From: Michael M. Butler (mmb@spies.com)
Date: Fri Mar 21 2003 - 14:29:42 MST
On Fri, 21 Mar 2003 11:08:32 -0500, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
<sentience@pobox.com> wrote:
> Amara Graps wrote:
>>
>> BTW, A central government.. of any kind.. provides a big fat target
>> for any kind of aggression. If your society consists of a network
>> of inconsequential nodes, then where do any possible aggressors
>> attack? A network of nodes have little need of a defense against
>> organized external aggression.
>
> I'm not sure that's true, Amara.
...snippage...
> The Iraqi military at this point could probably be quite accurately
> described as a network of inconsequential nodes.
>
I am also doubtful--though I agree that concentrations of various sorts do
attract attention, as prizes or targets.
At some values of "inconsequentiality", "Where [why] would anyone attack?"
merges with "Attack? You call this an attack? We're just rolling over
[things/you]." Cf: the treatment of Australian aborigines. Or the way a
petri dish of beef broth agar gets treated by a dab of staph. Or the way
certain horse tribes swept over agrarian pastures raping and burning. Or
the general treatment of Armenia for much of recorded history.
So... I think there's a piece missing from your model, Amara.
MMB
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