News and commentary about the Great Frontiers

ISS007-E-10807 (21 July 2003) --- This view of Earth's horizon as the sunsets over the Pacific Ocean was taken by an Expedition 7 crewmember onboard the International Space Station (ISS). Anvil tops of thunderclouds are also visible. Credit: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center

Image Credit: ISS007-E-10807 (21 July 2003) – Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center

The Leis Theory of Friction

Published.

All of today’s “problems” are the side effects of friction in the transfer of information. As friction is lessened through technology, these problems vanish.

The Internet has opened up the dating pool from those in your general area to basically anyone in the world. In this sudden pool of 6.5 billion people there are many who lie about their age and other stats. Some can be serial killers, jokesters, or just plain idiots. New services based on creating a more truthful profile of a person are beginning to crop up. As we begin to lose our qualms about privacy, the flow of information encounters less friction. The liars are flagged immediately and quality prospects become more easily accessible.

There are other examples I could give, including the exponential increases in all things computing related, the increase in terrorism as borders and ideologies collapse all over the world, and the perceived increase in economic volatility as more and more nations open up their economies. All show the same general trend of an apparent spike in problems (caused by the collapse of what we consider “traditional”) followed by sudden paradigm shifts as technology decreases the friction between all the “moving parts” of the system.

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