From: Alex Ferguson (abf@cs.ucc.ie)
Date: Thu 31 Aug 2000 - 01:34:05 EEST
David Cake:
> I think Aldryami have a 'group consciousness' but not a
> 'group mind' - they have individual thoughts, and make individual
> decisions - but do not base their decisions on their individual
> desires, but on the well being of all.
Right. There's (in principle) still volition involved.
> Peter Metcalfe wrote:
> >A PC might express a desire for a bronze arrowhead. He sends
> >this into the forest and then walks to the forest fletcher.
> >When he arrives, the fletcher has already prepared the arrows
> >for him having responded to the desire.
>
> I think this overstates the depth of information communicable
> in this way. I think that the PC asks the forest fletcher for the
> bronze arrowheads, who gives them to him without asking payment,
> because he understands that they are all working together for the
> good of the forest. But I think communcating the specifics of desire
> need language, elves are not telepathic. Strongly empathic, however.
But the circumstance Peter describes could arise if _both_ the
PC elf and the fletcher were responding in some unconscious manner
to the feelings, needs, or ultimate best interest of the forest.
I agree it doesn't have a strong 'point to point' functionality.
Cheers,
Alex.
------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Fri 13 Jun 2003 - 22:40:57 EEST