General Music Chat

So who is the smartest person here? any takers?

All the smart ones left!


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Learn Chinese now, so you can relate to your future boss.

China becomes world's biggest exporter

• Germany overtaken for first time in list of top trading nations
• Chinese economy on track to grow by 9.5% in 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/10/china-tops-germany-exports

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But on the other hand...


Contrarian Investor Sees Economic Crash in China
By DAVID BARBOZA
January 7, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/08/business/global/08chanos.html


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Evolution can be demonstrated in the way insects become immune to certain chemical poisons. ID cannot be tested or proven in any way, as it needs the intervention of the supernatural being, who seems to be rather shy about proving or disproving any & all claims regarding its existence.

Teach your religion, your superstition, & your dogma in your churches & in your homes. Teach science, math, language & other useful life skills in our schools.

My son's education was lacking by far, when compared to my own, & my own scholastic experience was lacking in many areas when compared to that of other countries. While those other countries' education systems have bettered themselves, our own has been diminished by the political, psychological, & religious communities.

Look at the books that have been banned in our school's libraries. As of the late 80's, you could not find a copy of "The Wizard Of Oz" in most public school district libraries. Know why? Because the book mentions a "good witch," which goes contrary to j/c beliefs, that tells us not to "suffer a witch to live." The right-wing j/c activists hollared about it being there for ANYONE to read, & so it was removed. The works of Mark Twain have been rewritten to appease the tender sensitivities of those with race relation issues. Ditto the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc, if these books aren't banned outright. You would be truly amazed at how much of your children's reading material is touched by the censor's pen in your school library.

Now look at the demise of the English language in our schools. Most students today cannot use proper tense in any given sentence, other than the present. Spelling? Do we really even need to know how to spell anymore? I mean, as long as we get the message across, it's okay, right?

Math. Need I say more? It's only the drug users who can convert metric to English system, isn't it? (28 grams = 1 ounce, so a 1/4 is 7 grams, right? What IS that in decimals, anyway?)

Science has been discussed only in terms of ID vs. evolution theory. What about the actual teaching of scientific processes? It's barely touched upon. Dissecting frogs & worms is considered barbaric, & students are often excused from that distasteful learning experience for "moral reasons." There are lots of lessons on the dangers of alcohol in the science class, though, cuz we simply must have those moral lessons taught at every opportunity, & this is the perfect class to show how a worm or a flower dies in alcohol.

History has always been a subject that is subject to the thought of the moment, & "truth" is rarely if ever actually taught. Many history classes still erroneously concentrate on how slavery was the central issue in our own Civil War. These days, though, history seems to be less important than at any other time in our education's past. There is far less emphasis on why things happened, because we might have to touch upon someone's religious beliefs in an unflattering way. Oh dear!

Social Studies - many students still don't know how our gov't works, in spite of this class. Why?

Geography is no longer taught, cuz maps can change on a month by month basis in some areas of the world, or at least that's the excuse they give us. But our students cannot find our nation's capital on a map, or thier own state capital. How stupid is that?

Reading & writing have been dummied down so that everyone can be equal in this area. We wouldn't want those slower students to feel badly about themselves if they can't keep up.

Our teachers are told to continually be on the watch for any student who needs extra help, so that the school may get extra funding for thier special educational needs. Thus, many students are wrongly labelled as ADHD, ADD, OCD, and whatever other initiallized problem they can find, which results in the erroneous drugging of the child, & special classes to solve problems that don't even exist.

In some ways, our educational system is being run as if it were a soul-less corporate business. The students fail to be educated even as the system rakes in more money, yet they claim that they don't have enough funding to provide text books. They claim that teacher income is nearly at the poverty level. So, where is the money going? Does it go for security? Sports? Special ed classes? Food? Heating & lighting? I'd really like to know, cuz these problems really didn't seem to exist when I went to school in the 60's.

Back then, we had books. Yeah, they were used books, but educational thought didn't change from year to year all that much. And if a student ruined his book, his parents were made to pay for it at the end of the year, before the child could graduate to the next level, or even get his report card.

I went to school for 12 years without being shown a popular movie that had nothing to do with school curriculae. My son was shown a movie twice a month when he went to elementary school. The movies shown were often Disney flicks. Um....WHY?

