But I am not advocating the change that can be implied, because those who start it will not survive to see the end of it.
The kind of change that would be required for this sort of thing to stop would be for the American public to give a flying fuck and elect the kind of folks to represent them that do not stand for this kind of crap.
So yeah, brutally murdering 90% of the population of the US of A would probably not go down well.
Oh wait, you were probably talking about some sort of armed revolt against that very government your countrymen keep electing...because, that's like, going to sort the root of the problem: that people in general are apathetic selfish animals that don't give a fuck unless it happens to them or someone close to them.
Freedom of Speech is the ability to speak without consequence
Wrong. Dead wrong in fact. With every freedom comes the responsibility of using it wisely.
Freedom of Speech merely curtails what steps the state may take to stop you from saying things. It does not mean you can just say anything about anyone without any consequences.
That's one way to look at it. Personally I prefer to look at it as a course for people who can then serve as translators between business people (unable to think) and IT people (unable to communicate).
There's a distinct knack for getting managers and nerds around the same table in such a way that they don't end up wanting to kill each other;)
Seriously...mr athiest, why in the fuck do you care of some quiet guy on your block prays every night to his imaginary friend? How in the fuck does that mess with your life?
Let's see:
1. That guy votes for a political party that ostracizes gay people because anal sex makes baby Jesus cry. 2. That guy thinks shops should be closed on sunday because it is a holy day, and supports legislation to make it so. 3. That guy is part of an organization that gets special treatment from the government, even though it has the same validity as the local chess club. 4. That guy gets to spend *my* fucking money indoctrinating his children with his insanity, so we get to repeat 1-3 all over again.
There are no sides. There's rationality, and there's a huge amount of people whose parents neglected to include God in the same category as Santa and the Easter Bunny and who are terrified of having to admit that life is short, brutal, ultimately pointless and that when you die you rot and serve as food for the next generation of insects.
And so long as you get special treatment just for being delusional, i get to be an inconsiderate fucking asshole.
How about the middle ground? There may or may not be a god, but I'm firmly convinced that even if there is some sort of superbeing so far superior to us as to fit the definition, he/she/it won't be anything like the christian God as described in the bible.
Seriously, if you're that powerful, what's the point of having people *worship* you. That would be like me demanding praise from the bacteria inhabiting my body.
If a superbeing is truly that petty and whimsical, I say bring on the 5-21 metal party, for truly we are doomed.
For a sufficiently blurry definition of "proof". I've also seen people who had proof that they *were* Jesus, or at least until the Haldol kicked in.
As for your comparison to physics, that proof can be reproduced. Feel free to repeat any of the miracles that are attributed as acts of God to make your case...
Kind of like how it's easier to go "if you're a good boy you get to go to heaven after you die" instead of having to put up with all that shady ethics and morality crap?
What we do NOT need is more taxes gouging the poor, what we need is leaders with a fucking brain!
Almost correct. It's the voters that need a brain and what you are looking for are representatives, not leaders. They don't lead, they get to follow or they get the can...in a perfect world.
By which you are implying that there has ever been a time where they did?
Human beings are selfish short-sighted hypocritical little sons of bitches. Our politicians do a damn fine job representing us. And it's going to stay that way until we get to the point where there's Minds that are too complicated for meatbags to tamper with to run the show;-)
Moral ambiguity bothers people. It's not enjoyable. It shouldn't be enjoyable, and it's good that it bothers us. Is it surprising that we don't like it in games?
Actually, it does bother me. What's the fun in making choices when they have been clearly labelled "right" and "wrong" to such an extent that there's absolutely no difficulty discerning them? That's food for the same kind of people that read newspapers and watch television that first labels everything either left of right-wing and then proceeds to explain why it is right or wrong based on the presumed bias.
The Witcher got it right. There were no right or wrong decisions, just decisions that had consequences one way or the other. Doing the "right" thing meant ending up slaughtering half a village. Not taking sides in a conflict meant ending up having to kill both sides instead of just one.
