[FRIAM] Warring Darwinians for Glen, Steve
Steven A Smith
sasmyth at swcp.com
Tue May 5 10:07:27 EDT 2020
Frank-
Given your anecdote, I strongly recommend watching the Spike Jonze's
movie HER which has all the earmarks of a dystopian near-future but not
to be a spoiler, it actually resolves very sweetly. I believe the
voice of "Her" is Scarlett Johannson. Alan Watts makes an interesting
Cameo.
- Steve
> My grandson uses his Echo Dot extensively. A soft female voice
> answers his questions about spelling, arithmetic, geography, etc. The
> other day he asked, understandably, "Alexa, will you marry me?" She
> said, "I've decided to wait until Mars is colonized before making that
> commitment." Good thinking.
>
> ---
> Frank C. Wimberly
> 140 Calle Ojo Feliz,
> Santa Fe, NM 87505
>
> 505 670-9918
> Santa Fe, NM
>
> On Tue, May 5, 2020, 5:39 AM Prof David West <profwest at fastmail.fm
> <mailto:profwest at fastmail.fm>> wrote:
>
> Came across this yesterday afternoon:
>
> /"Psychology is not a science because it is too difficult. The
> scientific mind is usually orderly, with a natural love for
> order. It resents and tends to ignore fields in which order is not
> readily apparent. It gravitates to fields in which order is easily
> found such as the physical sciences, and leaves more complex
> fields to those who play by ear, as it were. Thus we have a
> rigourous science of thermodynamics but are not like to have a
> science of psychodynamics for many years to come."/
>
> From a Robert A. Heinlein book, /Sixth Column/, I read when I was
> an impressionable child. Not that he is correct, but I see where
> my antipathy to some science comes from.
>
> davew
>
>
> On Tue, May 5, 2020, at 5:27 AM, Prof David West wrote:
>> Allow Nick to say "a computer behaves as if it is thinking,
>> therefore it is thinking."
>>
>> How does a computer behave? Or, what is a computer's behavior? I
>> am looking at my computer - actually four of them (iPhone,
>> tablet, laptop, and desktop) and the only behavior I see any of
>> them exhibiting is precisely identical to the behavior of the
>> glass paperweight that also occupies space on my desk.
>>
>> What is this thinking behavior y'all are ascribing to the
>> computer? Am I the only one that cannot see it?
>>
>> davew
>>
>>
>> On Mon, May 4, 2020, at 9:34 PM, thompnickson2 at gmail.com
>> <mailto:thompnickson2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Yup. That’s what he would say. What */persuades/* you that a
>>> super competent computer can’t think? Can a dog think? How
>>> would a Martian convince you that it (he, she) can think?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Nick
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Nicholas Thompson
>>>
>>> Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology
>>>
>>> Clark University
>>>
>>> ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com <mailto:ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com>
>>>
>>> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com
>>> <mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com>> *On Behalf Of *Frank Wimberly
>>> *Sent:* Monday, May 4, 2020 9:08 PM
>>> *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
>>> <friam at redfish.com <mailto:friam at redfish.com>>
>>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Warring Darwinians for Glen, Steve
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Maybe I missed something that makes this redundant but if a
>>> highschool student asked me what the /hard problem/ is I would
>>> say: There appears to be no limit to how competent computers
>>> can be. They seem to be able to do just about anything that
>>> people think requires thought. But I am persuaded that they
>>> can't think. What makes the difference between thinking people
>>> and hypercompetent computers?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Nick would say if it behaves as if it thinks then it thinks. I
>>> think.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Frank
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 7:50 PM Steven A Smith <sasmyth at swcp.com
>>> <mailto:sasmyth at swcp.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> I thought this was a support group for recovering (or just
>>> self-indulgent) metaphorists... you mean it's not? Why do
>>> I feel like
>>> I'm in a scene from "Fight Club"? I guess that would make
>>> me more of
>>> an allegorist?
>>>
>>> > Is it? You people can't help yourselves. It's compulsive.
>>> You might want to get some help for that.
>>> >
>>> > On 5/4/20 10:47 AM, Frank Wimberly wrote:
>>> >> Choosing one's rifle is so concrete. It makes me want to
>>> run out and blow away a few cacti. Oh, it's a metaphor!
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>>
>>> Frank Wimberly
>>> 140 Calle Ojo Feliz
>>> Santa Fe, NM 87505
>>> 505 670-9918
>>>
>>>
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