Philosophy Now Forum

Walker wrote:Your only reaction is to say No.

Lacewing wrote:Where are you coming up with this?

Walker wrote:You know what? I'm going to take the time. I'm going to assume you are not being a jerk. Hang-on, I'll explain. It likely will be tedious and boring.

Walker, you know NOTHING about me... so I don't know what you think you're talking about. You can spare me whatever convoluted opinion you have about me, or about human behavior in general. Just stick to the point of your statement. What have I said specifically that made you say that?

Walker wrote:I know things that other people don’t know, and I can see the errors when people talk about those things.

Anyone could say or think this (and MANY do)... it means nothing. We're not talking about proven facts. We're talking about your own perspective. That is not the universe. Your perspective is not ultimate truth. It does not override all other perspectives. There is much that you DON'T SEE and CAN'T SEE. If you're going to continually assess other people in such detail when you have no real clue of who they are, then your views aren't going to be as intelligent or as valid as you might hope. You're making up a lot of stuff about others... and I can only guess it's to serve and elevate yourself somehow.

You know what, Lacewing?
I prepared the response, as I said I would.
It is tedious and boring, as I thought it would be.
At post time, I see you added some thoughts.
They tell me, don't bother.
That's fine.
So as usual, what you see is what you get.

You have no need to hear.
I have no need to tell.
No problem.

But hey!
It's a great day for a walk.

Lacewing wrote: Walker, you know NOTHING about me... so I don't know what you think you're talking about. You can spare me whatever convoluted opinion you have about me, or about human behavior in general. Just stick to the point of your statement. What have I said specifically that made you say that?

Dear Lacewing, I know the world is impartial and for me, best approached with rationality as the default, to be moved from stillness by yes.

I know you're a nice person.

Walker wrote:I know you're a nice person.

Thanks.

For what it's worth, I embrace "yes" to an uncommon degree.

Lacewing wrote: That's an interesting concept. As you pointed out, details about people are not part of these interactions -- it doesn't matter who/what someone says or thinks they are -

But don't you find, at least some of the time, that you're imagination tends to invent physical forms to go with the personalities of the posters? I find it particularly so when there is an avatar, I can't help being influenced by it.

Harbal wrote:But don't you find, at least some of the time, that you're imagination tends to invent physical forms to go with the personalities of the posters? I find it particularly so when there is an avatar, I can't help being influenced by it.

Well... I tend to think that you look exactly like your avatar (and wearing the hat too). Am I close?

We know what Gary and Bill look like. I imagine that Greta looks smart. I imagine that Bob looks confused and angry. And Walker wears a sweater. Other than that, I don't really think about people's appearance that much. If we all met in a bar, it would be really confusing to have all these strange faces associated with the disembodied spirits I've been communicating with.

http://www.flamewarriorsguide.com/warri ... sopher.htm

-Imp

Harbal wrote:

Lacewing wrote: That's an interesting concept. As you pointed out, details about people are not part of these interactions -- it doesn't matter who/what someone says or thinks they are -

But don't you find, at least some of the time, that you're imagination tends to invent physical forms to go with the personalities of the posters? I find it particularly so when there is an avatar, I can't help being influenced by it.

I will agree with that. Even without an avatar, we do tend to give physical shapes to people and more often than not they look completely different in real life.

Lacewing wrote: Well... I tend to think that you look exactly like your avatar (and wearing the hat too). Am I close?
.

Not exactly like it but there may be a slight similarity. The hat is, in fact, a mortar board and I tend to only wear it, along with my gown, in private by special request.

Harbal wrote:The hat is, in fact, a mortar board and I tend to only wear it, along with my gown, in private by special request.

Intriguing!!

Lacewing wrote:

Harbal wrote:But don't you find, at least some of the time, that you're imagination tends to invent physical forms to go with the personalities of the posters? I find it particularly so when there is an avatar, I can't help being influenced by it.

Well... I tend to think that you look exactly like your avatar (and wearing the hat too). Am I close?

We know what Gary and Bill look like. I imagine that Greta looks smart. I imagine that Bob looks confused and angry. And Walker wears a sweater. Other than that, I don't really think about people's appearance that much. If we all met in a bar, it would be really confusing to have all these strange faces associated with the disembodied spirits I've been communicating with.

Well Bob certainly looks confused. I don't know about 'angry' though.

Walker wrote:You know what, Lacewing?
I prepared the response, as I said I would.
It is tedious and boring, as I thought it would be.
At post time, I see you added some thoughts.
They tell me, don't bother.
That's fine.
So as usual, what you see is what you get.

You have no need to hear.
I have no need to tell.
No problem.

But hey!
It's a great day for a walk.

So you promise a lot and give nothing, which only indicates to me that you were looking for an excuse to deny that you had nothing to begin with.

Agree with Dalek about being more philosophically pushy in real life. It's always a blunder. I tend to have a better time if I avoid speaking about philosophy with friends and family, other than a few individuals on select occasions. I tend to be about as blunt in real life as I am online, the joys of ADHD. I can control myself for a while but in the end someone will piss me off enough for my "nice" facade to break down.

Popularity and connection are fine things, but so are freedom and independence. It's not easy to balance those qualities, and any such harmonious balance there would seem inherently unstable and need tons of effort to maintain.

Lacewing wrote:I imagine that Greta looks smart.

Glasses - check. Crazy hair - check. Sandals and socks (in winter in the house) - check. My sartorial approach tends towards gear suitable for playing with dogs, bushwalking and gardening - but only to formal occasions like weddings and funerals. Otherwise I tend to dress down more. The only time I wear gowns is for colonoscopies.

LW, I imagine you as tending towards a gypsy look, jewellery and retro gear bought from second hand shops. Younger and much more attractive lol. I suppose the name "Lacewing" suggests that all on its own.

I tend to imagine Alec as a somewhat balding Pommie bloke, about 5'10", glasses in middle age, with just a bit of a gut coming on in middle age after being trim as a young 'un. Tends towards plain open collar shirts and black jeans, although very likely black t-shirts too.

I imagine Bob as a big guy with a fat boozy nose, a full beard, hefty girth and a gun. Tending towards check shirts and work boots.

I picture Dalek as a ectomorph, tall and wiry. No beard, kindly face, glasses in middle age. Pretty well opposite to squat, polka-dot skirted machines with one eye on a stalk. Wears dark clothes.

I suspect that most of those arguing the theistic cause to mostly be in their 20s or early 30s.

That's probably enough trouble to get myself into for now. Preemptive apologies to those I've almost certainly misrepresented :)

thedoc wrote:

Walker wrote:You know what, Lacewing?
I prepared the response, as I said I would.
It is tedious and boring, as I thought it would be.
At post time, I see you added some thoughts.
They tell me, don't bother.
That's fine.
So as usual, what you see is what you get.

You have no need to hear.
I have no need to tell.
No problem.

But hey!
It's a great day for a walk.

So you promise a lot and give nothing, which only indicates to me that you were looking for an excuse to deny that you had nothing to begin with.

Ain’t it a shame … that you misinterpret a statement of fact to be a promise.

This is a good read for folks puffed-up with self-congratulatory bloat. I offer it with compassion.

Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
Trungpa Rinpoche

*

I took a morning walk of three repeated circles, a total of three miles. At one point I paused about a hundred feet from a utility work crew that was talking, but not working. I glanced at them and then paused to jot down a few unrelated thoughts, followed by a few more. Attention was on the thoughts, I could care less what that the workers were doing. But when I looked up, all the men had stopped talking and were now working and I thought with a laugh, how about that. The power of the pen. So I jotted another thought. This one.