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Discarding scientific evidence usually looks differently than "we discussed that we didn’t liked it". Is is usually not looking at all, never starting a discuss

by stared 6mo ago

Discarding scientific evidence usually looks differently than "we discussed that we didn’t liked it". Is is usually not looking at all, never starting a discussion, or even lacking an intellectual framework to comprehend the phenomenon. See "The great silence" by Ted Chiang, http://worker01.e-flux.com/pdf/supercommunity/article_1087.pdf http://worker01.e-flux.com/pdf/supercommunity/article_1087.p... for this "not looking at". For this "beyond comprehension", think about Solaris Ocean, a mind (or non-mind?) we cannot relate to anything else. Or WAU from SOMA.

the_af 6mo ago
> See "The great silence" by Ted Chiang I found this short story very moving. Of course, it's designed on purpose for this. But Chiang is usually so cerebral it caught me by surprise.
- srean 6mo ago
  It is a very moving story. I can't help posting it as a comment when parrot and bird intelligence gets discussed on HN.
Frotag 6mo ago
"The Baby-Eating Aliens" also explores hypothetical differences in alien culture. It's also written in the same absurd conversational style. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=469761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=469761
- rbanffy 6mo ago
  I really love it. I’m a bit surprised no movie student ever took a stab on it. It’s easy to produce, can be done in a meeting room with no windows.
- bsenftner 6mo ago
  That is one of the better reads of my life, and I'm a serious reader.
- jawilson2 6mo ago
  Well THIS is a bit prescient: "Well, out of curiosity - how much did you lose?" The Confessor seemed to freeze, for a moment. "What?" "How much did you lose in the legislative prediction markets, betting on whatever dreadful outcome you thought would happen?" I had to go see if this was written in the last month or so. It is from 2009.
- stared 6mo ago
  You don't need baby-eating aliens where this pattern is common among earthly species.
deleted 6mo ago
[deleted]
EdwardDiego 6mo ago
That short story makes me think of the kea (Alpine parrot) of New Zealand. They're ridiculously smart and dexterous. When I was a ranger I'd tell tourists to think of them as "monkeys who can fly... ...you're laughing, but I'm serious". Their upper and lower beaks can move independently like a human's thumb and forefinger, unlike nearly all other birds, and they can also use their beaks like scissors, or to undo screws - that last one is very true, I'm not making it up, their upper beak makes for an effective flathead. They share knowledge like corvids do, once one kea learns that the self closing door on your shop closes slowly enough, after a human enters, to give them time to get in, steal a chocolate bar and get out, there'll be five more trying it tomorrow. They can undo zips on your backpack and then undo the latches on your lunchbox to steal your sandwiches, or they'll untie your bootlaces (yep they can undo knots) and remove them from your boots, or remove your tent pegs, or maybe cut your guylines, all of this just for fun. There was a gang that would deploy one of their number at a viewing platform to act very engagingly and oh so photogenic to distract the tourists while its mates quietly stole interesting things from the hand bags, backpacks,and, if you left the door open, cars(!) of the tourists who were focused on the photogenic decoy putting on a show. They had a bit of a penchant for passports during my time. Most of which were last seen being dropped into a deep and dangerous mountain ravine by a parrot that then let out a mocking laugh. There used to be a gang of juvenile males that would deflate tyres at the local public toilets to prove they were tough - because the noise depressing a tyre valve made was scary, so the longer you pressed it, the tighter tougher you were, while your mates egged you on. They also have distinct and recognisable facial expressions they use to indicate their emotions. They've been taught to speak in the past - but the fact that they can survive, and indeed, they thrive, in the harshest environment in New Zealand is far more indicative of their intelligence than any Polly Wanna A Cracker would ever be.
- reverius42 6mo ago
  > the fact that they can survive, and indeed, they thrive, in the harshest environment in New Zealand is far more indicative of their intelligence than any Polly Wanna A Cracker would ever be. By this logic, aren't extremophiles the most intelligent beings? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile

by stared 6mo ago

the_af 6mo ago

> See "The great silence" by Ted Chiang I found this short story very moving. Of course, it's designed on purpose for this. But Chiang is usually so cerebral it caught me by surprise.

srean 6mo ago
It is a very moving story. I can't help posting it as a comment when parrot and bird intelligence gets discussed on HN.

Frotag 6mo ago

"The Baby-Eating Aliens" also explores hypothetical differences in alien culture. It's also written in the same absurd conversational style. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=469761 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=469761

rbanffy 6mo ago
I really love it. I’m a bit surprised no movie student ever took a stab on it. It’s easy to produce, can be done in a meeting room with no windows.
bsenftner 6mo ago
That is one of the better reads of my life, and I'm a serious reader.
jawilson2 6mo ago
Well THIS is a bit prescient: "Well, out of curiosity - how much did you lose?" The Confessor seemed to freeze, for a moment. "What?" "How much did you lose in the legislative prediction markets, betting on whatever dreadful outcome you thought would happen?" I had to go see if this was written in the last month or so. It is from 2009.
stared 6mo ago
You don't need baby-eating aliens where this pattern is common among earthly species.

deleted 6mo ago

[deleted]

EdwardDiego 6mo ago

That short story makes me think of the kea (Alpine parrot) of New Zealand. They're ridiculously smart and dexterous. When I was a ranger I'd tell tourists to think of them as "monkeys who can fly... ...you're laughing, but I'm serious". Their upper and lower beaks can move independently like a human's thumb and forefinger, unlike nearly all other birds, and they can also use their beaks like scissors, or to undo screws - that last one is very true, I'm not making it up, their upper beak makes for an effective flathead. They share knowledge like corvids do, once one kea learns that the self closing door on your shop closes slowly enough, after a human enters, to give them time to get in, steal a chocolate bar and get out, there'll be five more trying it tomorrow. They can undo zips on your backpack and then undo the latches on your lunchbox to steal your sandwiches, or they'll untie your bootlaces (yep they can undo knots) and remove them from your boots, or remove your tent pegs, or maybe cut your guylines, all of this just for fun. There was a gang that would deploy one of their number at a viewing platform to act very engagingly and oh so photogenic to distract the tourists while its mates quietly stole interesting things from the hand bags, backpacks,and, if you left the door open, cars(!) of the tourists who were focused on the photogenic decoy putting on a show. They had a bit of a penchant for passports during my time. Most of which were last seen being dropped into a deep and dangerous mountain ravine by a parrot that then let out a mocking laugh. There used to be a gang of juvenile males that would deflate tyres at the local public toilets to prove they were tough - because the noise depressing a tyre valve made was scary, so the longer you pressed it, the tighter tougher you were, while your mates egged you on. They also have distinct and recognisable facial expressions they use to indicate their emotions. They've been taught to speak in the past - but the fact that they can survive, and indeed, they thrive, in the harshest environment in New Zealand is far more indicative of their intelligence than any Polly Wanna A Cracker would ever be.

reverius42 6mo ago
> the fact that they can survive, and indeed, they thrive, in the harshest environment in New Zealand is far more indicative of their intelligence than any Polly Wanna A Cracker would ever be. By this logic, aren't extremophiles the most intelligent beings? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile