On Thu, 1 May 1997, brian j. callahan wrote:

<snip> >....  This, I think, is folly.  Human society and its >interaction
>with the material world is an incredibly complex system. >As Chomsky has
>pointed out, no one has demonstrated an understanding of >that approaches
>the theories of the physical sciences. We do the best we can > with the
>limited information and powers of reason we posess, and that >is why it is
>essential that we always be open to counterarguments >and fresh evidence
>that does not fit our model.
>
>I see it as a case of successive approximation. The more processors we have
>working on it, the better.

I like this approach to problem solving, but in order to solve problems in
this manner we need a certain amount of consensus as to what the
problems are.

I like to see democracy as a means of identifying and prioritizing
*common* problems (social and natural) and as a means of designing good
physical and social tools to solve those problems.

Harry