Re: Selecting your future branch

2014-07-17 Thread Bruno Marchal


On 16 Jul 2014, at 20:43, John Clark wrote:

On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 1:07 PM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be  
wrote:


 John Clark is NOT a comp believer.

 This contradicts the fact that you are OK with step 0, and step 1,  
and step 2.


I'm not surprised. I've long ago forgotten what those steps were


This might explains your difficulty.



but I do know that If one starts with any contradictory concept,  
such as comp for example,



Computationalism is contradictory? What is the contradiction?

Bruno



http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/



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RE: The subtle distinction between belief faith

2014-07-17 Thread 'Chris de Morsella' via Everything List
 

 

From: everything-list@googlegroups.com
[mailto:everything-list@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bruno Marchal
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 10:37 AM
To: everything-list@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: The subtle distinction between belief  faith

 

 

On 16 Jul 2014, at 04:23, 'Chris de Morsella' via Everything List wrote:





Some quoted passages from Alan Watts (author of The Wisdom of Insecurity -
1951) regarding the distinction between belief and faith that seemed
pertinent to me to several of the discussion threads going on here.

Chris

 

Quoting him:




We must here make a clear distinction between belief and faith, because, in
general practice, belief has come to mean a state of mind which is almost
the opposite of faith. Belief, as I use the word here, is the insistence
that the truth is what one would lief or wish it to be. The believer will
open his mind to the truth on the condition that it fits in with his
preconceived ideas and wishes. Faith, on the other hand, is an unreserved
opening of the mind to the truth, whatever it may turn out to be. Faith has
no preconceptions; it is a plunge into the unknown. Belief clings, but faith
lets go. In this sense of the word, faith is the essential virtue of
science, and likewise of any religion that is not self-deception.






[...]






The present phase of human thought and history ... almost compels us to face
reality with open minds, and you can only know God through an open mind just
as you can only see the sky through a clear window. You will not see the sky
if you have covered the glass with blue paint.






But religious people who resist the scraping of the paint from the glass,
who regard the scientific attitude with fear and mistrust, and confuse faith
with clinging to certain ideas, are curiously ignorant of laws of the
spiritual life which they might find in their own traditional records. A
careful study of comparative religion and spiritual philosophy reveals that
abandonment of belief, of any clinging to a future life for one's own, and
of any attempt to escape from finitude and mortality, is a regular and
normal stage in the way of the spirit. Indeed, this is actually such a
first principle of the spiritual life that it should have been obvious
from the beginning, and it seems, after all, surprising that learned
theologians should adopt anything but a cooperative attitude towards the
critical philosophy of science.

 

Nice quote. Note that Conscience  Mécanisme gives Alan Watts all its due.
That guy saves my life and perhaps my afterlife :)

 

Bruno

 

Yeah... he helped a lot of minds escape prisons within.

Chris

 

 





 

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http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/

 

 

 

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Re: Gödel of the Gaps

2014-07-17 Thread Bruno Marchal


On 17 Jul 2014, at 01:20, Craig Weinberg wrote:




On Wednesday, July 16, 2014 2:22:46 PM UTC-4, Bruno Marchal wrote:

On 16 Jul 2014, at 15:05, Craig Weinberg wrote:

So much of our attention in logic and math is focused on using  
processes to turn specific inputs into even more specific binary  
outputs. Very little attention is paid to what inputs and outputs  
are or to the understanding of what truth is in theoretical terms.



Come on!

?




The possibility of inputs is assumed from the start, since no  
program can exist without being 'input' into some kind of material  
substrate which has been selected or engineered for that purpose.



In which theory?

What theory details the ontology of inputs?


Arithmetic. The subset of true sigma_1 sentences emulate the UD, that  
is the activity of all programs on all inputs.












You can't program a device to be programmable if it isn't already.  
Overlooking this is part of the gap between mathematics and reality  
which is overlooked by all forms of simulation theory and  
emergentism.


You are quick. Correct from the 1p machine's view on their own 1p.  
You do confuse []p and []p  p.


So you are saying that programmability is universal outside of 1p  
views?


At least in the same sense that 23 is prime outside 1p views.





Like infinite computational resources in a dimensionless pool?


You can see it that way.








Without some initial connection between sensitive agents which are  
concretely real and non-theoretical, there can be no storage or  
processing of information. Before we can input any definitions of  
logical functions, we have to find something which behaves  
logically and responds reliably to our manipulations of it.


The implications of binary logic, of making distinctions between  
true/go and false/stop are more far reaching than we might assume.  
I suggest that if a machine's operations can be boiled down to true  
and false bits, then it can have no capacity to exercise  
intentionality. It has no freedom of action because freedom is a  
creative act, and creativity in turn entails questioning what is  
true and what is not. The creative impulse can drive us to attack  
the truth until it cracks and reveals how it is also false.  
Creativity also entails redeeming what has been seen as false so  
that it reveals a new truth. These capabilities and appreciation of  
them are well beyond the functional description of what a machine  
would do. Machine logic is, by contrast, the death of choice. To  
compute is to automate and reduce sense into an abstract sense-of- 
motion. Leibniz called his early computer a Stepped Reckoner, and  
that it very apt. The word reckon derives from etymological roots  
that are shared with 'reg', as in regal, ruler, and moving straight  
ahead. It is a straightener or comb of physically embodied rules. A  
computer functionalizes and conditions reality into rules, step by  
step, in a mindless imitation of mind. A program or a script is a  
frozen record of sense-making in retrospect. It is built of  
propositions defined in isolation rather than sensations which  
share the common history of all sensation.


The computing machine itself does not exist in the natural world,  
but rather is distilled from the world's most mechanistic  
tendencies. All that does not fit into true or false is discarded.  
Although Gödel is famous for discovering the incompleteness of  
formal systems, that discovery itself exists within a formal  
context. The ideal machine, for example, which cannot prove  
anything that is false, subscribes to the view that truth and  
falsehood are categories which are true rather than truth and  
falsehood being possible qualities within a continuum of sense  
making. There is a Platonic metaphysics at work here, which  
conjures a block universe of forms which are eternally true and  
good. In fact, a casual inspection of our own experience reveals no  
such clear-cut categories, and the goodness and truth of the  
situations we encounter are often inseparable from their opposite.  
We seek sensory experiences for the sake of appreciating them  
directly, rather than only for their truth or functional benefits.  
Truth is only one of the qualities of sense which matters.


The way that a computer processes information is fundamentally  
different than the way that conscious thought works. Where a  
consistent machine cannot give a formal proof of its own  
consistency, a person can be certain of their own certainty without  
proof. That doesn't always mean that the person's feeling turns out  
to match what they or others will understand to be true later on,  
but unlike a computer, we have available to us an experience of a  
sense of certainty (especially a 'common sense') that is an  
informal feeling rather than a formal logical proof. A computer has  
neither certainty nor uncertainty, so it makes no difference to it  
whether a proof exists or not. The 

Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread Bruno Marchal


On 17 Jul 2014, at 01:00, Alberto G. Corona wrote:


The latest theories of everithing admit absolutely everithing.


Which one? What do you mean by absolutely everything?




they
are no longer materialistic. Either they are no-theories or they allow
any interpretation anyone may like about the know and unknow reality.


I really don't know what theories you refer too.





In certain sense materialism has given up without being conscious of
it. That is because its foundation is metaphysical and metaphysics has
experimented a regression to the stone age, or at least to the level
previous to the greek phylosophy.


That has begun since theology has been banished from academy, and  
replaced by a social sort of authorianism.


It is normal for those wanting power to take over on the fundamental  
theories. It is bad and sad, but natural and usual. That's why we must  
be vigilant, and fight for a coming back to reason and observation in  
*all* fields, not just on God and health.


Bruno







2014-07-09 22:12 GMT+02:00, John Mikes jami...@gmail.com:

I apologize for taking a new title for this over-discussed topic.
Somebody (sounds like Bruno, the fonts look like Brent) wrote:

...let us do theology seriously instead of referring to fairy tales.
You confirm what I said to John Clark. *Atheist* defend the God of  
the

bible. Read Plotinus, forget the bible, unless you find some passage
you like and which inspire you, but that is private, don't make that
public. 

I  refer to the generality about 'atheists' in the passage. I
emphasize that I am no atheist in such a sense who IMO requires 'a  
god

to deny' (my vocabulary includes the term as 'denying' instead of
'defending').

