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The graph showing calories per gram per kilometer is very interesting. I wonder though, for bicycling, how the energy cost of paving the surface we bicycle on

by lcuff 7y ago

The graph showing calories per gram per kilometer is very interesting. I wonder though, for bicycling, how the energy cost of paving the surface we bicycle on is factored in, if at all? On 'natural' ground, depending on the terrain of course, bicycling can be substantially harder than walking, well-nigh impossible over rocky ground. And by analogy, what kind of negative impact does the computer bring to the process of mind. If I have to think hard about something, I typically close my eyes, not reach for my laptop. Although the fact that so much knowledge is now at my fingers tips probably trumps anything. Henry Ford wasn't nearly as smart as Leonardo da Vinci, but his access to knowledge enabled him to create vehicles Leonardo could only imagine.

hyperpallium 7y ago
Amplifying your mind by programming the tools you need is more like bicycling without a trail over rocky ground, walking it up steep slopes and carrying it over fallen trees, than it is like bicycling on a road. Programming is helpful for finding cases you didn't think of and remembering the details you aren't working on right now (like writing) - but only for programming. Writing is the bicycle of the mind.
- eternauta3k 7y ago
  > Writing is the bicycle of the mind Are you thinking about Ted Chiang's "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_of_Fact,_the_Truth_of_Feeling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_of_Fact,_the_Truth_o...
  - hyperpallium 7y ago
    No, but thanks for the link - I don't think I've read that one (though I can never tell from Ted's titles). Text: https://web.archive.org/web/20140222103103/http://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/fall_2013/the_truth_of_fact_the_truth_of_feeling_by_ted_chiang https://web.archive.org/web/20140222103103/http://subterrane... Maybe I should have said "Language is the bicycle of the mind", but we didn't invent that.

by lcuff 7y ago

hyperpallium 7y ago

Amplifying your mind by programming the tools you need is more like bicycling without a trail over rocky ground, walking it up steep slopes and carrying it over fallen trees, than it is like bicycling on a road. Programming is helpful for finding cases you didn't think of and remembering the details you aren't working on right now (like writing) - but only for programming. Writing is the bicycle of the mind.

eternauta3k 7y ago
> Writing is the bicycle of the mind Are you thinking about Ted Chiang's "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_of_Fact,_the_Truth_of_Feeling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_of_Fact,_the_Truth_o...
- hyperpallium 7y ago
  No, but thanks for the link - I don't think I've read that one (though I can never tell from Ted's titles). Text: https://web.archive.org/web/20140222103103/http://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/fall_2013/the_truth_of_fact_the_truth_of_feeling_by_ted_chiang https://web.archive.org/web/20140222103103/http://subterrane... Maybe I should have said "Language is the bicycle of the mind", but we didn't invent that.