SYMBOLS AND REFERENTS IV

     A symbol is an object that is used to symbolize or refer to a
referent.

     A referent is an object that is symbolized or referred to by a
symbol.

     QUALITIES

     An object is anything with qualities, that is it has a set of
qualities called a quality set.

     NOTHINGS AND SOMETHINGS
 
     A nothing is an object with no qualities, it has an empty quality
set.

     A something is an object with some qualities, it has a non empty
quality set.

     TWO DIFFERENT OBJECTS

     Symbols and referents are TWO DIFFERENT OBJECTS that are used to
symbolize and be referred to by each other.

     As two different objects, a symbol and referent have two different
quality sets, the symbol has its own set of qualities and the referent
has its own other set of qualities.

     Two different objects implies two different quality sets and two
different quality sets implies two different objects.

     Some of the qualities in one set may be the same as the qualities
in the other quality set, but at least one quality must be different or
else both quality sets would be identical and thus not the quality sets
of two different objects.

     MAPPING

     Some of the qualities of the symbol may be MAPPED onto the
qualities of the referent, thus the symbol can be used to refer to the
referent.  
 
     One can thus know directly a quality of the referent by looking at
the quality of the symbol that is mapped to it.

     Red ink on paper can thus be used to refer to red light at 700
nanometers shining on the wall from a prism.

     CAUSAL PATHWAYS

     There is always a causal pathway between a referent and a symbol.

     Without the causal pathway, the symbol would never have been
conceived to refer to the referent.

     Thus we have the idea that a referent/symbol pair implies
causation.

     We take this opportunity with malice aforethought to extend this
idea to assert the converse that by definition causation implies
referent/symbol pairs.

     Thus ANY two events in a causal pathway are referent and symbol to
each other.

     The earlier event is a referent, and the later event is the symbol.

     ORIGINAL REFERENT AND SYMBOL OF FINAL AUTHORITY

     Even if there are many causal events between the original referent
and the final symbol, the symbol is still the causal offspring of the
original referent and can thus be validly considered a symbol for the
referent including all which that entails as detailed below.

     DATA CONTENT

     The later event contains data about the earlier event, thus the
symbol has data content referring back to the referent.

     Thus one can infer from the nature of the symbol back to the nature
of the referent.

     MECHANICAL LEARNING, LEARNING ABOUT CAUSE BY BEING A EFFECT
     LEARNING ABOUT A BY LOOKING AT B
 
     This is called learning about the referent by looking at the
symbol, and is the definition of mechanical learning, learning by being
an effect.

     THEORY AND PERFECT CERTAINTY

     Such inference however is never certain, as the inference from
symbol back to referent depends on the unprovable assumption that the
symbol was in fact caused or affected by the referent.

     CAUSAL DISTANCE AND DATA FALL OFF

     The data content of the symbol falls off in proportion to its
causal distance from the referent.

     Causal distance is distance in space, time and number of
intervening events, called causal hops, between referent and symbol.

     Spacetime distance implies causal distance for there has to be at
least TWO events for there to be space or time between them.

     Non zero causal distance implies non zero spacetime distance,
because two events that happen in the same space *AND* at the same time
are considered to be one event, with causal distance zero between them.

     DISTANCE IMPLIES NOT LEARNING WITH CERTAINTY
 
     One can not learn with certainty about any referent by looking at a
symbol removed from the referent by a causal or spacetime distance.

     MECHANICAL LEARNING AND CONSCIOUS LEARNING

     Mechanical learning is learning about a referent by looking at
later symbols.

     Learning across TIME.

     Conscious learning is learning about a referent by looking at the
referent directly in present time.

     SELF SYMBOLIZING REFERENTS and SELF REFERENCING SYMBOLS
 
     Conscious mockups (of color form say) are self luminous or self
symbolizing.

     It is possible for a referent to be used to symbolize itself.

     This is called a self symbolizing referent or a self referencing
symbol.

