I am gnawing on the question, “Does more choice make us freer?”, which is of course a question about the nature of freedom. This question has everything to do with 3-sigma because:
- Human knowing is built around theory for making predictions and,
- Prediction is a process for choosing a course of action and,
- 3-sigma is a theory for making choices.
I think systems thinking as a paradigm inevitably leads you to the idea that every choice we make and every action we take is determined, not by our will, but by the whole of state of the univese in a given present. Of course, this is of no great concern because the “true” nature of the causes that determine our choices are infinitely complex and therefore unknowable. So for our intents and purposes, the illusion of choice is persistent and consequential. Simply put, our humanness is all about the business of choosing courses of action, day-in and day-out. Since inaction is itself, is an action, we might conclude that the only thing we cannot choose is to not choose.
So in the final analysis, to be human is to be free to choose, but all of the choices we are faced with are not equal.
One class of choices are those that matter. They are choices like pursuing a profession, committing to a mate, raising children, being politically active, helping others, taking a new job or quitting an old one, and warring on others. These choices affect our future and the future of others. Our decisions are consequential and they carry with them the weight of personal responsibility. These choices involve freedom TO others rather than freedom FROM others. They are the choices that fill our lives with the meaning that only others can grant.
Another class of choices are those that are manufactured in order monopolize our attention and insulate us from choices that matter. These choices have no substantive effect on the course of our lives and the lives of others. Choosing between the lottery, slot machines, or craps, makes little difference. One way is as good as another when it comes to losing your money. Choosing between 30 brands of bottled water or 15 colas makes little difference. These choices are meaningless. When you act as if the making of these choices is consequential, you actually lose your freedom.
It seems to me that the quantity of choices presented to us has has little to do with our freedom. We do not become freer because we have more choices. We only become freer when we have a role to play in making those choices that actually affect the course of our lives and the lives of those around us. When we make these kinds of choices, we become more fully human.
How much of our resources are squandered in the manufacture of inconsequential choices? How much of our precious attention is diverted from choices that matter by the proliferation of irrelevant choices? How much opportunity to create value is squandered on such nonsense? To what degree does the proliferation of meaningless choices actually make us less free?
Homo predictus is is all about prediction. He is habitually preoccupied with the business of choosing and if he fails to gird himself against the onslaught of meaningless choice, his consciousness will be become entrained like that of a kitten tempted by a ball of string. Exploiting this habit of consciousness is a great ploy, not only for separating people from their money, but also for separating people from their freedom to make choices that matter.
