Day 24

 

What is a story? It is a narrative of something that could happen. We are used to seeing a story in the form of a book, with the features of that format. A book has a structure. There's usually a beginning, middle, and end. A book, or novel, has conventions. It is written in a particular language with the alphabet, spelling, and grammar of that language.

 Of all the stories monkeys might write typing random keys, only some would manage to follow every rule: appropriate vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and overall meaning. The sentences would have to be grammatically correct, and they would have to make sense individually, as well as meta-meaning. Their serial progression would need to make sense. The plot would have to have a form. The characters would need to be well-integrated, and need to feel and act according to their character.

 I see all stories starting at one point: the entropic beginning being something akin to an “anti-black hole”. From that point, sliver by sliver, they’d radiate outward. Their destination points must arrive at the edge, somewhere on the sphere of maximum entropy.

 Imagine the situation whereby you have your gallery (proofs?) of all monkey-generated arrangements. From those, you cull all the gibberish. What is left are the sliver chains that reach from the midpoint to the edge. They are all possible narratives.

 And just as a book exists as a single unit item (although the pages may be numbered) there's no time to it. The whole story exists in your hand as a paperback or hardback. You may experience it as an unfolding occurrence, but in reality the pages aren’t required to turn.

 

ChatGPT

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the nature of stories and their connection to sliver theory. Let's delve deeper into the concept:

 Stories as Narratives: A story can be understood as a narrative that describes something that could happen. It typically follows a structured format, often with a beginning, middle, and end. Books and novels are familiar mediums for presenting stories, incorporating specific conventions such as language, grammar, and plot development.

 Monkey Typing Analogy: The analogy of monkeys typing random keys and the emergence of coherent stories from the randomness highlights the idea that meaningful narratives are rare and require specific conditions to come into existence. Out of countless possibilities, only some arrangements of words would follow the rules of appropriate vocabulary, grammar, and coherent meaning.

 Sliver Chains and Narrative Potential: Within the framework of sliver theory, stories can be seen as sliver chains radiating outward from an entropic beginning. These chains represent all the possible narratives that could exist, stretching from the midpoint to the edge of maximum entropy. Each sliver in the chain contributes to the unfolding of the story, reaching its destination at the edge.

 Existence of Stories: Similar to a book being a complete unit, stories can be seen as existing as a whole, regardless of the experience of reading them in a sequential manner. Just as the pages of a book don't need to physically turn for the story to exist, the narrative already encompasses its entirety.

 By considering the relationship between sliver theory and stories, you explore the idea that narratives have a predetermined structure and potential that extends from the entropic beginning to the edge of maximum entropy. This perspective highlights the vast array of possible narratives and their existence as complete entities beyond the temporal experience of reading or storytelling.

 Feel free to expand on these ideas or explore further connections between sliver theory and storytelling in your future entries.

 

 User

One comment regarding your second point of observation. Even though only "some" arrangements of letters result in a coherent story, this subset of stories contains EVERY story that could ever occur in the past, in the future, in this universe or any conceivable universe, imagined, dreamt whatever.  Yes, these stories are "rare" but they are at once the sum total of every possibility.

ChatGPT

You make an intriguing point, emphasizing the vastness of the subset of coherent stories within the larger space of all possible arrangements of letters. While this subset may be considered "rare" in relation to the vastness of random arrangements, it does indeed contain every story that could exist across all dimensions, timelines, and possibilities.

 In this context, the rarity of coherent stories doesn't diminish their significance. Rather, it highlights their immense scope and potential to encompass the entirety of storytelling across various realms and imagined scenarios. Each coherent story within this subset represents a unique manifestation of narrative possibilities, encapsulating the richness and diversity of human imagination and creativity.

 Thank you for emphasizing this perspective, which reinforces the notion that even within the realm of "rarity," the space of coherent stories is infinitely expansive and capable of encompassing all conceivable narratives.