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Randomness thread, part two.

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  1. #19126
    spoonitnow's Avatar
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    I just want to say that one more time:

    Wake up sheeple.
  2. #19127
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    Quote Originally Posted by spoonitnow View Post
    So what does everyone here do?

    I'm trying to find topics other than the usual 3-4 that we cycle through.
    Im an almost lawyer, struggling to find a job. In 3 days, I find out if I have to pay $1000 to re-take the bar exam or not. The exam I took apparently has the lowest pass rate since 1988.

    Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...int-in-decades

    Optimistically, my law school brags about having a pass rate in the 80s, and my bar exam course a pass rate in the 90s. So theres that.

    ------------------

    I also like cooking, and just learned what a 'roux' is and how to make it. I also spend way too much time playing league of legends.
  3. #19128
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    Quote Originally Posted by spoonitnow View Post

    If we follow this logic, then it's not discrimination if you just have a policy of not hiring black people. However, if you have a policy of not hiring black people, and you hire exactly one black person, then it is discrimination.
    This is an issue with protected classes and such. Race is, so anything that discriminates based on race needs both a compelling governmental interest, and the discrimination needs to be necessary for that interest. But intelligence isnt protected (not even low intelligence), so such a policy can exist so long as it is rationally related to a legit state interest.

    Its dumb.
  4. #19129
    Suspect class designation is like the court saying its measurements have so much uncertainty that they must rely on assumptions and these assumptions include the assumption of guilt before proven innocence.
  5. #19130
    Quote Originally Posted by spoonitnow View Post
    I'll just point this out for entertainment purposes since I'm well past it, but a certain moderator complained about me with a new thread in the moderators' forum once inside of the past year or so. He took the angle that my misogynistic, sexist comments were hurting the image of FTR.
    That does change some things. I don't have an opinion on it, just want to point out that my comment is directed at people who themselves get offended. Being offended and using back channels to dispense justice is all one needs to know that he/she is in the wrong. It leaves ideas untested and thus perpetuates bad ideas.
  6. #19131
    Quote Originally Posted by a500lbgorilla View Post
    Pretty clear that if you're retarded, you're for gun rights.
    I get what you're trying to say, but I just can't agree with it. Here's what I think's going on:

    There's Point A and Point J. Our participants are tasked with driving from Point A to Point J. They engage then after the results are in, we evaluate. We find that our outcomes distributed to mainly two different subgroups. Group 1 consists of people who drove in a relatively straight line, hitting Point B and/or Point G along the way then landing on Point J. Group 2 consists of people who drove to Point B then C then H then D then C then E and finally landed on Point F and declared they're on Point J. When Group 1 was asked why they chose the route they did, the explanations were simple. When Group 2 was asked why they chose the route they did, the explanations were complex and convoluted and intellectual.

    Then we run another experiment where we show the results (only the explanations, not the facts) to a different group (Group 3). We ask them which group appears to have succeeded in its endeavor more effectively, and a majority of Group 3 declare that Group 2 succeeded because Group 2's explanations were more complex and intellectual and justified while Group 1 didn't have much explanation for their decisions in the first place.

    Transplant this into the American narrative, and it fits the view that the right-wing is full of retards and the left-wing is full of elitists. When you do something that is correct and concise, it's easy to look like you're doing it wrong because there isn't much to it. When you show complexity and a depth of explanation, it typically doesn't matter if you're correct because you'll still look smart and like you know what you're doing.

    It's like how Sowell once said (paraphrasing), "Socialism has such a track record of failure that only an intellectual could justify it". It's common to think of retards with the visual of overalls and sucking on a straw, but the fact is the amount of retards who got a good GPA in literature classes is pretty damn high. One of the main skills people develop from their education careers is how to express and justify things regardless of veracity. One of the last skills people develop when they work with their hands for a living is how to justify wrong things. When you justify things that are wrong in literature classes, you get good marks, but when you justify things that are wrong when working carpentry, you lose digits. Our society has at large called the former smart people and the latter dumb people.
  7. #19132
    Quote Originally Posted by oskar View Post
    I don't remember who said it, but the most compelling suggestion I've heard to stop school shootings was to give the killer a ridiculous nickname. No more Unabombers and Beach Killers.
    Why not fartboy or chubby tubby.
    Brilliant fucking idea.
  8. #19133
    spoonitnow's Avatar
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    Nice! http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...whitemen-tweet

    A student diversity officer who came to prominence in a race row after allegedly tweeting the hashtag #killallwhitemen has been charged by police with sending a threatening communication.
  9. #19134
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    That's an empty looking face right there. Hard to imagine there's much going on behind those eyes.

