| Topic: |
Science > Physics |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
07 Sep 2005 08:40:19 AM |
| Object: |
fair |
I guess
the devil and bad angels are all around
almost all people are bad
from the Bible - the devil runs the earth
curses are all around
there are a small number of good people
good people need to fight a lot or they will be doomed a lot
Kurt Stocklmeir
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| User: "Mark Martin" |
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| Title: Re: fair |
07 Sep 2005 09:43:27 AM |
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wrote:
I guess
the devil and bad angels are all around
almost all people are bad
from the Bible - the devil runs the earth
curses are all around
there are a small number of good people
good people need to fight a lot or they will be doomed a lot
Apparently you've already lost the battle yourself. Kurt is a baaaad
boy! You're such a cute little devil!
-Mark Martin
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: fair |
07 Sep 2005 11:01:28 AM |
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The Social Superorganism and its Global Brain
Society can be viewed as a multicellular organism, with individuals in
the role of the cells. The network of communication channels connecting
individuals then plays the role of a nervous system for this
superorganism, i.e. a "global brain".
It is an old idea, dating back at least to the ancient Greeks, that the
whole of human society can be viewed as a single organism. Many
thinkers have noticed the similarity between the roles played by
different organizations in society and the functions of organs, systems
and circuits in the body. For example, industrial plants extract energy
and building blocks from raw materials, just like the digestive system.
Roads, railways and waterways transport these products from one part of
the system to another one, just like the arteries and veins. Garbage
dumps and sewage systems collect waste products, just like the colon
and the bladder. The army and police protect the society against
invaders and rogue elements, just like the immune system.
Such initially vague analogies become more precise as the understanding
of organisms increases. The concepts of systems theory provide a good
framework for establishing a precise correspondence between organismic
and societal functions. The fact that complex organisms, like our own
bodies, are built up from individual cells, led to the concept of
superorganism. If cells aggregate to form a multicellular organism,
then organisms might aggregate to form an organism of organisms: a
superorganism. Biologists agree that social insect colonies, such as
ant nests or beehives, are best seen as such superorganisms. The
activities of a single ant, bee or termite are meaningless unless they
are understood in function of the survival of the colony.
Individual humans may seem similar to the cells of a social
superorganism, but they are still much more independent than ants or
cells (Heylighen & Campbell, 1995). This is especially clear if we look
at the remaining competition, conflicts and misunderstandings between
individuals and groups. Thus human society is still an ambivalent
system, balancing between individual selfishness and collective
responsibility. In that sense it may be more similar to organisms like
slime molds or sponges, whose cells can live individually as well as
collectively, than to true multicellular organisms. However, there
seems to be a continuing trend towards global integration. As
technological and social systems develop into a more closely knit
tissue of interactions, transcending the old boundaries between
countries and cultures, the social superorganism seems to turn from a
metaphor into a reality. Although many people tend to see the
super-organism philosophy as a totalitarian or collectivist ideology,
the opposite is true: further integration will basically increase
individual freedom and diversity.
Most recently, the technological revolution has produced a global
communication network, which can be seen as a nervous system for this
planetary being. As the computer network becomes more intelligent it
starts to look more like a global brain or super-brain, with
capabilities far surpassing those of individual people (see our page on
learning, brain-like webs for an experimental approach to make the net
more intelligent). This is part of an evolutionary transition to a
higher level of complexity. A remaining question is whether this
transition will lead to the integration of the whole of humanity,
producing a human "super-being", or merely enhance the capabilities of
individuals, thus producing a multitude of "meta-beings".
In order to study these different issues, the "Global Brain Group" has
been created. Its members include most of the authors that have written
on the subject. Their works and others are listed in the global brain
bibliography. Their discussion have inspired a Global Brain FAQ, i.e. a
list of answers to the most common questions raised by this subject.
Copyright=A9 2000 Principia Cybernetica - Referencing this page
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| User: "Josie Margolis" |
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| Title: Re: fair |
11 Sep 2005 01:09:59 PM |
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Is there anything we can do to expedite the evolution of the Global
Brain? Would pecans help?
