I like both Volairina and your takes on the non-rational world. I was having a lot of trouble working something out.
That said, while Voltairina’s world is a bit more horrifyingly extreme than yours, it seems to me more probably that cause and effect simply did not exist. I can envision a structure of elementary physics that simply change—functionally randomly—far more easily than that causality does exist, but operates in the inverse. I have more trouble envisioning the elementary physics that bring that into existence without a observational intellect directly upsetting motivated plans.
All that is to say, might not your case be the more extreme one?
...it’s possible. There are many differences between our proposed worlds, and it really depends on what you mean by “more extreme”. Volairina’s world is “more extreme” in the sense that there are no rules, no patterns to take advantage of. My world is “more extreme” in that the rules actively punish rationality.
My world requires that elementary physics somehow takes account of intent, and then actively subverts it. This means that it reacts in some way to something as nebulous as intent. This implies some level of understanding of the concept of intent. This, in turn, implies (as you state) an observational intellect—and worse, a directly malevolent one. Volairina’s can exist without a directly malevolent intelligence directing things.
So it really comes down to what you mean by “extreme”, I guess. Both proposed worlds are extreme cases, in their own way.
I like both Volairina and your takes on the non-rational world. I was having a lot of trouble working something out.
That said, while Voltairina’s world is a bit more horrifyingly extreme than yours, it seems to me more probably that cause and effect simply did not exist. I can envision a structure of elementary physics that simply change—functionally randomly—far more easily than that causality does exist, but operates in the inverse. I have more trouble envisioning the elementary physics that bring that into existence without a observational intellect directly upsetting motivated plans.
All that is to say, might not your case be the more extreme one?
...it’s possible. There are many differences between our proposed worlds, and it really depends on what you mean by “more extreme”. Volairina’s world is “more extreme” in the sense that there are no rules, no patterns to take advantage of. My world is “more extreme” in that the rules actively punish rationality.
My world requires that elementary physics somehow takes account of intent, and then actively subverts it. This means that it reacts in some way to something as nebulous as intent. This implies some level of understanding of the concept of intent. This, in turn, implies (as you state) an observational intellect—and worse, a directly malevolent one. Volairina’s can exist without a directly malevolent intelligence directing things.
So it really comes down to what you mean by “extreme”, I guess. Both proposed worlds are extreme cases, in their own way.
Fair point.