By now there have been many blog
posts on intellectual freedom and I will not need to reiterate the definitions
that have been said. For me intellectual freedom is not in essence about
banning books or censorship; those are important aspects but not the essence.
For me intellectual freedom is about intellectual diversity and the fitness of
a society. A society that has a diverse set of intellects is a more fit
society. This society can grow and produce progeny for many years. It can do
this because the society contains a plethora of intellects which are able to fill
future niches and address many different issues. Thus a society that has
intellectual diversity is a society that is most capable to survive and adapt
when there is a drastic change in the environment.
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| image from WikiMedia Commons |
It is here that I would like to
bring in my favorite show, Star Trek. In the show the Vulcans have a saying,
“Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations” (IDIC). This saying is one of the
key aspects of Vulcan philosophy and acknowledges the many variables in the
universe. IDIC recognizes that the sheer complexity of the universe is
something unquantifiable, yet it can be conceptualized. The universe is so vast
with so many ‘things’ in it, it has reached the point of infinite.
IDIC can be broken down quite
easily into its two parts and related to intellectual freedom. The first part,
Infinite Diversity, relates to the source material. This material can be:
books, movies, games, technology, paintings, papers, or any other ‘thing’ made.
To reach infinite diversity we must have a vast array of diverse materials
uncensored and produced free of intrusive meddling. The true artist’s intended
material must be produced. Every edit performed to fit a rating system or to conform
to societal morals reduces the diversity of material. Taking away the
restraints of editing censorship will increase the amount of source material
to the infinite.
Infinite Combinations is related
to the distribution and availability of the material. To have these
combinations the material must be available to reach other minds. In this
manner the distribution cannot be censored or hindered. A store refusing to
sell a book because of its subject matter is an equal hindrance to a publisher
editing out the same questionable content. One cannot know how a work created
will affect a person or a population. One person could see the material and
combine it with their personal history or other materials they have read in a
synergetic manner to create something new and world changing. When distribution
is censored the possibilities of these infinite combinations reduce.
When materials are both free of
editing and distribution censorship we reach the possibility of IDIC. A society
that embraces IDIC will then reach a point where the intellectual diversity of
the society reaches infinite. As this diversity reaches infinite the society’s
fitness will also reach infinite.
Refresher information on IDIC was
retrieved from Memory Alpha, one of the leading Star Trek wikis.
Iyan Sandri, Class of 2008
Computer Lab Coordinator
Information Technology Services, University of Redlands
Author of To the Victors, (c) 2010
Iyan Sandri, Class of 2008
Computer Lab Coordinator
Information Technology Services, University of Redlands
Author of To the Victors, (c) 2010
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