The past is a memory, a trace in our heads. The future is an illusion. What remains is the present which is in a constant flux.
Zimbardo has analysed the psychological concepts of time very nicely. My favorite aspect is that eastern concepts of an all-encompassing present are not measurable with scientific constructs.
So they seem to be real.
Maybe time is also a matter of belief.
However, it is our obligation to be here, to be now and to live here and now. We constantly fail to do so. We have fears and hopes or live in our memories. The magic is here and now. So let's shut up and do some more Zazen.
Let all philosophers sleep and dream, and carry on with the good work and practice.
LAUGHTER
End
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Fundamental decisions 1
Before we can consider problems of everyday life, such as synthetic biology or computational chemistry, we have to solve some fundamental problems.
The first question is that of reality: Do we live in a place called reality, is this reality something external or internal, or do we live in a simulation, either a gigantic, universal, external one, or are we the only one in the simulation (that should be said in another way: Am I the only one in this simulation).
How can we start to think about that without going mad? I guess a lot of people have considered this question more or less systematically.
We leave the question of a maker of this reality and about the guys who run the simulation aside for a while.
a) The real exists and is external to us:
Ha: Even if we are in a simulation, there has to be some place real where the simulation is run, even if it is a black hyper-intelligent blob at the end of another parallel universe. So that is nice indeed. Even though our minds are distorted by thinking and by weird heuristics, we regularly bump into things, which means: There is something out there. All the materialistic and empiristic traditions bring us to a real world. It is only a problem of our senses, to get it right.
b) The real exists but is only in our minds:
A tricky one, that I have never fully understood. I miss the social component in this and especially the things we regularly bump into. A shared universe should be external to us. But the trick is that the only way to know the world is with our senses and our mind. That makes us alone, and unique spectators of the universe. Another nice aspect, I can live with.
c) We are in a huge simulated universe
Nice technology, I would say. Especially the sensation of bumping into things, is done really perfectly.
I guess it does not make a difference, except maybe possible afterlives, but that is another issue.
d) I am the only one in this simulation
Still rather nice technology, given the complexity, that I experience. Especially the error messages that frequently pop up above, add to the realistic feeling. Well done. I guess if I get out of this I either wake up in a tank full of liquid, wired to whatever, or I have 8 legs and look insect like.
I hope to have the time to read some philosophical ideas about all that.
The first question is that of reality: Do we live in a place called reality, is this reality something external or internal, or do we live in a simulation, either a gigantic, universal, external one, or are we the only one in the simulation (that should be said in another way: Am I the only one in this simulation).
How can we start to think about that without going mad? I guess a lot of people have considered this question more or less systematically.
We leave the question of a maker of this reality and about the guys who run the simulation aside for a while.
a) The real exists and is external to us:
Ha: Even if we are in a simulation, there has to be some place real where the simulation is run, even if it is a black hyper-intelligent blob at the end of another parallel universe. So that is nice indeed. Even though our minds are distorted by thinking and by weird heuristics, we regularly bump into things, which means: There is something out there. All the materialistic and empiristic traditions bring us to a real world. It is only a problem of our senses, to get it right.
b) The real exists but is only in our minds:
A tricky one, that I have never fully understood. I miss the social component in this and especially the things we regularly bump into. A shared universe should be external to us. But the trick is that the only way to know the world is with our senses and our mind. That makes us alone, and unique spectators of the universe. Another nice aspect, I can live with.
c) We are in a huge simulated universe
Nice technology, I would say. Especially the sensation of bumping into things, is done really perfectly.
I guess it does not make a difference, except maybe possible afterlives, but that is another issue.
d) I am the only one in this simulation
Still rather nice technology, given the complexity, that I experience. Especially the error messages that frequently pop up above, add to the realistic feeling. Well done. I guess if I get out of this I either wake up in a tank full of liquid, wired to whatever, or I have 8 legs and look insect like.
I hope to have the time to read some philosophical ideas about all that.
A new project
There will be a new project. The project concerns this blog.
The first comment from the audience that guesses what it is wins an ornamental Bauernberg-Voodoo Tattoo.
;-)
The first comment from the audience that guesses what it is wins an ornamental Bauernberg-Voodoo Tattoo.