The main emphasis in our modern school system focuses on the child's self esteem. It is considered far more important that the child FEEL GOOD about himself, whether or not he can actually contribute to anyone or anything in any positive way. Of course, without an adequate education, his chances of being able to contribute are severely lessened, but that doesn't seem to matter as long as he FEELS GOOD about his core self, so that's where our schools are placing thier efforts. This train of thought started in the 50's, with the advent of that stupid hippie "everyone's a winner" concept, & we've taken it so far now that it's become our mantra.

We have continually REMOVED curriculae from the scholastic experience in our efforts to improve it, & replaced the missing classes with fluff. In the decades before I went to school, ettiquette was taught as part of the curriculum. Yes, you would be taught how to talk to ppl, how to treat ppl in ethical & socially acceptable ways. This was very useful for those students who didn't come from the more elite social strata, & gave them a leg up in thier future efforts to improve themselves. Dance was taught, which tended to show ppl how to reach out for each other in acceptable normal ways. Now, in many school districts, they're speaking of the removal of music & art classes, calling them "fluff," while they continue to pound away at our children with Guidance Class to improve thier self esteem, & to lecture them ad nauseum about the dangers of drugs & alcohol, in favor of actually teaching them how to relate, how to better themselves, or even to express themselves in artful ways.

It's time to reverse this stupid trend in our schools. It's time we started teaching life lessons again. If you're a loser, you are NOT a "winner," out in the real world, by any stretch of the imagination. If you don't put in the work, you will not succeed. It's time the school systems started to teach that.

As long as we try to keep the kids moving through the system with as few true challenges as possible, they will not be able to face challenges out in the real. But for some strange reason, that's exactly what we do.

You could say that there is no proof that the theory of gravity is correct. If you jumped off a cliff you would have pretty good evidence that is. And technically, Newton's theory turned out to be wrong; gravity doesn't cause things with lower mass to fall towards a bigger object. The bigger object warps space and the smaller object get caught in this warped space. This doesn't mean that Newton had it all wrong; things like inertia and the action/reaction laws are still valid. We've just refined our understanding to better fit the evidence. That's what science does; it fixes itself as flaws are discovered. But even though we make mistakes as we learn, it's still the best system we have to understand the universe. Religion (masquerading as Intelligent Design) does not follow the scientific process and therefore cannot be taught in public schools, nor considered as equal to science in legitimacy. If you want to worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster that's fine with me, but there's no evidence for that either so you might as well worship God(s).

you know the difference between the law of gravity and the theory of evolution. one is a law and one is a theory.

"nor considered as equal to science in legitimacy"
again, if you are going to teach theories in school then you open the door to all theories because there is nothing about a theory that makes it more likely than another theory or else it would be a law. so both or none... you decide.

furthermore, I suspect that folks would have their undies less in a bundle if the philosophical interests (who have been considering the ID theory for years) would have introduced it into schools, but because the religious sector backs it we focus on it being all dogma and brimstone.

...to have a belief that anything is impossible is the equivalent of having faith that that one possibility (that anything is impossible) is possible (without proof)...

Nope, it's not a law, it's a theory. Theories become laws when they are so widely accepted that you would appear to be stupid if you didn't accept it as fact. Obviously Newton's "law" wasn't much of a law because it was later found to be lacking. Religion is not taught in public schools because of the seperation of church and state, and also because it does not follow the scientific process. The other big problem is that there are too many religions; how could you possibly give equal time to them all? No, it's better if people learn about the Flying Spaghetti Monster on their own time.

I wish I could find an Idiot with some common sense ! Seems to me the very thing most are missing.


Just another day in paradise !!!

So who is the smartest person here? any takers?

I don't know, but I've always considered myself to be of average intelligence, if not slightly below average.

I struggle to communicate ideas, but I still at least have them
I understand common sense and apply it, but often times ignore it in lieu of personal feelings (more often than not, trying to do the "right thing")
I tend to remember lots of useless facts and details, but fail to remember names and dates.
I fail to understand how war solves anything except outright invasion.

Yet, me, of average intelligence, is worried about how stupid everyone else appears to be.

In case you all are wondering, this topic was the culmination of an idiot boss and at the same time, arguing on another internet forum over simple concepts such as music piracy. I felt like I was arguing with dumb and dumber.. people who will use just about any argument to justify stealing.

It drives me crazy that they just can't admit it's stealing. Who cares if it's justified?

Evolution can be demonstrated in the way insects become immune to certain chemical poisons.

