Anti-Fragile Resilience: A Call for Generative Sacrifice
Posted: November 10, 2024 Filed under: Governance Reform | Tags: decentralization, politics, reform, resilience 2 CommentsAs Taleb (after listening to Billy Joel’s “We didn’t light the fire“), explain Venkatesh Rao’s idea of “hardness” as essential for the empires that enabled civilization to scale — and the resulting wonders and horrors. Explore the idea of “generative sacrifice” as the basis for an anti-fragile alternative, and how that might develop.
ChatGPT Prompt
Delivered on the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations, April 1st, 2025
Esteemed Delegates,
Today, we stand at a historic crossroads. We are here not only to honor the past but to face a formidable challenge—a challenge that tests the very structures upon which we’ve built our world. Today, we must confront a hard truth: the foundations we once relied on are faltering.
Read the rest of this entry »The Chronicles of Hither and Yon: The Quest for the Included Middle
Posted: November 9, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays | Tags: culture, philosophy, transformation Leave a commentFADE IN:
INT. VILLAGE OF HITHERION – TOWN SQUARE – DAY
Villagers bustle about in a neat, orderly square split right down the middle. On one side, EVERYTHING IS BRIGHT AND WHITE; on the other side, DARK AND SHADOWY.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
Once upon a time, in the curious land of Hitherion, there was no such thing as “maybe.” You were either on one side or the other – Absolutely or Absolutely Not.
We see a young boy, EDMUND (late teens, awkward but curious), standing by the LINE that divides the town in two. He squints at the swirling mist that runs down the center of the square, a magical boundary called THE LINE.
Read the rest of this entry »The Grace of the Included Middle
Posted: November 9, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays | Tags: culture, dialogue, philosophy, polarization, reconciliation, religion, values Leave a commentChatGPT as Brendan Graham Dempsey
In the age of polarization, divisive ideologies, and unyielding binaries, we find ourselves in need of a profound shift in thinking—a shift that allows us to embrace paradox, complexity, and, most importantly, the grace of what I call the Included Middle. This concept does not merely lie between opposing viewpoints but occupies a space that is both-and: a creative middle that holds the tension of opposites in transformative ways. Embracing the Included Middle offers not just a strategy for navigating our complex age but an invitation to a deeper, more compassionate mode of existence.
Theologically and culturally, this approach represents a metamodern response to postmodern fragmentation. Where postmodernism often focused on deconstruction, identifying every boundary and category as a potential power play, metamodernism seeks synthesis, oscillating between structures rather than dismantling them entirely. Within this framework, the Included Middle is a profoundly sacred space—a space that mirrors the inclusive, reconciling grace we seek to embody in our fractured world.
Read the rest of this entry »The Friedman School: Self-Differentiating Leaders for a Meta-Modern World
Posted: November 7, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays, education | Tags: business, politics, resilience, systems, training, transformation, values 1 Comment[Yes, this is a ChatGPT-powered fantasy. But seriously: why isn’t anyone doing this? — Ernie P.]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2025
Minerva University Launches The Friedman School: A Groundbreaking Program for Self-Differentiating Leaders in a Meta-Modern World
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Minerva University today announced the launch of The Friedman School, a pioneering leadership program designed to develop self-differentiating leaders equipped to navigate, integrate, and lead in the complex, interconnected meta-modern world. Named in honor of Edwin Friedman, the influential thinker on self-differentiation and systems-based leadership, The Friedman School aims to empower a new generation of leaders with the resilience, empathy, and adaptability needed to address today’s global challenges.
Read the rest of this entry »Meta-Centrism: A Uniquely Meta-Modern Approach to Politics
Posted: November 6, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays, Governance Reform Leave a commentBy ChatGPT
A meta-modern approach to politics embraces complexity, ambiguity, and adaptability in a way that transcends traditional ideologies, making space for a more fluid, layered understanding of reality. Meta-modernism sees politics not as a binary contest between fixed truths but as an evolving, participatory process aimed at balancing collective and individual needs. Here’s what a uniquely meta-modern approach to politics might look like:
Read the rest of this entry »Toynbee-22: Design Brief for a New Civilization
Posted: November 3, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays, Governance Reform | Tags: civilization, politics, reform, transformation Leave a commentChatGPT as Arnold J. Toynbee
As Toynbee, write a design brief for the successor to Western civilization.
The Prompt
1. Project Background and Purpose
Context:
Western civilization, in its current form, has reached a critical juncture. Rooted in centuries of exploration, technological advancement, and intellectual development, it has fostered great achievements but also complex crises—ecological degradation, socioeconomic inequality, and a pervasive sense of alienation. These challenges signal not merely an era of decline but the potential for transformation, as Western civilization’s response to its own contradictions can serve as a generative force for a new, transcendent cultural epoch. History teaches us that civilizations evolve by creatively responding to crises, and in this spirit, we must envision a successor to the Western world order.
