Using complexity to discover true novelty
Is it possible to distance one-self from the endless levels of bias in order to create something entirely new?
In other words: can we come up with an idea (concept, story, philosophy, art or anything, really) that is not directly derived from a similar already existing structure?
Let’s see one of the definitions of the word ‘novelty’: the quality or state of being novel; newness; freshness; recentness of origin or introduction. In the sense of this article, I’m mostly talking about any cultural novelty: a new genre, new philosophy, new form or a concept, etc. I’m also adding ‘true’ adjective to point out that the value of the novelty is greater, if it isn’t just
a fusion of existing styles.
HOW THE NOVELTY DISSIPATES?
I’m not complaining and certainly I’m not being negative. I don’t want to delve too deep, as it would deserve an article of its own. I just wanted to point out the causes and effects of modern mediated culture, before I talk about inventing novelty:
If you place a specific new, emerging genre (or any other new cultural phenomenon) into the beginning of the graph (the original form / content point) — for example the time period of the early western movies — you can see the depletion of this fresh idea and its slight revival (we can think about Tarantino’s inspiration by the old westerns) and further decline both
in fashion and novelty.
There’s an interesting bump in the graph, called ‘successful nostalgic loop’. When you hit the proper nostalgic loop with a remake (or genre revival, etc.), you are more likely to generate a traction (and maybe even some novelty). That’s the sweet spot: the new generation will be exposed to something that feels fresh (it’s now contemporary, using new language for example) and the old-timers will get their nostalgia hit. Mr. Chanter speaks about those loops (mainly in the music; see for example this bit on YouTube) at length with his own twists and time travelling experiments.
But making even a great remake doesn’t prevent the ‘novelty depletion’.
PROVOKING NOVELTY
There had already been notions to discover fresh ideas. I can address surrealism, dadaism, or poetry itself (from poiesis, ‘the activity in which a person brings something into being that did not exist before.’). Divinations (if not misused) are also traditional means to convey meaning and associations from random patterns or situations. All the mentioned methods follow certain strategies or rules. How about using all the methods in one robust package?
If I merge several different systems that are intelligently put together with forethought, I might create situations that could lead to novelty. Using this construct would then work like a game that doesn’t necessarily need to be played. Adding new layers to the game and using cyphers, codes and various existing systems (including, but not limited to tarot, hexagrams, numerology, anagrams or even ASCII characters) will provide us with new associations and overall context. This new context is created without a specific intent (other than to create a certain level of complexity); it is now a rather semi-random space for exploration. After reaching large enough volume of content, interesting ideas (some hopefully with this shiny glow of the true novelty) will then emerge on their own. At least that is the theory.
This combined strategy is not very different from the inventor’s paradox. Instead of trying to figure out some novel concepts just by generating random thought-form hybrids, we can focus on creating an ecosystem of sorts; a fertile ground where non-linear thinking won’t defy logic.
I will mention now a few more concrete ideas that can seem to be only tangential, but are in fact relevant to the afore-mentioned complexity:
Sample 1: expanding 2-dimensional systems
Let’s imagine 16 cultures. Each of them is based upon combination of 4 classic elements and each one corresponds to 16 tarot court figures. These cultures have undergone a separate (yet interconnected) evolution process and we can observe them in different eras of their history. It should be interesting to add a 5th element (at one point of the future history of the world), as it would also require me to add whole 9 new cultures and 19 new tarot cards along with many new interactions and connections. This could also force me to retroactively inspect various already written world events to find deeper meaning.
Sample 2: cross-interpretations
There’s a game that uses only ASCII characters to represent its environment (Angband). In this game a question mark symbolises any magical scroll or a book. But speaking generally, question mark evokes a question. When I put this very game in the context of the world of the 16 cultures (they are presumably not using latin alphabet or syntax) and make it a part of their daily lives, the meaning of the ASCII characters would then shift into more symbolic form (compared to the connotations of our reality).
Now imagine that this ASCII game is played in different cultures (or regions) with consequences of various levels of social importance. Your ability to raise a child in one culture could, for example, be validated only if you are able to reach level 30 in that game. Gravity of some ‘dangerous’ symbols would then be much more palpable in that culture. Some associations arising from these connections could lead to stories that are now interpretable in several different ways, provoking our thought patterns in the process.
Sample 3: shifting the point of view
When we combine a complex and comprehensive system of the soul ecology with esoteric values of our world, we can weave intricate schemes into the stories:
A sentient crocodile humanoid metalsmith believes a legend that far above the skies’ canopy is a place that will prevent anyone from reincarnating if you die there. An incredible journey ends as the crocodile metalsmith pierces all the four chambers of his heart with a cursed sword. All the four spirits of his self (sic) flee through the time spirals and only one of them would find what the crocodile had sought. It had became a part of genius loci, situated in a tree over his old nesting grounds.
The story is observed and narrated by the crocodile metalsmith’s higher self, who is in part entangled with one of the croc’s souls and guides the crocodile to unwittingly acquire an ominous curse for his sword. From a certain perspective, this can be regarded as an evil act, but we will have to decide how to perceive the actions as we hear the last part of the story of three other souls, released by the cursed blade.
This is similar to the point of one lecture by Mr. Vonnegut.
NOVELTY IS HEALTHY
I regard this exercise partly as a quest for our mind’s own interdisciplinarity. Can we actively improve our brains’ methodology to attain new heights of novelty in our approach to the life’s realities?
