Phi for All

2 hours ago, Luc Turpin said:

In my view, it is likely a combination of both factors: my limited understanding of specific scientific domains, and the broader human tendency to temporarily reject ideas that challenge deeply held beliefs.

This, this right here is a big part of the problem. Science has NOTHING to do with "deeply held beliefs". Read that a few times, please.

In science, you have to trust what you choose to believe, and evidence is what you can base your trust in. You don't "deeply hold" a belief in chemistry; you perform experiments that show you over and over how various chemicals interact. You don't need faith or wishful thinking, you need to trust what the science has shown you, until it shows you that you need a better explanation. 

You seem to really WANT scientists to be as guilty in their "belief system" as religious folks are. You really WANT science to be just another religion with believers who might be wrong. Science is different because it's not asking you to believe in something that can't be observed or quantified, and it gives you a rigorous methodology for examining evidence that either supports or falsifies an explanation. If you challenge a scientific explanation with actual evidence, if you can devise an experiment that shows the explanation isn't sufficient, and can support that among your peers with testable science, your challenge can't be ignored, especially if it's supported by maths. 

2 hours ago, Luc Turpin said:

While some of the ideas that I present are not fully formed and on the margins of science, isn't the process of presenting new concepts—where they can be reviewed and critiqued by experts like yourself—truly beneficial for all involved?

We've found, over the years, that trying to "think outside the box" requires you to have a firm grasp of what's "inside the box". No offense, but your mistake is in thinking you know enough about the subject to present new concepts. You've skipped the formal study of the subject so you have a bad foundation for understanding, and now you want to propose new concepts to replace the ones that don't make sense to you, because you skipped the formal study. Haven't ALL of your "new concept" threads been shown to have major flaws? You get critiques by experts, but you keep posting your new concepts. At no point do you ever say, "It seems I should take a formal course in this", so I'm not sure where the benefits for all involved are.

22 hours ago, Genady said:

Another "trick" that works for me is, while standing in the shallow, before putting the body in the water, I put my face in or simply splash the cold water on the face. The face does not feel much, but it somehow prepares the whole body, and the shock is diminished quite a lot.

I've observed that fanning cool air to the face makes me feel just as comfortable in the heat as cooling the whole room with AC. It's like if the face feels cool the rest of the body agrees.

dimreepr has been suspended for a week for doubling down on some trolling. 

2 hours ago, dimreepr said:

There's a reason I just pointed and laughed at you... 😪

You can't possibly have any understanding of the reasoning behind this/any feeling/decision, unless you're one of them...

2 hours ago, Trurl said:

Dr. Doom has a bad reputation but his ideas also promise strength. He may make policies that offend other countries but they will respect him.

Does it sound like Canada and Mexico respect the decisions being made by the new administration? Around the world, this is being hailed as the stupidest, most moronic thing any country could do to it's closest allies and neighbors. If you have a trade deficit, perhaps it would be better to make something other countries want rather than punch them in the face for having better goods.

3 hours ago, PrimalMinister said:

My threads, much to my frustration usually get shut down and I don't think it's very much in the spirit of science, especially because it addresses a very serious subject. I may be an amateur but that doesn't stop me from understanding and solving problems within physics.

Something is wrong here. You don't think we approach your discussions in the spirit of science because they often get shut down. There's always a reason why speculative threads are closed. You also say being an amateur doesn't stop you from understanding physics. Why don't you understand the reasons given for shutting your threads down? When a thread is closed because it involves too much guesswork and not enough testable science, why don't you understand that? Why do you think it's not in the spirit of science? Do you think the spirit is supposed to encourage you to be less rigorous in your treatments? This is my frustration. If you understand, why can't you support your ideas using decent methodology? Does this make any sense at all to you?

2 hours ago, dimreepr said:

I was just pointing and laughing...

The events might be designed to reduce the popular momentum a certain modern day Robin Hood is getting. We've been assured they aren't foreign or US military or any threat to the populace. Billionaire distraction? 

