Precog this...

Just had an IM conversation which went something like this:
(All names have been changed to protect the innocent. ^_^ Ah I crack myself up.)


She says:
watched minority report last night

I say:
yeah, but the movie industry's suing individual fileswappers now...kazaa's going the way of napster...hee hee , saw it on the plane...did you like it?

She says:
well - parts of it, yes, but i would have enjoyed it more if they had spent a little more time on the technology...loved the spiders

I say:
yup...possibly the best part...liked the handling of the whole subjectivity of truth issue too

She says:
true - is it a crime if you stop it before it happens?

I say:
AND whose vision of the future do you trust, precognance by committee? gnarly concept, (can't believe i just used that word)

She says:
yup - like could the female control what images got thru to the twins - warp their interpretation of the events...the whole hive mentality

I say:
OR, could they warp hers? AND, what about her moral imperative to make sure all knew the correct version of events AND, is there a learning curve on precognizance? who gets to test skill level, and how? ETC

She says:
philip k dick sure did start a few debates didn't he

It was only after I had TTYL'd her that it occured to me that the entire exchange had hinged on our acceptance of the plausibility of precogition. But is it even, metaphysically speaking, possible. If one likens the future to a page which has yet not been written upon, ie: blank, then there is nothing on that page which could be seen by any theoretical precog. Acceptance of the concept requires rejection of the principle of free will/self determination.

For a slightly more clearminded discussion of The Minority Report and precognizance go there:

facingthechallenge
Reelingreviews

posted by dorna! @ 3:21 pm