Re: virus: FAQ: new questions

Eric Boyd (6ceb3@qlink.queensu.ca)
Thu, 17 Jun 1999 18:06:50 -0400

Hi,

Dan Plante <dplante@home.com> writes:
<< {snip}
NOTE to CoV'ers: I know, it's long, but I couldn't see a workable way around it. The density and subtlety of the subject matter, combined with the desire to appeal to and resonate with as many wandering Internauts as possible, drove the length and wording.
>>

This is the problem, alright. Consciousness has such strong links to everything we are doing here -- from memetics to phaith to level three -- that one is ultra temped to just blather on and on. It took me twenty minutes to write my one sentence -- paragraphs of information were deleted and compressed and paraphrased and alagmated, etc. Perhaps the best strategy would be to quickly define consciousness and then include references to closely related topics (perhaps also defined in the FAQ).

For instance, how about just using this line (which says exactly the same thing I did)[1]:

"Each individual's own degree of conciousness is a measure of their own
self-knowledge, and how that self interacts with the rest of the world. If
you want a life that fits yourself, you have to know yourself."

We could then provide a group of links to web pages discussing consciousness (Robin's and KMO's come to mind immediatly), and I'm sure linking to Richards new Level 3 page would work too.

On a different note, it is now clear to me that memetics per say denies the validity of what we are talking about here. Should we mention that?

ERiC

[1] Compare for yourself:

"Consciousness is self-directed thought -- it is an intellectual magic mirror, reflecting not only our current self (gnosis), but also, with training, that which we wish to be."