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From: shoade@sun1.iusb.indiana.edu (Sean Hoade)
Subject: Re: Penrose's new book
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Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 13:16:29 GMT
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In article <36rvj1$kf2@newsbf01.news.aol.com> jrstern@aol.com (JRStern) writes:
>In article <Cwuy9z.8CF@unocal.com>, stgprao@st.unocal.COM (Richard
>Ottolini) writes:
> : Last time we had quantum vitalism.
> : Now there is a "seat of the soul".
> : Wishful thinking.
>
>I agree.  Does anyone know if Penrose owns a computer, or knows anything
>about programming?  I read "Emperor", and wondered.
>
>Josh
>

I wrote a lot about this a few months back, but Penrose and his book pop up a 
lot-- it's an attractive theory on an intuitive level, but so is the "theory" 
that the sphere of the heavens rotates around the earth.

Dualism, dualism, dualism-- that's all "The Emperor's New Mind" is, no matter 
how Penrose tries to pretty it up with his "quantum gravity" idea.  He's no 
better than Fred Alan Wolf when it comes to throwing crap in from every 
direction to support his otherwise unsupportable harebrained ideas.

There is no reason-- NO reason-- that anyone has found to discard physical law 
when it comes to the mind/brain.  Many philosophers have in fact tried to 
discard it, but there was no reason to do so other than the "obvious" fact 
that the mind/brain MUST be made of different stuff than the rest of the 
universe.  Introspection is the road to ruin.

I haven't read Penrose's new book, but considering the commercial success of
"Emperor," I don't doubt that he'll keep at his old tricks, attempting to use 
bastardized physics to prop up his out-of-date concepts.

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Sean A. Hoade, who says:           | "I think the brain is the most
"Believing in God reveals a        |   wonderful organ in the body.
 fundamental simplemindedness      |    But look what's telling me that."
 about the workings of the world." |
shoade@sun1.iusb.indiana.edu       |                 -- Emo Phillips
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