Search found 1015 matches
- Tue May 31, 2016 1:02 pm
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: You are not a computer
- Replies: 39
- Views: 56698
Re: You are not a computer
Sgttomas, since you respectfully disagree, I want to hear you out and understand your position. I've got two questions that I think would help me understand. Since you believe the brain "dumbs down" to being Turing complete, could you try to describe in more detail what the brain does that a Turing ...
- Tue May 31, 2016 4:51 am
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: You are not a computer
- Replies: 39
- Views: 56698
Re: You are not a computer
What definition of "computer" are we using? Any information processing system? Would a computer have to be intrinsically computational, or could an abacus or my fingers or a group of stones qualify? This is really the question, isn't it? The author of the article clearly confuses or conflates the a...
- Tue May 31, 2016 12:06 am
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: You are not a computer
- Replies: 39
- Views: 56698
Re: You are not a computer
I still think the brain is a computer. Not a computer with bits and bytes and wires, but an instance of the more general, mathematical concept of a computer. This is not controversial — our senses provide information and our brains do something with that information. I agree with the article insofa...
- Mon May 30, 2016 8:02 am
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: You are not a computer
- Replies: 39
- Views: 56698
Re: You are not a computer
I think the article is missing an important nuance. Or maybe it's just my reading of it. I still think the brain is a computer. Not a computer with bits and bytes and wires, but an instance of the more general, mathematical concept of a computer. This is not controversial — our senses provide inform...
- Fri May 27, 2016 4:50 am
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: On Deontological Ethics
- Replies: 16
- Views: 24934
Re: On Deontological Ethics
Mmm, this quote makes me want to write a story with robots that use moral language to describe their performance. It feels like it's been done before, but I can't remember where...God programmed us to love him, and so if we do love God then we are performing according to his specification.
- Fri May 27, 2016 2:40 am
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: Who Believes in Scientism?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 45838
Re: Who Believes in Scientism?
Scientism as a label for the belief that science is the only reliable way of acquiring knowledge First of all, I would point out that this sense of the word has little in common with the other sense. While both senses have to do with the role of science, but that's as far as it goes. Moreover, if y...
- Thu May 26, 2016 2:58 am
- Forum: Relax
- Topic: Reinterpreting Biblical stories in fiction
- Replies: 1
- Views: 7383
Reinterpreting Biblical stories in fiction
Hey folks, I wrote a short story. Can you guess which story/stories I've "borrowed" from? Extra points if you catch on before the last page!
Here is a link to a GoogleDoc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KH8 ... sp=sharing
Here is a link to a GoogleDoc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KH8 ... sp=sharing
- Thu May 26, 2016 2:48 am
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: Who Believes in Scientism?
- Replies: 32
- Views: 45838
Re: Who Believes in Scientism?
As someone who actually works with science on a daily basis, here are my two cents. Scientism is a crappy word. Let's just agree on that, shall we? It's poison. Why do I say this? Let's look at some hypotheticals: Scientism as a label for improper application of science to areas where it's not appro...
- Sat May 21, 2016 2:38 pm
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: Common Ground - the reality
- Replies: 13
- Views: 21248
Re: Common Ground - the reality
QT, it was I think the implications of your last sentence I was responding to: This is why stories about people, documentaries, and photos like the one of the dead boy on the beach are so important, because they serve as a reminder that the world contains more than "people" and money. And the more ...
- Fri May 20, 2016 2:55 pm
- Forum: Adventure of Faith (Religion/Spirituality)
- Topic: Common Ground - the reality
- Replies: 13
- Views: 21248
Re: Common Ground - the reality
QT, I'd like to point out that your post seems to rely on the assumption: "the happiness of future people will morally justify the suffering of people in the past" .. which might be morally dubious. I'm afraid I don't see how that assumption underlies what I wrote in my post. I'm not sure I agree w...