From: Simon Gordon (sim_dizzy@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Jun 27 2004 - 17:41:42 MDT
--- Thomas Buckner wrote:
> That last scenario is interesting, but as it has not
> happened in realtime it is not, strictly speaking
> information.
What is realtime? Im a believer in quantum multiverse
theory so in my view all conceivable future scenarios
happen in at least some Everett branches. Some are
more probable than others, but they're all equally
real. Also, in my eyes, everything can be seen as
information - not just scenarios and opinions, but
entire material universes can be reduced to lumps of
information - so what is NOT information?
> Example: If you can find an unbutchered version of
> Terry Gilliam's Brazil, you see Jonathan Pryce
> rescued from a torture chamber by swashbuckling
> non-union plumber Robert De Niro. Pryce ends up in
> the far north living in a truck camper with his lady
> friend. In 'reality' his body is still strapped to
> the chair and everything after that is a fantasy. He
> stares catatonically into the distance and the
> torturer says, "We lost him." The End.
Thanks for the recommendation! Ive just put in a bid
for it on Ebay (i saw a trailer of Brazil awhile ago
and wanted it but forgot to order it).
> Now, Pryce has escaped into a dream, but it's the
> only escape possible, and for him it's a happy
> ending of sorts. Is that the sort of mental illness
> your scenario posits?
Well not really, by use of the phrase "mental illness"
i was referring to something that couldnt be classed
as an adequent alternative to consensual normality.
The device may be addictive but that doesnt mean the
resultant mental illness is a particularly pleasant
experience. I was also inferring that the rise in the
proportion of mentally ill people in society was the
cause of, either directly or indirectly, rocketing
crime rates (although i didnt explicitly state this).
This society eventually came to the opposite
conclusion that you did i.e. that SOME sources of
information SHOULD be limited.
But the broader point was: sticking to any rule (even
rules that seem harmless or good) is not necessarily
the most enlightened way to live, because with any
rule or moral code etc you will be able to pick holes
in it or find counterexamples where it doesnt work.
Needless to say, my "theory of morality" if you can
call it that is very much inspired by Godel, but this
type of thinking also arises naturally from studies of
Taoism, or Eastern mysticism in general.
Simon Gordon.
___________________________________________________________ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - sooooo many all-new ways to express yourself http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Jul 17 2013 - 04:00:47 MDT