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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (7644)	3/8/2004 1:02:07 PM
From: zonder	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 20773

OT ~ I guess by "programming of the brain", you mean language and activities pursued early on in life? there is no doubt that the programming of the brain affects later programming possibilities. It is not likely that it changes the number of neurons nor their basic organization In that case, it is actually pretty well documented that neuron connectivity (more important than their sheer number) increase as you work on different types of problem solving exercises, especially as a child. [Which is precisely why it is a good idea to immerse kids in algebra, problem-solving, etc. Not because they will likely need to solve equations with negative numbers later on in life. Incidentally, the reason why amphetamines such as "extacy" are bad for you is that they prune neuron connectivity,] Having said that, I am far from saying most events in "Snow Crash", especially those related to hacking of the brain, fragmentation of the common Sumerian language during Babylonian times because of a linguistic virus outbreak, are likely true :-) I did, however, immensely enjoy the marriage of historical fact, colorful myth, and futuristic cyberpunk style that I now recognize to be Neal Stephenson. Not to mention the attention to archeological detail - Remember where he mentions the Code of Hammurabi? --------------------------------------------------- "In many Creation myths, to name a thing is to create it. He is referred to, in various myths, as 'expert who instituted incantations,' 'word-rich,' 'Enki, master of all the right commands,' as Kramer and Maier have it, 'His word can bring order where there had been only chaos and introduce disorder where there had been harmony.' He devotes a great deal of effort to imparting his knowledge to his son, the god Marduk, chief deity of the Babylonians." "So the Sumerians worshipped Enki, and the Babylonians, who came after the Sumerians, worshipped Marduk, his son." "Yes, sir. And whenever Marduk got stuck, he would ask his father Enki for help. There is a representation of Marduk here on this stele - the Code of Hammurabi. According to Hammurabi, the Code was given to him personally by Marduk." Hiro wanders over to the Code of Hammurabi and has a gander. The cuneiform means nothing to him, but the illustration on top is easy enough to understand. Especially the part in the middle." "Why, exactly, is Marduk handing Hammurabi a one and a zero in this picture?" Hiro asks. "They were emblems of royal power," the Librarian says. "Their origin is obscure." ------------------------------------------------------ The author is, of course, suggesting a binary code origin to the order of Sumerian life. I found it fascinating that, however fantastic and removed from reality his story may be, his details were unshakable. Here's the top part of the stele of the Code of Hammurabi: uwrf.edu