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I've been considering the notion that on an unconscious level everyone is good at mathematics, or to be more precise everyone's brains are good at mathematics. There is mathematics involved in everything we do. Signal processing, movement and cognition are just a few examples. I'm not sure...

I find I go through cycles of interests with reading being one of them. However in the last year or so I've noticed that I read a lot less fiction and more random articles/blogs on the net. Fiction can be so draining for me. I'll get so caught up in the narrative that when it ends I feel...

@Happy Facts are facts and opinions are opinions. Sometimes they overlap as in when a person's opinions are the same as facts. It's a fact (not an opinion) that the Earth and Moon orbit around a common centre of gravity. It used to be a respected opinion that the Earth was the centre of...

@Grayman So, would I be considered abnormal if I change my beliefs based on new factual evidence provided to me?

Is there a specific term for people who can't (or won't) be convinced by factual evidence? Would delusional be an accurate term? An acquaintance of mine thinks the moon landing was a hoax and he refuses to acknowledge any factual evidence to the contrary. My neighbour is a YEC and refuses to...

Intuition is all well and good as a motivator. However, like everything else it can be taken too far. If you ignore reality in favour of your intuition you are probably on the wrong path.

I think tradition is quite adequate as a guide but blind adherence to it more often than not leads to negative outcomes. Tradition for tradition's sake is one of my pet hates. The abandonment of tradition in favour of new methods should seriously be considered when you can't explain why a...

What about a (hypothetical) simulated human brain running on a computer? Would any art it creates be human made or computer made?

Very funny How about the following two poems? Which was written by a human and which by a computer? Poem 1 - A home transformed by the lightning the balanced alcoves smother this insatiable earth of a planet, Earth. They attacked it with mechanical horns because they love you...

There are two paintings before you. One is painted by a person, the other by a computer. You don't know who/what created which and both paintings seem quite artistic. Which painting is art?

Wouldn't free will be a-causal by it's very nature?

I don't believe claims of free will unless the claimant can explain how they are able to consciously control the physical forces of the universe in which they exist and are a part of. I think most people confuse the notions of free will and agency.

Any distinction between human made art and computer made art is based on the perceptions of the end user. If they believe a person created a piece of art they will believe it to be art regardless of whether or not the creator was actually a person or a computer.

The main point I'm trying to make is that most of our wants/needs are meaningless. As long as our senses can be fooled without us caring about it until we know better then our wants are meaningless. If you think you are happy/fulfilled then you probably are, regardless of reality.

I've been thinking about this for quite some time and I still don't really know how to express my point. In much of what we do in our lives how important is truth (or to be more exact, an accurate perception of reality)? I don't mean this in terms of beneficial falsehoods but rather deceptions...

@Pyropyro I wasn't meaning to imply it's the kid's fault. The fault lies with the parents and the society. Why have kids if you can't afford to support them?

@Pyropyro We have two very different ways of viewing the world that I'm quite sure are culturally informed. The mindset of a person who thinks it was a luxury to not have to work during childhood blows my mind.

I find any familial obligations a bit hard to fathom. By my reasoning we owe more to our friends than family because we choose our friends yet are born into our family. How can there be expectations placed on a person when they didn't choose the position they are in? So, children owe their...

@Cheeseumpuffs I was referring to the 'touch wood' superstition. Regarding police and jaywalking, two of my friends have been charged with it. I suppose it depends on where you are. @Brontosaurie You're right, I probably won't carry this through. It is merely a 'what if'.

If it is wrong to take advantage of people's superstitions would it also be wrong for police to charge a person with jay walking if they crossed a road to avoid a black cat or a ladder?

@Brontosaurie I fail to see the link between burglary and taking advantage of people's superstitions. From where do you get the notion I am morally destitute? @Perfectly Normal Beast Whilst you are correct that religions are superstitions I was trying to focus on the non-religious...

I'm trying to come up with various methods by which I could wrought superstitious people of their money (based on their stupid beliefs). Examples; - Release a black cat in a neighbourhood and collect money to capture it. - Find houses that have had a murder/suicide occur within them and offer...

I remember hearing a theory that language developed as a means of constructing thoughts and was later adapted for communication with others.

But, can it be said that your father truly gave you a gift if you were not yet alive to receive a gift? Did he intend for 'you' to be born or just any offspring or were you an accident?

Suicide is not even an ethical or moral issue. AFAIK morality and ethics deal with how we treat others. @Haim I don't see how life can be a gift. Gifts require a giver and a receiver. Prior to one's existence they aren't a receiver so there can be no gift giving.

^ I think this is the best explanation. Whilst most of these experiences resonate with me on some level, I know I don't lack object constancy. I'm sure most of us have experienced the Tetris Effect which seems to imply that we don't lack object constancy.

