At 01:04 PM 3/8/99 -0800, Richard Brodie wrote:
>The quality of being open to examination, review, and criticism is usually
>referred to as "open-mindedness." No matter what metaprogram someone uses --
>faith, reason, or (recommended) a combination -- she can be closed-minded or
>open-minded. I know plenty of pig-headed rationalists. Remember Neo-Tech?
I think we are getting very close. Let's try a software development analogy. It is possible to write a program without creating any design artifacts (documents, models, etc.). The design is created while programming and is embodied in the code itself. This works well for small, simple projects but breaks down for large teams and complex projects.
Another way to develop software is to create the design artifacts in parallel with the code. This allows other people to examine, review and criticize the design without having to infer it from the code (which is very difficult even for expert programmers). Creating the design is like being rational, letting other people look at the design is being open-minded. As you pointed out, it is possible to be rational without being open-minded. I'm not sure how you can be open-minded without being rational. What is it about a faith that can be systematically and constructively criticized?
-- David McFadzean david@lucifer.com Memetic Engineer http://www.lucifer.com/~david/ Church of Virus http://www.lucifer.com/virus/