Discussion
If you want to discuss something seriously, /dis/ is your place
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 Discuss this boards future.See title.Mainly, do people still want to use this board or should it be removed? |
 The /dis/cussion think tank!I've long talked about or thrown about this idea in various forms. I wanted to make a place where we could come up with topic ideas for dis and generate them at regular intervals if they seem to have high potential (however you want to define potential). We have some new structure proposed for /dis/ and its up to us to attempt the new system. This is also a way for us to work on doing threads according to that system and populating /dis/ with those threads. My brain has been coming up with some great ideas today with other things in my life, and I think I might be able to continue the same mood after I get back from a little social outing/live dubstep event. In the meantime lets hear constructive ideas for thread topics in /dis/ and lets try to decide on one or more for maybe thurs or fri by vote. Lets take until then to revise and brainstorm on some good ideas for /dis/ topics that will be entirely worthy of being saved to the archives!! |
 /dis/ Welcome and Guidelines
Greetings and Introductions! (Written and edited with community input by Strangelove!Doctory2, all credit to them!) Hello everypony and welcome to /dis/, Ponychan's discussion board. Here you'll find threads ranging from controversial topics such as politics, scientific development and religion, to more lax threads meant to share opinions without being overly formal. As you may imagine, given the freedom to discuss these topics, some ponies may inadvertently say or do things that hinder fruitful discussion and bring about unnecessary conflict. Due to this, we have created a set of guidelines that should be followed. Please make sure to read them before posting, as to avoid any misconceptions or confusion. Please keep in mind this is not /chat/. Although there's no need to write textwalls (unless you want), try to write more than a sentence or two in your posts, and keep in mind you may have to wait hours for a response. Remember all global rules apply … |
NoneDelete board for good? This board is hidden but not deleted yet Mods/admins should you guys delete this board because lots of debates and stuff happen on /oat/ |
 ...Lastknights.comThe Last Knights is most easily described as the board game "Risk" where you are just a single army that is part of a country. You are the commander of your own band of soldiers, but you are nothing without the other officers in your country. You have to work together with real players in order to capture cities of other countries until you and your allies are the only ones standing. The game relies greatly on communication between players. There is no storyline but to survive the players are forced to make one within the boundaries of the rules of the game. You can play by training and improving your own soldiers or by being a leader among the officers in your country or even coordinate attacks between your and an allied country. |
 I just want to have a nice discussion about your philosophical views in relation to ethics, morals, and your interpretation on the meaning of life. If you know what the right terms are for your specific views, go ahead and put that in there too.Assuming people will even see this because this board has so cleverly been hidden, tell me your thots. |
 let us consider a piece of music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm2ibnzM1YIa frank, edifying struggle against a distinguished foe is an easily conceptualized, easily recognizable trope. its something people can get behind, a context where they can define and practice their virtue. the thing is, there is no 'mighty struggle' with universalism, it is just depressing. it is also something thats hardly imaginable, there is a cultural blindspot when it comes to successful deleterious memes of this type (duh). a good 2 minutes hate against 'haters' is easily arranged, and its precisely because of this that philosophies of 'love' have done far more damage heretofore. there is no distinct body with which you agree to disagree with, with who you have no real quarrel besides a conflict of interest, and may the better thede win. rather, it is the progressive spread of seductive ideology formenting progressive dysfunction (and better yet, validates that … |
None#Serious Now, before anyone bashes me in my discussions here like usual liberal bigots, keep this in mind: I respect ALL cultures, ethnics and races, even admire them for their uniqueness and individuality, and this all comes from a WHITE, CAUCASIAN male. If anything, I discuss this in terms of support to help races keep their existence and individuality. I feel at least half of the population of the USA has no value or care for their own race or culture anymore. Why? Here is why: interracial marriage, sex and dating. But it is not just America, but many people world wide. Ever since the Columbian Exchange, no one has ever taken into account of how precious other cultures can be, and half of it is because of, well, the whites. The white race was one if the first to explore beyond their continental home, and as soon as they found a new world of an untouched, new race of people... They all but wipe them out. Either by disease or murder or complete cultural makeovers (Mostly … |
