This could explain America

[pErvinalia]

Sadly of course the education system in America is very poor indeed (it ranks 17th among the 34 OECD countries) which explains people like you.

It explains nothing in this case. 1) Education is no cure for paranoid schizophrenics. 2) Unless I am mistaken Glaxative is not American.

We have no evidence either way of his mental well-being. He could well be schizophrenic or could could just be delusional. In addition suffering from schizophrenia does not make you dumb or necessarily ignorant. Not only did I work with schizophrenics in my 30s and so know a bit about the subject, but close friend of mine and short term business partner was schizophrenic and was one of the brightest people I have ever known. He was a linguist and fluent in 12 languages. He still thought Chinese agents were out to get him when he was unwell.

You may be right about his nationality but I thought I'd read references which led me to assume he was American. Could be wrong.

Yeah, I should point out I've got no idea if Galacticus is a paranoid schizophrenic or even what the primary characteristics are of one. I was basically trying to convey how fucking nuts he is...

He's Aussie, by the way. Our education system probably isn't that much better than the US's.

[Rum]

Schizophrenia tends to be episodic, though not always. Sufferers can have long 'well' spells where delusions and 'voices' don't trouble them and they can function as well as anyone. Sometimes (as was the case with my friend) you would get signs and hints that all was not well - obsessional talking about a subject for example. often as it impacted on him.

In our case we were trying to put a small travel publishing company together when I had an 18 month sabbatical from my social work career. We managed to publish three books in all but my friend wasn't reliable enough unfortunately because of his mental health issues and we packed it in.

[Alan B]

FFS, Galaxian. My post has nothing to do with religion or 'atheism' or some nutcase conspiracy theory.

See this: Jacques Peretti - BBC - Episode 1
and Episode 2 two episodes about one hour each
Although the above deals with the UK, it can easily apply to other countries, particularly the USA.

[Galaxian]

Atheists have not been 'hunted down and exterminated'....
...People are dumb when they don't receive a decent education.
...People here laugh at it of course. Don't for a moment think you are taken remotely seriously.

Comfy in your safe space?
"And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death." (Leviticus 24:16).
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/th ... g-atheists
"His name was Menocchio. He lived in a small town in Italy in the 16th century. A husband, a father, a miller, and a well-liked member of his community, he was also a non-believer. He publicly declared that it was impossible for Jesus to have been born of a virgin mother, that Jesus was not divine, that much of the Gospel stories were fabrications, that immortality was impossible, and that God may be no more than a figment of human imagination. He was tried for heresy, convicted as an atheist, and burned at the stake.
Another Italian from the 16th century, Giulio Casare Vanini, denied the immortality of the soul, believed that humans evolved from apes, and insisted that religious teachings are false. He had his tongue cut out, was strangled, and then burned to death...."
Currently, there are 13 countries where the law endorses capital punishment for atheists. But that's a minor portion of the executions. Most killings are done by the common rabble who will hunt down & murder anyone who speaks out about their atheism. But keep on dreaming. Don't snore too loudly.

You seriously imagine that Galaxian wants your assent & adulation? The day you befriend Galaxian is when I'd have gone senile

FFS, Galaxian. My post has nothing to do with religion or 'atheism' or some nutcase conspiracy theory.
See this: Jacques Peretti - BBC - Episode 1
and Episode 2 two episodes about one hour each
Although the above deals with the UK, it can easily apply to other countries, particularly the USA.

The 1% of 1% maintains its power by the masses accepting the Mandate of Heaven. 'Conspiracy' recognition is the foundation of rationalism

He's Aussie, by the way. Our education system probably isn't that much better than the US's.

No. It isn't Aussie. The name gives it away. Look at the name, "Galaxian", and ponder on it...

[Rum]

Atheists have not been 'hunted down and exterminated'....
...People are dumb when they don't receive a decent education.
...People here laugh at it of course. Don't for a moment think you are taken remotely seriously.

