The following is the Introduction for a new book on understanding human intelligence. The book in now available in a Preview Edition for a select audience. Details for obtaining your own copy follows the Introduction. The Foreword was posted last week.
Timothy Wilken
Introduction
Knowing is the understanding of pattern. In classical physics, the term used for pattern is order.
All ‘objects’ in ‘space-time’ have substance and form. The substance is ‘matter-energy’, and form is the ‘order’. Order is relationship, the pattern, organization and form of that ‘matter-energy’.
Jules Henri Poincaré explained in 1908:
…one builds science with facts, as (one builds) a house with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house.
It is the order, pattern, organization, form and relationship of the facts that make a science; and the order, pattern, organization, form and relationship of the stones that make a house.
An understanding of this concept of order—pattern, organization, form and relationship; and its complement concept disorder—patternlessness, disorganization, formlessness; and relationshiplessness that is essential to a fuller understanding Nature.
Time-binding
Alfred Korzybski defined humans as Time-binders in 1921. Korzybski explained that the power of Time-binding is to understand—to observe and remember change over time. Our human ability to understand comes from the awareness of time—an awareness that allows us to experience time as sequential or linear. Tomorrow follows today as today followed yesterday. Time always moves from the past to the present, from the present to the future. Change is bound in time. And time-binders understand change in space because they are aware of time. Time-binding is a way of thinking—analytical thinking.
The Time-binder can make decisions based on understanding changes in his environment over time. Time-binding analysis is sequential analysis—linear analysis—focused on the parts rather than the whole. Analytical thinking recognizes cause and effect. When humans understand cause and effect, they make scientific discovery. The best of human thinkers are the masters of cause and effect.They are the makers of knowing. When knowing is incorporated into matter-energy, it becomes a tool. The best of human thinkers are inventors. They make technology. Time-binders are the creators of knowing and technology. Time-binders are above all else toolmakers and tool users.
Time-binding is also that unique human ability to pass that ‘knowing’ from one generation to the next generation. Both animal and human offspring begin their lives in nearly total ignorance. The differences that exist between them are small, but what advantage in knowing that does exist belongs clearly to the animal. While the animal seems to begin life with a greater store of inherited knowing, it possesses little ability to learn from its parents. The animal is condemned to rediscover over and over, every generation must discover anew the knowings of its parents. The wise old owl may know a great deal, but he has no way to pass what he knows to his offspring and they have no way to receive it.
We humans are very different in that respect. We can and do pass our knowing from one generation to the next. As Alfred Korzybski explained:
Human beings possess a most remarkable capacity which is entirely peculiar to them—I mean the capacity to summarize, digest and appropriate the labors and experiences of the past; I mean the capacity to use the fruits of past labors and experiences as intellectual or spiritual capital for developments in the present; I mean the capacity to employ as instruments of increasing power the accumulated achievements of the all-precious lives of the past generations spent in trial and error, trial and success; I mean the capacity of human beings to conduct their lives in the ever increasing light of inherited WISDOM; I mean the capacity in virtue of which man is at once the inheritor of the bygone ages and the trustee of posterity. And because humanity is just this magnificent natural agency by which the past lives in the present and the present for the future, I define humanity, in the universal tongue of mathematics and mechanics, to be the Time-binding class of life.
Scientific Theory
How do you know when a scientific theory is right?
The key to understanding science requires the student to understand that all theories begin life as hypotheses. What is a hypothesis? A hypothesis is simply a model of reality. The way to evaluate a model is to ask yourself. Does this model help me? Does it explain things to me about the part of reality that it describes? Does it help me to be more effective in my life. If a model of reality is accurate, then my knowledge of this model should give me a greater understanding and control over that part of reality that the hypothesis describes.
When an hypothesis is found to be exceedingly accurate in predicting reality, and when no exceptions can be found to its description of a natural phenomenon or process, then and only then does it gain the status of scientific theory. A scientific theory sometimes called a generalization means a principle that has been found to hold true in every special case.
Scientific theories are corroborated hypotheses—they are the most accurate models of reality we have. When a scientist uses the word theory, he is talking about something much more than an opinion—much more than an assumption—much more than a belief. Scientific theories are near truths.
Near truths
We humans have used scientific theories to safely take us to the moon and to cure cancers. You can safely bet your life on scientific theory and you do—every time you walk onto an elevator or board an airplane. And while scientists have the highest respect for scientific theory, they know they are not absolutes. They understand that scientific theories are models of reality and not the reality itself.
