Re:Two AI Pioneers. Two Bizarre Suicides. What Really Happened?
by chandler on Sunday January 20, 2008 @02:12AM
(#101168)
> they recognize the irrelevance of everything...they can't escape the irrelevance of everything, because that's just how nature is...QED
In science, when a model of the world ceases to be useful, the smart thing to do is to find a better model.
Even if there is an objective nature, animals can only hope to experience it subjectively (our brains are remarkable at filtering physical input received from the five senses, and our world view is shaped by a lifetime of filtering and selecting input).
Consequently, the gifted "everything is irrelevant" individual will be depressed, not because everything is actually irrelevant, but because the individual believes this to be the case (moreover, whether or not "everything is actually irrelevant" is actually irrelevant is the follow up joke).
It's a shame that many gifted depressives are apparently so emotionally attached to this ugly model.
In science, when a model of the world ceases to be useful, the smart thing to do is to find a better model.
Even if there is an objective nature, animals can only hope to experience it subjectively (our brains are remarkable at filtering physical input received from the five senses, and our world view is shaped by a lifetime of filtering and selecting input).
Consequently, the gifted "everything is irrelevant" individual will be depressed, not because everything is actually irrelevant, but because the individual believes this to be the case (moreover, whether or not "everything is actually irrelevant" is actually irrelevant is the follow up joke).
It's a shame that many gifted depressives are apparently so emotionally attached to this ugly model.