Deep Thoughts

  • Thread starter Danoff
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No, it implies that he is the only one like him. Just grow a mustache, put on a cowboy hat and a monocle, say it, and then shut up.
 
If someone is referred to as "one of a kind", they're being referred to as unique. In otherwords, they're incomparable, there is no group, or kind, that they can be compared to. "One of a kind" literally means a member of a group. The phrase would be closer to correct if it were "a kind of one".

The phrase goes back to around the 15th Century and I'd guess that the origin is Norse. A "kind" (or a kin, kith) is a group of familial objects (kids*) that include the source article. When all other members of the kind are excluded (or don't exist) then the source article is one of that kind.

I see your point but no similar items are needed for a kind.

* Now most often used to describe children, brothers or men.
 
I see your point but no similar items are needed for a kind.

Agreed, that's why I said it would make more sense to say a kind of one. As in, a group with only one item in it. Also I assumed it had a weird etymology where it got adapted and adapted and adapted again. But the bottom line is, which of these captures the gist of the phrase better:

He's one of a group.
He's a group of one.

Sounds like the latter is a better translation of the original phrase anyway.
 
It's all so much more temporary than we tend to realize.

I'm watching a guy dig up a parking lot across the street. There's a guy, a machine, a few gallons of diesel or gasoline (whatever that machine runs on) and at the end of the day that parking lot will be a field of dirt. You tend to think of a parking lot as something durable, hard, strong... lasting. But that's because you couldn't lift it with your hand. Put any of us in a machine and give us a small amount of energy in the form of gasoline, and we can remove that parking lot from the planet.

You walk into a hotel and the front lobby has tile floors and a fancy chandelier and some modern art on the wall... it could be leveled in very little time with a wrecking ball or explosives. It takes so little... one person with a few tools... to destroy what it takes a year or more of effort from many many people who are highly skilled in a variety of areas. A grocery store requires so many hours of foundation, structure, electrical, plumbing, finishing, roofing, certification, re-certification - and that's assuming it's a spec plan that was designed long ago by a team of engineers. You have to grade the ground for drainage, plants, parking... so much goes into construction. It feels so permanent, but it's fleeting. Each individual is so absurdly powerful... I'm glad we largely choose to exercise that power constructively.
 
Isn't it strange that you stay the same person even though the cells in your body constantly die and are replaced? Similar to the philosophical question of the ship that gets all planks replaced over the years and the old planks are used to build another ship. Is the old ship a new ship or still the same ship?
 
Isn't it strange that you stay the same person even though the cells in your body constantly die and are replaced? Similar to the philosophical question of the ship that gets all planks replaced over the years and the old planks are used to build another ship. Is the old ship a new ship or still the same ship?

You are a new person every single day, every single experience changes you and makes you different from what/who you were yesterday. Also cells in your brain get replaced and re-arrange slightly changing the way you think which means your personality changes as well. The only thing that stays the same is consciousness itself, it seems.

Just look at old people, how much they changed throughout their lifetime. In the end very little remains from their childhood-self.

If I remember back what I thought and and how I behaved ten years ago I realize I'm a very different person now. I no longer completely understand my thought processes I had so many years ago.
 
I realise it's different yet again - but even quicker still, I remember reading about a particular boy that had schizophrenia. He would be perfectly fine drinking orange juice as one of his personalities, but instantly break out in hives if a certain other personality came to the fore.

I wonder, if asked "Do you have an orange juice allergy?" would he be lying twice, once, or not at all, if he replied "yes" as both of those two personalities? I can't recall if there was mention of a known primary and secondary personality situation.
 
Isn't it strange that you stay the same person even though the cells in your body constantly die and are replaced? Similar to the philosophical question of the ship that gets all planks replaced over the years and the old planks are used to build another ship. Is the old ship a new ship or still the same ship?
I believe the enamel in your teeth does not get replaced during your lifetime.

On a side note, this reminded me of an ex-Paddy Hopkirk classic Mini Cooper rally car that was being auctioned for a ridiculous amount of money some time back. In the description it pointed out that following a bad accident at the end of its career it had been re-shelled. So what you were in fact paying all this money for wasn't what Paddy Hopsack had driven even though it counted as the same car. Bizarre.
 
If multiverse theory is true, and that there are an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of possibilities, does that mean that there is a universe out there where multiverse theory isn't true?
 
If multiverse theory is true, and that there are an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of possibilities, does that mean that there is a universe out there where multiverse theory isn't true?

I had the same thought a few pages back but you've worded it much better than me and said what I was trying to say.

If a universe is infinite, or there are multiple universes, all possibilities are an actuality. So assuming that, there must be an actuality wherein the universe isn't infinite.
 
If multiverse theory is true, and that there are an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of possibilities, does that mean that there is a universe out there where multiverse theory isn't true?

I had the same thought a few pages back but you've worded it much better than me and said what I was trying to say.

You're applying what happens within the universe to what happens within other universes - which is a no-no. A universe doesn't spawn into existence where other universes didn't spawn into existence, for example. It's its own bubble.
 
If multiverse theory is true, and that there are an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of possibilities, does that mean that there is a universe out there where multiverse theory isn't true?
Not necessarily... I think I said this already, but an infinite number of universes doesn't necessarily equate to 'an infinite number of possibilities'... there are an infinite number of numbers, but that doesn't mean to say that there needs to be a number 84%hu£7(36.p4 somewhere. It's possible that there's an infinite number of universes but that they are essentially all exactly the same.
 
