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#41019 09/06/01 04:20 AM
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#41020 09/06/01 11:12 AM
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Oh, Max, this was fascinating! Thank you, Sweetie.
I think I understand what Mr. Greene means about irrationality. I think it refers, among other things, to the intuitive leaps the human mind can take.

Here is a quote from the article:

Remember, the Greek 'logos' means 'ratio' or 'meaningful speech' (interesting that to the Greeks the two should be so closely related). 'Alogos', which uses the alpha privative, means not the opposite of rational, but simply 'lacking in rationality' or 'other than rational' (other than 'logos').

By 'insight' I mean a very real (if personal and unpredictable) window into, and experience of, a very real area of the universe, and not just some spooky gibberish.


I think the second paragraph may illustrate part of what he means by irrationality. And, if anyone can interpret
"alpha privative" for me, I would appreciate it. I have absolutely no idea of what that means.




#41021 09/06/01 12:44 PM
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Ahh, but what is intelligence without empathy for others?


#41022 09/06/01 03:30 PM
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what is intelligence without empathy for others?
Superiority complex; pariah-hood; always alone;
these come immediately to mind.


#41023 09/06/01 05:26 PM
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If it were anybody but Stephen Hawking, I would be tempted to say something rude. One of his assumptions, though, I question: that the rate of increase in capacity of computers will continue at the present rate. The BPS limit has not been reached as soon as expected, and parallel computing can be greatly increased, but it seems to me that for intelligence to be achieved would require design and software advances unimaginable at present.


#41024 09/06/01 06:37 PM
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'Alogos', which uses the alpha privative, means not the opposite of rational

I believe this means that by adding "a" (that is, alpha) to a Greek word, you are changing the sense of it to mean the lack of that thing. I'm guessing that privative is from the same root as deprive - thus the sense of "to take away" or "lack."


#41025 09/07/01 02:18 AM
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You are correct, Hyla. The prefix "alpha" ('a' in English) denotes the lack of something, or occasionally takes a meaning like the English prefix "un" or "non". I included this explanation in a post (I forget the subject) not too long ago. That shows me how much people read my posts (or pay attention to them, at any rate).


#41026 09/07/01 04:55 AM
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#41027 09/07/01 10:09 AM
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I included this explanation in a post (I forget the subject) not too long ago.
Forgive me. I didn't listen to the little voice that said, "You HAVE seen that, and recently." I should have done a Search.


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for intelligence to be achieved would require design and software advances unimaginable at present

“I’ve seen the future…!”


"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

"I have travelled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"But what is it good for?"
- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
- Western Union internal memo, 1876

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."
- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
- H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
- Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy."
- Drillers whom Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist for his project to drill for oil in 1859

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."
- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899

"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction".
- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

"640K (of RAM) ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates, 1981

Human imagination’s a wonderful tool, isn’t it, Dr Bill!



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