To: epicure who wrote (56913 ) 9/5/2002 12:16:42 PM From: Solon Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 82486 " post is not a person, and a picture is not a tree. They are related, but they are not the same. What people say about Solon, is not really about Solon. What people say about you is (imo) first and foremost their own mental constructs bucking up against the words the person who created Solon chooses to write, and secondly, a reaction to a false mental construct of who the "real" Solon is. We all have these constructs for people, but if we are wise we realize they are mostly false, and are creations of our imagination, and serve our desires. (For example, people we do not like are "unhappy people", we want them to be unattractive, we want them to be failures, and people whom we like, the opposite.) " I agree that the name is not the person and that the post is not the person. It doesn't matter which name you use. Your name refers to you. It is NOT you. So we have no disagreement there. The person writing the post is real. Writing is a form of communication. It is generally more accurate than speaking because it is not subject to as much misinterpretation (stuttering, accents, and the like). When I get a letter from the tax departnment to come in to visit so and so, I obey the request--because I know (with reasonable certainty) that so and so is a real person--even though I have never met so and so face-to-face."A post is not a person, and a picture is not a tree " No disagreement there. I sent someone on SI a picture of me. She received the picture, but little ol me was right here in the easy chair, so we have no disagreement there. If the picture was me, then I would have been in two (possibly several) places at once. Not very likely, even making allowance for my incredible talent and extraordinary speed."What people say about Solon, is not really about Solon " Agreed. People usually call me by other names (my banker calls me MR. SOLON , but people can only speak about their impressions of an object in accordance with their own senses and interpretations."their own mental constructs bucking up against the words the person who created Solon chooses to write, and secondly, a reaction to a false mental construct of who the "real" Solon is " I am the real Solon. I use the name "Solon" in order to protect my address. My legal name is not the real "Solon", but it refers to me. A person is not their name. People change their name (even their legal name) and their essential essence remains. Many on SI have viewed pictures of the people they speak with on a daily basis. Some have met in person at beach parties, motels, or the like. I don't think it is important what name we know someone by. It is more important that we treat them with the same respect we hope to be treated with when we post or speak.