User Controls
Posts by Guided
-
2016-05-14 at 6:41 AM UTC in zoo's are fundamentally wrongI've wasted my time coming here. Farewell.
-
2016-05-14 at 2:10 AM UTC in zoo's are fundamentally wrongNo, because I've made no claims contrary to those you've made. It is only you who have stated claims, and they are so far unsupported, and worse, undefined.
-
2016-05-14 at 1:33 AM UTC in MathematicsI struggled with that post because I found myself unable to express your bolded sentence in a satisfactory way. I'm not sure if I've misspoken, but it's certainly possible. I will start again, and then try my best to respond to what you have said.
Mathematics deals with quantity, multitude and magnitude, and the relationships between various quantities. So yes, arithmetic recognizes prime numbers, which are qualitative properties of quantities, but the quality of being prime is one concerned with the relationship between quantities. Circles are curves with many unique qualitative properties, but all that I can think of are expressions of relations between quantities.[FONT=arial][SIZE=16px]…[/SIZE][/FONT]And if we want to talk about modeling we can look to discrete sorts of mathematics like category theory which speaks very certainly about qualities of points under transformation. Unless you take "quality" to be somehow inherently immune to modeling (like claiming all quality is radically subjective and talking about it is meaningless) which would be dumb and immediately suspect circularity.
This is where I start to lose you, but I also suspect this is where our difference of opinion lies, and therefore it is important that I understand you here. I'm unfamiliar with category theory, but based on what my cursory research shows me, I'm not sure it opens possibilities I previously thought impossible. My problem is this: there are many things that are essentially qualitative. I'm no subjectivist; quite the contrary. But the essence of an oak tree is not able to be expressed quantitatively. I don't see how you could use mathematics to describe it. You could use it to describe its shape, project its growth, etc.. But how could you use it to express not its attributes but the oak tree itself? I desire to use many other examples that we have in our shared experience, such as love or the color blue, but I recognize that in this (post-)modern age the existence of these is often doubted, and so I chose the oak tree, a rather concrete example. Please help me understand your point of view. -
2016-05-14 at 12:58 AM UTC in zoo's are fundamentally wrongNo, it doesn't.
Your argument, reorganized, with the missing pieces, is:
Everything that is "all in your head" is subjective.
Morality is all in your head.
Therefore, morality is subjective.
Firstly, you'd need to define objective and subjective in such a way that everything that is "all in your head" (another phrase that would need defining) is subjective. Obviously logically you could do this, but I'm not as sure you could do so and keep the common definition I suspect you meant in your first point. Moreover, I think it would force many more things than you wish to be considered "all in your head", and therefore make more things subjective then you intend. Please define objective and subjective, and what it means for something to be "all in your head".
After you do this, you must prove the second line; somehow show that morality is something "all in your head" according to the definition you give it. -
2016-05-13 at 10:51 PM UTC in zoo's are fundamentally wrong
Right and wrong are subjective, nothing is inherently right or wrong, therefore you are a faggot.
Citation needed. I find it amusing that subjectivists tend to posit their subjectivism as objectively true. Can you give an argument for your facile claim? -
2016-05-09 at 11:02 PM UTC in MathematicsWhile they appear to be the same, I believe you and I are saying different things.
[FONT=arial][SIZE=16px]…[/SIZE][/FONT]I think mathematics is or is like a language in that while it can be used to describe basically anything it's not the same as the thing itself. I do think math could be used to express or describe basically every aspect of reality, but I agree that's not the same as actually experiencing reality consciously the way (I presume) you and I do[FONT=arial][SIZE=16px]…[/SIZE][/FONT]
I am not drawing the distinction between experience and description, but quantity and quality. Mathematics is a language which deals with quantity, and therefore has either no relation or a poor relation to the qualitative. I am tempted to say it deals wholly with quantity and has no ability to express quality in any way, but I do not know enough to say this confidently.
To go to your example of the sexual experience, one could mathematically describe various processes that are involved in arousal and the exchange between the lovers, but nothing essential could be said about the union via mathematics. We can, however, use language that is used to describe qualitative experiences to attempt to convey information that mathematics cannot. Poetry would be especially good in this instance. But I struggle to see how you could even identify sex as such using pure mathematics. That is, to get to this point in your example, you would need to use non-mathematical language to identify it, and all of your terms would employ non-mathematical aspects to hint at the qualitative aspects of sex which differentiate it from other activities. -
2016-05-09 at 9:48 PM UTC in What the fuck are you doing with your life?I'm finishing up a degree and considering future options, including grad school, teaching abroad, or expatriating. I also got married recently.
-
2016-05-09 at 9:47 PM UTC in Sidebar
New topics works for me
The "New Topics" feature does appear to offer essentially the same function, but it requires action on the part of the user to be used, which requires more commitment on the part of the user. I understand why the difference between it and having an actively-displayed sidebar seems minimal, but I suspect it might make a good difference for those who minimally browse the site. -
2016-05-09 at 6:06 PM UTC in SidebarThat's not a problem given the community, as long as Lanny is willing to allow others to work on it.
-
2016-05-09 at 5:19 PM UTC in SidebarI know nothing about bbs design and administration, but if possible, I imagine a sidebar would be a tremendous help to this site. Sidebars are particularly important for forums with low post-rates, as it helps users know where the motion is, and where to contribute.
-
2016-05-09 at 8:09 AM UTC in Mathematics
Mathematics can be used to describe basically everything in our reality.
I don't see how this claim could possibly hold up. Firstly, it's impossible to prove, even if it were true. That is, one could never prove that mathematics was capable of expressing all that is. But the bigger issue is that there are many aspects of even our perceived reality which cannot be expressed mathematically. I'll give an example: the experience of the color red cannot be expressed mathematically. Yes, the color can be expressed in terms of its wavelength, and therefore this is able to be expressed quantitatively, but what red essentially is, its qualitative aspect, cannot be expressed via mathematics. Mathematics is very useful and impressive in the realm of quantity, but is rarely appropriate for the qualitative.
-
2016-05-09 at 6:41 AM UTC in I still desire to interact with you peopleI am not quite sure why I cannot let this community go. I understand the appeal totse had for me when I was young and disenfranchised, but I no longer feel like my life is purposeless or directionless. Nor am I a misanthrope any longer, and nor do I acknowledge as acceptable behavior crime, drug use, or other such things as are common on here. And yet I still don't wish to be estranged from those few who still latch on to this community in its many incarnations. My last time on Zoklet was especially enjoyable, even if I was somewhat of an idiot and was unable to see past some of my prejudices and ill-conceived ideologies. Despite whatever crud and nonsense always comes with the territory, I've there to be genuinely enlightening experiences to be had speaking with you guys. I don't know what will become of this place; it seems to me that everything after Zoklet has failed to be anything worth mentioning. However, as long as this place has motion and there is something worth staying for, I'll give it a try.
Hello.