More missing fingers

A source of inspiration for Computer Theology is the observation of the missing fingers in paleolithic caves of France and Spain (page 401). More rock art with missing fingers has been described beyond that mentioned in the book, for example in Egypt (picture) and in the USA (Canyon de Chelly: description [certainly, a picture is missing here; in the book?]). Perhaps the additional evidence will bring more understanding on the sacrificial nature of the message left on the rock. Or perhaps will it find a different explanation (see for example the surprising if original thesis of Guthrie that it's all graffiti). Independently of the analysis, the fingers are missing and this has been communicated to the rock. That's the point that Computer Theology emphasizes when comparing this with missing information, particularly of the unexpected and therefore threatening kind, in computer networks.

ComputerTheology.org

Trust Reversal

Computer Theology page 246 illustrates the concept of trust reversal, the mechanism by which a trust network can be used against itself, by providing an example from computer networks.

Another example is the recent Bernard Madoff scandal. In a New York Times article entitled Madoff Exploited the Jews, Ronald Cass explains how Bernard Madoff used trust to lower barriers to inquiries into the fundamentals of his ruse. Computer Theology triages between trust by causality and trust by process. While using a common religion is an example of the former, the latter can be illustrated by repeated success, exactly the fodder of a Ponzi schemes. "I paid the last guy, so I'll pay you alright."

That begs the question of the mortgage-backed securities at the center of today's financial crisis. We could hypothesize that they also involve a reversal of trust. Being produced by the biggest names of Wall Street, trust by causality was invoked, and involving complex procedures, it was complemented with trust by process. If that analysis is correct, we might be observing a hole in the trust that's at the center of financial efficiency.

Trust lost is hard to regain. That, unfortunately, would call for a difficult rebound.

ComputerTheology.org

Affective Neuroscience

In Affective Neuroscience p. 12, Jaak Panksepp says:

"I will develop the position that a hybrid discipline focusing on the neurobiological nature of brain operating systems (especially those that mediate motivational and emotional tendencies) is needed as a foundation for a mature and scientifically prosperous discipline of psychology."

The words "operating systems" speak directly to the core thesis of Computer Theology, that trust calibrated by emotions is at the heart of both human and computer cognition. Computer Theology adds that religion is the epitome of such.

Jaak Panksepp. Affective Neuroscience. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 1998. ISBN 0-19-509671-5

ComputerTheology.org

Arrullo de palma

Siboney, from Ernesto Lecuona, by Connie Francis, a most beautiful primal song where she pushes the feminine voice to extremes (our translation, aiming at the ensuing discussion):

Siboney yo te quiero yo me muero por tu amor
Siboney I love you I am dying for your love
Siboney en tu boca la miel puso su dulzor
Siboney in your mouth honey flows its nectar
Ven a mi que te quiero y de todo tesoro eres tu para mi
Come to me I love you and of all treasures you are for me
Siboney al arrullo de la palma pienso en ti
Siboney to the lullaby of the palm I am thinking about you
Siboney de mis sueños si no oyes la queja de mi voz
Siboney of my dreams if you don't hear my voice moaning
Siboney si no vienes me moriré de amor
Siboney if you don't come to me I'll die of love
Siboney de mis sueños te espero con ansias en mi caney
Sibony of my dreams I wait with anguish in my interior
Siboney si no vienes me moriré de amor
Siboney if you don't come to me I'll die of love
Oye el eco de mi canto de cristal
Hear the echo of my song of crystal
No te pierdas por entre el rudo manigual
Don't lose yourself in the rough and parse nature

Computer Theology studies the role of aesthetics in communication, and the grounding of communication in metaphors. Could it be, as we tried to express in the translation, that the beauty of this song comes from two readings, one populated with palm trees, cabins, and rough patches of vegetation, and one referring to the palm of a lover, her thoughts, and the path to love?

A most interesting expression is "arrullo de palma". The lullaby of the palm tree, or the lullaby of the hand's palm? Perhaps both. In the latter interpretation, we would observe a superposition of two metaphors. The coo of comfort, and the palm of welcome, then articulating a new meaning that reflects in inner thought and the travel of Siboney to the crystal of love. This is reminiscent of Computer Theology's discussion of a poem by Edmund Spenser ("... the lodestar of my life ...").

ComputerTheology.org