Singularity Pyramid (the Shape of Knowledge)

Crowdsource Truth. Advance Knowledge.

A multipurpose knowledge platform

Vo Viet ANH

Hello, Im going to talk about PropMap, a multipurpose knowledge platformI have been working on its concept, philosophy, and underlying system for years, and have started prototyping it early this year.1

So, everything started in 2007, when I was one of these environmental activists who was fighting day and night for a greener and safer future. 2

From the bulk of knowledge and experience we have accumulated, we could mentally construct a big picture regarding the state of world, which we drew insights and developed solutions from. For example, the red square here contains our conclusions about the disastrous effects of climate change and our solutions for that. Its supported by everything we know.3

However, in reality, each person has a different mental picture of the world based on a different set of knowledge, and thus they draw different conclusions. For example, this speaker has reached the Red conclusion based on her accumulated knowledge while the audience reached a Blue one. The amount of knowledge in common is very limited and the speaker just cannot transfer all the knowledge that supports her conclusion. And its often the case that the audience knows something that dismisses speakers conclusion and would ignore everything she says altogether. In the meantime, theres just no existing means to paint a mutual picture and resolve such differences.4

As if it werent bad enough, the fact is a person is rarely able to draw conclusions from all the knowledge inside his head but, at most times, only a subset of it. Its understandable because one often fails to take into account even things one has already known. That's why people have contrasting thoughts from time to time. That's how inconsistent and unreliable the human mind is.

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So Im building PropMap as a tool to paint a mutual picture for everyone, so everyone can literally keep and organize a copy of ones knowledge in the cloud, and use it articulate ones points, invite others to challenge your points, and try to defend your points while taking into account the knowledge of everyone else on PropMap6

In the past, we had to use these images for powerful psychological effects, as a shortcut to bypass your logical defense, to make points without presenting all the necessary information and data. The drawback of this approach is that the most logical people wouldnt buy it. With PropMap, theres no more escape from truth because, for example, I can prove climate change by crowdsourcing all of its evidence to date.7

Like climate change, there are many high-level conclusions made by leading thinkers of the world based on their enormous knowledge and experience. For example, some warned that mankind must go to space to avoid extinction, or AI will spell doom on mankind, or the Singularity is near. The amount of knowledge to support these important statements may be substantial but they are not yet seriously gathered or paid enough attention because their media coverage always falls short in terms of redundancy to brainless internet sensations. We need a platform that really highlights what is important.8

Everyday, you see the hottest or most REDUNDANT information, neither the important nor the accurate.This leaves plenty of room for large corporations to warp the reality that you experience, which is represented in forms of news feed, or Google search results.The set of knowledge a person can absorb is so tailored, so limited that no one has any idea what the big picture looks like9

TRUTH

As a result of limited knowledge, everyone is imprisoned by one's own limited perspective, which is like a distinct color. So how about a "universal perspective"? Why not pour all in one bucket and see what TRUE color it turns out? Existing knowledge platforms like Wikipedia, Quora, news platforms like Reddit, or any online newspaper cant do it. Upvoting or commenting on these platforms cant do it. But PropMap can do it. It will be "the bucket," allowing us to mix all versions of truth in order to come closer to truth. 10

THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR.60%ROOM

Lets get into the basics of the platform, which is very simpleThere are only 3 basic objects on PropMap. The 1st one is room. A room is a unit of knowledge. It can be a statement, an idea, a fact, a dataset, an equation, an algorithm, a theory, or a plan. It can be written in human languages or machine languages.Here, for simplicity, I choose this statement, which Dr. Ray Kurzweil wrote many books to prove.Each room has a representative probability, which indicates how many percent true it is.11

THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR.The computation speed of the fastest supercomputer TH-2 as of June 2014 (33.86 petaflops) is already 3.386 times faster the speed needed to simulate a human brain at molecular level (10 petaflops).The computation speed of the fastest supercomputer is already faster the speed of a human brain.80%70%60%90%90%Neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis dismissed the Singularity as a bunch of hot air and said the brain is not computable and no engineering can reproduce it.60%0%PROP

