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Thanks for all the responses. I've only just woken up so this will just be a few quick points. - I'm not sure that it is fear of the unknown as I doubt these people are fearful of tomorrow pr turning a corner or crossing a crested hill. - A fear of losing control would also result in being...

It seems only logical to me that if a person fears x then they should also fear anything with a greater chance than x of occurring. A few examples; - People afraid of strangers should also fear friends and family as statistically we are more likely to be hurt by a loved one. - People afraid of...

Apparently every single community has a list of taboo topics. Kind of dissapointing that our taboo topics are the same as those of society in general.

I'm so disappointed that there is such a double standard for circumcision regarding boys and girls. If it is a girl it is automatically considered mutilation (FGM) despite the fact that at least 2 of the 5 forms of female circumcision practiced don't even involve the removal of any body parts...

Thanks for all of the responses. I was starting to think my daughter and I were in the wrong. My daughter knows why she is being bullied, but as she has pointed out to her mother the why doesn't matter. Bullying is wrong. My daughter knows karate but she doesn't want to use it in a 'real'...

My daughter (16) is going through an issue with being bullied. Nothing too bad, but enough to upset her. The other day she asked me why everyone is always making excuses for the bullies. Apparently her teachers and even her mother (my ex) have repeatedly told her that her bully is obviously...

Yes, rape (by a male) requires sexual arousal. This implies that all prison rape is carried out by homosexuals or bisexuals. Why do you think rape is a learned behaviour? It seems more likely that not raping is a learned behaviour. Non-human animals rape, implying it is a natural behaviour...

I hate to be the one to ask this but what definition of racism are you using? What you are describing seems more like in-group vs out-group dynamics.

I may be a bit late to all of this but here goes. No one seems to have mentioned bisexual individuals (maybe I missed it) and the possible role they could play in the heritability of homosexuality. Other than a search for truth, does it matter? What I mean is that this search for truth can...

@Grayman So a repeatable test in a controlled environment would be required? What if the environment can't be controlled? For example what if the studied environment was the solar system, how could it be controlled?

How exactly can causation of anything be proven (beyond any doubt)? Most of the time when I hear about x causing y it is just a correlation between x and y. Cigarettes and lung cancer, poverty and crime, etc. It seems rather unethical to claim knowledge of a cause when at best you have...

@sushi Wouldn't curvature be impossible to determine in an infinite universe? At any scale in which we observe the universe, wouldn't space appear 'flat'? @Cognisant All paths on the surface of a sphere are three dimensional. If you were to take a two dimensional path you would have to leave...

Just as the title asks. I'm not asking who determines whether or not something is funny as that seems to be a purely subjective determination. But whether or not something is a joke is a matter of fact. A person need not find every joke funny. Have any of you ever judged something to not...

In a perfect world everyone would choose to do the right thing and there would be no need for governments to compel us.

I think the term I am looking for is Regressive Tax. But all of the definitions of tax rates seem to focus on the percentage of income paid into taxes as opposed to the actual dollar amount which seems a bit disingenuous. Progressive Tax - The higher the income the higher the tax rate...

The size of the community is irrelevant to my question. I'm just wondering what the name is for a tax system that charges everyone an equal figure.

What type of tax charges everyone the same dollar value (not tax rate)? As in the expenditure of a community divided by the population of a community. It's not a Flat Tax as that only refers to percentages.

@Pizzabeak I'm not exactly sure how to reply to any of that.

@Cognisant We know the exact value of pi. It is pi.

Is there any productive activity that due to it's very nature can't be automated even with the use of some future Super AI? Personally, I think not. It seems to me that if a 'system' is capable enough then it can learn any activity that humans can. I'm not saying that everything that can be...

It seems obvious to me that I should value my life more than anyone else values my life. If I am not willing to compensate someone for saving my life (I opt out of the system) I must not value it very much. How can I expect someone else to value it more than I do? It seems wrong to expect...

Can a person receive financial compensation for saving someone else's life? For example, a percentage of their income until they die. Nothing is free. If I don't want to pay for my life to potentially be saved then I have an opt-out card (like organ donors) and no-one has to save me. The...

@Serac How so? We are Great Apes which is a family of Apes AFAIK.

Every single one of us is an ape. One can't be a human if one isn't an ape. Therefore to claim that someone isn't an ape is to deny them their humanity. Actually it is saying they aren't even closely related to us.

@lightfire No, I compared the dislike of porn with the dislike of a mullet or corduroy pants. @Polaris I think I'd have to take that up with my daughter or partner. @Minuend I can't really see a reason why any of that would be a problem. If the co-worker is a consenting adult what is the...

