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Brent Allsop wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:mailman.235.1580070465.13152.extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org">
<div>Hi Ben,</div>
<div>Thanks for your extra work in our efforts to communicate. We
are obviously failing miserably.</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
Well, I would suggest that your model example using glutamate,
combined with your terminology ('elemental') could almost be
designed to mislead people about what you actually mean, so it's no
wonder there's miscommunication.<br>
<br>
My 'availability' argument was a response to what you seemed to be
claiming (and you agreed to what I asked about it. That question
wasn't aimed at a simplified imaginary world, it was about the real
world), and it doesn't just falsify the idea that glutamate =
redness, but falsifies the whole concept of any molecule
representing any quale, but perhaps you accept that, and perhaps it
is missing the point anyway, which just reinforces what I'm saying
here.<br>
<br>
I still don't understand what you mean by 'qualia blindness', and
your simple-world examples do nothing towards helping me (or anyone
else, that I can see) to understand it.<br>
<br>
As the saying goes "If you do what you always did, you'll get what
you always got". Perhaps it's time to try a different tack? The more
different ways you can explain something, the better chance there is
of people understanding it. When I have difficulty understanding a
thing, I try to find a variety of sources with different ways of
explaining it, then there's a better chance of finding something
that makes sense to me. Any idea worth its salt can be explained in
a number of different ways, or looked at from different angles.
Unfortunately, you seem to be the only source of this idea, whatever
it is, so it's up to you to come up with the different ways of
explaining it that might help people to understand it.<br>
<br>
I suggest you add more ways of looking at this to your vocabulary,
make new models, using different viewpoints, to try to convey what
'qualia blindness' is. Without this, I for one, wiil certainly
continue to have no clue what it can mean. The only thing the term
suggests to me is a lack of ability to experience qualia, just as
ordinary blindness is a lack of ability to see. You clearly don't
mean that, as it's an absurd thing to say.<br>
<br>
I know that you've probably invested a lot of time and thought in
coming up with your model and terminology, and presumably it makes
perfect sense to you, but if I'm any indication, it doesn't
necessarily make sense to many other people. Time to think of other
ways to explain it (and I don't just mean 'yellowness' instead of
'redness', and serotonin instead of glutamate!!). Preferably several
different ways, if you want people to latch on to what you mean.<br>
<br>
I don't know, but perhaps drop the 'simplified world' and try using
the real world? Or create a less simplified imaginary world? Or
better still, translate into a completely different system that has
nothing to do with brains, colours and neurotransmitters, but
embodies the same concept? (I remember, long long ago, having
difficulty understanding multiplication, it was all very abstract
and mysterious, until someone drew a 2 x 3 grid on a piece of paper
in front of me, and said "There, <b>that's</b> what multiiplication
is!". I was all OOOOHHH!!! Suddenly it made complete sense. It just
hadn't been explained to me like that before (for some daft
reason)).<br>
<br>
By the way, if anyone can come up with a similar way of explaining
what complex numbers are, I'd be very grateful! I know the usual
description, but that just doesn't make any sense to me.<br>
(Yes, I know, it's extremely unlikely).<br>
<br>
<br>
And you're <i>still</i> CCing my private email address, despite
repeated requests that you don't. That doesn't improve my mood (I
won't repeat what escapes my lips every time I see this. Use your
imagination). Please stop it, permanently.<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Ben Zaiboc</pre>
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