Re: Morphic fields

From: Wade T.Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Date: Mon Aug 20 2001 - 01:41:56 BST

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    Subject: Re: Morphic fields
    Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 20:41:56 -0400
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    Hi Kenneth Van Oost -

    >In a way, and you may laugh, the more people learn to ride a bike
    >or a car, the easier it becomes for future generations to learn it too.

    I only laugh at funny things.

    But, honestly, the only thing that having a lot of bicycle riders helps
    is the ease of seeing a bicycle rider- in that one wouldn't need to check
    out a rare book or see an obscure film to have evidence of bicycle
    riding, or, gasp, invent and ride one first.

    Seeing that someone _can_ do something (ride a bicycle) helps one
    overcome the hurdle of the inertia from non-experience, but it in no way
    helps one actually accomplish the feat (of balancing upon a bicycle),
    except, as I said, in releaving any doubt about the possibility, because,
    one might never suspect that something (riding a bicycle) is even
    possible without seeing someone else do it.

    However, the wonder of humanity is that someone did make that first
    bicycle, and, lo, did ride upon it. But really, asking us to believe (and
    only belief is possible here) that, the more bicycle riders there are,
    the easier it is to learn to balance upon a bicycle, is simple
    hogfritters.

    Ubiquity is just that.

    - Wade

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