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The spectrum of human experience (and the meaning people find in it) can't be reduced to a concept like "gaining points". What about art, conversation, watchin

by panic 9y ago

The spectrum of human experience (and the meaning people find in it) can't be reduced to a concept like "gaining points". What about art, conversation, watching TV, taking care of family members, romance, sex, raising children, playing sports, traveling, dancing, or cooking? What about reading, writing, listening to music, making music, knitting, or playing with our pets? People have been finding meaning outside of work for thousands of years.

avaer 9y ago
Thought experiment: under the premise that a human brain can theoretically be simulated by a beefy Turing machine (not a foregone conclusion to be sure), then wouldn't it follow that human experience can indeed be reduced to a concept like "gaining points"?
- adrianN 9y ago
  For suitably defined "points", anything can be reduced to the concept of "gaining points". That doesn't imply that this is an interesting or useful reduction.
- panic 9y ago
  Points are a single number. There would presumably be a lot of numbers involved in such a machine.
willvarfar 9y ago
I think the author is saying that those pleasant leisure things you list are all about 'gaining points'. I believe the author means the examples given - "we pray to collect virtuous points" and "You gain points with new cars and vacations abroad" - to extend to all pleasure activities.