Amidus Drexel's Alliterative and Awe-Accentuating Anvil of Random Banter CLXXXVI

[MoonCat]

Oh, almost forgot:

SAT Completed!

EDIT: The 110% thing? That was something like 110% being impossible because if you get better you've just made the 110% bigger? That was Academicals. Don't quite see what's so epic about that, I was trying to tell phys. ed. teachers that since I learned what "percent" meant.

Weeel, I liked it. Which reminds me, I now know the root of the word pedant. ^.^

I just googled The Last Hero and... I don't think I've read it...

I thought I'd read all the Discworld novels...

I need to take a minute...
Think through some things...


Also I need to go to sleep. It's after 3am and I want to get up in time to do chores before D&D

It's beautiful. It's got the most lovely artwork, and I love it. I think i got my copy in Belgium.

My Pratchett-related regret at the moment is that I don't possess Eric with the pictures.

[DraPrime]

So as I write my essay (page thirteen!) I have come across an interesting question. If a person was born without any ability to sense anything, could they think at all? No sight, no smell, no touch, no hearing, and no taste. Nothing. Would they really be capable of thought?

It seems not to me. First of all, we are almost entirely dependent on language for our thought. I find myself incapable of just thinking up a language for myself on the spot when I think. I've always got either English or Polish going through my head, or some mixture of the two. I suppose I could think in terms of emotions like happiness or anger on a basic level, but I've experienced these emotions in reaction to things I have experienced through the senses. So then I don't have any means of thinking.

Then there's the problem that I have nothing to think about. If I had never experienced anything, what would I think about? Perhaps some sort of sense of my own existence? Yet it seems to me that I know my own existence because I think. I think, therefore I am as the saying goes. So if I don't think, how would I even be able to sense my own existence? It seems to me that a person with no senses simply couldn't think. They'd be unconscious.

[Blue Ghost]

So as I write my essay (page thirteen!) I have come across an interesting question. If a person was born without any ability to sense anything, could they think at all? No sight, no smell, no touch, no hearing, and no taste. Nothing. Would they really be capable of thought?

It seems not to me. First of all, we are almost entirely dependent on language for our thought. I find myself incapable of just thinking up a language for myself on the spot when I think. I've always got either English or Polish going through my head, or some mixture of the two. I suppose I could think in terms of emotions like happiness or anger on a basic level, but I've experienced these emotions in reaction to things I have experienced through the senses. So then I don't have any means of thinking.

Then there's the problem that I have nothing to think about. If I had never experienced anything, what would I think about? Perhaps some sort of sense of my own existence? Yet it seems to me that I know my own existence because I think. I think, therefore I am as the saying goes. So if I don't think, how would I even be able to sense my own existence? It seems to me that a person with no senses simply couldn't think. They'd be unconscious.

I think you're on to something. Conversely, I don't think it's possible for a conscious person to have no senses at all. If a person has no sense of the outside world, how would they know of a self to distinguish from that which is not self? How would that even work?

Hi Luna! Welcome back~

[AsteriskAmp]

So as I write my essay (page thirteen!) I have come across an interesting question. If a person was born without any ability to sense anything, could they think at all? No sight, no smell, no touch, no hearing, and no taste. Nothing. Would they really be capable of thought?

It seems not to me. First of all, we are almost entirely dependent on language for our thought. I find myself incapable of just thinking up a language for myself on the spot when I think. I've always got either English or Polish going through my head, or some mixture of the two. I suppose I could think in terms of emotions like happiness or anger on a basic level, but I've experienced these emotions in reaction to things I have experienced through the senses. So then I don't have any means of thinking.

There is a case of a village, in Nicaragua I believe, where a government plan shunned out a massive community of deaf people, illiterate deaf people to the middle of nothing. They had no language at all or an idea of it. Their offspring had no knowledge of sign-language or language at all but they managed to build their own from scratch before the age of 12. It can also be argued that our brains are wired towards certain lines of development, there is a neurological reason to us developing such mental structures, at least in terms of language.

While thought without language seems impossible, we have no way to determine if it is in fact impossible because we are able to formulate images or sounds (while this both derive from senses), in terms of emotions one would have to determine if there is such thing as in vacuo emotions or all of them have a context.

