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Phluck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 04/10/99
Posts: 11,394
Loc: Canada
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Occam's Spoon.
#2233430 - 01/10/04 03:23 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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The least mundane conclusion is the most probably.
You see a strange flash of light in the night sky. Is it:
a) An satellite whose lights were refracted in the atmosphere to cause a nifty effect. b) Some lights from a nearby city reflected off the clouds. c) Intergalactic travellers here to abduct and study people, and work alongside our government in a massive conspiracy for world domination.
Occam's Spoon says it's c.
-------------------- "I have no valid complaint against hustlers. No rational bitch. But the act of selling is repulsive to me. I harbor a secret urge to whack a salesman in the face, crack his teeth and put red bumps around his eyes." -Hunter S Thompson http://phluck.is-after.us
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: Phluck]
#2233459 - 01/10/04 03:38 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Phluck said: Occam's Spoon says it's c.
Are you fucking kidding me? I would have said it was Bill Clinton having a light saber battle with Leonardo Da Vinci. It is in the sky because the Teletubbies were using telekinesis to try to shove them into outer space, but the aluminum foil wall installed by the Lebanese to make giant popcorn was blocking them, so they ended up just bouncing around. Also, if you would have had a telescope, you would have heard Frank Sinatra singing a theme song for the epic battle....
Now THAT is Occam's Spoon for you. Peace.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Phluck
Carpal Tunnel
Registered: 04/10/99
Posts: 11,394
Loc: Canada
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Duh, *smacks head*.
Shoulda caught that one.
-------------------- "I have no valid complaint against hustlers. No rational bitch. But the act of selling is repulsive to me. I harbor a secret urge to whack a salesman in the face, crack his teeth and put red bumps around his eyes." -Hunter S Thompson http://phluck.is-after.us
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fredthetree
Stranger
Registered: 09/29/02
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Loc: Canada
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: Phluck]
#2233468 - 01/10/04 03:43 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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My spoon is too big.
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Revelation
ॐ
Registered: 08/04/01
Posts: 6,135
Loc: heart cave
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: Phluck]
#2233514 - 01/10/04 04:12 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Say you're the pilot of a plane and you are approached suddenly by a huge silvery disc like object, which hovers in front of you for a few seconds and then zooms off over the horizon. Is it:
A) A weather balloon. B) A trick of the light. C) A vehicle of some kind.
--------------------
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
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Quote:
Revelation said: Is it:
A) A weather balloon. B) A trick of the light. C) A vehicle of some kind.
Actually, it is probably the reflection of your own plane in a flying mirror. Haven't you ever seen a flying mirror? They are owned by the gypsies. Peace.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Swami
Eggshell Walker
Registered: 01/18/00
Posts: 15,413
Loc: In the hen house
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Say you're the pilot of a plane and you are approached suddenly by a huge silvery disc like object, which hovers in front of you for a few seconds and then zooms off over the horizon. Do you:
A. Get off the sauce.
B. Start getting more sleep before your flight.
C. Videotape it and make beaucoup bucks.
D. Whine about skeptics.
-------------------- The proof is in the pudding.
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: Swami]
#2233572 - 01/10/04 04:48 PM (20 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Swami said: Do you:
A. Get off the sauce. B. Start getting more sleep before your flight. C. Videotape it and make beaucoup bucks. D. Whine about skeptics.
I will go with "Wake up from your lucid dream to realize that your house is on fire and that Bill Cosby is stealing your homemade pornos of you and Bigfoot to sell to the FOX Network".
Damn, Occam's Spoon is a lot of fun! Reality sure is fun when you get imaginative and creative!
Peace.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Mirth
`'{*;*}'`
Registered: 03/04/05
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Hehe , haha hee hee .
Thanks guys.
-------------------- The ineffable is not always intangible !
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OldWoodSpecter
waiting
Registered: 02/01/05
Posts: 4,033
Loc: mountains and lakes
Last seen: 17 years, 5 months
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: Phluck]
#5925105 - 08/02/06 11:30 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Phluck said: The least mundane conclusion is the most probably.
You see a strange flash of light in the night sky. Is it:
a) An satellite whose lights were refracted in the atmosphere to cause a nifty effect. b) Some lights from a nearby city reflected off the clouds. c) Intergalactic travellers here to abduct and study people, and work alongside our government in a massive conspiracy for world domination.
Occam's Spoon says it's c.
Occam was an idiot if he taught you can determine something while sitting in your chair
what kind of stupid logic is that anyway? The correct explanation is that which is most simple? Yea, works all the time, exept when the correct explanation is not the one that is most simple.
