Judaism

But

Repentance, Prayer and Charity


Temper Judgements' severe decree

The playing field

I cannot live like this

Frustration

The root of my malcontent.
The essence of my anger.
The worthwhile task from the fool,
To the fool.

Let the lesson be learned that help
Is never wanted unless asked.
You cannot assume you know how to act
If you are deaf to the other.

Advice from the fool--
My life is my life.
If you want me to do something,
Imperium fails.

My time is my time.
Do not pretend you know
Better how I can,
Move.

A note on poetry

Thanks to a certain English class, I plan on making a conscious effort to include punctuation in poetry.


-Shadow's Friend

Year of the Sketchpad

This is the year of the Sketchpad.

A year when,
Blind skepticism encroaches upon
Beauty.

A year when,
Discovery
Mingles with self-expression.

A year when,
Those who have been trapped in
Solitude of mind, learn
of liberation.

This is the year of the Sketchpad.

A note to bloggers :)

Hey yall,

Yeah so if you're reading this you are much better than I

I am way behind on reading yall's blogs


I'll catch up

With you


With life

Sometime...

Maybe...



Much love,
Shadow's Friend

Funny quotes

Ok, I found this really funny: Quotations from the wise and funny

You can lead a horse to water

"You can lead a horse to water
But a pencil must be lead"

Yeah, think on that

Am I a simulated mind?

If I am a simulated mind how does this effect my life?

My life is what I perceive it to be.

It matters not, therefore, if I am a simulated mind.

Life is what you experience.

To a simulated mind the entire simulated world is the true reality.
The only way to predict a future outcome in the simulated world
Is the same methods we have always used.

Thinking that one is in a simulation does not change the way one acts in the simulated world.

This however works under the assumption that one does not try and figure out
The intentions of the inteligence at a lower level of reality.

Divine reward and punishment.
Afterlife.
Supernatural powers.

The list continues with possibilities that one can believe
Based merely on the assumption that we are not the bottom level of reality.

Your choice is do you live only in your reality. Or do you live in your reality based on the assumption there is an intelligence at the control panel.

Simulation Argument

Assumption:
"What allows you to have conscious experiences is not the fact that your brain is made of biological matter, but rather that it implements a certain computational architecture."

Posit:
A civilization inevitably is interested in understanding the world. To do so, it is interested in creating a computer simulated world including simulated minds like ours.

Definition:
A civilization is technologically mature when it has sufficient technological ability to run such simulations.

"This does not purport to demonstrate that you are in a simulation. Instead, it shows that we should accept as true at least one of the following three propositions:

1) The chances that a species at our current level of development can avoid going extinct before becoming technologically mature is negligibly small.
2) Almost no technologically mature civilizations are interested in running computer simulations of minds like ours.
3) You are almost certainly in a simulation."

The simulation argument states that at least one of the above is true.

If #1 is true, a civilization will probably go extinct before reaching technological maturity.

If #2 is true no civilization that is technologically mature is interested in running computer simulations of minds like ours. There are no simulations.

However,
If #1 is false, a civilization will reach technological maturity before going extinct.

If we also say that #2 is false (as I have in my previous assumption which is based on our civilizations current such interest), this technologically mature civilization is indeed interested in running simulations of minds like ours.

If a technologically advanced civilization runs such a simulation, the number of minds that are simulated is astronomically huge. For example, civilization A runs a simulation. In this simulation civilization B becomes technologically mature and runs its own simulation etc.

If you accept that #1 and #2 are false it follows that there are many more simulated minds than organic ones. This would lead us accept that #3 must be true, you are more likely to be a simulated mind than not.


The philosophical question that arises from this theory (and one that will be addressed in my next blog post) is that if you accept #3, how does this effect your life?


-Excerpts taken from "Science Fiction and Philosophy: From time travel to superintelligence" edited by Susan Schneider

Featured Artist: Todd Alsup

Up and coming artist (click link)


Todd Alsup




I've personally fallen in love with the song "The good fight"

Rest in Peace

Dr. Warren Johnson

Dalton English Teacher