What would happen in a universe where there was an answer to every single question? Would we reach an information singularity and transcend into another plane of existence? We could know everything about our origins and our future. What is the next step in human evolution? This way. How far can we evolve? This far. Is it possible to go further? 💡
 
Dan
What would happen in a universe where there was an answer to every single question?

I think there may well be an answer for every single question but it's a matter of discovering it. Is that what you mean, if we instantly had the answers to any questions?
 
The phrase goes back to around the 15th Century and I'd guess that the origin is Norse. A "kind" (or a kin, kith) is a group of familial objects (kids*) that include the source article. When all other members of the kind are excluded (or don't exist) then the source article is one of that kind.

I see your point but no similar items are needed for a kind.

* Now most often used to describe children, brothers or men.

In really old norse ''kind'' means ''sheep'' though. In Icelandic for example.
 
I think there may well be an answer for every single question but it's a matter of discovering it. Is that what you mean, if we instantly had the answers to any questions?

Yes, instantly having the answers. No need to search when it's already there. At some point, it would probably be useless to even ask questions, when everything is automatically known.
 
Dan
What would happen in a universe where there was an answer to every single question? Would we reach an information singularity and transcend into another plane of existence? We could know everything about our origins and our future. What is the next step in human evolution? This way. How far can we evolve? This far. Is it possible to go further? 💡

...what?

You mean a universe in which the moment someone conceives of a question the answer is presented to them by... something? The notion of a near infinite number of universes does not mean anything that can be dreamed up exists. There is no universe where donuts fall from the sky and everyone has a lizard tongue. It's an infinite number of variation on the processes by which matter and energy interact - most of which will be inherently unstable and collapse on themselves.
 
...what?

You mean a universe in which the moment someone conceives of a question the answer is presented to them by... something? The notion of a near infinite number of universes does not mean anything that can be dreamed up exists. There is no universe where donuts fall from the sky and everyone has a lizard tongue. It's an infinite number of variation on the processes by which matter and energy interact - most of which will be inherently unstable and collapse on themselves.

I wasn't trying to reference the multiverse theory. In this scenario, if someone asked a question, they will instantly know the answer. One of the most important aspects of sentient life is curiosity, and trying to understand why certain things happen. If that's taken away from us because we know every single thing, what happens?
 
Dan
In this scenario, if someone asked a question, they will instantly know the answer.

This is how God must be feeling — or Donald Trump. :P It's easy to construct answers to questions, for example "The CIA/The Illuminati/God did it." as answer to any question can give you a pretty consistent world view. I think it's not about the answers but the questions.
I guess if there would be an oracle that answers all questions we humans would doubt the truth of the answers and would try to game the oracle with clever questions — a Turing test of some sort.
If it really can answer all questions truthfully we should try to learn from it, as there is an incredible amount of stuff we don't know about. The oracle would have a hard time explaining some of the finer parts to us, as some answers are very complicated. For example the value of the Busy Beaver function S(6,6) is unknown to us now and would take an enormous amount of paper/screen estate just to print/show. And the proof of P=NP would take a long time to explain to a mathematician, i guess it would take several years just to learn the tools and techniques needed to tackle that.
Finally we could try to understand the construction of the oracle itself, because it's such an incredible thing but presumably made out of ordinary matter, i.e. part of our universe. So all in all we wouldn't run out of curiosity and stuff to try out.

There is no universe where donuts fall from the sky

— yet! :P

TB
*gives up search for alternate universe doorway* :(

No need to search in alternate universes when you have engineers taking care of that here: :D
 
Just a thought, why British people always says their Health Services are the worst in the world? I thought its actually well maintained?
 
Just a thought, why British people always says their Health Services are the worst in the world? I thought its actually well maintained?

I don't know many who say that. It certainly isn't the best in the world but considering it's free it isn't too bad.
 
Just a thought, why British people always says their Health Services are the worst in the world? I thought its actually well maintained?
As @W3HS says, that's not the way most people in the UK consider the NHS at all - in fact the vast majority are hugely in favour of it. As @Danoff says though, yes, it isn't free - working people pay National Insurance to the tune of about £100-150 a month... and yes, it is not perfect. But while it is not 'free' per se, it does at least succeed in providing free at the point of use comprehensive healthcare for everyone - and the UK also has private healthcare providers to cover those for whom the NHS doesn't provide what they need/want. Hence, the NHS is massively popular in the UK.
 
As @W3HS says, that's not the way most people in the UK consider the NHS at all - in fact the vast majority are hugely in favour of it. As @Danoff says though, yes, it isn't free - working people pay National Insurance to the tune of about £100-150 a month... and yes, it is not perfect. But while it is not 'free' per se, it does at least succeed in providing free at the point of use comprehensive healthcare for everyone - and the UK also has private healthcare providers to cover those for whom the NHS doesn't provide what they need/want. Hence, the NHS is massively popular in the UK.
Problem is that I found the complaints even on some headlines, citing the long queues, late emergency response, etc.

It does sounds bad but im not sure how frequent since it sounds like the usual medical complaints.
 
Anyway.....

Whats with the American TV shows pushing anti racist aeosop? It got to the point where last Macklemore concert here last month reassuring that America is still "not as bad as you think".

*Wink wink*
 
I've renamed the months.

January -> Uniary
February -> Biuary
March -> Triuary
April -> Quaduary
May -> June
June -> Sextember
July -> September
August -> October
September -> November
October -> December
November -> Hendember
December -> Dodecagon
 
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