The 2nd object is prop. A lower room would prop up a higher room. Each prop contributes a probability.A high probability means the lower room supports the higher room.Reversely, a low probability means the lower room dismisses the higher room.A rooms representative probability is calculated based on all rooms and props related to it, and the users who created those rooms and props.The figures here are only symbolic so dont take them seriously.12

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCETHE SINGULARITY IS NEAR.The computation speed of the fastest supercomputer TH-2 as of June 2014 (33.86 petaflops) is already 3.386 times faster the speed needed to simulate a human brain at molecular level (10 petaflops).The computation speed of the fastest supercomputer is already faster the speed of a human brain.Neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis dismissed the Singularity as a bunch of hot air and said the brain is not computable and no engineering can reproduce it.TAXON

The 3rd object is group. There are 2 types of group.The 1st type is taxon. Each taxon is a well-defined standardized area of knowledge. For example AI in this case.13

Singularitarianvs.Anti-SingularitarianMarch 10, 2013THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR.The computation speed of the fastest supercomputer TH-2 as of June 2014 (33.86 petaflops) is already 3.386 times faster the speed needed to simulate a human brain at molecular level (10 petaflops).The computation speed of the fastest supercomputer is already faster the speed of a human brain.Neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis dismissed the Singularity as a bunch of hot air and said the brain is not computable and no engineering can reproduce it.SCOPON

The 2nd type of group is called scopon, which is any user-generated group. In this case, for example, Singularitarian vs. Anti-Singularitarian March 10, 201314

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A simple network of rooms may look like this. It can be likened to a building, where rooms on lower floors have to literally hold up the rooms on higher floors. Without the lower rooms, the higher rooms wouldnt stand.So, so far, we have learned about the vertical dimension of knowledge, from low to high. On PropMap, there are more than one dimension of knowledge, along which rooms are arranged15

This is the concept diagram of PropMap for when all human knowledge has been mapped. We can see the relations among the most fundamental areas of knowledge. For example, biology is based on chemistry, which is in turn based on physics, which is in turn based on mathematics.This diagram embodies many natural laws of knowledge and principles for humans to climb to the top.16

Next is the interface of PropMap, which is the only realistic thing I can show you at this point.On the top right corner are buttons to create the 3 basic objects: room, prop, and scopon.On the right we have the Spotlight window. Only rooms that are dragged into this window lights up.We also have the Note window, which is like a worktable for you to organize your thoughts before creating content.The Chat window on the bottom replaces your usual news feed to help you keep up with the latest and hottest content.

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(a) Single-target- Validate an insight, aconclusionthat you have reached by propping it, e.g. existential risks- Give presentation, convince someone (e.g. investors) about something (e.g. your startup) with detail and context by laying out all of your selling points, prop them, and welcome peoples challenging these points.- Theorycraft, make a speculation/hypothesis/prediction (for journalists, scientists) and invite people to prop it to see where it is wrong and where it is right (how true it is)- Validate acommon wisdom, experts' insights by inviting all supporting and opposing knowledge- Doresearch on a concept, go Deeper to explore the foundations of the concept (e.g. physical, mathematical underpinnings), or go Higher to learn insights about the system containing that concept and its peer concepts (e.g. the way the world works)-Review or collectfeedback on a product/service/company/proposal- Seek equilibrium points in, e.g. buying stocks, drinking how much alcohol, using Eastern/Western medicine, praying vs. doing.- "Debug" a program, product, person, or any entity by pointing out its "weaknesses"- Run a campaign, promote a cause by propping relevant, controversial statements(b) Multi-target- Survey to see which of 2 or more contrasting hypotheses are more likely ("not sure if" moments)- Analyze experts' contrasting insights to find out who is more right, and at which assumptions they differ in order to, if possible, reconcile their views ("who's right?" moments)- Vote constructively onalternativesby weighing pros and cons, boiling down all analysis to a definite, action-enabling figure of probability for each alternative-Debate, resolve conflict, reach consensus by propping each assumptions ("you don't know what I know" moments)(c) Meta- Plan by laying out, propping differentcoursesof actions, taking in account plausibility, goal fulfillment, karma and emotion.- Explore the mind of a person, including his Highest insights, his Deepest tricks, his logic in propping certain rooms with certain rooms-Search forlike-minded people, partners, co-founders, employees, employers, etc. who support the same High rooms- Distract, manipulate public perception or, conversely, spot distraction and manipulation- Figure out what ismainstreamin order to think differently and do differently (for profit)- Figure out whether you should optimistic or pessimistic about the state of the world- Investigate, prosecute, hold trial- Submit research/application/solution to contests