I simply exclude those facets which are beyond our reach at present.
In speaking about Everything I think of an infinite complexity of
components we cannot even understand (today) - nor the relations
between them ALL. We include SOME into our 'model of the world' as of
yesterday without knowing if we are right.

In such sense even a (sane-minded) adilt can be an 'atheist'.

John M

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RE: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread 'Chris de Morsella' via Everything List
 

 

From: everything-list@googlegroups.com 
[mailto:everything-list@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John Clark
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 11:20 AM
To: everything-list@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Atheist

 

Salman Rushdie wrote:

 

 religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere 
 innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of 
 religion in the fashionable language of respect. What is there to respect 
 in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily 
 around the world in religion's dreaded name? 

 

It is the liberal consensus that we should always respect all religious beliefs 
regardless of how stupid or cruel it is; for example tune into just about any 
international news broadcast and you will probably see at least one story about 
religious violence somewhere in the world,  but the media won't call it that, 
the media will call it sectarian violence. As for me I think there is a point 
beyond which a euphemism becomes a lie.

  John K Clark

 

I would describe it as a societal paradigm… this unspoken rule that all should 
respect religion. It dominates both the political right as well as the left. 

Religion is a useful tool to power structures (when it is not the power 
structure itself); religion serves the interests of central authority. Emperor 
Constantine and the Roman imperial elites of the time have as much (or more 
perhaps some argue)  than any mythical prophet, to do with the evolution of a 
loose set of scattered stories into an organized imperial state religion united 
under the crucifix (and conveniently the emperor as well).

You would probably describe me as being liberal, but I certainly do not ascribe 
to any dictum that I respect the institution of or practice of religion. Quite 
frankly I do not. Especially organized religion, which is a lot like organized 
crime IMO, sharing with it many of the same characteristics and practices. A 
few examples of some shared characteristics: murdering (or shunning) those who 
attempt to leave; murdering (or marginalizing) the competition (very mob like 
behavior); demanding protection money from those under its control – the tithes 
to the church are they really that different from protection money to the local 
gang boss. I could go on, the ways in which religion and organized crime 
operate is quite numerous.

Chris

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Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread spudboy100 via Everything List

Both the right and left? Naw! The Left respects useful tools practicing 
religion for the cause. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, are the most prominent 
and successful, for the 'cause.' The cause is ideological, a faith movement, 
sans, religion. as such. Is religion bloodthirsty? For sure. Worldwide, its 
generally not Christians or Hindus starting the wars. It may simply be a 
'phase' like the Jesus people from 325 AD thru 1914? Perhaps, the Jihad will 
mellow out soon? The primo motivation for the slaughters done by Christians, 
and now done by Islamists, is the afterlife thing. Until we come up with that, 
somehow, the fun will continue. 

I would describe it as a societal paradigm… this unspoken rule that all should 
respect religion. It dominates both the political right as well as the left. 

 
 
 
-Original Message-
From: 'Chris de Morsella' via Everything List everything-list@googlegroups.com
To: everything-list everything-list@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 4:33 am
Subject: RE: Atheist



 
 
From: everything-list@googlegroups.com 
[mailto:everything-list@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John Clark
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 11:20 AM
To: everything-list@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Atheist
 

Salman Rushdie wrote:


 
 religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere 
 innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of 
 religion in the fashionable language of respect. What is there to respect 
 in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily 
 around the world in religion's dreaded name? 

 

It is the liberal consensus that we should always respect all religious beliefs 
regardless of how stupid or cruel it is; for example tune into just about any 
international news broadcast and you will probably see at least one story about 
religious violence somewhere in the world,  but the media won't call it that, 
the media will call it sectarian violence. As for me I think there is a point 
beyond which a euphemism becomes a lie.

  John K Clark

 
I would describe it as a societal paradigm… this unspoken rule that all should 
respect religion. It dominates both the political right as well as the left. 
Religion is a useful tool to power structures (when it is not the power 
structure itself); religion serves the interests of central authority. Emperor 
Constantine and the Roman imperial elites of the time have as much (or more 
perhaps some argue)  than any mythical prophet, to do with the evolution of a 
loose set of scattered stories into an organized imperial state religion united 
under the crucifix (and conveniently the emperor as well).
You would probably describe me as being liberal, but I certainly do not ascribe 
to any dictum that I respect the institution of or practice of religion. Quite 
frankly I do not. Especially organized religion, which is a lot like organized 
crime IMO, sharing with it many of the same characteristics and practices. A 
few examples of some shared characteristics: murdering (or shunning) those who 
attempt to leave; murdering (or marginalizing) the competition (very mob like 
behavior); demanding protection money from those under its control – the tithes 
to the church are they really that different from protection money to the local 
gang boss. I could go on, the ways in which religion and organized crime 
operate is quite numerous.
Chris



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Re: How will air travel work in a green solar economy?

2014-07-17 Thread spudboy100 via Everything List

Here's a curious article on AGW (exaggerated or not) that may explain things 
better. The synergy of biology interacting with geology is fascinating to me. 
It makes me feel (not know) that Earth must vanishingly rare as a biotic 
planet. We may detect planets with nitrogen-oxygen atmospheres with better 
optical telescopes, but just the complexity here, and not around us, in the 
solar system...is kind of depressing too.
 
 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140716183128.htm
 
-Original Message-
From: Alberto G. Corona agocor...@gmail.com
To: everything-list everything-list@googlegroups.com
Sent: Mon, Jul 14, 2014 7:43 pm
Subject: Re: How will air travel work in a green solar economy?


But continue your technocratic discussion. How many kilowats are
necessary for whatever stupid nothingness.

You look like the youngs of the nazi germany dreaming in a future of
peace,, running happy trough the green country when the first jew
stablishments started to be burned in the cities.  You believe that
the mass promotion of abortion, the homosexualism, the feminazism, the
laws for the breakup of the family, the mass indoctrination in the
schools, TV, newspapers, Hollywood will welcome a cheap source of
energy that would render the political excuses that maintain the elite
in power unnecessary and unfounded?.

You are s naive. And I´m  being compasionate with that qualification

2014-07-15 1:18 GMT+02:00, Alberto G. Corona agocor...@gmail.com:
 It is more, once wind turbines and solar panes started to be installed
 in mass quantitites, that was heavily opposed by the hard ecologists
 with excuses so excentric as they endanger the aestetic, they distract
 the passing birds and so on. Once they saw that the production of
 electricity and the subsidies to eco-energies reduced the global
 efficiency of energy production and created more problems than the
 ones they solved, with the need of backup power plants, they gradually
 sylenced the critics.

 You are simply too naive to understand the truth.

 2014-07-15 1:05 GMT+02:00, Alberto G. Corona agocor...@gmail.com:
 You are too naive.

 Don´t subestimate human stupidity. Stupidity is infinite, it goes
 beyond what can produce this list.

 Once a cheap and abundant source of clean power is discovered, chances
 are that will be not well received by the eco-elite.

 It is more, it will be considered as a disaster since it permit
 prosperity and a setback in the final objective of depopulating the
 planet. The shale gas and other forms of cheap energy, are opposed for
 that reason. And cheap and clean electric energy will be oppossed as
 well as soon as it is avalable for whatever excuses.

 It is not a question of tecnology. It is not even a question of
 contamination. It is not a question of global warming folks. You are
 not progressive enough. It is a question of hating human beings.

 I´t´s not me, that is in world of some prominent ecologists. some of
 them collaborators of Obama. Let me check to find the references.

 2014-07-14 23:34 GMT+02:00, meekerdb meeke...@verizon.net:
 On 7/14/2014 1:24 PM, spudboy100 via Everything List wrote:
 An all electric plane may never arrive, but through materials science,
 using materials like graphenes, like superconducting materials, that
 day
 may arrive soon. On the other hand, it might be easier to make magnetic
 confinement fusion reactions for aircraft,

 That's a pipe dream. It's doubtful that fusion reactors will ever be
 practical.  We can't
 even get one to work in the laboratory after 40yrs of trying.

 commercially, yet never ever power a city via fusion. in the same sense
 that 'petrol' is used rarely, for powering the house. Most cars are
 still
 internal combustion, rather than electric. It all comes down to
 affordability, aka money.

