Phillistines

[Nevermore]

There is an overwhelming presence of new members with no intellectuall posts at all, spewing nothing but IM/l33t while contributing nothing to this site. What can we do about this?

[Ophiolite]

Ignore them.

Or

Follow their posts with one that addresses the issue with a well constructed summary of current thinking and two or three relevant and apposite links.

Or

Encourage every tiny spark of reasoned thought that is displayed by them.

Or

Name them, and stand back to watch a concatennation of cacophanous chaos, a veritable blood bath, as pointless as one could imagine.

 

[Delete as appropriate. Students will be marked for neatness in their presentations.]

[blike]

PM a mod or admin with their username so we can review their posts. If we don't feel that they are contributing anything useful, we'll take action.

[Nevermore]

okay

[Hellbender]

What the flip is a "phillistine"?

[Ophiolite]

Quoting from the American Heritage Dictionary (http://www.bartleby.com/61/66/P0246600.html)

1. A member of an Aegean people who settled ancient Philistia around the 12th century b.c. 2a. A smug, ignorant, especially middle-class person who is regarded as being indifferent or antagonistic to artistic and cultural values. b. One who lacks knowledge in a specific area.

The Phillistines feature in the Bible as enemies of the Israelites. Goliath the giant, slain by David with a slingshot was a Phillistine.

Meanings 2 and 3 are perhaps best conveyed by an example.

"Only a Phillistine like Hellbender would ask "What the flip is a "phillistine"?"

[Hellbender]

"Only a Phillistine like Hellbender would ask "[i']What the flip is a "phillistine"?[/i]

 

Hey!

[Ophiolite]

I thought you'd like that.

 

Returning to the thread topic, there are three problems, and since this is a Science forum I shall designate these problems as:

• Relativity
  
• Evolution
  
• Cosmology
  

Relativity: A poor intellectual post for a thirty five year old particle physicist might be a very worthy post for a fourteen year old high school student. As Albert said, "It's all relative". So how do we define, with objectivity and balance, what is "intellectual"? [in passing I'll just note that between the way I spell intellectual and you spell intellectuall there is one ell of a difference.]

Evolution: Humans learn, even those sad, benighted individuals who post on Science Forums. A poor poster today could evolve into one of the best tomorrow. They might even become a mod. (Wait, isn't that de-evolution?) At any rate, assessment of posters must recognise this potential for development.

Cosmology: Occasionally posters become enraged and express their anger explosively. This anti-intellectual Big Bang can hide the otherwise benign aspects of their posts.

Other posters deliver coherent, well argued positions, but unfortunately deliver the same ones in response to any thread, from Element Collecting to Nuclear Weapons in Iran. This is the discredited Steady State approach.

 

I tried coming up with some relevant thoughts for Quantum Mechanics, but you can stretch an analogy to far.

[Nevermore]

Hey!

Phillistine has now come to mean an idiot.

[Hellbender]

Phillistine has now come to mean an idiot.

 

Love you too.

[Sayonara]

Evolution[/b']: Humans learn, even those sad, benighted individuals who post on Science Forums. A poor poster today could evolve into one of the best tomorrow. They might even become a mod. (Wait, isn't that de-evolution?) At any rate, assessment of posters must recognise this potential for development.

But individuals don't evolve - populations do. Perhaps selective pressure from the mods will weed out the weak posting genes.

[atinymonkey]

Phillistine has now come to mean an idiot.

 

What, just now? After two thousand years? The meaning changed?

 

Wow.