When I said I don't think AI is that far off, it does not imply that we would be able to perfectly reproduce a specific human individual, which I doubt will ever be possible, or even desirable. What I am saying though is that I don't think it will be too long before machines can do everything humans can do, in general, and that if that is true, it won't be long before they can do more than we can, and better. There are a few things I would omit, mostly sex, but probably some other physical and emotional tasks as well. Thinking, however, seems likely to become primarily their domain, and I struggle to see how we can compete (or if).
You've heard me complain a lot about religion, and get very excited about science. Why do I feel like those two things are me entirely? What else do humans typically have? Hobbies and favorite entertainment types/instances? I have those too I suppose, though I am not real picky with them I don't believe.
"You would just, spread your arms as wide as they go and say 'this much Penny.' "
6·15·09
The best argument against torture, one which I haven't provided, which no one has really mentioned in the debate, is this: when we allowed the CIA to perform "tough guy" questioning on Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, he lied to us, and we invaded Iraq, based on his lies. Before all this, they didn't have a real good reason to hate us, it was mostly religious and ideological differences, and they were being very irrational about how to deal with it. But now? Can any of us still say they have no good reason to hate us? And if you don't think what we did (or do?) is torture, where do you draw that line? I don't know where I draw the line, but you can be damn sure it isn't anywhere near here.
Also not what I was looking for.
And what the FUCK? Where the fuck is the media? Why haven't I heard of these things? Have you?
Obama is being criticized currently for government spending as relates to the economic situation. Why has no one criticized the massive cost of the Iraq war, which we were led into with false pretenses, with forged documents?
If you were wrongly detained, imprisoned, tortured, and then released, without ever being charged or tried for anything, what attitude would you have towards the country responsible?
No man's (but maybe a woman's? no...) stature is so great that I am willing to compromise my own morals. Torture is Wrong. And god itself could descend from heaven, grab me by the balls and promise me an eternity of damnation and torture, and the only acceptable reply (assuming I wasn't completely totally immobilized/destroyed by the ball-grab) would remain: "FUCK YOU". Because my morals cannot be altered by god. My sense of right and wrong are for me and me alone to judge; no ancient text, no authority figure, no sum of money, no religious figure can help me sleep at night once I cross the line of what I consider wrong.
And how the fuck can people say Bush kept our country safe, when the worst attack in our history occurred during his watch?
I really hope that the rapture happens, and all the asshole christians and/or jews get whisked away. Life here on the terrestrial plane would be greatly improved if the holy land were just desert, and there were no chosen people, and there were no prophets or saviors (whether moses, jesus, muhammad, nostradamus, l. ron hubbard, or anyone else).
Ha ha ha ha ha:
George Carlin: Another thing I'm getting tired of is when after six policemen stick a floorlamp up some black guy's ass, the police department announces they're going to have "sensitivity training". If you need special training to be told not to jam a large, cumbersome object up someone else's asshole, maybe you're too fucked up to be on the police force in the first place.
6·16·09
"He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels. He lives vicariously, through himself. He is, the most interesting man in the world."
Superstition is the dodo bird of conceptual evolution.
Intelligence is the human peacock feather.
Giardano bruno was burned at the stake to save him from eternal hellfire, when have atheists done such a thing? (killed to save?) Killing dissenters always has been and always will be a method used by people who have no better method to deal with their problems. Science doesn't do that, science prefers dissent, as it is the only path forward.
Science is the purest form of free market competition: if an idea works, NOTHING matters, other than how much it works, in practice. In many cases that means directly in the real world, while in other cases it applies to theory so abstract that the only measures of 'fitting' are entirely within other abstractions. Mathematics of course is the purest form of the latter type.
If I ever have a kid, I should name him or her "Rad", like the kid in Weeds.
I was thinking, last night, while in the shower, that people, despite how much the claim to disdain drama, they don't. People love drama. It's why there are so many emo kids. It's why Shakespeare still matters. It's why shows like Law & Order and it's many derivatives are so popular. It's why people make so many strange decisions throughout their lives. It's why we'd rather be in limbo than in happy. It's why if you have a close friend who hates drama will still listen to you whine about it all day long and still give you good honest advice, instead of telling you to shut the hell up. I'm talking about friends giving me advice, by the way, so don't take offense. And thanks for the help.
