Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2002 00:13:51 -0700 From: Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> To: Dave Hayes <dave@jetcafe.org> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Why did evolution fail? Message-ID: <3D7C4A2F.28BD7DE8@mindspring.com> References: <200209090350.g893oV125883@hokkshideh2.jetcafe.org>
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Dave Hayes wrote: > >> What makes a group non-arbitrary and gets them to share a Schelling > >> point? > > > > What makes them non-arbitrary is the fact that they share a Schelling > > point. > > It's arbitrary that you've found them to share one. Are you maybe unaware of what people mean when they say "Schelling point"? It's a measure of shared cultural understanding, or, in more technical terms, the set of lowest entropy equalibria. As such, it is never arbitrary. > >> Well, then I was correct even by this definition. Simple vs complex is > >> arbitrary. > > > > Yeah, they are just "arbitrarily" antonyms... > > Everything is arbitrary. ;) Almost nothing is arbitrary; it actually takes a great amount of skill to be arbitrary, and even the skilled often fail at the attempt. > > Professional: characterized by or conforming to the technical or > > ethical standards of a profession. > > Look at the definition of "profession", then get back to me. Luckily for me, I didn't use that word. > That's not yours to give, but I'll bet you'll find some argument to > justify that. ;) "I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to die in a fire of suspicious origin..." > >> >> > Sticking your fingers in your ears and saying "LA LA LA!" at the > >> >> > top of yout lungs doesn't make a problem go away. > >> >> > >> >> Just where did I suggest that? This is nothing like what I am > >> >> suggesting, which is a quick press of a particular key on your > >> >> keyboard. ;) > >> > > >> > "LA LA LA!" <presses key> "I CAN'T READ YOU!" > >> > >> Ah! That "<presses key>" adds an action to your original presentation. > >> In fact, you don't need to sing or shout, you can just <press the key> > >> and get more effective results. |) > > > > Since when isn't sticking your fingers in your ear an action? > > It is, however you added <presses key>. It's an apt analogy: "just ignore input you do not wish to observe". > >> That conditional is irrelavent to "simple". > > > > Sure it is. It's a modifier on the set of possible explanations. > > It's an irrelevant and arbitrary modifier. It's not arbitrary. Do a google search on "Schelling point", and read the top 15 results. You can ignore the ones I wrote, if you're afraid of bias. -- Terry To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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