http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Analytic-philosophy-Wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia-tp3235494p3247077.html
well, some of the discussion HAS been off list. Which demonstrates some of
parts of the argument.
evil? There is something faintly ..... puritanical ... about your
position. As if a bumptious conversation about ideas was ... like public
nakedness. . Just avert your eyes!
reflective people. the kind of people who watch ted videos and stuff. Is
make use of knowledge about themselves.
Nicholas S. Thompson
> [Original Message]
> From: Owen Densmore <
[hidden email]>
> To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <
[hidden email]>
> Date: 7/12/2009 1:16:26 PM
> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Philosophy, Mathematics, and Science
>
> Steve: I think the difficulty here is that at some point,
> conversations are taken off-list when clearly appropriate.
> Unfortunately, those participating in the conversation do not know how
> to do so.
>
> Can you think of a solution for that? We may want to just zap the
> list and go to a Forum with sub-topics, one of which would be the
> philosophy of science.
>
> -- Owen
>
>
> On Jul 12, 2009, at 12:44 PM, Steve Smith wrote:
>
> > Owen says:
> > ... I think the conflict may be nearly trivial: constructing
> > things. ...
> > and Doug elaborates
> > ...
> > Talk is cheap.
> > ... I have anything against masturbation, mental or otherwise. It's
> > just that nothing ever comes of it, so to speak.
> > ...
> >
> > and now for some more Cheap Talk (following Aku's lead)!
> > I happen to enjoy constructing things a great deal...
> > useful things... then using them....
> > a lot more than I like talking about constructing
> > things.
> >
> > Ideas, on the other hand...
> > especially well-considered, carefully contextualized ones,
> > are very interesting to me, and difficult to "construct"
> > on one's own. This is actually what lead me into mathematics
> > and science.... how much one can "construct" with carefully
> > chosen ideas (and notations).
> >
> > As for FRIAM-the-list... any mail list (in my experience) has a high
> > noise/signal ratio.
> >
> > I have learned to winnow fairly well... not engage in the
> > conversations that do not serve me.
> >
> > Given the (300+ ?) membership here and the significantly lower
> > number speaking up, I'd
> > say a lot of folks here share that ability.
> >
> > Some of the "philosophical discussions" here serve me nicely... I
> > weigh in on some and I
> > read others with interest, and a few I simply leave only skimmed
> > over because they do
> > not serve me very well at all. Sometimes I simply do not have
> > enough background to
> > appreciate them, and other times, they can simply be "lame".
> >
> > Of the "discussions of constructing things", a few offer
> > interesting tidbits for me...
> > ideas about things which are _worth constructing_, and ideas for new
> > tools or materials
> > for doing them with. But a lot of that discussion can seem pretty
> > self-aggrandizing
> > and/or masturbatory as well. I've dabbled with tens of computer
> > languages in my
> > lifetime, and probably mastered 3 or 4... and I am happy for those
> > who still get
> > excited over the latest nuances of the latest version of the latest
> > language or tool... but
> > perhaps like Nick (yet for different reasons), it doesn't do that
> > much for me.
> >
> > I don't need to suggest that such discussions not occur... Like
> > sitting in a coffee
> > shop to do work... I find happy babble that I don't understand or
> > care much about
> > a useful backdrop. If the background noise doesn't serve me, I
> > block it out or
> > find a different place to "hang out". If I happen to engage in
> > happy babble there
> > myself, I hope it is as useful to others who have chosen the same
> > coffee shop.
> >
> > Carry on with the happy babble...
> >
> > - Steve
> >
> > PS. Anybody know where I can get a good deal on a set of injectors
> > for an 86 VW
> > Rabbit? Or a good third-member from an older 4x4 subaru or tercel
> > wagon?
> > Or a line on some good DC motors to drive these axles on the CRX
> > this is going into?
> > How about a couple of Canon Cameras using the vxWorks OS (to hack
> > into a
> > white-light scanner)? Is the ubiquity of JavaScript interpreters
> > in many tools (beyond web browsers now!) leading to a "Cambrian
> > Explosion"?
> > Anyone interested in helping me dig a 40' trench for the
> > foundation of an atrium? Anyone have any experience making foam-
> > crete (same
> > project)? Anybody nimble enough to climb to the top of my
> > Cottonwood to rig
> > me some lines so when I start to cut one of the dead limbs out, it
> > won't crash
> > into my house (or the atrium-to-be)? What's the cheapest way to
> > get a copy of MS
> > Windows XP to load on my Mac? Does anyone know of a practical open-
> > source
> > hybrid laser/white-light scanning system? How about a review of
> > all of the
> > current "rapid prototyping" systems and/or service bureaus? Who
> > wants to
> > start a FreeGeek.org NM? And what about that New Realism?
> > Anybody know how to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
> > butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet,
> > balance accounts,
> > build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give
> > orders, cooperate,
> > act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure,
> > program a computer,
> > cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ============================================================
> > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
> > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at
http://www.friam.org>
>
> ============================================================
> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
> lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at
http://www.friam.orgMeets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College