Louise's Brain
http://bunny.xeny.net/linked/louisesbrain.gif
I don’t even… Wha…? What is all this? PLEASE EXPLAIN!
Mitchell de Vries
yIt’s to do with phenomena and reality. I’m going to try to explain in the next lecture (tomorrow, Wednesday the 23rd). I’ll only have a very short time for it, and I’ll probably fuck it up, but never mind; it’s not very important. Cute, though, eh?
Jason
Answer: probably one of the most amazing GIFs ever!
Anyway, it is something to do with the lecture we had on 17 May (I can’t remember how it is related and I didn’t write it down). Jason make a small reference to it but couldn’t show it to us, as he couldn’t get internet or something.
Sally.
Oh ok. I do agree about the amazingness of the GIF. On the subject, here’s an image that pretty much does part of our course for us:
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20120229.gif
Mitchell
Wonderful. Thanks. Let’s talk about simulated universes in tutorials.
Jason
Great, ever since The Matrix they’re a bit of a personal favourite.
Mitchell
| When I saw this image I thought of the law of conservation of energy. |
| Personally, I would love to be a sub-routine of a universal computer program. It would explain many things philosophically, or remove the need for philosophy. |
| -Paul Rosenthal |
| — |
| I remember reading an article a while back that made a similar claim, that if simulated universes are possible, then we’re actually more likely to be in one than not. Fun. |
| Don’t think it would remove the need for philosophy though. We may have the answer to “why we are here” but that’s not even close to the only question philosophers work with. |
| Heather B. |
| — |
| a similar, vaguely/tangentially relevant comic, which i’ve mostly put here just because i thought it was funny. |
| http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20120520.gif |
| also from SMBC. |
| -owen |
| p.s. originally made a new forum post for this but thought it fit better here. |
| i’m loving the philosophical/scientific bent of SMBC recently, following its increasingly obscure/obscene origins. excuse my recent consistently insubstantial forum posts, but here’s yet another amusing/mostly relevant comic. |
| http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20120218.gif |
Ahem. I think I’ve explained about ten billion times in classes why Copenhagen versions of QM don’t say that the cat is both alive and dead. I’ve even warned you repeatedly that you’ll find this claim all over the place but that it’s wrong.
In fact, come to think of it, the “What people think it means” box above is more accurate than the “What Schrodinger’s cat means” box! Awesome!
Want to redeem yourself by mentioning a post-Schrödinger version of QM that does say that the cat is both alive and dead? :-)
Jason
hmmmmm, uh oh. um… many worlds theory? decoherent co-existing states of aliveness and deadness?
anyway, sorry about the flawed science/philosophy in that comic.
as compensation here is another funny SMBC somewhat to do with Drake’s equation and SETI. webcomics are a goldmine, i tell you! (as a self-protecting caveat, I cannot vouch for its accuracy.)
http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20100918.gif
owen
Awesome! I consider you more than redeemed.
Did you get the Doctor Strangelove reference, by the way? That’s a great film.
Jason
excellenté, i’m glad.
hahaha and yes, i’m all about the dr strangelove references! brilliant movie.
see you at wig + pen tomorrow, if my essaying goes according to plan :D
owen