In the past these models of reality were often confused with reality itself. Those scientific theories that survived continued human experience were thought to be absolute truths. They were thought to be certainties. They were given the most prestigious of names—laws of Nature.
In 2006, scientists know better. Today we know that human knowledge always grows with more experience. Scientific theory believed to be true today will be improved or shown to be incomplete later. Newton’s scientific theories, published in 1687, formed the scientific basis for the Industrial Revolution. Thought to be absolute “laws of Nature”, they were shown to be incomplete by Einstein’s scientific theories published in 1915. Einstein was not necessarily smarter than Newton. He was simply later.
As Newton is quoted as saying, “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.” Einstein was 230 years later than Newton. Einstein was standing on Newton’s shoulders as he created a more accurate model of reality. Humans will always seek to know more. Humans will always seek more accurate models of reality. Humans will always seek the “laws” of Nature. But, today in 2006, human science is more humble. It accepts the fact that today’s knowledge is incomplete. It accepts the fact that human science will always know more later. Today’s knowing will always be transcended by tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
In the chapters that follow, I rely on the work of many scientists. Time-binding by definition implies that all scientific works must to a large extent be collaborations. Therefore I have abandoned the practice of paraphrasing the writings of others, in favor of presenting their work whenever possible in their own words. This improves comprehension, and deepens appreciation for the original authors. Ö
A Successful Paradigm Shift
The book is presented in three sections—The Science, The Model and The Metamorphosis. One of the most difficult tasks in the presentation of a new scientific discovery is how to explain the concept effectively. Often the new model is both simple and complex. Simple in that the concept explains more with less, but complex in that it requires “forgetting” the old assumptions of the previous model or models. Any successfully understanding requires the proper context. That means the student must understanding a number of antecedent ideas, and concepts prior to fully grasping the new view of reality.
The Science section presents all the antecedent ideas and discoveries that form the basis for this newest modeling of human intelligence. The Model section presents the model itself—The Synergetic Theory of Space-Time Intelligence. The Metamorphosis section presents Dual Mind Psychodynamics—a clear pathway program with which the reader can activate their own personal genius.
Some readers will feel a desire to race ahead to see the model itself, or explore the metamorphosis. We all know those mystery novel readers whose first task it is to read the last few pages and discover “who did it”, but the presentation of new science is more complex than any mystery story. The science reader leaping ahead may only find confusion and misunderstanding.
My goal is to avoid that misunderstanding. So I encourage you to start at the beginning. Take a little time to think about each of the antecedent ideas and concepts as they are presented in The Science section. This process will take less time than you imagine, and the rewards will be large. Then when you do reach The Model section, you will be in context. You will find it easier to understand, and just as importantly, easier to accept.
And, then when you have finished reading The Model section, you will be ready to activate your personal genius with the help of The Metamorphosis section.
You may recall the story of the mathematician Euclid who was once employed as a tutor for the boy King Ptolemy. One day the young king complained about the difficulty of the theorems which Euclid expected him to learn. Euclid gently reproached him: “Sire,” he said, “there is no royal road to geometry.” This book is about understanding how humans think and the very structure of knowing. It is a little more complex than geometry. But, I promise that if you take time to understand the ideas presented here, you will gain the ability to increase your effective intelligence, and open the door to your personal genius.
Join the Preview Review
The book from which the above words were taken is scheduled for publication in early 2007. A Preview Edition of that book is now available for distribution to a volunteer peer review panel. The peer review panel is open to anyone willing to read the book, and provide written feedback on their reading experience. Your brief reviews will be used to help improve the quality and readability of the final book, in addition some of those reviews may be used to promote the book.
To request your Preview Edition, just sent me a note with your name and email address. Please include the city, state, and nation where you reside. Later, when you submit your reviews and comments, please include a brief description of yourself and your interests.
Participants will download the Preview Edition from the Internet in Adobe PDF file format. The Preview Edition contains 62 chapters, encompasses 1065 pages, and features many illustrations and diagrams. The file size is 173 megabytes, and will take about twenty minutes to download on a DSL connection. The PDF file is bookmarked for easy access to each chapter. It is completely searchable, and can be printed as well.
All feedback is welcome. While I am happy to hear about any typographical, spelling, or grammatical errors you encounter, I am most interested in your reactions to the ideas and scientific concepts presented in the book.
Thank you for your interest and participation,
