#exaptation — Public Fediverse posts

So, while the environment (larger system) has more variation than subsystems, successful smaller ones are able to survive. How? Because not all info (or source) has the same weight. And because survival doesn't only come to the primary version, but also what emerges from diversity via #exaptation.

This diverse information pool is the source of mutations, serendipity, #exaptation, & ultimately, of greater resilience. Knowledge & Info networks like science, DNA, or the mind use a balance of long & short-term gains via indirect, multi-connective relations & direct, singular paths, respectively.

Here's an explainer from a Google search, w/a diagram. The idea goes back nearly 100 yrs and has evolved much over that period. Few wheels need reinventing, most can survive by #exaptation - being repurposed or generalized. #KO #DIKW #cogsci #philsci www.jeffwinterinsights.com/insights/dik...

DIKW Pyramid — Jeff Winter

My critiques of specific camps of thought are not meant as absolutes. The phrase about the baby & bath water works here. Finding ourselves w/over-reliance on (IE) #reductionism doesn't make it evil. It means we alter course away from it, seeking better results for the current #context. #Exaptation

@JeremyMallin

Once we imitated enough sounds, we had a repertoire from which to #remix.

Here's a #coevolution fractal duality: #adaptation & #exaptation. Copy/re-create & adopt what exists, and/or modify & repurpose/create something new. (repeat)

After sharing common perception of sound, sight, smells, taste & touch, we were left with the still difficult part of putting words to our feelings & emotions. Hard to escape the abstraction there.

@JeremyMallin

Once we imitated enough sounds, we had a repertoire from which to #remix.

Here's a #coevolution fractal duality: #adaptation & #exaptation. Copy/re-create & adopt what exists, and/or modify & repurpose/create something new. (repeat)

After sharing common perception of sound, sight, smells, taste & touch, we were left with the still difficult part of putting words to our feelings & emotions. Hard to escape the abstraction there.

An interesting article about #Cognitive #Diversity, with references to the phenomenon of #exaptation for extra marks. Not a light read, but makes a point worth making: The Stormtrooper Problem: Why Thought Diversity Makes Us Better https://buff.ly/3Fvppvi

@jessegoldman @bryankam I had my own reluctance, but that was taken care of above.

Since you tagged #philosophy...

I'd add that framing matters, including for self-talk. So my following questions are not meant to be end alls to the problem (I struggle with it too), but rather, at least a starting point for working through the process to find what works for you.

Did you start producing art because you thought there wasn't enough out there? If not, the question seems to not produce helpful answers.

Why did you begin with the art you do? Here you might get into one of the most common aspects, especially after some years go by, and maybe you're doing it as a means of income.

If the market is saturated, and that makes selling your work harder, what new evolutions could you spin up that would help set your work apart?

Sometimes setting down our main interest for a time & shifting to something else adds just the right amount of diversity to our mindsets that enables a personal renaissance.

If there's a message your art conveys to the audience, #exaptation on your end should result in the same on theirs.

Some disincentives never go away, they are just overpowered be new & better incentives!

@jessegoldman @bryankam I had my own reluctance, but that was taken care of above.

Since you tagged #philosophy...

I'd add that framing matters, including for self-talk. So my following questions are not meant to be end alls to the problem (I struggle with it too), but rather, at least a starting point for working through the process to find what works for you.

Did you start producing art because you thought there wasn't enough out there? If not, the question seems to not produce helpful answers.

Why did you begin with the art you do? Here you might get into one of the most common aspects, especially after some years go by, and maybe you're doing it as a means of income.

If the market is saturated, and that makes selling your work harder, what new evolutions could you spin up that would help set your work apart?

Sometimes setting down our main interest for a time & shifting to something else adds just the right amount of diversity to our mindsets that enables a personal renaissance.

If there's a message your art conveys to the audience, #exaptation on your end should result in the same on theirs.

Some disincentives never go away, they are just overpowered be new & better incentives!

@drmakimber @Davidtoddmccarty @jonah

Good analogy.

Now imagine a "newspaper" with only headlines, and leaders to "See page 13, section b for this story".

Not a perfect model for digital content will all #CWs, but the flow & enjoyment (as well as disappointment or disgust) are gone from the #experience.

The universe rarely creates anything new or beneficial from the parts already being used. See #exaptation.

People with special needs should set up their account accordingly. #Mastodon has plenty of features to help do that.

@drmakimber @Davidtoddmccarty @jonah

Good analogy.

Now imagine a "newspaper" with only headlines, and leaders to "See page 13, section b for this story".

Not a perfect model for digital content will all #CWs, but the flow & enjoyment (as well as disappointment or disgust) are gone from the #experience.

The universe rarely creates anything new or beneficial from the parts already being used. See #exaptation.

People with special needs should set up their account accordingly. #Mastodon has plenty of features to help do that.