View source for 429/Maybe You Could Essay Slower...

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2020/03/11
|Location=22B - Vivan's Dorm Room
|Synopsis=Colette checks up on Vivian, largely to ask her how she managed to write an essay in 67.4 seconds. They discuss the nature of mind and the infinite.
|Cast of Characters=613,311
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:613|Vivian Vision (613)}} has posed:'''<br>It's only been a little over a week since Vivian moved into her Happy Harbor dorm room and already the room has... technically had some personal touches added. Her side of the walls have a scattering of band posters, all lined up with machine precision, to the wall. She's set up a computer (or rather a working monitor and a box of junk electronics that look like a computer should) on her desk and that's about the limit of her personal touches. No family photographs or momentos from her time before coming to the school. <br><br> When she hears an unexpected knock on the door Viv herself is sitting at the desk pretending to read an ebook on chess. It's not a total lie, she is reading several dozen books inside her head, just not the one infront of her. "Come in," she calls without looking up. "The door is unlocked."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:311|Colette O'Connail (311)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The door clicks open, and in steps Colette. Miss O'Connail. "Thank you Vivian," she says. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble or anything. I wanted to discuss your essay with you, if you don't have any classes to rush off to quite yet?" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She stops just inside the doorway, eyes flickering quickly around the room, taking in the personal touches Vivian has set up around the room, lingering for a few moments on the posters. She walks further in and takes a seat. "It was a good essay," Colette says with a smile. "I was impressed that you managed to take on board so much what was brought up in the group discussion. Particularly since you seem to have completed it within minutes of leaving the class."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:613|Vivian Vision (613)}} has posed:'''<br>"I would offer you a hot beverage," Vivian muses, getting up from the faux-puter. "But I do not currently have any food in the kitchen. I could however get a glass of chilled water?" She's still wearing her uniform and the same holographic disguise as before. Dyed green hair and pale skin. No traces of make-up but who needs it when you have a holograph? "I'm currently not required in any classes." <br><br> "The essay? I had pre-written some portions. It did not take a lot of effort to slot in relevant points at the end of the discussion." She takes a few steps closer to the kitchen, close enough to fetch water if needed but also close enough she can sit down if it isn't. "It was also a fairly simple writing challenge and I find it very easy to put together logical arguments."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:311|Colette O'Connail (311)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Well I'm glad to hear that Vivian," Colette says with a faint smile. "I mean had you written the entire essay in that space of time that would put your typing speed at approximately six hundred words per minute, which I'm sure you can appreciate would be very suspicious." Her smile widens slightly. "No thank you Vivian, I'm not thirsty."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"You made some valuable contributions to the group discussions, but there's one point I wanted to bring up with you. We discussed the idea of self-regulation, and you touched on that in your essay. As you will recall you disagreed that the medical profession was truly self-regulating, but I think you weren't considering the historical context. Medicine is much older than the concept of licensed trades, but it is in the field of medicine that we have some of the earliest examples of organizational ethics. Perhaps superheroes should be asked to swear some equivalent to the Hippocratic oath? Food for thought."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"On a more personal note," Colette continues without much pause,"I am sorry to hear about your brother. Grieving is a complicated process, and everyone deals with it in their own way. Very often people are not fully aware of the ways that it has affected them, until something... triggers a response that may be painful and unwelcome. I wanted to assure you that if you need to discuss your loss, myself and the other teaching staff here will do our best to help you out. We are not just here as educators, we will also offer what emotional support we can to all of you."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:613|Vivian Vision (613)}} has posed:'''<br>Vivian shrugs. "There are too many factors at play to make an accurate prediction in that hypothetical scenario," she points out. "Depending on the time it took me to find a computer, connection speeds while sending emails and all sorts of other factors. Of course that would be more than suspicious it'd be practically impossible." <br><br> "The problem with asking people to take an oath is that words are hollow," Vivian points out, taking a seat when Colette declines the offer of water. "And at the time the Hippocratic oath was first conceived they believed a person was entirely made from blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. Having an accepted set of rules and guidelines is all very well in principle and it certainly would not hurt. It's why I would argue that it's more important for superheroes to reduce the pressures behind criminal behavior than it is for them to go out punching bank robbers. <br><br> She considers the more personal offer for a moment or two. In the quiet of the dorm room there is a slight sense the teenager isn't quite breathing as often as she should be. A stillness that doesn't quite fit. "I do not say this to envoke sympathy but it is unfortunately not the first friend or family member I have lost. I have... developed coping mechanisms for my emotional situation." If you can call turning them off a coping mechanism. "And now that I'm in a new place and meeting new people.. It provides a certain element of distraction." Her hand moves to brush her hair back behind one of her ears. "It is kind of you to offer though."