A natural internet maybe. Discarnate dreamers drifting around, talking, looking for fun, spaceless, bodiless, timeless. Until a really good game catches your eye. And then there are rules.
Philip Jose Farmer explored this idea in a few of his stories.
In one there was an alien race. They thought it was tragic that people would die and be gone from the world forever. So they invented an artificial soul (called a “wathan”) and hooked it up to all the sentient beings. Then they managed an artificial afterlife too. Reincarnated everybody.
(Wikipedia) Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regulation over public and private life. It is regarded as the most extreme...
My present theory is that dreaming is an active, tho unconscious, deed. So step 1 is to make the unconscious, conscious. And then step 2 is to stop dreaming....
I work in theoretical physics. Part of my job is discussing theory with the members of my team. The latest is a doozy. We might be able to observe alternate realities. No shit. Sight, sound, smell. The whole thing. In arbitrary resolution. Yes, impressive....
I mean, you can’t test everything. And no, following the latest science doesn’t count. Which leaves us authoritarianisming it up like medieval troglodytes.
Assuming a button that, every time you push it, your intelligence goes up. The obvious and sane thing to do is to push the button all day. Yes? No? Maybe? Is there something that I'm missing here?
If there was an afterlife, how would it work?
Rational replies only, please.
Some people are really good at concentrating their attention. (when writing software, playing games, reading etc). It's a superpower. What are other attention superpowers?
Totalitarianism. What are the good things about it?
(Wikipedia) Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regulation over public and private life. It is regarded as the most extreme...
If an ear is an icon for sound, and a nose is an icon for smell, what's a good icon for thought?
And what’s a good icon for all of the senses, collectively?
What is "attention", really?
No copy-pasted definitions please. Use your own words.
The truly stupid questions get censored by the moderators. Have you noticed?
And by “truly stupid” I mean any question that upsets the straights.
How do you exit a dream?
My present theory is that dreaming is an active, tho unconscious, deed. So step 1 is to make the unconscious, conscious. And then step 2 is to stop dreaming....
We can discuss a thing that we never saw 24-7-365. (See reddit/lemmy/X/etc for examples). What is this?
Discussing people that you never met. Phenomena that you never observed. Stuff that you never saw, personally, with your own eyes....
Am I the asshole?
I work in theoretical physics. Part of my job is discussing theory with the members of my team. The latest is a doozy. We might be able to observe alternate realities. No shit. Sight, sound, smell. The whole thing. In arbitrary resolution. Yes, impressive....
When playing Super Mario Bros I ignore my job, and vice-versa. That's two realities, oblivious to each other. What separates them?
Is a scientific lifestyle even possible?
I mean, you can’t test everything. And no, following the latest science doesn’t count. Which leaves us authoritarianisming it up like medieval troglodytes.
When does "what you know" become realer than "what you see"?
Why not just let people use opioids? It's cheap. People like it. Arguably healthier than weed, alcohol or tobacco. Addiction isn't an issue if you can stay supplied.
I meditate. Do you meditate?
Vipassana every day. Sometimes I think I need to meditate more. Maybe move to a cave....
False Prophet (ninapaley.com) (blog.ninapaley.com)
How long does it take you to write a short story?
Min, max, average?
What do you like better, free speech or right speech?