Have you ever seen the graphic displays of the raw memory content of the machine? They are quite pretty but not readily comprehensible.
Incidentally - a byte is two hex digits eg f7 and a word is traditionally four - eg ae08 but most systems now are fundamentally 4 or 8 bytes in word length. Thanks, Chris Austin-Lane Sent from a cell phone On Nov 4, 2011, at 18:32, "Bill!" <[email protected]> wrote: > Anthony, > > I didn't say a GUI represents a chaotic system. I said a GUI represents a > very complex system. There is however virtually no difference in the > perception of a chaotic system and a system that is so complex that it is > incomprehensible. > > A computer GUI shields the user from a virtually incomprehensible system. It > does so by only presenting a small sub-set of the system in a > easy-to-work-with package, but in doing so only allows access to a small > subset of the system's total functions. > > Illusions perform that same function for much the same reason with the same > limitations. > > ...Bill! > > --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wuasg@...> wrote: >> >> Bill, >>  >> GUI cannot represent or control a digital system in chaos. So that is not a >> good analogy. >>  >> Anthony >> >> >> ________________________________ >> From: Bill! <BillSmart@...> >> To: [email protected] >> Sent: Thursday, 3 November 2011 6:14 PM >> Subject: [Zen] Re: Zen and Buddhism >> >> >>  >> Anthony, >> >> Your recent spate of posts interrogating me about my description of >> `illusions' have caused me to think more about it, and I think I've come up >> with a better analogy. >> >> Illusions are to reality as a graphical user interface (GUI) is to a digital >> computer. >> >> The digital computer is at its most basic level just a collection of >> electric switches or gates. These switches are either on or off, open or >> closed. Today's computers have billions of these gates. In and of themselves >> the state of these gates have no meaning until given meaning by the >> operating system. At any point in time (called clock cycle)) all these gates >> are in one and only one of the two possible states, so the computer is >> constantly changing configuration depending on the operating instructions it >> is given. >> >> The switches or gates can be represented by the binary digits 0 and 1. These >> binary digits are called bits and can be grouped into 4 (byte) and >> represented by decimal number 0 thru 9 or a hexadecimal number 0 thru 9 and >> A thru F. So the switch configuration of on-on-off-on can be represented as >> 1101 (binary) or 13 (decimal) or D (hexadecimal). The switch configurations >> are usually grouped >> into 2 bytes called a fullword and represented with 2 hexadecimal digits â€" >> like 4D. A fullword can represent 256 different configurations. These >> fullwords can be used to represent numbers, letters and other symbols, >> addresses within the computer operational instructions. The lowest level >> operational instruction is machine code and it is written in hexadecimal. >> The next level up from that is assembler language. It has a one-to-one >> relationship with machine code but is expressed in letters and numbers. The >> next step up >> from that is a compiled language like COBOL or BASIC. The expressions in a >> compiled language have a one-to-many relationship with machine code. In >> other words one BASIC command generates many lines of machine code. >> >> There can be many steps after this but one of the highest levels is a >> graphical user interface (GUI). An example of this is Windows or the >> Macintosh GUI. There are other interfaces besides graphical ones. Touch >> screens as a variant and voice activated interfaces are examples of these. >> All of these help the user interface with the computer, but all limit the >> user's ability to access the resources of the entire computer. You have to >> give up functionaly for convenience. >> >> Illusions are like GUI's. They sit on top of reality and conceal it. They >> probably evolved for the same reason GUI's were developed â€" to hide the >> complexity of reality from you and to give you some limited access to >> reality by presenting reality in a more understandable context. That is >> illusions present parts of reality to you within a restrictive framework of >> logic. Just as a GUI gives you the ability to do some simple things while >> restricting your access to the complete power of the computer because it is >> to complex â€" illusions give you a nice, comfortable interface with reality >> that has been cropped and modified to fit within a logical framework while >> cloaking the chaos that is reality. >> >> How's that? A better explanation/analogy? >> >> …Bill! >> >> --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@> wrote: >>> >>> Anthony, >>> >>> That is essentially the case but I'd need to change the wording somewhat to >>> make it more correct: >>> >>> Reality and illusion do not operate in parallel. There is only reality. >>> Illusions are like a contorted, make-believe add-on. >>> >>> Reality is not a system since a system has rules and forms. Chaos is a good >>> word for it - or emptiness. >>> >>> Illusions can have rules and forms. I suppose there could be illusions that >>> don't, but the ones we usually have are illusions of duality and logic so >>> we can create them with rules and forms. You can conct business or play >>> chess with an illusion of predictibility based on the rules and forms you >>> think apply, but these rules and forms are illusory, which means they are >>> ephemeral and impermanent, so the results are not really predictive but >>> only probabilities. In the best case the illusions we create have rules and >>> forms that approximate reality - like a structured sequence of pixels >>> approximate a curved line - a digital representation of an analog shape. >>> >>> Just think logic = digital and reality/chaos = analog. It's kind of like >>> that. >>> >>> ...Bill! >>> >>> >>> --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wuasg@> wrote: >>>> >>>> Bill, >>>>  >>>> I am continuing my attempt to understand you. At this moment, I assume you >>>> have two systems in parallel: >>>>  >>>> 1. Real system with no rules or cause and effect. In other words, complete >>>> chaos. >>>>  >>>> 2. Illusions with rules and cause and effects, where you can conduct >>>> computer business with predictability and play chess to try to overwhelm >>>> your rival. >>>>  >>>> Is that right? >>>>  >>>> Anthony >>>> >> >> Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are >> reading! 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