Straightforward morality is for simpletons. Life is all about shades of grey.
I don't give a flying fuck about pirates. A company puts a product on the market and I get to decide whether or not to buy it. And if said product is crippled by DRM I will not give my money to said company. This may make them moan and cry and weep and blame the pirates just like you, but that is simply not the case.
I am annoyed by short-sighted companies that piss of their paying customer to spite a bunch of brats who would never pay them anyway. That's like a casino hassling the whales because the pennypinchers keep getting too many free drinks. Bad for business.
As much as I am a fan of Steam, a lot of the same DRM crap still applies. Settlers 7 has the same abysmal "be online non-stop or get screwed" DRM as the retail copy.
My point was that today, there is probably little danger of us thinking aliens are gods.
A sizable chunk of the people on this planet are willing to believe in a god based on no evidence at all except for the crap they got spoonfed by their parents, their school and their church. Now enter aliens capable of doing really whizz-bang stuff...
Common sense tells us to avoid the next predictable environmental disaster by switching to energy sources that cannot leak poisons into the land, sea, and air.
Wonderful idea. Got any plans on how to accomplish that? Plans that are:
a) technically viable and b) implementable without bankrupting the country?
Because so far I've studied quite a few of these "100% renewable by 2050" plans and although they make for wonderful drinking games (1 shot per completely unfounded assumption) they seem...rather optimistic.
Slashdot Mirror
GP was talking about *running* Linux. GPL only really pertains to *distributing*.
So what is it you do for a living again? ;-)
But I am not advocating the change that can be implied, because those who start it will not survive to see the end of it.
The kind of change that would be required for this sort of thing to stop would be for the American public to give a flying fuck and elect the kind of folks to represent them that do not stand for this kind of crap.
So yeah, brutally murdering 90% of the population of the US of A would probably not go down well.
Oh wait, you were probably talking about some sort of armed revolt against that very government your countrymen keep electing...because, that's like, going to sort the root of the problem: that people in general are apathetic selfish animals that don't give a fuck unless it happens to them or someone close to them.
Note to self: hack US powergrid while in foreign country, evacuate in timely fashion.
Now who do I really dislike...wait, that would be the US.
How's that Texan secession thing coming along?
Freedom of Speech is the ability to speak without consequence
Wrong. Dead wrong in fact. With every freedom comes the responsibility of using it wisely.
Freedom of Speech merely curtails what steps the state may take to stop you from saying things. It does not mean you can just say anything about anyone without any consequences.
That's one way to look at it. Personally I prefer to look at it as a course for people who can then serve as translators between business people (unable to think) and IT people (unable to communicate).
There's a distinct knack for getting managers and nerds around the same table in such a way that they don't end up wanting to kill each other ;)
Seriously...mr athiest, why in the fuck do you care of some quiet guy on your block prays every night to his imaginary friend? How in the fuck does that mess with your life?
Let's see:
1. That guy votes for a political party that ostracizes gay people because anal sex makes baby Jesus cry.
2. That guy thinks shops should be closed on sunday because it is a holy day, and supports legislation to make it so.
3. That guy is part of an organization that gets special treatment from the government, even though it has the same validity as the local chess club.
4. That guy gets to spend *my* fucking money indoctrinating his children with his insanity, so we get to repeat 1-3 all over again.
There are no sides. There's rationality, and there's a huge amount of people whose parents neglected to include God in the same category as Santa and the Easter Bunny and who are terrified of having to admit that life is short, brutal, ultimately pointless and that when you die you rot and serve as food for the next generation of insects.
And so long as you get special treatment just for being delusional, i get to be an inconsiderate fucking asshole.
How about the middle ground? There may or may not be a god, but I'm firmly convinced that even if there is some sort of superbeing so far superior to us as to fit the definition, he/she/it won't be anything like the christian God as described in the bible.
Seriously, if you're that powerful, what's the point of having people *worship* you. That would be like me demanding praise from the bacteria inhabiting my body.
