And even if we did lack the ability to understand it, it would merely be a practical limitation. We have no reason whatsoever to believe we couldn't construct superior minds that could comprehend the universe.
Nah, there's quite a lot more than that. Indeed, arguably the lion's share of work remains in areas that physics refuses to touch. These actually are reasonable questions:
1. Why is the universe the way it is (how did reality come to be?) I.e. how did it come to pass that quantum laws "took". Even more basic, why does anything exist at all? As someone once pointed out, a potential for a quantum fluctuation is a far cry from nothing.
2. What is the nature of the subjective perceptual experience? When I experience pain or see the color purple, that may be a phenomena that only I directly experience, but it is nevertheless real, and therefore there must be a physics that describes it.
> there are true statements
> within any consistent axiomatic system that can
> never be proven.
Pardon my ignorance, but how do they know they are true? Examples, please.
It seems if you know it's true, but a sufficiently complex axiomatic system couldn't prove it, then you've demonstrated the universe couldn't be simulated by a Turing machine, which would be a very interesting result indeed.
Can't we all just get along and realize most politicians want to create a fascist superstate?
I do have to agree about the Nader observation. "Monopolies are bad therefore let's create a massive ubermonopoly, one source that controls everything" never sat too well with me.
Excellent! If the soul exists, such a thing should be testable via some kind of moral and ethical methods of psychological examination.
Or weight.
Or whatever the hell a soul is.
And if there is no way to distinguish such a person, then we must scientifically conclude a soul doesn't exist because it has no affect whatsoever on life in this secular world.
Nope. That hypothesis was never very good to begin with.
> You think the universe came into being by sheer
> luck? Don't be so stupid.
Ok, so who made God? How did God come to be? Oh, he always existed? Well, then how did reality come to such a state that God always existed?
> Assholes like you make him sad but you will meet
> your day in hell.
So people are to spend a life in eternal excruciating pain because of a few finite mistakes. How many quintillions of years should I spend, undying, in a 1-million degree furnace because I briefly lusted for Ashley Judd this afternoon? A quintillion years is still a damned long way from eternity.
And such a God is "good"? Uhhhhh, ok. Let's all back up real slowly away from him now...
I don't know. Given a bottle of wine and some soft music, anal probing and attempts to impregnate me might be acceptable by suitable aliens. Vivisection, not on your life.
Unless numbed, of course, since they would then put me back together.
Oh, and the Neanderthals! Maybe Lucy, smarter than an ape, dumber than a human, what's up with that?
Although I don't OWN genetic samples of any of these, I claim patent extension rights to the process of cloning all these things. Cheap too! The price shall be...one million dollars!
> The Australians hunted the Aboriginals until
> they were extinct on Tasmania, are they going to
> re-introduce them too?
I don't see why not.
In fact, let's restore King Tut, some ancient Romans, some ancient Chinese, and so on, and compare the resulting race vs. those that live there now as help for studies of population migration over the centuries. And guest spots on Jay Leno!
Oh, ladies! I hear your population needs massive injections of new genetic material. Since I will be required to do prodigious duty, my females must be selected to be of a highly stimulating nature.
> In either case we're stirring the balance in the
> ecosystem, which is bad for our own survival as
> a species.
Actually, the complete destruction of local ecosystems in favor of farmland has been an incalculable boon to humanity, leading to more, cheaper food. Food so cheap it is all but free, even to the poorest of the poor. "Godplaying" humans have advanced the human condition more in the past 200 years than the previous ten thousand under the rule of "Godfearing" humans.
Slashdot Mirror
And even if we did lack the ability to understand it, it would merely be a practical limitation. We have no reason whatsoever to believe we couldn't construct superior minds that could comprehend the universe.
Nah, there's quite a lot more than that. Indeed, arguably the lion's share of work remains in areas that physics refuses to touch. These actually are reasonable questions:
1. Why is the universe the way it is (how did reality come to be?) I.e. how did it come to pass that quantum laws "took". Even more basic, why does anything exist at all? As someone once pointed out, a potential for a quantum fluctuation is a far cry from nothing.