Evolution can, and "HAS" been demonstrated in myriad ways, through paleontology (fossil record), geographic migration and isolation (changes in identical species which develop unique characteristics based on geography, such as Darwin's finches or the lack of marsupials in Africa, and abundance of them in Australia), comparative anatomy, DNA sequencing (common DNA showing a singular origin, for example of all sighted creatures), vestigial organs (organs which have lost their original usefulness or functionality e.g. flightless birds which still have wings, though diminished in size and therefore useless for flight, like the ostrich).

There are so many examples, in so many varied fields of science, confirming evolution, that it is almost impossible to say... "The best evidence for evolution is..."

ID cannot be tested or proven in any way,

Which is why, alot of time, should NOT be devoted to it in a class dealing with SCIENCE. But a footnote is a different matter. There is NOTHING wrong, with pointing out...

"Opposing views exist, such as the theory of intelligent design, which proposes that the organization of life is so complex and complimentary, that proponents believe it could not have occurred by random processes. This theory is generally rooted in religious opinion, and has spurred numerous legal challenges since it's inception, to obtain it's inclusion in public school curriculum."

as it needs the intervention of the supernatural being, who seems to be rather shy about proving or disproving any & all claims regarding its existence.

First off...

If a being that DID NOT EXIST could DISPROVE it's existence, it would have instead PROVEN it's existence, by default, would it not? So God could not DISPROVE His existence... what are you smoking? LOL


Secondly,

God is not shy, and your intended mockery of something you do not understand, is not evidence for the alleged "lack" of existence of a Divine Creator.

There are numerous alternative possibilities regarding what you mock as "shyness"

1) GOD HAS INTERACTED directly with the physical world, but with varied frequency throughout history i.e. more at certain times than others, based on necessity or a criteria determined by God Himself.

2) GOD DOES INTERACT with the physical world, but as a spiritual being, and therefore, that spiritual being's existence is only understood and experienced by spiritually open or inclined people.

3) GOD DOES NOT INTERACT with the physical world, and therefore created the process of evolution, so that life could exist and develop and be maintained, WITHOUT the necessity for a direct intervention of a pure and untarnished Creator God, who is thus able to Create life for the purpose of "good", but still be preserved in the cases where "evil" instead is present, which is a NATURAL and EXPECTED by-product of free-will (i.e. some will choose good, others will choose evil).

Teach your religion, your superstition, & your dogma in your churches & in your homes.

Dogma is not the exclusive domain of churches or religions. Many lessons or beliefs are handed down to children in the public school system, in a dogmatic fashion, and involve issues of morality and conjecture and suppositions that are often NOT based on anything other than "faith", but without an adherence to a traditional religion. Examples include outcome based education, dismissing historic motivations for some wars, especially American ones. Lauding certain irreligious figures in history, while downplaying their attrocities. The list goes on an on. Many radical educators have ADMITTED that they are purposefully swaying the minds of youth towards a liberal and even radical worldview.

Stop trying to blame religion for everything under the sun, when absolute secularists preach their own "doctrines" and maintain their own "faiths", but these are somehow acceptable, because it is not based on the Judeo-Christian faith.

That's called hypocrisy, and more precisely... dishonesty.

Look at the books that have been banned in our school's libraries. As of the late 80's, you could not find a copy of "The Wizard Of Oz" in most public school district libraries. Know why? Because the book mentions a "good witch," which goes contrary to j/c beliefs, that tells us not to "suffer a witch to live." The right-wing j/c activists hollared about it being there for ANYONE to read, & so it was removed.

Yada yada... JC's... Yada yada... right wing JC activists... yada yada... superstions... yada, yada, yada

And what about the books banned by intellectually dishonest bleeding heart p*ssy liberal extremists?

Oh wait, ha ha, you did mention one case, but instead called it: "tender sensitivities of those with race relation issues"

What's that noise? Did you hear that?

Oh, it's the hypocritical bullsh*t meter going off.... yet again

The works of Mark Twain have been rewritten to appease the tender sensitivities of those with race relation issues.

Whaddayaknow? Someone's trying to force a blow job from Christians, yet all the while bending over, and taking it up the ass, in public, to please liberals.

Pull your pants up.

It's embarrassing.

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No, it's better if people learn about the Flying Spaghetti Monster on their own time.

Yeah, I'm not aware of that particular religion.

I am very aware however, of your illogical and hypocritical religious faith, of assigning god-like powers to simple matter, only without the "god" part, and then calling it something else.

