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Burr · 07-20-2002, 09:02 PM

Oh dear. I really failed to get my point across. What you are describing is merely a more accurate representation of the world outside the Internet. I'm talking about a world designed specifically for the Internet.

Temporarily remove the real world from your perception of the Internet. Imagine for the moment that the Internet is entire the universe known to you (with all other persons being unaffected.) It doesn't have laws of conservation of energy or anything like that, as far as you are concerned. It is what it is. Imagine you have absolutely no conception of a world outside the Internet, except by the absurd descriptions of the other people on the Internet.

Then imagine how you, to the best of your abilities, would design a place in the Internet. You wouldn't base it on this "real world" idea that the people of speak of, or at least not much if you could help it. Rather, you would base it on the limitations of the Internet itself, as well the limitations of the hosts of people who mysteriously appear and disappear so often (and talk of some "real world" idea that you think absurd). The latter limitations would decrease as the people become used to the logic of your design. The former limitations would hopefully decrease, though from your perspective, you wouldn't realize how it was happening. (It wouldn't matter to you anymore than the physics of Heaven matter to those of us on earth.)

I intended the book example as a stepping stone before diving into a concept excluding the real world concepts almost completely. I suppose it didn't step far down enough, so that significance was lost and only the superficial idea remained. Or maybe I should have waited until I had a more concrete example in mind of my final concept - not that I'm currently planning to come up with one. Anyhow, I hope the above does a better job of explaining the basis of my writing in the original post.

07-20-2002, 09:02 PM	#4
Burr Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 123	Oh dear. I really failed to get my point across. What you are describing is merely a more accurate representation of the world outside the Internet. I'm talking about a world designed specifically for the Internet. Temporarily remove the real world from your perception of the Internet. Imagine for the moment that the Internet is entire the universe known to you (with all other persons being unaffected.) It doesn't have laws of conservation of energy or anything like that, as far as you are concerned. It is what it is. Imagine you have absolutely no conception of a world outside the Internet, except by the absurd descriptions of the other people on the Internet. Then imagine how you, to the best of your abilities, would design a place in the Internet. You wouldn't base it on this "real world" idea that the people of speak of, or at least not much if you could help it. Rather, you would base it on the limitations of the Internet itself, as well the limitations of the hosts of people who mysteriously appear and disappear so often (and talk of some "real world" idea that you think absurd). The latter limitations would decrease as the people become used to the logic of your design. The former limitations would hopefully decrease, though from your perspective, you wouldn't realize how it was happening. (It wouldn't matter to you anymore than the physics of Heaven matter to those of us on earth.) I intended the book example as a stepping stone before diving into a concept excluding the real world concepts almost completely. I suppose it didn't step far down enough, so that significance was lost and only the superficial idea remained. Or maybe I should have waited until I had a more concrete example in mind of my final concept - not that I'm currently planning to come up with one. Anyhow, I hope the above does a better job of explaining the basis of my writing in the original post.