All of Vlodermolt's Comments + Replies

Are non-existent people simply extensions of the existent people who created them? Is not the reason for their creation to forward a point supported or opposed by their creator?

So humans are complex creatures that exhibit a simplified view of other humans? Isn't there some kind of psychological explanation for that?

I applaud the attention to detail. Really keeps things in perspective.

Who knows, one of the articles produced here might be featured in the New York Times. Maybe even the same time some controversy or other begins. I look forward to it! :)

3lukeprog
The New York Times wants a different style of writing. But it helps if you've done the peer-reviewed journal style first. :)

Writing the first chapter of "...and the Methods of Rationality" is a milestone all by itself. It's a wonder reading it hasn't given me hyper-cerebral electrosis.

I've actually read it forwarded that life originates in outer space, because the conditions necessary to form it are not found on planets.

I'm not four billion years old, so I can't verify it.

If a person wants to die, then why wait?

But seriously, you can solve the problem of #3 and #4 by using stem cells to make your brain divide forever, and use computers to store your memory in perfect condition, since brain cells gradually die off.

The problem is... what is "you"? How do you determine whether you are still yourself after a given period of time? Does my solution actually constitute a solution?

Shouldn't we be focusing on a way to scientifically quantify the soul before making ourselves immortal? On second thought, that might not be the best idea.

1TheOtherDave
Well, how do you do it now? For my own part, I don't think the question means anything. I will change over time; I have already changed over time. As long as the transitions are relatively gradual, there won't be any complaints on that score.

Has anyone written a rationalist fanfic for Battlestar Galactica (2003 remake)?

The problem is that I am not myself a rationalist, so I wouldn't be any good at writing it. Mage: The Ascension is not particularly good for rationalist fanfiction, since it takes place in a universe where consensus reality is true, and thus the scientific method fails as a way to understand the universe, since the laws of physics are determined by how many people believe in them.

Furthermore, the reason I bring this particular fandom up is because the other fans continually tell me that in the game world, rationalism and the scientific method are wrong, ev... (read more)

3TheOtherDave
I know nothing about the story/game you're talking about, but I think this is an important and common misconception, and fanfiction that addressed it directly might be worthwhile. If it were an utterly chaotic universe, like what Brunner portrays in the Traveller in Black stories, then I might agree, but what you describe sounds instead like a universe with a regular and predictable relationship between people's beliefs and events in the world. I'd love to see stories about a rigorous thinker in such a universe working out ways to exploit its ground rules.