08-31-2009, 07:24 PM | #2821 | |
The Major Grubert.
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People don't wear enough hats.
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09-01-2009, 01:03 AM | #2822 |
Not like them!
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09-01-2009, 01:05 PM | #2823 |
Unreliable Narrator
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1. Most of it. I've come to think of myself as some kind of heroic underdog anti-hero archetype, and find myself allying with others who feel the same, mainly because I was treated badly by my peers as a young child.
2. I didn't like loud noises when I was little, but primarily play loud brass instruments today... what's up with that? 3. Similar enough that you'd quickly be able to tell they're my parents. *** 1. Do you believe there's such a thing as "human nature", and if so, what is it? 2. Do you make as much, less, or more money compared to your parents? 3. Have you ever had someone sing to you?
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Squinky is always right, but only for certain values of "always" and "right". |
09-01-2009, 04:04 PM | #2824 |
Not like them!
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1. There are two sides to human nature. They sometimes conflict with each other, but neither one is in itself hard to understand.
First, you're trying to satisfy your body. So you'd like to get yourself into situations where you won't be hungry, where you're sitting comfortably, where you don't have to exert yourself. The important thing is comfort. Also, you'd like to see things that please your eye, and hear things that please your ear, and all that. You try to construct a model of behavior that'll keep you happy on this basic level. Second, you're trying to find opportunities. Opportunities to talk, opportunities to think, opportunities to act. Anything that gets you the opportunity to do something is perceived as good, and anything that takes away opportunities to do things is seen as bad. The point of doing one action is to then be presented with two possible actions as a result. When you don't have opportunities, you try to get some. When you have opportunities, you make every effort to preserve them and then try to get more. I truly believe that almost all human behavior is the result of these two basic patterns. 2. I don't make money. 3. Um, what? What does that mean? Like, if I was a baby once and family members sang me lullabies to get me to sleep, is that what you're talking about? I find it hard to believe that there's anyone who's never had anyone sing to them. Or are you speaking of a particular kind of song, like a love song or something? If you clarify your question, I'll clarify my answer. ===========================================
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09-01-2009, 05:08 PM | #2825 | |
merely human
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2. My brother (who is a physicist and works at JPL at Caltech), just 5 minutes from me. We love each other but don't really bond like you see in the movies (ethnic families can be this way). 3. H/She would be the amalgamation of all the worst traits of everyone in my family, including me. ---------------------- 1. What do you think of Imogen Heap's new album, Ellipse? 2. Name at least one musician who you would take with you on a stroll in your neighbourhood (via MP3 player) or a jaunt through town. 3. Name a track in your music library that you hadn't listened to in the longest time.
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platform: laptop, iPhone 3Gs | gaming: x360, PS3, psp, iPhone, wii | blog: a space alien | book: the moral landscape: how science can determine human values by sam harris | games: l.a.noire, portal 2, brink, dragon age 2, heavy rain | sites: NPR, skeptoid, gaygamer | music: ray lamontagne, adele, washed out, james blake | twitter: a_space_alien |
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09-18-2009, 01:34 PM | #2826 | |
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2. Squinky or Trumgottist. 3. 'Common People' by Paul Young. -_-_-_-_-_- 1. Why do people fear death? 2. Where does fantasy come from? 3. How do you know you are self-conscious? |
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09-18-2009, 03:36 PM | #2827 |
Unreliable Narrator
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1. Probably some kind of evolutionary survival mechanism.
2. Imagination, which I believe is humanity's greatest strength. 3. Because, uh, I frequently get anxious about saying or doing the right thing in front of other people? *** 1. Do you think it will ever be possible for humans to fall in love with artificial intelligences (as seen in this xkcd)? 2. Have you ever talked like a pirate on any day other than Talk Like A Pirate Day? 3. What's your favourite Python sketch?
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Squinky is always right, but only for certain values of "always" and "right". |
09-19-2009, 12:58 PM | #2828 | |
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2. In fact it was yesterday. A friend of mine has a pirate curse generator on his iPhone and we had some fun with that. 3. I'm not a big Python fan but I liked the 'what have the Romans brought us?' scene from Life of Brian. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Do you mend your clothes yourself if they are broken? 2. Do you like to dress to stand out, or do you rather blend into the background? 3. Do you like to give speeches for an audience? |
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09-21-2009, 02:18 PM | #2829 |
Unreliable Narrator
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1. No, I'm hopeless with sewing machines. The only part of home ec I enjoyed was cooking.
2. Blend in, generally, but I also like to have something amusing on my shirts to spark conversations. There are, however, many special occasions in which I like to wear a silly hat and/or a costume. 3. Absolutely. My favourite part is when everyone shows up in their underwear. *** 1. Do people find you humourous? 2. To what extent do you believe in your own sanity? 3. Have you ever refused to answer a question because you didn't like how said question was asked?
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Squinky is always right, but only for certain values of "always" and "right". |
09-21-2009, 07:01 PM | #2830 |
The Greater
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1. Yes, actually.
2. Hmm. Interesting question. To be honest, I don't really see myself as possessing any degree of sanity. I'm a logical, rational person, and I have the added bonus of compassion and a conscience, so that makes sanity irrelevant for me. Whatever amount I have hasn't affected my life so far. 3. No, because I'm a smartass and so would rather answer the question in a snarky way than avoid the question. ~~~ 1. Why do I have an impulse to go trainsurfing every time a train goes by? 2. Why do I have no problems with things other people think are insane, like, as said above, trainsurfing? 3. After being in a sociology class, I have to ask, what is so fucked up with society?
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Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. -Cliff Bleszinski Last edited by Giligan; 09-21-2009 at 07:09 PM. |
09-21-2009, 07:13 PM | #2831 | |
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2. Because you haven't grown up yet. Most men don't ever grow up. Please don't ever grow up, because grown-up men are very scary. 3. I would rather ask WHY society is messed up the way it is. --- 1. Why is society messed up the way it is? 2. What do you think is the first step in improving our society? 3. Is society really more messed up than it used to be? |
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09-22-2009, 09:28 AM | #2832 |
Unreliable Narrator
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1. With all our growing scientific and technological advances, the world we live in has gotten (metaphorically) smaller, and as such, we're forced to deal with more people of different cultures and traditions than we did previously.
2. Learning to accept people who are different from us, and recognising our societal privilege -- chances are, if you can access this website, you have privilege of some sort -- and accepting responsibility for our actions. 3. Society was always messed up. It's just that now, due to the circumstances I mentioned above, we're forced to be aware of it. *** 1. What's bad about growing up? 2. What's good about growing up? 3. Do you think women are more pressured to grow up than men are, and if so, why/why not?
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Squinky is always right, but only for certain values of "always" and "right". |
09-22-2009, 07:16 PM | #2833 | |
The Major Grubert.
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People don't wear enough hats.
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09-23-2009, 04:09 AM | #2834 |
Not like them!
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09-23-2009, 10:05 AM | #2835 | ||
Unreliable Narrator
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2. Game design, because I've dedicated my livelihood to it. 3. I still continue to express very pleasant surprise when a man demonstrates that he's in touch with his emotions. *** 1. How nurturing are you? 2. How dominant are you? 3. Do you think we, as a society, have much use for the concept that some people are "typical" and other people are "exceptions"?
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Squinky is always right, but only for certain values of "always" and "right". |
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09-23-2009, 12:49 PM | #2836 | ||
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That said, I don't think men are by definition the dominant sex. I know enough couples where the lady 'wears the pants,' so to speak. The fact that men are dominant in most societies is probably a cultural thing. There are societies where women are the dominant sex. Now to answer questions 1 and 2: Many people have called me 'miss,' either on purpose or by accident. Apparently I have many female characteristics. I do feel the need to nurture sick people in my environment and to check on my friends' well-being every now and then. And about my dominance: I think you'd better ask my friends and ex-colleagues. I don't consider myself very dominant. 3. What we do need is a model for 'the average person.' The average person has length this with standard deviation that, and IQ (whatever that is) 100 with standard deviation so. But the average person does not exist, so we are all exceptions. ------ 1. Would you rather be a nurturing women than a dominant man? 2. What do you think are good characteristics of a boss/manager? 3. Do you see any differences in the way female bosses and politicians handle their work compared to men in the same position? If yes, what are those differences? |
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09-23-2009, 01:03 PM | #2837 | |
the midnight rambler
Join Date: Jun 2009
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Also, how does sexuality fit into this? If the brain is a blank slate equal to all others when born then what determines our sexuality? Is homosexuality, even heterosexuality a choice, a decision imposed upon us or is it built in? It's overly simplistic to say that everything we are is purely nurtured and not nature. Up to a point I believe it's nature and beyond that well who knows. Interesting question Speck with an interesting answer Mory. I'll get my coat. EDIT: Thanks tsa for your answer too!
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Now playing: Demon's Souls & UFO: Enemy Unknown Next game: AI Wars: Fleet Command, Sanitarium or Broken Sword. Favourite games: Planescape: Torment, Day of the Tentacle, Portal, World of Goo, Thief: The Dark Project Last edited by geggis; 09-23-2009 at 01:11 PM. |
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09-23-2009, 01:16 PM | #2838 |
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Thank you for your answer too geggis! You added beautifully the things I couldn't put into words.
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09-23-2009, 02:17 PM | #2839 | |||
Not like them!
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09-23-2009, 02:37 PM | #2840 | ||
Unreliable Narrator
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Gee, you say that like it's a bad thing or something!
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2. I respect bosses and managers who are talented at what they do, who don't feel the need to step on other people to get to where they are, and who are good at mentoring people who aspire to excel in their field. I am fortunate to be working for such a person at this point in time. 3. In terms of actual performance, I've seen more evidence that there's greater variance between individuals than there exists between genders. In terms of public perception, however, one recurring trend I see is that females in positions of responsibility are more likely to have their failures attributed to their gender, whereas males are only blamed individually, as seen in my favourite xkcd comic. EDIT: Oops, Mory beat me to tsa's questions, so I'll answer his. Quote:
2. My father is great with kids, and I have at least a couple of very dear male friends who have a sense of empathy I can only aspire to. 3. Psychonauts. *** 1. What, in your mind, is feminism? 2. Do you consider yourself a feminist? If not, do you consider yourself a feminist ally? Why/why not? 3. Does it make sense to you for a person to say "I'm not a feminist, but I believe that men and women are equal," and why/why not?
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Squinky is always right, but only for certain values of "always" and "right". |
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