Reading (For Dummies)

Intellectual Conversation

When did intellectual conversation die? For me it was years ago. I used to enjoy sitting around with my friends talking about the "what is?" What is life? What is consciousness? What is god (Who? Who. Who? Exactly.) Then I got tired. Nobody presents any new ideas anymore.

Maybe I got too stubborn...and that the universe is deterministic. Talk about the meaning of life, the singularity and the Omega point are ideas that I've mulled over and spat out. Doubtful we'll make a computer that survives heat death or the big crunch.

Phiniki and I drank a bottle of wine over a rehashed intellectual conversation last night. We both knew we were defeated when she said, "Yeah, but what's the point?" I mean, sure it'd be cool to have a computer/a species able to live an infinite amount of time if the universe keeps blowing up, or compute everything right as the universe collapses. But there doesn't seem much a point. They're fun mental excercises but I don't share the same science-fiction optimism that Gene Rodenberry did.

Even supposing such a computer survived what would it be? This computer that knows everything; all it would succeed in doing, though, is proving Gödel right, right?

Anyway I still like what I'm doing, I'm just getting the mid-winter "wondering what is going to happen to humanity?" blues. And I miss having conversations where new ideas were generated. Cuz there are no new ideas. Maybe I should read more...