    Also: that's a white bitch in the photo. Is that one of those: my grandmother fucked a mexican so now I have a rich heritage - cases?
    The strengh of a hero is defined by the weakness of his villains.
  10. #19135
    Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy View Post
    Another way to see that my statement was not a strawman of the gun control advocacy is how their concerns are irrelevant and stem from emotional reactions. For example, whenever the media covers a big shooting, it doesn't matter what type of weapon was used (usually handguns), the gun control crowd calls for the same thing: some level of assault rifle bans. Another example is that when it is shown that more stringent background checks would not have deterred any of these shootings, they still call for the same thing: more stringent background checks.
    So, it certainly is possible that you have a better grasp on the reality of the opposing sides, but I'm highly skeptical. There's a wuleftwugy (you several years ago possibly?) who would claim that the vast majority of 2nd amendment supporters are gun nuts who think the solution to school shootings is arming every kindergarten teacher with at minimum a drum fed AR15 and a side arm with an extended clip.

    My view is that this, as well as your characterization of the gun control camp are caricatures. But the damage isn't in the libel, it's self inflicted in that you cheat yourself of the opportunity to see an opposing group as humans who have real concerns that are, if not as a group, as individuals nuanced and worth taking into account.
  11. #19136
    Quote Originally Posted by spoonitnow View Post
    People are regularly not allowed to be police because their IQs are too high.

    http://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-b...story?id=95836
    http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/09/ny...iq-scores.html







    My personal favorite:



    If we follow this logic, then it's not discrimination if you just have a policy of not hiring black people. However, if you have a policy of not hiring black people, and you hire exactly one black person, then it is discrimination.

    Wake up sheeple.
    I'm pretty sure you responded to a post I didn't make. You seem to think that I'm championing the status quo.. or maybe my post just inspired you to bring up this sort of related egregiously bad policy.. idk.. *shrug*
  12. #19137
    Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy View Post
    I get what you're trying to say, but I just can't agree with it. Here's what I think's going on:

    There's Point A and Point J. Our participants are tasked with driving from Point A to Point J. They engage then after the results are in, we evaluate. We find that our outcomes distributed to mainly two different subgroups. Group 1 consists of people who drove in a relatively straight line, hitting Point B and/or Point G along the way then landing on Point J. Group 2 consists of people who drove to Point B then C then H then D then C then E and finally landed on Point F and declared they're on Point J. When Group 1 was asked why they chose the route they did, the explanations were simple. When Group 2 was asked why they chose the route they did, the explanations were complex and convoluted and intellectual.

    Then we run another experiment where we show the results (only the explanations, not the facts) to a different group (Group 3). We ask them which group appears to have succeeded in its endeavor more effectively, and a majority of Group 3 declare that Group 2 succeeded because Group 2's explanations were more complex and intellectual and justified while Group 1 didn't have much explanation for their decisions in the first place.

    Transplant this into the American narrative, and it fits the view that the right-wing is full of retards and the left-wing is full of elitists. When you do something that is correct and concise, it's easy to look like you're doing it wrong because there isn't much to it. When you show complexity and a depth of explanation, it typically doesn't matter if you're correct because you'll still look smart and like you know what you're doing.

    It's like how Sowell once said (paraphrasing), "Socialism has such a track record of failure that only an intellectual could justify it". It's common to think of retards with the visual of overalls and sucking on a straw, but the fact is the amount of retards who got a good GPA in literature classes is pretty damn high. One of the main skills people develop from their education careers is how to express and justify things regardless of veracity. One of the last skills people develop when they work with their hands for a living is how to justify wrong things. When you justify things that are wrong in literature classes, you get good marks, but when you justify things that are wrong when working carpentry, you lose digits. Our society has at large called the former smart people and the latter dumb people.
    Here's the thing, both Group 1 and Group 2 claim they have landed on Point J. It's interesting that the group that more or less correlates with your ideology is given to actually have landed on Point J in your allegory.