;-)
Monday, 3 December 2012
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Fungi
Today I have visited an exhibition on fungi. It was really impressive for several reasons:
1. The largest organism ever found on this planet is a fungus: Armillaria ostoyae
2. 80% (or even more) of the worlds biomass are decomposed by fungi
3. And other stuff
This made me forget, that yesterday, when I walked past the Bauernbergpark Man, I found him crying bitterly. However, the exhibition reminded me of how fragile our ecosystem is and how many complicated aspects of symbiosis, parasitism and equilibria it includes.
It makes me wonder about the unbelievable interconnectedness of all things, and of course about my role and the Man's role in all of this.
Yesterday, after passing the crying Bauernbergpark Man, my dog defecated into a decayed group of Coprinaceae. This at least is the narrative connection between fungi, the Man and me. Does that make sense?
One day, I walked through a forest near my hometown (Yes - the one with the Bauernbergpark) I encountered a single Coprinus atramentarius which is unusual because I think they normally grow in groups. Next to it there was a toilet brush. The picture of the biofact and the artifact, that somehow resembled each other, stayed in my mind for a long time.
What was there before? The mushroom or the brush? From an evolutionary perspective the coprinus is much older. But who will survive as the fitter one? The mycelium of the fungus is a tough match even for a metal toilet brush. I fear that someone will cut the trees there, so that the mycelium must die. The toilet brush will live on happily ever after.
The purpose of this is that one day the Bauernbergpark Man will read this, and simply will stop crying.
My problem is, that I am pretty sure that a warm sleeping bag and a few warm words would be much better.
1. The largest organism ever found on this planet is a fungus: Armillaria ostoyae
2. 80% (or even more) of the worlds biomass are decomposed by fungi
3. And other stuff
This made me forget, that yesterday, when I walked past the Bauernbergpark Man, I found him crying bitterly. However, the exhibition reminded me of how fragile our ecosystem is and how many complicated aspects of symbiosis, parasitism and equilibria it includes.
It makes me wonder about the unbelievable interconnectedness of all things, and of course about my role and the Man's role in all of this.
Yesterday, after passing the crying Bauernbergpark Man, my dog defecated into a decayed group of Coprinaceae. This at least is the narrative connection between fungi, the Man and me. Does that make sense?
One day, I walked through a forest near my hometown (Yes - the one with the Bauernbergpark) I encountered a single Coprinus atramentarius which is unusual because I think they normally grow in groups. Next to it there was a toilet brush. The picture of the biofact and the artifact, that somehow resembled each other, stayed in my mind for a long time.
What was there before? The mushroom or the brush? From an evolutionary perspective the coprinus is much older. But who will survive as the fitter one? The mycelium of the fungus is a tough match even for a metal toilet brush. I fear that someone will cut the trees there, so that the mycelium must die. The toilet brush will live on happily ever after.
The purpose of this is that one day the Bauernbergpark Man will read this, and simply will stop crying.
My problem is, that I am pretty sure that a warm sleeping bag and a few warm words would be much better.
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Event Horizon
No it is not the movie I am writing about (though that gave me some shivers some time ago). It is not about some physical theory either. It is the event horizon of individual perception.
And Zen.
Yes. This is actually one topic. While Bowie is singing "Changes" into my ears, I try to make my point.
You can get adicted to widening the horizon. You can get mad if it explodes. You can use drugs and you can use other kicks.
Usually this happens all too fast. To get a good knowledge of the territory you can perceive, to get a real good map of your world, it takes time. It takes time to sit, as Zen people would do. Of course there are other ways than Sôtô meditation, but all of them take time.
So stop where you are and look around. Where have you put your shoes when you entered the apartment, and what is the color of the carpet? That is essential.
It is not essential to go everywhere. Do you know yourself? Gnothi seauton!
Yes, I especially mean you, who is wandering the night alone, in search for the next beam of light. You who gave me this face. Sit down and rest my friend. Your enlightenment is false and will burn away like the flame of a torch. It is time to get back to the ground, to feel the earth again.
It will hurt, yes indeed, but we are merely human beings. Our lot is to work ourselves through the dirt. Per aspera ad astra.
I am looking forward to sitting next to you at the edge of the road and to watch the fast cars pass by.
