
clocks
clothing
cloud computing
coal power
coevolution
Cole, John
Colonial America
compass, magnetic
complex adaptive systems
complexity
future scenarios of
as long-term trend
specialization and
computer chips
transistors in
see also
Moore's Law
computers
digital storage in
DNA
increased software complexity of
invention of
multiple functions of
obsolete
specialty
computer simulations
computer viruses
contingency
choices in
in convergent inventions
convergence
see also
inventions, convergence of
“Convergent Evolution” (McGhee)
conviviality
Conway, John
Cooke, William
corals
Bryozoa
cornets
Correns, Karl Erich
crafts
Crichton, Michael
Cro-Magnons,
see
Sapiens
crossbows
cryptochromes
customization, personal
Daguerre, Louis
Darwin, Charles
Davies, Paul
Davis, Mike
Dawkins, Richard
DDT
Dean, Bashford
decentralization
de Duve, Christian
deforestation
demographic transition
Dennett, Daniel
Denton, Michael
desert environments
de Vries, Hugo
Diamond, Jared
Didion, Joan
dinosaurs
convergent lineages of
diversity
cultural differences in
of ethnic and social preferences
excessive choices offered by
fringe
of intelligence
as long-term trend
uniformity in
DNA
invented alternatives to
mutation rate in
mysterious origins of
self-organization of
synthesis of
DNA sequencing
Dobe tribe
dolphins
intelligence of
domestication
animal
crop
independent inventions of
double-entry bookkeeping
du Chaillu, Paul
Dunn, Mark
Dyson, Freeman
Earth First! Journal
Earth Summit (1992)
Easterbrook, Gregg
Easterlin, Richard
Economist
economy
consumer spending in
dematerialization of
free market
global
Moore's Law and
nongrowth
population growth and
and prohibited technology
of slums
ecosystems
ecumenopolis
Edison, Thomas
Edison's Electric Light: Biography of an Invention
(Friedel, Israel, and Finn)
education
efficiency
Egypt, ancient
Eigen, Manfred
Einstein, Albert
relativity theories of
Einstein: His Life and Universe
(Isaacson)
Eisely, Loren
Eldredge, Niles
electric incandescent lightbulb
electricity
Amish and
electric motors
Ellington, A. D.
emergence
energy
density of
heat death vs.
matter and
nuclear
production of
requirements for
sustainable
Engelbart, Doug
England
entropy
environmental issues
atmospheric carbon
dams
deforestation
Precautionary Principle and
environments
niche
Europe
fertility rates in
feudalism in
European Union
evocative objects
evolution
accumulated genetic information in
adaptation in
anachronisms in
archetypal forms in
beauty in
Cambrian explosion in
chlorophyll and
codiscoverers of
coevolution in
combinatorial
common ancestors in
contingency in
convergence in
of cornets
“could be” life forms in
current scientific understanding of
DNA and
exaptations in
exotropy in
experimental re-creation of
of eyes
of helmets
historical vs. ahistorical
forces in
homologous
incremental
inevitability in
natural selection in
nonrandom variations in
on other planets
physical constraints on
of proteins
randomness and
rerunning tape of
specialization in
of teeth
transition sequence in
triadic nature of
vertical
evolution, human
acceleration of
brain in
coevolution with
cooking in
cultural
cultural devolution and
tool use in
evolvability
as long-term trend
exaptations
exotropy
definition of
dematerialization in
entropy vs.
in evolution
information as metaphor of
self-organization in
trends of
extinctions
of megafauna
of Neanderthals
rate of
eyes
rhodopsin in retina of
Farnsworth, Philo
Ferguson, Niall
fertility rates
demographic transition of
in Europe
of hunter-gatherers
in Japan
replacement rate of
feudalism
Finite and Infinite Games
(Carse)
Finn, Bernard
fire
Fish Creek tribe
Fisher, Richard
flight
convergent evolution of
flapping-wing
speed trend curve of
flint knappers
flint knives
Florence, Hercules
Flores Island hominids
Florida, Richard
food production
Ford, Henry
four-factor formula
fractal patterns
France
Frank's Life
(Dunn)
freedom
civilization and