From: russ
Date: Tue Dec  5 00:13:10 MST 2006
Subject: Truth as a Metastable State

Responses KeithB: the big "T" (12/8/06) emily: yup (12/12/06) Responses (sorted by date) emily: yup (12/12/06) KeithB: the big "T" (12/8/06) This is too long to post as a quote, but I wanted to put it here so I wouldn't forget the idea: "One of the problems I have with modernity is not that it asserts that there is such a thing as truth (I think, down in my heart, I still believe in absolute truth), but that modernity assumes that knowledge of truth is a stable state in our minds. Instead, it seems to me that truth is a metastable state: achievable, but lost the moment that it is disturbed by the smallest input. It's like balancing on a bicycle without moving forward: theoretically possible, but extremely difficult to achieve. The only people who can do it are those who have long experience on bicycles in motion, and even for them it requires concentration and exertion. On the other hand, the inexperienced bicycle rider can balance reliably provided that he is always in motion. Truth is like that. It should generally be experienced in motion, with continuous, tiny adjustments to stay balanced. Only those who have been in motion for many years are advised to even attempt to stand still. Most people who are standing still are just in the process of falling off."

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From: KeithB
Date: Fri Dec  8 05:44:19 MST 2006
Subject: the big "T"

From: emily
Date: Tue Dec 12 15:50:13 MST 2006
Subject: yup