 #Non-pony Why does he target strangers? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCW8kRT57pw |
 Struggling with my own standards as an artist#Share This is gonna be a doozy... This is a little hard for me to put into words, so I'll take it nice and slow. I'll set the stage like this. I've always valued myself as a clean artist... well... somewhat, I have drawn my share of suggestive stuff sometimes. A decade ago, I did a handful of fanarts where Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls (And later Blossom and Buttercup) were diapered and dressed Tommy Pickles style (Just a small shirt and diaper, basically), and at the time I was completely unaware of what I getting myself into. I just thought it was funny at the time. I ended up getting disturbing comments from diaper fetishists asking for wet and messy diapers, and I eventually took the pics down. Years later a couple of knuckleheads from the ABDL community stalked me to draw diaper art. One of them was dead set on trying to get a picture of blue from Blue's Clues diapered (And usually dressed like Tommy Pickles) from just about anyone he could fin … |
 #Discussion >im leaving the fandom |
 Discuss the American Schooling System.#Discussion Hey guys, I'll be going to an American school starting next week. Is there anything I should know about the education in the states before then? |
 Gender Identities & Gender Roles#Question What are the differences and relationship between Gender Identities & Gender Roles? As well, within the context of the transgendered? |
 #DisruptSpeciesism BShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmfRMeU6pQ8Choke on a cock, PeTA-tards. |
 Depressed about being single#Share Although I have lots of friends and loving family, I've been suffering from this lingering sadness for a couple years now because I'm single. I'm currently a senior in high school and have never dated anyone, although I acknowledge that there's plenty of time. I understand that relationships can often cause more problems than they solve, and in that respect I'm blessed, but it still makes me depressed whenever I see a happy couple in the street, or see the relationship statuses of all my friends on facebook. I know that I still have plenty of time to meet someone, and I should enjoy the non romantic relationships that I have with my friends and family, but I can't help feeling the way I do. I just wish I could be with someone special. |
NoneIRS problems.#Discussion Hey guys. So... I can barely breathe right now, with things that are going on in my life. A little bit of back story is needed for everything to make sense, so bare with me. Roughly four years ago, in 2010, my parents divorced. My mother took control of the business that up to that point was co-owned by the both of them. Two years ago, in 2012, having gotten into the groove of running two restaurants by herself, my mother got a tax payment to the IRS kicked back for a reason stated simply as "Not Taxpayer Error". Upon receiving this notification, my mother called her bank and the IRS to try and figure out what was going on. No one could seem to tell her. why it was sent back. Continuing to try and fight with the IRS, she kept trying to send the payments through like she had to, and the continued payments kept getting kicked back with the same message of "Not Taxpayer Error" and still no one could tell her what was going on. This year, 2014, t … |
 Am I an infinite looser?#Share I'm posting here as I've been able to post to Ponychan in the past and I'm hoping to get some advise, support, or maybe a slap in the face with reality. Admittedly this is going to be all over the place a bit as I'm letting these thoughts flow as I type them in. I'm feeling a bit like I'm just... stuck. That's I'm a background character. The second fiddle of life. That guy in every group that's behind the entire group, can't get a shot right, and generally feels like a nuisance or worse just there and largely ignored. It pretty much started last week on Saturday, at a card tournament. Granted I was already tired from a pretty crazy morning and then trying to play some of the more energetic arcade machines at an arcade. I was playing in a card game tournament and I lost, and lost, and lost, and kept loosing. Basically I was the only one there that lost every single match he was in. Though not the full reason of my de … |
 Observations from a day off.Pre-post Edit: I have decided to remove the subjects name as to prevent adding fuel to the fire, I ask that we refrain from posting the name and other keywords that could set off a tagger. I don't want this topic to trend. Thank you. Hello all, today I found myself browsing the internet not really knowing what I would stumble into, when I came across a man who is (in my mind) worth mentioning. He is a Representative who has been posting remarks regarding Muslim-Americans, and stirring up quite a bit of attention while doing so. He has been branded as a racist and is currently in the lime light for being one. He also is running unopposed for next reelection. For the record his only influence is in a State (single) House of Representatives. I pity this man. Much like the dog that became rabid, he is an animal that has lost all sense of self control and intellect. While I hope he is taken out by a competitor next election, it is only to prevent the harm it will do w … |
