NateEag

30 ms·

481.
by NateEag 4y ago
The scientific method is a powerful tool for constructing what might be called "consensus reality". Given its total inability to prove positive statements (no scientific "law" is ever proven correct, only "not obser
482.
by NateEag 4y ago
I think this makes a ton of sense and reflects a lot of how I try to live. I think many people will never accept science as the guiding light by which they live their lives. Indeed, I don't - I think of it as a vey useful methodology f
483.
by NateEag 4y ago
I'm honestly not sure why I didn't. I guess subconscious habit.
484.
by NateEag 4y ago
people have tried this with various ideologies (Christianity, Islam, communism, Nazism, etc). I am not aware of a case where structuring a whole society around a single belief system or value system has worked out well. Maybe diversity is
485.
by NateEag 4y ago
Ah, that certainly could fit the bill. Thanks.
486.
by NateEag 4y ago
It may be fine. Keep in mind, though, that humans are not perfect and some choices are unwise.
487.
by NateEag 4y ago
My brother-in-law built a very small demo to advertise an implementation of StretchText he made years ago: https://natematias.com/stretchtext/ I don't recall whether he ever built anything larger with that.
488.
by NateEag 4y ago
> If a bomb vaporized your brain you would cease to be an embodied creature and you wouldn't have a mind anymore. You can test this theory yourself but only once. You actually can't test this theory at all, if it's correct
489.
by NateEag 4y ago
As one who has read the Protestant Bible all the way through probably more than five times, I don't recall any statement that memories will be wiped. At the end of Revelation there is a declaration that ~"there will be no more cry
490.
by NateEag 4y ago
Traditionally people point to 2 Peter 3:8 and Hebrews 13:8 as implying this idea. There are a few other passages that seem to hint at it as well. I'd describe it as a model of God that fits well with the Bible but which the Bible itsel
491.
by NateEag 4y ago
That's a relevant point. I'm right there with you on getting blackout drunk. I've never had any interest in mind-altering substances.
492.
by NateEag 4y ago
Wow, that's interesting. I had not heard of that before. Thanks for sharing.
493.
by NateEag 4y ago
I wasn't trying to argue for constant consciousness, just saying that if we can be aware of and remember some things that happen during REM sleep, that suggests that perhaps there's more continuity there than was being suggested a
494.
by NateEag 4y ago
I think dreams are evidence that consciousness has continuity across sleep.
495.
by NateEag 4y ago
my impression is that mostly NNs made progress when compute got really cheap.
496.
by NateEag 4y ago
> (And what you get is a PDF, because, as I noted in another comment, PDFs already support every notation there is, was, or ever will be.) I now have a perverse urge to invent a sculptural writing system just so I can break this complete
497.
by NateEag 4y ago
Yes, software dev absolutely is closer to philosophy than engineering. There is such a thing as software engineering, but that isn't what most of us do (nor is it what we should be doing, IMO). NASA needs software engineers. Low-level
498.
by NateEag 4y ago
I really like the way you've put this. Thanks for sharing!
499.
by NateEag 4y ago
> Knowing who to trust is absolutely a major problem in financial networking, whether it's crypto, digital or physical. Solving the Byzantine Generals problem doesn't help you know who to trust. With a large enough network, it
500.
by NateEag 4y ago
Glad to hear it made sense after some back and forth. Thanks for the discussion!
501.
by NateEag 4y ago
Good points.
502.
by NateEag 4y ago
> If you perceive it, then it’s sense data. So photons and sound waves. This presumes materialism, which many believers in the supernatural do not grant. Even in a materialist framing, where the brain is the source of all perception and
503.
by NateEag 4y ago
The article says that heads and heads alone were found: > They've uncovered large numbers of cattle, goat and wild gazelle skulls and horns in small chambers in the heads of the mustatil, but found no indication that these were kept
504.
by NateEag 4y ago
I don't think it ever did, and he kind of deserved that codename, IMO.
505.
by NateEag 4y ago
I lean towards "no" but am not entirely sure. Honestly, in absentia an answer to the hard problem of consciousness, we can't answer that question.
506.
by NateEag 4y ago
thanks for the wiki link - interesting reading. > Consciousness is the experience if processing information, there is no reason to believe its anything more than that This reads to me as a baseless assertion. You could be right, but th
507.
by NateEag 4y ago
For many, many people, their sense experience has included some interactions with what they perceive to be the supernatural. If yours hasn't, then obviously that isn't pertinent for you personally, but it seems wise to me to admit
508.
by NateEag 4y ago
I can see how this could easily be an issue. It is mitigated somewhat by our homeschooling, I think, as well as the families we tend to hang out with having similar cultural values.
509.
by NateEag 4y ago
Not that I know of. We homeschool. Our friends are about as careful with devices and children as we are, so far as I can tell, and more often than not we're seeing them in non-internet contexts like playgrounds and parks. He does use t
510.
by NateEag 4y ago
Ah. Speaking as a parent who has made many, many mistakes, that makes all too much sense. I will say that longer-term I absolutely do plan to give my kids unfettered internet access. The day will come they need to learn to cope with it, so

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