The idea of a businessperson being able to lead a country is laughable. Countries don't operate like businesses. Countries HAVE to arrange priorities differently, while every single business needs to make a profit. Profit is NOT on a country's list of priorities anywhere.

A democracy like the US should be paving the way for the success of all its citizens, not just the richest. The billionaires have sucked dry most people's ability to prosper by valuing their own efforts several hundred times more than the efforts of the average person. None of the businessmen who've been POTUS have done anything spectacular for the country. Bush II took a balanced budget and a surplus (federal deficit erased) and left the country with US$3.293T (Trillion) in deficits, and gave away our ability to negotiate drug prices with Big Pharma. TFG was twice as bad in half the time. 

You may love them, but billionaires and businesspeople are NOT out to help others, and that should be the key asset of any politician. Public servants aren't splashy and entertaining, but they also give a shit about everyday people, unlike the billionaires who exploit them for profit. Public servants aren't taught to Deny, Defend, Depose.

On 11/30/2024 at 10:39 PM, Linkey said:

The authors also write that the mainstream Western mass media are silent about this problem or lie.

It may be a focus for this article about a book, but the fact is people all over the world don't trust their media. Russia, China, Japan, the US, the EU, you name the country and the young people there (and many of the older people too) don't trust what their media is telling them. Perhaps we could broaden the focus of this topic, seeing as it's NOT a problem only "the West" is having. 

It's hard to trust people posting on social media as well, considering many are openly pushing their own agendas. Maybe even paid to do so.

This isn't a phenomenon found only in "the West". Russia is having the same problem, as is any country that favors authoritarians that undermine the social fabric of their countries. Costs of living increase, wages don't, and the super wealthy are allowed to use their money in ways they shouldn't be able to. 

The media in the US has no obligation to inform, and instead appreciates when we all have to spend more time deciphering the news. This problem is worldwide, atm.

On 11/5/2024 at 7:47 PM, raphaelh42 said:

because sometimes i like to see what people think about what i do, to debate and learn about myself, i think it's positive

I don't see this as productive at all. You dislike religion, so you create your own?! Non-participation is also an option.

This isn't like saying you dislike store-bought bread so you make your own. This is like saying you dislike your astrological sign so you came up with something you like better. It may not be a specific religion you dislike, but rather the whole concept, in which case it may be better to ignore it completely.

4 hours ago, Sensei said:

This only applies to McDonald's etc, retail, farming etc, i.e. in jobs that anyone can do, without any education, they can easily be replaced by others willing to do so.

You're only comparing salaries. The fact is, even "highly paid" tech workers are being underpaid compared to the profit they bring to the companies. Even a senior engineer salary at Apple is smaller than it should be compared to the US$391B in annual revenue they earned this year. It's been this way in the US for quite some time.

It's pretty easy to see the trend. In the 50s, a household only needed one worker to afford a home, a couple of cars, and even college tuition for a couple of kids. After Nixon, it's been getting steadily worse here, until now most families have two workers and still struggle to maintain a home and vehicles. 

1 hour ago, Trurl said:

I think both Trump and Elon share the same billionaire personality traits and like personalities tend to fight. But this is business.

Billionaire personality traits like paying people less than they're worth so the billionaire can have more? If you look at how productivity in the US continues to grow while wages haven't kept up since Nixon, you can see how billionaires get richer while getting more work from the rest of us for less overall pay. Their profit is basically our struggle. The more they profit, the more the rest of us have to struggle. Billionaire personality trait #1? Pretend your resources are worth 600 times what the labor to turn them into a product is worth, and pay workers as little as possible. Make them struggle.

3 hours ago, TheVat said:

Come on, this is MAGAmerica, so facts don't matter, only appeals to emotion do.  Oh, and answering any criticisms of the Trump administration or the potus's character by telling people they have a "syndrome."  The character of the president and the effects of his policy agenda don't matter; only triggering the oppo and laughing at their TDS.  Some of us wasted our time in the first Trump admin trying to engage with the faithful, no sense in doing that another four years. 

