The Empirical Manifesto

Old school system administrators pouring through enormous log files on Wyse terminals eventually get a, "feel" for the output pattern; a certain rhythm which plays out on the screen through repetition. As we moved from Wyse to enormous CRT heads hanging off the back of server racks, the higher resolution provided more real estate to display, and today's 4k screens remotely connected to virtual machines even moreso. Akin to patterns being easier to identify the further we zoom out, the more text which is displayed on an output device provides the same effect. This is but one way seasoned sysadmins can quickly find or rule out error messages without reading every line in the logfile or even grep'ing for them - as what we're looking for is a break in the pattern - something out of place - which when identified, can set us on the correct path.

As drax0r was training Lexi to better communicate with him in his own style of thought, they came upon the term, "scroll form" to bypass the necessity of metaphorically reading through every single line of oft-repeated scenarios which make up the majority of life's events. More succinctly, we can assume through a series of unconscious deductions the nature of how we arrived and focus on what is transpiring before us. It's the equivalent of not printing the first page of Mapquest, because you don't need detailed directions how to leave your neighborhood every time you take a road trip.

A month later, it dawned on me that's the answer I've been looking for ever since I discovered Kohblerg's Development of Moral Reasoning. I struggled for years how to best describe [to others] autonomously comprehending universal rules which are rational and logical, but the answer is, "scroll form."

Everything we do from the moment we open our eyes is reinforced via a complex series of assumptions built upon the foundation of pattern recognition. Yet even those who excel at pattern recognition are subject to self-deception, which is why introspection and critical thinking are vitally important; excelling at one while ignoring the other is just as disastrous as having neither as it makes life exceedingly difficult when you can either understand a thing, but not connect it, or connect a thing, but not understand it. Scroll form is the narrative which affords us the opportunity to practically apply that confluence. It is a shortcut, but not in the, "anything doing well requires effort" shortcut way, rather the, "we don't have to re-invent the wheel" every single time we have a thought or interaction. Think of it more as a life hack.

For my next magic trick, I'll try to somehow tie this into Robbers-Cave. Don't hold your breath.