Text 330, 173 rader
Skriven 2005-05-03 01:54:24 av Steve Asher (3:800/432.0)
     Kommentar till en text av MARNIE TROSCLAIR (1:123/140)
Ärende: Cyc, AI, Singularity
============================
Mulling over MARNIE TROSCLAIR to STEVE ASHER 30 Apr 2005

G'day Marnie,

 MT> Continuing my thoughts in response to your post about a golem, etc.

 MT> I think you're looking at the false prophet as being involved in 
 MT> creating a golem, correct?  

Exploring the possibility that the image of the beast is a golem,
chimera, homunculus (etc). For example, Saddam Hussein apparently
had a number of look-alikes to create a diversion while he moved
from palace to palace, to minimise assassination. The Beast will
quite likely be a prime target for assassination, & after he is
healed from his deadly wound, it may be that his healers create
a clone to use as a public figurehead.

 MT> You see the beast that all worship as a kind of golem?   

The image of the Beast, possibly. It is speculation, of course.
It may be that the image is purely technical - television image,
hologram, claymation [:)] etc. Whatever it is, it will be fairly
convincing, and apparently alive.

 MT> You seem to spend a lot of time focused on technology that's used  
 MT> to positively identify people; for example, biometric
 MT> identification  in the form of fingerprinting, iris scans, voice
 MT> prints, DNA databases,  etc.  

Yes, I do tend to spend a lot of time on this identifying technology.

 MT> You're also concerned about attempts to create national and  
 MT> international databases, programs involving numbering of people,  
 MT> or the giving of numbers, or the attaching of numbers to people,  
 MT> as is done with programs involving voter registration, or the 
 MT> issuing of a drivers license, or passport, etc.

And that too.

 MT> In your contemplation of  the growing ability to build ever-larger 
 MT> databases which can   accomodate records for more and more people, 
 MT> you attempt to recognize  the fulfillment of a prophecy that says 
 MT> all people will receive a  number or mark which is necessary to 
 MT> buy or sell.  

 MT> The force that causes all to receive the mark is identified with 
 MT> deception.  

Yes, it is deception, but it is permitted within bounds which God
sets for his purposes, and will ultimately fail.

 MT> Now, recognize that there are probably a few people named Steve 
 MT> Asher in the world.  

There are a few of us.

 MT> How does one distinguish between you and another Steve Asher?  

 MT> That might not be a problem if you limit your involvement with 
 MT> others to a small area where you live. But as the world wide web 
 MT> grows and reaches out to ever-greater numbers of people who use 
 MT> the web to buy or sell, how does a company know which Steve Asher 
 MT> you are?

Well, of course, you largely answer your own questions...

 MT> How does it track your order? How do you access the web? How do
 MT> you make the purchase? The answer is found in numbers. You
 MT> initially needed a telephone number if you were dialing into the
 MT> web.

 MT> With new options such as cable modem, or DSL, you have, at
 MT> minimum, an account number, or an ISP address. Your account is
 MT> often set up using a credit card number. 

Mine isn't, as I don't havr a credit card. I pay in cash, which might
trigger a "suspicious transaction" report somewhere.

 MT>  Your credit rating is also figured as a number. If you pay with 
 MT> check, your form of identification, usually a photo i.d. such as a 
 MT> drivers license, also has numbers.

No motor vehicle; no driver's licence, but I accept your point re
the use of numbers (etc) to identify drivers, vehicles and the like.

 MT> The reason for all of these numbers?  Well, confusion, for one.  
 MT> CONFUSION. More than one Steve Asher. 

 MT> More than one Mike Smith. More than one of so many names. 
 MT> And how do you eliminate confusion?  

In some cases, you don't. It isn't a major problem, but a few people
in Fido conferences have hit the roof when they have "received" a
message intended for someone using the same name. E.g. Mike Smith
is likely to "receive" echomail messages intended for another.
The likelihood of confusion diminishes with netmail to a Mike Smith
on a particular BBS with a unique Fidonet address, and should not
arise with email, where mikesmith@abcde.net.au will be different
from other mikesmith@whatever.com /s

 MT> Another reason for the numbers... the desire to eliminate the 
 MT> damage caused by people who aim to deceive. 

The numbers can in turn be used or misused in order to deceive, or
they may be changed to allow for growth. E.g. Mike Smith, who lives
at 21 Burbridge Road, telephone 43-6789 might find that his address
is changed to Sir Donald Bradman Drive & his tel# is changed to
8443-6789. It is no big deal in a closed numbering scheme if addresses
and numbers are changed, but it gets difficult to positively identify
people when the identifiers are not static, or where different things
have different meanings in different countries. Even a date of birth 
can be ambiguous - 9/11/2001 might have significance for someone
born on 11th September 2001 in the USA, but little meaning for 
someone born here on 9th November 2001.

 MT> DECEPTION. Deceivers. And you might link the deception to other 
 MT> reasons, such as desire, hunger, greed, or just need.  There are
 MT> many possible reasons. But whatever it may be, the seller on one
 MT> side of the globe wants to know that he or she is not involved
 MT> with a deceiver, someone using a false or stolen identity.  The
 MT> buyer also wants to know that he or she is not being ripped off. 

 MT> So the buyer may want to know as much as possible about the
 MT> seller. This information will also be found in databases which
 MT> include a lot of numbers. 

 MT> Returning back to the prophecy about a "city" that sits  on all 
 MT> nations, tongues and people, wherein the merchants are waxed   
 MT> with riches, where no man may buy or sell unless he has a number,  
 MT> a city which has a word written on its forehead, the word 
 MT> MYSTERY, and a name which is linked to CONFUSION, let us consider 
 MT> the virtual city, the world wide web where you can find lots of 
 MT> buyers and sellers throughout the world conducting business.   

 MT> Now, let's turn our attention to the name on the forehead.    
 MT> MYSTERY 

 MT> I began this little exploration in response to your mention of a
 MT> golem. There are several tales involving golems. You might find
 MT> it interesting  to recognize that a certain golem also has
 MT> something written on its  head.  In the tale, the mystic / sorcerer
 MT> / magician / rabbi writes "emet" on the forehead of the golem in
 MT> the process of bringing it to life.  At least one telling of the
 MT> tale also involves the insertion of a piece of paper or a plate
 MT> with a word or name on it into the mouth of the golem. And,
 MT> finally, the golem is destroyed when one character of the word
 MT> written upon its forehead is removed and the word and its meaning
 MT> is changed. 

I've been searching for & reading descriptions of how to create or
give life (and death) to a golem, essentially through a kabbalistic
formula. (Google: golem emet met kabbalah )

 MT> I'll get more into the details of this in my next post, but for
 MT> now, let us just recognize that there are a lot of things being
 MT> written on foreheads in these accounts.  

I read ahead, but only focus on the message I am replying to, which
takes a bit of time for topics & posts like these, as I am replying,
searching & learning all at once, & it tests my ability to understand.

 MT> A number, a mark, a word, various meanings, being linked to life 
 MT> and death.... truth and deception.

 MT> To continue... eventually turning our focus on the desire to
 MT> eliminate confusion and deception.  :-) 

OK, probably after I wake up! Goodnight :)

Cheers, Steve..

--- 
 * Origin: Xaragmata / Adelaide SA telnet://xaragmata.thebbs.org (3:800/432)