Teaching Moments of the 22nd Century

[elfs]

That evening, Kouryou-chan complained that she hadn't enough "snuggle time" with her parents, and wanted to sleep in the adults' bed. I agreed, figuring that she needed more Daddy time. So, we snuggled down in the big bed and, oddly enough, talked about Mars. (The following conversation only makes sense if you've read A Miracle of Science.)

"People kept coming up to Benjamin and giving him flowers. Why?"

There's something über-futurist about trying to explain to an eleven-year-old the difference between a hivemind and a tribemind. I reached for an example. "Do you like ice cream?"

"Of course I like ice cream, Daddy." Complete with eyeroll.

"But, before I brought it up, were you thinking about how much you like ice cream?"

"No."

"So, 'liking ice cream' is just something you know about yourself, and comes to the top of your mind only when the topic of 'ice cream' is brought out into the open, by seeing it, or talking about it, right?"

"Right."

"That's what's going on, on Mars. In that scene, Benjamin is sitting in the park, watching Caprice go and get ice cream-- "

"Sherbert, Daddy."

"Sherbert, right. Anyway, people are walking through the park and each person who sees Benjamin sees this person who's not part of their collective and wonders who he is. The way Mars is, though, that person then remembers who he is, as if he'd always known, that he's Benjamin Prester, and that Mars-- and all Martians-- like Benjamin. Mars doesn't enforce that, it's not like they're ordered to like Benjamin, everyone just does, the way you like ice cream. And the kinds of people who would give a flower to someone they like go up and give Benjamin a flower. But Mars needs people to be individuals too, or it would just be one boring person, so it doesn't 'remind' all Martians about everything, like that they like ice cream; it leaves many important decisions, like who you are, and who you fall in love with, and what flavor of ice cream you like, up to you. That's why it's a tribemind, and not a hivemind. People are still individuals, but they have agreed to a few strong common goals, and share those on the same deep, subconscious level where ordinary individuals like you and me keep their own wants and goals."

Kouryou-chan not only understood this concept, but agreed that it was very cool. We didn't get into the how of this, for obvious reasons, for which I was grateful.

Comments

[phred1973.livejournal.com]

Elf, you are truly an inspiration for good Fathers everywhere.

Namaste', my Brother.

Tribemind is a great term.

[tamahori]

I'd been looking for a good label for groups/entities like Mars in that story. They aren't really a hive-mind, not the way most people these days picture such a group (Borg), but something much more relaxed and cool.

A Miracle of Science was one of my favourite comics while it ran, and it's always nice to see somebody else getting to enjoy it as well.

Tribemind ... it's a good way of describing it, so much more relaxed than Hivemind (and the society on Mars is much more relaxed than a hive-mind would be).

Did you ever have anything like that show up in the Pendorverse? It's a bit long for me to quickly check ... :)

-- Brett

Re: Tribemind is a great term.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Nothing like that ever appeared, although they do exist after the Bambi stories. The collective term for a group mind made up of individuals all dedicated to accomplishing a common goal, in the Pendorverse, is a symphony.

Which, i suspect, reflects my interest in what people are doing rather than some long-term existential being condition. Which is ironic because I find myself more often than not mulling over what Ken & company will be-- just how much contribution they can make-- when they're into their tenth millenium.

[stephaniesmom.livejournal.com]

That sounds awesome.

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

OMG, "tribemind." I have been looking for a term more individualistic than hivemind and more collective than individual for a long time.

Still, not entirely sure if tribemind really describes this one species of mine, the Vah'zyahl, in my experimental universe. They're not "instantly reminded" of anything; if they want to know something, they ask The Source, which is like the Internet but is to the Internet as a human brain is to the nervous system of a worm; nay, that is an insufficient metaphor. The Source is a collective memory stored in a network of several hundred massively-computerized dyson spheres, works transdimensionally, instantaneously, and even allows members of the Vah'vyahl to jump bodies; travel to the other end of the universe, or even an entirely different universe, is as easy as using The Source to jump to a body at your destination. But they also have The Portal, which allows instantaneous matter transport as well.

The Source can give you as much or as little information as you want. Since The Source is itself sentient, it can even judge how much information to give you if you are unsure how much you need. And for those newly born to the Vah'zyahl, becoming Linked is usually opt-in. Those who opt out can still access The Source from computer terminals. (I say "usually" because The Source sometimes lives vicariously through programmed Avatars which are born Linked.)

But the point is, if they want to remain ignorant, they can. And it doesn't influence emotions, except insofar as how much the Vah'zyahl trusts the opinions of The Source. If, included in the information, was how The Source feels about a person, the individual can choose to agree that, for example, Fred is a good man and a trustworthy man. Or they can choose to make their own opinion. And they can also look at the opinions of other Vah'zyahl if such information is available. Kind of like how people here can look at online reviews at places like Amazon or Yelp to help them decide to try things, only the information available to the Vah'zyahl is often far more detailed, and can include inloads of all the memories associated with Fred.

Although... anyone Linked to The Source has The Source reviewing everything they experience, like an all-pervasive security system, so if a threat like - for example - Bob were to suddenly appear, The Source could instantly, silently, warn everyone in the area to be on full alert, and either help fight Bob or run until soldiers can come to deal with the threat of Bob.

Re: Tribemind is a great term.

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

Before I came up with the name Vah'zyahl, I was calling them collectively The Ocean, and individuals were called Drops or Droplets, or occasionally Streams. From a description of Brahmin in Hinduism as the ocean, and all of us as drops in that ocean.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

I should point out that this same evening also contained a conversation for dealing with nose hair via waxing.

[phred1973.livejournal.com]

Excellent! :)

[ladyallyn.livejournal.com]

You guys are such awesome parents -- and have raised some very perceptive Young Ladies. (!!!!) Good on all of you!

[nbarnes.livejournal.com]

I had a friend who was working on some theories about the trade-paperback SF / high-minded SF fusion space and had me brainstorm some ideas with him. One of the things we came up with was a nation/people/whatever who interacting with, especially with the individuals who were representing them to outsiders, was basically like interacting with a hive mind. It's not that any of them were any less individuals, but they all had a massive array of FTL-based social feedback and communications mechanisms. Members weren't ever out of touch with each other and were always getting feedback and suggestions from everybody else, with consensus being reached very quickly and transmitted through the mindspace.

They were basically really nice people, but they didn't have good boundaries. Anybody without a strong social framework generally got sucked in; they're friendly, helpful, altruistic, and curious about people. Before you know it, you have a few helpful local agent programs and opinions about the major issues on the hivemind's mind.

[caprine.livejournal.com]

Thank you for linking to the webcomic. I read the whole thing and enjoyed it greatly.