 Cars can be transitioned to electric power pretty easily.  I just bought
 a
 Chevy Volt and
 over the first thousand miles we've burned less than 7gal of gas.

 Brent

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Re: Selecting your future branch

2014-07-17 Thread Richard Ruquist
Computationalism is necessarily consistent, but may not be complete except
in nearly infinite domains.
Richard


On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 2:56 AM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be wrote:


 On 16 Jul 2014, at 20:43, John Clark wrote:

 On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 1:07 PM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be wrote:

  John Clark is NOT a comp believer.


  This contradicts the fact that you are OK with step 0, and step 1, and
 step 2.


 I'm not surprised. I've long ago forgotten what those steps were


 This might explains your difficulty.



 but I do know that If one starts with any contradictory concept, such as
 comp for example,



 Computationalism is contradictory? What is the contradiction?

 Bruno



 http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/



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Re: What's the answer? What's the question?

2014-07-17 Thread David Nyman
On 14 July 2014 02:36, meekerdb meeke...@verizon.net wrote:

But from the above I'm led to wonder whether you've actually read the MGA,
 so I repeat them here for convenient reference:


Hi Brent - did you see my response to this?

David

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Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread Bruno Marchal


On 16 Jul 2014, at 19:31, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-16 19:22 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

On 15 Jul 2014, at 22:14, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-15 22:10 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

On 14 Jul 2014, at 17:25, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-14 17:13 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

On 14 Jul 2014, at 12:53, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-14 12:09 GMT+02:00 Samiya Illias samiyaill...@gmail.com:
Why do you need to see God to believe in God?

Why should you believe if you can know ? If you can't, why should  
you believe instead of not believing or go eating an hamburger ?



Seeing might make you know *that* you see, but it does not entail  
that you know *what* you see, as you might be dreaming or  
hallucinating.


That wasn't what I was implying... I see not point to believe or  
not believe... Why *shoud* I believe anyway ?



Just to clear things up, I use the common part of all analytical  
definition of belief theory and knowledge theory, and in  
particular (knowing p) - (believing p).


If you know that there is milk in the fridge, you believe that  
there is milk in the fridge.


The key difference is that the reciprocal is false. If you believe  
there is milk in the fridge , you can still not know it.


Well I can accept such language in mathematics where you make clear  
what is meant, not in every day use when someone says he  
*believes* in god,


I use believe in the same mundane sense that I believe that there  
is orange juice in the fridge,


I believe in *god* is not like I believe there is orange juice in  
the fridge.


What is the difference?






and later like in I believe in the axiom of elementary arithmetic  
and in its first order logical consequence, or in I don't believe  
the machine k will stop on the input j.





that's not what he meant... That's what I don't like in your  
approach to insist using everyday word in everyday language *but*  
with your own mathematical meaning. It's misleading you should see  
it.


I use belief in the doxastic sense of the analytical philosophers.  
Iuse belief in the sense of Theaetetus, Gerson, etc.


You use those words in a misleading way... You do what you want of  
course... but you're clearly totally misunderstood when you talk to  
a believer.


I am probably misunderstood by the blind-faith type of believers,  
like the strong atheists I met from time to time (like John Clark to  
give the nearest example). But as John Clark illustrates very well,  
they need a high dose of irrationalism, and as my works has  
illustrated, changing the vocabulary does not help.


In interdisciplinary work, my strategy consists in using the terms on  
which each each discipline has the greatest consensus over. I am aware  
that this cannot satisfy everybody, but then in science we don't waste  
time in vocabulary discussion. If something is unclear about the use  
of some term, we just ask to remind the current used definition.


Bruno






Quentin


Bruno





Quentin


Bruno







In general you believe something, not because you see it, but  
because it fits well with your background knowledge. I can't see  
the set {0, 1, 2, ...}, nor really define it, yet I hardly doubt  
that it makes sense, as it explains a lot of other things in which  
I already tend to believe (like the non existence of a bigger  
prime, or the existence of universal numbers, the real numbers,  
etc.).


Bruno






Quentin


On 14-Jul-2014, at 2:14 am, meekerdb meeke...@verizon.net wrote:


On 7/13/2014 3:47 AM, spudboy100 via Everything List wrote:

Sure: Do you believe in a theist god?
I'd like to.

So we can keep using the word theology and keep some academic  
departments that have no subject.


This would also include political science, arts, gender  
studies, french literature. Are you willing to go that far, and  
make what doesn't build bridges or bake bread, something to be  
learned as a podcast?Sauce for the goose, sauce for  
the gander. Dump them all. Right?


I can point to art, people with genders, and french literature.   
I've run a political campaign.  But I've never seen a god.


Brent

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Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread Quentin Anciaux
2014-07-17 17:04 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:


 On 16 Jul 2014, at 19:31, Quentin Anciaux wrote:




 2014-07-16 19:22 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:


 On 15 Jul 2014, at 22:14, Quentin Anciaux wrote:




 2014-07-15 22:10 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:


 On 14 Jul 2014, at 17:25, Quentin Anciaux wrote:




 2014-07-14 17:13 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:


 On 14 Jul 2014, at 12:53, Quentin Anciaux wrote:




 2014-07-14 12:09 GMT+02:00 Samiya Illias samiyaill...@gmail.com:

 Why do you need to see God to believe in God?


 Why should you believe if you can know ? If you can't, why should you
 believe instead of not believing or go eating an hamburger ?



 Seeing might make you know *that* you see, but it does not entail that
 you know *what* you see, as you might be dreaming or hallucinating.


 That wasn't what I was implying... I see not point to believe or not
 believe... Why *shoud* I believe anyway ?



 Just to clear things up, I use the common part of all analytical
 definition of belief theory and knowledge theory, and in particular
 (knowing p) - (believing p).

 If you know that there is milk in the fridge, you believe that there is
 milk in the fridge.

 The key difference is that the reciprocal is false. If you believe there
 is milk in the fridge , you can still not know it.


 Well I can accept such language in mathematics where you make clear what
 is meant, not in every day use when someone says he *believes* in god,


 I use believe in the same mundane sense that I believe that there is
 orange juice in the fridge,


 I believe in *god* is not like I believe there is orange juice in the
 fridge.


 What is the difference?


It imply faith, dogma. It imply an ontology about the world, the reality.







 and later like in I believe in the axiom of elementary arithmetic and in
 its first order logical consequence, or in I don't believe the machine k
 will stop on the input j.




 that's not what he meant... That's what I don't like in your approach to
 insist using everyday word in everyday language *but* with your own
 mathematical meaning. It's misleading you should see it.


 I use belief in the doxastic sense of the analytical philosophers. Iuse
 belief in the sense of Theaetetus, Gerson, etc.


 You use those words in a misleading way... You do what you want of
 course... but you're clearly totally misunderstood when you talk to a
 believer.


 I am probably misunderstood by the blind-faith type of believers,


That means 99% of the persons who say openly they believe in god.


 like the strong atheists


I've never met such kind of atheist.


 I met from time to time (like John Clark to give the nearest example).


He surely doesn't believe in abrahamic god... And I quite agree that using
that word for first cause type of explanation is bound to be misunderstood.
God has too much history to be used in the sense you use it.

Quentin


 But as John Clark illustrates very well, they need a high dose of
 irrationalism, and as my works has illustrated, changing the vocabulary
 does not help.

 In interdisciplinary work, my strategy consists in using the terms on
 which each each discipline has the greatest consensus over. I am aware that
 this cannot satisfy everybody, but then in science we don't waste time in
 vocabulary discussion. If something is unclear about the use of some term,
 we just ask to remind the current used definition.

 Bruno





 Quentin



 Bruno




 Quentin



 Bruno







 In general you believe something, not because you see it, but because
 it fits well with your background knowledge. I can't see the set {0, 1, 2,
 ...}, nor really define it, yet I hardly doubt that it makes sense, as it
 explains a lot of other things in which I already tend to believe (like the
 non existence of a bigger prime, or the existence of universal numbers, the
 real numbers, etc.).

 Bruno





 Quentin



 On 14-Jul-2014, at 2:14 am, meekerdb meeke...@verizon.net wrote:

 On 7/13/2014 3:47 AM, spudboy100 via Everything List wrote:

  Sure: Do you believe in a theist god?

  I'd like to.