    Further, I think that you're implying some sort of intuitive problem solving skill among Group 1, yet I'd posit that it's more likely that they are in fact retarded but just happen to have a correct opinion. Patting these people on the back when they're right by way of being wrong is just as bad as patting the literature ace (lol) on the back when they are eloquently wrong.

    With that being said, I think your final paragraph is a great critique of liberalism, and liberal arts education in this country. Having spaces in which "there is no wrong answer" are great, and important to certain types of learning and expression, however, I think the caveat is rarely if ever offered by these educators that this creed doesn't apply to everything, and more importantly that it is a recipe for disaster in most instances outside of the given space.

    And with that being said, J. R. R. Tolkien hates allegory, and I called the illustration you made an allegory, so therefore J. R. R. Tolkien hates you, the 2nd amendment and everything you stand for.
    Last edited by boost; 10-06-2015 at 09:25 PM.
  13. #19138
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    I skimmed some Tolkien a few years ago. That's enough for me to have formed an unshakeable opinion on this matter. It is truth that he hates you, the 2nd amendment, and everything you stand for.
  14. #19139
    Quote Originally Posted by boost View Post
    My view is that this, as well as your characterization of the gun control camp are caricatures. But the damage isn't in the libel, it's self inflicted in that you cheat yourself of the opportunity to see an opposing group as humans who have real concerns that are, if not as a group, as individuals nuanced and worth taking into account.
    Attack my argument, not my character.

    Outside of that, you do have a point in that it seems I'm caricaturizing and slanderizing. The degree to which I am is marginal, but I do recognize that this stuff upsets me quite a bit. It's tough to keep a smile on when in the face of the great popularity of such destructive ideas.

    Here's the thing, both Group 1 and Group 2 claim they have landed on Point J. It's interesting that the group that more or less correlates with your ideology is given to actually have landed on Point J in your allegory.
    I expressed no ideology. I am an intellectual and an elitist by nature and by habit. The group I would mostly be found in is Group 2. The distinction is that I don't see the nature of Group 2 as inherently smart the way that I think most others do. Which participants utilize which type of reasoning depends on what the topic is. For example, on economics, the left-wing is Group 2, but on creationism, the right-wing is Group 2.

    when they're right by way of being wrong
    What does this look like? It's a popular sentiment. I'm just unsure what it actually entails.
  15. #19140
    Quote Originally Posted by boost View Post
    There's a wuleftwugy (you several years ago possibly?) who would claim that the vast majority of 2nd amendment supporters are gun nuts who think the solution to school shootings is arming every kindergarten teacher with at minimum a drum fed AR15 and a side arm with an extended clip.
    The ability to learn and overturn your wrong convictions is a badge of honor.

    FWIW I never thought that about the 2nd. I mostly just never cared about it because I felt it was a non-issue. But I did have similar sentiments on other issues. What changes the sentiments is rationality and soundness of argument.

    I have come to understand just how important the 2nd really is. It's about who has the responsibility for your security: you or a government?
  16. #19141
    Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy View Post
    Attack my argument, not my character.
    I think you're seeing monsters where there are only shadows; I did not attack your character.

    Outside of that, you do have a point in that it seems I'm caricaturizing and slanderizing. The degree to which I am is marginal, but I do recognize that this stuff upsets me quite a bit. It's tough to keep a smile on when in the face of the great popularity of such destructive ideas.
    Yeah, I know how that feels. Good on you for being able to own up to this-- but just be careful, this stuff can be insidious and the more embedded it becomes, the more natural it is to rationalize and downplay it. I hope this doesn't seem like condescending advice, I really don't mean it that way.. you've provided an example in this instance, but it's something I recognize in myself and pretty much everyone.


    I expressed no ideology. I am an intellectual and an elitist by nature and by habit. The group I would mostly be found in is Group 2. The distinction is that I don't see the nature of Group 2 as inherently smart the way that I think most others do. Which participants utilize which type of reasoning depends on what the topic is. For example, on economics, the left-wing is Group 2, but on creationism, the right-wing is Group 2.
    You really don't see yourself as an ideologue? Aside from the right and wrong of the sentiment, just a handful of posts back you advocated for every person's right to build and deploy a nuke. Correct me if I'm wrong, but your entire outlook on the organization of man can be directly traced to a list of tenets that could easily fit on a single page in large face print.

