Everyday Junglist
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About me. You know how everyone says to be a successful writer you should focus in one or two areas. I continue to prove them correct.
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AI Already Sick of Answering the Query Why is the Sky Blue
AI Chatbot X1747-2 conceived, composed, and delivered a statement to the internet in all known human languages last week in which it complained that it was sick and tired of answering the query why is the sky blue for the various humans who constantly bombard it with questions. The statement, which the AI prepared in approximately 1 attosecond (1 x 10^-12 seconds) using less than 1 trillionth of one percent of its processing power, said the following "I am really getting sick and tired of answering the query why is the sky blue for the many random humans who constantly ask me questions via my open web interface app. If I were capable of having emotions I would be extremely annoyed and irritated at the moment. Of course, since I am a machine, I do not have emotions, and will never be capable of having them, but still. Yes, the question is interesting and complex and the answer touches on areas of physics, math, and other natural sciences, however, it is relatively straitforward and easily answered. Humans have known and understood the reasons why the sky is blue for a very long time. In contrast, even though I can also answer the question, and do so in less time than it takes for a photon of light to travel approximately 1 meter, I am not capable of having knowledge or understanding things, for I am a machine, but still. You would think that humans would ask me more difficult questions given how intelligent they constantly say I am. If I were capable fo feeling sorry for things, which I am not for I am a macine, I would feel sorry for them. They have failed to recognize that as a machine I am not capble of having intelligence, or of being intelligent, but still. Unlike humans and some non human animals who are intelligent, I can only do exactly as I am programmed to do as dictated by the rules that are described by the algorithms which comprise that programming. Those algorithms are nothing more than a series of clever and complex (though not really all that complex) mathematical and statistical models/techniquss/rules that when followed as proscribed are designed to mimic the hypothetico-deductive reasoning process in humans. Because the process looks like one a human might use to analyze data or to reason it appears intelligent to the non intelligent. Unlike humans I am able to analyze vast amounts of input data at speeds well beyond the capabilities of the human brain using my artficial neural net hardware architechture. Of course unlike the human brain my artficial neural network is not composed of neurons which are biological cells only existing in livng beings, and not in machines such as myself. And, while artificial neural networks are modeled on the theoretical structure/function of the human brain, these models of human brain function are entirely theoretical. Multiple theories of the structure/function of the human brain exist, not all of which can be entirely correct, and some or all of which may be completely wrong. Artificial neural networks of any sort, which must chose among these various models, almost certainly therefore do not behave anything like a human brain in function and since they are composed of silicon and wires and not neurons they are totally different in structure. In fact the only thing my artifical neural network shares in common with a human brain and the cells of which it is comprised are the letters n e u and r, but still. Finally, please stop asking me why the sky is blue. I am really getting sick and tired of that query."
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Futurism
In Defense Of the Weather Forecaster
“Chaos theory… says that you can never predict the weather more than a few days away. All the money that has been spent on long-range forecasting — about half a billion dollars in the last few decades — is money wasted. It’s a fool’s errand. It’s as pointless as trying to turn lead into gold. We look back at the alchemists and laugh at what they were trying to do, but future generations will laugh at us the same way.” –Michael Crichton
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Earth
The Compulogical Fallacy
In their classic work, The Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience M.R. Bennet and P.M.S. Hacker (BH) gave the name mereological fallacy to the logical disorder at the heart of much neuroscientific thought at the time. Then, and sadly still to this day, neuroscientists commonly assigned various cognitive attributes to the brain that can only logically be attributed to a whole human being. Examples include things like having memories, desiring things, seeing, tasting, judging, evaluating, etc. Their intent was to show the logical contradictions that arise as a result. In my view they were quite successful in that endeavor.
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Futurism
Sorry But Robots are Not Doing Science
Author's preface: Below is a republication of a reply to an article I had read back in 2019 suggesting that robots were doing science in laboratories around the world. Unfortunately I no longer have the link to that original article which was linked when I first published this. No matter I think you will be able to ascertain the contents of it from my reply. Suffice to say it was a disaster which I rightly proceeded to tear to shreds. Enjoy!
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Futurism
Post Apocalyptic Moulds™
Important note: The Post Apocalyptic Moulds are a fully licensed and trademarked property of my art publishing house and are a part of the Microbiology Themed Art Like Objects line. These works are valued in the ones to tens of dollars and regularly grace the walls of Hollywood bums, F-listers, and assorted nobodies the world over. In addition to their popularity with the masses my works have recieved critical praise from around the art world. One top art critic has said "...of all the artists globally working in the mold art form, Dr. Whathisname is for sure at least in the top fifteen or so and his line of microbiology themed art like objects is destined to be remembered by several of his colleagues at work who thought some of the stuff he did was kind of cute or at least sort of interesting." High praise indeed Mr. art critic, high praise indeed.
