[MD] Probability

[pholden at davtv.com]

Quoting Case <Case at iSpots.com>:

> [Case]
> Platt, "beyond a reasonable doubt" is a legal standard. Every citizen should
> know that "beyond a reasonable doubt" is the standard by which we judge our
> fellow citizens guilty or innocent. It is a legal standard for Truth. Yet it
> acknowledges the impossibility of removing all doubt from a human judgment.
> This is a wisdom gained from thousands of years of recorded legal
> experience. It is good enough for me.

OK by me if I'm on trial or sitting in a jury box judging another accused of
a crime. But certainly not OK if I'm called upon as a witness to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth. When asked my name and occupation, I
will respond with absolute truth.

> [Platt]
> I did Google and Wiki both. Nothing. But, as you describe them, they sound
> fairy-like fictional, like the Matrix.
 
> [Case]
> I think you are being disingenuous, Platt. I Googled "brain in a vat" and
> got this for the Number one listing: 
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-in-a-vat

Here's how my browser responded with absolute certainty to the above: 

Your search - > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-in-a-vat - did not match any
documents.

> Have you seen the Matrix?

No. Explain it to me.
 
> This idea goes back at least to Descartes, and is still being argued over by
> contemporary philosophers. People respond to stories about it (and there are
> many). Average consumers of pop culture can understand the problem and find
> it intriguing. I have mentioned before that the same year the Matrix was
> released there were two other films on the same theme. Existenz, which was
> about computer game designer trapped in her own interactive game. The
> Thirteenth Floor was about a team that designs a virtual reality that
> contains self aware virtual people.
> 
> Speculative fiction like fairytales are among the ways philosophical ideas
> are dispersed into the culture. The fact that they are watered down does not
> invalidate the significance of the ideas. That they are profound is reason
> enough for creating stories and myths around them. You can not flesh them
> out if you can not even figure out the kiddy stuff.
> 
> Somebody tells you, you can gain significant insight from a movie and a game
> and you say:
> 
> Either:
>  
> "I'm conscious, I don't see much point in either of us trying to do
> anything."
> 
> It is beneath you.
> 
> Or:
> 
> "I mean, given less than 15 minutes I have other things more important to
> do."
> 
> A waste of your time.
> 
> You have certainly been wasting ours. You should have some of your own saved
> up by now.

Sorry about wasting your time. No one has put a gun to your head demanding
that you either read or respond to my posts. If you gain insights from movies,
then you should be able to explain those insights as Pirsig and others do, by the 
written word. But perhaps that's asking too much. 




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