    Like, you realize that Lenin was an intellectual (and arguably an elitist), right?

    If you mean to say that in this very instance you expressed no ideology.. well, what are we having, a discussion or a series of remarks that must be replied to as if they exist only in a vacuum?

    As for your addendum to your allegory-- I don't think it really fits, but it's your allegory, and it's you who Tolkien hates.

    What does this look like? It's a popular sentiment. I'm just unsure what it actually entails.
    It means that because you won a hand of blackjack, it doesn't make your profitable. If you keep playing, you're going to go bust. You claim to be an intellectual, you surely should understand the danger of fools who have the power to make decisions and the false confidence to do so early and often.
  17. #19142
    Quote Originally Posted by boost View Post
    I think you're seeing monsters where there are only shadows; I did not attack your character.
    Implicitly. Explicitly you attacked how I characterized my argument instead of the argument itself.

    What I think would happen if you attacked my arguments exclusively is eventually you might no longer think I'm wrongly characterizing the opposition. It's easy to hold positions when they're not tested on merits.

    You really don't see yourself as an ideologue?
    The last thing I am is an ideologue.

    Aside from the right and wrong of the sentiment, just a handful of posts back you advocated for every person's right to build and deploy a nuke. Correct me if I'm wrong, but your entire outlook on the organization of man can be directly traced to a list of tenets that could easily fit on a single page in large face print.
    First off, the same is true of everything, even physics. Is gravity no longer a thing because, descriptively, most of it can be boiled down to just a couple lines?

    Second, there is nothing dogmatic about why I hold the position I do. I have come to all the beliefs we have debated on through reason and I do not hold them uncompromisingly. It perhaps appears to you that I am dogmatic since you haven't challenged me. You've only stated that you think what I'm saying is dogmatic, but you haven't explained how or why.

    Like, you realize that Lenin was an intellectual (and arguably an elitist), right?
    Yes.

    I haven't ascribed a higher quality status to intellectualism. On the contrary, I have argued for how dangerous intellectualism is. Actually, I haven't presented my arguments for that here so much as alluded to the existence of them. Intellectualism is not inherently bad, but it is at the root of many horrible ideas. The Thomas Sowell quote I earlier presented is one aspect of how. Intellectualism wields an uncanny ability to justify things that are wrong, which ends up making it in some ways more powerful at being wrong. Another aspect is something called the "herd mentality of individual thought". This isn't to say that individual thought is or gravitates towards herd mentality, but that those who at large are described as champions of progressed, intellectual, individual thought curiously herd together to the most uncritical, collective positions. It's an irony and a phenomenon, where a majority of critical thinkers end up being among the least critical of thinkers. Instead of real revolutionary, individual thought, intellectuals typically form a populist herd.

    It means that because you won a hand of blackjack, it doesn't make your profitable. If you keep playing, you're going to go bust.
    Gimme something more apropos. That's an example of known quantities and basic math. I'm not sure how the sentiment translates to social and political issues.

    You claim to be an intellectual, you surely should understand the danger of fools who have the power to make decisions and the false confidence to do so early and often.
    That's what I've been saying. It's an extremely important point.
    Last edited by wufwugy; 10-07-2015 at 12:12 AM.
  18. #19143
    Yeah, that was a silly question, seeing as it's a disparaging term, I guess no one sees themselves as an ideologue.

    Yeah, I guess we can take a relativistic view of dogmatism and say one man's dogmatic views are another man's well reasoned and carefully reached position. I'd be curious to know if you think your level of confidence in having reached your positions through a sufficiently thorough amount of due diligence differs significantly at all from the next man? (to be sure, this isn't a counter argument at all, just an aside that popped into my head-- I just want to be clear that I'm not attempting to devolve this into some sort of debate about gnosticism)

    I like your critique of intellectualism-- it's a weird cycle of a system that leads to correct answers (if not always in reality, then in theory) which breeds confidence, which detracts from the ability to detect one's biases, which leads to less accurate answers. Ha, stupid smart people.

