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What is a beautiful concept or idea that continues to blow your mind? (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

152 comments fedilink hide all child comments

For me it is Cellular Automata, and more precisely the Game of Life.

Imagine a giant Excel spreadsheet where the cells are randomly chosen to be either "alive" or "dead". Each cell then follows a handful of simple rules.

For example, if a cell is "alive" but has less than 2 "alive" neighbors it "dies" by under-population. If the cell is "alive" and has more than three "alive" neighbors it "dies" from over-population, etc.

Then you sit back and just watch things play out. It turns out that these basic rules at the individual level lead to incredibly complex behaviors at the community level when you zoom out.

It kinda, sorta, maybe resembles... life.

There is colonization, reproduction, evolution, and sometimes even space flight!

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Ok, but buying a cell phone isn't the only potentially immoral choice made by people regularly, it's just one example. Modern life is a minefield with this stuff, and I'm incapable of imagining a person in modern society who is capable of avoiding every single one of these pitfalls. Hell, it could probably be argued that even existing on this dying planet could be considered immoral or unethical. Again, maybe I'm wrong and you could think of one. Maybe some ascetic living on the street in India?

Also, I don't really agree that awareness is even relevant. You can do immoral things without being aware that the thing you're doing could be considered immoral. The thing itself is still immoral.

Which was kind of my point; that it's impossible to avoid in a modern, interconnected world. I probably did a dozen immoral things before breakfast this morning.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Did you watch the video? You are both making the same point.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I haven't. I'm currently at work and can't watch. I was mostly pointing out that it becomes a pointless exercise when you realize that every human on the planet is considered immoral

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Pointless might be a bit of a stretch. Change begins with recognition - perhaps some of the grand constants must be mutable in order for progress to be made.

[–] claycle 0 points 1 year ago

I probably did a dozen immoral things before breakfast this morning.

Sure, certainly, yes, I'll accept your admission at face value, but could you have done fewer?