Hierarchy Rule

In the absence of Knowledge, big things tend to significantly affect small things, but small things tend to have little effect on big things.

Knowledge reverses this rule. A person (small) can redirect a river (big), split an atom, or reshape a planet — through Explanatory Knowledge. The hierarchy rule describes the default state of the universe; universal explainers are the exception.

Connections

• •Reversed by Knowledge — the defining power of universal explainers
• •Describes the default state absent Creativity
• •Wealth is the measure of how much an entity can reverse this rule
• •Related to Emergence — higher-level phenomena affect lower levels
• •The Great Monotony was an era where the hierarchy rule held unchallenged
• •Principle of Mediocrity ignores that people reverse this rule
• •Resources become useful when knowledge reverses the hierarchy