In reading Chiang's What's Expected of Us, I had a really hard time with the idea presented that something as simple as a blinking LED light could lead to "akinetic mutism." I understand that the predictor was perfect in its mechanism to blink just before users pressed it, but I have difficulty believing that this caused a major psychotic break within the populace, leading them to believe there was no such thing as free will. It would certainly pose some questions, I think, but I don't know too many people who would so affected by the knowledge that something can predict their actions that they would go into a near paralytic state.
I think to me, the story felt too unfinished, too unexplained. I think the idea that something so small could affect so much is an interesting concept, but I really found the world needed more fleshing out for me to connect with the idea more fully. What do you think? Would you be worried about your free will if predictors existed?
Personally, I would not be overly concerned about my free will if predictors existed because if there was truly nothing I could do about it, why would I waste my time worrying? Then again, I do understand to a degree where Chiang is coming from when he generalizes about the population and the psychotic break that arises due to his other stories. He seems to be making a point through a type of hyperbole, as he also does in The Tower of Babylon, Understand, and The Life Cycle of Software Objects. By exaggerating certain aspects he gets the point across that perhaps he wants us to think more seriously about the possible implications of such a thing happening. So maybe at first I would not think that a predictor was a big deal, but perhaps as time went on and I had to make more crucial decisions it would affect me more so.
ReplyDeleteSee, the way the technology was explained in the story, the Predictors were just buttons that you pushed, that effectively sent a signal back in time to make the light flash BEFORE you pushed it. I think I would just cling to that as a fact, that no matter what the Predictor seemed like, it was still all my doing that made the light go off.
ReplyDeleteIf the predictor was the only technology available with this "reversed time" aspect, I don't think it would cause me to have a psychotic break down. I agree with everyone else when we were talking about it in class, when someone said they would simply throw the toy away and not think much else of it. However, if this kind of toy was able to be created, it would be only an amount of time before bigger, and more elaborate machines with the reverse time circuit technology will be invented, which would significantly change the world and the idea of nonexistent free will as we know it.
ReplyDeleteI understand where you are coming from because it was really hard for me to fully grasp the meaning behind the LED light, and all the power it held. The fact that people would go into akinetic mutism and just completely shut down and lose the will to live seemed a little extreme because I on the other hand would not let it affect my will power. The main narrator of the story was aware that the technology in the device would automatically make the light flash before you pushed it so I just did not understand why if this knowledge was so well known and the outcome of the device was inevitable why people reacted the way they did. It too for me seemed unfinished
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