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Topic: The Edge Annual Question—2005 (Read 857 times) |
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David Lucifer
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Enlighten me.
  
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The Edge Annual Question—2005
« on: 2005-01-05 15:37:59 » |
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"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"
Great minds can sometimes guess the truth before they have either the evidence or arguments for it (Diderot called it having the "esprit de divination"). What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?
http://www.edge.org/q2005/q05_print.html
How would *you* answer?
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simul
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I am a lama.
 
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Re: virus: The Edge Annual Question 2005
« Reply #1 on: 2005-01-07 10:41:11 » |
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> "WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE
> EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE
> IT?"
I believe that the Universe is real and that it will continue to exist after I die.
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First, read Bruce Sterling's "Distraction", and then read http://electionmethods.org.
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David Lucifer
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Enlighten me.
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Re:The Edge Annual Question—2005
« Reply #2 on: 2005-01-07 16:38:08 » |
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Quote from: David Lucifer on 2005-01-05 15:37:59
"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"
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I am not just a brain in a vat, and a reality exists without me.
Other people are conscious and experience the world in a similar way.
The supernatural and the paranormal (all gods and ghosts) exist only in fiction.
It is possible for machines to be more intelligent than humans.
Intelligence has no upper bound.
There are no ultimate authorities for what is right, true and good.
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Blunderov
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"We think in generalities, we live in details"
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RE: virus: Re:The Edge Annual Question 2005
« Reply #3 on: 2005-01-08 03:09:27 » |
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[Blunderov] I believe that gravity is a counter-force that space-time
exerts on the matter that displaces it.
Best Regards.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-virus@lucifer.com [mailto:owner-virus@lucifer.com] On Behalf
Of David Lucifer
Sent: 07 January 2005 11:38 PM
To: virus@lucifer.com
Subject: virus: Re:The Edge Annual Question 2005
[quote from: David on 2005-01-05 at 13:37:59]
"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"
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hkhenson@rogers...
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back after a long time
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Re: virus: The Edge Annual Question 2005
« Reply #4 on: 2005-01-08 15:59:36 » |
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At 01:38 PM 05/01/05 -0700, David Lucifer wrote:
>"WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?"
>
>Great minds can sometimes guess the truth before they have either the
>evidence or arguments for it (Diderot called it having the "esprit de
>divination"). What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?
>
>http://www.edge.org/q2005/q05_print.html
ROBERT TRIVERS who we all know at least by reputation:
Think true, cannot prove.
I believe that deceit and self deception play a disproportionate role in
human-generated disasters, including misguided wars, international affairs
more generally, the collapse of civilizations, and state affairs, including
disastrous social, political and economic policies and miscarriages of justice.
I believe deceit and self deception play an important role in the relative
underdevelopment of the social sciences.
I believe that processes of self deception are important in limiting the
achievement of individuals.
************
Trivers is, of course, one few people on the planet who could show how to
prove his belief.
We certainly have self deception. It isn't an obviously useful trait to
have evolved. Therefore:
Self-deception either has genetic advantages (or rather did in the
environment in which we evolved) or it is a side effect of some other
mental feature that did have advantages.
I have been harping on a direct genetic advantages theme here and other
places for about two years.
Recurring ecological crises from overpopulation or weather glitches
resulted anticipated starvation in hunter gatherer tribes.
Humans have a psychological mechanism where anticipated privation
(starvation!) turns up the gain on the circulation of xenophobic memes in a
tribe. Eventually a tribe's warriors are hyped up to attacking a
neighboring tribe--which switched on defense and retaliation psychological
mechanisms including rapid buildup of xenophobic memes in the attacked tribe.
Now for this to be an evolved mechanism there must be advantage to
*genes.* The only "concern" of genes it to get into the next
generation. Genes take care of "vehicles" (bodies) only to the extent that
they contribute to this goal. (Consider Pacific salmon.)
Hamilton's inclusive fitness says that genes will evolve to protect copies
as well.
Now faced with recurring ecological crunches, genes for just starving would
become less common compared to genes that built the psychological
mechanisms to attack another tribe.
Why? How would this come to be?
Attacking is *dangerous,* with little tribes one possible outcome is for
all the males of one tribe to be killed and the female children to be made
into extra wives for the winners.
That's rough on the males, but better for the *genes* (also present in the
children) of even the losing tribe than all of them starving.
So today we have genes that build brain mechanism that detect anticipated
privation. Even for people who are in no danger of starving, a drop in
income is enough to turn them on.
When the mechanism activates, it turns on other evolved psychological
mechanisms for increased xenophobic meme propagation, for self deception
and generally degrades rational thinking. Being attacked has the same
effect but faster. *Current* grim examples are too numerous to mention.
Bummer.
This kind of self deception would not be hard to map to brain structures
and even the underlying genes if someone were to go looking.
Keith Henson
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