Our minds on media.

Musings on the effects of media on cognition.


Banapana
Friday, February 26, 2010

The Deduction of the Value of Fame!

Consider this most basic of deductions…

  1. All men are mortal
  2. Socrates was a man
  3. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

We can update this simple logical framework to prove that fame is totally awesome:

  1. All men are mortal
  2. Socrates was a man.
  3. Oh! Women are mortal, too
  4. Therefore Socrates (and women) are mortal
  5. Except for Ray Kurzweil… he might not be, in a little while; if he tries hard enough.
  6. But besides crazy people like Ray Kurzweil who’s probability for immortal survival is low–no! No probability! This is deduction.
  7. No man has in the past not been mortal—OR a woman, or women—they’re all mortal too. Although is this still because Socrates was mortal?
  8. Men and women, since they have been, have been mortal—with the exception of those around now, who we are waiting to decide upon.
  9. AND women up until now; AND including kids in the near future whom we will keep an eye on. 9.1 The MEAN survival rate for mortal men and women… no, that’s probability. 9.2 Men and woman, as we know them by their regular descriptions, are mortal, as we have always seen to be the case.

  10. Of course there might be a man who comes along, ambitious as Kurzweil when the technology is available, who might not be mostly mortal depending on the end of the universe. 10.1 But MOST men are mortal–AND women–and MOST of the time! 10.2 There might be more time from here on out then there has been, of course, so… 10.2 Technology does tend to get around this mortality business doesn’t it? 10.3 MOST men, MOST women, almost all HUMANS, are mortal until later; without technology, are mortal. 10.4 MOST HUMANS start out non-mortal and at some point… barring technology, surgery, medicine, other things humans invent; then they are mortal. 10.5 And then, of course, there’s that universe-has-got-to-end—entropy and all that—everybody’s got to be really, seriously be mortal. 10.6 The universe ends; doesn’t matter what you did. Boom. Mortal. Everybody since and you too. 10.7. DISCOUNTING the fact that some individuals, empowered by a, like, harnessed super-massive black hole; he or SHE could do something to trump even entropy, i.e. jet out of the known universe, but the probability—no, this is deduction—no room for probability. Everyone out of the super-massive blackholes! RIGHT now! Everybody out!

  11. Everybody who was anybody has got to stop being anybody at some point.

  12. Socrates was famous
  13. All men and women at some point are famous (for a mean number of 15 minu—no!)
  14. Therefore all men and woman will be famous
  15. but only eventually at some point dead.
  16. Well, that’s rubbish.
  17. Ergo, ALL, no wait–MOST men, most of the time (and women)–most HUMANS, most of the time, are dead.
  18. Therefore, most of humans are dead and not famous, most of the time. Q.E.D.

So there you have it. For the most part you will be dead and not famous. Get over it.

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