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Comment by Meta_and_Meta on Class Project · 2008-05-31T01:26:50.000Z · LW · GW

Make it zero dimensions and call it a "day." All else is Maya.

Comment by Meta_and_Meta on Einstein's Superpowers · 2008-05-30T14:31:40.000Z · LW · GW

And even if you assumed that Einstein's genius was unique, how could celebrity (of all things) be a function of that? (If Einstein had had a different hairdo...)

Comment by Meta_and_Meta on The Generalized Anti-Zombie Principle · 2008-04-06T14:38:56.000Z · LW · GW

How can we possibly move on when there are still people who are wrong on the Internet?

Comment by Meta_and_Meta on Zombie Responses · 2008-04-06T14:11:16.000Z · LW · GW

Here's an argument related to Eliezer's point about the need to have a substantive model of consciousness before you can model removing it from the world:

Consider a hypothetical person, call him "Al." On the assumptions of property dualism, Al comprises or instantiates certain "formal" natural properties Φ and certain "intrinsic" natural properties Ψ.

The property dualist postulates that Φ and Ψ are necessary and sufficient conditions for consciousness.

Yet we can "clearly and distinctly" conceive of zombie-Al, who is a duplicate of Al in respect of both Φ and Ψ, but who is nonetheless phenomenally void.

Thus, we are right back where we were before Ψ was even posited. Therefore, Ψ is theoretically vacuous.

Comment by Meta_and_Meta on Zombies! Zombies? · 2008-04-05T00:18:18.000Z · LW · GW

Imagine a minimally complete physical duplicate of our cosmos. (So, e.g., the earth travels round the sun consistent with Keplar's laws, etc.) But: There's no gravity.

Comment by Meta_and_Meta on Words as Mental Paintbrush Handles · 2008-03-02T15:37:01.000Z · LW · GW

On behaviorism, I always liked Morgenbesser's alleged remark to Skinner: "Let me see if I understand your thesis. You think we shouldn’t anthropomorphize people?"

Comment by Meta_and_Meta on Sneaking in Connotations · 2008-02-19T23:20:35.000Z · LW · GW

Finally someone has come up with a word for those awful people.