 Misogyny, male entitlement, and virginity[#Discussion] [#Question]In the wake of the UCSB shooting, I'm seeing a lot of internet arguments and blog posts about male entitlement. Indeed, shooting people because you can't get laid is an incredibly stupid thing to do, and Elliot Rodger was an enormously entitled, misogynist twat. That said, there is a flipside to the issue of "male entitlement"; namely, the notion that if a man is not getting laid, then he has failed as a man. Guilty and stupid though he was, Elliot Rodger did face bullying as a result of his virginity, as do many others. In popular culture, "success" for a man is typically defined as "getting the girl". If a boy has sex with a girl and she takes his virginity, it is said that she "made him a man", as if the mark of a man is whether or not he has had sex. Movies like The 40-Year-Old Virgin portray men who have reached middle age without having sex as childish losers. If a guy is going off to college, … |
 Capital's Share of Income#Discussion In a macroeconomic sense, what is an unreasonable share of income for Capital to take? 15%? 30%? 50%? 100%? |
 Celebgate/Fappening/ or whateveryouwanttocallitSince all those celebrity photos leaked, I've been struggling with some moral questions as far as what is considered "blaming the victim". I don't think it was right that someone hacked their iphone clouds, but I'm wondering how much personal responsibility someone has to keep those types of photos private, if that's what they want. It would seem, to me, the internet is a dangerous place to store photos of a sensitive nature, but some people may be ignorant of how secure their information is. A friend of mine compared it to "storing photos in an abandoned safe on a busy sidewalk", that anyone can try and open. Is it fair to say that someone should try to keep those photos in a safer place to lower the risk of exposure? Is it possible to avoid blaming the victim, but at the same time point out risky behavior that makes you a target? |
 Meditation#Share Does anyone else here practice meditation? Does it help you? What forms or methods of meditation do you use? |
 Ask Me Anything... About Masculism#Share A few months ago, in a chat I used to frequent, I mentioned that I'm a masculist. The response to that... was not pleasant. It came from pretty much complete ignorance of the topic, and by the time the other person realized their ignorance, I was too frustrated to properly educate them. I'd like to correct that. There's a lot of misinformation about masculism out there, so I thought I might be able to help educate you. So go ahead. Ask me anything. You can even ask me accusatory questions and I'll answer them. Just so long as it's an actual question, I'll answer it. Keep in mind, however, that if you want me to be specific, you're going to have to put a little effort and open-mindedness into your questions. So you are allowed to ask, "Isn't masculism misogynistic?" However, the only answer you're likely to get is, "Nope." Also don't be surprised if it takes me a couple of days to answer. I someti … |
 Adolescent LoveThis subject is one that has greatly frustrated me:Why does this exist? Why must it exist? What point is there in it existing? Is it something to be Prohibited? For this only brings heart ache and ignorance of friendship between boys and girls. It also brings unneeded drama, and is a weight that many do not need on their shoulders. Can someone please explain to me all of this? This comes from me, a 15 year old, who has no dating/girlfriend experience, but has heard much advice and is an outsider looking in on the events known as dating |
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NoneClopping From a Moral Perspective #Share So. I've come to a realization: I don't necessarily dislike cloppers, and I don't necessarily think clopping is bad. What exactly does that mean? Maybe someone will write it underneath this... First thing's first, there are two words that need to be removed from the discussion: "Weird," and "disgusting." "Cloppers are weird." Of course cloppers are weird. Weired doesn't signify any moral judgement, it simply means "different from the majority." Bronies in general are considered "weird" by society, and I don't think many of you would say that makes Bronydom immoral. "Clopping is disgusting." Disgust is a relative term -- a heterosexual male may be disgusted by the thought of homosexuality, but that doesn't lessen the rights or cheapen the moral legitimacy of homosexual couples. Now then, with that established comes the first and most crucial rule: Responsible conf … |
78162So the guy who sings this has been convicted of " Attempted rape of a child under 13 Sexual assault of a child under 13 Taking, making, or possessing indecent images of children Possessing an extreme pornographic image involving a sex act on an animal" How does that make you feel? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=603uqEm2pLE |
 Three Generations of Imbeciles#Discussion Would the world be a better place if people with low IQs were not allowed to reproduce? Edit: Note that this question does not ask if society should prevent people with lows IQs from reproducing. Last edited at Mon, Jan 27th, 2014 19:56 |