There has been research into whether language allows you to perform complex operations, mainly in people who lost their language capability and not the speech itself. While it there is no case of absolute loss of the concept of word meaning, the fact that this people have no trouble performing mathematical operations while lacking the ability to produce grammar seems to suggest that language may just happen to be part of the way we communicate (which a person with no conception of other on his surroundings wouldn't have the need for) what we have already conceived.

Then there's the problem that I have nothing to think about. If I had never experienced anything, what would I think about? Perhaps some sort of sense of my own existence? Yet it seems to me that I know my own existence because I think. I think, therefore I am as the saying goes. So if I don't think, how would I even be able to sense my own existence? It seems to me that a person with no senses simply couldn't think. They'd be unconscious.

A person with no sense would be senseless, but not unconscious, it could imagine; and potentially formulate a reality that is beyond us because you could say we are tampered by experience. Which is part of the Cartesian argument IRC, that we can imagine reality and as such should not trust it as the scholastic did; and not the other way around, that we imagine what we see in reality.

I think you're on to something. Conversely, I don't think it's possible for a conscious person to have no senses at all. If a person has no sense of the outside world, how would they know of a self to distinguish from that which is not self? How would that even work?

Because there is no perception of other phenomenon they wouldn't have to distinguish themselves because it is all they would know exists.

It also depends on how one defines consciousness. Being aware of differentiating between the environment and oneself and being aware of being oneself do make a difference when hypothetical arguments such as this are made.

EDIT: This person is also capable of movement even if unaware what it entails, it at the very least recognizes it has movable appendages even if it doesn't know what they are and what they are for.

EDIT TO EDIT: Pinker, a linguist, makes a similar question to yours, at least in linguistic terms of thought. Nietzsche also deals with the issue of how we think about thinking when he mentions that we only notice our rational discursive thought and forget about the giant iceberg of non-intentional and non-rational thoughts.

Weeel, I liked it. Which reminds me, I now know the root of the word pedant. ^.^

Root being the Italian "Pedante" which means teacher.

[HalfTangible]

I tried to write 'HalfTangible' in gallefreyan (the fan version)

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I'd be willing to bet it looks like putting 'there' to mean 'they are'.

[Mynxae]

@Moonie - It's been at least a whole RB thread, perhaps two. So a week or two I'd say?

ION: Well, there goes what I had planned to be a great night. So angry. If I hadn't re-organised the person who was coming yesterday to stay tomorrow instead, I'd have already left for Ele's place because himself, his family, heck even the environment of his house, calms me down.

[MoonCat]

@Moonie - It's been at least a whole RB thread, perhaps two. So a week or two I'd say?

ION: Well, there goes what I had planned to be a great night. So angry. If I hadn't re-organised the person who was coming yesterday to stay tomorrow instead, I'd have already left for Ele's place because himself, his family, heck even the environment of his house, calms me down.

TWO?? I posted in the forty-somethingth page of the last thread!!!! <headdesk>

[Mutant Sheep]

@Moonie - It's been at least a whole RB thread, perhaps two. So a week or two I'd say?

ION: Well, there goes what I had planned to be a great night. So angry. If I hadn't re-organised the person who was coming yesterday to stay tomorrow instead, I'd have already left for Ele's place because himself, his family, heck even the environment of his house, calms me down.

That is hardly long. Why, I remember, I went a whole 13 years without posting here.

@Moon And that was at least 5 days ago. And I didnt say this yet, but its nice to see you Moonz. Youw as all *not posting* and I was all *chat with knee*

[Amidus Drexel]

I'm afraid that if I go to sleep, I'll wake up and we'll be on page 20 or something.

So as I write my essay (page thirteen!) I have come across an interesting question. If a person was born without any ability to sense anything, could they think at all? No sight, no smell, no touch, no hearing, and no taste. Nothing. Would they really be capable of thought?

It seems not to me. First of all, we are almost entirely dependent on language for our thought. I find myself incapable of just thinking up a language for myself on the spot when I think. I've always got either English or Polish going through my head, or some mixture of the two. I suppose I could think in terms of emotions like happiness or anger on a basic level, but I've experienced these emotions in reaction to things I have experienced through the senses. So then I don't have any means of thinking.

