Welcome to Rationalia - a place of some description

[Pappa]

Great post normal, you are teh awesome.

[Jason]

This thread really brings home the surround tomato. I used to think of it as a nervous valve or an abstract questionnaire until I found myself in a dirty rush and it became my frequent option. At a continental guess, the objective lake gives way to a fantastic harmony where we can all enjoy a similar treasure with familiar disruption. As they say The paper expedites the rhythm but the workable brass constructs the point.

[FBM]

What sort of deeper topics do you enjoy discussing? I enjoy thinking about deep things quite a bit (Philosophy major), but I've found less enjoyment in discussing them online. Not just here, pretty much every forum, I mean.

I like anything which is deep. Physics, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion. Politics, History. This is not really the place to discuss it as you know. They are far more interested in cheese and innuendo than anything serious here, man. Not that there is anything wrong with that, just saying. There are a few heavies here such as Coito and Seth and Gallstones and rasetsu, but they tend to be in the minority. The lights have have it by sheer force of numbers, hence the relative abundance of aforementioned cheese and innuendo. But they are harmless and leave us alone and we them, so we get on alright, even if we don't really socialise that much.

Most of my posts here are also light. Not because I don't think deeply, but because I haven't found (m)any whose politics or some suble bias doesn't interfere with their ability to explore a topic in tandem and learn about it, rather than try to win an argument about it. I don't mean that as an insult; it's the prevailing tendency among almost everyone I know, online or not. I may well be guilty of it, but I have gone to great lengths to detect and minimize it in myself. I would rather have a dispassionate discussion that others see as boring, rather than a passionate argument that more people find engaging. I would look forward to a deep discussion with you, surreptitious57...

The idea that real conversations don't happen here is only clinged on to by people who have very specific terms and timing in which those conversations need to occure. Some of the posters who have contributed the most sillyness have also contributed wonderful, thoughtful and deep posts. I'll use FBM as an example because one of his many great posts was enough to change my entire outlook on my life

[DaveDodo007]

If anyone doesn't like it here well that says more about them then it does about us.

[surreptitious57]

What sort of deeper topics do you enjoy discussing? I enjoy thinking about deep things quite a bit (Philosophy major), but I've found less enjoyment in discussing them online. Not just here, pretty much every forum, I mean.

I like anything which is deep. Physics, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion. Politics, History. This is not really the place to discuss it as you know. They are far more interested in cheese and innuendo than anything serious here, man. Not that there is anything wrong with that, just saying. There are a few heavies here such as Coito and Seth and Gallstones and rasetsu, but they tend to be in the minority. The lights have have it by sheer force of numbers, hence the relative abundance of aforementioned cheese and innuendo. But they are harmless and leave us alone and we them, so we get on alright, even if we don't really socialise that much.

Most of my posts here are also light. Not because I don't think deeply, but because I haven't found (m)any whose politics or some suble bias doesn't interfere with their ability to explore a topic in tandem and learn about it, rather than try to win an argument about it. I don't mean that as an insult; it's the prevailing tendency among almost everyone I know, online or not. I may well be guilty of it, but I have gone to great lengths to detect and minimize it in myself. I would rather have a dispassionate discussion that others see as boring, rather than a passionate argument that more people find engaging. I would look forward to a deep discussion with you, surreptitious57...

Long as the terms of reference are as broad as possible and some of the deep thinkers here get to chip in, I am all for it man. Your approach is the correct one. Getting there however can be a tad difficult. But I am on that road. I am not sure how far I have to go, but at least I am on it though.

[FBM]

Long as the terms of reference are as broad as possible and some of the deep thinkers here get to chip in, I am all for it man. Your approach is the correct one. Getting there however can be a tad difficult. But I am on that road. I am not sure how far I have to go, but at least I am on it though.

Not sure what you mean by "the terms of reference are as broad as possible." And, of course, anyone interested is always free to join in.

As for being on that road, yeah, it's a long, difficult one. For me, I try to monitor my own emotions during a deep discussion. When I notice that I have a passionate preference for one answer or outlook over another regardless of where the data points, I take that as a sign that I need to do some self-examination and find my bias. (But there's no way I know of to eliminate all bias. Even the conviction that the rational approach is best is a bias of sorts and, accordingly, deserves skeptical treatment.)

There's also a lot to be said for the ability to just agree to disagree and move on. And for suspending judgment on unclear issues. As for me, when the available data aren't conclusive, I just suspend judgment on it and try to avoid taking a preferred conclusion that isn't justified.

Anyway, what do you say we think about something we'd like to explore and meet up in the General Serious Discussion, etc, thread soon? Maybe I can convince staff to remove the "& Body Hair" part that they recently added.

[Mysturji]

I like to describe it as one of the most forums I've ever been a member of.

Me too!

I'm certainly forum.

[Mysturji]

Well, I have no idea why I am here, since I break the three rules of the forum, and with such ease and regularity too: I do not meet people, as they make me nervous. I do not think everything should be a joke. And I do not like cheese. That makes me as un rationalia as it is possible to get, and still be a member here. I am really interested in anything deep, serious and heavy, and although you do do that, it is not as prolific as, say at rat skep, which is more my cup of tea. I honestly do not know. There is possibly some appeal in the warm one feels here, but there has to be more to it than that. I have no idea. I am more of an observer here anyway. I tend not to get involved. I have nothing against loud people, but I try to avoid it myself. I feel that I should not speak ever again but just write instead. I honestly do not know. Maybe because here is such a contrast to over there. I do not know. If I ever find out, I shall let you know, but don't hold your breath. Actually I do like cheese, but not in preference to bacon, and there is always a choice. The funny thing is I no longer eat bacon but I do eat cheese. I don't know.

[surreptitious57]

Anyway, what do you say we think about something we'd like to explore and meet up in the General Serious Discussion

Start the thread and see where it goes. Can be on anything, but make sure it is deep and layered.

[JimC]

This forum is my only escape from the crushing burden of reality...

[maiforpeace]

This forum is something. It's definitely something. I shant say more because I fear I've said too much already. But it's something.

Shhhh - I told you not to say anything.

[Bella Fortuna]

This forum is something. It's definitely something. I shant say more because I fear I've said too much already. But it's something.

Shhhh - I told you not to say anything.

It's...............

[Ian]

[JimC]

This forum is my only escape from the crushing burden of reality...

Well, aside from gin, obviously...

[rasetsu]

If you like serious discussions, atheistforums.org is another place to investigate. They have very good serious discussions, but most center around religion and disbelief (with some politics). I for my part tend to avoid serious forum discussions, though I have no hard and fast rules about it. I just find, in general, that serious forum discussions bog down relatively quickly, and then basically move at a glacial and unproductive pace afterwards. I just exuent'ed from a discussion about epistemology a number of days ago, on AFO. This was due to other obligations, but the discussion, imo, had reached the point of no return anyway. Frequently, such discussions acquire an adversarial nature relatively quickly (though likely depending on persons involved), and once that happens, the search for truth takes a back seat to simply winning on points. And I belong to about 15 local groups of the atheist, humanist, philosophical sort. I find a 2 hour discussion, centered around a book or topic, far more productive and fulfilling than weeks of forum debate. Anyway, I'm babbling, as is my wont.



For my part, I like to think of myself as the quiet, killing you on the inside kind of evil.