Thoughts of an Eaten Sun

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Kyle Tolle reading ‘The Sin of Two Extremes’

The universe is a complex place and humans spend a great deal of time and energy trying to understand it. Removing “unnecessary” intricacy and abstraction are two methods that let us live without getting swamped in the details. If you thought of how many billions and billions of photons hit your retina every millisecond and how your brain processes all those signals, you’d be inundated with information and soon suffer paralysis as all your faculties focused on the minutia. Luckily, our bodies and brains have evolved to let us get the information we really want; whether or not a bear is about to maul our pack-mule Teddy.

College professors are particularly in favor of abstraction. Where do you think all the models of organizational behavior, object oriented analysis, physical systems and human thought come from? They come from taking something really complex, stripping it down to bare bones, and hoping we don’t lose a few bones on the way to the museum. I really am feeling these crummy analogies today!  A few quarters ago I took an organizational behavior class and the professor presented all sorts of models.  The sheer number of models for motivation alone show  there is considerable work to be done. One model did not contradict the others, instead it complemented them. If ever a single model can be had, it will be an amalgamation of all the current, distinct models.

One of the greatest sins of knowledge is boiling down a complex system too far.  The actions humans undertake are not simply good or evil. For the sake of some discussions, it is easier to idealize the world and say that there are only two sides, but once we move out of fairy-tale land, we hit hard times. “Well, that person stole food, but it was for his starving family.” Unless you’re some authoritarian bastard or some anarchistic half-wit, you’d probably agree there is a grey area. (If you are an authoritarian bastard or a anarchistic half-wit, please, keep reading; maybe you’ll learn why you’re dumb!)

Instead of breaking all ideas, problem domains or the universe into two and only two extremes, let’s consider things to be on a continuum.  The person earlier had good intentions but accomplished them in a not so good way. If you consider the person solely evil, you’re just being harsh; if you consider the person solely good, you’re being overly lenient. Even our judicial system (as woefully twisted as it may be) recognizes a gradient in crimes. Treating all convicted criminals like murderers wouldn’t accomplish much, nor would treating them all like juvenile delinquents.

Upon reflection, I noticed that in the carnivore post I said that we need to determine whether animals are like robots or humans.  I recognize this was a huge mistake. It is not fair to say that animals are either robotic or humanistic. Labeling animals one of two ways is really nice and convenient, but it’s a bad idea because, for the most part, it hinders our thinking. A cricket’s mental capacity is obviously different from a dolphin’s and would fall on the robot-human gradient in a different place.

Most humans operate under the assumption that we’re the only beings around that are, as we’d say, human. An interesting question is, “What makes humans intrinsically different from any other animal?” Can we definitively say? I need to look into this topic, because I’m sure greater minds have pondered this. Humans share some likenesses to robots, and vice-versa.  Can we comprehend a being which would surpass us on our end of the “human” scale? That’s doubtful. Is it possible that something could surpass us in reality? It’s possible. Is it probable? I can’t even hazard a guess.

There are cases when a dichotomy is the correct division.  There are either two pennies here, are there are not two pennies here. True or false.  But then again, maybe the answer is conditional or is semantically determined, in which case a continuum would more accurately express reality.  Even “The Sin of Two Extremes” is a case of two extremes. I call the division of domains into two extremes a sin, whereas the division of domains into other than two extremes is not a sin. Sin and not a sin. Perhaps I can escape the quandary by saying that on a sin ladder it would get a 9.5. See, I even accommodate other-than-integer numbers and all! Whew, crisis averted.

If, in the future, I mistakenly repeat this terrocious (combination of terrible and attrocious) thought-blunder, don’t hesitate to remind me (kindly; my ego is fragile) via comments at the bottom.  I am also interested in hearing your thoughts. In what way to do commonly commit the sin of two extremes?  Maybe you feel uggs are pure evil and the person wearing them is consequently pure evil? Perhaps you feel cyclists are by default retarded? I’ll stop here because I don’t want to take the fun of introspection away! I do want to hear what you have to say though; I thrive on discussion! Please post your comments on here as oppposed to twitter, facebook or email, because they’ll be better appreciated here in the context of all the other comments!

Kyle Tolle Personal extremes, humanity, knowledge, life, mistakes, robots, sin, thought

In preparation of personal, and thought-provoking posts to come, I want to go over a few things.

John Colvin, a friend of mine, recently started a blog Some Cosmic Purpose. His motivation is to start a dialogue and I will eagerly participate in that. I have been searching for a purpose, a truth, what have you, as long as I have been thinking. Dialogue not only helps me see the way others think, but also helps me formulate my ideas.  As soon as I can get some time, I will write a reply to his My Formerly Vegan Cat post and write up another that deals with social websites. Shoot, now I’ve given it all away!

I am stubborn, but not hard headed. I do hold my beliefs strongly, but if I learn the way I am thinking is not correct, I’ll quickly change my view to a more correct version.  Not everyone will agree it is more correct, but that’s another topic in itself. This quickness to change is not me jumping on a bandwagon, but rather me refusing to hold on to dead ideas simply because I’ve held them for so long already. That sort of thinking goes on too often today, and I am determined to avoid that.

These posts, at the time you read them, are not necessarily reflective of my views at the time you read this. The longer ago the post, the more likely my views are to have changed.  I always encounter new information, process and re-process information, and come to new conclusions… updating my ideas all the while. Basically, if you think I’m dumb after reading a post, there’s a chance I am less dumb because time has elapsed since I wrote it. (NOTE: previous paragraph is from the part of me that doesn’t want anyone to dislike me.)

There may be cycles to my thoughts. I have noticed a cycle in some of my moods or thoughts regarding several things – religion in particular. Other times my views will be more a linear progression from one territory into another. Hell, there may be a trend toward progression with small cycles thrown in. It’s all about the big picture, and I hope I will be generally moving in the direction of truth. That’s a pretty big statement, right there, though. Begs the question, “What is truth?” And with that comes a slew of others. I’ve just opened a can of worms, but will not even attempt to close it here. I want those worms to have some air and room to wiggle around. Let them creep around your brain a bit and see what they shuffle, jumble or push around. I hope I just grossed you out. If I did, you’re probably a girl. Fact: Girls are squeamish. Fact: It’s fun to declare statements are facts, regardless of whether they are in fact facts.

My intentions are now declared; my disclaimer handed out. It is now time to venture into the murky world of thoughts. Again, I agree with John Colvin wholeheartedly in that I wish this to be a dialogue. If you read a post, I expect some sort of reply. Let me know what your thoughts are. Do you agree? Disagree? Don’t care at all? As long as you are providing some value (READ: constructive comments), I want your feedback!

Kyle Tolle Personal life, thoughts