[Tuning in, channel 6917]…
[Tuning in, channel 6719]…
[Wrong.Out.]
[Tuning in, channel 61 79]…
“2x14”, 9th level mechadept of the Order of DataGa, 100 years from birthdate, yet looking no more than 20 years young, meditating within the Dome of Sadness, a translucent bubble extruded from the undercarriage of the deepspace vessel Pistacchia.
[Wrong.Out.]
Passage No.2 Chapter 16 Verse 4
[Tuning in, channel 6197 ] …
14Shania, young maker of the Order of ElJakdar, mediatating within the dome of intentions: (picture) a youthful female person in the lotus position, bioluminiscent glyph tattoo on her forehead, floating in zero-g; onboard the orbital station Zuhowa, 300 km above the surface of retrograde Triton, moon of Neptune.
Passage No.2 Chapter 16 Verse 4
14Shania, young maker of the Order of ElJakdar, mediatating within the dome of intentions: (picture) a youthful female person in the lotus position, bioluminiscent glyph tattoo on her forehead, floating in zero-g; onboard the orbital station Zuhowa, 300 km above the surface of retrograde Triton, moon of Neptune.
Stillness. Eyes closed. 14Shania.
Sound of a simulated gong. A micro-percussor began to tap out a message onto her left eardrum.
“This is the Hour of the Fox. We examine structures of information found in ordinary language. Consider three.
1) If X then Y. X, therefore Y.
2) Old King Cole was a merry old soul. A merry old soul was he.
3) While members of the cabinet meet in conference, weather forecast predicts a cloudy day with a 70% chance of precipitation.
To which of these three does a syllogism bear the closest resemblance?
Example of a syllogism: All men can grow facial hair. Macko is a man. Macko can grow facial hair.”
14Shania twitched her left thumb, indicating her choice.
“Correct. A switch, a resistor, a power source and a current indicator are connected by silver wires to form a simple electric circuit. With the switch closed, the indicator registers a current of 12 amperes. What is the briefest infostructure that can represent this situation?”
Sound of a simulated gong. A micro-percussor began to tap out a message onto her left eardrum.
“This is the Hour of the Fox. We examine structures of information found in ordinary language. Consider three.
1) If X then Y. X, therefore Y.
2) Old King Cole was a merry old soul. A merry old soul was he.
3) While members of the cabinet meet in conference, weather forecast predicts a cloudy day with a 70% chance of precipitation.
To which of these three does a syllogism bear the closest resemblance?
Example of a syllogism: All men can grow facial hair. Macko is a man. Macko can grow facial hair.”
14Shania twitched her left thumb, indicating her choice.
“Correct. A switch, a resistor, a power source and a current indicator are connected by silver wires to form a simple electric circuit. With the switch closed, the indicator registers a current of 12 amperes. What is the briefest infostructure that can represent this situation?”
“Ohm’s Law, a 3-variable equation, V=IR,” 14Shania sub-vocalized.
“Correct. These are the stations of perception. He swam 20 laps in Pool One. When he finished the last lap, he heaved himself onto the walkway, took 3 steps and dived into MidPool. Surfacing, he tried to estimate the number of ripples caused by his entrance. More than 20, thought he, and traversed the pool, not by swimming straight across, but by pulling himself along one side, touching each underwater lamp as he passed. On reaching the steps at the shallow end, he sat on the bottom, his head below the water surface. Slowly he blew 3 bubbles, one after the other, opening and closing his mouth. Done, he backed his way up the steps, sitting on each as he went. At the top, turning around, he crawled on hands and knees into the shade of a tiled, pyramidal roof that was supported by wooden pillars at the corners of its square base. This geometry he found significant. Getting to his feet, he took a single step into a blue circle inscribed on the floor, directly below the apex of the roof. He stood on one leg and counted, slowly, to 20. Did he feel tired? No, he did not feel tired. Tilting his head back he moved forward until the roof covered only about half his field of vision. The rest of it was sky. He counted the distinct patches of cloud he could see. There were five. He untilted his head. Five patches of cloud. An odd number. What could it mean? Ethics without compromise? Shrugging, he took 3 steps and dived into LastPool. He swam 15 laps and stopped. Did he feel tired? Was his ethics compromised? He concluded that he was.”
“Question: why did he swim 15 laps? Question: to what infostructure does the previous question correspond?”
14Shania did not reply for a minute, then “5x3=15. Zen.”
“You have performed well,” the micro-percussor tapped with satisfaction, “ I shall now exit from your ear and disassemble.”
And so it was.
[Recording made ]
“Correct. These are the stations of perception. He swam 20 laps in Pool One. When he finished the last lap, he heaved himself onto the walkway, took 3 steps and dived into MidPool. Surfacing, he tried to estimate the number of ripples caused by his entrance. More than 20, thought he, and traversed the pool, not by swimming straight across, but by pulling himself along one side, touching each underwater lamp as he passed. On reaching the steps at the shallow end, he sat on the bottom, his head below the water surface. Slowly he blew 3 bubbles, one after the other, opening and closing his mouth. Done, he backed his way up the steps, sitting on each as he went. At the top, turning around, he crawled on hands and knees into the shade of a tiled, pyramidal roof that was supported by wooden pillars at the corners of its square base. This geometry he found significant. Getting to his feet, he took a single step into a blue circle inscribed on the floor, directly below the apex of the roof. He stood on one leg and counted, slowly, to 20. Did he feel tired? No, he did not feel tired. Tilting his head back he moved forward until the roof covered only about half his field of vision. The rest of it was sky. He counted the distinct patches of cloud he could see. There were five. He untilted his head. Five patches of cloud. An odd number. What could it mean? Ethics without compromise? Shrugging, he took 3 steps and dived into LastPool. He swam 15 laps and stopped. Did he feel tired? Was his ethics compromised? He concluded that he was.”
“Question: why did he swim 15 laps? Question: to what infostructure does the previous question correspond?”
14Shania did not reply for a minute, then “5x3=15. Zen.”
“You have performed well,” the micro-percussor tapped with satisfaction, “ I shall now exit from your ear and disassemble.”
And so it was.
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