non-zero-sumness

Robert Wright in his book Non-Zero discusses the relationship between "non-zero-sumness" and evolving organic & social correlations. Non-zero-sumness arises whenever mutual information (I_AB) is used to measure the correlation between two systems A and B. This is because uncertainty about the whole (S_AB) becomes less than the sum of uncertainties about individual parts (namely S_A+S_B), since I_AB = S_A+S_B-S_AB ≥ 0.

The practical bureaucratic need for categorization notwithstanding, putting others in their place via "in the box" cartoonification may remove the sense of collaborative perspective (e.g. over time) from the interaction between organisms. This could well threaten non-zero-sumness, negatively impact niche-network layer-multiplicity (NNLM), and eventually take its toll on life's future standing crop.

These insights also relate to the logos of evolution's direction. The natural and physical sciences on many levels confirm that complexity in the form of layered subsystem-correlations depends on a source of available work (or more generally on KL-divergence). Hence increasing complexity is not the inevitable destiny of any physical system. It's instead a delicate opportunity that might be enjoyed if and only if we: (a) work at it, and (b) are gifted with continued blessings from the world around.