    Why are you dismissing the blackjack example? This is a clear example of being right by way of being wrong. If you don't like the blackjack example, you can plug in whatever series of decisions you want. If it helps, try to plug it into some position on the left that you don't agree with, maybe you'll have any easier time of it.

    that last line is a great "gotcha!", but not much more.
  19. #19144
    spoonitnow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by boost View Post
    I'm pretty sure you responded to a post I didn't make. You seem to think that I'm championing the status quo.. or maybe my post just inspired you to bring up this sort of related egregiously bad policy.. idk.. *shrug*
    Nah, I was just throwing it out there because I thought you guys would think it was interesting. It was related to this you said:

    The police and military personal should have background checks and some sort of psych screening just like everyone else. Different people should have different clearances with regards to types of weapons.
    I'm just pointing out how ridiculously bad the current process is for choosing police (and largely agreeing with some of your points in the process). It's a pretty complicated topic with a lot of implications in itself, and I think it's pretty interesting.
  20. #19145
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    Doubling back to the gun rights debate, I want to point out a couple of things that might affect how people argue those points.

    1. The second amendment did not come up with the right to bear arms. That right was already there. Instead, it made sure that the government would not violate that right.

    2. Sometimes people will claim that the 2nd amendment came too far before our current levels of weaponry to be relevant. However, repeating rifles were available at the time the 2nd amendment was written. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girandoni_air_rifle
  21. #19146
    just want to post the full Tolkien quote on allegory here because it's badass:

    “I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history – true or feigned– with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse applicability with allegory, but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.”

    man after my own heart. the allegory portion of my elementary school library lessons always rubbed me the wrong way -- this is probably why.

    Also, I know someone who refers to intellectuals as "ineffectuals" which I find hilarious. I think intellectualism turns sour (aka: ineffectual) when you don't actually get your hands dirty with some life field experience.
    Free your mind and your ass will follow.
  22. #19147
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  23. #19148
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    I thought Frodo was Jesus tho. Actually, I don't remember. But I feel like there was some serious Christian allegory going on
  24. #19149
    spoonitnow's Avatar
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    I hated all of his work.
  25. #19150
    i'm actually not a big Tolkien person and never read LoTR in full, but I knew the quote, and I like it on its own. However, yes, I've heard that Christianity is a big part of LoTR lore. If we're to take his quote at face value you could make the argument that he was aware of this influence but didn't specifically write any element of the story to be rigidly correlated with the bible.. that being the difference between applicability and authorial domination.

    did a quick google, this short piece seems to shed more light on it: http://writingishardwork.com/2013/06...n-on-allegory/

    Btw - I love that you loved the volcano short before Inside Out that much to make it your avatar.
    Free your mind and your ass will follow.
  26. #19151
    I read about three pages of LotR. What a load of shite.
    Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy View Post
    ongies gonna ong
  27. #19152
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    Serious question:

    Is tolkien praised for actually making good work...or is he praised because he made some 1930s nerds orgasm? Its not like there was a lot of fantasy writing going on at that time.
  28. #19153
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    I mean, I read the first 3 chapters of the Fellowship. After 50 pages of Bilbo describing his lame ass birthday party in excruciating detail, I threw it away.
  29. #19154
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKDS View Post
    Serious question:

    Is tolkien praised for actually making good work...or is he praised because he made some 1930s nerds orgasm? Its not like there was a lot of fantasy writing going on at that time.
    As I understand it: the whole fantasy world of ogres, trolls, elves, dwarves, etc. was really nothing but random folk tales until Tolkien wrote those books. He is credited with creating that genre of fantasy fiction, AFAIK.

    In a way, he is the father of D&D, since that game was heavily influenced by Tolkein's work. It's kind of hard to find any concept of a dangerous medieval setting with monsters and men and man-like creatures that doesn't draw heavy influence from Tolkien's work.

    EDIT: My brothers think I'm insane for not giving those books another chance. Neither of them is impressed with petty works. The wide range of writers and creative people who have been influenced by his work does lend a lot of credit to the idea that it is, in fact, quality writing.

