Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
Jumping the shark?
Loki:
I'd assume you prove that for any given statement P, both P and not-P apply at the same time.
Carl-E:
Awfully hard to prove a contradiction.
-><-
I'm rather fond of the one in I,Robot (Asimov's short story collection, not the movie). I don't recall all the details, but a robot was to retrieve something critical to the survival of it's human team, but it was in an area that was deadly to the robot. The first imperative (serving the humans) drove it toward the danger, and the second (self-preservation) drove it back. They found it wandering in a circle, singing Gilbert and Sulliven tunes.
A clear sign of insanity if ever there was one...
zadojla:
--- Quote from: Carl-E on 08 Nov 2010, 08:50 ---... They found it wandering in a circle, singing Gilbert and Sulliven tunes....
--- End quote ---
"My object all sublime, I shall achieve in time...."
Loki:
--- Quote from: Carl-E on 08 Nov 2010, 08:50 --- The first imperative (serving the humans) drove it toward the danger, and the second (self-preservation) drove it back.
--- End quote ---
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the second directive alyways overridden by the first one?
zadojla:
--- Quote from: Loki on 08 Nov 2010, 10:40 ---
--- Quote from: Carl-E on 08 Nov 2010, 08:50 --- The first imperative (serving the humans) drove it toward the danger, and the second (self-preservation) drove it back.
--- End quote ---
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the second directive alyways overridden by the first one?
--- End quote ---
I believe you are correct, except it occurs to me that the the first law was not to harm a human or through inaction allow a human to come to harm, so we are really talking about the second and third laws. It's been over 40 years since I read I, Robot, so the details are hazy. I think there was some set-up in the story that made such an outcome "plausible".
And, as an old geek, I would like to note that Isaac Asimov was the commencement speaker when I graduated from college. I can't remember a word he said now, but it was terrific at the time.
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