How to Live Your Best Life in 2284
Four diagrams, four ways of being
I n the year 2284, the Organization for the Fulfillment of Humankind — instituted by 151 countries and 17 space outposts, and comprising scientists, artists, and philosophers in equal numbers — has completed its investigation of the ultimate meaning of life and everything there is and has delivered a computer with enough power to solve ethics and the fundamental problem of existence.
In fact, the super computer is two separate independent machines, Knowledge and Understanding, widely known with the friendly names ‘K’ and ‘U’. K has the solution to every conceivable human problem, explicit and implicit, and even the solutions for infinite unknown problems. However, K’s outputs are incomprehensible to even the most expert among the experts. U has the meaning of every symbol, an interpretation for every representation, and mastery over all languages — including K’s.
At the inauguration of the twin system, politicians, investors, and researchers debate what question should be asked first. Some questions consider God, some happiness, others peace. Every delegation has a preference for a variation of the fundamental problem, though a few believe themselves to have a radically different question. The assembly finally settles on a version that, in English, can be understood as: “How…
