tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post4786934469265199233..comments2024-02-09T02:48:13.776-06:00Comments on Daily Meditations with Fr. Alfonse: Lk 9:51-56 Light Sabers and Other Real ThingsFr. Alfonsehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02557206560119402976noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-55338691666840906112013-10-10T17:37:34.004-05:002013-10-10T17:37:34.004-05:00The representation is A real thing, it is not THE ...The representation is A real thing, it is not THE real thing.<br /><br />HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT IF YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE REAL THING IS - what it looks like and how it really works?<br /><br />Hence, the representation ceases to be a representation. How do you know what a lightsaber looks like if there are no real lightsabers? Is it because you saw it in a movie or because George Lucas tells you so???? <br /><br />Let's try nothing else. <br /><br />No. It's a waste of time, since you cannot comprehend the logic and the reasoning behind my argument.<br /><br />A Time Machine. What is a time Machine? Is it defined by a movie or by you? Of course not. Everything is a time machine that moves in time. A Human being is a time machine. A history book is a sort of time machine. A plane is a time machine. After all, they all travel IN TIME. Right?<br /><br />Everything that exists is not only "A" real thing but "THE" REAL THING. The only thing that prohibits it from being THE REAL thing is the inappropriate definition that is applied to the thing.<br /><br />YOU SAID: "So is it really a time machine? No, time machines do not exist even if representations do."<br /><br />YOUR WRONG AND FOR TWO REASONS:<br /><br />1. Because your definition of "time machine" is incoherent. <br /><br />2. Since your time machine does not exist the way you conceive it, you cannot say it is a representation of one. It is what it is: a real thing and THE REAL THING: a toy or a prop.Fr. Alfonsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02557206560119402976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-48560007096995811012013-10-10T16:35:26.347-05:002013-10-10T16:35:26.347-05:00"The scientists at MIT and Harvard are. They&..."The scientists at MIT and Harvard are. They're calling their device a light saber.<br /><br />I wonder what George Lucas thinks of it? I wonder what Roddenberry thinks of NASA calling their spacecraft the Enterprise."<br /><br />I would guess Lucas is amused, but knows the MIT/Harvard device is not a lightsaber, no matter what they call it. Even from your quote, they say it is an analogy. I'm sure Roddenberry would have been flattered, but would have known the space shuttle is not the Enterprise.<br /><br />"If something does not "really" exist, then the representation is the only real thing."<br /><br />The representation is A real thing, it is not THE real thing.<br /><br />Let's try something else, if I may. What is a time machine? I think everyone would agree that it is a device that allows someone to travel at a rate of time different than that which would be normally experienced.<br /><br />Would you argue that the time machine from the movie "The Time Machine" is a real time machine since it is a representation of one? But it does not function as one, since the real object cannot cause a person to travel through time. So is it really a time machine? No, time machines do not exist even if representations do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-33449662126482897012013-10-08T07:19:36.369-05:002013-10-08T07:19:36.369-05:00" if the real thing does not really exist, th..." if the real thing does not really exist, then the representation is the only real thing, and everything else is just our imagination or intuition"<br /><br />Let's break it down for a moment.<br /><br />If something does not "really" exist, then the representation is the only real thing. I hope this part is clear. After all, who can say that my sketch of a light saber is not the real thing? Or my lego light saber is not the real thing?<br /><br />"Everything else is just our imagination or intuition." <br /><br />What I am saying here is if I have not made a sketch or a lego lightsaber, then it only exists in my imagination. If I know that light sabers exist, then it is only in my intuition. <br /><br />And I don't know anyone who would confuse a "military grade laser" with lightsaber, real or imaginary.<br /><br />The scientists at MIT and Harvard are. They're calling their device a light saber.<br /><br />I wonder what George Lucas thinks of it? I wonder what Roddenberry thinks of NASA calling their spacecraft the Enterprise.Fr. Alfonsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02557206560119402976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-77558486489142983062013-10-08T00:29:18.302-05:002013-10-08T00:29:18.302-05:00" if the real thing does not really exist, th..." if the real thing does not really exist, then the representation is the only real thing, and everything else is just our imagination or intuition"<br /><br />Father, you do realize this statement invalidates your point. If someone can imagine something that does not exist, that which is imagined does not actually exist whether or not it can be represented in real life. Nobody would argue that the representation is not real, but it is not the same as the object imagined.<br /><br />And I don't know anyone who would confuse a "military grade laser" with lightsaber, real or imaginary.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-63444353718413453212013-10-01T21:09:38.077-05:002013-10-01T21:09:38.077-05:00Whew! When I saw the light sabers as today's t...Whew! When I saw the light sabers as today's title picture, I was worried for a minute!Optimus Primehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04171026907089801766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-60861499065475478262013-10-01T21:08:45.939-05:002013-10-01T21:08:45.939-05:00Whew. When I saw the light sabers as the title pi...Whew. When I saw the light sabers as the title picture, I was worried for a minute! Optimus Primehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04171026907089801766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-439331035718369167.post-16445565700727517622013-10-01T15:31:33.204-05:002013-10-01T15:31:33.204-05:00Many moons ago, I used to watch a black and white ...Many moons ago, I used to watch a black and white TV series called "Science Fiction Theater". In the years that followed, I saw many of the concepts portrayed on that show become a reality. Holography was one of those concepts. I had a friend who was a physicist. He was working on infrared holography. To this day, I love science fiction, because it shows us what could be. Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06103811146265742675noreply@blogger.com