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Does a topic really exist if nobody's read it?
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 1:26 pm
by jtaylor
Just a philosophical one for a Friday.
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 1:50 pm
by Euterpe13
how very Zen ....
" if a tree falls in the forest and no-one hears it, does it make a sound?"
or my favourite
" if a monk crouches behind a wall, and so cannot be seen, is he really there ?"
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:37 pm
by Great Plum
well a topic surely is one that has to be discused - if it's not read, it can't be a topic can it?
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:46 pm
by Hannoir
if it has been viewed then yes.
Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2006 4:15 pm
by Ash
What's the sound of one hand clapping?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:18 am
by Richard Ruck
Assuming that the topic has not created itself, then surely it has been read, if only by its creator?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 12:51 pm
by Katharine
Richard Ruck wrote:Assuming that the topic has not created itself, then surely it has been read, if only by its creator?
But the question is does it exist? If it is just in the mind of the instigatoe does that count as existing?
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 4:50 pm
by Richard Ruck
But a thought is not a topic.
It is not a topic, at least in the forum sense of the word, unless it has actually been posted on here.
Therefore, even if nobody else reads it, the very fact that it has been created by someone must surely mean that it exists, even if the rest of the human race is blissfully unaware of the fact.
Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:20 pm
by Vonny
Richard Ruck wrote:Therefore, even if nobody else reads it, the very fact that it has been created by someone must surely mean that it exists, even if the rest of the human race is blissfully unaware of the fact.
Seconded
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:40 pm
by huntertitus
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:49 pm
by BTaylor
42
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 3:57 pm
by huntertitus
Ommm...
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 4:20 pm
by Great Plum
wibble
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 5:58 pm
by huntertitus
wobble
Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:43 pm
by sejintenej
Richard Ruck wrote:But a thought is not a topic.
Therefore, even if nobody else reads it, the very fact that it has been created by someone must surely mean that it exists, even if the rest of the human race is blissfully unaware of the fact.
Doesn't Schrodinger's Cat (sp?) have something to miaou (sp) about on this subject: if the subject is read then the perception of it changes so it is no longer the original subject..
After a bottle of best 50 pence Occitan red I'm not going to check with the dictionary
