Cheers Terry,

IGNORE THIS IF YOU WANT - IT IS NOT ON SUBJECT AND IS MY PERSONAL RANT ABOUT STUFF.

I look over my words in my last post now and they sound a little harsh. It wasn't my intent - it just doesn't always come across as it is in your head in internet land. I'm sure you realize that I view you with a lot of respect - and although I feel a bit poncy for saying it, I think its important to let people know what you think of them.

I always think to myself that if I go to my grave (and I've hopefully got a good few decades yet, in my late 30s) and I never told people the good things and the positive effect they have had on me, then what was it all for? As you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a strange one with a real morbid streak - but harmless enough.

But I can tell from all your posts I have read that you are a good guy and as with others here I think 'I could get on with them in real life I'm sure'. There are others that I think, 'no, I probably wouldn't connect with that person'.

Just indulging myself now in a bit of meandering. Its a strange thing - but we find friendship where we can - even in the middle of a board on science. I enjoy the interactions I have and enjoy it when I connect with people here. I've been thinking about it for a while now - it is an entirely new form of social interaction. It is one where you really don't know the other people and conduct relationships without any of the normal queues such as knowing what they look like, seeing their physical expressions, knowing anything really about their lives - and I suppose not even knowing they are who they say they are. In reality I might be a very well written computer program (we will get to that real possibility in a few years).

And yet I get enjoyment from my interactions here. It may just be me and everyone else may be more sane and just see it as an interesting way to learn and debate and nothing more - while I am sitting here insanely believing that in some sense and for maybe just a time, I actually have made some friends here or acquaintances.

I suppose that we have always had some relationships that have been conducted over the telephone and as pen friends, but it was a very occasional thing. Now many people have contact with others through this almost anonymous electronic medium. It does mean I suppose that you can immediately meet up with others that share your interests, be it science, feminism, terrorism or a particular fetish. I can count on three fingers the amount of my friends who are really interested in the same types of issues as me and even here we have different flavors of interest, but the common theme is that we all have interest in using our grey matter to think deeply about things. And that, most of all, is what I enjoy.

I was going to become a monk and just get away from it all - I was going to commit to two years and see how it went. I think maybe I would have found it hard because I need to discuss things. Maybe I could do it now, but regularly access SAGG on my mobile after daily devotions smile

But I suppose I am thinking, what will it do to human development that we have this much greater interconnectivity with people almost anywhere in the world? What happens to different cultures when a Bedouin Tribesman can now chat to a teenage New Yorker? What about an Iraqi who finds that his American blogfriend has pretty much the same needs, fears and desires as he does? Will the net eventually connect people on a much deeper level that purely debating in science boards?

Should have posted this in Is Science the Answer?

Blacknad.