That takes really blind faith there.

But some people will believe ANYTHING to avoid a logical conclusion they don't like personally, huh?



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Oh Craig, you DO like to hear yourself think out loud, don't you?

The super being COULD prove that its existence is NOT as you have been teaching it, could it not? Disproving your theory of its existence is possible, in that way. THINK FIRST, man, before you spout off! For all we know, the real creator is the human equivalent of a child playing with tinkertoys. Don't EVEN tell me you know better, cuz you can't scientifically prove it any more than I can. You may BELIEVE differently. You may have perfect faith. But you cannot prove a damned thing, & for a guy who claims to know so much about his religion, imho, you have little of anything to back up said knowledge, after having tossed out the bible's integrity as the word of truth before you even start.

I did not in any way mock anything other than what I perceive to be idjits pushing thier personal religious & political agendas on our children. I consider the right-wing j/c's to be idjits because I disagree with thier outrageous claims of knowintg what the creator is & wants from us all the time. Kinda like what you do in your big-headed pig-headed way, Craig, in your innumerable posts about it all. The left-wingers are just as bad, btw, in that they, too, remove actual learning from our schools.

I gave ONE example of j/c based censorship, & cited THREE cases of non-j/c censorship, & you still called me out on it. STFU, Craig. The facts remain as they were stated, & you cannot claim they are untrue. I had a whole list of such censorship at one time, but I've lost it over the years. Much of it IS brought about by the right-wing j/c factions, in thier childish zeal to rule by the word of thier god. Much of it is also brought about by left-wing nut-cases trying to rewrite history & classic literature so that it's all more PC. And yes, the moslems are just as bad, if you wanna bring THAT up.

As for your closing remarks...well...they are as odd as much of your other sh*t which has nothing whatsoever to do with the subject at hand, but I'm sure it felt great to type it out at the time, eh?

Evolution can be taught in a single year's worth of classes, using insects & thier ability to evolve so quickly, Craig. I realize that there are many many more examples to prove the worth of evolution theory, but the hands-on approach works best, imho.

The fact remains that we are far less interested in actual education in our schools than at any other time in the history of our culture, for a variety of reasons, & they all need to be overcome so that our children can get back to the business of LEARNING.

Pick THAT apart, Craig. I know you feel you have to, for the opportunity to show us all how much you know about everything, & how you have god's mouth at your ear, & how you are so f*cking spayshul & such. But PLEASE, try to stick to the subject at hand without being so cryptic. I'm not so very smart as to get your wierdness, you know.

The super being COULD prove that its existence is NOT as you have been teaching it, could it not?

That's not what you said.

Stop re-working history... that's just as dishonest as your biased religious hypocrisy.

Disproving your theory of its existence is possible, in that way. THINK FIRST, man, before you spout off!

I did think.

And what I "thought" is how ridiculous it is to state that a being could disprove it's own existence, which is what you wrote, because you said it was shy about disproving "any & ALL" theories of it's existence.


Furthermore, you stated "theories of it's EXISTENCE" not "origins of it's existence" or "purpose of it's existence"

The only theory of "existence" is THAT it EXISTS.


So...

Maybe you mistyped?

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No, it's better if people learn about the Flying Spaghetti Monster on their own time.

Yeah, I'm not aware of that particular religion.

I am very aware however, of your illogical and hypocritical religious faith, of assigning god-like powers to simple matter, only without the "god" part, and then calling it something else.

That takes really blind faith there.

But some people will believe ANYTHING to avoid a logical conclusion they don't like personally, huh?



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The Flying Spaghetti Monster was invented by some athiests who were trying to make a point: if you're going to teach about one religion, you must teach about all, including mine. This is impossible and unnecessary; I can go to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster if I want to learn about this belief.

I'm agnostic because I can't prove that there's not a God; you're religious because you think you don't need proof, you just know. Athiests are just as stubborn; they think they know there's not a God and they don't need proof either. The truth is, it's unknowable so silly to discuss.

Read the words, Craig. I believe that what I wrote was "...the supernatural being, who seems to be rather shy about proving or disproving any & all claims regarding its existence." See that? Hypocrisy aside, Craig - read the words FIRST. Absorb them. Try to determine what they MEAN, & THEN reach your conclusions.

So who is the smartest person here? any takers?

Craig has said in the past his IQ is 150+.

I am a member of Mensa...

Don't know about anyone else. Philby seems to have this brain together though.