All of Monkeymind's Comments + Replies

"What do you mean?"

I may have wrongly determined (because of your name) that you held the same view as other plasma cosmologists (the Electric Universe folks) that I have been talking with the last couple of weeks. Their view is that reality is at the single level, but 'observable reality' (the multi-level model) is the interface between the brain and reality. Consequently, all their discussions are about the interface (phenomena).

If so, then understanding the difference between an object and a concept might help one come up with ways to make re... (read more)

So what's up with that? I went to a lot of work writing those posts.

Is this the sort of thing done with approval of the site owner?

They were well thot out and reasoned posts. The majority were very civil and violated no posted rules. In fact there aren't any posted rules that I am aware of. Just because my posts are annoying to some folks is not reason to delete them. NO one has to read anything.

I just don't understand the reasoning there, or here:

"A specific suggestion I have is to establish a community norm of downvoting those participating in hopeless conversations, even if their contributions are high-quality."

If the evolutionary process results in either convergence, divergence or extinction, and most often results in extinction, what reason(s) do I have to think that this 23rd emerging complex homo will not go the way of extinction also? Are we throwing all our hope towards super intelligence as our salvation?

Humans have a values hierarchy. Trouble is, most do not even know what it is (or, they are). IOW, for me honesty is one of the most important values to have. Also, sanctity of (and protection of) life is very high on the list. I would lie in a second to save my son's life. Some choice like that are no-brainers, however few people know all the values that they live by, let alone the hierarchy. Often humans only discover what these values are as they find themselves in various situations.

Just wondering... has anyone compiled a list of these values, morals, e... (read more)

If you are concerned about Intellectual Property rights, by all means have a confidentiality agreement signed b4 revealing any proprietary information. Any reasonable person would not have a problem signing such an agreement.

Expect some skepticism until a working prototype is available.

Good luck with your project!

@TheOtherDave:

Anotherblackhat said :

How can you be 100% confident that a look up table has zero consciousness when you don't even know for sure what consciousness is?

In response Monkeymind said :

Why not just define consciousness in a rational, unambiguous, non-contradictory way and then use it consistently throughout?

Not being100% confident what consciousness is, seemed to be a concern to anotherblackhat. Defining consciousness would have removed that concern.

No need to "read between the lines" as it was a straight forward question. I ... (read more)

Thanx! TheOtherDave:

The point of defining one's terms is to avoid confusion in the first place. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks consciousness means. Only the meaning as defined in the theorist's hypothesis is important at this stage of the scientific method.

"there's a good chance that I've lost sight of my goal"

That's something I don't understand (with epistemic rationality- "The art of choosing actions that steer the future toward outcomes ranked higher in your preferences ").

This is fine when a person is making person... (read more)

If you don't know for sure what consciousness is, you define it as best you can, and proceed forward to see if your hypothesis is rational and that the theory is possible. If you define conscious as made of cells, then everyone knows right away a GLUT is not conscious (that is, if it is not made of cells) by YOUR def. and tells you, you are being irrational, please go back to the drawing board!

If my goal is to talk about something with a particular definition, then I prefer not to use an existing word to refer to it when that word doesn't refer unambiguously to the definition I have in mind. That just leads to confusing conversations. I'd rather just make up a new term to go with my new made-up definition and talk about that.

Well, casual conversation is not the same as using key terms (or words) in a scientific hypothesis, so that's a different subject, but new terms to define new ideas is fine if it's your hypothesis. In conversation, new de... (read more)

How can you be 100% confident that a look up table has zero consciousness when you don't even know for sure what consciousness is?

Why not just define consciousness in a rational, unambiguous, non-contradictory way and then use it consistently throughout. If we are talking thought experiments here, it is up to us to make assumption(s) in our hypothesis. I don't recall EY giving HIS definition of consciousness for his thought experiment.

However, if the GLUT behaves exactly like a human, and humans are conscious, then by definition the GLUT is conscious, whatever that means.

I'd like to hear it! Even if I am the brunt of the joke.

OK, thanx! but can you answer this? Are amplitude configurations the boundries in my analogy?

Thanx! Desrtopa.

I have to relate everything to what I already know, which is difficult because of practically zero math background. Can we do this w/o math? Ultimately we are leading up to higher dimensions, right?

Let's see if I have a clue visually:

The point is, I am trying to understand certain concepts and then put them into terms that I can relate to. Any similarity to actual theories or reality is purely coincidental.

I like to (mis)use the terms interference wave pattern and surface tension. When looking at a wooden table, we see where the molecules... (read more)

Individual configurations don't have physics. Amplitude distributions have physics.

So the parts have no physical presence, but the whole does?