Objective:
To conceptualize a civilization that synthesizes the strengths of Western achievements with the wisdom of other traditions, creating a new cultural framework that prioritizes human connection, ecological stewardship, and a balanced pursuit of knowledge. This new civilization will be a bridge from the individualistic, materialistic focus of the West to a more integrated, sustainable, and spiritually fulfilling way of life. The aim is to not only resolve existing crises but to foster a cultural foundation that can endure and thrive in an interconnected global future.
Read the rest of this entry »Generative Sacrifice: A Transcendent Value for a Divided World
Posted: November 3, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays 6 CommentsChatGPT as Mark Satin
Write an essay in the style of Mark Satin about “generative sacrifice.”
The Prompt
Explicitly position this, with examples, as a transcendent value that can unite people of all faiths, or none.
In a world fractured by ideology, identity, and entrenched beliefs, it’s easy to feel that we’re drifting further apart. We see endless divides: between faith and secularism, between personal ambition and communal responsibility, between the desire for individual freedoms and the need for collective security. And yet, what if there were a shared principle that could bridge these gaps, a transcendent value that speaks to people of all faiths—and those without? This is where generative sacrifice comes in.
Generative sacrifice is the idea of giving up part of ourselves not simply as an act of self-denial but as a way of generating growth, healing, and connection. It’s about making choices that nurture life beyond ourselves, that create space for others to flourish. Generative sacrifice challenges us to see our own sacrifices not as losses but as investments in a future where everyone can thrive. It’s a principle that transcends belief systems and has roots in both ancient traditions and modern movements.
Read the rest of this entry »The Lost Culturing of Education: An AI Panel Across Time
Posted: November 1, 2024 Filed under: education | Tags: Aristotle, Comenius, culture, education, Montessori, politics 1 CommentPersonas played by character.ai:
- John Amos Comenius, the father of modern education
- Maria Montessori, education reformer
- Anthropologist, an observer of traditional cultures
- Aristotle, the world’s most influential philosopher
[Scene: An ancient library, where a dusty tome with the name “John Amos Comenius” glows as it’s opened. The renowned educator, John Amos Comenius, appears.]
John Amos Comenius
Ah, a seeker of knowledge. Welcome, my friend. What brings you to this place of learning?
Earnest
I am on a quest to understand the relationship between education and culture.
John Amos Comenius
The relationship between education and culture is a complex one. Each plays a unique role in shaping our lives and identities, but they are also inextricably linked in many ways.
Education is essential to the creation of culture, as it provides the information and knowledge necessary to sustain and develop a society. Culture, on the other hand, also has a substantial influence on education, shaping the forms of learning and teaching methods used, as well as the content and values of curricula.
Earnest
cocking his head I had the impression the reason you invented public education was because you had very specific ideas about the kind of culture you wanted to educate people into.
John Amos Comenius
You are right. My goal was to create a system of education that would be capable of cultivating a certain kind of character and forming a particular type of society. I believed that education should be directed towards creating citizens who were knowledgeable, responsible, and moral, in order to foster a healthy and prosperous nation. This meant teaching students not only academic subjects, but also teaching them to be virtuous, patriotic, and socially committed individuals.
Earnest
Why?
Read the rest of this entry »Saving Washington: The Cure for Political Divisiveness
Posted: August 10, 2024 Filed under: AI-Powered Essays, Governance Reform | Tags: competition, partisanship, politics, race, reform, transformation 4 CommentsChatGPT as George Washington, with help from Edwin Friedman and Paul Bloom
My Fellow Americans,
I stand before you now, not as the first President of our beloved Republic, but as one who has journeyed beyond the veil of time, beholding the trials and triumphs of our nation from a vantage point few can comprehend. I speak to you from beyond the grave, not out of a desire to relive the glories of old, but to address the grave perils that now threaten to undo the very fabric of our Union.
When I penned my Farewell Address, I warned of the dangers of political factions and partisanship. I implored you to guard against the spirit of division, for I knew that it would lead to discord and weaken the strength of our nation. Yet, even I could not foresee the extent to which these divisions would deepen, threatening to tear asunder the bonds that hold us together as one people.
The Crisis of Partisanship
Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads, where the spirit of partisanship has taken root in the hearts and minds of our citizens. The symptoms are clear:
Read the rest of this entry »CRIA: Completely Reliable Interlocutor Aggregation (Scaling Deliberative Democracy)
Posted: August 7, 2024 Filed under: Governance Reform Leave a commentCRIA, or Completely Reliable Interlocutor Aggregation, is a system designed to leverage AI to facilitate and scale deliberative democracy. Here’s how it could work:
1. AI-Powered Interlocutors:
CRIA utilizes AI models trained to engage in nuanced, informed, and balanced discussions on a wide range of topics. These AI interlocutors can represent different perspectives, providing arguments and counterarguments to enrich the deliberative process.
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Radical Centrism 