Looney Labs Icehouse Mailing list Archive

RE: [Icehouse] Fifth Pyramid Color?

  • From"Christopher Hickman" <tophu@xxxxxxx>
  • DateFri, 10 Mar 2006 12:20:34 -0500
The Spock rule allows only objectively observable attributes of a koan to be
relevant.  Spock can't passively observe an obscured pyramid, so they don't
exist.

If a pyramid falls in the forest, and it gets covered up by a black one,
does it exist?  :)

-----Original Message-----
From: icehouse-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:icehouse-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Elliott C. Evans
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 11:51 AM
To: Icehouse Discussion List
Subject: RE: [Icehouse] Fifth Pyramid Color?


Christopher H. wrote:
> When I play Zendo, I just have a house rule that pieces completely
> obscured by an opaque pyramid cease to exist (a koan consisting of
> a small piece covered by a large black piece is the same koan as a
> single upright large black piece, both with a pip count of three).

Schroedinger's Pyramid!

Really, if I understand such things correctly, an obscured piece
possibly exists, but in an indeterminate state expressed as a
probability of existence. Only through observation can we collapse
the quantum state, and until then it both exists and does not exist.

Such philosophical conundra are one reason most people don't play
Zendo with opaque pyramids.

--
Elliott C. "Eeyore" Evans
eeyore@xxxxxxxx

PS: Ah, Friday.
_______________________________________________
Icehouse mailing list
Icehouse@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.looneylabs.com/mailman/listinfo/icehouse


Current Thread