LS Re: Level 5 ...?


Magnus Berg (qmgb@bull.se)
Thu, 10 Sep 1998 00:55:00 +0100


Horse and Squad

I'm having a slow day at work, does it show? :)

You wrote:
> GLOVE:
> > Horse, while i am not familar enough with computer virus' to say if they are
> > true life forms or not, it seems to me that you are looking at this question
> > from a subject/object type of thinking rather than a Quality PoV.
>
> Not at all. As I see it the computer virus fulfils all the pre-requisites
> to class it as a true life form. They are ubiquitous. They reproduce
> and propagate, moving from computer to computer. They produce a
> representation of themselves in binary code - similar to DNA. They
> hijack the metabolism of their host to carry out their functions (as
> biological virus's commandeer the molecular metabolism of infected
> cells. They respond to stimuli in their environment. They mutate.
> They evolve.
> The main difference between a computer virus and a biological virus
> is the environment they inhabit. This environment is an emergent
> level of intellectual patterns of value - call it cyberspace or
> whatever. They are the early stages of a new level of PoV's. More
> inhabitants will join them as Level 5 patterns evolve. Intellect is the
> parent base for this new level. I'm sure most creations of
> intellectual PoV's are unhappy about it - but that's life :)

:))

I agree with everything you say unless the level 5 part. Why do you
want to make another level of it. You say that there's virtually no
difference between a computer virus and a biological virus. It's just
the environment, it's just the inorganic building blocks that are
different. What forces you to make a new level? What's wrong about
the old biological? Don't you see the domino effect here? If we have a
level 5, we'll get a level 6 which would be the computer equivalence of
our social level. Then there will be level 7, the computer intellectual
level. Then? Another turn, right?

In my essay, I mention my merry-go-round idea which says that each turn
consists of four levels. They are the same levels, just built on different
inorganic foundations.

> Why do you think I'm not looking at the whole picture. Incidentally,
> my main fields of interest are MoQ, computing and Artificial Life -
> not necessarily in that order. I also collect virus code for a hobby,
> currently possessing about 600 or so - ok so I'm a sad git!

Ooops, better watch out reading mails from you! :)

        Magnus

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