In Too Much of a Good Thing, Dr. Lee Goldman (Columbia) argues that the modern world has reduced the effectiveness of some of our genetic code.

I agree with Dr. Goldman's premise, and argue: Exponentially accelerating complexity has rendered portions of our cultural genome dysfunctional, that is, the coding structures humans-as-cells in the cultural organism use for our reality / relationship interface.

The New Natural Selection Tests

Natural selection tests have become more complex for many species. Genetic codes remain on the exam; human culture codes have been added. For example, elephant and dolphin survival are no longer merely a function of their biological genomes, but also a function of the human cultural genome, that is, of moral, legal, monetary and other codes.

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“The most fundamental phenomenon of the universe is relationship.” Jonas Salk – Anatomy of Reality

“The story of human intelligence starts with a universe that is capable of encoding information.”  Ray Kurzweil -- How to Create a Mind

Code is fundamental infrastructure for relationships in bio, cultural & tech networks: genetic, epigenetic, language (spoken, written, signed, chirped, barked, clicked, etc.), math, moral, religious, monetary, etiquette, legal, software, etc.

Code is a "constructor" (David Deutsch's term). It's elemental for the construction / generation of complex information structures: humans, religions, nations, computer applications, etc. 

Code is physics generated (sometimes by human “constructors”) and physics efficacious information technology.

"A technology can only be pressed so far before it runs into some limitation." Brian Arthur – The Nature of Technology   (see notes from this important work above)

In the transition from hunter-gatherer social structures to the exponentially more complex information architecture of city-states, we added alphabet, legal, monetary and etiquette coding structures to the cultural genome of hunter-gatherers. 

To survive, we need to do this again.

“Any final state contains information about the system’s initial state and about what has happened to it since. So, the motion of any physical system, because it obeys definite laws, can be regarded as information processing.” physicist David Deutsch

Information processing, or computation, is the essence of reality and survival.

World culture's dominant information processing technology for its interface with reality is: Humans using monetary code.

How's that working out?

It’s snowing in Vietnam.

Yeah, if your culture has deadly relationships with the sky and ocean, your cultural genome sucks; in this case, it's complexity inadequate.

I contend that the information processing efficacy of humans using monetary code lacks sufficient reach, speed, accuracy and power to generate functional relationships in and across geo eco bio cultural & tech networks, and across time.

Or to use a somewhat imprecise analogy:

Software code is to monetary code as alphabet code was to pictograph code.

Culture, Complexity and Code is an essay (currently submitted for possible publication) that distills a significant portion of what I’m calling, for now anyway, an information-in-relationship philosophic orientation. (Will publish here within a month or so if it’s not accepted for publication; wasn’t accepted, see above, Culture, Complexity & Code2.)

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My-Bad Add On (2.2.16):

So, talked to my friend Larry Chang and he reminded me of his idea, realized that I’m going about this wrong as far as where to focus.

As Mr. Chang has pointed out, a better approach is to develop a preliminary rendering of his Planetary Index (PI) app, or something better; have some people use it; if it works, they’ll adopt it, and it will spread, like the adoption of cell phones. You don’t need to “convince” people. That is veritable ouchness.

I don’t know the physics of a car’s engine, nor how my computer or cell phone really work. I use them because they improve my life.

The idea that all people must now be educated as to the limitations of monetary code is silly, (stupid).

So, app development is likely the better way to go.

If you read Mr. Chang’s interview above, there is no overthrow of gov’t necessary. The current monetary code system of relationship interface can run parallel to PI.

Now, for the hypocrisy insert.

My interest is in explaining why software code is better than monetary code from a theoretical perspective, just how I’m built (often this drive feels like I’m infected with a virus). But that’s a narrow field of focus, not interesting to most people. All good. So, I will continue to work there, but it may be that I should shut the fuck up and let the app builders do their thing. Sorta per the MIT Media Lab: Practice Over Theory.

For now, I will continue to bang on this perspective as kind of a left jab? while hoping that some particularly astute coders, who already understand the implications of software code much better than I do, make a run at this new manner of reality interface, i.e., bring the right hook in the form of Mr. Chang’s PI econ app, or again, something better.

I understand replacing monetary code is vastly more threatening (scary) to the status quo than bringing cell phones to market. If Larry, I, & others ever move past the ignore stage, I will be attacked for being naive. There is truth in that critique. Naturally, I will counter that it’s naive to think that incremental changes to the current system can provide for the survival of our children, grandchildren, etc.

And yes, the oncoming new climate, combined with other jugular cuts gushing in geo, eco, bio and cultural networks may mean this pursuit is just something to do as we watch the dismantling of life.

The Horror.

Or as Dr. Frank Vertosick says (interview above), it’s just more pathetic human hubris to think humans can be planetary stewards. (Maybe a network of quantum computers processing big data collected from myriad network sensors and bots can?)

I don’t know.

Generating thought-structure variation via alphabet code . . .

Onward, into the messiness . . .