[ExI] The rock "was The Reality of Categories"

[Lee Corbin]

Anna writes

> On 7/16/07, Lee Corbin <lcorbin at rawbw.com> wrote:
> 
> > What would you actually say to an alien who thought
> > you were crazy to assert that the rock was the same
> > rock as yesterday?
> 
> > I would first make sure that there was not a
> > communication problem.  Then I would ask him why the
> > two rocks were not the same.  He might say that one
> > was a "today-rock" and one was a "yesterday-rock",
> > but that would probably indicate nothing more than a
> > communication or language difficulty.
> 
> Yes I agree, thanks for the thought, language has
> always been a problem within communication.
> 
> I would ask the alien; "as i've observed the rock for
> at least 10 years, the rock hasn't changed". At the
> same time I understand that "the rock" has came in
> contact with many of species, is the rock different or
> has the rock changed "the specie".
> 
> Is this what you where getting at?
> 
> Just Curious
> Anna   

Well, no, because rocks always *do* change, even though
it's not easy to observe it.  But if you were to use a microscope,
you'd see that indeed the surface undergoes alterations in various
ways, sometimes eroding a bit, sometimes getting a tiny thin
layer of other material.

When we were discussing that, I believe that my correspondents
and I were supposing that insofar as these tiny changes are
concerned, that particular species is extraordinarily sensitive.
So in this wise it is conceivable that the creature might deny
the "sameness" of the rock, even though to us it clearly had
not changed.

Lee