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well, standard thermodynamics has as been largely abandoned (except for its ossified existence in classrooms). The active edge of research, as far as I understand it, is using non-equilibrium thermodynamics... a very different beast. One more step toward kicking Plato out of science.

Leonard Susskind (if I am understanding him correctly) thinks our Universe is very much like the Allegory of the Cave. Basically we are a projection on the walls of a black hole. (I could be way off, but from the little I have heard about his disagreement with Stephen Hawking that's the gist of it)
 
I might be wrong, of course. Maybe "Life" can go through the vortex of a black hole and come out on the other side still possessed of whatever is the basic essence of "Life".

I note, however, that in the vast outlands of the Universe that are on this side of the black holes, Life seems fragile and transitory. I could hope I'm just wrong in that perception, but if that's not the way things are, "death" still removes us from our friends usually one at a time.

Death does remove us from our friends and family in some senses, but not all. The memories of my grandfather, for example, have a determining hand in the contours of my present. Memories are fabulous and complex. I think the great philosophers of memory are right when they speak about them as living.
 
A river having no name seems like one of the saddest things. But living in the desert, I appreciate dry washes, and have seen some flash floods come and go. I have heard some rumors about the Arabs viewing washes as rivers, realizing basically that there is usually some water beneath the sand. . . . .

"A river does not depend on water"
-- Andy Goldsworthy
 
Death does remove us from our friends and family in some senses, but not all. The memories of my grandfather, for example, have a determining hand in the contours of my present. Memories are fabulous and complex. I think the great philosophers of memory are right when they speak about them as living.

Still though, I'd rather be a living person than a living memory.
 
Leonard Susskind (if I am understanding him correctly) thinks our Universe is very much like the Allegory of the Cave. Basically we are a projection on the walls of a black hole. (I could be way off, but from the little I have heard about his disagreement with Stephen Hawking that's the gist of it)

I'm highly resistant to any allegorical reduction of things, but that can be fun. I'll look into it.
 
I love how ONE LOBE is swinging through here and 'liking' almost every single post except for mine. I feel bad for the rest of you that you can't say the same thing.

@salt13: I've found some reading material. I'll leave them here has open tabs on my browser and hope it doesn't crash before I get to it. I see that the allegory of the cave is a Plato thing, but I'm trying to to cringe before I read.
 
I love how ONE LOBE is swinging through here and 'liking' almost every single post except for mine. I feel bad for the rest of you that you can't say the same thing.

@salt13: I've found some reading material. I'll leave them here has open tabs on my browser and hope it doesn't crash before I get to it. I see that the allegory of the cave is a Plato thing, but I'm trying to to cringe before I read.

Doesn't Rush Limbaugh brag about being able to pontificate with one lobe tied behind his back?

I find that most folks, myself not excepted, are only using a small fraction of their available brains as it is. congruently, folks who are studying Artificial Intelligence have analyzed what happens when they take down their computer program one piece at a time, The report is that the first withdrawals from perfection result in incredible inappropriateness and mind-boggling stupidity. But as the process is continued down to about ten percent of the "perfect brain", it begins to function normally again, finally being forced to focus on the relevant facts. . . . Which may be why we only use ten percent ourselves.

One Love has a lengthy history in this forum, under I believe several names at different times. He's young by my view of things, and has cast about looking for answers quite a bit. I believe he just wants to focus on the basics of Christianity. I don't follow the issues others have with one another very well. At my age I choose to just value people pretty much as they are. I hope you can overlook one another's problems to some extent and just focus on the ideas we're playing with.

I appreciate everyone. . . anyone. . . who will come here with any polite communication.
 
I love how ONE LOBE is swinging through here and 'liking' almost every single post except for mine. I feel bad for the rest of you that you can't say the same thing.

@salt13: I've found some reading material. I'll leave them here has open tabs on my browser and hope it doesn't crash before I get to it. I see that the allegory of the cave is a Plato thing, but I'm trying to to cringe before I read.

Well, I'd rather get a rep, if deserved, than a "like". I don't know why management chose to devalue rep with all this fiat "like" paper.
 
Doesn't Rush Limbaugh brag about being able to pontificate with one lobe tied behind his back?

I find that most folks, myself not excepted, are only using a small fraction of their available brains as it is. congruently, folks who are studying Artificial Intelligence have analyzed what happens when they take down their computer program one piece at a time, The report is that the first withdrawals from perfection result in incredible inappropriateness and mind-boggling stupidity. But as the process is continued down to about ten percent of the "perfect brain", it begins to function normally again, finally being forced to focus on the relevant facts. . . . Which may be why we only use ten percent ourselves.

One Love has a lengthy history in this forum, under I believe several names at different times. He's young by my view of things, and has cast about looking for answers quite a bit. I believe he just wants to focus on the basics of Christianity. I don't follow the issues others have with one another very well. At my age I choose to just value people pretty much as they are. I hope you can overlook one another's problems to some extent and just focus on the ideas we're playing with.

I appreciate everyone. . . anyone. . . who will come here with any polite communication.



In that sense, we are all your disciples.
 
In that sense, we are all your disciples.

disciples? rep is valued because it used to be a sort of currency in this site that could be bartered, exchanged, and played with as a sideshow game. But sometimes it meant something like an affirmation. neg rep was usually just a meaningless ignorant jab, but rep meant someone else was actually thinking something, and it was like an assist in Basketball. It helped to focus on better stuff, maybe make a point or two.

So since I hold individualism up pretty high, and expect the best from people, to be my "disciple" you've got to challenge me enough I actually have to think again, or some more. I can't be the end of the discussion.
 
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