 I don't understand trannys who try to fuck girls. I know this one tranny who does that and if he wants to fuck girls, why does he pretend to be one? There are so many less lesbians. Is it just a lesbian fetishist type thing? I don't get it. |
 State of the fandom/Vocal people suck#Discussion I don't really know why I've come back here. But I have a question for you all. Is the fandom getting worse or not? Is it possible it only seems like this because of the attention given to the negative actions of the group? Has it always been this way? On a side note, I hate the very "vocal" memebers of any group, for, in my opinion, they are the reason most people outside of said group dislike it in it's entirety. Pic unrelated. |
 My gf dumped me over nothing#Question Yesterday, me and my gf was eating dinner at my place (she cooked a really good lasagna BTW). As you know, Italian food can be a bit messy. My gf used the last napkin to clean off. Now, I was kinda stuffed and didn't really feel like going to the pantry and opening another pack of paper towels. I just happen to see a sock I had on last night and wiped my mouth with it. It was when my gf lost her shit. It was like PMS on steroid. She screamed and yelled and swore she'd never kiss me again. When I told her to calm down, she dumped me and stormed out. So my question is 1). how do I get her back and 2). how do I get her not to be so squeamish. |
 Open/Traditial Marriage #Discussion Do you guys and gals think that Open Marriage is a better option of a lifestyle or the Traditional one? With an Open Marriage, you can have more fun with other people without feeling guilty than an Traditional and maybe help built a healthy relationship with your partner. In a Open relationship, i know there might be ground rules or do's and dont's. |
 I have a hypothetical question.If a lady has to have a pelvic exam (or any other exam involving looking inside the wahaHA!) and she is a virgin (with hymen). Does the doctor have to break the hymen to do the exam? If so, it seems really messed up, but that's just me. |
 Changing perceptions of Christianity in the entertainment industry?#Question For a long time, the entertainment industry on average seems to have been rather against religion and, specifically, Christianity. Think about the last game you played where religion was positively portrayed. Now think about the last game you played where religion was negatively portrayed. In movies, TV shows, and often music as well, religion is rarely portrayed positively, and often negatively. Yet in recent years, we've had a wave of movies that not only portray religion positively, but Christianity as a central, positive theme. I can think of three off the top of my head, and I rarely pay attention to movies. Les Miserables, God's Not Dead, and Heaven Is For Real all have Christianity as a central theme and portray it overall positively. They were also all commercial successes, in spite of the latter two receiving poor reviews. And yes, Les Miserables has been around for a long time, but the issue is that someone thought it would actually be a good i … |
 What do you guys think of asexuality? do you have any questions about it? are there any asexuals onlline right now? |
 is it morally acceptable to make love to your pokemon? |
 Bounty Hunting#Question What If Bounty Hunting Was Legal In The US? >Would you need a special I.D? >Would it lower crime rates? >What would be the pro or con of this? |
 Look at this picture. |
 How to fight pseudoscience?The first thing that I'd like to note here is that what I am referring to as "pseudoscience" here is not directly aimed at pseudoscientific per se, but at something that is broader yet narrower.Pseudoscience, in my book, should be understood as wild claims, either untestable, made up, or in any way neglecting the basics of scientific method of investigation. Fighting against claims that pseudoscientific phenomena should be treated equally with phenomena backed up with actual evidence would make sense for many, but in this discussion I want to address only the ideas which should be considered dangerous when it comes to pseudoscientific propaganda and/or data manipulation. There are obvious branches of pseudoscience that are very common, often cringeworthy, such as UFOlogy, creationism or astrology, but they are usually mostly or even completely harmless. We can argue with people supporting them for fun, but personally I don't see anything directly wrong i … |
 Sharing opinions on the Zeitgeist Movement.#Question Hey, /dis/, I wanted to start a question thread. There has been this movement going on recently, called the Zeitgeist Movement. Now, I don't know a lot about it, but I guess that's why I am really here to discuss it. Below is some material that is relevant to the topic of the Zeitgeist Movement, and some questions that I would like to ask you guys. I watched this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F0AtKeExOA It's a short interview featuring Peter Joseph, that offers some interesting critique on the way modern day society is run. I'm no expert on financial matters, but a lot of what he says makes sense. Though they may be a slight bit Utopian, I believe that Peter's messages could really make a difference, if applied effectively. He speaks of revamping the economic system, and forming a market based more on ideas, mechanical development, and information development, instead of on a notion of scarcity, and constant circulation of currency. … |
