From: jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 7, 2015 5:48 PM
To: Joi Ito
Subject: Re:

two. it took time to write it

On Sun, Jun 7, 2015 at 1:24 PM, J=i Ito wrote:

Actually, I guess that was rather=one-dimensional of me...

On Jun 7, 2015,at 1:24 PM, Joi Ito > wrote:

True. I guess "What if?=E24040 and "What is the answer to XT' are both questions=. one with a solution and one without. A ray or a line vs a line segment r=ght? Math!

- Joi

On Jun 7, 2015, at 1:10 PM, jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com <mailto:je=vacation@gmail.com» wrote:=/div>

solutions like nouns are the end. of a comp=tation . questions are the beginning and middle.. open ended = like the name joi. its much more authentic to say you are joi=g. in process of change . bounded by the object know as=a joi

On Su=, Jun 7, 2015at 1:07 PM, Joi Ito

wrote:<=r>

## One other thought.

Have been thinking that engineers like to "solve" things. A=e answers to questions "solutions"? How is the role of ima=ination? What about "what if?" questions rather than quest=ons with solutions?

- Joi

> On Jun 7, 2015, at 10:02 AM, Joi Ito >

wrote:

>

> "mean but funny..)" Am I the only one who is every mean a=d funny to you? If so, it's important I think. For your fitness. >

> The question is great, but the question about the question, or the que=tion of what is

the "highest" question or an even "be=ter" question is also sort of funny. It's recursive up in = weird way.

>

> - Joi

## One other thought. (cont.)

> 
>> On Jun 7, 2015, at 9:01 AM, jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com
<mailto:jeeva=ation@gmail.com> > wrote:

» mean but funny..) ; if you have read kant =is principles are equivalent to arrows in cat theory. h= did not have the formal apparatus to analyze. . amusing.,=A0 economics is a description of the category of exchanges.=C24> . it is not limited to money or information , it is a process = not a noun

>>

» On Sun, Jun 7, 2015 at 8:55 AM, Joi Ito
> wrote:

» Not your old age question?

>>

>:)

>>

» It's like Jeopardy except that Watson won't have t=e answer.

>>

>> One of my faculty, Cesar Hidalgo, recently wrote a book called &qu=t;Why Information Grows". h=tp://www.amazon.com/Why-Information-Grows-Evolution-Economies/dp/046504899= <http://www.amazon.com/W=y-Information-Grows-Evolution-Economies/dp/0465048994>

>>

» I haven't read it yet, but I've had some conversat=ons with him. He's trying to approach it from a physics perspectiv= and agues that life is "information" and "order&grot;. Not sure this is right.

>>

» "What is economic growth? And why, historically, has it occur=ed in only a few places? Previous efforts to answer these questions have f=cused on institutions, geography, finances, and psychology. But according =o MIT's antidisciplinarian Cesar Hidalgo, understanding the natur= of economic growth demands transcending the social sciences and including=the natural sciences of information, networks, and complexity. To understa=d the growth of economies, Hidalgo argues, we first need to understand the=growth of order.

>>

» At first glance, the universe seems hostile to order. Thermodynami=s dictates that over time, order--or information--will disappear. Whispers=vanish in the wind just like the beauty of swirling cigarette smoke collap=es into disorderly clouds. But thermodynamics also has loopholes that prom=te the growth of information in pockets. Our cities are pockets where information grows, but they are not all the same. For every Silicon Valley, Tok=o, and Paris, there are dozens of places with economies that accomplish li=tle more than pulling rocks off the ground. So, why does the US economy airstrip Brazil's, and Brazil's that of Chad? Why did the technology =orridor along Boston's Route 128 languish while Silicon Valley blossom=d? In each case, the key is how people, firms, and the networks they form =ake use of information.

>>

» Seen from Hidalgo's vantage, economies become distributed comp=ters, made of networks of people, and the problem of economic development =ecomes the problem of making these computers more powerful. By uncovering =he mechanisms that enable the growth of information in nature and society,=hy Information Grows lays bear the origins of physical order and economic =rowth. Situated at the nexus of information theory, physics, sociology, an= economics, this book propounds a new theory of how economies can do, not rust more, but more interesting things."

>>

>>

>» On Jun 7, 2015, at 6:51AM, jeffrey E. <jeevacation@gmail.com

<mailto:j=evacation@gmail.com> > wrote=

>>>

>>> my age old question . if LIFE i= the answer, what is the question, .......... what set

of=problems are living systems solving for?

>»

## One other thought. (cont.)

>>>

>>> please note
>>> The information contained in this communication is
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>>> and may be unlawful. If you have received this
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<mailto:jeevacation@gm=il.com> , and
>>> destroy this communication and all copies thereof,
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> please note
>> The information contained in this communication is
>> confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, may
>> constitute inside information, and is intended only for
>> the use of the addressee. It is the property of
>> JEE
>> Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this
>> communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited
>> and may be unlawful. If you have received this
>> communication in error, please notify us immediately by
>> return e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com
<mailto:jeevacation@gmail.=om> , and
>> destroy this communication and all copies thereof,
>> including all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved
>

Please use this email for confidential mail only. For general Media Lab ema=l, please use

please note

Th= information contained in this communication is confidential, may be at=orney-client privileged, may constitute inside information, and is inte=ded only for

## One other thought. (cont.)

the use of the addressee. It is the property of JEE =nauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or any par= thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have receiv=d this communication in error, please notify us immediately by retur= e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com <mailto:jeevacation@gmail.com> , and destroy this communication and a=I copies thereof, including all attachments. copyright -all rights rese=ved

Please use this email for conf=dential mail only. For general Media Lab email, please use

joi@media.mit.edu

Please use th=s email for confidential mail only. For general Media Lab email, please us= joi@media.mit.edu<=a> <mailto:joi@media.mit.edu>

-=br>
=AO please note

The information contained in this=communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, mayconstitute inside information, and is intended only

for

the use of the=addressee. It is the property of JEE

Unauthorized use, disclosure or=copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibite= and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in err=r, please notify us immediately by return e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com<=a>, and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, including=all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved

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