If a superbeing is truly that petty and whimsical, I say bring on the 5-21 metal party, for truly we are doomed.
For a sufficiently blurry definition of "proof". I've also seen people who had proof that they *were* Jesus, or at least until the Haldol kicked in.
As for your comparison to physics, that proof can be reproduced. Feel free to repeat any of the miracles that are attributed as acts of God to make your case...
The part of the world that spins around Sarkozy certainly will, considering this guy was his only serious opponent for the next elections...
Hmmmmmmm, beer zombies. Can you picture the ads? "Who cares about brains anyway? To really get me off my slab, pop open a fresh $brewski!"
*insert obligatory Pulp Fiction reference here*
Kind of like how it's easier to go "if you're a good boy you get to go to heaven after you die" instead of having to put up with all that shady ethics and morality crap?
Yeah, story as old as mankind...
Well, except for the purchase of the "obligatory" additional 60 bucks worth of DLC's of course.
So, when will the Lazarus and Klamp-G families start colonizing the place? I want my Tiger Moth!
What we do NOT need is more taxes gouging the poor, what we need is leaders with a fucking brain!
Almost correct. It's the voters that need a brain and what you are looking for are representatives, not leaders. They don't lead, they get to follow or they get the can...in a perfect world.
By which you are implying that there has ever been a time where they did?
Human beings are selfish short-sighted hypocritical little sons of bitches. Our politicians do a damn fine job representing us. And it's going to stay that way until we get to the point where there's Minds that are too complicated for meatbags to tamper with to run the show ;-)
Really not all it was cracked up to be? RT @Voyager Just passing Uranus LOL
Moral ambiguity bothers people. It's not enjoyable. It shouldn't be enjoyable, and it's good that it bothers us. Is it surprising that we don't like it in games?
Actually, it does bother me. What's the fun in making choices when they have been clearly labelled "right" and "wrong" to such an extent that there's absolutely no difficulty discerning them? That's food for the same kind of people that read newspapers and watch television that first labels everything either left of right-wing and then proceeds to explain why it is right or wrong based on the presumed bias.
The Witcher got it right. There were no right or wrong decisions, just decisions that had consequences one way or the other. Doing the "right" thing meant ending up slaughtering half a village. Not taking sides in a conflict meant ending up having to kill both sides instead of just one.
Straightforward morality is for simpletons. Life is all about shades of grey.
I preorderded TW2 months ago. And for exactly the same reasons.
I don't give a flying fuck about pirates. A company puts a product on the market and I get to decide whether or not to buy it. And if said product is crippled by DRM I will not give my money to said company. This may make them moan and cry and weep and blame the pirates just like you, but that is simply not the case.
I am annoyed by short-sighted companies that piss of their paying customer to spite a bunch of brats who would never pay them anyway. That's like a casino hassling the whales because the pennypinchers keep getting too many free drinks. Bad for business.
As much as I am a fan of Steam, a lot of the same DRM crap still applies. Settlers 7 has the same abysmal "be online non-stop or get screwed" DRM as the retail copy.
My point was that today, there is probably little danger of us thinking aliens are gods.
A sizable chunk of the people on this planet are willing to believe in a god based on no evidence at all except for the crap they got spoonfed by their parents, their school and their church. Now enter aliens capable of doing really whizz-bang stuff...
Common sense tells us to avoid the next predictable environmental disaster by switching to energy sources that cannot leak poisons into the land, sea, and air.
Wonderful idea. Got any plans on how to accomplish that? Plans that are:
a) technically viable and
b) implementable without bankrupting the country?
Because so far I've studied quite a few of these "100% renewable by 2050" plans and although they make for wonderful drinking games (1 shot per completely unfounded assumption) they seem...rather optimistic.
Totally. Doing illegal drugs is immoral, usually victimless, but immoral and disgusting, because its illegal.
Wait, hold on. Anything that is illegal is therefore also immoral? WTF?
I see your Iran and raise you Egypt, Libia and Yemen...