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Five questions from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
digitalraven:
1. Intelligence: emergent phenomenon or not? On what do you base your answer?
Yes, I definitely see intelligence as emerging from simple interactions. I am a philosophical materialist — I don't believe in the soul, and I believe the mind to simply be patterns of activity in the brain. My justification for this is simply Occam's Razor — I can't think of anything that can't be explained by simple interactions of matter, so I feel no need to invent any substances beyond matter.
More interesting is the following question: what's so special about the matter in our brains that allows it to express conscious intelligence? The materialist must either find some special property of the matter or structure of our brains, or must allow the possibility that all patterns of intelligence are, to some extent, conscious. I prefer the latter explanation.
2. Talk about some (non-fictional) people you actually admire.
Hmm... never been my favourite question to answer. I feel uncomfortable naming anybody as admirable because I know that everybody has some not-so-admirable traits. On top of this, I don't buy into the great man theory of history — I believe all people have the potential for greatness, and many of the great and good of history were simply in the right place at the right time.
So, at the risk of sounding a bit pat, I reply that I admire everyone who makes the choice to act selflessly rather than selfishly; to improve themselves rather than remain complacent; to do what is right rather than what is easy.
3. If you could tell your ten-year-old self one thing, what would that be and why?
"Treat yourself as you would wish to treat others"
I've always grasped the idea that you should treat others nicely. What seems to have escaped me for many many years is the idea that I should treat myself just as nicely. I am no less deserving of my kindness than anybody else.
4. Your hypothetical child is four years old. E looks up at you with those big, wide, trusting eyes, and with ir reedy young voice pipes "Daddy... where did I come from?" What do you tell em?
"The Argos catalogue"
I can see traumatising the hypotheticals as a big hobby of mine in the future. But in all seriousness, I would imagine that "you grew inside your mummy" is enough detail for that age — although all children are different, of course. Basically, I'll give them as much information as I think they're able to understand, as and when they ask for it.
5. Which pie is the best?
Is it... beeeef pie?
Leave a comment and I'll ask you five questions, on the understanding that you do the same when you answer.
digitalraven:1. Intelligence: emergent phenomenon or not? On what do you base your answer?
Yes, I definitely see intelligence as emerging from simple interactions. I am a philosophical materialist — I don't believe in the soul, and I believe the mind to simply be patterns of activity in the brain. My justification for this is simply Occam's Razor — I can't think of anything that can't be explained by simple interactions of matter, so I feel no need to invent any substances beyond matter.
More interesting is the following question: what's so special about the matter in our brains that allows it to express conscious intelligence? The materialist must either find some special property of the matter or structure of our brains, or must allow the possibility that all patterns of intelligence are, to some extent, conscious. I prefer the latter explanation.
2. Talk about some (non-fictional) people you actually admire.
Hmm... never been my favourite question to answer. I feel uncomfortable naming anybody as admirable because I know that everybody has some not-so-admirable traits. On top of this, I don't buy into the great man theory of history — I believe all people have the potential for greatness, and many of the great and good of history were simply in the right place at the right time.
So, at the risk of sounding a bit pat, I reply that I admire everyone who makes the choice to act selflessly rather than selfishly; to improve themselves rather than remain complacent; to do what is right rather than what is easy.
3. If you could tell your ten-year-old self one thing, what would that be and why?
"Treat yourself as you would wish to treat others"
I've always grasped the idea that you should treat others nicely. What seems to have escaped me for many many years is the idea that I should treat myself just as nicely. I am no less deserving of my kindness than anybody else.
4. Your hypothetical child is four years old. E looks up at you with those big, wide, trusting eyes, and with ir reedy young voice pipes "Daddy... where did I come from?" What do you tell em?
"The Argos catalogue"
I can see traumatising the hypotheticals as a big hobby of mine in the future. But in all seriousness, I would imagine that "you grew inside your mummy" is enough detail for that age — although all children are different, of course. Basically, I'll give them as much information as I think they're able to understand, as and when they ask for it.
5. Which pie is the best?
Is it... beeeef pie?
Leave a comment and I'll ask you five questions, on the understanding that you do the same when you answer.
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Ask me your questions, I'll tell you no lies (warning: this is not a guarantee, nor legally binding in any way, shape, or form. Void where prohibited.)
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2. Is intelligence measurable?
3. What's your take on
mawwidgemarriage?4. What's the coolest thing you've seen on the internet this week?
5. Is internet privacy doomed?
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<voice type="neo">Whoah. Deja vu.</voice>
> Is it... beeeef pie?
Yes.
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I believe I still owe you five questions from last time. Want I should try and get round to asking them this time round?
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1. Cooked anything nice recently?
2. Growing up, what fictional character would you consider most influential on your own character?
3. If you were guaranteed success and fame in acting, but only if you moved to the U.S., would you do so?
4. Is the concept of magic(k) useful and meaningful?
5. New Reggie Perrin: intruiging, or heresy?
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1. What was your favourite book as a child?
2. Godwin's Law is sometimes stated as "if in an argument somebody draws a comparison to Hitler, they lose the argument". If you had carte blanche to make any one particular argument an "automatic loss", which argument would you choose?
3. Speaking of losing, when did you first lose The Game?
4. Ever seen/experienced anything spooky that you couldn't explain?
5. What are three positive aspects of your personality?
From:
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(My current favourite book is a kids book - This Time Of Darkness by H. M. Hoover)
2. I like Godwin's Law and Quirk's exception.
As for what argument I'd like to make an "automatic loss," it would have to be the accusation of playing the race card. I'm fed up of that being used as an excuse to be racist. I've had it done to me far too many times.
3. You bastard! I just lost the game. 3rd time in two days.
Probably round about the time we first met whenever that was :)
4. Would a really bad feeling along the lines of "OMG something is really, really wrong in the world, wtf has happened?" around the time that the huge tsunami in Indonesia 2004 hit with me having no knowledge of that event until a day or so later count? Yes I've had a few spooky experiences. Several similar to the tsunami one. Part of me would swear that I've seen ghosts but how much of that was hallucination due to mental illness rather than a paranormal event I don't know. There used to be a ghost of a seven or eight year old girl in my flat. She was more scared of me than I was of her. She hung around for a few weeks and I've still no idea what she wanted.
5. Today is a bad day to ask that question for there are none. Having asked someone else about it I have been informed that I am caring, good with animals and brave.
Caring: agreeing to foster a friend's hamster despite being allergic to it.
Good with animals: turning this hamster from a creature that deserved the name Grumpy into an animal that only deserves to be called by its proper name, Ginger.
Brave: apparently deciding that I had to go to Bahrain when I heard of my father's "accident" despite my current condition was brave.
Will that do? I'm not sure the second one is an aspect of my personality but it's the best I can do.
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