-------------------- I descend upon your earth from the skies I command your very souls you unbelievers Bring before me what is mine
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leery11
I Tell You What!
Registered: 06/24/05
Posts: 5,998
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there is no spoon!
-------------------- I am the MacDaddy of Heimlich County, I play it Straight Up Yo! ....I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow, to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human...... Om Namah Shivaya, I tell you What!
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Xanthas
Blaspheme,blaspheyou, Blaspheverybody
Registered: 11/19/05
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: leery11]
#5927722 - 08/03/06 03:06 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
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Oldwood, you lack full understanding of Occam's razor. What is states is not that the simple solution is correct, but that, when presented with multiple equally valid explanations for an event/idea/whatever that jibe well with reality that differ in complexity, one should choose the least complex one.
For example, One is asked "What is gravity?" One could answer, "the warping of space created by an object with mass," or "The force caused by an infinitum of little ultra-microscopic elves which yank on the molecules of objects in a fashion directed by an infinitum of ultra-microscopic Vulcans which inhabit every particle with mass."
One could make the second explanation work, with even more crazy ideas explaining away every bit of experimental data ever found. It could even be internally consistent and compatible in the tiniest detail with the real universe, however, it would be needlessly complex, and thus trumped by the simpler, more elegant theories of general relativity.
-------------------- If you don't ask the question, you always get it wrong.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero
Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: Xanthas]
#5927854 - 08/03/06 05:23 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
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> when presented with multiple equally valid explanations
If one is presented with multiple explanations, and one of those explainations is correct while the others are not, then the explanations could not have been equally valid to begin with, thus Occam's razor is invalid, as presented. Sure, it is a great method for making a choice, but then, so is flipping a coin.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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RRRR
Rapture Ready
Registered: 07/26/06
Posts: 170
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: Seuss]
#5928118 - 08/03/06 09:45 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
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You aren't using "valid" in the philosophical sense. It has a complete different meaning within that context, and that was what sense he was using it in.
All dogs are cats Roy is a dog Therefore, Roy is a cat
Is a valid argument, for instance. You are confusing validity with soundness.
Don't be so quick to criticize Occam's razor just because you lack a fundamental understanding of how reductionist philosophy works.
-------------------- Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:20-21 (New King James Version)
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fireworks_god
Sexy.Butt.McDanger
Registered: 03/12/02
Posts: 24,855
Loc: Pandurn
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Quote:
fireworks_god said: ... but the aluminum foil wall installed by the Lebanese to make giant popcorn was blocking them....
It is amusing that my choice of "Lebanese" is now relevant in terms of current events, whereas, back then, it was selected for its relative obscurity.
Amazing how that works. I find the statement even funnier now, reflecting on that.
Peace.
-------------------- If I should die this very moment I wouldn't fear For I've never known completeness Like being here Wrapped in the warmth of you Loving every breath of you
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero
Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: RRRR]
#5930494 - 08/04/06 04:35 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
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> Don't be so quick to criticize Occam's razor just because you lack a fundamental understanding of how reductionist philosophy works.
You missed my point. Ever since the movie "Contact" made Occam's Razor a household term, I see people using it in debate, incorrectly, to prove their point. Just as I illustrated, these people lack a fundamental understanding of how to correctly use the concept. Simply put, people are incorrectly using Occam's Razor to pick an apple out of a bag of oranges rather than using it to find the most likely best orange in a basket of oranges.
> It is amusing that my choice of "Lebanese" is now relevant in terms of current events
You see far... perhaps you are the ...
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Darcho
PhysicallyDetermined
Registered: 07/26/04
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Re: Occam's Spoon. [Re: Xanthas]
#5930671 - 08/04/06 07:36 AM (17 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Xanthas said: Oldwood, you lack full understanding of Occam's razor. What is states is not that the simple solution is correct, but that, when presented with multiple equally valid explanations for an event/idea/whatever that jibe well with reality that differ in complexity, one should choose the least complex one.
For example, One is asked "What is gravity?" One could answer, "the warping of space created by an object with mass," or "The force caused by an infinitum of little ultra-microscopic elves which yank on the molecules of objects in a fashion directed by an infinitum of ultra-microscopic Vulcans which inhabit every particle with mass."
One could make the second explanation work, with even more crazy ideas explaining away every bit of experimental data ever found. It could even be internally consistent and compatible in the tiniest detail with the real universe, however, it would be needlessly complex, and thus trumped by the simpler, more elegant theories of general relativity.
One could even say that Occam was somewhat of a pragmatist, in that he sought the most useful and hence most efficient theoretical model of reality as opposed to the less useful and inefficient model.
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