Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Father Terrence who wrote (28036)	1/13/1999 1:02:00 PM
From: epicure	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 108807

You are wrong, there is collective knowledge. THAT is why the destruction of a civilization can be such a blow to knowledge- for that cultures knowledge dies with it- until rediscovered, IF rediscovered. Or take the example of the burning of the Library at Alexandria- an institution, a collective, and the destruction of that collective set the world back- who knows how much?

To: Father Terrence who wrote (28036)	1/14/1999 12:40:00 AM
From: Krowbar	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

<< By that reasoning you could trace many inventions back to the harnessing of fire as a source of power. To be credited for advancing the human species (not race as declared by Nihilist!), does one have to start from scratch? Having knowledge is not collective -- it is individualistic. There is no such thing as a collective mind or collective knowledge. >> Have you ever seen one of the episodes of "Connections" on PBS. It went into great detail of how each of the important technologies of today were the result of a chain of seemingly unrelated events. For instance, the computers that we are using can be traced back to the automatic loom that was run by punch cards. That made cloth much easier to mass produce thus making it affordable to the masses (and made lots of money for the boss). Those punch cards were also seen as useful for tabulating the large amount of European immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. Later, punch cards were used to program the first primitive computers. I doubt if the guy who invented the punch card loom reasoned "you know, some day people will be ordering clothes on the internet using their computer that my punch card loom will evolve into." There were countless people involved to get from there to here, each building on the collective work of those that preceded them to advance the knowledge. There is no such thing as collective knowledge? What do you call Biology, Astronomy, Physics, etc? Would von Braun or Einstein have achieved what they did if they were locked in a room from birth and denied access to any outside knowledge, and were only given food? Del