Voluntary control

I realized when I woke up this morning that, with the demand-driven development program, I have more or less surrendered direct voluntary control of where the knowledge base is going. Instead, the selection of which topics to develop next, and how fast, is being driven by the internal logic and collective needs of the various subjects. I have some control over that internal logic when I complete a cycle of development for the aids to a given subject, and outline a new cycle selecting which topics to develop or add the next time around. So far, I'm still doing a lot of inverting the order of topics being considered, with only a sprinkling of new links or pages.

History in general has not been moving as fast as it was: except with nations that are being newly reconsidered at this point in the cycle, there hasn't been much demand for it. However, classical and medieval history and modern history have been demanded more heavily. Prehistory is about in the middle of a cycle, Antiquity near the beginning of one, classical and medieval history near the end of one, and modern history near the beginning of one, with development in the near future to be focused on the Institutions. The 20th century and studies of the future are about in the middle of their development cycles.

Sociology in general is using history, now up to modern history, as its principal aid, and is still fairly heavily demanded. Peoples of the world are not quite as much demanded, but are approaching the end of a cycle. Although I haven't been demanding nations very heavily, I am somewhat surprised to see how slowly they are actually going. Western Civilization is about in the middle of a development cycle, and Asiatic peoples at the beginning of one, with African and American Indian peoples in the early parts of short, slow moving cycles. Communities are approaching the end of one development cycle, and the beginning of a new one, and social structure and change a little bit ahead of them.

Institutions have been moderately demanded, and are now finishing with a review of social structure and change, and are about to go through a review of how culture applies. I have just begin a new cycle for Religion, government is in the early stages of one, at history, and Economics has just begun once. Education and family are in the middle of shorter, slower moving cycles.

Culture is at the beginning of large cycle of development, at present focused on history. The major areas of behavioral culture and conceptual culture are in the middle of development cycles. Material culture is at the end of one, about to start a new one.

Anthropology in general is in the middle of a comparatively short and slow moving cycle. Particular groups haven't been heavily demanded, but human geography has been in fairly strong demand. Personal studies have been moving very slowly, but I am almost at the end of a development cycle, about to begin a new one. Biography is also close to a new development cycle. Science hasn't been called for much and is moving slowly, about in the middle of a new cycle.

For a few noteworthy developments, I have put a couple of specific biographies in the cycle for development of religion, although it may be a while before I get to them. For some time, I have been rather irritated that my development plans couldn't get to the connections between economics and material culture, but these are now (or soon will be) better established. I continue.