  *So we can keep using the word theology and keep some academic
 departments that have no subject.*

  This would also include political science, arts, gender studies,
 french literature. Are you willing to go that far, and make what doesn't
 build bridges or bake bread, something to be learned as a podcast? Sauce
 for the goose, sauce for the gander. Dump them all. Right?


 I can point to art, people with genders, and french literature.  I've
 run a political campaign.  But I've never seen a god.

 Brent

 --
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 Visit this group at 

Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread Samiya Illias
This illustrated video might be of interest:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151781219163852


On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 11:09 AM, Quentin Anciaux allco...@gmail.com
wrote:




 2014-07-17 17:04 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:


 On 16 Jul 2014, at 19:31, Quentin Anciaux wrote:




 2014-07-16 19:22 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:


 On 15 Jul 2014, at 22:14, Quentin Anciaux wrote:




 2014-07-15 22:10 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:


 On 14 Jul 2014, at 17:25, Quentin Anciaux wrote:




 2014-07-14 17:13 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:


 On 14 Jul 2014, at 12:53, Quentin Anciaux wrote:




 2014-07-14 12:09 GMT+02:00 Samiya Illias samiyaill...@gmail.com:

 Why do you need to see God to believe in God?


 Why should you believe if you can know ? If you can't, why should you
 believe instead of not believing or go eating an hamburger ?



 Seeing might make you know *that* you see, but it does not entail that
 you know *what* you see, as you might be dreaming or hallucinating.


 That wasn't what I was implying... I see not point to believe or not
 believe... Why *shoud* I believe anyway ?



 Just to clear things up, I use the common part of all analytical
 definition of belief theory and knowledge theory, and in particular
 (knowing p) - (believing p).

 If you know that there is milk in the fridge, you believe that there is
 milk in the fridge.

 The key difference is that the reciprocal is false. If you believe
 there is milk in the fridge , you can still not know it.


 Well I can accept such language in mathematics where you make clear what
 is meant, not in every day use when someone says he *believes* in god,


 I use believe in the same mundane sense that I believe that there is
 orange juice in the fridge,


 I believe in *god* is not like I believe there is orange juice in the
 fridge.


 What is the difference?


 It imply faith, dogma. It imply an ontology about the world, the reality.







 and later like in I believe in the axiom of elementary arithmetic and in
 its first order logical consequence, or in I don't believe the machine k
 will stop on the input j.




 that's not what he meant... That's what I don't like in your approach to
 insist using everyday word in everyday language *but* with your own
 mathematical meaning. It's misleading you should see it.


 I use belief in the doxastic sense of the analytical philosophers.
 Iuse belief in the sense of Theaetetus, Gerson, etc.


 You use those words in a misleading way... You do what you want of
 course... but you're clearly totally misunderstood when you talk to a
 believer.


 I am probably misunderstood by the blind-faith type of believers,


 That means 99% of the persons who say openly they believe in god.


 like the strong atheists


 I've never met such kind of atheist.


 I met from time to time (like John Clark to give the nearest example).


 He surely doesn't believe in abrahamic god... And I quite agree that using
 that word for first cause type of explanation is bound to be misunderstood.
 God has too much history to be used in the sense you use it.

 Quentin


 But as John Clark illustrates very well, they need a high dose of
 irrationalism, and as my works has illustrated, changing the vocabulary
 does not help.

 In interdisciplinary work, my strategy consists in using the terms on
 which each each discipline has the greatest consensus over. I am aware that
 this cannot satisfy everybody, but then in science we don't waste time in
 vocabulary discussion. If something is unclear about the use of some term,
 we just ask to remind the current used definition.

 Bruno





 Quentin



 Bruno




 Quentin



 Bruno







 In general you believe something, not because you see it, but because
 it fits well with your background knowledge. I can't see the set {0, 1, 2,
 ...}, nor really define it, yet I hardly doubt that it makes sense, as it
 explains a lot of other things in which I already tend to believe (like 
 the
 non existence of a bigger prime, or the existence of universal numbers, 
 the
 real numbers, etc.).

 Bruno





 Quentin



 On 14-Jul-2014, at 2:14 am, meekerdb meeke...@verizon.net wrote:

 On 7/13/2014 3:47 AM, spudboy100 via Everything List wrote:

  Sure: Do you believe in a theist god?

  I'd like to.

  *So we can keep using the word theology and keep some academic
 departments that have no subject.*

  This would also include political science, arts, gender studies,
 french literature. Are you willing to go that far, and make what doesn't
 build bridges or bake bread, something to be learned as a podcast? Sauce
 for the goose, sauce for the gander. Dump them all. Right?


 I can point to art, people with genders, and french literature.  I've
 run a political campaign.  But I've never seen a god.

 Brent

 --
 You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
 Groups Everything List group.
 To unsubscribe from this group and 

Re: Selecting your future branch

2014-07-17 Thread Bruno Marchal


On 17 Jul 2014, at 14:42, Richard Ruquist wrote:


Computationalism is necessarily consistent,


I am not sure we can know that, at least in any reasonably justifiable  
way.





but may not be complete except in nearly infinite domains.


It is incomplete with respect to arithmetical truth, and all  
geographical and historical (including the futures) truth, but it has  
to be complete, amazingly enough, on the physical truth, or if you  
prefer on the core non-geographical truth. Those are the same for all  
machine (and even a lot of non-machine) observer and is supposed to  
give the measure defined (or not) on the computations seen from the  
1p view.  I could add nuances, but that would be quickly very  
technical. complete can take different senses, even in mathematical  
logic alone, and it is harder to define with respect to reality or  
god or everything or whatever.


Bruno





Richard


On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 2:56 AM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be  
wrote:


On 16 Jul 2014, at 20:43, John Clark wrote:

On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 1:07 PM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be  
wrote:


 John Clark is NOT a comp believer.

 This contradicts the fact that you are OK with step 0, and step  
1, and step 2.


I'm not surprised. I've long ago forgotten what those steps were


This might explains your difficulty.



but I do know that If one starts with any contradictory concept,  
such as comp for example,



Computationalism is contradictory? What is the contradiction?

Bruno



http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/




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Re: Selecting your future branch

2014-07-17 Thread spudboy100 via Everything List
What do you two say about this (year old) Science 2.0 article, in relation to 
the mathematical description of reality? The writer is or was a physicist at 
CERN. I have heard, Lord Rees, UK's astronomer royal, say the same thing. 



http://www.science20.com/quantum_diaries_survivor/physics_resurrection-105440


-Original Message-
From: Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be
To: everything-list everything-list@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 11:29 am
Subject: Re: Selecting your future branch




On 17 Jul 2014, at 14:42, Richard Ruquist wrote:


Computationalism is necessarily consistent, 



I am not sure we can know that, at least in any reasonably justifiable way.






but may not be complete except in nearly infinite domains.



It is incomplete with respect to arithmetical truth, and all geographical and 
historical (including the futures) truth, but it has to be complete, amazingly 
enough, on the physical truth, or if you prefer on the core non-geographical 
truth. Those are the same for all machine (and even a lot of non-machine) 
observer and is supposed to give the measure defined (or not) on the 
computations seen from the 1p view.  I could add nuances, but that would be 
quickly very technical. complete can take different senses, even in 
mathematical logic alone, and it is harder to define with respect to reality 
or god or everything or whatever.


Bruno









Richard




On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 2:56 AM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be wrote:
 


On 16 Jul 2014, at 20:43, John Clark wrote:


 
On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 1:07 PM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be wrote:

 


 

 John Clark is NOT a comp believer.







 This contradicts the fact that you are OK with step 0, and step 1, and step 2.
 



I'm not surprised. I've long ago forgotten what those steps were




This might explains your difficulty. 
 







 but I do know that If one starts with any contradictory concept, such as 
comp for example, 
 






Computationalism is contradictory? What is the contradiction?


Bruno






 
 
http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/



 




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http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/



 



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Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread Alberto G. Corona
2014-07-17 10:31 GMT+02:00, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

 On 17 Jul 2014, at 01:00, Alberto G. Corona wrote:

 The latest theories of everithing admit absolutely everithing.

 Which one? What do you mean by absolutely everything?



 they
 are no longer materialistic. Either they are no-theories or they allow
 any interpretation anyone may like about the know and unknow reality.

