precludes the existence of an omniscient observer like the demon of Laplace, and
therefore the possibility of predicting with certainty. It entails that any realistic model
of behavior will have to take into account uncertainty, mystery and surprise.
Cybernetics and CAS have shown how agents can cope effectively with that
uncertainty, by using regulation to counteract unforeseen disturbances and exploration
to discover novel affordances.
I have proposed to integrate the insights from these approaches by introducing
the concept of navigation as a combination of regulation, exploration and
exploitation. Navigating means setting out and following a course of action while
taking into account any foreseen or unforeseen diversions. Diversions are the
phenomena that make an agent depart from its ideal or intended course of action, thus
forcing it to correct that course. A course of action should therefore not be conceived
as a predetermined trajectory—like the one followed by a planet around the sun—but
as an adventure, i.e. a goal-directed activity affected by unpredictable and often
mysterious encounters. These upsets, whether positive, negative or neutral, are the
fundamental triggers of emotions: they produce the arousal or excitement that
prepares body and mind for corrective action.
Campbell’s [1949] analysis of the “hero’s journey” shows how a simplified
and exaggerated narration of such an adventure provides the basic storyline for all
myths, legends and fairy tales: the hero (agent) in a quest (search) for a magical boon
(fitness enhancing resource) explores a mysterious world (uncertain environment),
having to overcome difficult trials (disturbances), while sometimes receiving
unexpected aid or making surprising discoveries (affordances). The same ingredients
assembled in a more complex and realistic course of action and with a more subtle
description of the concomitant emotions form the basis for modern forms of narrative,
such as novels, movies [Vogler, 2007], and computer games [Dickey, 2006].
While navigating, agents are attracted to prospect, because the ability to
foresee diversions helps them to set out a more effective course of action. However, at
the same time they are attracted by mystery, which is the potential for an even better
prospect. Mystery may be the most important trigger of exploratory behavior, as it
invites agents to leave behind their ordinary, known environment and embark on the
adventure of the unknown. Effective exploration means that mystery dissolves itself
into prospect. However, the horizon of unknowability principle implies that this
prospect will eventually expose new mysteries. The resulting alternation between
prospect and mystery, supported by the flow experience, appears like a particularly
effective mechanism for driving the action forward—both for the agent living the
adventure and for the audience empathizing with its narration.
It may even be argued that this variability of prospect is precisely what makes
life most interesting, by fueling curiosity and an enduring drive for exploration.
However, such a varying degree of foresight is as yet absent in scientific models of
behavior. Unlike the idealized agents of Newtonian theory, real-life agents are neither
blind to everything but their most immediate surroundings, nor omniscient like
Laplace’s demon. It is as yet unclear how best to incorporate this missing dimension
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