[MD] Computers vs. Brains

[Ham Priday]

Platt:

> No, Ham, Pirsigians do not believe rocks make conscious
> evaluations. You have conflated atoms and rocks. They are
> not the same.  Ken Wilber makes the distinction clear:
> atoms are wholes, rocks are heaps.  Wholes are entities
> like atoms, molecules and cells.  They react to experience
> according to their level, inorganically or biologically.
> Rocks and other heaps like clouds, clothes and cars do
> not react to experience.

Since I don't wish to misrepresent the predominant belief system here, I'll 
defer to your interpretation and stand corrected.  Rocks do not react to 
experience because they are heaps.  (I don't know how my wife will react 
when she finds out that the stone in her engagement ring is a "heap", but 
I'm happy for you that Wilber has made this distinction so clear.)

Determining whether an entity "experiences" or not is apparently a tricky 
matter for the MoQists.  I wonder how Wilber classifies our planet Earth --  
as a "whole", or as a whole with heaps?  Is a human being one of the heaps, 
or can it also be considered a "whole" inasmuch as it reacts to experience? 
Notwithstanding Wilber's edification, perhaps we'd avoid a heap of trouble 
by sticking with Pirsig's original "patterns" and "levels" terminology.

Thanks for the correction, Platt.

Best regards,
Ham