 Microbiomes : I, Plural#Discussion The way that life assembles sometimes is just really amazing I think. Case in point: our human bodies. Perhaps this appeals to me largely because of my more holistic perspective of things. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308220454.htm From what I am understanding, somewhere between 90-95% of our 'human' bodies are actually not cells we identify as 'human'. We have even possibly waged war on this 90-95% of our bodies, with things like 'antimicrobial soaps' and foods and drinks liberally hosed down with and fed glyphosates. How are their microbiomes faring? Perhaps it would be intelligent for us to consider ourselves, at least as a thought experiment, as the "I" in plural form. The microbiota(right word I think?) that make up the overwhelming majority of our body aren't just along for the ride. They produce the chemicals your brain needs to think, they help you digest your food and help improve the n … |
 Do we have a 'right to be forgotten' and what does that mean, re#Question http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/14/explainer-right-to-be-forgotten-the-newest-cultural-shibboleth 'The decision handed down by the ECJ in a dispute between a Spanish man, who was suing a Spanish newspaper (to be precise, its website), and Google Spain has sent shockwaves through the internet industry. In effect, the judges have reiterated that in Europe there is a "right to be forgotten" - which applies specifically to search engines but not to news websites (or other journalistic endeavour) - and that people can therefore ask to be removed from search indexes (for some search engines, as we'll explain).' Do we have a right to be forgotten? Can that be understood as anything other than a right to censor the speech of others about ourselves? Is there a better, more fair way for this to be handled other than personal appeals? To me this seems like a dramatic overreach that will only be used by those who can afford to argue … |
 I wonder. Are there negative effects of calibrating to much? |
 Why the end of Net Neutrality is not the end of the internet!#Discussion I'm honestly getting sick and tired of all the hysteria surrounding this. Net Neutrality is defined as "the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favoring or blocking particular products or websites." For a long time, the FCC has enforced this with additional laws that allowed blocking of access to content deemed as illegal. Recently, the FCC has adopted instead an Open Internet consept, allowing the ISPs to have more control over what they provide. Of course, everyone starting screaming that it's the end of the internet and I'm here to try and speak to you over the din about what is actually going ot happen. First, the FCC is not surrendering all control. They will still enforce rules as stated in their own blogs: "To be very direct, the proposal would establish that behavior harmful to consumers or competition by limiting the openness … |
 #Question Well come on folks, where's the Ukraine thread? I'll start. Assuming that the Crimea has majority Russian population, the local government has called a referendum to secede, and the people vote to secede, why should they not do so? Is it not their democratic right? London fully respects the right of Scotland to secede if it votes to, why should it not respect the right of the Crimea? |
 Is the new COSMOS actually a fucking big deal?#Question I haven't seen it yet but just caught wind this is the biggest thing in ratings (viewership) history, and that it will be broadcast all over the world in a hundred and fifty or so languages and just may get the same general ratings response. Suggesting it could actually be a fucking big deal. Have you seen it? What do you think? (a word about ownership) picture taken from https://31.media.tumblr.com/83275e643359fe51423a6bdd0cf5c45d/tumblr_inline_n41aucZGhW1sp7gkx.jpg off of the website http://www.cosmosontv.com/ and probably is owned by FOX whom I would credit the image and for airing the show |
 Social Justice#Discussion What does "social justice" mean to you? What do you think of people who cite social justice as motivation for the politics/beliefs? Do you consider social justice to be a ultimately a good thing for society or a bad thing? |
NoneDo you think castration is a good punishment for male rapists? What would be a good punishment for female rapists? |
 What should the legal drinking age be?Should children above a certain age be allowed to drink with supervision of their legal guardian(s)? That seems to be what happens anyway. |
 What age should the age of sexual consent be?Should there be allowances or at least reduced punishments made based upon the relative ages of the participants? Last edited at Tue, May 6th, 2014 04:23 |
 Quints#Discussion What do you guys think about them? |
 U.S. Death Row Study : Greater Than 4% of D.R. Wrongly Convicted#Share A recent study published on PNAS http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/23/1306417111.full.pdf concludes that of the inmates on death row in the United States, >4% of them are likely wrongfully convicted. This comes along with a rather disturbing 'botched' execution where a new combination in unknown quantities of unknown drugs kept legally censored from the public and the inmate's lawyer were administered in poor fashion, causing a gruesome scene where the inmate was gasping and gnashing his teeth and saying 'I think something is wrong' and trying to sit up. When he seized up after something like 25 minutes after the execution began, they 'took him to the hospital' and he 'died of a heart attack on the way' (their side of it, I wonder if maybe they didn't just tazer him till his heart stopped it would be the cheapest thing to do). Its rather disturbing to read about so I'll let you look it up if you' … |
