Static and dynamic cultures in the beginning of infinity by david deutsch

In The Beginning of Infinity, David Deutsch introduces the definitions of static and dynamic societies/cultures. A static society is one in which progress/change happens at a very slow pace, almost imperceptible by humans. Individuals in a static society constantly attempt to keep things as they are, adhering to the status quo and suppressing any form of creativity and criticism that can lead to a change in the structure and fundamental axioms of the society.

A static society is in contrast with a dynamic society, where creativity is encouraged and progress happens at a fast pace that can be perceived. Dynamic societies are borne out of the Enlightenment period. One essential element of dynamic societies lies in their commitment to reinvention and their criticism of rational, static memes, which are instead held fixed by static cultures.

A meme, as coined by Dawkins, is an often imperceptible behavior or conceptual knowledge that gets transferred across individuals intentionally or otherwise by observation/osmosis. Every instance of a meme within each person is internally generated and not equal to the source of the meme or the observation. This implies that every act of imitation can be considered creativity.

Progress happens in a society when people can reinvent and criticize memes to constantly form new variations and new memes. When a society does not pursue this attitude, it can deteriorate to extinction, as was the case of the Easter Island civilization, where creativity was stumped and natural resources depleted for the irrational creation of statues that all look very similar.

I am writing about the concept of static and dynamic societies because I believe it is relevant in your everyday life. There are many levels of resolution within your life—starting from the societal level, the Country you live in, your town, the community around you, your family, and your friends. Each level of analysis is a large or smaller society in itself, with all its memes constantly replicating and spreading. You can consider the level of dynamicity in the many groups around you and determine whether it is worth it to increase the level of creativity to foster progress, decrease it to maintain a more sustainable rate of progress, or decrease it in favor of more seeming stability with the risk of extinction.

This also applies to the team you work with or the business you run. Every group of people is characterized by memes, and their nature is dependent on the culture of the people within that organization and how tolerant of uncertainty and memes criticism they are.