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Old 04-28-2012, 06:34 AM   #11
johndallman
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Default Re: Religious Prohibitions Leading to Safe-tech

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Limiting the mimicry of the mind stifles computer power to basic data storage and calculation, or completely stymies it if you so desire.
There are real-world sects that forbid computers entirely. A friend bought his house from a family in one of them, who were greatly concerned that he might be someone who used computers. They didn't seem to have a very reliable definition of computer, judging by their two automatic washing machines (at least 16-bit processors), so he just lied about it.
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Old 04-28-2012, 07:11 AM   #12
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Default Re: Religious Prohibitions Leading to Safe-tech

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There are real-world sects that forbid computers entirely. A friend bought his house from a family in one of them, who were greatly concerned that he might be someone who used computers. They didn't seem to have a very reliable definition of computer, judging by their two automatic washing machines (at least 16-bit processors), so he just lied about it.
Fear comes from, and leads to, profound ignorance. Not as much as apathy and blind acceptance seem to, but...
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Old 04-28-2012, 09:00 AM   #13
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Another's soul is a mystery; it is a grave sin to attempt unravelling it. Thus, study and/or practice of Psychology, Brainwashing, Propaganda, Anthropology, Detect Lies, Sociology and Body Language, as well as admitting to rely on Empathy or Intuition to understand others, is persecuted by the Inquisition.
The trouble there is that being social animals, humans constantly try to understand each other's minds, on the individual and group level. Outlawing this would be like outlawing eating. Psychology, Detect Lies, Propaganda, and Body Language are probably as old as humans, although their academic study is fairly recent.
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Old 04-28-2012, 09:53 AM   #14
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Default Re: Religious Prohibitions Leading to Safe-tech

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The trouble there is that being social animals, humans constantly try to understand each other's minds, on the individual and group level. Outlawing this would be like outlawing eating. Psychology, Detect Lies, Propaganda, and Body Language are probably as old as humans, although their academic study is fairly recent.
Religions are kinda infamous for having prohibitions for all sorts of natural things. Including eating. Consider: prohibition against eating certain animals (e.g. pigs), against eating certain foods together, against art depicting animals and people . . . and there's a huge can of worms between religions and sex, where in some cases the punishment for not adhering to religious norms is death.

Now, if the civilization in question is human, they will still subconsciously use defaults, but showing signs of anything above that will not be acceptable. For instance, 'I know you are lying - I see it in your eyes' or 'I do not trust him to uphold his promise in the future - people like him do not tend to be honest' are instant ILOSE buttons in such a society.
Doing something even more outrageous, like P'ekman's study of Body Language, or a corporation that specializes in producing advertisements (Propaganda) would likely be criminal offences in such a culture.
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Old 04-28-2012, 10:16 AM   #15
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What about using a medically-based paranoia as a religious framework?

Back in '95 - '99 I delivered home healthcare supplies including liquid oxygen and O2 concentrators. There was a group of people, maybe 50 or so total, that were all patients of this one Doctor that catered to their particular brand of worry - that modern technology was the main source of all their health problems.

They were afraid of RF specifically, from microwaves to cell phones. Also banned were any sort of plastics, artificial anything food of clothing-wise. Their apartments had all carpet removed, empty electrical sockets covered with tin foil, and the only appliances were lamps, stoves, refrigerators, the concentrators I delivered, and some 'magic air' machines (filters? De-ionizers) the "Dr" recommended.

Their Doctor prescribed Oxygen for their respiratory ailments in many cases, which is why I interacted with them. A few were in apartments, but the majority had an enclave just outside of town that had a bunch of cement and cinderblock buildings, and no phones or electricity to contaminate their health.

This small group devoutly believed everything they were doing "for medical reasons" with a zeal most would reserve for religious beliefs. Imagine a society obsessed with Safety to the point that these fears were codified into law and forced on everybody...

A great book on the Cult of Medicine is Mendelson's "Confession of a Medical Heretic". It makes an interesting case for the concept of people believing in medicine and doctors much like previous generations trusted the Mysteries of the Universe to churches and priests.
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Old 04-28-2012, 10:25 AM   #16
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Prohibition against use of symbols by non-humans. A computer uses bits as symbols, so they're out.
Except that computers don't use bits as symbols -- all the symbol-use involved in a computer is symbol use by humans, either in programming the computer or interpreting its outputs.

I'm not saying a religious prohibition couldn't be based on an anthropomorphism that ascribes attributes of humans using computers to the computers rather than the humans, though.
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Old 04-28-2012, 10:55 AM   #17
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Their Doctor prescribed Oxygen for their respiratory ailments in many cases, which is why I interacted with them. A few were in apartments, but the majority had an enclave just outside of town that had a bunch of cement and cinderblock buildings, and no phones or electricity to contaminate their health.
It's a good thing I've never met these people. The temptation to point out that their liquid oxygen was made using electrically powered machines, and was thus seriously contaminated with electrons, would have been impossible to resist.
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Old 04-28-2012, 11:13 AM   #18
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Default Re: Religious Prohibitions Leading to Safe-tech

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Except that computers don't use bits as symbols -- all the symbol-use involved in a computer is symbol use by humans, either in programming the computer or interpreting its outputs.

I'm not saying a religious prohibition couldn't be based on an anthropomorphism that ascribes attributes of humans using computers to the computers rather than the humans, though.
But nooo, every symbol must be physically used by the human. Printing presses are abominations!
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Old 04-28-2012, 11:46 AM   #19
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It's a good thing I've never met these people. The temptation to point out that their liquid oxygen was made using electrically powered machines, and was thus seriously contaminated with electrons, would have been impossible to resist.
Indeed, the irony was not lost on me. Or their use of cars to go visit the good doctor. Ifound long ago that it's an exercise in futility to argue with the thoroughly convicted.
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Old 04-28-2012, 06:31 PM   #20
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The trouble there is that being social animals, humans constantly try to understand each other's minds, on the individual and group level. Outlawing this would be like outlawing eating. Psychology, Detect Lies, Propaganda, and Body Language are probably as old as humans, although their academic study is fairly recent.
If no one wanted to do it, then you wouldn't need a law against it.
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