PREDICTIONS – 10 Years Later - Santa Fe Institute

10. IF I CAN, I WANT
of his inner self. One of the activities of this group was to
spend an occasional Sunday doing spiritual work under the
guidance of a master.
It was such a Sunday morning when Tim was confronted
with a conflict. It was a bright, clear day in the middle of the
winter with lots of fresh snow on the surrounding mountains.
Tim looked out of his window. Ideal ski conditions, he
thought. There were few of these days during the season. He
liked skiing. He had just bought ski equipment that incorporated
the latest technology. He paused for a minute in front of
the window. He felt an urge to go skiing, but at the same time
he felt bound by his decision to devote this day to spiritual
work. At that moment he heard the words Dum Possum Volo
ringing in his head, as happened to him whenever he came
across showcase applications of the ergodic theorem.
The arguments appeared spontaneously. There wouldn’t be
many days like this. He wouldn’t be young and capable of skiing
forever. He should take advantage of it now while it was
possible. He could always go back to spiritual work when he
would be old and unable to do the things he could now do.
Tim did not hesitate much longer. He went skiing that Sunday.
He waited in lines, paid for tickets, got onto chair lifts,
admired the breathtaking view, and took pictures. He felt like a
tourist.
• • •
WHAT MAKES A TOURIST?
The reason Tim felt like a tourist was that tourism stems from the if-Ican-I-want
law; people visit a place simply because they are able to do
so. Millions cross the oceans every year to visit even the remotest corners
of the planet. As the number of those who can afford it goes up due
to lower ticket fares and higher standards of living, the number of those
who travel increases.
228