Now I would stop talking about PropMap as a knowledge map, but rather as a multipurpose knowledge platform, like I promised from the beginning, because I believe what matters to you is what good it can do for you NOW, rather than what it will become in the future.Here are actually more than 20 ways one can use PropMap. Dont panic.

you wouldnt care if it ever becomes the most structured and comprehensive knowledge map of mankind

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Validate

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I would pick out 2 most compelling uses to talk about here.The first one is validate. You know, everyday you come across a lot of statements, insights, made by very smart people. Or you come up with some wise theories on your own. And you wonder just how true they are. When that happens, you can open a room on PropMap so that anyone can prop it up with their knowledge.For knowledge that supports your room, you can incorporate them into your room.For knowledge that dismisses your room, you can add exceptions and conditions to circumvent them, or develop your room into something to be immune to such dismissing knowledge.19

Debate/AnalyzeSingularity is near (Ray Kurzweil)

Singularity is not near(Paul Allen)

The 2nd most compelling use is to debate or analyze two or many contrasting positions, especially conclusions made by experts.Its frustrating to know that experts often disagree with each other even though each of them is supposed to know a lot of about the same field.The fact is they know a lot, but not everything. Paul may know something that makes him think this way, and Ray must know something that makes him so sure this way. So only by mapping away everything can we find where their assumptions diverge, and to determine which position is more correct20

Debate/AnalyzeSingularity is near (Ray Kurzweil)

Singularity is not near(Paul Allen)

Or to even find a greater truth that transcend both 2 conclusions!21

US PRESIDENT ELECTIONNOVEMBER 8TH, 2016

This is the day that Im looking forward to the most, because I believe thats when a tool like PropMap is most desired.This election next year will witness a very interesting assortment of candidates.For now we have a real estate mogul, a rogue cyber security expert, and even an Grammy-winning artist.With PropMap, a complete and transparent analysis of the effects of their policies and personalities on the future of the world would be more meaningful than vote counts. It should point out who is the most suitable candidate.Or it may point at someone whos not even running for president. Or it may prove that American people dont need a president at all.The possibilities are limitless.22

Now let me take a quick quantum leap of faith here to illustrate more about my motivation behind PropMap and my vision for it.Those who do science may know how new theories are based on old, established theories, approximations, cases, proofs, etc.When we map all of them we can always see a tree structure. For example, M-theory here.I believe at one point PropMap will morph into a roadmap to guide both string theorists and model builders, who stand for the bottom up approach and top down approach respectively, towards the Theory of Everything.

