27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Nietzsche is the Opposite of Humanism
If one wanted to single out a thinker who represented the opposite of humanism (indeed, of pretty much every argument in this book), one couldn’t do better than the German philologist Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900).109 Earlier in the chapter I fretted about how humanistic morality could deal with a callous, egoistic, megalomaniacal sociopath. Nietzsche argued that it’s good to be a callous, egoistic, megalomaniacal sociopath. Not good for everyone, of course, but that doesn’t matter:... 1 
notes
notes30 MAY 2016 by ideonexus
The Dream Lover and the Template
For the majority of people, what they love exists only in the imagination. The object of their love is not the man or woman of reality, but what he or she is like in their imagination. The person in reality is just a template used for the creation of this dream lover. Eventually, they find out the differences between their dream lover and the template. If they can get used to those differences, then they can be together. If not, they split up. It’s as simple as that. You differ from the maj...Folksonomies: beauty perception
Folksonomies: beauty perception
1 notes
notes29 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
The Past is a Brutally Foreign Place
If the past is a foreign country, it is a shockingly violent one. It is easy to forget how dangerous life used to be, how deeply brutality was once woven into the fabric of daily existence. Cultural memory pacifies the past, leaving us with pale souvenirs whose bloody origins have been bleached away. A woman donning a cross seldom reflects that this instrument of torture was a common punishment in the ancient world; nor does a person who speaks of a whipping boy ponder the old practice of flo... 1 notes
notes27 JAN 2015 by ideonexus
The Universe as a Game Where the Rules are Hidden
‘I talked to a woman of the Kaminari once,’ he says, ‘before the Spike. Don’t give me such a look, it wasn’t like that, we were just friends. But one night on Ganymede, we got philosophical. The Universe is a game, she said. It makes us into players. We can’t see the moves that are not allowed. Like in chess. There is perfect freedom in the black and white, except that the rules make invisible walls. Two squares forward, one left. One left, whole row forward and backward, one righ... 1 notes
notes24 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Hippocratic Oath
I swear by Apollo the physician, by Asclepius, by Heahh, by Panacea and by all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will carry out, according to my ability and judgment, this oath and this indenture. To hold my teacher in this art equal to my own parents; to make him partner in my livelihood; when he is in need of money to share mine with him; to consider his family as my own brothers and to teach them this art, if they want to learn it, without fee or indenture; to impart...
1 The original.
10 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Questioning the Milgram Experiment
It appeared that sixty-five percent of people would torture someone to death, if pressured to do so. The results made their way into both psychology and cocktail party conversation. But were they correct? At least one woman doesn't think so. Gina Perry, for her book, Behind the Shock Machine, traced as many participants in the Milgram experiment as she could, and re-examined the notes of the experiment. Milgram claimed that seventy-five percent of the participants believed in the reality of t...Folksonomies: psychology ethics
Folksonomies: psychology ethics
1 notes
notesThese questions raise an even greater objection to the validity of the experiment. If the results cannot be reproduced, because the experiment was unethical, then we shouldn't cite it a evidence of anything every. Science demands reproducible results, and without replication we do not have evidence.
08 APR 2013 by ideonexus
Wizardry Violates the Conservation of Energy
“You turned into a cat! A small cat! You violated Conservation of
Energy! That’s not just an arbitrary rule, it’s implied by the form of
the quantum Hamiltonian! Rejecting it destroys unitarity and then you
get ftl signaling! And cats are complicated! A human mind can’t just
visualize a whole cat’s anatomy and, and all the cat biochemistry, and
what about the neurology? How can you go on thinking using a catsized
brain?”
McGonagall’s lips were twitching harder now. “Magic.”... 1 notes
notesWhen rational Harry Potter sees a woman turn into a cat, he cannot believe the violation of the laws of physics.
04 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Hippocratic Oath
Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick, and I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm, especially from abusing the bodies of man or woman, bond or free. And whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession, as well as outside my profession in my intercourse with men, if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets. Folksonomies: oath
Folksonomies: oath
1 notes
notesNote how keeping the patient's privacy is important.
29 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Science Fiction Inspires
Not only is science fiction an idea of tremendous import, but it is to be an important factor in making the world a better place to live in, through educating the public to the possibilities of science and the influence of science on life which, even today, are not appreciated byu the man on the street. ... If every man, woman, boy and girl, could be induced to read science fiction right along, there would certainly be a great resulting benefit to the community, in that the educational standa...Folksonomies: science fiction
Folksonomies: science fiction
Quote from Hugo Gernsback.
23 APR 2012 by ideonexus
The Imitation Game
I propose to consider the question, "Can machines think?" This should begin with definitions of the meaning of the terms "machine" and "think." The definitions might be framed so as to reflect so far as possible the normal use of the words, but this attitude is dangerous, If the meaning of the words "machine" and "think" are to be found by examining how they are commonly used it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the meaning and the answer to the question, "Can machines think?" is to ...Folksonomies: artificial life
Folksonomies: artificial life
1 Turing describes what would become the Turing test, the method for determining if a machine is comparable to a human in intelligence.
