In a message dated 98-10-02 17:04:10 EDT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>If this is an accurate representation of at least part of what Verzola is
>saying then it is incorrect. Even in such a system there is no reason at
all
>to believe that the modules interacting with each other via the data cannot
>destabilize the system. In fact if the system has been built using
historical
>data in building up regression fits and such, the system is all but
guaranteed
>to either destabilize or engender off the wall solutions in a non-BAU
>situation, i.e. in a new or rare type of condition.
Obviously, it's the only shot we have. In order to be viable, the system
would be empowered to protect itself. If a module endangered the system
(e.g., over exploiting natural resources or over reproducing), then the
system would have to "terminate" the offending module.
It sure ain't pretty, but we should have listened to Malthus 200 years ago.
[ http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/pr98924.html ]
If engineers can do it, then no one can. But I don't think we will even get
a chance to try. I think the human population will remain locked in "hope"
and then ultimately dieback to a couple of billion people during the next
hundred years.
How could it be otherwise?
Jay
-------------------------
The Hope That Kills
"Despite the madness of war, we lived for a world that would be different.
For a better world to come when all this is over. And perhaps even our being
here is a step towards that world. Do you really think that, without the
hope that such a world is possible, that the rights of man will be restored
again, we could stand the concentration camp even for one day? It is that
very hope that makes people go without a murmur to the gas
chambers, keeps them from risking a revolt, paralyses them into numb
inactivity. It is hope that breaks down family ties, makes mothers renounce
their children, or wives sell their bodies for bread, or husbands kill. It
is hope that compels man to hold on to one more day of life, because that
day may be the day of liberation. Ah, and not even the hope for a different,
better world, but simply for life, a life of peace and rest. Never
before in the history of mankind has hope been stronger than man, but never
also has it done so much harm as it has in this war, in this concentration
camp. We were never taught how to give up hope, and this is why today we
perish in gas chambers."
--Borowski, pp. 121-122
http://spectacle.org/695/hope.html