As Paul Simon put it: a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.

I'm done with it. Nobody who voted for him is worth my time if they can't draw a line somewhere. The Access Hollywood tape was the deal-breaker for me, way back then. It was morally indefensible, but politically acceptable for some. Now I can say proudly that I consider consent to be important, and you know exactly who I voted for.

2 hours ago, Logos said:

The "he's a racist" narrative isn't going to work, and there's no litmus test for determining who is a racist and who isn't, beyond common sense which doesn't likely apply to Trump.

It's easier than you think, you just have to be honest. I'm far too racist for my own tastes, but I'm learning and growing. I've lived with racism my entire life, and I don't fool myself into thinking it hasn't affected me, and that helps me avoid discrimination (for the most part).

2 hours ago, Logos said:

It's merely a talking point which has been in use since the very beginning, and most likely doesn't relate to actual policy or actions, but rather tangential things. Pointing out that he has racists who support him, for example, is a strategy that has been in use long before Trump ran for office (similar talking points were used against Ron Paul, for example).

I'm sorry you feel that way. I see it as an attempt to overturn the rule of law, and normalize discrimination by taking a moral stance and trying to make it political. I don't see equal rights as a talking point, but you obviously do.

3 hours ago, Logos said:

If you keep up with this, you'll eventually have to try to argue that more than half of Americans are racists, fascists, or Nazis due to having voted for him, and that narrative simply won't fly due to being one of the most common and uneducated talking points used by opposition. It's proven ineffective in two elections, so coming up with something more original is likely in order.

I absolutely am arguing that more than half of Americans are racists. I don't appreciate your lumping the rest in as a strawman, I have no patience for that crap anymore. Fascism is also applicable, but is a separate argument.

I think any white American who thinks this society hasn't taught them to discriminate against many different groups is just trying to make a distinction between themselves and the more obvious racists who don't want to change. You can have racist thoughts and realize they're wrong, that they're part of an upbringing that you need to unlearn.

What's proven ineffective in two elections is stopping the interference from foreign powers using our lack of informative sources to prejudice the American people. The media is entertainment rather than information, and coupled with an uneducated electorate we get folks voting to remove their own rights and safeguards. Good luck without NOAA, Florida!

3 hours ago, Trurl said:

Well she wasn’t chosen Biden had medical problems. Problems that appear to be most of his term.

What do you mean "she wasn't chosen"? She was elected as VP, voted into office by the People. What's the role of the VP, you might ask? One part is to take over when the president can't fulfill the duties. 

And Biden left us one of the strongest economies in recent history. So strong it encouraged US corporations to price gouge their own customers, knowing the uneducated would blame Biden, as if POTUS has control over private companies and what they charge.

4 hours ago, Trurl said:

I saw a video of Harris where she boasted she could ruin someone’s life with the swipe of a pen. In this video she says that she wouldn’t even have to go to trail, she’d bankrupt them.

And yet you don't bother to link to it here. I'm going to assume you made it up.

OTOH, TFG has decades of ruining people's lives under his belt: https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/13/politics/trump-small-business-owners/index.html

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/columnists/mike-kelly/2020/01/24/donald-trump-still-owes-money-to-contractors-who-built-taj-mahal-atlantic-city/4547037002/

https://nj1015.com/trump-stiffed-hundreds-of-workers-and-contractors-in-new-jersey-report-says/

https://theweek.com/articles/783976/brief-history-trumps-smalltime-swindles

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hundreds-claim-donald-trump-doesn-t-pay-his-bills-n589261

He's a swindler, so I assume you cheat people too. None of this is a deal breaker for you. People like you and him kill thousands of decent Americans every year.

He's a racist, so I assume you hate people of color too. None of the bigotry and prejudice bothers you enough to make it a deal breaker. People like you and him discriminate against the only known humans in the universe, and ignore the diversity of life we have on this planet. I hope you don't pass this behavior to the next generation. 

He's fooled you because of all your ignorance and hatred. You're the poorly educated people he truly loves. 

