A response to me and others on scientism. I disagree with most of it (and will respond) but on reflection he's right that you can't reduce scientism to verificationism. I just think that makes it *worse*. http://quillette.com/2018/03/28/in-defence-of-scientism/#comments …
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An argument I perhaps cowardly avoided making is that I'm not sure science is capable of explaining beauty, or meaning itself, but I'm not as yet sure enough of the argument to make it.
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Replying to @BDSixsmith
Depends what you mean. Symmetry in faces is perceived as beautiful. Certain colour combinations have mathematical relationships. Is that science?
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Replying to @phillipdyte
Yes, it would be stupid to suggest there is *no* extent to which beauty can be empirically analysed. But I'm not sure it can be reduced to empirical analysis.
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Replying to @BDSixsmith
But exactly! That just turns it into a matter of scale rather than possibility. If you've a neural net chunking through loads of images that it basically sees as data, then creating something from it that's beautiful...
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Replying to @phillipdyte @BDSixsmith
Frinstancepic.twitter.com/Evt5mybOfk
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Replying to @phillipdyte @BDSixsmith
do these examples constitute a scientific understanding of beauty?
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Replying to @_Vimothy_ @BDSixsmith
Computer only sees and assembles data, so its understanding is pretty much scientific unless I've misunderstood your point. I think a better argument is that it is only imitative, but then so were students in masters' studios of course.
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The pictures you show are the results of "merging" a painting (for the style) and photo (for the content), by (iteratively) generating an image that is close to both the painting and the photo. Nothing to do with an understanding of beauty.
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Replying to @_Vimothy_ @BDSixsmith
We're on different vectors of debate here. Not invested enough to pursue but it's an interesting topic.
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