Then there's the problem that I have nothing to think about. If I had never experienced anything, what would I think about? Perhaps some sort of sense of my own existence? Yet it seems to me that I know my own existence because I think. I think, therefore I am as the saying goes. So if I don't think, how would I even be able to sense my own existence? It seems to me that a person with no senses simply couldn't think. They'd be unconscious.

May I assume that the ability to sense temperature and vibrations are also denied to this person? This hypothetical person doesn't seem to have much of a nervous system.

When you are conscious, your senses are active; when you are unconscious, they are (to a large degree) not. Should your senses not be active, this would imply unconsciousness. But even unconscious people (ones that are sleeping, anyway), can sense things (loud noises, bright lights, touch, etc.), so maybe I need a new definition for unconscious. Similar to a coma, perhaps? I'm not sure where to go from there.

As far as for what someone without senses would think about, I'll go out on a limb and say language, logic, and math (in that order).

TWO?? I posted in the forty-somethingth page of the last thread!!!! <headdesk>

Don't worry; it was only last thread.

[MoonCat]

Don't worry; it was only last thread.

Yes, I am vaguely aware that fifty pages and then some more haven't gone by since I drowned in stuffness.

EDIT: Wow, I just checke,d and it was longer than I thought.

[DraPrime]

My essay is done. Yes. Done. I am so happy. Granted, this is only the first draft that was due, so I'll have to work on it, but it's done for now. My professor isn't even grading this first draft. All I need is the requisite number of pages. I tried to make it at least competent, if not necessarily good, and I think I have succeeded. I'd dance a merry jig if I were not so tired.

[Amidus Drexel]

My essay is done. Yes. Done. I am so happy. Granted, this is only the first draft that was due, so I'll have to work on it, but it's done for now. My professor isn't even grading this first draft. All I need is the requisite number of pages. I tried to make it at least competent, if not necessarily good, and I think I have succeeded. I'd dance a merry jig if I were not so tired.

Congratulations!

15 pages is a lot better than two sentences of gibberish that constitute most of my rough drafts. I do better when I can get in the right frame of mind and just write the final copy.

[AsteriskAmp]

My essay is done. Yes. Done. I am so happy. Granted, this is only the first draft that was due, so I'll have to work on it, but it's done for now. My professor isn't even grading this first draft. All I need is the requisite number of pages. I tried to make it at least competent, if not necessarily good, and I think I have succeeded. I'd dance a merry jig if I were not so tired.

Here, have some jazz.

[DraPrime]

Here, have some jazz.

*looks at video description*
*sees name of the pianist*

Whoa. That is quite cool.

[Amidus Drexel]

Here, have some jazz.

Splendidly done, sir!

And now, I retire to bed.

Can we not get past, say, page 8 in the next ten hours? Please?

[Blue Ghost]

My essay is done. Yes. Done. I am so happy. Granted, this is only the first draft that was due, so I'll have to work on it, but it's done for now. My professor isn't even grading this first draft. All I need is the requisite number of pages. I tried to make it at least competent, if not necessarily good, and I think I have succeeded. I'd dance a merry jig if I were not so tired.

Hurrah! This is a cause for celebration. *spins*

I don't have much writing to do right now, but in high school, I'd always finish my papers in a single draft. I'd try to add new things on my second draft, but usually I'd decide that it was good enough, make a few style changes, and call it good.

[DraPrime]

Hurrah! This is a cause for celebration. *spins*

I don't have much writing to do right now, but in high school, I'd always finish my papers in a single draft. I'd try to add new things on my second draft, but usually I'd decide that it was good enough, make a few style changes, and call it good.

I usually write in one draft, but the professor required this, so I wrote it this way. Honestly, I'm glad it happened because I would have procrastinated a lot and ended up writing as I did now when the essay really was due.

[AsteriskAmp]

*looks at video description*
*sees name of the pianist*

Whoa. That is quite cool.

*bows*

Thanks.

Hurrah! This is a cause for celebration. *spins*

I don't have much writing to do right now, but in high school, I'd always finish my papers in a single draft. I'd try to add new things on my second draft, but usually I'd decide that it was good enough, make a few style changes, and call it good.

I believe the main revision would be those by indication rather than by free will.

[DJ Yung Crunk]

Panicked about being behind on my Christmas shopping for a whole half hour before I realized I had finished already. Huzzah! Now I get to take advantage of all the Christmas sales for myself.

