What is the Hivemind?

[Terath Ninir]

Any examples?

Hmm. Chaos theory, for one. Most people just know it for the pretty fractal pictures it can make. And initially it was just a theoretical toy. But, amongst other nifty things, chaos theory shows how we will never be able to accurately predict the weather, much less be able to control it like in old sci-fi stories. (It also demonstrates how the computer modeling that climatologists use to model global warming are meaningless, but I won't get into that here. One, it leads directly to politics, and pretty nasty politics at that. Two, nobody ever listens to me about it, anyway, no matter how much evidence I provide. )

Chaos theory is neat. Pure mathematics that turns out to model the world pretty damn well. It's also useful for things like mapping coastlines, which seem very chaotic but actually have an underlying order. Fun stuff, if you like math.

 

[Jdvn1]

Hmm. Chaos theory, for one. Most people just know it for the pretty fractal pictures it can make. And initially it was just a theoretical toy. But, amongst other nifty things, chaos theory shows how we will never be able to accurately predict the weather, much less be able to control it like in old sci-fi stories. (It also demonstrates how the computer modeling that climatologists use to model global warming are meaningless, but I won't get into that here. One, it leads directly to politics, and pretty nasty politics at that. Two, nobody ever listens to me about it, anyway, no matter how much evidence I provide. )

Chaos theory is neat. Pure mathematics that turns out to model the world pretty damn well. It's also useful for things like mapping coastlines, which seem very chaotic but actually have an underlying order. Fun stuff, if you like math.

... What postulates were changed in Chaos Theory?

 

[Terath Ninir]

You aren't the only one with a srong background in math. But a discussion is not a math problem, a debate is not a problem to be solved or redefined.

Never, ever, ever enter poltics, my friend. They would eat you alive with that attitude.

 

[Terath Ninir]

... What postulates were changed in Chaos Theory?

Mmm. Now you're straining my memory. And my chaos books are all boxed up.

I think I mostly remember one of them, though, well enough not to butcher it. It has always been assumed that, given enough information, we can accurately predict the behaviour of a system. That idea got kicked in the crotch by quantum mechanics, of course. Chaos theory pretty much coup de grace's it.

The classic example is the weather. No matter how much data you have, no matter how close the conditions are today to a previous day, you can never say exactly what sort of weather you will get from those starting conditions. You can come up with probablities, and eliminate some extreme possiblities (even here in Denver, we are almost assuredly not going to get snow in July), but you can't say what the outcome is going to be. Even if the conditions are *exactly* the same as a previous day, down to every significant digit you can measure, it will end up with different results.

I'm sorry. The above seems awfully vague, but entire books are written to explain these concepts.

 

[devilish]

Ah, you confuse me for a seeker of knowledge, when in fact I possess that knowledge. I can prove that counting works and that addition works, which means I can also prove subtraction, multiplication, and division as trivial roots.

Most importantly, by changing a few postulates, I can prove that 6 times 9 IS 42.

Wow - - flashback to discrete mathematics and proving that 1 exists and that 1 and 1 make two, and everything flows from that.

 

[devilish]

It is a stalemate, sure the Good diety could smite all the bad one's followers, but the Bad one could do the same to the god ones and then they are both screwed. But it also can be becasue the gods do not have that ability to kill anything with a thought. Not all gods are considered all powerful.

One interesting thing that Mongoose's Book of Immortals triggered with me
was that mortals are capable of free will, but the closer down the road
of immortality you go, the more free will you give up until you have none.
At that point you become a god/dess of whatever archetype you pursued.

So, Evil exists to be evil and does not have the decision to war against
good --- just to "be". (likewise with good). May sound like a cop-out DM-fiat
answer ("It just is!").

I'm actually now working with the idea that the universe is a closed
system and that the only way to tip the balance is with forces outside the closed universe
(cthulhu, far realm, etc.)

 

[Evilhalfling]

Wow - - flashback to discrete mathematics and proving that 1 exists and that 1 and 1 make two, and everything flows from that.

Yes but if pie R SQR = the area of a circle
does that mean that if an orc has a square pie in a round room, the pie fills the room?

 

[Crothian]

Never, ever, ever enter poltics, my friend. They would eat you alive with that attitude.

They haven't yet. I'm aware of the strategy of people to alter the paremters of a discussion to "win" it but it is just a stretagy of people who are losing. That is all you are doing it is like putting on a mgic show, you distract people fromn the realy topics with fluff and pointlerss rheteric that sounds mildly amusing to people.

 

[Terath Ninir]

They haven't yet. I'm aware of the strategy of people to alter the paremters of a discussion to "win" it but it is just a stretagy of people who are losing. That is all you are doing it is like putting on a mgic show, you distract people fromn the realy topics with fluff and pointlerss rheteric that sounds mildly amusing to people.

Ooo, we're dancing on the edge of Topics We Are Not Meant To Discuss On ENWorld. Hmm. How close can I skate to the edge without going over? Let's just say that most politicians, including a certain sitting US President who shall remain nameless, put on a magic show all the time and most certainly do succeed in it. Re-framing the argument is a tried and true tactic that is not likely to go away. Sure, some people see through it, but I've seen more than ample evidence that the majority of people do *not* see through it.

Also, it is not just used by people who are losing an argument. It is the tactic of first choice for many politicians, even when they have no reason to doubt that their side is right. I'd even go so far as to say that your saying it is a tactic of losers is, in fact, an example of changing postulates to reach the conclusion you want.

 

[Crothian]

Ha, the plan worked. I got CZ to talk about politics and now it is time to get him banned!! Ha ha ha!!!!!