[FRIAM] What is an object?

[Nick Thompson]

Eric, 

The tomato plants are seven feet tall.  The end justifies the means.  

Nick 

Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
Clark University
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/


-----Original Message-----
From: Friam [mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com] On Behalf Of Eric Smith
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2018 12:17 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] What is an object?

Nick, how could you!

(about to get myself in trouble again for thinking I remember something that is probably wrong)

> Here’s another story.  Years ago my 1970’s era Troy Bilt tiller began to fail and I took it to a Guy.  The Guy said, yes I can rebuild your engine, pretty much like new.  It will cost you around $400.  OR, he said, I can bolt a new Briggs and Stratton engine on there for 150 dollars.  So, of course, I went for the new engine.  When I got my tiller back, it worked beautifully, but it looked weird.  The engine was a funny shape, the color was all wrong, but it had all the connectors it needed, it responded to all the levers, and it did the job.  Evidently, tiller functioning supervenes upon engine construction.  

I thought Troy Built tillers all came with Tecumseh engines, those big, slow, torquey things that I never saw on anything else.  Briggs and Stratton were for lawnmowers.  That almost seems as bad as (I am told) the generational shift when International Harvester began putting _truck engines_ in their tractors, a kind of betrayal that gets my farmer colleagues all red and hyperventilated.  They say that was the end of the brand.   

I know that does not contribute to this thread.

Eric




============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com
FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove