Space Travel / Split From "THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER! [etc.]"

[xSilverPhinx]

The rat is kind of cute. I wish they had a video of it driving.

Yeah That's a video link I posted, and there are many more on YouTube. 

[Randy]

The rat is kind of cute. I wish they had a video of it driving.

Yeah That's a video link I posted, and there are many more on YouTube. 

So it is. I wonder why I didn't notice it before? My bad. 

[billy rubin]

how do they control it?

levers? paddlez?

[Randy]

Do they have to take driver's ed before they do it?

[Recusant]

you have a problem on this subject, recusant.

i suggest you consider why. i dont have any idea.

  You already tried that one once. Were you incapable of concocting another, or did you think that repeating it would produce the desired result?

I exchanged PMs with billy rubin about this, and he offered the opinion that it would be better addressed publicly rather than through PMs. I think he made a good point. It seems like he's moved on, but I'm going to post my thoughts anyway, because I think it deserves more than the flippant response I posted.

To personalize a discussion in this way is, firstly, a failure in regard to a constructing or defending a valid or sound argument in favour of a position, or in opposition to a position. The opinions of your interlocutor are irrelevant to the facts at hand.

Claiming that there's something amiss in your interlocutor is, even with the best of intentions, an invitation for them to take offence. Your argument is only effective as an argument if it speaks for itself. The personal defects you perceive in the person you're speaking with are irrelevant to whether your argument is valid and sound or not. Nor do their personal deficiencies have any bearing on the soundness of their arguments. A couple of examples:

If the person you're talking with fails to understand your argument even after you've explained it in a couple of different ways, it's legitimate to compare their faulty understanding with the actual argument. Note that you are not addressing any faults that you may believe the person has. Rather you're addressing the distinction between your actual position and your position as they present it.

If you've presented a logical argument, it is a relatively simple matter to go over the points in order, and ask for a response to this. If the person you're talking to is unwilling to accept the logic of your argument, it's legitimate to ask for a sound counter-argument, or at least a clear delineation by them of the faults in your argument. Again, you're addressing the substance of the discussion, not whatever faults or personal defects you may believe have clouded the judgment of your interlocutor.

I've never known judgmental personal remarks to get a positive response. I don't think they have a place in open discussions here and though I dismissed the remarks above, after considering billy rubin's admonition I decided they shouldn't go without further comment.

[Recusant]

There are indeed questionable aspects to the endeavor--humans exploring outside of the gravity well of our planet. I don't believe that the effort in entire is folly, and definitely support it. Neither have I denied that there is a destructive component to the project. As if our species has ever let that stop it. We'd still be living on a planet covered with forests if not for our damned projects.

Here is an edition of Some More News about Elon Musk. A look at the evidence showing the essentially egoistic and contemptuous qualities we can observe in Musk's interpretation of Interplanetary Space Genius. The tail-landing rockets are cool, but somewhat less cool when they might come down on your house. And Musk paid for them, but he didn't have anything to do with getting them to work. It's much deeper than that though.

Subtitle: Hi. Elon Musk will not save us. Sorry.

[Davin]

I like that news program.

I don't remember if it was in that episode or on a podcast, but they were talking about how Elon Musk is a nerd like most nerds who wants to get to a Star Trek future, but skip the huge step where we get rid of money because he still wants to be stupid rich.