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May 15, 2008 at 10:43:24
Was the God of the ancients a computer? by Ed Martin Page 1 of 1 page(s) |
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You would be a rare person if you have not had some of the same experiences I have had in getting a supposedly insentient machine, my computer, to do what it's supposed to do. You, as I, have learned never to call on the people who built the thing to provide helpful instruction on how it works. They readily admit that they haven't the slightest clue about how it works. Their recommendation when the computer becomes obstinate is to use intuition, guesswork, trial and error and hope to get it to cooperate. If you look at the way the people of a few thousand years ago interacted with their God, the similarity to interacting with a computer is inescabable. Consider the behavior of a computer when you try to interact with it and it's feeling uncooperative. The obstinacy, the perverse malevolence, the capriciousness, the dictatorial edicts telling you to do this certain thing, when this certain thing doesn't exist, its snide little windows telling you how stupid you are and how badly you've screwed up. The computer is unapproachable except on its own terms. You have to do precisely what it says, and then it perversely tells you that was the wrong thing to do. You must pay obeisance to it and its procedures to gain access to communication with it, and even then, it smugly refuses to answer, or answers another, unrelated question altogether. The only thing the acolytes to this machine, the people who built it, have not yet recommended is that I try the reading of tea leaves or sheep entrails to discover the mysteries of the machine. I suppose I could try bowing down in supplication with a burnt offering in propitiation of its fits of ill temper.
The behavior of the computer to those of us who try to interact with it is the same as the experience of the people in the Old Testament in trying to deal with their God. There's a feeling of the hopelessness of such a one-sided relationship. Their God and my computer only deal with their supplicants in the imperious "We" mode and only deigns to respond in a totally random manner, or Godlike, not at all.
Could it be that those people of long ago thought they were dealing with a God but were actually dealing with a computer very much like mine? The similarities are too close to dismiss. Just think, I could have a God in a metal and plastic box setting right here on my desk.
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| 5 comments |
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Hi Ed,
I feel your pain. If you get frustrated, and have computer questions/problems (PC, but not Mac), just email me (john@factinista.org). I've been building computers since about 1993. I usually can help with most PC problems. I ran a computer company for 5 years (KickAss Gear). John by John R Moffett (89 articles, 18 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 697 comments [14 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 11:45:11 AM  (0+)
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Reply: If this doesn't work...
Thanks, John, I appreciate the offer of help, which I need from time to time. I'm preparing to sacrifice a goat, I've heard that worked pretty good, once upon a time. If that doesn't work, I'll let you know. Thanks, Ed. by Ed Martin (139 articles, 0 quicklinks, 35 diaries, 173 comments [4 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 2:43:20 PM (0+)
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Let Me Guess..
You run Windows? It is certainly a powerful spirit, but you must obey and play by its rules. I am currently using Linux (Ubuntu). It is sometimes difficult to do ceratin things, as we live in a world ruled by the Serpent Steven's Apple and Bill's Gateway to Hell, Windows. But with my free operating system, I have a much closer relationship with my computer, which runs much more efficiently. and actually listens to my commands! (Plus, I have a virtual machine that runs Windows XP on a partition whenever I need.) Tear down the walls of bureaucracy standing between you and your machine. The relationship you describe sounds much like a dictatorship, when all along, you could have been in charge of your very own kingdom (or at least a bit-Republic.) by Ferdinand (17 articles, 4 quicklinks, 39 diaries, 259 comments) on Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 11:52:55 AM (0+)
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Reminds me of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
...when the ancients built an all powerful computer to answer the ultimate question of "Life, the Universe and Everything." It takes 1000 years to cacluate the answer. At the end of that time, the acolytes to the computer (which has attained god status) come to hear the result. It tells them they won't like the answer. "What is it?!" they demand, and it responds: "42." by Dooglio (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 30 comments) on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 12:46:30 PM (0+)
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AI
My husband worked on AI for Hughes He believed this also. There si so much evidence it cannot be dismissed. To be honest after my husband's death I became convinced he had disappeared into the INTERNET. Far more wonderful, than the religious heaven , it is a place he loved. What better place to spend eternity. siriusss by siriusss (6 articles, 3 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 111 comments [6 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 12:47:51 PM (0+)
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