 I really don't know what theories you refer too.

Any theory of everithing that implies infinite many unverses in
compatible with everithing. Gods, miracles, psicquism, telequinesia,
telepaty etc  starting from the. monistic materialism, some
configurations of matter produce minds, thererfore under these
theories are infinite many variations of minds, not potentially. They
are logical predictions of these theories.

These minds under monistic materialism are considered as matter that
can reshape matter in a complex way. Some of these minds can create
second level realities in which they may act as gods, either making
use of extraordinary knowledge of reality in relation with other less
advanced minds, for which they may appear as gods. or alternatively
they can simulate virtual realities in which accoding with monistic
materialism can simulate minds inside these second level simulated
realities.

These superior minds are free to change the realities that they have
under partial control (in the first case) or under total control (in
the second). So they can perform miracles and so on and so on.

We don´t know what is our level as minds in the multiverse, therefore
everithing is theoretically possible even under this monistic
hypothesis. Everithing goes.







 In certain sense materialism has given up without being conscious of
 it. That is because its foundation is metaphysical and metaphysics has
 experimented a regression to the stone age, or at least to the level
 previous to the greek phylosophy.

 That has begun since theology has been banished from academy, and
 replaced by a social sort of authorianism.

 It is normal for those wanting power to take over on the fundamental
 theories. It is bad and sad, but natural and usual. That's why we must
 be vigilant, and fight for a coming back to reason and observation in
 *all* fields, not just on God and health.

 Bruno






 2014-07-09 22:12 GMT+02:00, John Mikes jami...@gmail.com:
 I apologize for taking a new title for this over-discussed topic.
 Somebody (sounds like Bruno, the fonts look like Brent) wrote:

 ...let us do theology seriously instead of referring to fairy tales.
 You confirm what I said to John Clark. *Atheist* defend the God of
 the
 bible. Read Plotinus, forget the bible, unless you find some passage
 you like and which inspire you, but that is private, don't make that
 public. 

 I  refer to the generality about 'atheists' in the passage. I
 emphasize that I am no atheist in such a sense who IMO requires 'a
 god
 to deny' (my vocabulary includes the term as 'denying' instead of
 'defending').

 I simply exclude those facets which are beyond our reach at present.
 In speaking about Everything I think of an infinite complexity of
 components we cannot even understand (today) - nor the relations
 between them ALL. We include SOME into our 'model of the world' as of
 yesterday without knowing if we are right.

 In such sense even a (sane-minded) adilt can be an 'atheist'.

 John M

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 --
 Alberto.

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 http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/



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Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread spudboy100 via Everything List

You cannot now claim, baring evidence, that we can change reality, even here on 
planet Earth, in a cogent way. It's like somebody falling off Mt. Evidence, in 
which we can have an opinion about our dilemma, but reversing gravity or 
dreaming up a parachute to use during our fall is not part of the world we all 
must live in. Give 10,000 years of future technology, and human survival, maybe 
then. 

Any theory of everithing that implies infinite many unverses in
compatible with everithing. Gods, miracles, psicquism, telequinesia,
telepaty etc  starting from the. monistic materialism, some
configurations of matter produce minds, thererfore under these
theories are infinite many variations of minds, not potentially. They
are logical predictions of these theories.

These minds under monistic materialism are considered as matter that
can reshape matter in a complex way. Some of these minds can create
second level realities in which they may act as gods, either making
use of extraordinary knowledge of reality in relation with other less
advanced minds, for which they may appear as gods. or alternatively
they can simulate virtual realities in which accoding with monistic
materialism can simulate minds inside these second level simulated
realities.

These superior minds are free to change the realities that they have
under partial control (in the first case) or under total control (in
the second). So they can perform miracles and so on and so on.

We don´t know what is our level as minds in the multiverse, therefore
everithing is theoretically possible even under this monistic
hypothesis. Everithing goes.



 
 
 
-Original Message-
From: Alberto G. Corona agocor...@gmail.com
To: everything-list everything-list@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 12:02 pm
Subject: Re: Atheist


2014-07-17 10:31 GMT+02:00, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

 On 17 Jul 2014, at 01:00, Alberto G. Corona wrote:

 The latest theories of everithing admit absolutely everithing.

 Which one? What do you mean by absolutely everything?



 they
 are no longer materialistic. Either they are no-theories or they allow
 any interpretation anyone may like about the know and unknow reality.

 I really don't know what theories you refer too.

Any theory of everithing that implies infinite many unverses in
compatible with everithing. Gods, miracles, psicquism, telequinesia,
telepaty etc  starting from the. monistic materialism, some
configurations of matter produce minds, thererfore under these
theories are infinite many variations of minds, not potentially. They
are logical predictions of these theories.

These minds under monistic materialism are considered as matter that
can reshape matter in a complex way. Some of these minds can create
second level realities in which they may act as gods, either making
use of extraordinary knowledge of reality in relation with other less
advanced minds, for which they may appear as gods. or alternatively
they can simulate virtual realities in which accoding with monistic
materialism can simulate minds inside these second level simulated
realities.

These superior minds are free to change the realities that they have
under partial control (in the first case) or under total control (in
the second). So they can perform miracles and so on and so on.

We don´t know what is our level as minds in the multiverse, therefore
everithing is theoretically possible even under this monistic
hypothesis. Everithing goes.







 In certain sense materialism has given up without being conscious of
 it. That is because its foundation is metaphysical and metaphysics has
 experimented a regression to the stone age, or at least to the level
 previous to the greek phylosophy.

 That has begun since theology has been banished from academy, and
 replaced by a social sort of authorianism.

 It is normal for those wanting power to take over on the fundamental
 theories. It is bad and sad, but natural and usual. That's why we must
 be vigilant, and fight for a coming back to reason and observation in
 *all* fields, not just on God and health.

 Bruno






 2014-07-09 22:12 GMT+02:00, John Mikes jami...@gmail.com:
 I apologize for taking a new title for this over-discussed topic.
 Somebody (sounds like Bruno, the fonts look like Brent) wrote:

 ...let us do theology seriously instead of referring to fairy tales.
 You confirm what I said to John Clark. *Atheist* defend the God of
 the
 bible. Read Plotinus, forget the bible, unless you find some passage
 you like and which inspire you, but that is private, don't make that
 public. 

 I  refer to the generality about 'atheists' in the passage. I
 emphasize that I am no atheist in such a sense who IMO requires 'a
 god
 to deny' (my vocabulary includes the term as 'denying' instead of
 'defending').

 I simply exclude those facets which are beyond our reach at present.
 In speaking about Everything I think of an infinite complexity of
 components we cannot even understand 

Re: How will air travel work in a green solar economy?

2014-07-17 Thread John Clark
On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 'Chris de Morsella' via Everything List 
everything-list@googlegroups.com wrote:

 I can think of few things more disgusting or economically ridiculous
 that 18 square miles of stagnant salt water algae ponds in the desert.


  Actually there are pilot installations already operating


A kiddie pool filled with algae is one thing, 18 square miles of stinking
pond scum for each and every 747 in the air is quite another. Do you
seriously expect China and India and Pakistan are going to renounce coal
and embrace this idiotic idea for all their future energy needs? If you're
REALLY serious about stopping global warming (and environmentalists are
not) then you're going to have to convince them to do exactly that even
though we in the west embraced coal big time when we were at their stage of
economic development. So you're going to tell them that even though we used
coal they shouldn't and instead they should turn to pond scum; perhaps you
should just send a Email, I fear if you told them that face to face they
might lynch you.


  Believe me or not I am not trying to make friends in the environmental
 community.


That's good because when you start building your titanic scum ponds  and
the huge distillation refineries they will need in the pristine desert
environmentalists
are going to scream bloody murder and declare you public enemy number one.
Of course environmentalists are going to loudly complain no matter what you
build so you might as well build something that actually has the potential
of solving the energy problem, like a LFTR. Either way you're destined to
become a villain, but in one you you're a villain that made something
that improved
the quality of life for the entire human race and in the other your a
villain that created a economic and aesthetic boondoggle.

 This is the hottest and driest areas of desert


It's so dry that even saltwater is hard to find and so hot that what little
water there is evaporates quickly.


  evidently the largest oil company in the world has come to a very
 different conclusion as to the potential profit and market for algae
 biofuels than you have.