Comfy in your safe space?
"And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death." (Leviticus 24:16).
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/th ... g-atheists
"His name was Menocchio. He lived in a small town in Italy in the 16th century. A husband, a father, a miller, and a well-liked member of his community, he was also a non-believer. He publicly declared that it was impossible for Jesus to have been born of a virgin mother, that Jesus was not divine, that much of the Gospel stories were fabrications, that immortality was impossible, and that God may be no more than a figment of human imagination. He was tried for heresy, convicted as an atheist, and burned at the stake.
Another Italian from the 16th century, Giulio Casare Vanini, denied the immortality of the soul, believed that humans evolved from apes, and insisted that religious teachings are false. He had his tongue cut out, was strangled, and then burned to death...."
Currently, there are 13 countries where the law endorses capital punishment for atheists. But that's a minor portion of the executions. Most killings are done by the common rabble who will hunt down & murder anyone who speaks out about their atheism. But keep on dreaming. Don't snore too loudly.

You seriously imagine that Galaxian wants your assent & adulation? The day you befriend Galaxian is when I'd have gone senile

FFS, Galaxian. My post has nothing to do with religion or 'atheism' or some nutcase conspiracy theory.
See this: Jacques Peretti - BBC - Episode 1
and Episode 2 two episodes about one hour each
Although the above deals with the UK, it can easily apply to other countries, particularly the USA.

The 1% of 1% maintains its power by the masses accepting the Mandate of Heaven. 'Conspiracy' recognition is the foundation of rationalism

Well no - thanks for the offer of befriending me when you are senile. That's about now I guess.

But no thanks. I choose my friends carefully and the nutty ones have a degree of humour going for them.

[Alan B]

The 'Mandate of Heaven'? WTF is that?

[Alan B]

New Scientist
Politics chat on Reddit reads like it was written by 6 year olds

IN THE US, critics have drawn attention to what they call the “Trump effect”: a shift in norms since Donald Trump became a serious presidential candidate. Anecdotal reports say it has made racism and sexism more acceptable in public conversation. Now a study of online political discussion groups over the past 10 years shows that conversations have indeed become less sophisticated and more offensive.

Rishab Nithyanand at Data & Society, a research institute in New York, and his colleagues at the University of Massachusetts wanted to see if they could find evidence that discourse had worsened. They looked at Reddit, a social network built around discussion groups with specific topics, known as subreddits. More than 230 million people use the site each month, making it the fourth most visited in the US.
...
To analyse the complexity of the comments, the researchers used the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, which ranks language use on a US grade-school scale. They found that discourse in political groups had dropped on average from seventh-grade (age 12) to first-grade (age 6) levels since 2007 (https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.05303).

What accounts for the changes? Nithyanand and his colleagues identified a large influx of new users to Reddit’s political groups, which may have lowered the average level of linguistic complexity. Also, there were many users who had previously been active only in extremist groups, who now posted regularly in mainstream groups. Such users can take control of the tone or direction of conversations.

Another growing group of Reddit users is likely to be bots – accounts that post automatically. Nithyanand is now looking into the exact role bots may have played in lowering the quality of discourse and hopes to have results early next year.

[Galaxian]

The 'Mandate of Heaven'? WTF is that?

https://www.google.com.au/search?biw=11 ... JKX258oKig

It is also, to a lesser degree, the entitlement of doctors & judges. The higher up the feeding echelon a person is, the more respected he/she is. That respect & authority is interpreted by the proletariat as a form of divinity. That is; God or the gods have showered the blessings of omniscience & omnipotence upon that person. That's why it is difficult to challenge them, and why they are usually immune to prosecution, and if prosecuted are normally acquitted or treated leniently.

You even see it on this forum, where people of 'authority' are quoted to make a case, even if it's absurd, & the rational counterpoint is ridiculed

[laklak]

But mad as a box of frogs.

Amphibianist!

[JimC]

Galaxian, please go and annoy superuniverse. The exchanges should be worth a lot of

[Svartalf]

are you impugning my sanity?

[Rum]

Galaxian, please go and annoy superuniverse. The exchanges should be worth a lot of

I would pay to see them having a chat in a pub.

[Seabass]

Galaxian, please go and annoy superuniverse. The exchanges should be worth a lot of

Too much crazy in one place. The universe would implode.

[Seabass]

This could explain Germany