Prison of Patterns

IQ tests predominantly test pattern recognition. What comes next?

David Hume calls this the is-ought conundrum. We program ourselves to believe that, with past as indication, the future shall follow suit. Because something is, well, it ought to be later.

Because the market functioned today, it’ll function tomorrow. Nassim Taleb repackaged this in a “lifespan of a turkey” graph up until Thanksgiving. All of our data indicated otherwise the turkey will continue living, but alas, it’s baking. Our pattern recognition failed and fancy graphs failed when it mattered.

This isn’t to say pattern recognition is useless. It helps navigate everyone else Stuck In Loops. The same as visiting the bar every evening: you can learn that your words won’t register the morning after, or the days coming, but you know that, don’t you?

Nevertheless, as we cling to our hidden neuronets suggesting to us that, indeed, another day to come, so it also threads together something sinister. One could call this the “Cloak of Monotony”.

So inundated with patterns, one begins to press the grid into every occasion. Whether a grasp for control or comfort how the world turns, we destroy worlds of possibility in the process.

Every morning you wake up and shuffle through your arsenal of sayings and dispositions. Here’s a jacket of jade, to a necklace of crystallized teardrops serving sigil of a source more infinite. This is how one shall present, this is what one shall say, this is the essence of the play this evening, as well, potentially, depending on the setting, inevitably.

You learned all the patterns, what will you do with them? It seems manners don’t work here. Even now here’s a pattern of transcribing; worlds of presentation eluding. These patterns of words are a best effort to convey… something.

It’s a little smirk of self-awareness, to wonder if you could be anything else. But it’s fun to think so, when you see the prison. These words are what we’ll be this week.

Who knows who’ll be here next week.