Re: virus: MEME UPDATE: To Censor Or Not?

Dave Pape (davepape@dial.pipex.com)
Mon, 16 Dec 1996 13:19:07 GMT


At 00:30 16/12/96 -0600, Zaimoni wrote:
>On Mon, 16 Dec 1996, Dave Pape wrote:

[SNIP]

>> The big problem for me then is how to explain APPARENTLY rational thinking
>> in these irrational computing devices which we call people. Well... I reckon
>> that memes under increasingly severe/rigorous selection pressures (such as
>> those subject to application of Scientific Method) tend towards appearing to
>> be processed rationally. I'm struggling to explain this ATM... any ideas
>> for/against from anyone else?
>
>I see. We're going at epistemology from different angles.

And here's another crap soundbite for you: the left human cerebral
hemisphere is a parallel processor simulating serial processing! This is
what I'm trying to get at... although I've got pretty unformed ideas as to
how... it's the same thing though: I need memetic interaction to simulate
logical procedures of thought. HELP!

>> >Since I "happen" [sic] to abhor the conclusion, I deny the premise.
>>
>> Woah. THAT's not very rational, is it? (Didn't mean that too aggressively).
>> Yup, it's a complete bastard as far as I can see, and it also means I don't
>> actually think human beings will EVER know The Truth.
>
>Welcome to (virtual) Reality.

Wahey. So, we need to ban the words True and Truth from our discussions,
then. I find arguing memetics very difficult; in many ways, because of these
"no such thing as truth" and "parallel, evolutionary memetic processing
simulates, but is NOT, logical, serial processing", I'd like to give up the
pretence of being logical in my arguments. The process would actually be
quite similar though.... you'd be firing memes at each other, presented in
as internally consistent a way as you could. It's just that, rather than
trying to force your arguments into a linear narrative, it would all look a
bit more hypertextual, like a whole branch of ideas-space delivered in the
same batch.

>Information lacks the ability to be reasoned with. Data is even more
>lacking, since it missed out on what interpretation was.

All "truth" is a human interpretation of whatever bizarre and weird shit is
actually out there.

>//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
>/ Towards the conversion of data into information....
>/
>/ Kenneth Boyd
>//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
>

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose (The more things change, the more
it's a meme thing)

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