The reason I ask is because there is this cat howling in a broken-down
shed not too far from where I like to go to sit and read. I think it
might have gotten itself trapped inside the rubble even though there is
a way out through one side (sort of near the top), but for some reason
the cat keeps trying to claw at a crack in the other side that isn't
really big enough. The howling is really annoying and several of the
local kids got scratched, although frankly I'm not sure whether they
were trying to help the animal or to torment it. The cat doesn't trust
anybody, but I suspect that it may have had ample cause to have formed
such an opinion.
In a way the cat seems really smart but in other ways really stupid.
An odd mix of ability and disability, at first. At first I was angry
at the cat for howling and scratching the kids, but now I'm mostly just
annoyed at the wastefulness of a perfectly good living thing trapped in
a dark place when it could be outside doing real cat-things like trying
to catch birds or whatever it is that cats do. Why would anyone stay
in a dark yucky place like that if they didn't have to? I'm beginning
to wonder if it even knows that there *is* an outside.
Anyway, I can't help thinking that there's something important being
wasted here and I hate not being able to make a bit of difference to
the situation. I tried putting some pecans through the hole in the top
but all the cat did was hiss and try to scratch me at me and then it
licked the salt off the pecans.
Perhaps this is a job for the Global Brain, but I think that it might
not have achieved consciousness yet. There's some blindingly bright
light coming through a crack in wall near the ceiling but the patient
still looks like he's in a coma. Wake up! We need you!
I hope you had a nice Sunday.
donstockbauer@hotmail.com wrote:
The Social Superorganism and its Global Brain
Society can be viewed as a multicellular organism, with individuals in
the role of the cells. The network of communication channels connecting
individuals then plays the role of a nervous system for this
superorganism, i.e. a "global brain".
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| User: "Androcles Androcles@ MyPlace.org" |
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| Title: Re: fair |
11 Sep 2005 06:04:06 PM |
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"Josie Margolis" <josiemargolis@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1126462199.820419.321230@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
[cat story]
Did you try grilled or baked mouse? My cat loves it, even without the
salt.
Androcles
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite
you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man."--Mark
Twain
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| User: "Josie Margolis" |
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| Title: Re: fair |
11 Sep 2005 11:04:40 PM |
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Androcles wrote:
"Josie Margolis" <josiemargolis@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1126462199.820419.321230@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
[cat story]
Did you try grilled or baked mouse? My cat loves it, even without the
salt.
Androcles
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite
you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man."--Mark
Twain
Response #1
Should I unplug the mouse before I try to bake it?
Response #2:
mouse -> mousse
Response #3:
Tell me, do you have any recipes for for cooking wise men who speak
with true meaning but who masquerade as trolls in order to avoid taking
their own opinions too seriously?
Response #4:
Is your cat named after a physicist, and if so, which one? (This
question may be answered by anyone whose pet has a scientifically
themed name. You get extra points if the answer is not Schroedinger.)
Attention all readers out there: Please vote for the response of your
choice or feel free to supply other alternatives responses.
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| User: "Josie Margolis" |
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| Title: Re: fair |
11 Sep 2005 10:18:49 PM |
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Androcles wrote:
"Josie Margolis" <josiemargolis@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1126462199.820419.321230@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
[cat story]
Did you try grilled or baked mouse? My cat loves it, even without the
salt.
Androcles
Response #1
Have you no sense of gratitude regarding the incident with the thorn in
your paw?
Response #2:
mouse -> mousse
Response #3:
Tell me, do you have any recipes for for cooking wise men who speak
with true meaning but who masquerade as trolls in order to avoid taking
their own opinions too seriously?
Response #4:
Is your cat named after a physicist, and if so, which one? (This
question may be answered by anyone whose pet has a scientifically
themed name. You get extra points if the answer is not Schroedinger.)
Response #5:
Should I unplug the mouse before I try to bake it?
Attention all readers out there: Please vote for the response of your
choice or feel free to supply other alternatives responses.
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