Anthony, I didn't say a GUI represents a chaotic system. I said a GUI represents a very complex system. There is however virtually no difference in the perception of a chaotic system and a system that is so complex that it is incomprehensible.
A computer GUI shields the user from a virtually incomprehensible system. It does so by only presenting a small sub-set of the system in a easy-to-work-with package, but in doing so only allows access to a small subset of the system's total functions. Illusions perform that same function for much the same reason with the same limitations. ...Bill! --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wuasg@...> wrote: > > Bill, >  > GUI cannot represent or control a digital system in chaos. So that is not a > good analogy. >  > Anthony > > > ________________________________ > From: Bill! <BillSmart@...> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Thursday, 3 November 2011 6:14 PM > Subject: [Zen] Re: Zen and Buddhism > > >  > Anthony, > > Your recent spate of posts interrogating me about my description of > `illusions' have caused me to think more about it, and I think I've come up > with a better analogy. > > Illusions are to reality as a graphical user interface (GUI) is to a digital > computer. > > The digital computer is at its most basic level just a collection of electric > switches or gates. These switches are either on or off, open or closed. > Today's computers have billions of these gates. In and of themselves the > state of these gates have no meaning until given meaning by the operating > system. At any point in time (called clock cycle)) all these gates are in one > and only one of the two possible states, so the computer is constantly > changing configuration depending on the operating instructions it is given. > > The switches or gates can be represented by the binary digits 0 and 1. These > binary digits are called bits and can be grouped into 4 (byte) and > represented by decimal number 0 thru 9 or a hexadecimal number 0 thru 9 and A > thru F. So the switch configuration of on-on-off-on can be represented as > 1101 (binary) or 13 (decimal) or D (hexadecimal). The switch configurations > are usually grouped > into 2 bytes called a fullword and represented with 2 hexadecimal digits â" > like 4D. A fullword can represent 256 different configurations. These > fullwords can be used to represent numbers, letters and other symbols, > addresses within the computer operational instructions. The lowest level > operational instruction is machine code and it is written in hexadecimal. The > next level up from that is assembler language. It has a one-to-one > relationship with machine code but is expressed in letters and numbers. The > next step up > from that is a compiled language like COBOL or BASIC. The expressions in a > compiled language have a one-to-many relationship with machine code. In other > words one BASIC command generates many lines of machine code. > > There can be many steps after this but one of the highest levels is a > graphical user interface (GUI). An example of this is Windows or the > Macintosh GUI. There are other interfaces besides graphical ones. Touch > screens as a variant and voice activated interfaces are examples of these. > All of these help the user interface with the computer, but all limit the > user's ability to access the resources of the entire computer. You have to > give up functionaly for convenience. > > Illusions are like GUI's. They sit on top of reality and conceal it. They > probably evolved for the same reason GUI's were developed â" to hide the > complexity of reality from you and to give you some limited access to reality > by presenting reality in a more understandable context. That is illusions > present parts of reality to you within a restrictive framework of logic. Just > as a GUI gives you the ability to do some simple things while restricting > your access to the complete power of the computer because it is to complex > â" illusions give you a nice, comfortable interface with reality that has > been cropped and modified to fit within a logical framework while cloaking > the chaos that is reality. > > How's that? A better explanation/analogy? > > â¦Bill! > > --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@> wrote: > > > > Anthony, > > > > That is essentially the case but I'd need to change the wording somewhat to > > make it more correct: > > > > Reality and illusion do not operate in parallel. There is only reality. > > Illusions are like a contorted, make-believe add-on. > > > > Reality is not a system since a system has rules and forms. Chaos is a good > > word for it - or emptiness. > > > > Illusions can have rules and forms. I suppose there could be illusions that > > don't, but the ones we usually have are illusions of duality and logic so > > we can create them with rules and forms. You can conct business or play > > chess with an illusion of predictibility based on the rules and forms you > > think apply, but these rules and forms are illusory, which means they are > > ephemeral and impermanent, so the results are not really predictive but > > only probabilities. In the best case the illusions we create have rules and > > forms that approximate reality - like a structured sequence of pixels > > approximate a curved line - a digital representation of an analog shape. > > > > Just think logic = digital and reality/chaos = analog. It's kind of like > > that. > > > > ...Bill! > > > > > > --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wuasg@> wrote: > > > > > > Bill, > > > à> > > I am continuing my attempt to understand you. At this moment, I assume > > > you have two systems in parallel: > > > à> > > 1. Real system with no rules or cause and effect. In other words, > > > complete chaos. > > > à> > > 2. Illusions with rules and cause and effects, where you can conduct > > > computer business with predictability and play chess to try to overwhelm > > > your rival. > > > à> > > Is that right? > > > à> > > Anthony > > > > > Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are > reading! Talk about it today! > MARKETPLACE > Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - Get > the Yahoo! Toolbar now. > > Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest ⢠Unsubscribe ⢠Terms of Use > . > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