     PERFECT CERTAINTY

     As such the referent and the symbol are not two different objects
but one and the same object.  Since they have identical quality sets,
the data content of the symbol is an exact match with the truth of the
referent and thus a perfect certainty can be obtained about the referent
by looking at the symbol because the symbol IS the referent.

     Notice that since a self symbolizing referent and its symbol
(namely itself) are one and the same object there can be no space, time
or causal distance between them.

     CAUSEEFFECT
 
     Where normal referents and symbols relate to each other by cause
and effect across a causal distance, a self symbolizing referent relates
to its symbol by causeeffect across no causal distance.

     Causeeffect is when cause and effect are one and the same event.

     CAUSAL CHAINS

     All mechanical phenomenon are causal chains of referent and symbol
operating across a 4 dimensional spacetime causal distance.

     One learns mechanically about referents by looking at later
symbols.  This gives rise to theories and probabilities about the
referent but no perfect certainty.

     SCALAR ZERO DIMENSIONAL SPACE

     All conscious phenomenon are causal chains of self symbolizing
(self luminous) referents operating within a zero dimensional, no space,
no time, no causal distance called a SCALAR MANIFOLD.

     A scalar manifold is an intentional oxymoron, as manifold means
many fold or 1 or more dimensions.

     A scalar object is a qualitatively different kind of an object
than a manifold because manifolds have extensions in each dimension but
scalars do not.

     Even if a manifold has a zero length extension in any dimension,
it still has the dimension and remains a manifold.

     Thus a {3x4x0} manifold is a 3 dimensional object of 0 volume.

     However a {} scalar is a 0 dimensional object of *N/A* volume.

     N/A means no applicable.

     A object can be scalar and still be a something as the universe
shows us, because the universe is scalar.

     DIRECT AND INDIRECT PERCEPTION

     One learns consciously about referents by looking directly at the
referent universe by using DIRECT PERCEPTION of the cause itself.
 
     This IS perfect certainty.

     Learning about a referent by looking directly at the referent is
called DIRECT PERCEPTION or conscious seeing.

     Machines learn about a referent by studying one of its later
symbols and is called INDIRECT PERCEPTION.

     Machine's can not see, they can only infer possibilities.

     All mechanical learning in the physical universe is through indirect
perception.

     THEORY MODEL AND EVIDENCE.

     Indirect perception can only give rise to THEORY MODEL and EVIDENCE.

     ACTUALITY AND REALITY

     Actuality refers to what IS TRUE, Reality refers to what
we THINK is true.

     The purpose of investigation is to bring our sense of reality closer
to actuality.

     If there were actual space, time or causal distance between a being
and his color mockups, he would not be able to SEE them.

     If the mockup of two different colors you made out there 10 feet in
front of your face were actually out there, not just in illusion of out
there, you wouldn't be able to see them.

     You would only be able to BE something different as a result of
them, from which you might then infer back to their possible existence.

     Is that how you see a red mockup?  An inference from an effect in
yourself?

     Or do you just see the red mockup period.

     Yes seeing the red IS an effect in yourself, but are you learning
about the red by looking at the secondary effect, or by looking directly
at the red?

     Since you can see your mockups, they aren't out there where they
look to be.  

     When people say that something is not out there, others tend to take
this to mean the thing doesn't exist at all.

     When we say that color mockups are not out there, we mean only that
they are not out there, they do exist, but not out there where they look
like they are.  The distance between perceiver and perceived is illusory,
holographic in nature.

     Thus conscious perception of space is a reality of space, not an
actuality of space.

     And thus consciousness has no dimension of any kind, and no
space/time or causal distance between Looker and Looked At.

     Homer

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homer Wilson Smith     The Paths of Lovers    Art Matrix - Lightlink
(607) 277-0959 KC2ITF        Cross            Internet Access, Ithaca NY
homer@lightlink.com    In the Line of Duty    http://www.lightlink.com

Mon Jan  2 20:47:30 EST 2006