People are a lot more complicated than neurons, and it's not just people that are connected to the internet - there are many devices acting autonomously with varying levels of sophistication, and both the number of people and the number of internet connected devices are increasing.

FYI ...A recent study by Cysco (I think) says something like:

The internet is currently around 5 million terabytes with 75 million servers world wide. On average, one billion people use the internet per week. Internet use consumes enough information per hour to fill 7 million D... (read more)

Came here doing research on QM and decided to try out some ideas. I learn to swim best by jumping right in over my head. My style usually doesn't win me many friends, but I recognize who they are pretty fast, and I learn what works and what doesn't.

Someone once called me jello with a temper....but I'm more like a toothless old dog, more bark than bite. The tough exterior has helped me in many circumstances.

On the first day as a new kid in high school, I walked up to the biggest, baddest senior there, with all his sheep gathered around him in the parking ... (read more)

He walked along the trail with all the other workers. They had toiled all day in the field, and now were heading back to join the rest just over the hill. His kind had lived and worked this land for over a thousand years. They are the hardest workers anyone has ever known. They were all tired and hungry, and it was quiet as they mindlessly shuffled down the trail. He had walked this way many times before, as they all had, without a single thought about the individual sacrifice each has made for the collective. This is the way it has always been. His large ... (read more)

If intelligence is the ability to understand concepts, and a super-intelligent AI has a super ability to understand concepts, what would prevent it (as a tool) from answering questions in a way so as to influence the user and affect outcomes as though it were an agent?

If this is where we are at, then please advise me of it so I can take appropriate steps to avoid getting banned. I don't think I got an explicit statement of banning mode having been triggered, but I want to be sure since there is talk of the ban hammer going down.

I am not trying to be contrary, I just am, so it comes out that way. I truly think that what I have to offer has merit. Of course, if the community does not think so then it is within their power to down vote me into non-existence. That is fair, as I have no right to force my ideas on another person. It just seemed that this would be a place to share ideas. Perhaps not.

Are you asking me not to post anywhere in the community or just this thread?

Just tell me what you want, and I'll comply.

If you prefer not having disagreement, I'll just have to read and not participate. I can't simply agree because others think differently. Surely that is not what this is about.

BTW, I will go by whatever the house rules are. I am not here to be argumentative or disagreeable. I am here to learn. I do not argue for the sake of argument. I argue to become Less Wrong!

Originally I thot this was a physics forum. I came to this thread and got into the discussion w/o reading through the website. My bad! I have tapped out of the thread and will leave it alone. If you must censor me can you please delete all my posts, to be fair. It is hard enough to get people not to take things out of context as it is.

OK, I answered every single post addressed to me. I have done this since the beginning nearly one month ago. I have been honest, open and direct. I have tried to understand the community and I have done my best to respond with as much detail as needed to answer the issues raised.

No one has responded in kind. Therefore, Monday I will be back. If anyone needs clarification on anything that I have said, I will respond. Be prepared to answer my questions and address the issues I have raised by relating it directly to the OP (configurations & amplitudes).... (read more)

Well, I hope it has been a benefit to some. I'm just testing ideas out and wanting to learn and I have learned some things... so great!

Judging from the lack of counterarguments, accusations, dodging, strawmen, shifting of goal posts, and so forth, the ideas I am sharing strike at the heart of folks belief system.

Hi Cu, and thanx! This is what I have been saying all along.

Maybe, I misunderstand what you mean by intuitive, so perhaps you should give your definition. If we wish to make an appeal to popularity, we can use this Google definition (which I have posted b4):

Intuition: Using or based on what one feels to be true even without conscious reasoning; instinctive.

Based on that definition, you can see clearly see that I have not been saying that at all. I have repeatedly said that in a hypothesis one must rationally define their key terms. It seems like you and ot... (read more)

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The theme in my posts all along has been about defining key terms and proper scientific method. We can't have one without the other. Here is another perfect example of what I have been talking about, when I say proper scientific method.

In the Strange Case of Solar Flares and Radioactive Elements, when the scientists can't understand how their observations don't align with their theories, instead of taking a closer look at the assumptions of the theories, they naturally want to invent another particle! (In general, I am pointing to the problem with the Scie... (read more)

Thanx for your comment!

Although it is long, as it broadly covers many blogs in a sequence on how to change your mind, I disagree about it being off topic.

However, let me remind you that it is others that have kept it "off topic" not I. Others requested that I read other blogs in order that I might see more clearly where the author was coming from and the main thrust of Less Wrong.

Yet, it is not entirely off topic, it is just that we are dealing with a very broad subject, Quantum Mechanics, and attempting to approach it from a rationalist pov.... (read more)

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I gave you a thumbs up for this!