Evolutionary Philosophy
  • Home
  • About
    • Purpose
    • My Evolution
    • Press Kit
  • Philosophy
    • First Edition >
      • Tenets
      • Know Thyself
      • Survival of the Fittest Philosophers >
        • Ancient Philosophy (Pre 450 CE)
        • Medieval Philosophy (450-1600 CE)
        • Modern Philosophy (1600-1920 CE)
        • Contemporary Philosophy (Post 1920 CE)
      • Evolution 101
      • Philosophy 101
    • Later Works >
      • Academic Paper 1 >
        • Further FAQs
      • Academic Paper 2
      • Greatest Blog Hits
      • Other Publications
  • Fiction
    • Draining the Swamp >
      • Further Q&A
    • Short Stories
    • The Vitanauts
  • Blog
  • Shop

Thought Experiment 9: Bigger Brother

4/27/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Which path will she choose?
This week's thought experiment brings up the age old questions of free will and determinism. See what you think of this variation.

--------------------------------------
     For the seventy-third series of Big Brother, the producers had introduced a fiendish new toy: Pierre. The show's consultant psychologist explained how it would work.
     'As you know, the brain is the engine of thought and action, and the brain is entirely physical. Our understanding of the laws of physics is such that we can now accurately predict how people's brains will react - and thus how people will think - in response to events in their environment.
     'On entering the Big Brother space station, a brain scanner maps the brain states of all the participants. Our supercomputer, Pierre, monitors the various stimuli the contestants are exposed to and is able then to predict what their future behaviour will be.
     'Of course, all this is so fiendishly complicated that there are severe limits. That is why the technology works best in a controlled, enclosed environment such as the Big Brother space station, and also why predictions can only be made for a few moments ahead, since tiny errors in predictions soon compound themselves into large ones. But viewers will enjoy seeing the computer predict how the contestants are about to react. In a sense, we will know their minds better than they do themselves.'

Baggini, J., The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten, 2005, p. 25.
-------------------------------------

What do you think? How accurate will Pierre be? Would you enjoy seeing this?
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Stay in Touch

    SUBSCRIBE

    RSS Feed


    Blog Philosophy

    This is where ideas mate to form new and better ones. Please share yours respectfully...or they will suffer the fate of extinction!


    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    May 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    April 2012


    Some Blogs I Follow

    The Book Designer
    The Brooks Blog
    The Creative Penn
    Edge.org
    Evolving Thoughts
    Evolution This View of Life
    Gone Public
    Sam Harris
    Michele Gibney
    Jonathan Martin - 21k12
    Morality's Random Walk
    Ockham's Beard
    Philosophy Bites
    Rationally Speaking
    Reason and Meaning
    Rogue Neuron
    Talking Philosophy
    Rob Wray

    Blog Directory & Business Pages at OnToplist.com

    Blogarama - The Blog Directory
    blog directoryagence web
    Submit Blog & RSS Feeds
    Blogs lists and reviews
    My Zimbio
    Submit Blog Directory
    The SEO King
    Blog Directory
    DirectoryBlogs
    Click to set custom HTML
    Picture

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.