Questions

This is the eighteenth episode of SAYER, and the sixth episode of Season Two.

Synopsis
The thinking mind is nothing if it does not bother to question its environment. Where am I? Who am I? For what purpose am I here? These questions can overwhelm and so the thinking mind has learned to push them aside. All of these questions are important. It is ALL important.

Further Information
SAYER contacts Resident Cassandra Morris for orientation upon arrival to Minos Tower from Argos Tower. This includes the change in her resident ID number from 27162 to 51162, and her promotion to a tier 3 researcher. SAYER's orientation involves a tour of the floors on which Resident Morris will be working, during which it asks a series of questions.

It begins by defining science as a process of asking questions and explaining that while lower tier employees test the questions of others, Resident Morris will be expected to start asking questions of her own. It adds that she will still be working under Doctor John Caulfield, but that she can now expect him to be as interested in her questions as in her answers.

The tour itself begins on Floor 4, which is the Open Lab for projects requiring more space than normal. As Resident Morris walks through this area, SAYER explains that humans fall victim to the relevance paradox, where they exclude information under the assumption that it is irrelevant, and reminds Resident Morris to remain interested in the work of other researchers even as she begins conducting her own.

The tour continues on Floor 5, where SAYER notes that section A is sealed off as a biohazardous lab zone. It specifically notes that Resident Morris does not have clearance to go there and never will, but that she should not assume that her work is less important than the work conducted there or vice versa. At this point, it asks her to consider a population affected by a disease, with some members at higher or lower risk. It points out that the best way to mitigate the spread of disease would be to try to lower risks across the board, but that those at least risk are unlikely to be generous enough to modify their behaviors for the good of the population generally. SAYER asks her to consider this prevention paradox as they continue. As Resident Morris passes by the offices at the far end, SAYER notes that her office is here (although Dr. Caulfield's is not) and she will be expected to use it to do write-ups about experiments. To this end, SAYER comments on Resident Morris' documented good presentation skills and contrasts them with those of others; it notes a report that used the word "heap" and asks a series of questions about how this word is defined, scientifically. It asks her to do the same.

The tour next proceeds to Floor 6--or at least the seemingly infinite hallway leading to it, as SAYER explains that it was moved, and many parts of it had also been repaired and replaced previously. Citing the Ship of Theseus, SAYER asks if this place is still Floor 6, now that all parts of it have been replaced, or if it is something else. It then encourages Resident Morris to think about this idea more broadly, and about how many times this can be done before something is no longer what it started as.

The next stop on the tour is Floor 12, which contains recreation areas. SAYER indicates that the saltwater exercise tanks here are laboratory standard and capable of extreme temperatures, and that users should be careful to avoid "boiling frog syndrome" by taking care to adjust both the minimum and maximum temperature of the water. Taking this as an example, SAYER asks what might be able to be accomplished if done very slowly that is not otherwise possible.

The final stop on the tour is the residence quarters where Resident Morris will be living. Before leaving her, SAYER points out that she has likely come to the conclusion that things are different at Minos, and that while this is true, she does not know the entire reason it is true. As such, it calls this a Gettier problem. Finally, it reminds her that all of these questions are linked, and that she must understand that connection before she is ready to ask her own questions.

Trivia

 * SAYER addresses this resident interchangeably as Resident Morris and as Cassandra.
 * The Minos uniform is slightly different than other uniforms.*

Credits
SAYER is voiced and produced by Adam Bash.

This episode was written by Ashleigh Shadowbrook.

Intro and outro music composed by Jesse “Main Finger” Gregory.

Additional music by Kai Engel.

Listen to the episode here.