Three Reasons Why Imagination is Important

In this post, I am going to offer three reasons why imagination is important: coherency, anticipation, and improvement. First, coherency. The world is a very messy place. There is randomness, uncertainty, inconsistency and endless things that we just do not understand. If we had to interact directly with the real world we would have a very difficult time. However, we reconstruct a much more coherent view of the real world in our imaginations and interact with that model instead. If it weren't for our imaginations, we would not be able to make sense out of the world.

Second, not only to we interact with the real world through a model that exists in our imaginations, we use that model to predict what might happen in the future. So, imagination is important for planing, forecasting, even just anticipating. Not only do we interact with the world through a model that exists in our imaginations, we interact with the future as well. Even simple things like planning errands occurs in the model of the world in our imaginations. But, it doesn't stop there. The most profound moral decisions we make, are made through the models of the world that we maintain in our imaginations. As we debate a moral issues we anticipate what the world would be like if we follow position A as a opposed to position B. And that brings us to the third reason why the imagination is important.

Without imagination it would not be possible to bring about a better world. Better worlds are only possible when someone can imagine a world that does not have things that we take for given in the real world of today. Not only does the imagination help us to envision a better world, it allows us to envision multiple better worlds and choose between them. So, life would never get any better without the benefit of our ability to imagine.

Our imaginations are critical in our ability to understand the world, anticipate and plan, and attempt to make the world a better place. Since the imagination is so important, a technology that provides a technological extension of the imagination must be critically important was well. So, in the next few posts, we will come off of our lofty perch where we examine the role of the imagination in constructing reality and come down to some very concrete business applications of a technology that can extend the imagination.

What is the Imagination

John Locke once claimed that there is nothing in the mind that was not first derived from experience. The mind, according to Locke, is a blank slate upon which experience is written. Like most philosophical observations, this may be true or untrue depending upon how you interpret it. I can picture a unicorn in my mind even though I have never actually experienced one. So, it seems this claim might not be true. On the other hand, one might argue that the elements from which I construct a unicorn in my mind are derived from experience. I have seen horses and I have seen horns. So, the unicorn is merely a reassembly of things I have experienced. And in that case, the claim might be true.

The problem is that the unicorn is a product of my imagination and we do not fully understand, nor appreciate the role or importance of the imagination. But, before we go any further, I should probably define what I mean by 'imagination'. Imagination is the capability to form images in your mind that are not directly received from experience. It is, as far as I know, a uniquely human capability. We cannot know this for sure because we cannot experience the consciousness of other species. But, it seems a pretty safe bet for reasons we will discuss later.

One might argue that the unicorn, as a product of the imagination, is 'not real'; thus relegating the products of the imagination to some inferior status. This is comforting because it makes products of the imagination seem less important some how and, in doing so, makes the problem of understanding the imagination a little less important. However, I would offer the following challenge. Picture anything in your mind - a friend, a pet, your car, the house across the street, anything. Now is that picture in your mind 100% faithful to the thing you are picturing? If it is not, then it is, to some degree, a product of the imagination.

Pushing this idea a little further, anything we experience in our minds is a product of our imagination. Since our concepts of reality are largely in our minds, this means that reality is a product of our imaginations. Well, clearly we are going to get into big trouble if we simply try to dismiss the imagination as unimportant. So, let us accept, for the sake of argument, that the imagination is important and that it plays a crucial role, of some kind, in human cognition. Next time we will look at some of the reasons why the imagination is important and why knowledge and rationality would not be possible without it.

Second Life as the Technological Extension of the Imagination

Philosophers of technology have often pointed out that most technologies can be understood, to some degree, as extensions of the person. Obvious examples include transportation as an extension of the feet or legs, weapons as an extension of the fists or arms, radio and television as an extension of the ears and eyes.

