# The tech tree is fractal [[Every time you zoom in on a fractal, it presents the same pattern on a different scale]] - in this case, every time you zoom in on a piece of knowledge, there are multiple pieces of knowledge that gave rise to it. From a theoretical standpoint, it’s intuitive that this is basically how human brains work. Our brains smush together different pieces of knowledge to create new pieces of knowledge. ([[Thoughts don’t spring fully formed out of heads]].) From an empirical standpoint, a fractal tech tree fits the observed phenomena: * Fractal tech trees explain the power law distribution of impact in [[neumannOneProcess2020]]. Fractals give rise to power laws in general (see [[Self-Organized Criticality: An Explanation of 1 over f Noise]]) * Fractal tech trees explain how some inventions *feel* different than others but upon closer inspection actually have precedent just as much as other inventions. [[Macroinventions are the tail end of the impact power law distribution clashing with our intuition]]. * Fractal tech trees explain why you can infinitely pick apart any category of technology. You can break apart guns into rifles, pistols etc. and trace all of their histories, down to exactly what every human did over the course of history. ### Related * [[The Map is not the Territory]] * [[§Tech Tree Model of Heuretics]] [Web URL for this note](http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/The+tech+tree+is+fractal) [Comment on this note](http://via.hypothes.is/http://notes.benjaminreinhardt.com/The+tech+tree+is+fractal)