pds (01/20/83)
Douglas Hofstadter published in his "Metamagical Themas" column
(Scientific American, circa. summer 1982?) a discussion of and the
rules for a game called "Nomic", invented by Peter Suber, now teaching
philosophy at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. I find the concept
of the game to be intriguing, as play has no objective other than the
alteration of the game rules (and perhaps 'winning', though that is
mutable legislation). I recommend reading the article for some mental
calisthenics.
A few of us here started thinking of ways to automate the playing
of the game on our vax. Scenario: rules database, your-move-my-move
protocols, voting handled by mail, the game proceeding over the course of
several days, weeks, months, played at a leisurely pace by any number of
remote participants. But, before we expend the effort ...
Are there any existing systems for (or thoughts on) playing "Nomic"
out there? And how about "NetNomic" via netmail??? Replys by mail if
you please, and I will summarize them for the net.
Dave Stotts, Univ. of Virginia
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