Its projected that observation of knowledge creation on PropMap will uncover many hidden laws governing the growth of the knowledge tree, which we can apply to accelerate knowledge creation and one day achieve the Theory of Everything at the root.23

My 2nd motivation for PropMap is this.The version of rooms and props I introduced is static objects.But my real plan is to make them programmable, so that rooms and props can form, change, and evolve organically based on new data from both human users and the Internet of Things. At one point, they should be indistinguishable from the neurons and synapses of a thinking machine. So when humans have fed it with everything they know, and build the infrastructure for it to evolve, it may find the Theory of Everything before we do, and become what Ray predicted.24

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Lets take a look back at the room-prop structure and imagine the dynamic of knowledge calibration and evolution.Say, you have this black room. Now you have rooms that support it, and rooms that dont. If you think those rooms make sense, then you want to edit or fork your room to incorporate supporting rooms, and counter unsupporting rooms, or advance to a whole new level to render all of these rooms insignificant.If youre confident of the content of your room, then you want to add more rooms to support the rooms that support yours, and dismiss the rooms that dismiss yours.25

If you think about it, the dynamic is very much like on a battlefield, where armies alternatively advance and retreat, exploit enemies weaknesses and fix their own weaknesses as fast as possible. This very war-like dynamic that is in play at all time on PropMap is supposed to accelerate knowledge creation and improvement like never before. I actually like to call PropMap a knowledge battlefield rather than simply a knowledge platform. Because by granting users the ability to challenge each others knowledge point-to-point, PropMap is supposed to become the most competitive and aggressive knowledge platform ever.26

Technology

A front-end interface that will get the Pichutz data from the database or REST API's and generate a Google Earth like interface in the browser using WebGL.

1. Node.JS: non-block, very scalable2. MongoDB: fast, compatible with NodeJS and NoSQL; schema organic database; main data-store3. Neo4J: graph database, for scaling; stores the props between rooms4. Redis: scratch pad for communication between the distributed computing nodes; store thes cached copy of MongoDB database5. WebGL, Javascript and AngularJS: for generation of Google Earth like web interface.Any request will hit Node4J+Redis and will be served in a super-fast way, and changes made in the application will be periodically written to the MongoDB database and cache is updated.

This is the current technology stack of PropMap.The concepts behind PropMap may be revolutionary but its architecture does not require the most cutting-edge technologies, at least for now. The most important thing is to ensure the scalability of the system when the number of rooms explode.27

Business ModelAttention (sponsored rooms)Privacy (private mode for team)Scale (mass action)Integration (data feed)Automation (background tasks)Marketplace (tool, info sale)Customization (working modes, room modes)

The business model is very straightforward: our way of making money is to provide users with a lot of values and then make money out of a little extra values.They can be attention, privacy, scale, integration, automation, marketplace, and customization.28

Vo Viet Anh

2001-2003: Mathematics2003-2006: Programming2007-2008: Business2009-2010: Environmentalism2011-2013: Singularity, Literature2014-present: Knowledge Mapping

linkedin.com/in/vovietanhhttps://www.quora.com/Vo-Viet-Anh/blogs

My formal background is in business administration but it doesnt mean anything. Since little, I have been chasing the big questions of my life and shifting my academic focus over time to look for the answers. Though Im sure Im not smartest guy in the room, the combination of knowledge and experience I have absorbed is so unique and special that I stumbled upon this answer to all of my big questions. PropMap.29

Join me[Lets make a] bet on that unimaginable future. Remember big bets can sometimes be easier to achieve than small ones, since they attract the best people.-- Eric Schmidt & Jonathan RosenbergHow Google Works

vovietanh@gmail.com

This is a very challenging project, but I believe the most talented people will share my vision and join me soon enough.

Thank you.30

Comparison (I)Wikipedia: equally weighted ratings; no meaningful order of knowledge; no big picture

Knowledge system like Wikipedia, but not encyclopedia

PM vs. Wikipedia: also crowdsource knowledge, but more functional, more applications, more benefits for contributors and ROI

Comparison (II)Google: ratings based on page quality, not knowledge; no meaningful order of knowledge; no big picturePM vs. Google Knowledge Vault: users as evolving/interactive part; big picture; include human subjective Insights; not ask me anything purpose; guided knowledge creationGoogle's to organize the world's information vs. PMs to organize the collective body of knowledge