Anyway, the way this ties in to the "More and Better Future" idea (which underpins Kinds of Minds) is that we're now to a point where we can design our societies (or least particular subcultures) such that the subculture as a whole can generate better predictions of the future than any one individual.
The primary mechanism behind this is the methodology and principles of the scientific community:
- share knowledge, rather than hoarding it
- put conjectures to the test, by comparing them with reality. Ideally throught controlled experiments, but through observational verification if necessary (e.g. astronomy)
- doubt the reliability of the individual. We are always fallible, and we are sometimes malicious. As individuals we cannot be trusted, but with the appropriate social constructs, together we can be more trustworthy and more reliable than we are on our own