We compromise so that neither party 'wins' at the expense of the other, but this means that both 'lose' on some level. Whilst I understand that compromise is usually desirable it really irks me when people claim that compromise is all important and refuse to acknowledge that some positions...

I've often wondered about 'higher power' computational systems running on various substrates. However, my ideas usually involved crystalline or protein structures. Ultimately these questions lead me to more questions regarding the fundamental nature of computation. Do hardware and software...

Is anyone here aware of any movies in which characters are too busy kissing (at an inappropriate time) and they get killed? I would love to be in a cinema watching a movie in which a couple can't control themselves when they should be running or fighting and instead start making out only to...

It didn't help recover my youth but it enabled me to better relate to a few of the characters. Maybe I'm reading too much into it in hindsight but it seemed to be a limited commentary on the fucked nature of modern society and how image driven it is.

This has probably been done before, but what is your most hated movie and why? I'll start with mine. After Earth Such a slow, boring, empty film made so much worse for me because it was a science fiction. I can't imagine how bad I would have thought it had I watched it with high expectations.

I've only seen the first of the series, but it seems okay for what it is. A rather mindless attempt at humour. Maybe it resonated with me on some level as I was feeling the loss of my youth at about the time I watched it. @RaBind When I first starting reading this I couldn't help but assume...

I've never understood the whole cheerleader thing. Maybe that has something to do with living in Australia where they are a rarity. Then again, I don't understand the whole team sports thing anyway.

Re: Make it mandatory Rather than focusing on exercise aimed at the kids we should we targeting the adults that should know better. Instead of making physical activity mandatory why don't we put laws in place that make it illegal to consume more calories than one uses. Most obesity can be...

It seems that both you and your sister are quite judgmental in regards to porn. Why must this be an issue solely about him choosing porn over your sister? It could be said just as easily that your sister is so hung up on porn that she would rather a life without it rather than a life with it...

Sorry to be the one to tell you this but there is no such thing as 'porn addiction'. Maybe he has a compulsion but I wouldn't go so far as to claim addiction. As far as I know, the research seems to show that so called porn addicts just have a higher libido.

Hello All, I hope you enjoyed your forced break from the forum. Anyway, recently I got into an disagreement with my brother regarding the meaning of the word Homophobia. I believe there should be two terms, homophobia and homomisia (fear and hatred). This got me thinking about how to use the...

I've always wondered why the Mayan calendar is special. Surely other calendars are equally as legitimate. What is significant about their calendar that it can mark the passing of 'ages'? Is this new period of time (an age) that we are supposedly entering universal or is it localised to Earth...

I can still remember when I was in uni ('96-'98) and some-one showed me a video of a woman shooting herself in the head. Freaked me out for quite a while. Now it's just a faded memory that I thankfully can't clearly recall. As for animal porn - if the animal isn't fighting to escape I see no...

I might be able to comment on this if there was anything other than '1' to comment on.

I couldn't have done a better job explaining it than Redbaron. The same gradual changes can be seen in living animals that are Ring Species. Replace time with distance.

I think part of the issue with the riddle is that most people aren't aware that the change from a 'pre-chicken' to a chicken was a gradual change.

To begin, we need a concise definition of troll. Too often have I witnessed the term being used against naysayers or anyone that disagrees with or critiques an argument. Maybe I have thicker skin than most others but I have never really understood the flack that is targeted at 'trolls'. I...

My whole reason why I continue smoking marijuana is to suppress my dreams. My life is so dull and boring compared to my dreams. Add to this an exceptionally addictive personality and I found myself trying to spend more time asleep and dreaming than awake.

In my arrogance as a law abiding citizen (mostly) I have this belief that violent criminals should turn themselves in or else face double or triple sentencing. Anyway, is it expecting too much of these criminals to actually take legal responsibility for their crimes? To clarify, I'm not...

Why is only one of the following statements acceptable in society? - Everyone is beautiful - Everyone is ugly - Everyone is tall - Everyone is blonde - Everyone is skinny - etc

Thanks for all the responses. I wonder what it is about INTPs that allow us to see through all of the crap. @Nanook As usual I don't really understand you. I think there is some sort of language divide. @Yellow I couldn't have said it better myself...

I realise that I have no way of knowing if anyone here actually believes that 'Everyone is Beautiful', however this is one of the few communities I have ANY involvement in so I figured I'd ask this question here. If everyone is beautiful does that mean everyone is physically attractive? If...

So, if we discover (or are discovered by) an alien species that possesses intelligence and music and any other human trait you care to mention are they also to be considered human? It seems as though people are always trying to set themselves apart from the rest of nature in some way or...

That's very much a part of my reasoning. @ All I have no issue with donating my body to science.