Yes, over the years all the big oil companies have invested hundreds of
millions of dollars (that is to say pocket change) into biofuel and wind
and tidal power and photovoltaics, so now they get to say they are green
companies. One place where big oil has conspicuously NOT invested in, not
even token amounts, is nuclear power. Instead  oil companies have actually
contributed money to antinuclear power groups like the Aspen Institute for
Humanistic Studies, Nature Conservancy, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Why
would they do this? Because nuclear has the potential to make fossil fuels
obsolite and biofuel does not.

Robert O. Anderson started the Atlantic Richfield oil company and is the
man behind the Alaskan oil pipeline, I found out this about him and the
rabid antinuclear group Friends of the Earth on page 173 of F. William
Engdahl's book A Century of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New
World Order:

*Anderson and his Atlantic Richfield Co. funneled millions of dollars
through their Atlantic Richfield Foundation into select organizations to
target nuclear energy. One of the prime beneficiaries of Anderson’s largess
was a group called Friends of the Earth which was organized in this time
[1970] with a $200,000 grant from Anderson. One of the earliest targets of
Anderson’s Friends of the Earth was to finance an assault on German nuclear
industry, through such anti-nuclear actions as the anti-Brockdorf
demonstrations in 1976, led by Friends of the Earth leader Holger Strohm.*

   John K Clark

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Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread Bruno Marchal


On 17 Jul 2014, at 10:33, 'Chris de Morsella' via Everything List wrote:




From: everything-list@googlegroups.com [mailto:everything-list@googlegroups.com 
] On Behalf Of John Clark

Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 11:20 AM
To: everything-list@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Atheist

Salman Rushdie wrote:

 religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes,  
mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue,  
speaking of religion in the fashionable language of respect. What  
is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now  
being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded  
name?


It is the liberal consensus that we should always respect all  
religious beliefs regardless of how stupid or cruel it is; for  
example tune into just about any international news broadcast and  
you will probably see at least one story about religious violence  
somewhere in the world,  but the media won't call it that, the media  
will call it sectarian violence. As for me I think there is a  
point beyond which a euphemism becomes a lie.


  John K Clark


I would describe it as a societal paradigm... this unspoken rule that  
all should respect religion. It dominates both the political right  
as well as the left.


I think it is more the general and positive idea of respecting the  
others. But sometimes people forget that this rule is limited to those  
who respect you. If you respect those who does not respect you, you  
lose dignity and eventually life.



Religion is a useful tool to power structures (when it is not the  
power structure itself);


I agree, alas. I would say that it is in the nature of religion to  
easily be confused with the 3p structure which might try to represent  
it. That is why the basic of the mystics is negative, they often say  
only: no it is not this, nor that, neither this nor ...

Neoplatonist theologies reflects this in being negative theologies.

But that's the fate of anything near a Protagorean virtue. Not just  
the Churches, also the Trade Unions, for a different example. The very  
goal of the Trade Unions is morally positive, as it defends the  
employees on possible employer abuses. But an old Trade Union can  
become a machine defending the interest of the Trade Unioners only, up  
to the point as being a problem for both the employer and the employees.


The same for money. At first it makes it possible to share the  
products of works, and speculate about the futures, but then it can be  
used for its own sake, perverting its distribution and speculation role.
Fake or lies based powers quickly speculate only on how long they can  
lie.


In no case should we throw the baby with the bath water. All positive  
thing which are related to a protagorean virtues are on the risk, when  
implemented,  to be perverted by its name or social representation.









religion serves the interests of central authority. Emperor  
Constantine and the Roman imperial elites of the time have as much  
(or more perhaps some argue)  than any mythical prophet, to do with  
the evolution of a loose set of scattered stories into an organized  
imperial state religion united under the crucifix (and conveniently  
the emperor as well).


When a religion is institutionalized at the level of the state; not  
only politics will get inconsistent and authorianists, but the  
religion itself will become a mockery of itself.  Also, at such a  
level (an Empire), it can take *many* centuries to recover.






You would probably describe me as being liberal, but I certainly do  
not ascribe to any dictum that I respect the institution of or  
practice of religion. Quite frankly I do not. Especially organized  
religion, which is a lot like organized crime IMO, sharing with it  
many of the same characteristics and practices.


I agree 100%. This makes me only anticlerical, though. Not against  
religion. (Nor religious communities, nor even religious state/ 
country, as religion can be taught through example. But it cannot be  
installed by force, nor even by votes. In fact religion like science  
can develop through practice, research, and exemplary behaviors (yet  
never named as such).






A few examples of some shared characteristics: murdering (or  
shunning) those who attempt to leave; murdering (or marginalizing)  
the competition (very mob like behavior); demanding protection money  
from those under its control - the tithes to the church are they  
really that different from protection money to the local gang boss.  
I could go on, the ways in which religion and organized crime  
operate is quite numerous.


Totally agree. But the culprit is not the religion, nor money, nor the  
trade union, etc. the culprit is in the humans, who for special short  
term interest pervert the original thing. A bit like in a cancer, the  
culprit is not the blood cells which feed the tumor, but the cancerous  
cell which perverts the sanguine 

Re: Selecting your future branch

2014-07-17 Thread John Clark
On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 2:56 AM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be wrote:

 Computationalism is contradictory?


  No. Computationalism is not contradictory, but comp is.

  John K Clark

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Re: Selecting your future branch

2014-07-17 Thread Bruno Marchal


On 17 Jul 2014, at 18:37, John Clark wrote:

On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 2:56 AM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be  
wrote:


 Computationalism is contradictory?

  No. Computationalism is not contradictory, but comp is.


What difference do you se between comp and computationalism?

Comp is used as an abbreviation of computationalism, or CTM  
(computationalist theory of the mind). it is basically the assumption  
that the brain is computer emulable. That is detailed in the step 0 of  
the UD Argument.


You agreed on step 0, so that is enough to say that either you believe  
in comp, or that you find it enough plasuible to start reasoning  
assuming it, like in the UDA.


I can understand that you don't believe in the *consequences* of comp  
given that you stop at the step 3 (without anyone understanding why  
though).


To claim that comp is different from computationalism is ... weird.  
Tell me the difference. I doubt you will find anyone, except that I  
provide a weaker version than usual (through the existence of a  
substitution level, without putting any bound on it), and more  
precise, by defining computer with Church thesis.


Got the feeling you never have read any papers I wrote. You might have  
judged before studying. You lost me completely in invoking a  
difference between comp and computationalism. (and it does contradict  
your agreement with step one, which by definition makes you understand  
what comp is).


Bruno




  John K Clark



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Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread Alberto G. Corona
Why I have to claim that?

I claim that any monistic (scientific) theory that predict infinite
many universes predict also infinite many minds with infinite many
degrees of knowledge and mastering over their realities and the
realities that they may create, that, assuming monistic materialism,
can contain also other subordinate minds.  Because we do not know our
position in the hierarchy etc etc etc etc

2014-07-17 18:16 GMT+02:00, spudboy100 via Everything List
everything-list@googlegroups.com:

 You cannot now claim, baring evidence, that we can change reality, even here
 on planet Earth, in a cogent way. It's like somebody falling off Mt.
 Evidence, in which we can have an opinion about our dilemma, but reversing
 gravity or dreaming up a parachute to use during our fall is not part of the
 world we all must live in. Give 10,000 years of future technology, and human
 survival, maybe then.

 Any theory of everithing that implies infinite many unverses in
 compatible with everithing. Gods, miracles, psicquism, telequinesia,
 telepaty etc  starting from the. monistic materialism, some
 configurations of matter produce minds, thererfore under these
 theories are infinite many variations of minds, not potentially. They
 are logical predictions of these theories.

 These minds under monistic materialism are considered as matter that
 can reshape matter in a complex way. Some of these minds can create
 second level realities in which they may act as gods, either making
 use of extraordinary knowledge of reality in relation with other less
 advanced minds, for which they may appear as gods. or alternatively
 they can simulate virtual realities in which accoding with monistic
 materialism can simulate minds inside these second level simulated
 realities.

 These superior minds are free to change the realities that they have
 under partial control (in the first case) or under total control (in
 the second). So they can perform miracles and so on and so on.

 We don´t know what is our level as minds in the multiverse, therefore
 everithing is theoretically possible even under this monistic
 hypothesis. Everithing goes.






