Viewing profile — pengstrom

I'd say these attempts at arguments (for either position) is how we make progress understanding consciousness.

I think politicians are right to be afraid. Surveillance of this magnitude isn't a ballot-box-level grievance. It's a Guy Fawkes/V-level injustice. They're stepping into territory …

The part about history perspectives sounds interesting. I haven't noticed this. Please post any concrete/specific examples you've encountered!

When you run out of things to occupy yourself with you end up thinking about thinking

There's this video by an unfortunately rude Youtuber that's actually quite interesting. I find his tribalism off-putting (and ironic), but he's clearly thought about it a lot. http…

I've never gotten the impression an animal was aware it could change me. Sure it'd make its wants clear until it got what it wanted or got bored, but that's a very primitive form o…

Strange. My knowledge of the fundamentals and processes in humans still makes me jelous of the apparent ease others fare in social situations. Clearly there's more to it than it se…

Does it assume life, or are the qualities that makes an organism act in spite of us, and agency, one and the same?

I'm more optimistic but cynical. Everybody has the capacity, but can't be bothered for your sake specifically. A highly intelligent person can casually entertain several theoretica…

My stab: 2: implicit world. Reacts to but not modeled. 3: explicit world and your separation from it. 4: Model that includes other intelligences of level 3 that you have to take in…

I think the fact that the initial _size_ of the recursion can be arbitrarily large is where infinity comes in. No matter your resources, there might be (must be?) a recision proble…

Jesus. I couldn't finish that documentary. I only knew him by his more popular art, but that film put me off anything he'd done. His family was a mess, and he himself is without a …

Economics is a social science, the study of how people interact with things of value. It cannot be hard, since it has a feedback loop.

You're looking at it wrong. We can't change the laws of physics, but we can change society. That's the practical difference.

I'd say 'in spite'-ness is pretty spot on for life in general

That's true, I might have been a little aggressive on the claiming

I always cringe when I hear evolution brought up as some invented method or mere developmental happenstance. It's a cold, unavoidable consequence of variation, selection and inheri…

"Only a sith deals in absolutes" Science clearly works because humans have a genuine curiosity to find truth. While every person is flawed and prone to error, the curiosity points …

That's sad. I'd assume your love for you sister would make you find common ground in doubt and humility, virtues of both science and religion. Every single human tells themselves l…

Technically only true for formal systems where you can axiomatically define A = not A, which is principally arbitrary.

Deutsch also heavily argues for explanations as first-class existence on the level of matter. For him, predictions are simply a practical concern. I still fondly remember his dialo…

I mean, the non-schizo proponents for flat earth does approach it with scepticism. It's just that the their required level of proof are unreasonable. Any experiment, no matter how …

It's also confusing to talk about learning styles without it's context. They always come from the detached top. Here in Sweden it's primarily used (along with most trends teachers …