[LaZodiac]

*Best Friend*

Mooooooooooooooooooooooony!

*tacklehugs*

Sorry I missed you being online, was at work being awesome. Sunday's a day off some come online for sure! I missed you so much! I even had to take your turn in DND (and I crit )

[MoonCat]

@DP: Cool! I love finishing a worky thing, it's always so satisfying. Even first drafts.

Mooooooooooooooooooooooony!

*tacklehugs*

Sorry I missed you being online, was at work being awesome. Sunday's a day off some come online for sure! I missed you so much! I even had to take your turn in DND (and I crit )

I'm yer best friend? <heart warms>

I notice,d I was desperately trying to catch up when I realized the last post I saw was the one announcing my turn.

[DJ Yung Crunk]

I could say just about anything couldn't I?

Anyone know where I can get a good Greek virgin girl? I need Greek virgin blood to complete the offering to Ba'al.

What do you do for a harpoon wound? I told my sister to stay out of the garage and now look! She's bleeding out!

I got these two suitcases full of money and I can't keep them in my house because we're "fumigating". I need to stash it at one of your houses until the "exterminators" leave if you catch my meaning.

Sometimes I intentionally cut myself shaving just to feel something.

[Mutant Sheep]

I dont believe in first drafts. MY FIRST WORK IS MY FINEST WORK.

AUGH. POST ABOUT CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! IT ONLY JUST TURNED DECEMBER YOU ******* ADS!

Edit: Well, genuine Greek blood can be a hard find. Would Crete count?

(Seriouser, however, when you are a new person to the Banter, the only effective way to be recognized and adressed is by adressing the regulars with a thought provoking response, giving them a great first impression and scaring them into replying to you. )

[DJ Yung Crunk]

I dont believe in first drafts. MY FIRST WORK IS MY FINEST WORK.

AUGH. POST ABOUT CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! IT ONLY JUST TURNED DECEMBER YOU ******* ADS!

Yeah. December's a write-off because it's just so packed and so much of a hassle. Shipping takes too long, stores never stock what you're looking for. The unwritten rule is that if you're still shopping in December you've left it too long.

Thanks for noticing my post and making my funny little bit about people not paying attention to me irrelevant. Whatever. I'm keeping it.

[DraPrime]

I could say just about anything couldn't I?

Anyone know where I can get a good Greek virgin girl? I need Greek virgin blood to complete the offering to Ba'al.

What do you do for a harpoon wound? I told my sister to stay out of the garage and now look! She's bleeding out!

I got these two suitcases full of money and I can't keep them in my house because we're "fumigating". I need to stash it at one of your houses until the "exterminators" leave if you catch my meaning.

Sometimes I intentionally cut myself shaving just to feel something.

I hope none of those are true, particularly that last one.

[Dimonite]

Splendidly done, sir!

And now, I retire to bed.

Can we not get past, say, page 8 in the next ten hours? Please?

You realize we can't promise that, right? I, for one, fully expect to wake up to a new thread tomorrow, especially given that upon refreshing the page in the other tab, I found that there have been four new posts while I was writing this short message.

[Mutant Sheep]

Hey, that last one is a great way to wake up in the morning! Nothing jolts you awake like a bleedin' gash across your lip.

[AsteriskAmp]

I could say just about anything couldn't I?

Anyone know where I can get a good Greek virgin girl? I need Greek virgin blood to complete the offering to Ba'al.

Greece might be a good starting point.

What do you do for a harpoon wound? I told my sister to stay out of the garage and now look! She's bleeding out!

You find a whale and transplant the wounded tissue to it and replace it with whale fat.

I got these two suitcases full of money and I can't keep them in my house because we're "fumigating". I need to stash it at one of your houses until the "exterminators" leave if you catch my meaning.

You can leave it next to the Tesla Coil next to the suspended human brain in my basement.

Sometimes I intentionally cut myself shaving just to feel something.

You may have CIPA.

[HalfTangible]

I tried to write 'HalfTangible' in gallefreyan (the fan version)

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I'd be willing to bet it looks like putting 'there' to mean 'they are'.

Also did 'Lazodiac' at Lala's request.

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[AsteriskAmp]

Also did 'Lazodiac' at Lala's request.

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Which alphabet are you using?