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What's on your mind today?

Started by Steve Reason, August 25, 2007, 08:15:06 PM

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Asmodean

#16380
Yes! This is it!

My dislike of Smart fortwo. Imagine a Bobcat, except it has no fun and useful hydraulics and can do 80.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

Magdalena

#16381
Quote from: Icarus on June 17, 2022, 03:24:19 AM^ cool Mags!

My Iphone has an app that tracks, and names,satellites and identifies space junk like expended rocket bodies.  It does not give me the panoramic screen view that your vid does. 

Icarus,
Would you like to just sit here with me and look at the moon?


"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

No one


Tank

The utter stupidity of faith and belief. I am horrified by supposedly intelligent people supporting the contention that gods actually exist. No evidence, shit logic and infinite gullibility. The damage belief does to humanity is incalculable. We really are apes with just enough brains to be dangerous.  :(
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

No one

Thinking is difficult. It's best to concede such burdens to the more qualified.

Asmodean

Quote from: Tank on August 11, 2022, 10:06:33 AMThe utter stupidity of faith and belief. I am horrified by supposedly intelligent people supporting the contention that gods actually exist. No evidence, shit logic and infinite gullibility. The damage belief does to humanity is incalculable. We really are apes with just enough brains to be dangerous.  :(
T, my friend... Various "they" support all sorts of insidious religious and religion-like shit. From the top of my head,

The original sin. This one is especially fashionable these days.
Much of what passes for modern politics
Communism. That one deserves its own spot for the faith it takes no matter how many a crusade crash and burn.
Gender wage gap due to discrimination
Mob "justice"
Race supremacy
Pretty much every single conspiracy ever dreamed up beneath a tinfoil hat.

Even "Diversity is strength!" is little more than a reimagining of "Deus lo vult!" these days.

The list is ooh, so long and at the end of the day, far too many otherwise intelligent adherents believe that shit either because it sounds/feels right (or, just to add some sinister to my rant, because someone else finds that it sounds/feels wrong) or because someone with an aura of authority told them so, or because it is the prevalent belief in their general vicinity.

Me? At best, I call the lot of it simplistic bullshit. We have reduced our world views to slogans and buzzwords and woe be on ye, who dares thread outside their quick, yet primitive messages. "I'm a this, therefore that." That's fucking scary to me.

But... I suppose I can't expect humanity to generally be sceptical. We evolved as tribal creatures, and so we tend to intuitively accept authority and the need for authority and conform our views to fit in with a group and all that nonsense. Of course, it sucks for those of us who do not, but that's... Our problem, I think.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

Tank

Quote from: Asmodean on August 11, 2022, 12:44:47 PM
Quote from: Tank on August 11, 2022, 10:06:33 AMThe utter stupidity of faith and belief. I am horrified by supposedly intelligent people supporting the contention that gods actually exist. No evidence, shit logic and infinite gullibility. The damage belief does to humanity is incalculable. We really are apes with just enough brains to be dangerous.  :(
...

But... I suppose I can't expect humanity to generally be sceptical. We evolved as tribal creatures, and so we tend to intuitively accept authority and the need for authority and conform our views to fit in with a group and all that nonsense. Of course, it sucks for those of us who do not, but that's... Our problem, I think.


4/5ths of the Earths population haven't grown out of accepting childhood indoctrination. :(
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Asmodean

Heh... It's worse than that, I suspect. They haven't grown out of letting themselves be indoctrinated anew, either.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

billy rubin

when i was religious it wasnt because of indoctrination. i hsd to go looking.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Magdalena

Quote from: Asmodean on August 11, 2022, 12:44:47 PM...

Even "Diversity is strength!" is little more than a reimagining of "Deus lo vult!" these days.

...

I just want to post the complete quote:
QuoteIt is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity, there is beauty, and there is strength.
—Maya Angelou


I see no,
"Deus lo vult!" :sherlock2:

I see humanity.

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

billy rubin

dammit. off work for ten days because the wheel fell off my tractor. theres a replacement axle in the shop, but its an awkward job to do the kingpins that way.

got a call. want to haul four loads of aluminum sows this week, $700 per losd, 190 miles round trip? use the other truck?

sure!

i get 30 percent of that $700, $210 per load to me.

one mile from the shipper i broke tbe driveshaft in the other truck. 10 mph, light throttle. whats the deal with this? my mechanic is mystified, the driveshaft broke with nothing apparently wrong. so we put in the driveshaft from my first truck on the side of the road, and i picked up and delivered a day late.

then the truck wouldnt climb hills. put it in gear and the tach would spin up but the truck wouldnt move.

clutch, i said.

limped back and it is the rebuilt transmissoon, 3 months old, is junk. tailshaft bearing wallowed out, which explains the driveshaft.

under warranty, but junk nonetheless.

so now both trucks are dead, im not working, and the bank account is dwindling.

but the weather is really nice, im up to date with almost all the bills, and i have enough money to buy groceries one more time.

and theres no snow.



"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Asmodean

Quote from: Magdalena on August 11, 2022, 04:11:14 PMI just want to post the complete quote:
QuoteIt is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity, there is beauty, and there is strength.
—Maya Angelou


I see no,
"Deus lo vult!" :sherlock2:

I see humanity.
Fair enough. Beauty, however, is as subjective as it gets. As for strength, how, precisely?

Or, let me rephrase the question; how should those parents justify their teachings to their children? When a five-year-old Asmo-to-be is told "Diversity is strength" and asks "why?" What is your answer?
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

Asmodean

There was this other thread about... A thing. The Asmo knows. He may have completely forgotten where it was and what He was ranting about, and now He cannot find it, but He shall, see if He shall not!
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

Magdalena

Quote from: Asmodean on August 12, 2022, 08:27:13 AM
Quote from: Magdalena on August 11, 2022, 04:11:14 PMI just want to post the complete quote:
QuoteIt is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity, there is beauty, and there is strength.
—Maya Angelou


I see no,
"Deus lo vult!" :sherlock2:

I see humanity.
Fair enough. Beauty, however, is as subjective as it gets. As for strength, how, precisely?

Or, let me rephrase the question; how should those parents justify their teachings to their children? When a five-year-old Asmo-to-be is told "Diversity is strength" and asks "why?" What is your answer?
:superman:
Good question.

I would say, Asmojito, we live in a diverse world.
You and your dad have beautiful gray skin, that's an example of diversity because not everyone in the world has gray skin.
:asmo:  :asmo:

Look around you, the world has a wide variety of plants, animals, people, languages, skin color, genders, ideas, opinions, perspectives, skills, talents, etc. We benefit from this because diversity triggers cognitive thinking.

One day, you will disagree with someone whose background is different from yours, and if you listen, it helps you reflect on your assumptions and helps you to look at the world from a fresh and new perspective. 

I know it can be challenging, especially if you haven't been exposed  to a diverse environment, it can lead to conflicts and if you've only been around people with the same background as yours or who hold the same opinions, they can't teach you the importance of
inclusion and acceptance.

One step at a time, my little Asmojito, don't look at the world as a melting pot where everyone changes and becomes like you, instead, look at it as a salad bowl where everyone should be able to co-exist and retain their originality.

 :grouphug:

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

Tom62

Diversity is okay as long as it doesn't mean to exclude others. It also doesn't mean that you should create parallel societies, all with their own rules. In some universities it has now become quite common to separate people by race, gender, etc. That is for me the exact opposite of diversity, namely segregation. What also doesn't seem popular anymore is the diversity of ideas. More often than not, people who have different ideas are not really welcome.     
The universe never did make sense; I suspect it was built on government contract.
Robert A. Heinlein