Pictures like this... interesting how frustrating it can be to see something so beautiful as this but it never seems to quite get captured in the pic. I was flying from Old Crow to Whitehorse and there was a beautiful fluffy layer of cloud with the mountains majestically popping through. None of the pics I showed my SO later could convey what I saw.

[Couldn't any computer which monitors its own state be reasonably described as self-aware? ] No this is just if/then algorithms to use the phrase loosely. But yes I would agree being self aware requires sentience as we understand it.

Being conscious is being self aware no?

In saying that I'm not so sure as I know a lot of conscious people who are very NOT self aware.

[Does not being able to define precisely thought or consciousness mean we look at any chat bot and say ‘dang, that thing could be self aware!’?]

No I don't believe it means that. Why would it? If it COULD be, then you test for it until it proves that it is. Our problem to start with is not knowing with certainty what Thought or Consciousness actually is.

And that is exactly what an atheist would NOT say. If you can't prove something exists, it is just an idea in your head. Whether or not billions of people subscribe to some variation on the theme does not prove anything, and therefore you should NOT start worshipping whatever it happens to be.

You start first.

I'm not nearly that good my friend.

If I'm listening for my own enjoyment I'll absolutely make use of EQ. If I'm mixing material, that's a different story altogether.

Premise 2 is false. That an AI can use logic in some manner better than humans by no means imbues it with any capacity for thought, and therefore the conclusion is incorrect.

Okay, so there are very few Reddit subs where you could possibly have a reasonable conversation about Ayn Rand and her literature. So if I may....

When I was 16 I read Atlas Shrugged. It hit me hard and I read everything by her after that. To me, Ayn Rand was about personal responsibility and not relying on the world around me for a free meal. She still is. Her treatise Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal, (and The Virtue of Selfishness) opened my eyes to how the world should be and actually was. Capitalism has done so much for the world but the vitriol that is so popularly thrown at it ... I've had a hard time understanding it. Capitalism get's blamed for everything that it's not, and rarely for what it is. I am going to say "To me, this is what Capitalism is": It's simply two people or groups willingly doing "business" with one another. It's my grandmother trading a chicken for eggs from the neighbor. There has to be a name for this type of system and Capitalism is what it is. But when some billionaire decides he's going to abuse his employees, or take all the water from a lake that the locals need or whatever, suddenly capitalism is to blame? Yeah, no.

And Selfishness. There is literally no such thing as altruism. People do NOT do things for others "selflessly". There is ALWAYS some personal satisfaction, whatever it may be, in helping others. And it's absolutely a good thing and absolutely compatible with Capitalism. Being selfish is our base nature. Not just by our mind, but by our entire being. We are constructed as selfish beings who care more about breathing and food and survival foremost, before we can ever think of others. And this is the great thing about Capitalism. It has given us a system where we can be free of the base needs to actually care about others. The human being is ... I'll say "normally" here because I believe this ... the Human Being is normally empathetic towards others. And this is because he's a social animal that does better in the company of others.

Anyway ... I've had a few holiday drinks which likely has had something to do with this post including the fact it really didn't make a very cohesive whole. I probably will regret it in the morning when I see 1000 downvotes and a few posts spewing hate with no real justification. But hey. Got to say my piece.

Merry Christmas to those who are able to enjoy it, and a Happy New years to those who may be able to make it so.

Probably actually, as will the hundreds of thousands that no longer die at birth or while giving birth.

What you call exploitation others call salvation. There has to be a system free of coercion where two or more people can freely exchange ideas and the fruits of their labour, and this I have always called Capitalism. Anything after that is something else. If you don't wish to call what I just described Capitalism, call it something else then and I shall agree, because it's that system that has brought us out of the dark ages and given us everything.

Very well said but Capitalism seems to have a dearth of fans round these parts.

25 seconds is more than just "seconds", especially if you are actually using it.

Pity has two faces, one seen from sympathy, and the other disgust. The former stems from empathy, something I would argue is the cornerstone of "Humanity". The latter stems from a blind narcissism which - IMHO - is the root of all evil.

Okay, lots of it anyways!

I cant stand people who have to post about stuff they can't stand.

​

Downvote me for the irony!

This is the question.

Not really how it works, and generally in Canada and the US you will have to go through several meetings with a psychologist and the doctors to show you are committed to the process before you can have this surgery. Otherwise you will not lose the weight and it will be a waste of everyone's time and resources.

No - but I don't "count" the books I've read either.

If you have worked in any of the diamond mines, this is a very familiar site. Absolutely beautiful.

Both are intractable - one of them is a path to move forward and build a better world. The other is just putting out fires. IMHO of course.

To a large extent its good to have this platform so we can identify the misinformation that exists in the first place. But really, what is the underlying problem here? That misinformation is being spread, or that our population is not educated well enough to properly respond to it?