Reed:
>But that ball never goes anywhere. I'd rather build a set of
>gyroscopes inside the first two balls such that when the bottom one
>rolls, the top one counter-rotates in exact response. Then give the
>system a little nudge and it will roll, upright, along the path.
>Sure, it's unstable in principle...but it moves.
Eric:
>That would be interesting. But is *inherent* instability in your
>belief set a possible human condition? (i.e. can a human mind
>maintain cognitive dissonance on a permanent basis?)
Well, can you ride a unicycle? If you listen with your inner ear and act with your body then you become the gyroscope and the upper sphere. But to do so is to be inherently unstable on a more or less permanent basis. That's a meta-<physical>-phor.
>Let's not loose ourselves in the metaphor!
I don't understand. Loose what? How?
Reed
Reed Konsler konsler@ascat.harvard.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------