So, you may think that advanced set theory is too "hard" to read, but sorry, it is a walk in the park compared to what we do, — alcontali
You're smart in one area and a delusional bullshit artist when you talk to me. You got busted. Give it a rest. — fishfry
Taleb and Nobel laureate Myron Scholes have traded personal attacks, particularly after Taleb's paper with Espen Haug on why nobody used the Black–Scholes–Merton formula. — alcontali
There was a scene in a movie made from a Kurt Vonnegut novel, where a couple finds themselves in a bubble/cage in the middle of space. They are in a large bed. The aliens ask them, "Have you mated yet?" We don't know why the aliens care whether they have mated or not, but apparently they are scientifically oriented aliens.
The humans protest that they have free will and may or may not mate, depending on their wishes.
The aliens respond that they have studied millions of sentient cultures in the universe, and only on earth is anyone concerned about "free will".
And if we are totally determined, then it still feels like free will -- so what difference does it make? — Bitter Crank
As Lincoln wrote - of the average Joes, for the average Joes, and by the average Joes. — T Clark
25 years ago, I was prepared to go into philosophy graduate school. A philo of science professor talked me out of it. His argument was essentially: all the good stuff has already been thought of. You'll spend your days writing papers on meaningless trivialities until you get tenure.
I think he was right. The original stuff has already been thought of. There's been too many smart people for anyone to have missed anything fundamental by now. We need new perspectives — RogueAI
Average Joes are boring people who fail to see the beauty of philosophy, and appealing to them is what is wrong with contemporary philosophy. — BlueBanana
if you want work to be productive or ideas to have practical value, look at sciences. None of that is philosophers' job or purpose. — BlueBanana
just fucking get on with it — Bitter Crank
I scanned responses to this briefly and might have missed if someone had mentioned this: Around the turn of the century (1900) a patent office worker made the comment that he thought he'd be out of work soon because it seemed like everything that was ever going to be invented had already been invented. Even if this story is just a myth I think it makes a good point about nearsighted thinking. — SteveKlinko
It's also one of the reasons people laugh at philosophy. — T Clark
Taleb and Nobel laureate Myron Scholes have traded personal attacks, particularly after Taleb's paper with Espen Haug on why nobody used the Black–Scholes–Merton formula.
— alcontali
You have referenced Taleb many times. I admit, having not read his books, I had always seen him as a charlatan like Malcolm Gladwell. You've convinced me to give him a try. I've downloaded one of his books, "Antifragile" from the library. I'll get back to you with my impressions. — T Clark
As many of the Amazon reviews noted, it seems like he could present his ideas in a 10-page article. — T Clark
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