There are two kinds of system. Perfectionist systems chase flawless understanding from a few principles, and productionist systems chase what works. Perfection seeks certainty; production satisfices. The Anthropocene is what productionist anthropocentrism looks like at planetary scale.
How the word moved
I laid this out in May 2025 in The System of the World. Cybernetics was the first marriage of the two, and I pitched Bhumics as the antidote to productionist anthropocentrism. Yes, I wrote a piece called The System of the World. Newton would be amused.
In my words
"Perfection seeks certainty; production satisfices."
from Bhumics 16: The System of the World, 14 May 2025
"Bhumics is the antidote to the former."
from Bhumics 16: The System of the World, 14 May 2025
Related
- Inherited from Kurt Godel - for me Gödel is where the perfectionist dream ends.
- Inherited from Alexander Grothendieck - I borrow his rising sea as a method.
- Related Three Ages of Systems Theory - cybernetics is the first marriage of the two.
- Related Synthetic Philosophy - the synthetic philosopher maps the seven lenses.
Still open
I said the two are entangled in a single, urgent project. I didn't say what their joint form looks like, and I don't know yet.