Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!oliveb!tymix!calvin!baba From: baba@calvin.uucp (Duane Hentrich) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: Re: Free Will & Self Awareness Message-ID: <1712@tymix.UUCP> Date: 6 May 88 23:05:54 GMT References: <770@onion.cs.reading.ac.uk> <1177@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu> <10942@sunybcs.UUCP> <31024@linus.UUCP> Sender: usenet@tymix.UUCP Reply-To: baba@calvin.UUCP (Duane Hentrich) Distribution: comp Organization: Tymnet NTD, San Jose CA Lines: 30 Keywords: randomness responsibility Summary: ...then get a bigger hammer :-) In article <31024@linus.UUCP> bwk@mbunix (Barry Kort) writes: >It is not uncommon for a child to "spank" a machine which misbehaves. >But as adults, we know that when a machine fails to carry out its >function, it needs to be repaired or possibly redesigned. But we >do not punish the machine or incarcerate it. Have you not bashed or kicked a vending machine until it gave up the junk food you paid for. It is my experience that swatting a non-solid state TV tuner sometimes results in clearing up the picture. Indeed we do "punish" our machines. Sometimes with results which clearly outweigh the damage done by such punishment. >Why then, when a human engages in undesirable behavior, do we resort >to such unenlightened corrective measures as yelling, hitting, or >deprivation of life-affirming resources? For the same reason that the Enter/Carriage Return key on many keyboards is hit repeatedly and with great force, i.e. frustration with an inefficient/ineffective interface which doesn't produce the desired results. No value judgements re results or punishments here. If this doesn't belong here, please forgive. d'baba Duane Hentrich ...!hplabs!oliveb!tymix!baba Claimer: These are only opinions since everything I know is wrong. Copyright notice: If you're going to copy it, copy it right.