Re: 3rd Annual SL4 Ascetics-Hedonists Deathmatch

From: Gordon Worley (redbird@rbisland.cx)
Date: Fri Jan 25 2002 - 23:19:55 MST


On Friday, January 25, 2002, at 11:37 PM, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:

> Love, of course, is a more interesting issue, as I happen to be a
> hopeless
> romantic. As such, I believe - call me loony - that love is a cathedral
> you build together, a rose that you grow and water together, *for its
> own
> sake*. It is something that you expend time and effort *on*, because
> you
> care about it, not an investment that pays back your expended time
> because

Yep, you're loony. ;-) This sort of thinking is my denial of choice
when it comes to thinking about why I'm in love. But, I'm fine with a
little self denial when it is a useful tool. I can find no evidence
that free will exists, thus I think that it doesn't, but I'm perfectly
fine with the self denial that I have such a thing since it keeps me
thinking smoothly. I just have to make sure that part of me is separate
and knows when I'm in self denial and when I'm not. Okay, so that means
it's not *really* self denial, but it's working and that's good enough
for me. :-P

Of course, just because I realize that some of this is self denial
doesn't mean that I don't actually think like this. I think Mr. Spock
of Star Trek provides a good parallel to myself: mostly rational, but
can't help his human background. As much as I want to be completely
rational (I blame the OCD for this), it's not going to happen while I'm
running on this brain. And, even when I get smart, so to say, I may
decide that it's best not to be completely rational. Any way you look
at it, it should be interesting.

Finally, love is not just a complex issue, but a horribly complicated
one. In the past year and a half that I've been in love I have probably
thought and rethought my theory of love 10 times or more. Maybe in
about five years I'll have something approaching a stable theory (I can
keep it for about six months ;-)). I think Sarah will just be happy not
to have me scarring the shit out of her every other month. ;-) At
least they keep getting more and more logically sound.

Oh, just to pose the question, if a man offered you the marriage deal,
Eli, would you take it? This question is mostly to find out what is at
the heart of the reasoning for this deal. I'm just curious, though, not
trolling.

--
Gordon Worley                     `When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty
http://www.rbisland.cx/            said, `it means just what I choose
redbird@rbisland.cx                it to mean--neither more nor less.'
PGP:  0xBBD3B003                                  --Lewis Carroll


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