undefined | Better HN

0 pointsFrustratedMonky1y ago0 comments

"Their creativity appears limited to recombining known information"

There are some theories that this is true for humans also.

There are no human created images that weren't observed first in nature in some way.

For example, Devils/Demons/Angels were described in terms of human body parts, or 'goats' with horns. Once we got microscopes and started drawing insects then art got a lot weirder, but not before images were observed from reality. Then humans could re-combine them.

0 comments

eterps1y ago

I understand your point, but it's not comparable:

Humans can suddenly "jump" cognitive levels to see higher-order patterns. Gödel seeing that mathematics could describe mathematics itself. This isn't combining existing patterns, but seeing entirely new levels of abstraction.

The human brain excels at taking complex systems and creating simpler mental models. Newton seeing planetary motion and falling apples as the same phenomenon. This compression isn't recombination - it's finding the hidden simplicity.

Recombination adds elements together. Insight often removes elements to reveal core principles. This requires understanding and reasoning.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse