Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
D
Pooh-Bah
OP Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
I have wondered for the longest time if there's a word for a process in which a non-human, mechanical, chemical, etc, factor or process seems to have a purpose. What reminded me was this FRDB post (You have to however be a member to read this thread, one of the mysteries of FRDB with its massively complex algorithm)

http://www.freeratio.org/showthread.php?t=267086

Another example might be God's or (if you're a pantheist) the World's purpose using disease and starvation to counter overpopulation. In fact I recall this an assertion of the Church as a preferable alternative to birth control

Another--in view of screen sucking and humans' attachment to devices such as the iPod and cellphone--is the apparent purpose of the digital world to enslave us


dalehileman
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Do you mean that the process has a purpose (as in a use) or that it has its own agenda and seems to be doing something deliberately.

Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
D
Pooh-Bah
OP Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
The latter, a kind of rudimentary purpose. Of course humanoids exhibit largely conscious design and the lower animals act from mostly evolutionary instinct, while even the behavior of compounds at the threshold between microorganism and molecule appears vaguely purposeful. Atoms or molecules grouping to become a crystal no doubt has some kind of survival value as with other instances of reaction, attraction and repulsion at the atomic level.

Thus nothing is entirely anything and everything is partly something else. The neutron is conscious

So there's no distinct dividing line where a being or object undergoing a process can be called totally aimless or lacking conscious purpose. As an ordinary concept the digital world at present can hardly be called deliberate. Again, though, there's no fundamental distinction between today's digital complex monopolizing our spare time and the day when Star-Trek Data-like androids enslave us

We think it's exclusively under our control while it acts to bolster that assumption til we're happy doing its bidding, convinced it is we who are still in control

You might reply, but Data isn't conscious. Yet no doubt you've heard the argument where every cell of a human body is replaced, one at a time, by its submicroscopic semiconductor equivalent until it is technically a machine, like Data. Surely it will claim it still possesses feeling and is under its own conscious control just as we do now in our denial that the digital world is surely but slowly taking over

Gees, I just glanced at the time; I've been at this longer than I had intended


dalehileman
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
Offline
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
Teleology? Intentionality?

It is unlikely in the extreme that neutrons are conscious.

What we see in nature is the illusion of design.

Thus Leonard Susskind, one of the developers of String Theory," titled his book, "The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design."

Thus Richard Dawkins wrote his book, "The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design."

This apparent design arises from a process called emergence, which is to say that it is very complex and we do not understand it - and may never be able to understand it thoroughly. (Which is not to say that "It must have been magic" is ever a legitimate scientific response.)

And, yes, Data, if he existed would be conscious.

Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
D
Pooh-Bah
OP Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,773
Originally Posted By: TheFallibleFiend
Teleology? Intentionality?

It is unlikely in the extreme that neutrons are conscious.
............And, yes, Data, if he existed would be conscious.


Sort of illustrates my point, no distinct dividing line therebetween


dalehileman
dalehileman #184590 05/01/09 02:41 AM
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 876
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 876
Do androids dream of electric sheep?

twosleepy #184591 05/01/09 08:26 AM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Would they count them when they can't sleep? smile

twosleepy #184592 05/01/09 10:07 AM
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 390
L
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
L
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 390
Originally Posted By: twosleepy
Do androids dream of electric sheep?


If they did, they would likely see things we wouldn't believe, like Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion or C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.

latishya #184593 05/01/09 10:47 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
If androids someday DO dream of electric sheep, don't forget to declare sheepCount as a long int.

Faldage #184594 05/01/09 02:54 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
>declare sheepCount as a long int.

heh.
- R. Deckard

Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 435 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5