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:311|Colette O'Connail (311)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yet people still take the Hippocratic oath today," Colette points out. "In a rather modified form. Perhaps we can think of it as a first attempt. So long as it does not become dogma, we would hope that such an oath would develop over time to avoid mention of the four humors." She gives Vivian a broad grin.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"You seem a quite well balanced individual, Vivian. If I can ask you to keep one thing in mind about coping mechanisms though - the mind is a very complicated thing, and cannot by definition truly know itself. There's a rather beautiful story by the writer Jorge Luis Borges you may want to read. It posits the idea of an infinite library. Such a library is of course useless, because although all information can be found in that library, finding it within an infinite amount of gibberish is impossible. Some of the librarians believe there must within that library be a book that indexes all the information of the library itself in an accessible fashion. It's an interesting meditation on the notion of the infinite."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Colette leans back a little and smiles wryly at herself, perhaps realizing she's veering a bit of topic. "The point is that the more we try to... index our own minds, the greater the information we store in our minds is. Only an infinite mind can be indexed. The mind... the /self/ is an emergent property of a system of enormous complexity. Only that infinite mind will never be surprised at the things that may arise from that complexity. Be aware that it is possible your coping mechanisms are not as fully effective as you believe, and don't be afraid to look for help if you ever suspect that to be the case. Nobody will push you if you don't wish to be pushed though."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Colette stands up and stretches. "I think that covers everything I wanted to talk to you about," she says, looking around the room again. "Unless there's anything you'd like to ask me? Oh..." she points at one of the posters on the wall. "I think that one's not quite straight..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:613|Vivian Vision (613)}} has posed:'''<br>"But it's a sad fact that perhaps as many as a quarter of a million people die from medical malpractise each year," Vivian counters, as solemnly as she is prompt with the information. "I've always been very good at recalling facts and figures. Even ones I'd rather not think about in great detail like that." <br><br> Something about Colettes discussion about the mind, complexity and infinite libraries greatly amuses Viv and perhaps for the first time since arriving at Happy Harbor she smiles. "Infinite complexity can be described by simple rules. But I do agree with you in principle, Humans will never truely know themselves." <br><br> When Colette finally stands up Viv doesn't quite mirror the motion, but does stand up herself. "That would be a trick of the light caused by the colours and patterns within the poster. I used a laser spirit level to be sure," she seems entirely confident about her statement without actually looking to see which poster is being pointed at. "Right now I can't think of anything I need to ask. But I assure you if I any spring to mind that cannot wait I will contact a member of the school staff." She glances at the kitchen and her brow furrows. "Although if that happens I will try to ensure I have tea and coffee available for guests."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:311|Colette O'Connail (311)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Not just humans, Vivian." Colette grins slightly. "Consider the effects on a system of measuring that system. A system observing itself alters the system, thus a model adds complexity to the thing being modelled, which must be added to that model to be accurate. Therefore it is innately an incomplete model, unless the model itself becomes infinitely complicated. Tea and coffee would be a nice touch, Vivian. People will appreciate it."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Colette goes to leave, but stops herself in the doorway. "One more thing. I am on teaching staff, but not technically a teacher. Let's just say... that gives me a certain degree of flexibility. Consider this my equivalent of a Hippocratic oath. If you feel the need of talking about things which you feel shouldn't be discussed with the teachers, you can come to me and I promise I will respect your confidence."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:613|Vivian Vision (613)}} has posed:'''<br>"Ahh but a machine just needs to check everything once and then maintain a detailed change log. It's not perfect but then perfection is a fallacy. I dabble in coding you see. Having a lot of hobbies helps keep me busy," Vivian points out cheerfully as she follows Colette as far as the dorm room door. "And I will keep that in mind too. On the off chance I notice any other students engaging in questionable behavior or have an unexpected existential crisis. Do not worry on my behalf though, I am sure I will be fine."<br> <br>
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