And I thought the life in MY house was complicated.  

 

Nick 

 

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology

Clark University

 <http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/> 
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

 

From: Friam [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Frank Wimberly
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2018 9:57 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] What's so bad about Scientism?

 

Very funny image.

----
Frank Wimberly

www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly 
<http://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly> 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2

Phone (505) 670-9918

 

On Sat, Jul 7, 2018, 7:56 PM Marcus Daniels <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> > wrote:

In the thunderstorm scenario, he’d likely take his 100 lbs to the high ground 
in his own bedroom.    He wouldn’t want to have his sister, who insists on 
sleeping on me, thunderstorm or not, raining down on him in some hysterical 
frenzy.

 

From: Nick Thompson <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> >
Date: Saturday, July 7, 2018 at 7:34 PM
To: Marcus Daniels <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Cc: Friam <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Subject: RE: [FRIAM] What's so bad about Scientism?

 

Marcus, 

 

The doubts you cite are REAL because we will see you act upon them.  We will 
see you test the floor for something furry.  Lorenzo allows you to deny him 
your bed during a thunderstorm!  You are a stern master.   

 

N

 

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology

Clark University

http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/

 

From: Marcus Daniels [mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> 
] 
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2018 9:01 PM
To: Nick Thompson <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> >; 'The Friday Morning Applied Complexity 
Coffee Group' <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] What's so bad about Scientism?

 

<So when you say, “I doubt everything” that MEANS to me that you do nothing.>

 

It just means that memory and perception are provisional or even probabilistic. 
    

 

So, when you put your feet out to the floor in the middle of the night, do you 
doubt that the floor is there?

 

I do doubt that it is safe for me to put my feet down, because I know the floor 
can be obscured by my big dog Lorenzo who likes to sleep there, but not all of 
the time.   If there was a huge thunderstorm and hours of rain before I went to 
sleep if I might not be hugely surprised to find water on the floor.   If I 
recently cleaned the room, I might move the bed a few centimeters and that 
would be enough to invalidate my motor memory and I might bang my head on the 
bedpost.  (I’ve done this.)

 

< Here’s an example.  Because of my recent bout of vertigo, I have moments of 
doubting that the world around is stable.  Under those conditions, I cannot 
walk.  REAL doubt (sensu pragmatico) is a nasty business. >

 

I sometimes have very low blood pressure if I wake-up at an unusual time.   I 
may find on the way to get a glass of water I’m in the process of passing out.  
 The first time that happened it was a surprise, but now I start getting my 
head down realizing that there are just seconds of consciousness left if I do 
not.   At no point do I think the lighting in the room is changing because I am 
experiencing tunnel vision or that I’m on a roller-coaster because I feel my 
stomach drop.   

 

If the relationship between signals and their consequences become low-quality, 
one can adapt to be more model-based.  Not because the models are true, but 
just because the alternative is worse.  If you are saying that in the situation 
that perceptions and thoughts are both doubted, then then it is not skepticism, 
it is madness. 

 

Marcus

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