2. What is the nature of the subjective perceptual experience? When I experience pain or see the color purple, that may be a phenomena that only I directly experience, but it is nevertheless real, and therefore there must be a physics that describes it.
> Where knowledge is symbolized by the sphere's
> volume and the unknown by the sphere's surface.
Are you referring to the typical Slashdot college nerd, who knows the babe down the hall has fake boobs, but doesn't stand a chance in hell with her?
> there are true statements
> within any consistent axiomatic system that can
> never be proven.
Pardon my ignorance, but how do they know they are true? Examples, please.
It seems if you know it's true, but a sufficiently complex axiomatic system couldn't prove it, then you've demonstrated the universe couldn't be simulated by a Turing machine, which would be a very interesting result indeed.
Can't we all just get along and realize most politicians want to create a fascist superstate?
I do have to agree about the Nader observation. "Monopolies are bad therefore let's create a massive ubermonopoly, one source that controls everything" never sat too well with me.
> A cloned human has no soul.
Excellent! If the soul exists, such a thing should be testable via some kind of moral and ethical methods of psychological examination.
Or weight.
Or whatever the hell a soul is.
And if there is no way to distinguish such a person, then we must scientifically conclude a soul doesn't exist because it has no affect whatsoever on life in this secular world.
> Now who is the troll? Of course there is a God.
Nope. That hypothesis was never very good to begin with.
> You think the universe came into being by sheer
> luck? Don't be so stupid.
Ok, so who made God? How did God come to be? Oh, he always existed? Well, then how did reality come to such a state that God always existed?
> Assholes like you make him sad but you will meet
> your day in hell.
So people are to spend a life in eternal excruciating pain because of a few finite mistakes. How many quintillions of years should I spend, undying, in a 1-million degree furnace because I briefly lusted for Ashley Judd this afternoon? A quintillion years is still a damned long way from eternity.
And such a God is "good"? Uhhhhh, ok. Let's all back up real slowly away from him now...
I don't know. Given a bottle of wine and some soft music, anal probing and attempts to impregnate me might be acceptable by suitable aliens. Vivisection, not on your life.
Unless numbed, of course, since they would then put me back together.
Actually, you should be all for that. The more Man can Manhandle and whip into any shape He wants, the better off We will be.
That's why you should grow them acephalously so it won't be an issue.
I want my tanks of acephalous clones for spare parts. What the hell is the holdup?
I hereby claim patent extension rights on the cooking of all Tasmanian Tiger dishes.
Oh, wait, there is the prior art he mentions.
Ok, I claim to patent the Tasmanian Tiger burger, including the new McTasmanian Tiger Hamburger and Cheesburgers, respectively.
> I have seen a menu reprinted in a reference book
> that listed Tasmanian Tiger on the menu.
I can't wait to try it!
And you dopes all thought this was a purely academic excercise!
Oh, and the Neanderthals! Maybe Lucy, smarter than an ape, dumber than a human, what's up with that?
Although I don't OWN genetic samples of any of these, I claim patent extension rights to the process of cloning all these things. Cheap too! The price shall be...one million dollars!
> The Australians hunted the Aboriginals until
> they were extinct on Tasmania, are they going to
> re-introduce them too?
I don't see why not.
In fact, let's restore King Tut, some ancient Romans, some ancient Chinese, and so on, and compare the resulting race vs. those that live there now as help for studies of population migration over the centuries. And guest spots on Jay Leno!
Yeah, what's up with listing a bunch of goofy, neo-Luddite governmental actions slowing the pace of improvements to human life?
> Iceland is an excellent example
Oh, ladies! I hear your population needs massive injections of new genetic material. Since I will be required to do prodigious duty, my females must be selected to be of a highly stimulating nature.
> In either case we're stirring the balance in the
> ecosystem, which is bad for our own survival as
> a species.
Actually, the complete destruction of local ecosystems in favor of farmland has been an incalculable boon to humanity, leading to more, cheaper food. Food so cheap it is all but free, even to the poorest of the poor. "Godplaying" humans have advanced the human condition more in the past 200 years than the previous ten thousand under the rule of "Godfearing" humans.