Why Lightsabres > Philosophy
Peter Hughes
Because they do.
10/12/2007
So, yeah; games
Ah, graphics in games. Such wonderful things. It seems strange that recently, to admire graphics has become almost synonymous with being shallow; if all you like are pretty things, you're not concentrating on the game itself.
Whilst to a certain degree, I would concur with this, I do think that graphics are an integral part of games, and not something to be overlooked. With films, often the visual style and the way that it is presented is a vital part of the experience; with novels, much of the text will be involved with describing settings and characters (unless it is deliberately ambiguous or just poorly written). With games, it has the interesting mix that whilst graphics are important, they are also intertwined with technology; as technology increases, so does the graphics capability.
This is best seen in Crysis. After playing the demo on my high end rig, I have to say it is the most photo-realistic, mind-blowing game I have ever seen. Not only does it look good, but it interacts; every leaf bends out of your way, foliage breaks where you shoot it, anything can be picked up and interacted with.
Is Crysis an example of where the future of games lies? I think it provides a start. Given that level of detail, I would like to see more adventurous graphical styles seen; we've achieved photorealism (to the point of diminishing returns), so lets get into the wonderful world of abstraction!
Whilst to a certain degree, I would concur with this, I do think that graphics are an integral part of games, and not something to be overlooked. With films, often the visual style and the way that it is presented is a vital part of the experience; with novels, much of the text will be involved with describing settings and characters (unless it is deliberately ambiguous or just poorly written). With games, it has the interesting mix that whilst graphics are important, they are also intertwined with technology; as technology increases, so does the graphics capability.
This is best seen in Crysis. After playing the demo on my high end rig, I have to say it is the most photo-realistic, mind-blowing game I have ever seen. Not only does it look good, but it interacts; every leaf bends out of your way, foliage breaks where you shoot it, anything can be picked up and interacted with.
Is Crysis an example of where the future of games lies? I think it provides a start. Given that level of detail, I would like to see more adventurous graphical styles seen; we've achieved photorealism (to the point of diminishing returns), so lets get into the wonderful world of abstraction!
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09/12/2007
Musings on the concept of human rights
Yeah; so the other day I was thinking about the whole concept of human rights, and how they come about. The following is just a collection of my ideas; they have no real purpose but are merely a way for me to extrapolate my thoughts on the matter. They will probably be rather winding and go off on many tangents. Huzzah.
The person has no rights by default.
Rights are bestowed by society based on the generally agreed ethics of that society.
Therefore, the person in isolation can be said to have no rights as the individual cannot form a society
Society is the interaction between many individuals
Thus it can be seen that rights are a direct result of interaction between individuals.
Why, then, are so many rights given or denied without interaction with the individuals they affect?
Answer- government.
Why should we have rights?
They set a standard for living. In a Utopian society, rights would be equal for all
Is there such a thing as a basic right?
Some rights are more vital than others.
For society to work, a certain level of conformity is required.
Rights, therefore, need conformity.
Conformity is not necessarily bad.
It is necessary for any social group to work as a cohesive whole.
At what level of conformity is personal freedom lost?
1. Conformity of the personal- the act of conforming to social trends
2. Conformity of the self/intellect- the act of conforming to certain ways of thinking
3. Conformity of motions- the act of conforming to accepted behaviour
Society needs 3., and to a small degree 2.
1. Is unnecessary and seems to arise spontaneously as part of the human mindset- helps ease interaction with others, but is ultimately superficial.
2. Is needed for general decisions to be made in a form of government, but in totality is stifling. For intellectual exploration and advancement, this must be disregarded.
3. Is wholly necessary. This does not refer to individual, low level actions, but rather to what is and what is not allowed by society. We all conform to the social idea that murder is not an accepted form of behaviour, and it is in our and societies interests to conform to this.
The person has no rights by default.
Rights are bestowed by society based on the generally agreed ethics of that society.
Therefore, the person in isolation can be said to have no rights as the individual cannot form a society
Society is the interaction between many individuals
Thus it can be seen that rights are a direct result of interaction between individuals.
Why, then, are so many rights given or denied without interaction with the individuals they affect?
Answer- government.
Why should we have rights?
They set a standard for living. In a Utopian society, rights would be equal for all
Is there such a thing as a basic right?
Some rights are more vital than others.
For society to work, a certain level of conformity is required.
Rights, therefore, need conformity.
Conformity is not necessarily bad.
It is necessary for any social group to work as a cohesive whole.
At what level of conformity is personal freedom lost?
1. Conformity of the personal- the act of conforming to social trends
2. Conformity of the self/intellect- the act of conforming to certain ways of thinking
3. Conformity of motions- the act of conforming to accepted behaviour
Society needs 3., and to a small degree 2.
1. Is unnecessary and seems to arise spontaneously as part of the human mindset- helps ease interaction with others, but is ultimately superficial.
2. Is needed for general decisions to be made in a form of government, but in totality is stifling. For intellectual exploration and advancement, this must be disregarded.
3. Is wholly necessary. This does not refer to individual, low level actions, but rather to what is and what is not allowed by society. We all conform to the social idea that murder is not an accepted form of behaviour, and it is in our and societies interests to conform to this.
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