Dear Bruce,
You wrote Uh, does there have to be a reason? I'm interested just because I am -- a portion of trying to understand as much about the Universe we inhabit as is possible. Are you obligated to? Probably not since your oral exam on your dissertation! However, when your PhD examiners asked you why the problem you chose was "interesting", I am sure you didn't reply, "Well, it just caught my fancy" So, was that a fair question at the time, or just a power trip to which you had to submit to get your degree? But my point is not really about whether you have to or don't have to. My point would be that in point of fact, you did [have a reason]. Your explanation for your choices is way too powerful to be useful, or even plausible. There was reasoning behind your choice of research topic, and spelling out that reasoning will be, I assert, illuminating to you and to the rest of us. You also wrote I found that discussion massively uninteresting and irrelevant to the actual practice of science. There are many variants of philistinism, and of engagement. This position would seem to contradict the idea that interests are all the same and not subject to explanation. Doug challenged me in the same way, and I tried to meet that challenge as follows. AS to Doug's question, I guess I owe him an explanation of why I found the discussion of induction so interesting. You will recall it began with question of faith. I was interested in the paradox that those who are hard on faith, often offer induction as an alternative. But induction requires faith. And it also require us to join in a community of faith that shares our belief in induction. Such communities resemble formal religions in some uncomfortable ways. However, is that pragmatic faith in induction, which helped us build bridges and fly at faster than the speed of sound, and go to the moon, and provide cheap food for millions of people and, brought us so many important American institutions, such as the marketplace of ideas and the notion of settled legal opinion. All of this now under attack, by, apparently, people to whom its benefits are not self-evident. I think we either have to be prepared to say why our faith is better than theirs, or be prepared to be beaten all the way back into the Dark Ages. Hence my interest in the problem of induction. I would be interested in your response. Nick -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bruce Sherwood Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 5:06 PM To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Subject: Re: [FRIAM] So, *Are* We Alone? Uh, does there have to be a reason? I'm interested just because I am -- a portion of trying to understand as much about the Universe we inhabit as is possible. To put it another way: Why are you interested in the details of the definition or use of induction? I found that discussion massively uninteresting and irrelevant to the actual practice of science. There are many variants of philistinism, and of engagement. Bruce On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 2:55 PM, Nicholas Thompson < <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]> wrote: > I go back to the original question I asked Owen. Why are these > fantasies INTERESTING?. Now, quickly, I have to admit, they don't > capture my imagination that well. But I also have to admit that I > firmly believe that NOBODY is interested in anything for nothing. IE, > wherever there is an interest in something, there is a cognitive > quandary, a seam in our thinking that needs to be respected. So I > assume that there IS a reason these fantasies are interesting [to others] and that that REASON is interesting. > The reason is always more pragmantic and immediate than our fighting > off being absorbed into a black hole. Speaking of which: Weren't the > Kardashians some race on some planet on StarTrek. What color where > THEIR noses? And how did the writers of StarTrek know they were > coming > > > > Nick ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at <http://www.friam.org> http://www.friam.org
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