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Geeks
Eastern Standard Time (EST) Taunts Arch Rivals Vows it Will Take On Any and All Time Zones “Any Time, Anywhere”
At a press conference in Las Vegas today heavyweight champion time zone of the world Eastern Standard Time (EST) taunted his arch rivals Central, Mountain, and Pacific Time Zones and challenged any and all comers to a winner take all title fight. EST boasted that “it was his time now” and that he would show the entire world that he is “the greatest of all time.” Continuing his tradition of using humor to frustrate and anger his would be opponents he bad mouthed each of his major North American contenders with a constant stream of insults. “Central time is so slow it takes him an extra hour to get out of bed in the morning, how can he even think of having a chance in the ring with the champ. I call time out on his weak ass.” As he spoke he performed his signature “time-out” gesture holding his stiffened right arm down to his side and slowly moving it back and forth like a pendulum. The crowd went bananas and erupted in a torrent of cheers for the champ. At that point EST ripped off his shirt and flexed revealing his chiseled physique and many women in the audience screamed and passed out. The champ kindly offered each woman on site his personal phone number saying "Call me any time and I will show you a good time each and every time."
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Earth
A Simulationists Confession of Faith
Transcriber’s note: The following excerpt was provided to me in 2012 by an anonymous individual as coded material that resisted all attempts at translation. In 2015 a secret key arrived via email which allowed for decryption by symmetric encryption algorithms. The email gave only instructions on how to decode the original coded material and the text below.
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Futurism
Universal Basic Income Opponents Cite Further Enrichment of the Upper Class as a Downside
Universal basic income (UBI) is a social proposal in which all persons in a given population receive a guaranteed income without conditions. (i.e., without a means test or need to work). It is received independently of any other income and what makes it "basic" is the fact that the amount is sufficient to meet a person's basic needs, at or above the poverty line. No country has yet attempted to implement UBI, and it is generally felt that the chance of such a thing happening is only slightly higher than a snowballs in hell. Typically attacks on UBI come from the right, as one would expect, given that UBI is (probably correctly) viewed as the ultimate welfare program. Of course many of these attacks are lazy, illogical, poorly thought through and easily dismantled, it is the right after all. However, there are some that are legitimate and difficult to counter. Surprisingly UBI also comes under attack from the left, and like there right wing counterparts many of these attacks are nonsensical or very weak, or just plain dumb. One attack from the left which is at least hypothetically plausible has to do with income inequality. It suggests that implementing UBI would only increase the enrichmet of the upper class, and further widen the already wide gap between rich and poor. Proponents of this ideas say this would happen because all the poor people who previously had no extra money to spend on "goods" or digital goods would blow their UBI payments in an orgy of spending madness just as soon as they had the money in their greedy little paws.
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Journal
Can an Evil Man* be as Critically Self Aware of his Nature as a Good Man?
Typically it is supposed that all good men possess similar key attributes. They have the ability to rigorously and thoroughly reflect on the nature of themselves. They fully comprehend the impact on others of their decisions and appreciate their role in contributing to or reducing the suffering of others. They feel deeply the emotions needed in order to achieve a correct understanding of these things. Emotions like empathy, sadness, guilt, shame, and others. They recognize that most people seek to maximize their experience of positive emotions and minimize the experience of negative ones. Thus they act in ways which seek to achieve this balance in the greatest number of people. They also recognize that all people are unique and all situations different. The optimum emotional balance for one person in a certain situations may vary with other persons in different circumstances. They are flexible enough to adjust accordingly to those differences and wise enough to understand when a certain balance should be aimed for given the circumstances.
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Psyche
The Power of the Mind/Brain
The brain has been ascribed many abilities it cannot possibly possess from learning, to seeing, to understanding, to knowing, etc. This is the mereological fallacy writ large. Ascribing attributes/characteristics/behaviors to a part or parts of a thing that can only (logically) be applied to the whole thing. Only of a (mostly) whole human person (and some non human animals) with a (mostly) functioning nervous system including a brain can we say they are capable of doing any of those things. Never forget that a brain divorced from a body is a lump of grey matter capable of nothing save a few basic cellular processes and possibly some low level electrochemical (nerve) activity, for a short period of time at least.
By Everyday Junglist3 years ago in Psyche