You will laugh at your past madness. We will meet at a real slow place, in a pup somewhere, where time stands still. You will appreciate the fog and abhor the blinding light you are in now.
Finally you will have friends and family again.
You are free to chose. You can take the fast road into the light of perdition or you can turn around and follow the hard road, the long path back to mankind. There you can regain strength and freedom, real freedom, not the freedom of Icarus.
Enough for now.
See you in the citadel.
A friend.
And Zen.
Yes. This is actually one topic. While Bowie is singing "Changes" into my ears, I try to make my point.
You can get adicted to widening the horizon. You can get mad if it explodes. You can use drugs and you can use other kicks.
Usually this happens all too fast. To get a good knowledge of the territory you can perceive, to get a real good map of your world, it takes time. It takes time to sit, as Zen people would do. Of course there are other ways than Sôtô meditation, but all of them take time.
So stop where you are and look around. Where have you put your shoes when you entered the apartment, and what is the color of the carpet? That is essential.
It is not essential to go everywhere. Do you know yourself? Gnothi seauton!
Yes, I especially mean you, who is wandering the night alone, in search for the next beam of light. You who gave me this face. Sit down and rest my friend. Your enlightenment is false and will burn away like the flame of a torch. It is time to get back to the ground, to feel the earth again.
It will hurt, yes indeed, but we are merely human beings. Our lot is to work ourselves through the dirt. Per aspera ad astra.
I am looking forward to sitting next to you at the edge of the road and to watch the fast cars pass by.
You will laugh at your past madness. We will meet at a real slow place, in a pup somewhere, where time stands still. You will appreciate the fog and abhor the blinding light you are in now.
Finally you will have friends and family again.
You are free to chose. You can take the fast road into the light of perdition or you can turn around and follow the hard road, the long path back to mankind. There you can regain strength and freedom, real freedom, not the freedom of Icarus.
Enough for now.
See you in the citadel.
A friend.
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Frankenstein
Finally I found time to read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Brilliant. Hubris in its most beautiful romantic form.
The other book I'm reading is Atran and Medin's Folkbiology, which is sometimes much weirder, for instance when discussing New Guinean bird names.
I am listening to Jerry Garcia playing "Sitting on top of the world" and I miss the Bauernbergpark Man.
Two days ago I passed by his summer quarters (which are two adjacent bark benches near a long turn of the road) and all his belongings were scattered on the ground. He was gone.
I hope he has a warm place to stay before the winter comes to the park.
I wonder how the Man really feels and if he is sometimes as lonely as Shelley's monster. Who can tell?
What shall I read next?
Ah. Phillip Balls's "Unnatural" comes to my mind.
The other book I'm reading is Atran and Medin's Folkbiology, which is sometimes much weirder, for instance when discussing New Guinean bird names.
I am listening to Jerry Garcia playing "Sitting on top of the world" and I miss the Bauernbergpark Man.
Two days ago I passed by his summer quarters (which are two adjacent bark benches near a long turn of the road) and all his belongings were scattered on the ground. He was gone.
I hope he has a warm place to stay before the winter comes to the park.
I wonder how the Man really feels and if he is sometimes as lonely as Shelley's monster. Who can tell?
What shall I read next?
Ah. Phillip Balls's "Unnatural" comes to my mind.
Friday, 31 August 2012
Bauernbergpark Man III
This is a rather fascinating week for me. However, during a workshop at the Ars Electronica Future Lab I found the time to walk the dog.
I also found the Man, sitting in front of my suicidal friend's former apartment. He asked me for some cash.
He was very polite and he was using very formal German language-
I gave him 6 Euros and looked him into the eyes for the very first time. What I saw was kindness. What a contrast to the encounter a few days ago!
The weather is getting rather wet. Hope he's sleeping well on the floor of the pavilion.
I also found the Man, sitting in front of my suicidal friend's former apartment. He asked me for some cash.
He was very polite and he was using very formal German language-
I gave him 6 Euros and looked him into the eyes for the very first time. What I saw was kindness. What a contrast to the encounter a few days ago!
The weather is getting rather wet. Hope he's sleeping well on the floor of the pavilion.
