I tried the same thing at about that age. I seem to recall my attempt involved something deeply silly about minimizing entropy increase (It would have helped if I’d actually understood entropy at that point in a deeper sense than the handwavy “disorder in a system” sense, perhaps). I also made the mistake of assuming that the ideal correct morality would by necessity fall out of pure logic by the power of careful reasoning, and that therefore morality was an inevitable consequence of intelligence.
I grew out of it a couple years later when I realized that I was being a dumbass.
Having it All Figured Out is a common mistake for (14-16)-year olds to make, I guess.
It’s interesting to me just how very widespread the influence of those books seems to me to be in this community.
And really, Buffy is only a modest variation on them.
The best way to minimise entropy is probably to destroy as much of the biomass as possible. A short term gain in entropy—but the net effect on entropy increase would be negative—and the more creatures you could kill, the better!
I tried the same thing at about that age. I seem to recall my attempt involved something deeply silly about minimizing entropy increase (It would have helped if I’d actually understood entropy at that point in a deeper sense than the handwavy “disorder in a system” sense, perhaps). I also made the mistake of assuming that the ideal correct morality would by necessity fall out of pure logic by the power of careful reasoning, and that therefore morality was an inevitable consequence of intelligence.
I grew out of it a couple years later when I realized that I was being a dumbass.
Having it All Figured Out is a common mistake for (14-16)-year olds to make, I guess.
So, you wanted to be a wizard? ;)
It’s interesting to me just how very widespread the influence of those books seems to me to be in this community. And really, Buffy is only a modest variation on them.
I agree with your first sentence. The second one—oh, just insert some comical expression of bewilderment.
Now that you mention it, that might have been related. It’s been a while...
I agree, but we shouldn’t rule out a priori the possibility that someday a 15-year-old really will Figure It All Out.
Hah! Ironically, living systems naturally act so as to maximise entropy increase:
http://originoflife.net/gods_utility_function/
The best way to minimise entropy is probably to destroy as much of the biomass as possible. A short term gain in entropy—but the net effect on entropy increase would be negative—and the more creatures you could kill, the better!
Sounds like what I’ve termed the apocalyptic imperative.
Yes. The irony was not lost on me once I actually grasped what entropy really means.
The description of “deeply silly” was, alas, not false modesty on behalf of my 14-year-old self, trust me.