[blml] Sea shalls, weevils, dWs, MS and the next laws [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[richard.hills at immi.gov.au]

Ed Reppert:

[snip]

>>if a cheat is someone who deliberately and knowingly violates
>>the rules of a game *whatever the reason*

[snip]

>>I think the latter definition is more accurate, which I do,

[snip]

Richard Hills:

Suppose that a hypothetical game had the following hypothetical
rules:

First Law

"It is always required to perform action X."

Second Law

"This Law is ambiguously written, so it is possible that an
idiosyncratic individual might interpret it to read that in
circumstance Q it is forbidden to perform action X."

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992):

>You can prove anything you want by coldly logical reason - if
>you pick the proper postulates.

Richard Hills:

Suppose that a hypothetical idiosyncratic individual had the
following belief:

Postulate

"If one of the rules of a hypothetical game is written in an
ambiguous way, one must interpret that rule in such a way that
in circumstance Q the rules taken as a whole are paradoxical."

If in circumstance Q that idiosyncratic individual chooses to
follow their interpretation of the Second Law, declining to
perform action X, has that person "knowingly" violated the
rules of that hypothetical game, so is therefore a cheat?

Or has that idiosyncratic individual merely foolishly selected
a postulate which does not correspond to reality, so is
therefore simply a misguided believer in Unintelligent Design?

:-)


Best wishes

Richard James Hills, amicus curiae
Level 6 Aqua Training Suite, DIAC
02 6225 6776

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