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Is there any Egan or Vinge fanfic except EY's crossover Finale of the...?
"Ontology" is firmly dedicated to "exist or doesn't exist". Metaphysics is more broadly "what's the world like?" and includes ontology as a central subfield.
Whether there is free will is a metaphysical question, but not, I think, an ontological one (at least not necessarily). "Free will" is not a thing or a category or a property, it's a claim that in some broad aspects the world is like this and not like that.
Whether such things as desires or intentions exist or are made-up fictions is an ontological question.
Thanks! I've seen many times the statement that ontology is strictly included in metaphysics, but this is the first time I've seen an example of something that's in the set-theoretic difference.
In response to
2014 Less Wrong Census/Survey
Did the survey! I think i gave highly contradictory answers.
I think the anagram-of-your-name thing works better if you're called Scott Alexander than if you're called Viliam Bur.
If I'm interpreting the Perseus output correctly, "librum" is OK as genitive plural of "liber" whose main meaning is "book" -- though the usual form would be "librorum". A blog title that means "the way of books" sounds workable.
I suspect most of your readers will be more familiar with another meaning for "vim". Someone whose interests are just the right combination of geeky and literary might like "Vim Burial" as a title, but I'm thinking that if that were you you'd have said so already.
There are some other interesting words containing in your name's letters -- brumal, Malibu, lumbar, album -- but none of them seems to lead to a coherent phrase.
I think the anagram-of-your-name thing works better if you're called Scott Alexander than if you're called Viliam Bur.
Or Hyaena Hell Infusion.
In response to
Open thread, September 22-28, 2014
Rank the Greg Egan books from best to worst. I have read Permutation City, Quarantine, and Diaspora, loved them all, and am trying to decide which to read next.
This should be fun!
Distress - it's like the kitchen sink of hard/near-future SF
Quarantine - very enjoyable, but a bit simple-minded
Incandescence - seems like a return to early Egan's minimalism
Permutation City - cool, but rather off for me
Schild's Ladder - doesn't feel innovative, the ending has the same vibe as that of Permutation
Zendegi - was expecting more LW mockery after the discussions, unfortunately it was very limited
Diaspora - although brilliant in some respects, very confusingly written
Teranesia - just boring, I understand why it's not so known
Haven't read yet An Unusual Angle; the Orthogonal trilogy I'll read when I get it whole.
Nerdier:
Products marked with this sentence can be heated at your request.
Nerdiest:
Products marked with "Products marked with X, with the first X replaced by the previous quoted sentence, can be heated at your request", with the first X replaced by the previous quoted sentence, can be heated at your request.
Even after all these years, writing quines still feels like I'm cheating the universe.
"After all this time?"
"Always."
In response to
Open thread, Sept. 1-7, 2014
A nearby store has this sign that kinda reminds me of What the Tortoise Said to Achilles:
Products marked with <a drawing of a rectangle containing the words "This product can be heated at your request"> can be heated at your request!
Definitely not making this up. Showed this today to my girlfriend who was speechless upon exiting the store.
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Nassim Nicholas Taleb.