Sinfest

nathan · Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 6269

I'm ignoring the fact that you used the word singularity.

I'm not comfortable with equating internets with time. I think it's more a measure of progress, along some dimension... though not necessarily pertinent to human interests.

A suggestion: one internet is equivalent to the period over which the emotional salience of a set of memes degrades to zero. i.e. - an internet is the life cycle of a family of memes. It's similar to a species; there's no strong dividing line, but sex don't happen between facebook and hotbot.
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Uncle Benny · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 8124

yo man you should totally read my singularity/facebook/hotbot slash fic.

so what you are suggesting, then, is for one internet to equate to a chapter in a book... and also, when you say "emotional salience of a set of memes degrades to zero", you mean like it literally has no emotional impact or that "oh, didn't that happen a while ago?" kind of "zero"?

also, please define "set of meme", as my idea of "set of meme" would consist of double rainbow trololo, and rickroll...

nathan · Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 6269

Memory implies salience of a sort, but not actionable pertinence. So yeah, an insalient meme is that which you recognize as nostalgic.

A set of memes has no definite border, but the interrelatedness limits its extent. It's like pornography: you know it when you see it.
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All our final decisions are made in a state of mind that is not going to last. - Marky Mark Proust

Uncle Benny · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 8124

but that's the worst kind of measurement, what you are suggesting, then, is that your internet is different from my internet, as the determining factor for a "set of meme" is purely subjective.

if we apply that internet as a unit of measurement, then we can't really say anything beyond "an internet or two ago" as any more internet added would only cause confusion.

Unless we can decided, specifically, a "zero" point for internet.

Magniflorious · Joined: 25 Dec 2009 Posts: 1346

So what happens to an internet if the memes evolve?
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The Victim Here · Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 9:57 am Post subject:

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