David Quinn wrote:This thread has certainly brought some interesting things to the surface.......
Yep. You and Kevin should bury the surfacing hatchet and complEment each other.
You have an uncanny knack for transcending the mere aggrandizing of the lexeme to a seamless flowing of articulated thought which can only be awed as an art-form in lieu of a more mechanical explanation for how you accomplish such expression of emotion, yet it's evident from this dialog that Kevin is more capable of slicing through flowery veils to what we have decided to call "reality".
It goes to show that there is no such thing as "better" because that which endows one with skill can also obscure their view and any "positive" attribute will come at some cost. Reel in your phalluses; this competition is silly.
David Quinn wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2017 9:46 am
I feel like I'm arguing with a Berkeley protester. It's like Trump has *possessed* you or something. Is Meme Magic real?!
I’m still the same bloke. I think it is more the case that I am just not singing the song you want me to sing. I haven't bought into an "alternative" worldview. From what I have encountered so far, very little of it rings true.
Reread this in 5 years and I bet you'll see what he saw. You're wrapped-up in crowd-mania and feeding on doom-porn, which certainly can be fun as I've experienced it many times myself. It's obvious that you've accepted a number of things on faith and are utilizing intellectual talents coupled with ravenous determination to mount an impermeable defense of an idea that you merely bought, I mean, the effort into this thread is illustrative enough of that.
For anyone to deny the media is biased, they'd be suffering from one of two conditions: either a neurological incapability of seeing the obvious or an emotional motivation to deny it; and given the parlance on display, I'd suspect the latter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoXGV4Vw-VA
There is no such thing as unbiased media and everyone has a spin to sell.
From what I can see, the liberal establishment still represents the side of knowledge, science, facts, expertise, dispassion, idealism, etc, whereas the pro-Trump movement is anti-science and anti-intellectual to its core. I’m not saying all pro-Trumpers are anti-intellectual, but at least 99% are. And so as far as the promotion of wisdom is concerned, I don't see any value in siding with that lot.
That is generally true, but is it bad?
People who hold ideas on faith (the Trumpers), will not change their minds through reason. If they accept that, for instance, murder is wrong, then it's not open for discussion. However, people who keep an open mind and reject conclusions based on faith have a mechanism for justifying murderous acts. (The old saying goes: You have to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.) That explains why the Left is generally more violent and why there is less crime in republican areas (where it's completely coincidental that gun ownership is supported since owning guns itself does not lead to less violence, but the people who choose to own guns also are faith-based and cannot intellectually justify violence).
The heart of the matter is you're presupposing that intelligence is actually a "good" thing, so it's tough to tell who is "better". On one hand, I hate arguing with dogmatic people, but on the other, I can trust them completely.
So it is not that I have become political, but that Kevin has become so. What I am doing is trying to disentangle myself from it.
The fact that you want to disentangle yourself from it is evidence that you are being political (ie you don't want the bad political association of Kevin to affect you politically). Obviously, you have a political image to protect.
I see Trump as someone who is severely autistic
Trump is a people-person who is otherwise stupid, which is antipodal to autism. Autism is actually a very-male trait.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathizi ... _of_autism
I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this repeated pattern of pro-Putin love/anti-West hate that I see in the Russians
Putin is a man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt3IOVTs-9Q
I had a chat with some teenagers the other day, who asked me why I grew a beard. I told them it was because I didn’t like staring into the mirror and grooming myself, that I had better things to do with my time. They thought I was deliberately cultivating a scruffy image as part of a sage persona, and so I explained to them how it was the reverse, that I was operating by the basic ascetic principle of spending as little time as possible over my image and that the scruffiness was a natural offshoot of this. They didn’t understand this principle at all. In their world, everyone obsesses over their image.
Yep, but you have to wonder what other option they have. Besides, if you're attributing some authority to the NYT, then it's by image that you do it. Perhaps the NYT is more clean-cut and respectable-looking? I'm just saying...
It’s also the future. There is an irreversible trend happening in which more and more jobs are being lost to robots and automated processes, a trend that seemingly neither side of politics can arrest. Who is going to look after these displaced workers? The state will have to, which means that government welfare is here to stay. Progressive, socialist-leaning governments are going to be the norm.
Bingo! Universal Basic Income. Once that happens anywhere on earth, bet on more inflation than central banks can handle.
When you look at what Anglo-Saxons in particular, and Europeans more generally, have specifically brought to the world over the past few centuries, we see that it is nothing other than the global, progressive, liberal movement. The development of science and medicine, of parliamentary democracy, equality before the law, individual human rights, transparency, non-politicized judiciary, the welfare state, etc - these things have primarily come from white consciousness. They have been the white race's gift to the world.
Asia didn't have that? Liberalism is a general result of prosperity. In the purest sense of the word, when we have plenty, we're liberal. If not, then conservative.
Yes, I’ve been keeping my eye on Zerohedge ever since jupiviv pointed it out.
I've checked it daily since 2010. ZH has an audience they pander to and it's prudent to be aware of that. Most of the time I skip the article and just read the comments since the article is surmised from the title and entirely predictable. Keep an eye on the audience for shifts in trend.
Indeed, half the time when I speak to Kevin nowadays, I feel as though he is talking not to me but to those SJWs who are obviously causing him so much grief. It's as though he is in a perpetual fight with them in his brain.
Yes, sure, but so are you. Both of you have created paper tigers. So what? We all do it. Admit it, bury the hatchet and move on. I've had my own fallouts with friends and I now realize that it was ultimately a failing on my part. No good can come of these rifts and pride, ego is the problem.
That's the real nub of the issue, in my opinion - the low number of active participants and lack of new blood. And you're right, this is basically a matter of advertising. Hardly anyone knows about the existence of Genius Forum these days, so if we want the forum to come alive again we would need to spread out to other forums, chat boards, social media sites, etc, and stir up interest in the kinds of truths that Genius Forum specializes in. Zestful thoughts attract zestful people.
I wouldn't worry about attracting new members if you can't keep what you have. Why pick more berries if your basket has a giant hole in the bottom?
I'd endeavor to be more engaging to keep folks around. Reply to posts even if it's just to say "ok" and especially to say "you're right". Leaving people hanging is informing them that they don't matter. Strays will wander in from time to time and you will "grow" your membership by keeping the members you have.
I like this board. I like the lack of ego pandering "reputation" and argumentum ad populum post-voting crap that has infested discussion boards globally. All that's missing is a couple fellas to chat with. I'm in the states, so it's cold here and the best time for me is probably the worst time for y'all since you're probably enjoying the weather. By March, I'll be outside more and have less time for this, but I'll make an effort if others will.