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Bauernbergpark Man Attack
Although the Man is mostly peaceful, he frequently has some sort of nervous attacks. Then he swears aloud or he calls for the police.
Three days ago I passed him when he came back from his Hofer market duties. He was having one of his fits. However, he stopped swearing when he saw me and walked past me silently.
SUDDENLY he turned around and told my dog that he is a good boy in a very aggressive manner.
I kept on walking, and the Man turned too and went after his lunatic business.
That is the other side of the Bauernbergpark Man, a side that undoubtedly gives him constant troubles. To me and to the dog it was just 10 seconds of fear. For him it means a life on park benches.
Three days ago I passed him when he came back from his Hofer market duties. He was having one of his fits. However, he stopped swearing when he saw me and walked past me silently.
SUDDENLY he turned around and told my dog that he is a good boy in a very aggressive manner.
I kept on walking, and the Man turned too and went after his lunatic business.
That is the other side of the Bauernbergpark Man, a side that undoubtedly gives him constant troubles. To me and to the dog it was just 10 seconds of fear. For him it means a life on park benches.
Ed Regis What is life? (german)
Ed Regis
What is Life? Investigating the Nature of Life in the Age of
Synthetic Biology
2008
Oxford University Press
Das Buch liefert eine spannende Reise durch die Geschichte
des Lebensbegriffes und die modernen Herausforderungen an diesen, wie Synthetische
Biologie, Protozellenforschung und die Suche nach extraterrestrischem Leben.
Die Geschichte beginnt mit den Protagonisten der
Protozellenforschung, des sogenannten „bottom-up“ Zugangs zur Erschaffung
künstlichen Lebens, bzw. einer künstlichen Zelle wie etwa Norman Packard und
Steen Rasmussen.
Es folgt ein Rückblick auf Erwin Schrödingers Standardwerk:
What is life? aus dem Jahr 1944, das zum einen den Mythos des Lebens aus
physikalischem Blickwinkel entzauberte, andererseits aber viel Fragen offen
ließ. Im Zentrum des Werkes Schrödingers steht der Begriff der Negentropie,
oder negativen Entropie, der Lebewesen, was nichts anderes Bedeutet als
Ordnung.
Regis erzählt nun die Geschichte der Entdeckung der DNA, die
bis ins Jahr 1869 reicht, als sie von Friedrich Miescher aus dem Eiter von
Wundverbänden aus dem Krankenhaus isoliert wurde. 1953 publizierten Watson und
Crick ihre Entdeckung der Struktur der DNA. Der genetische Code wurde im laufe
der 60er Jahre von Marshall Nirenberg entschlüsselt.
Das Buch handelt nun weiter von einem Kongress 1993 in
Dublin mit dem Titel: „What Is Life: The Next 50 Years“ der Erwin Schrödinger
würdigte, aber mit den meisten seiner Erkenntnisse abrechnete.
Als nächstes wird die Wichtigkeit von ATP für Lebensprozesse
verdeutlicht und als wesentliches Merkmal von Leben der Metabolismus
herausgearbeitet.
Dann geht es um die Ursprünge des Lebens. Die Theorie, die
hier am plausibelsten erscheint ist jene von Freeman Dyson, die einen doppelten
Ursprung von Metabolismus und Reproduktion postuliert.
Im nächsten Kapitel wird der Stand der Evolutionstheorie
skizziert, indem Theodosius Dobzhanskys Aussage: „Nothing in biology makes
sense except in the light of evolution“ als falsch hingestellt wird.
Dann spannt sich der Bogen zurück zu den
Protozellen-Forschern und es werden deren letzte Fortschritte aufsummiert. Es
wird jedoch klar gestellt, dass es noch nicht gelungen ist eine künstliche
Zelle zu synthetisieren, obwohl schon interessante Entwicklungen in diese
Richtung gemacht worden sind.
Am Ende wird die Frage „Was ist Leben?“ damit beantwortet,
dass es sich bei Leben um einen in einem Körper enthaltenen Metabolismus (embodied metabolism) handelt.
Lieblingszitat: Carl Sagan wrote that „despite the enormous
fund of information that [biologists] have provided, it is a remarkable fact
that no general agreement exists on what it is that is being studied. There is
no generally accepted definition of life.“ p.156
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