 -Original Message-
 From: Alberto G. Corona agocor...@gmail.com
 To: everything-list everything-list@googlegroups.com
 Sent: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 12:02 pm
 Subject: Re: Atheist


 2014-07-17 10:31 GMT+02:00, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

 On 17 Jul 2014, at 01:00, Alberto G. Corona wrote:

 The latest theories of everithing admit absolutely everithing.

 Which one? What do you mean by absolutely everything?



 they
 are no longer materialistic. Either they are no-theories or they allow
 any interpretation anyone may like about the know and unknow reality.

 I really don't know what theories you refer too.

 Any theory of everithing that implies infinite many unverses in
 compatible with everithing. Gods, miracles, psicquism, telequinesia,
 telepaty etc  starting from the. monistic materialism, some
 configurations of matter produce minds, thererfore under these
 theories are infinite many variations of minds, not potentially. They
 are logical predictions of these theories.

 These minds under monistic materialism are considered as matter that
 can reshape matter in a complex way. Some of these minds can create
 second level realities in which they may act as gods, either making
 use of extraordinary knowledge of reality in relation with other less
 advanced minds, for which they may appear as gods. or alternatively
 they can simulate virtual realities in which accoding with monistic
 materialism can simulate minds inside these second level simulated
 realities.

 These superior minds are free to change the realities that they have
 under partial control (in the first case) or under total control (in
 the second). So they can perform miracles and so on and so on.

 We don´t know what is our level as minds in the multiverse, therefore
 everithing is theoretically possible even under this monistic
 hypothesis. Everithing goes.







 In certain sense materialism has given up without being conscious of
 it. That is because its foundation is metaphysical and metaphysics has
 experimented a regression to the stone age, or at least to the level
 previous to the greek phylosophy.

 That has begun since theology has been banished from academy, and
 replaced by a social sort of authorianism.

 It is normal for those wanting power to take over on the fundamental
 theories. It is bad and sad, but natural and usual. That's why we must
 be vigilant, and fight for a coming back to reason and observation in
 *all* fields, not just on God and health.

 Bruno






 2014-07-09 22:12 GMT+02:00, John Mikes jami...@gmail.com:
 I apologize for taking a new title for this over-discussed topic.
 Somebody (sounds like Bruno, the fonts look like Brent) wrote:

 ...let us do theology seriously instead of referring to fairy tales.
 You confirm what I said to John Clark. *Atheist* defend the God of
 the
 

Re: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread Bruno Marchal


On 17 Jul 2014, at 17:09, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-17 17:04 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

On 16 Jul 2014, at 19:31, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-16 19:22 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

On 15 Jul 2014, at 22:14, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-15 22:10 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

On 14 Jul 2014, at 17:25, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-14 17:13 GMT+02:00 Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be:

On 14 Jul 2014, at 12:53, Quentin Anciaux wrote:





2014-07-14 12:09 GMT+02:00 Samiya Illias samiyaill...@gmail.com:
Why do you need to see God to believe in God?

Why should you believe if you can know ? If you can't, why  
should you believe instead of not believing or go eating an  
hamburger ?



Seeing might make you know *that* you see, but it does not entail  
that you know *what* you see, as you might be dreaming or  
hallucinating.


That wasn't what I was implying... I see not point to believe  
or not believe... Why *shoud* I believe anyway ?



Just to clear things up, I use the common part of all analytical  
definition of belief theory and knowledge theory, and in  
particular (knowing p) - (believing p).


If you know that there is milk in the fridge, you believe that  
there is milk in the fridge.


The key difference is that the reciprocal is false. If you believe  
there is milk in the fridge , you can still not know it.


Well I can accept such language in mathematics where you make  
clear what is meant, not in every day use when someone says he  
*believes* in god,


I use believe in the same mundane sense that I believe that  
there is orange juice in the fridge,


I believe in *god* is not like I believe there is orange juice in  
the fridge.


What is the difference?


It imply faith, dogma. It imply an ontology about the world, the  
reality.


Only by humans who use authorianism. But we agree at the start that  
they are not doing science.


I use the term god and theology in the sense of wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology

I use atheism in the narrower sense defined in the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism

And frankly most people I know and claim to be atheist uses it in the  
narrower sense.


In fact, on the rubric agnosticism, my use of the vocabulary matches  
the one by William L Rowe (that I did not read):


 According to the philosopher William L. Rowe, in the popular sense,  
an agnostic is someone who neither believes nor disbelieves in the  
existence of a deity or deities, whereas atheist and an atheist  
believe and disbelieve, respectively.[2] 


in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism









and later like in I believe in the axiom of elementary arithmetic  
and in its first order logical consequence, or in I don't believe  
the machine k will stop on the input j.





that's not what he meant... That's what I don't like in your  
approach to insist using everyday word in everyday language *but*  
with your own mathematical meaning. It's misleading you should see  
it.


I use belief in the doxastic sense of the analytical  
philosophers. Iuse belief in the sense of Theaetetus, Gerson, etc.


You use those words in a misleading way... You do what you want of  
course... but you're clearly totally misunderstood when you talk to  
a believer.


I am probably misunderstood by the blind-faith type of believers,

That means 99% of the persons who say openly they believe in god.


Then why the tea pot argument, and why qualifying, and re- 
appropriating  the 'agnostic as coward atheist, like some atheists  
wrote in some books?  I will look for one.


If you believe that all atheists are not strong atheists, then you  
believe that all atheists are agnostic, and the term atheism lost a  
lot of its meaning.


Here too, most people, including many atheists around me, do agree  
that atheism is []~g, and agnosticism is ~[]g.


We are taken back in an old vocabulary issue (which is a non stopping  
thread even on wikipedia).







like the strong atheists

I've never met such kind of atheist.


Onfray wrote a treatise of atheology, which was a success, and he  
wrote (I remember, but don't find my exemplary for now) that  
agnosticism is coward atheism (that is people who would pretend ~[]g,  
for being polite, but who would think in their heart that []~g), and  
if you have been to ULB, and did not meet a strong atheist (using the  
narrower sense described in the wiki, and justified in the whole  
rubric) then you are incredibly lucky. I will not cite name here.







I met from time to time (like John Clark to give the nearest example).

He surely doesn't believe in abrahamic god...


From what I understood, he *believes* in the non existence of the  
abrahamic god. He *believes* it is a contradictory notion. Actually  
John Clark asserted more than once that he believes that notion like  
God (not just the abramanic one), nor free will could make *any*  
sense.






And I quite 

Re: Selecting your future branch

2014-07-17 Thread John Clark
On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 1:00 PM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be wrote:

 What difference do you se between comp and computationalism?


Why ask me? You're the one who felt that computationalism didn't
adequately convey the idea you had and so you needed to invent a new word,
a word used on this list and no place else.

 John K Clark

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Re: Selecting your future branch

2014-07-17 Thread spudboy100 via Everything List

Whom do you anticipate performing the emulation? 

Comp is used as an abbreviation of computationalism, or CTM (computationalist 
theory of the mind). it is basically the assumption that the brain is computer 
emulable. That is detailed in the step 0 of the UD Argument.

 
 
 
-Original Message-
From: Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be
To: everything-list everything-list@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 1:00 pm
Subject: Re: Selecting your future branch




On 17 Jul 2014, at 18:37, John Clark wrote:


On Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 2:56 AM, Bruno Marchal marc...@ulb.ac.be wrote:

 


 Computationalism is contradictory?
 


  No. Computationalism is not contradictory, but comp is.





What difference do you se between comp and computationalism?


Comp is used as an abbreviation of computationalism, or CTM (computationalist 
theory of the mind). it is basically the assumption that the brain is computer 
emulable. That is detailed in the step 0 of the UD Argument.


You agreed on step 0, so that is enough to say that either you believe in comp, 
or that you find it enough plasuible to start reasoning assuming it, like in 
the UDA.


I can understand that you don't believe in the *consequences* of comp given 
that you stop at the step 3 (without anyone understanding why though).


To claim that comp is different from computationalism is ... weird. Tell me the 
difference. I doubt you will find anyone, except that I provide a weaker 
version than usual (through the existence of a substitution level, without 
putting any bound on it), and more precise, by defining computer with Church 
thesis.