Less obvious examples would include medical technology as an extension of the immune system or computer technology as an extension of the mind. Just how well each of these claims actually fits can be debated. However, one can certainly see that this perspective does give us a quick handle on understanding a technology. So, the question is, with a new technology, what human capability does it extend.

Some technologies actually cover a wide range of human capabilities. The computer, for example, can be seen in applications that extend almost every human capacity that there is. However, understanding the computer as an extension of the mind is the most important and puts all of the others into perspective.

In the case of Second Life, we can ask - what human capacity does it extend? Like the computer, Second Life extends a wide variety of human capacities. However, like the computer, there is one central capacity - the human capacity for imagination. Second Life is a technological extension of the imagination. While there are many others things that Second Life can do this is the biggie. This is the home run out of the park.

So, as I turn to more positive commentary, I am going to focus on Second Life as an extension of the imagination. I will address what is imagination, why is it important, how does Second Life extend the imagination, and what does this mean for potential future uses for this technology.

The Paradox of Creativity

Many people have drawn parallels between Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life and Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, the creators of the graphical user interface. For those of you who have not heard this story, I will summarize it. The now very familiar mouse input device and the omnipresent graphical user interface that we have become accustomed to on our computers was originally invented, as the story goes, at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. Unfortunately, after inventing this wonderful technology, Xerox PARC was unable to exploit it. That is they failed to employ the technology in useful applications. It wasn't until the Macintosh computer employed the technology that the public became aware of it. Why is it that Xerox PARC was creative enough to develop this landmark technology and yet failed to be creative enough to see applications for it? I am calling this the paradox of creativity simply for lack of a better term. It seems to occur when one has abundant creativity in one area but creative blind spots in other areas that are necessary to fully exploit the first creative leap.

Linden Labs seems to be suffering from the same paradox of creativity. The creation of Second Life required an enormous leap in creativity. Granted many of the pieces were around in video games and other virtual worlds. But, the way these piece came together in Second is truly a leap of creativity of astonishing proportions. And yet, as with the people at PARC they seem unable to envision applications for it.

I think I have had my fill of bashing Linden Labs. Perhaps I have gotten it all out of my system now. So, as I turn this in a more positive direction, I am going to suggest four quite distinct but not necessarily mutually exclusive application areas for Second Life. I call these 1) Creative Second Life, 2) Social Second Life, 3) Business Second Life, and 4) Educational Second Life. Over the next few posts, I will sketch out these very different application area and, hopefully, it will become obvious why Second Life cannot work as long as Linden Labs continues to pursue these possibilities simultaneously.

The Law of Requisite Variety

There is a principle in cybernetics, called the law of requisite variety, which states that for one system to control another, the controlling system must be able to generate at least as much variety as the system being controlled. A simple example can illustrate this. Your automobile has a control system that allows you to go forward or backward, left or right. Since this is all the motion that an automobile typically has, the steering wheel and gas pedal/brake pedal are adequate for controlling it. However, the controlling mechanisms for an automobile would not do in an airplane which has movement in an up/down dimension as well. A simple thermostat may control the temperature in your house. But, if you wish to control humidity as well, the typical thermostat would not be adequate.

This wonderfully useful principle has applications far beyond the control of physical systems. For example, in management, there is a principle called span of control. A typical manager can only effectively manage nine subordinates if their works is very similar and fairly routine. If their work is dissimilar and not routine that number drops to around five. Why is this? It is just another instance of the law of requisite variety. If a supervisor has too many employees or if their work is very different, they will generate more variety than the supervisor can handle and the supervisor will be unable to control the employees.

So, what does this all have to do with the abysmal customer service at Linden Labs? Well, the problem that Linden Labs is facing in their attempts to provide quality customer service is just another instance of the law of requisite variety. The customers simply generate more variety than the customer service representatives can handle. And by analyzing this principle in the context of customer service for Second Life we can see why it is simply not possible for Linden Labs to deliver good customer service. It is also possible to see what they would need to do to change that. And that is what we will get to next.