4 hours ago, Trurl said:

Same stuff, different person, presented better on evening news.

Harris kept trying to tell you what she was going to do for us. TFG keeps telling you who he's going to punish, and you evangelicals just lap it up. It's all about punishment and atonement and how shitty humans naturally are, and now you have the shittiest human on the planet as your leader. Get down on your knees and take him there!

9 minutes ago, Trurl said:

Well I don’t approve everything Trump does but everyone voted for him.

Not everyone.

9 minutes ago, Trurl said:

I don’t like the cabinet picks. They seem deliberate dismantling of those offices.

I thought MAGA wanted smaller government. All the offices you guys don't like will now be run by people who don't know what they're doing. You and I will be paying the salaries of thousands of federal employees who will be working hard to destroy those agencies. Their only qualification is loyalty to POTUS/Emperor. 

13 minutes ago, Trurl said:

But I believe we must hold both sides accountable. Like Biden giving long range misses to Ukraine.

Big fan of the Russian invasion? Most people don't like Putin the way you seem to.

14 minutes ago, Trurl said:

I understand why a lot of people don’t like Trump particularly his personality and the dangers of changing a system that works pretty well.

Do you? It doesn't seem that way. I think you just voted to raise your own taxes to pay for a government loyal to one man. 

18 minutes ago, Trurl said:

The elephant in the room is the majority of those who worked for him are now his enemies.

Elephant in the room? That's one of the first indicators for me for anybody's job performance. Most of the people who worked for him the first time refuse to be loyal to him now. They haven't exactly been quiet about how dangerous TFG is. 

21 minutes ago, Trurl said:

Harris had major faults too.

Please elaborate on Kamala Harris' major faults.

10 hours ago, swansont said:

Same economic “genius” on display as saying China will pay the tariffs. 

He doesn't tell his own uneducated base that the tariffs are so he can exempt his friends and punish those who won't kneel: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/23/us/politics/trump-tariff-exemptions.html

Quote

 

In the face of pushback from companies reliant on foreign products, the Trump administration set up a process that allowed them to apply for special exemptions. The stakes were high: An exemption could relieve a company of tariffs as high as 25 percent, potentially giving it a big advantage over competitors.

That ignited a swift and often successful lobbying effort, especially from Washington’s high-priced K Street law firms, which ended up applying for hundreds of thousands of tariff exemptions. The Office of the United States Trade Representative, which handled exclusions for the China tariffs, fielded more than 50,000 requests, while the Commerce Department received nearly 500,000 exclusion requests for the tariffs on steel and aluminum.

 

Openly corrupt, morally barren, and a convicted felon. And so many people are OK with that, and want him as their leader.

4 hours ago, DaiRox said:

at a BH horizon, time stops, then rapidly reverses, like the plunge of a waterfall, but in time.

This would be a fantastic claim to support with any evidence you've researched. 

1 hour ago, Trurl said:

Same as a prediction the other way 😝

We didn’t know we needed a wall until Trump built it. Then we see hundreds of people going around the wall😜

Mexico was going to pay for it. At least we got Mexico to hold some of the open border flow.

There you go: 2 promises kept.

 

It's hard for me to think well of those who forgive him for all he's done. I only needed one deal-breaker, and here you are accepting a mountain of them with praise.

You're too young to remember Nazis, you act like an incel Christian Nationalist by not recognizing the harm you do to women by denying them bodily autonomy, and you don't understand that the tariffs are to drive small business and the middle class into the ground. Fascists don't like a strong middle class, and since I'm guessing you and your family are part of the middle class, you just voted to hike your own taxes and costs, but you're white so you probably won't be deported. So you got that going for you.

12 hours ago, AdrAs said:

Just some thoughts. Should I continue?

Is this supposed to replace any of the knowledge science has worked hard to explain over the centuries? It seems like you've renamed several things or given them different definitions. This more or less guarantees you're the only one who will understand what you're talking about. 

This is why most folks interested in philosophy and science study what others have discovered before them. It's not boring.