jared
Guest
Registered: Apr 29, 2024 9:08:34 GMT
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Post by jared on Aug 23, 2005 16:53:47 GMT
... as an agnostic I don't believe it is possible to have certain knowledge about anything. An' might that mean you're not certain o' me own existence, Admiral? Well since you as the being behind the keyboard are probably not Irish and not in Starfleet, there is already doubt on the possibility of your character's existence. Therefore we cannot be sure in turn that the being at the keyboard that we cannot see is even real. Your very existence may be a character dreamed up by another person to create a better image than your true self. Similarly, what's to say Elron isn't just a brain in a tank with us feeding him data and input as if he were a real person instead of, as he is, simply a science experiment.
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Elron
Fleet Admiral
[Retired]
?There are no facts, only interpretations? (Nietzsche)
Registered: May 31, 2003 12:23:57 GMT
Posts: 3,080
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Post by Elron on Aug 24, 2005 10:00:00 GMT
If I'm a brain in a tank, you better watch out for my artillary! I've got quite some range! ;D
And since you mention it, TJ, you could very well be the result of a computer program - perhaps even the computer at which I sit just now - doing a remarkable job of impersonating an Irish Starfleet officer. And what a good officer it is too
Heck, I can't even be sure of my own existence, never mind yours. Descartes said that was the one thing he could be sure of, because each time he thinks to himself "I am, I exist", it is necessarily true; a fact he realised through clear and distinct perception. He then went on to assert that anything he perceives clearly and distinctly must be true. While I agree that his first claim seems irrefutable and I can think of no situation in which is does not hold true, that's not to say that there isn't one. I can't think of anyway in which we could consider our own existence without, in fact, existing, but the extents of my intellect may be to limited to acknowledge that it is possible and therefore I have no reliable guarantee that I do exist.
Anyway, I think we should try to keep this at least vaguely on topic so let's get back to teaching QM!*wanders off to prod himself in the hope that he exists and hasn't wasted the last 20 years of his non-life*
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 29, 2024 9:08:34 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2005 13:06:06 GMT
Penfold tidied up the lecture theatre after the public debate between visiting Admiral Elron and recent graduate Reman Jared. The next class wasn't for a while yet, but it was a good idea to have the place ready for students and staff, just in case they turned up early.
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