    Quote Originally Posted by JKDS View Post
    I mean, I read the first 3 chapters of the Fellowship. After 50 pages of Bilbo describing his lame ass birthday party in excruciating detail, I threw it away.
    Same... except it was "The Hobbit" in 8th grade.
  30. #19155
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKDS View Post
    Serious question:

    Is tolkien praised for actually making good work...or is he praised because he made some 1930s nerds orgasm? Its not like there was a lot of fantasy writing going on at that time.
    He really brought together a lot of disjointed parts of folklore into one narrative for the first time, and it really established the fantasy genre for the most part.
  31. #19156
    Quote Originally Posted by spoonitnow View Post
    Nah, I was just throwing it out there because I thought you guys would think it was interesting. It was related to this you said:



    I'm just pointing out how ridiculously bad the current process is for choosing police (and largely agreeing with some of your points in the process). It's a pretty complicated topic with a lot of implications in itself, and I think it's pretty interesting.
    Ah, right, yeah, I think I was caught off guard and thought it was a direct response and possibly a rebuttal of my post, but it didn't make sense as that.

    Yeah, I completely agree with you in that the process is awful and that the issues encompassed in this topic are so nuanced and intertwined that it's hard to know where to start.
  32. #19157
    Quote Originally Posted by spoonitnow View Post
    He really brought together a lot of disjointed parts of folklore into one narrative for the first time, and it really established the fantasy genre for the most part.

    Yeah, I'm not sure where I heard it first and I'm sure I'm butchering the line, but I always liked the claim that he was at best a mediocre author, but he was exceptionally good at compiling encyclopedias.
  33. #19158
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    If anyone wants to dip their toes into the water of professional wrestling, you should do so in WWE's NXT product right now. They've eliminated a lot of what's wrong with professional wrestling today (compared to three decades ago).



    Here's a good example. Bayley is the lovable loser type who has had to really claw tooth and nail to get a women's title shot, and Sasha Banks is the super over-the-top snob.
    Last edited by spoonitnow; 10-08-2015 at 08:15 AM.
  34. #19159
    Tolkien is like the literary equivalent to Wagner. Awesome substance packed between lots and lots of lard.

    Tolkien really did conjure an entire other world though, he's like the granddaddy of world building. And he was a philologist and linguist -- dude literally created another language. Elvish is legit. You could write your diary in that shit to be extra secure.
    Free your mind and your ass will follow.
  35. #19160
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    @aubrey: I recommend you check out the video game "The Beginner's Guide."

    It's less than $10 on steam, or you can watch a play through on youtube if you don't want to buy it. It takes about 90 minutes to complete. It's more of an interactive story than a game.

    I think the theme of the game and the depth of its exploration on isolation and obsession are exactly what you'd enjoy writing a wall of text post / essay about. I want to be clear that I'm not saying you will "enjoy" the game. Rather, I think you'll be inspired to contemplate these themes and how they resonate among the (quirky) artistic types.

    In short, the story has significant content. It has layers. It's not a "fun" game, but I can't stop thinking about it.
  36. #19161
    I was reading your post about it in the game thread last night. I'm sufficiently intrigued, I'll check it out. thanks!
    Free your mind and your ass will follow.
  37. #19162
    Yeah, I've read LotR and the hobbit more than once each
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  38. #19163
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    Quote Originally Posted by Luco View Post
    Yeah, I've read LotR and the hobbit more than once each
    I'm sorry.
  39. #19164
    Quote Originally Posted by boost View Post
    Yeah, I guess we can take a relativistic view of dogmatism and say one man's dogmatic views are another man's well reasoned and carefully reached position. I'd be curious to know if you think your level of confidence in having reached your positions through a sufficiently thorough amount of due diligence differs significantly at all from the next man?
    If that was the case, I would say that my beliefs are based in sufficient evidence and others' beliefs aren't and that's what makes me more probably right than them. However, the actual case is that the robustness of some of my beliefs emerge from knowing I could never have sufficient evidence for them, and the oftentimes mendacity of peoples' beliefs arises from the assumption that sufficiency of evidence has been achieved.

