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From: mjs14@unix.brighton.ac.uk (shute)
Subject: Re: Randomness is a human concept (was Re: Time is a human concept)
Message-ID: <1994Nov1.104424.3879@unix.brighton.ac.uk>
Organization: University of Brighton, UK
References: <38qhnm$117@whitbeck.ncl.ac.uk> <1994Oct30.160017.676@inca.comlab.ox.ac.uk> <390ogd$g4o@shell1.best.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Nov 1994 10:44:24 GMT
Lines: 39

In article <390ogd$g4o@shell1.best.com> dillon@mail.best.com (Matt Dillon) writes:
>    A better example would be nuclear decay, which is a very real process
>    that can only be explained by that principle.  Without randomness, there is
>    no way to explain how a particle can break free of the strong force.
>    With randomness, there is a statistical chance that the partial will
>    'move' far enough away to break free.

I've often wondered how my newsreader (or any other interactive computer
program) would fare if it suddenly acquired (artificial intelligence),
and an interest in exploring its environment.

It would very quickly work out that different users would have different
access patterns.  Some would have read some newsgroups, others would read
others.  Of course, it wouldn't know what a comp.ai.philosophy was, nor
an alt.sex... but it could still notice a pattern that would characterise
each reader.

It could also note that some users are faster readers than others, and
that some are better/worse typists (using the DEL key less often) when
editting replies and follow-ups.

Then... there would also be those curious spells of inactivity.  Armed
only with a keyboard as its means of sensing our world, the program would
be totally at a loss as to what was happening during periods of inactivity.
The concept of humans making coffee, or going to the toilet, would be as
inconceivable as the semantics of comp.ai.philosophy or alt.sex.

Just my ramblings on the subject :-)

Oh... and, yes, the connection with the article that I'm following up...
I was wondering if radioactive decay represented God's keystrokes on his
cilestial keyboard.  Random to us... only because we haven't got the
foggiest as to what he is doing between keystrokes.  :-)   :-)

Cheers,
-- 

Malcolm SHUTE.         (The AM Mollusc:   v_@_ )        Disclaimer: all

