Thanks Anne, for another thoughtful post on an imp...

2008-12-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Thanks Anne, for another thoughtful post on an important topic.

I would just like to add that this issue, like so many others involving social choice, can now be "turned inside-out" to provide a point of view more coherent over a greater context.

Rather than thinking in terms of accommodating special-case deviations from the norm (a norm that doesn't actually exist, just as no family actually has 2.5 children) it's about time for us to begin thinking in terms of increasingly optimizing conditions for all individuals, with emphasis on growth, rather than normalcy.

While the heuristic of normalcy was an adaptation appropriate to our ancestors in a world of simpler computational requirements and resources, we are living in a world of increasing complexity—with (not merely coincidentally) increasingly effective tools for managing that complexity.

Accommodation of special cases is itself increasingly becoming a special case. Fine-grained optimization is becoming more and more the rule.

Accommodation from the "norm"? Or optimization with less and less reference to a "norm"? It all depends on our point of view—our awareness—and that awareness is increasing.

Comments on Existence is Wonderful: Accommodations: Essentials For An Open System Soci...

Jef said: Rather than thinking in terms of acco...

Thanks Anne, for another thoughtful post on an imp...