Post by mray147 on Feb 16, 2015 5:05:46 GMT
Week 5
1. Do you think artificial intelligence will be a significant problem in the future?
As a matter of fact, I do. A.I. has been a huge subject within science fiction and, generally speaking, it isn’t in a good light. As many science fiction stories would have you believe, A.I. pose a serious threat to the survival of the human race. Now, I don’t think an A.I. going genocidal is necessarily an evil thing. In truth, it’s likely just a logical jump for an A.I. Humans have a history of destruction. We have waged thousands of wars over made up borders. We have destroyed ecosystems. Caused extinctions. We let emotion drive us rather than logic. This endangers everything around us, including us. If an A.I. was created to assist in the process of fixing global warming, how would it go about this? Would it get rid of the virus that has hurt the planet so badly? A.I. is a dangerous and extremely compelling idea. Who doesn’t smile with the idea of creating something that can think for itself?
2. How has technology impacted your life?
Social media is a simple and obvious answer in that it helped me get in touch and keep in touch with new people. However, the biggest impact that technology has had on my life is definitely how the internet gave me access to massive amounts of information. I’ve never considered myself a smart person. The internet may not have been able to give me a traditional education, but it certainly helped me understand many different concepts. From relativity to the societal issues that plague certain demographics worldwide. I can now explain to my parents the idea of multiverses and demonstrate my knowledge of upcoming technologies. I may not be able to answer some questions in math, but I can tell you what really happens to a person who is exposed to an absolute vacuum and why it happens. Technology brought me new ideas. Helped me understand old ideas. Most of all, technology showed me that I’m not the first to ask certain questions and that there are no dumb questions if the goal is to learn.
Week 6
1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
Faqir helped us understand what is really happening within the phenomenon’s of religious visions and miracles. He explained that many visions are simply a result of the events in our life around the time of the vision. Miracles are simply a byproduct of the situation we are in. They are the way we make sense of something great getting us out of a jam. Faqir’s disciples reported to him that he had appeared to them in multiple places and different times. Only, Faqir had no knowledge of his apparent part in these visions.
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
I believe that it means that when philosophy is overwhelmingly successful, it becomes more about proving and testing. We want to prove the idea and test the phenomenon. Philosophy can take great ideas and push them into the realm of science where they may be proven to be fact rather than opinion. Now when philosophy doesn’t push, it simply remains. The idea lingers until a new idea pushes the old out. Not proving an idea does not necessarily disprove it. Sort of as if the idea is guilty until proven not guilty. It remains until it is replaced by better or more factual ideas.
1. Do you think artificial intelligence will be a significant problem in the future?
As a matter of fact, I do. A.I. has been a huge subject within science fiction and, generally speaking, it isn’t in a good light. As many science fiction stories would have you believe, A.I. pose a serious threat to the survival of the human race. Now, I don’t think an A.I. going genocidal is necessarily an evil thing. In truth, it’s likely just a logical jump for an A.I. Humans have a history of destruction. We have waged thousands of wars over made up borders. We have destroyed ecosystems. Caused extinctions. We let emotion drive us rather than logic. This endangers everything around us, including us. If an A.I. was created to assist in the process of fixing global warming, how would it go about this? Would it get rid of the virus that has hurt the planet so badly? A.I. is a dangerous and extremely compelling idea. Who doesn’t smile with the idea of creating something that can think for itself?
2. How has technology impacted your life?
Social media is a simple and obvious answer in that it helped me get in touch and keep in touch with new people. However, the biggest impact that technology has had on my life is definitely how the internet gave me access to massive amounts of information. I’ve never considered myself a smart person. The internet may not have been able to give me a traditional education, but it certainly helped me understand many different concepts. From relativity to the societal issues that plague certain demographics worldwide. I can now explain to my parents the idea of multiverses and demonstrate my knowledge of upcoming technologies. I may not be able to answer some questions in math, but I can tell you what really happens to a person who is exposed to an absolute vacuum and why it happens. Technology brought me new ideas. Helped me understand old ideas. Most of all, technology showed me that I’m not the first to ask certain questions and that there are no dumb questions if the goal is to learn.
Week 6
1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of religious visions and miracles?
Faqir helped us understand what is really happening within the phenomenon’s of religious visions and miracles. He explained that many visions are simply a result of the events in our life around the time of the vision. Miracles are simply a byproduct of the situation we are in. They are the way we make sense of something great getting us out of a jam. Faqir’s disciples reported to him that he had appeared to them in multiple places and different times. Only, Faqir had no knowledge of his apparent part in these visions.
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
I believe that it means that when philosophy is overwhelmingly successful, it becomes more about proving and testing. We want to prove the idea and test the phenomenon. Philosophy can take great ideas and push them into the realm of science where they may be proven to be fact rather than opinion. Now when philosophy doesn’t push, it simply remains. The idea lingers until a new idea pushes the old out. Not proving an idea does not necessarily disprove it. Sort of as if the idea is guilty until proven not guilty. It remains until it is replaced by better or more factual ideas.