From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!torn!utcsri!rutgers!sun-barr!olivea!uunet!mcsun!uknet!bcc.ac.uk!news Thu Jul  9 16:20:23 EDT 1992
Article 6409 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: SA121@phx.cam.ac.uk (Arrowsmith)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.science,comp.ai.philosophy
Subject: Re: Putting the pratice effect to work
Summary: ***POSSIBLE SPOLIERS***
Message-ID: <1992Jul01.191621.5930@bas-a.bcc.ac.uk>
Date: 1 Jul 92 19:16:21 GMT
References: <1992Jun29.205441.14071@techbook.com> <BqnzMv.Fr0@news.cso.uiuc.edu> <1992Jun30.211121.25032@crc.ac.uk>
Sender: ubcg6md@ucl.ac.uk (Arrowsmith)
Organization: Jomsborg the New
Lines: 45

In article <1992Jun30.211121.25032@crc.ac.uk> mlush@crc.ac.uk (Mr. M.J. Lush) writes:

[I think an attribution has gone astray]
>
>>In article <1992Jun29.060742.4765@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz> ecmtwhk@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz (Thomas Koenig) writes:
>> 
>>>[Dave Brin, _The Practice Effect_]
>
This is getting close to spoilers, so....



>>I don't see how mere "reversal" would arrive at such laws.
>>There is a large dose of teleology here -- the objects seem to "know"  
>>what constitutes "better", and have some way of altering their very 
>>atomic structures to fit it.  Does Brin go into any detail about how 
>>he has altered our universe's physical laws to arrive at this effect?
>
>	As I rembember it there were some rules,  something like:

[munch]

>	2) The practising must be done by a sentient being,  (apparently it helps if 
>the practiser is concentrating on the task, though this isnt necessary).
>
Hmmm, I'm not so sure about "sentient" in the sense I usually mean
it.  After all, the exploration robot practices *itself*.

[munch]

>the hero was not a native so that means the effects not due to the
>brain structure/genetics,  Ah well, it must be something in the water. 
>
But he *did* have the help of the little critter which boosted practicing,
so maybe that had something to so with it.

I don't think it's particularly worth the effort of trying to analyse 
the science in the book.  Just read and enjoy, and save the deep 
thinking for something which is less of the pure entertainment....

--
\S                                 "I ride tandem with the random
SA121@phx.cam.ac.uk                "Things don't turn out the way I plan them
sarrowsm@nyx.cs.du.edu             "In the humdrum"                          
and elsewhere....                                --Peter Gabriel


