ZOZ objects can act independently - page 1

According to the ancient Greeks, Hephaestus, the god of metalworking and blacksmithing, created small three-wheeled carts called "The Tripods of Hephaestus". These were driven by a system of gears and weights which could move along a preset path, such as from one room to another in a house. (Think beer transport from fridge to couch!) Aristotle wrote:

    +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
    | If every tool ... of its own accord, could do the work that befits it, |
    | just as ... the tripods of Hephaestus went of their own accord, ...    |
    | if the weavers' shuttles were to weave of themselves, then             |
    | there would be no need ... for the master workers or of slaves.        |
    +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 

(I think of Mickey Mouse's brooms in the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment of Fantasia).

This chapter is to describe my own vision of some of the various ways "intelligent" ZOZ objects could interact with each other and with their human masters.

But there may be other visions. I cannot predict to what ends ZOZ objects will be put. Once they are released into public hands and minds, they will no doubt be used in many various and hopefully interesting and useful ways, many of which cannot possibly be envisioned at this time.

Rather than envisioning specific applications, I want to put across here the broader concept of how relatively simple devices can combine into a more complex whole. How the whole is not only greater than its parts, but also how a more complex whole can emerge from very much simpler parts.