Got the feeling you never have read any papers I wrote. You might have judged 
before studying. You lost me completely in invoking a difference between comp 
and computationalism. (and it does contradict your agreement with step one, 
which by definition makes you understand what comp is).


Bruno








  John K Clark








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http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/



 



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Re: Gödel of the Gaps

2014-07-17 Thread Craig Weinberg


On Thursday, July 17, 2014 4:25:07 AM UTC-4, Bruno Marchal wrote:


 On 17 Jul 2014, at 01:20, Craig Weinberg wrote:



 On Wednesday, July 16, 2014 2:22:46 PM UTC-4, Bruno Marchal wrote:


 On 16 Jul 2014, at 15:05, Craig Weinberg wrote:

 So much of our attention in logic and math is focused on using processes 
 to turn specific inputs into even more specific binary outputs. Very little 
 attention is paid to what inputs and outputs are or to the understanding of 
 what truth is in theoretical terms. 

 Come on!


 ?
  




 The possibility of inputs is assumed from the start, since no program can 
 exist without being ‘input’ into some kind of material substrate which has 
 been selected or engineered for that purpose. 

 In which theory? 


 What theory details the ontology of inputs?


 Arithmetic. The subset of true sigma_1 sentences emulate the UD, that is 
 the activity of all programs on all inputs.


That only says that activity and inputs exist, but not what they are or 
what laws define them. 
 






  





 You can’t program a device to be programmable if it isn’t already. 
 Overlooking this is part of the gap between mathematics and reality which 
 is overlooked by all forms of simulation theory and emergentism. 

 You are quick. Correct from the 1p machine's view on their own 1p. You do 
 confuse []p and []p  p.


 So you are saying that programmability is universal outside of 1p views?


 At least in the same sense that 23 is prime outside 1p views. 


Then programmability becomes another axiom that computationalism needs not 
to require an explanation.
 





 Like infinite computational resources in a dimensionless pool?


 You can see it that way.



  




 Without some initial connection between sensitive agents which are 
 concretely real and non-theoretical, there can be no storage or processing 
 of information. Before we can input any definitions of logical functions, 
 we have to find something which behaves logically and responds reliably to 
 our manipulations of it.

 The implications of binary logic, of making distinctions between true/go 
 and false/stop are more far reaching than we might assume. I suggest that 
 if a machine’s operations can be boiled down to true and false bits, then 
 it can have no capacity to exercise intentionality. It has no freedom of 
 action because freedom is a creative act, and creativity in turn entails 
 questioning what is true and what is not. The creative impulse can drive us 
 to attack the truth until it cracks and reveals how it is also false. 
 Creativity also entails redeeming what has been seen as false so that it 
 reveals a new truth. These capabilities and appreciation of them are well 
 beyond the functional description of what a machine would do. Machine logic 
 is, by contrast, the death of choice. To compute is to automate and reduce 
 sense into an abstract sense-of-motion. Leibniz called his early computer a 
 “Stepped Reckoner”, and that it very apt. The word reckon derives from 
 etymological roots that are shared with ‘reg’, as in regal, ruler, and 
 moving straight ahead. It is a straightener or comb of physically embodied 
 rules. A computer functionalizes and conditions reality into rules, step by 
 step, in a mindless imitation of mind. A program or a script is a frozen 
 record of sense-making in retrospect. It is built of propositions defined 
 in isolation rather than sensations which share the common history of all 
 sensation.

 The computing machine itself does not exist in the natural world, but 
 rather is distilled from the world’s most mechanistic tendencies. All that 
 does not fit into true or false is discarded. Although Gödel is famous for 
 discovering the incompleteness of formal systems, that discovery itself 
 exists within a formal context. The ideal machine, for example, which 
 cannot prove anything that is false, subscribes to the view that truth and 
 falsehood are categories which are true rather than truth and falsehood 
 being possible qualities within a continuum of sense making. There is a 
 Platonic metaphysics at work here, which conjures a block universe of forms 
 which are eternally true and good. In fact, a casual inspection of our own 
 experience reveals no such clear-cut categories, and the goodness and truth 
 of the situations we encounter are often inseparable from their opposite. 
 We seek sensory experiences for the sake of appreciating them directly, 
 rather than only for their truth or functional benefits. Truth is only one 
 of the qualities of sense which matters.

 The way that a computer processes information is fundamentally different 
 than the way that conscious thought works. Where a consistent machine 
 cannot give a formal proof of its own consistency, a person can be certain 
 of their own certainty without proof. That doesn’t always mean that the 
 person’s feeling turns out to match what they or others will understand to 
 be true later on, but unlike a 

RE: Atheist

2014-07-17 Thread 'Chris de Morsella' via Everything List
 

 

From: everything-list@googlegroups.com
[mailto:everything-list@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bruno Marchal
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2014 9:25 AM
To: everything-list@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Atheist

 

 

On 17 Jul 2014, at 10:33, 'Chris de Morsella' via Everything List wrote:





 

 

From: everything-list@googlegroups.com
[mailto:everything-list@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John Clark
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 11:20 AM
To: everything-list@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Atheist

 

Salman Rushdie wrote:

 

 religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere
innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of
religion in the fashionable language of respect. What is there to respect
in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily
around the world in religion's dreaded name?

 

It is the liberal consensus that we should always respect all religious
beliefs regardless of how stupid or cruel it is; for example tune into just
about any international news broadcast and you will probably see at least
one story about religious violence somewhere in the world,  but the media
won't call it that, the media will call it sectarian violence. As for me I
think there is a point beyond which a euphemism becomes a lie.

  John K Clark

 

I would describe it as a societal paradigm. this unspoken rule that all
should respect religion. It dominates both the political right as well as
the left.

I think it is more the general and positive idea of respecting the others.
But sometimes people forget that this rule is limited to those who respect
you. If you respect those who does not respect you, you lose dignity and
eventually life.

 

Well sure. life is more pleasant when people have a live and let live
attitude. As you point out respect needs mutuality. Respecting an
institution that does not respect anyone that does not adopt their dogma is
a one way flow of respect that leads to a distorted situation. Religion -
for the most part - does not respect anything that is not in accordance with
its dogma, therefore it should not expect to be respected.

 





Religion is a useful tool to power structures (when it is not the power
structure itself); 

I agree, alas. I would say that it is in the nature of religion to easily be
confused with the 3p structure which might try to represent it. That is why
the basic of the mystics is negative, they often say only: no it is not
this, nor that, neither this nor ...

Neoplatonist theologies reflects this in being negative theologies. 

 

But that's the fate of anything near a Protagorean virtue. Not just the
Churches, also the Trade Unions, for a different example. The very goal of
the Trade Unions is morally positive, as it defends the employees on
possible employer abuses. But an old Trade Union can become a machine
defending the interest of the Trade Unioners only, up to the point as being
a problem for both the employer and the employees.

 

The same for money. At first it makes it possible to share the products of
works, and speculate about the futures, but then it can be used for its own
sake, perverting its distribution and speculation role. 

Fake or lies based powers quickly speculate only on how long they can lie.

 

In no case should we throw the baby with the bath water. All positive thing
which are related to a protagorean virtues are on the risk, when
implemented,  to be perverted by its name or social representation. 

 

I agree all human institutions become captured eventually by small classes
of people who rig the system - any system -- to favor their own. Once the
cockroaches manage to worm their way into power within any institution it is
almost impossible to rid the institution of their influence.

 





religion serves the interests of central authority. Emperor Constantine and
the Roman imperial elites of the time have as much (or more perhaps some
argue)  than any mythical prophet, to do with the evolution of a loose set
of scattered stories into an organized imperial state religion united under
the crucifix (and conveniently the emperor as well).

When a religion is institutionalized at the level of the state; not only
politics will get inconsistent and authorianists, but the religion itself
will become a mockery of itself.  Also, at such a level (an Empire), it can
take *many* centuries to recover.

 

All insitutions become means for enforcing an uneven playing field for the
benefit of a favored elite class.

 

 

 





You would probably describe me as being liberal, but I certainly do not
ascribe to any dictum that I respect the institution of or practice of
religion. Quite frankly I do not. Especially organized religion, which is a
lot like organized crime IMO, sharing with it many of the same
characteristics and practices. 

I agree 100%. This makes me only anticlerical, though. Not against religion.
(Nor religious communities, nor even religious state/country, as