If not wanting to see something at work is all that is required then anyone I work with shouldn't wear corduroy pants or sport a mullet. This comes back to who decides whether a want is legitimate. If the argument is one of numbers then in a workplace where the majority of employees are...

@Cognisant - So if I were offended by dyed hair would the other workers not dye their hair in an attempt to not offend me? Or is there someone who decides which feelings of offense are justified? @redbaron - But why do they care? If it is about a loss of productivity I'd assume they would...

So, chatting or browsing social media (neither of which are work) are also frowned upon to the same extent? I don't think the issue is sexual arousal as I have seen the NSFW tag appear with content that is not sexually arousing at all. Besides, why ban the content that causes sexual arousal...

But why would HR care?

I have never been able to understand the point of NSFW tags in any situation outside of working with children. What does it even mean? Does something have to be illegal to be classified as NSFW? Let's use pornography as an example. How does it cause harm to anybody if they see it in...

- People that believe there are multiple truths. - People that insist all language is only descriptive. - People who believe things for no good reason. - People who value feelings over facts. - People who believe all cultures are equal.

Some interesting points have been raised. I think the notion of species is somewhat malleable. And maybe the boundaries are a bit fuzzy (sometimes more so than others). For example ring species and the like.

I've been reading a bit about various hybrids that exist in nature (liger, wolphin, pizzly bear, etc) which has raised a few questions. Are hybrids considered to be a new species if they can breed true? Maybe an isolated population is required (not sure). If a population of humans are found...

How could a society eradicate unwanted behaviours in it's citizens and would this even be desirable? For example, murder is widely considered as wrong/immoral. What could a society do to completely eradicate murder? Would any solution be worth the cost in personal freedom?

Too many people seem to become offended for the sake of others. Usually hypothetical others. I'm not sure if it is an over active sense of empathy or just virtue signalling. Some groups see their cause as a moral issue and some people (maybe most) believe that they have an obligation to...

I believe it is to help distinguish between a and o.

I'm a bit surprised no one has mention the cetaceans. They have complex social structures, languages and cultures. They may lack tool usage but I think that is due to environmental constraints. I'm reminded of the two dominant 'cultures' that orcas have based on their respective food supply...

Whenever I hear people claim that something is impossible or will never happen I am reminded of all the people that said humans will never fly (in machines) or go to the moon. I think the only time you can realistically make such a statement is for things that are physically or logically...

I recently got into an argument with a family member regarding the moral status of stereotyping. They claim it is always wrong. I disagree. Is it wrong to stereotype sharks as dangerous? If not, is that because they don't have feelings as we know them? Most people have no problem making...

More often than not moral decisions seem to be shaped by disgust.

What about greed and jealousy? Greed - A rich person kills to increase their wealth. Jealousy - A scorned lover/spouse kills their ex because if they can't have them no one can. I'm sure there are many other 'primal' reasons for murder as well as all of the 'rational' reasons. I'm not quite...

To a lesser extant this also applies to all relationships. Beyond that, I think we need to trust someone's expressed motivations and desires until given a reason to do otherwise. I realise that some might consider incest to be such a reason, but I'm quite confident a psychological expert...

I think a distinction needs to be made regarding the different forms of incest. There is a vast difference between a loving and consensual relationship and an exploitive one. If you wish to argue against reproductive incest on the basis of genetic health then you would logically also have to...

@Happy Carp (when it is properly prepared) is one of the best freshwater fish I have ever had the pleasure of eating. As an added benefit they have a good bone to flesh ratio.

I'm not sure if anyone else here shares my interest in language and semantics, so I apologise in advance if this seems boring and/or meaningless. I'm sure that most English speakers are aware of the fact that literally can sometimes mean figuratively. In these situations would it be correct to...

Worse than black market or back alley abortions (in some regards) are self performed abortions. Without going too far into the details (because I don't know them), my grandmother and two of her sisters-in-law carried out abortions on themselves using knitting needles. In the case of my...

Whilst I realise anecdote doesn't equal data, I have never met anyone who wishes they had been aborted. I know victims of abuse, poverty and disease and none of them want to have been aborted.

I think a lot of people are neglecting to think about the physical toll of pregnancy and labour on the woman. It's not a popular opinion but motherhood ruins a woman's body when comparing it to her pre-pregnancy body. Anyway, as long as men aren't required to take the risks they shouldn't have...

I can give no rational reason. I only have my intuition to guide me which is fallible. It seems to me that many natural phenomena can be explained with few mathematical concepts. Mathematics are the 'building blocks' of nature.

I think people have it backwards. It's not a mathematical model of nature. Rather, it's a natural/physical expression of a mathematical structure. Maybe that's a distinction without a difference. I think this is an issue of dualism though I may be misunderstanding you. I believe we are our...