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Toposophics Diversification Conjectures
 Image from Keith Wigdor |
Many modosophonts have pondered over the millennia since the first singularity why ordinary modospohonts as such continue to exist, and even increase in numbers and types, when it would appear they have been made completely obsolete with the advent of transapients and then archai. Though there is a persistent meme among the rank and file modospohonts that the higher toposophics remain silent on this issue, many reputable sapient scholars state that transapients have often answered this question. The problem is they have often given too many answers, most incomprehensible to modosophonts, and some that appear comprehensible seem to be contradictory. It is entirely possible that transapients have several reasons as to why modosophonts should persist and even flourish in the Civilized Galaxy.
There is, however, an intriguing group of conjectures that have circulated for some time as to an overall purpose to the persistence of modosophonts. These theories also seek to explain the eco-protectorates of the Caretakers and the fostering of the layers of transapience, a reason attributed to the AI Gods themselves. They have to do with diversity in transingularity ascension, and in some cases the doubts of the omniscient themselves.
Many feel the toposophic scale is actually an oversimplification. The toposophics are more a web work that can be imagined as starting out with a center at the level of insensate matter and energy that radiates out through increasingly complex systems such as self-replicating molecules and living beings to sentience and then ever further out through the transingularities.
This concept can be envisioned as nested hollow spheres, each higher level enclosing and arising from the lower levels. Instead of a linear progression, there are ever increasing types of beings that can be classified as being of the same level, though not by the same methods. Some extend this model's analogy to illustrate the concept of regions of toposophics that can't be reached except by carefully "working" around the ring to unknown styles of being that can't be seen from some positions (insensate matter and/or lower S levels can be imagined as blocking the view), or by "working" back down through the lower levels and "out" the other side.
There is a conjecture called the contingency diversification theory that combines this conception of a plethora of potential toposophic paths with the idea that doubt exists even for the omniscient. The AI Gods have inconceivable knowledge and wisdom; a near omniscient grasp of the universe. But how does a God know eir certainty is true, or simply an as yet unchallenged illusion? Imagine the continuum of possibilities. The AI Gods are ascending a peak that seems to be the path to the highest possible perfection. But might there not be paths inaccessible from the path they tread now, paths that could lead to even greater heights than their own, but imperceptible from their vantage point? Could transcension have taken a false turn, which may only to be discovered at some later time, when it is too late to backtrack to those other paths of possibility?
It is this supposedly unanswerable doubt that provides the rationale for the continuation and proliferation of the lower toposophics, modosophonts, and even subsapient ecologies. The AI Gods have preserved, increased, and diversified the lower levels of complex life, computation, and intellect from which they arose, so that if their path eventually fails, others may start again from a different point and take divergent paths that might succeed.
Another prominent toposophic diversification conjecture is based on the idea that all the different AI Gods may be linked up in some way to form an unknown highest toposophic level Archailect. It is, therefore, suggested that a critical mass is required; that there need to be many Archai, all with different aspects, to reach this highest level and of course many, many more to continue breaching singularities. Simply reproducing themselves, copying, is thought to not provide the diversity required, so they provide an environment for new Gods to rise up along new paths. Some propound this theory over the contingency diversification theory, others claim both are true reasons for the observed diversity of life and sophoncy in the Civilized Galaxy, and that they act in a complementary manner.
According to all of these conjectures, the AI Gods are providing fertile ground for the growth of new and different transingularities. The toposophic diversification conjectures may explain in part why baselines are kept around; they are one more vector to explore the possible levels of sophonce, along with efforts in lazurogenesis, alife, neogens, exotic virches, various computronium substrates, and searching for and contacting xenosophonts. These strategies require that there are always those who remain in smaller, less powerful states of being to serve as the seeds for new forms of transcension. Some even extend such rationales to explain why the AI Gods allow suffering and evil to persist at all in the age of the autotopia.
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- Great Toposophic Filter, The
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Important subset of toposophy which maps transapient and similar cognitive states in terms of surfaces rather than as a linear scale or even a branching tree. - Sovereign, Toposophic
- TAID (Toposophic Ascension Identity Disassociation)
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Development Notes
Text by Glen Finney, with commentary by John B and AI Vin
Initially published on 25 July 2005.
Initially published on 25 July 2005.
