Ask Pyraxis anything

[Calandale]

Do you believe that the people have an inalienable right to revolt?

[Pyraxis]

Do you believe that the people have an inalienable right to revolt?

Hm. Yes. But I'm aware there are cirumstances under which most people can be trained not to exercise that right. And I'm wary of an "inalienable right to revolt" being used as a justification for rapidly escalating violence between groups that were already hair-trigger paranoid about each other. In a situation like that, indulging every paranoia will only lead to anarchy/warfare, which is not the most efficient use of resources. And I'm all in favor of efficient uses of resources.

[Calandale]

Isn't revolution or war inherently an inefficient use of resources?

Shouldn't we all be good little cogs, well-controlled, for most efficient usage?

Should people really be considered as an means to an end like this?

What is the real end, behind this idea of efficiency?

[McGiver]

should i ask you something?



does it have to be interesting?







do you think that your approval rating has shifted towards the positive lately?

[Pyraxis]

Isn't revolution or war inherently an inefficient use of resources?

Not if the system being revolted against is inefficient enough.

Shouldn't we all be good little cogs, well-controlled, for most efficient usage?

Only to the degree that it ensures survival.... and at least the way we're currently wired, a certain degree of randomness/mutation is necessary.

Yes, I value survival.

Should people really be considered as an means to an end like this?

This from a guy who seriously considered murder to satisfy his partner's sexual cravings?

I don't see why not.

What is the real end, behind this idea of efficiency?

A vision of an ideal universe. My perfection is different than yours because I still believe it's worth seeking, even if you know you can't get all the way there. My vision of the universe is a coherent place, and in a coherent system, optimal resource use is most likely to get you the result you set out to get.

"Yeah, but what result do you want?"

Theoretically, creativity. Here's where you step into the part of my mind that's not connected, though. So I can only make logical inferences, not answer with certainty.

[Pyraxis]

should i ask you something?

Please do.

does it have to be interesting?

Nope, but I prefer the interesting questions.

do you think that your approval rating has shifted towards the positive lately?

Yes. And my karma seems to agree.

I meant it when I said I considered it a challenge too.

[Calandale]

Not if the system being revolted against is inefficient enough.

Any historical examples where the inefficiency was great enough in the system
to justify the cost of a violent uprising?

This from a guy who seriously considered murder to satisfy his partner's sexual cravings?

Wasn't here desire just an expression of creativity though?

[McGiver]

should i ask you something?

Please do.

does it have to be interesting?

Nope, but I prefer the interesting questions.

do you think that your approval rating has shifted towards the positive lately?

Yes. And my karma seems to agree.

I meant it when I said I considered it a challenge too.

about how long, in your estimation, would it be until the pendullum swings in the opposite direction?

[Pyraxis]

Any historical examples where the inefficiency was great enough in the system to justify the cost of a violent uprising?

I could only hazard guesses (you've likely got me outdone in history knowledge). I was looking at mathematics: If the rate of production in an inefficient society is 5/year, and the cost of rebellion is a flat 20, and the rate of production in an efficient society is 10/year, then it would only take 4 years to break even, and any time beyond that would be in favor of having rebelled. A 100% increase is more than reasonable if you compare the GNP's of first world to third world nations on earth today. I'm not as certain of the cost of rebellion - what percent of a society's GNP goes to the war effort, on average, during wartime?

This from a guy who seriously considered murder to satisfy his partner's sexual cravings?

Wasn't here desire just an expression of creativity though?

I don't know, was it? Somehow I suspect her motivations were far more complex.

[Pyraxis]

about how long, in your estimation, would it be until the pendullum swings in the opposite direction?

Hard to say. I'm guessing it won't happen soon, since it seems to be correlated negatively with my stress level (ie creating trouble when I'm bored) and I'm under a lot of stress at the moment.

[The_P]

Did you survive against the neds on your quick shopping spree?

[Pyraxis]

  It's not much of a gauntlet, the store's only a block away.

[McGiver]

let me ask you here:

if i was able to give you multiple orgasms, would you remember me or the art on my walls, or both?

[Pyraxis]

let me ask you here:

if i was able to give you multiple orgasms, would you remember me or the art on my walls, or both?

If we were in a situation where I would actually allow you to attempt to give me multiple orgasms, I'm sure I'd remember it. I expect I'd remember the art equally well, though - the environment would be burned onto my brain.

[McGiver]

i don't have art on my wall.