"From one fucking mistake to another."
"There's no wall in the sky."
6·18·09
Maybe sometimes I must think that if I could only understand myself a little better, a little more completely, I could fully disarm my flaws; correct my mistakes, compensate for my shortcomings; but I never change. I am the same person I have always been, or very nearly so. I'll make the same mistakes this year as I've been making since 5th grade. No matter what I learn about my own behavior and the reasoning (or lack thereof) behind it, I always succumb to the same situations. Always the same mistakes, hesitating over the same decisions, delaying the same actions, and producing the same results. It doesn't matter how clear it was, in retrospect, the correct path last time—I always lose the same game.
Do we feel worse when we realize there is no one to forgive us? Or better when we realize there is nothing to forgive?
It's kind of funny that describing oneself as being in "a mood" is typically supremely negative while describing oneself as being in "the mood" is typically supremely positive.
While I find President Obama's fly-swatting skills impressive (not that fly swatting skills can even get that impressive), I think that the media attention in garnered says something negative about our society: swatting a fly in an interview provoked more news than the interview itself.
6·19·09
My life is full of petty regrets.
It is faintly tragic that virtually all humans want the same exact things, but many of us are relatively uncomfortable, timid, or afraid of vocalizing it. The Culture of Silence is cataclysmic. I don't like that our culture emphasizes breast size as directly related to sex appeal. Though my motives might be distasteful, as it is more due to my preference for girls with smaller chests rather than the more conventional objection that beauty and sex appeal should not be pigeonholed, or that women should not be objectified. While I agree to a degree with such sentiments, I think it is probably important not to shy away from my own human nature, and more importantly, to be open and honest about the fact that all of us are human. Though I have never really understood humans, and maybe I have misjudged the species in assuming it could be beneficial to be more open about such matters. (One alternative avenue would be that humans value privacy over an openness regarding their nature, though I'm sure we come in all varieties of flavors.)
Well I know where I am going for vacation! I can't figure out why anyone would ever go here though...
We are not sweet mistakes.
An unwelcome obsession.
"And your whispering eye."
6·20·09
Peter Singer interviewed by Richard Dawkins.
Is there any way to amend this?
An Opinion Research Business (ORB) survey conducted August 12-19, 2007 estimated 1,220,580 violent deaths due to the Iraq War (range of 733,158 to 1,446,063.) Out of a national sample of 1,499 Iraqi adults, 22% had one or more members of their household killed due to the Iraq War (poll accuracy +/-2.4%.)[283] ORB reported that 48% died from a gunshot wound, 20% from car bombs, 9% from aerial bombardment, 6% as a result of an accident and 6% from another blast/ordnance. It is the highest estimate given so far of civilian deaths in Iraq and is consistent with the Lancet study.[59][284] On January 28, 2008, ORB published an update based on additional work carried out in rural areas of Iraq. Some 600 additional interviews were undertaken and as a result of this the death estimate was revised to 1,033,000 with a given range of 946,000 to 1,120,000.[32]
"stirrings of revolution are percolating in the coffee shops."
What did I say...? (No, seriously I have no idea what words were just created by my mouth.)
"I guess sometimes when fate knocks on your door, it has a search warrant."
"Oh yeah! This is something called, 'boat cleaner'... I think it's used to clean boats with." --"Give me the boat cleaner, in a needle."
I was thinking today about how LIGO can measure something like half a proton's width (supposedly), and how to explain that to people. And I think I can explain it like this: first, build a device that can measure a meter wave, like reasonably large ocean waves (for the east coast at least). Then make it measure waves one millionth that size. Then make it measure one millionth that size.
Oh, wait, I was way off... I thought it was about 10^-15, but it is 10^-18, and LIGO is supposed to be sensitive to one part in 10^21! So I need to add in another million and then another thousand... I should learn more about it so I can present it accurately.
I think I am in love with St. Vincent. And the Portland Cello Project. And Brazilian Girls. And so much more.
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