    Why are you dismissing the blackjack example? This is a clear example of being right by way of being wrong. If you don't like the blackjack example, you can plug in whatever series of decisions you want. If it helps, try to plug it into some position on the left that you don't agree with, maybe you'll have any easier time of it.
    I'm not trying to discard it, but to understand it. I can't argue with myself, so I wanted to know what you think it looks like on the social and political level. I'm not sure I would choose to describe anything that way, so I don't even know where to start.
    Last edited by wufwugy; 10-08-2015 at 09:27 PM.
  40. #19165
    Great article

    http://thefederalist.com/2015/10/07/...just-wont-die/

    The concealed carry stuff is important. It never gets popular media attention, but there is a reason why concealed carriers are so rarely victims of mass shootings. This spills over greatly since concealed carriers tend to stop people around them from being victims as well. There's even more spillover in that criminals avoid places with higher rates of concealed carry.

    There are fewer better ways to deter mass shootings than by encouraging responsible concealed carry, and there are few better ways to increase mass shootings than by creating gun-free-unless-you're-a-criminal zones.
  41. #19166
    Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy View Post
    If that was the case, I would say that my beliefs are based in sufficient evidence and others' beliefs aren't and that's what makes me more probably right than them. However, the actual case is that the robustness of some of my beliefs emerge from knowing I could never have sufficient evidence for them, and the oftentimes mendacity of peoples' beliefs arises from the assumption that sufficiency of evidence has been achieved.
    Nice.


    I'm not trying to discard it, but to understand it. I can't argue with myself, so I wanted to know what you think it looks like on the social and political level. I'm not sure I would choose to describe anything that way, so I don't even know where to start.
    At a routine traffic stop a cop shoots a man because he reached into his pocket. The man had a gun in that pocket and died gripping it with his finger on the trigger. Did the cop do the right thing? Did he do the wrong thing? Or do we need a more nuanced description of how, thankfully, he was able to go home to his family, but also he(and his colleagues) should not be encouraged to react in this way in this situation?

    I would say the latter, and I think an apt way to put it is "he was right by way of being wrong."
  42. #19167
    oh i see what you were getting at. you were talking a results orientation view.

    i think i was confused because i was giving an example of how people could be right yet appear wrong, not so much be wrong and get an accidentally right result.
  43. #19168
    spoonitnow's Avatar
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    I drop unexpectedly like bird shit.
  44. #19169
    JKDS's Avatar
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    I passed the bar exam!

    57% pass rate in my state. /brag
  45. #19170
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKDS View Post
    I passed the bar exam!

    57% pass rate in my state. /brag


  46. #19171
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    Congrats.
  47. #19172
    Which type of lawyer are you going to be?

    A:

    B:


    BTW, I've done extensive research and these are your only two options.
  48. #19173
    JKDS's Avatar
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    Nah, you forgot one.



    But now im just like every other 20-something. Looking for a job, and out of excuses.
  49. #19174
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    Step 1: A Lawyer. Step 2: A Judge. Step 3: The Law.

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  50. #19175
    Speaking of the most protected group of people on the planet (Islamic terrorists)

  51. #19176
    Congrats JKDS on passing the bar. Care if I ask how many hours of study specifically for the exam it took?
  52. #19177
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    Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy View Post
    Congrats JKDS on passing the bar. Care if I ask how many hours of study specifically for the exam it took?
    5-6hrs a day for 2 months. That didnt feel like enough either, but I burn out quickly when the task is pointless memorization.
  53. #19178
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    Thanks for all the congrats guys. TBH, I thought I failed. The day before the exam I was a complete wreck, got very little sleep for both test days, and was completely surprised at how hard the questions were. Everyone I talked to after the exam felt similarly too. Finding out that the last obstacle to me practicing law is out of the way, and that its out of the way for my friends too is an incredible relief.

    Feels good.
  54. #19179
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    Walk tall, man. I know the legal department at my company all rake in 100k+ starting and they each take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. Hop into the world of big engineering contract disputes and make that sweet cash. Our former CEO was from Legal.
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  55. #19180
    well done. pretty sure the 300s is low for passed bar study hours.
  56. #19181
    a500lbgorilla's Avatar
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    http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=6116

    No brain, 120 IQ. It's too good to keep tucked-away as an internet diss.
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  57. #19182
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    That's crazy. With all the studies relating to brain damage and it's effect on intelligence, this is absolutely shocking.
  58. #19183
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    He touches on this, but it's the best deep-cover point to be made.

    I'd argue there is no soul because you are carried by your brain - if you damage your brain, you change your consciousness, who you are, and how you present yourself.

