Maximising density of experience

In order to get the most out of our lives we must maximise the density of our experience. How should density of experience be defined: unit of new-to-the-individual experience/information per unit of time.

We can become overwhelmed by density of experience in excess of our ability to absorb and process information. However, I strongly suspect that our ability increases with usage: the higher a person's density of experience in the recent past, the higher the density of experience they can cope with.

The vast majority of people (myself included) do not maximise their density of experience. They squander time on the routine, the familiar or the trivial; they do not push themselves, and society neither pushes them or enables them to push themselves.

How?

So how can this be remedied? There are a couple of steps (per person):

• Identify capacity to absorb and process information
• Monitor density of experience
• Undertake activities that have a higher density of experience

It might, for example, be possible to identify density of experience by monitoring neurological activity, and similarly the side effects associated with overstimulation. This data would enable us to determine a baseline capacity, to monitor density of experience in real time, and also to identify those activities that are particularly rich in stimulation.

Why?

Maximising the density of experience will increase the quality and quantity of our creative output. Our creativity is arguably the single greatest attribute of the human species, by enhancing it we can make humanity even more human.