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< | *INCOMPLETE* | | | | | | Attempt at a Definition | |
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< | But first, what is insight, and how is it distinct from other processes we address in our class? Insight is the moment when the reality of the internal world aligns with that of the external, and in that fleeting space and limited time, the idea is truly born, real choices are made, and truth is seen. It is the gap preceded by biology and intra-psychic activity, informed by sociological, historical, economic and cultural influences, and followed by significant consequences, both real and legal. It is the moment of choice, when Meursault shoots the Arab, or when the Ladakhi says, "chi choen?"; It is the moment when the trickster crafts the first fishnet, and when Newton, rubbing his head, declares, "F = ma!"; | >
> | But first, what is insight, and how is it distinct from other processes we address in our class? Insight is the moment when the reality of the internal world aligns with that of the external, and in that fleeting space and limited time, the idea is truly born, real choices are made, and truth is seen. It is the gap preceded by biology and intra-psychic activity, informed by sociological, historical, economic and cultural influences, and followed by significant consequences, both real and legal. It is the moment of choice, when Meursault shoots the Arab, or when the Ladakhi says, "chi choen?"; It is the moment when the trickster crafts the first fishnet, and when Newton, rubbing his head, declares, "F = ma!"; | | | Insight and Science | |
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< | The increasing importance of the need for human insight in the future cannot be overstated. We have created computers that can analyze complex sets of data in nature and produce the formulae for us. The Eureka system, for example, has been able to take data about the thousands of simultaneous biochemical changes taking place within a single-cell organism, and churned out two equations which predict accurately what will happen within that cell. Unfortunately, as this fascinating Radiolab show leads us to believe, we have no use for these knowledge or tools without the insight needed to synthesize the equations, the inputs, and the outputs to explain just why those reactions occur the way they do. We can, as we do, have the entire human genome at our disposal, but without the right question, without an understanding of the relationship between the raw science and the real world, we lack any application for the knowledge. Douglass Adams had it right - knowing that the equation to "Life, the Universe, and Everything&" is 6 X 7 = 42 is useless without the insight to interpret its meaning and significance. | >
> | The increasing importance of the need for human insight in the future cannot be overstated. We have created computers that can analyze complex sets of data in nature and produce the formulae for us. The Eureka system, for example, has been able to take data about the thousands of simultaneous biochemical changes taking place within a single-cell organism, and churned out two equations which predict accurately what will happen within that cell. Unfortunately, as the Radiolab show leads us to believe, we have no use for these knowledge or tools without the insight needed to synthesize the equations, the inputs, and the outputs to explain just why those reactions occur the way they do. We can, as we do, have the entire human genome at our disposal, but without the right question, without an understanding of the relationship between the raw science and the real world, we lack any application for the knowledge. Douglass Adams had it right - knowing that the equation to "Life, the Universe, and Everything" is 6 X 7 = 42 is useless without the insight to interpret its meaning and significance. | | | Insight and the Law
Theories about the external and internal worlds have come far in closing the space between the thought and action and devising a workable, if not perfect system of understanding natural phenomena, including human behavior. However, but much work remains to be done about in that spooky place where synthesis happens, where connections between otherwise unrelated phenomena are made, and where insight occurs. If the need for insight is as real as the scientists at the cutting edge of technological innovation would have us believe, at the very least, we must begin the conversation about it in non-mystical, non-magical terms. | |
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< | If insight is a moment of true nuclear randomness, I admit I have wasted everyone’s time. The input is set, and the output is too, and we just have to wait for the right time and place for insight to strike. However, if insight can be better understood, and decoded like any other phenomena, then part of the craft of lawyering should be geared towards altering the variables in our lives to replicate these moments of profound clarity and inspiration. A truly consilient theory of the world would benefit greatly from understanding the mechanisms of insight. | >
> | If insight is a moment of true nuclear randomness, I admit I have wasted everyone's time. The input is set, and the output is too, and we just have to wait for the right time and place for insight to strike. However, if insight can be better understood, and decoded like any other phenomena, then part of the craft of lawyering should be geared towards altering the variables in our lives to replicate these moments of profound clarity and inspiration. A truly consilient theory of the world would benefit greatly from understanding the mechanisms of insight. | | |
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