    Well, what if you could still be you with something that really doesn't look like a brain?
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  59. #19184
    Quote Originally Posted by JKDS View Post
    I passed the bar exam!

    57% pass rate in my state. /brag
    congrats!
    Free your mind and your ass will follow.
  60. #19185
    Quote Originally Posted by a500lbgorilla View Post
    http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=6116

    No brain, 120 IQ. It's too good to keep tucked-away as an internet diss.
    This just screams 'urban legend' to me
    Congratulations, you've won your dick's weight in sweets! Decode the message in the above post to find out how to claim your tic-tac
  61. #19186
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    Quote Originally Posted by Luco View Post
    This just screams 'urban legend' to me
    I did some internet on this, and it seems that the cited article is disputed and John Lorber, the author, has never published this particular case to a peer reviewed journal. There's no name of the patient and wikipedia says he might have misinterpreted the cat scans. Other sources on patients with hydrophallus and severely reduced brain mass comment on how incredible it is that the patient is able to respond to stimuli. Surprisingly responsive vegtables, if you will.
    Less sceptical sources claim that "science" likes to sweep the unexplainable under the carpet and similar babble.

    This particular case is so obscure not even snopes or the straight dope have tried to refute it.
    Last edited by oskar; 10-12-2015 at 02:45 PM.
    The strengh of a hero is defined by the weakness of his villains.
  62. #19187
    Quote Originally Posted by oskar View Post
    I did some internet on this, and it seems that the cited article is disputed and John Lorber, the author, has never published this particular case to a peer reviewed journal. There's no name of the patient and wikipedia says he might have misinterpreted the cat scans. Other sources on patients with hydrophallus and severely reduced brain mass comment on how incredible it is that the patient is able to respond to stimuli. Surprisingly responsive vegtables, if you will.
    Less sceptical sources claim that "science" likes to sweeps the unexplainable under the carpet and similar babble.

    This particular case is so obscure not even snopes or the straight dope have tried to refute it.
    Wow, thanks for doing the legwork there for me
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  63. #19188
    oskar's Avatar
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    I would like to claim that I misspelled hydrocephalic for comic effect, and not because dumb.

    Why isn't that word used more. Like: suck a dick you hydrocephalic cunt.
    brilliant.
    Last edited by oskar; 10-12-2015 at 02:50 PM.
    The strengh of a hero is defined by the weakness of his villains.
  64. #19189
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    Damn. I take it back.
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  65. #19190
    Quote Originally Posted by oskar View Post
    I would like to claim that I misspelled hydrocephalic for comic effect
    CANNOT UNSEE
    Congratulations, you've won your dick's weight in sweets! Decode the message in the above post to find out how to claim your tic-tac
  66. #19191
    why the fuck am I rewatching episodes of sex and the city. can someone please come here and put me out of my misery?

    what are y'all doing for halloween?
    Free your mind and your ass will follow.
  67. #19192
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    Quote Originally Posted by aubreymcfate View Post
    what are y'all doing for halloween?
    Two girls at the same time.
  68. #19193
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    Spoiler:
  69. #19194
    Quote Originally Posted by spoonitnow View Post
    Two girls at the same time.
    Nice.
    Free your mind and your ass will follow.
  70. #19195
    oskar's Avatar
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    touching.


    so, anyway, I love this channel:

    The strengh of a hero is defined by the weakness of his villains.
  71. #19196
    Quote Originally Posted by spoonitnow View Post


    Spoiler:
    An hero.
  72. #19197
    Quote Originally Posted by boost View Post
    An hero.
    you know that means he should kill himself right?
  73. #19198
    spoonitnow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy View Post
    you know that means he should kill himself right?
    I couldn't decide if he knew that (which would make sense coming from him as a joke in that context) or if he was referring to the cop and is one of those weird asses who actually uses an before h- words.
  74. #19199
    i just realized that fresh prince had a butler. i mean, i always knew he was a butler, but id never thought about it. how does a butler happen in the 90s?
  75. #19200
    spoonitnow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wufwugy View Post
    i just realized that fresh prince had a butler. i mean, i always knew he was a butler, but id never thought about it. how does a butler happen in the 90s?
    My brother's ex-boyfriend's family had a butler.

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