 Should I have kids?#Question I really want to have a family, like the ones in cartoons: Me with my wife, one boy and one girl (if possible, otherwise 2 of whatever is alright). I think I could be a good father, If I can find a good wife then there should not be any problems with my kids (the kind of problems that involve kids being assholes, idiots, spoiled brats, ungrateful little shits and the like), also, I think that if one is a good parent kids will never get into bad stuff like drugs, alcohol or shit friends, having a real bond of trust and love like all families should could solve many of the things people see as problems, so I think I have that covered. Now, the real problem is that it seems the world just keeps getting shittier, it worries me a lot that one of my kids might get kidnapped by some sick fuck, or murdered violently later in life, there are plenty of dicks running around doing some horrible shit to people; there is also the possibility that they might get to live in a shit … |
77784why "Animality" is so illegal to the level of getting you to jail? of course it probably is fuck up and weird, but i think you get less problems for hitting some one. Last edited at Wed, Apr 30th, 2014 11:37 |
 Anypony know anything about vore? I accidentally came across a Mii vore video on Youtube and that made me think..I know there's a difference between hard vore and normal vore. Do the people who get eaten really get eaten? Do they get thrown up? Is it magical, no one gets hurt logic and they get pooped out and are fine? |
 I got a serious question here.Let's say there are 3 guys pony, Pedro and Beastbro, they are respectively a homosexual, a pedophile and a zoophile, however they never act on their desires and just spend their days fantasizing about their shit, are they then the same thing? Are they fetishists? Sick people? People with different sexualities? |
 Princeton Study: The USA is an Oligarchy#Discussion Wiki: >Oligarchy (from Greek ὀλιγαρχία (oligarkhía); from ὀλίγος (olígos), meaning "few", and ἄρχω (arkho), meaning "to rule or to command") is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, education, corporate, or military control. Such states are often controlled by a few prominent families who typically pass their influence from one generation to the next, but inheritance is not a necessary condition for the application of this term. >Throughout history, oligarchies have been tyrannical (relying on public obedience and/or oppression to exist) or relatively benign. Aristotle pioneered the use of the term as a synonym for rule by the rich, for which the exact term is plutocracy. However, oligarchy is not always a rule by wealth, as oligarchs can simply be a privileged group, and do not have to be co … |
 Ethics and Biotechnology#Discussion Hi /dis/, I'm a biosciences major, soon to graduate, and recently I've been thinking a lot about the ethical implications of biotechnology, and I am curious to hear what you may have to say on the matter. Basically the issue arises when I think about our manipulation of micro-organisms. Let me elaborate. Very often the goal of biotechnology is to manipulate organisms to produce a compound or process which is beneficial to humanity. This is accomplished in a variety of ways, including forced mutation of the original organism. This can involve exposure of the organism to intense UV radiation, or other potent carcinogens. In this process millions of micro-organisms can be produced and killed before a desirable one is found. And then very often the desirable organism is only capable of surviving in the extreme conditions presented to it by intensive production. Here my quandary arises. We use such techniques on various bacteria, fungi, and even some plan … |
 Video Games and their Influence#Question So we all know the standard argument: "Video games are poisoning the minds of our youth and making them more violent!" And we also know the standard response that irritates the shit out of me - "Hurr durr if that was really true then I'd be dressed up as pacman and running round and chasing fruit". Clearly the real contention is that violent video games normalise and glorify violence and aggression, encouraging people who play them to imitate those characteristics. This does not transfer to games like pacman or pong because you cannot physically relate to pacman or pong. My question is, is there any scientific evidence to support either side? I don't know what to make of it. I'm not really a gamer myself so I'm not very knowledgeadble. |
 The validity of comic books as a literary equivalent to prose fiction #Discussion Lately I have been thinking a lot about comic books. I read them an awful lot and find them to be fairly enjoyable. Recently I was looking up elective classes I could take for the Summer and Fall semesters at my university. I came to discover that (what probably wouldn't be a shocking revelation) there was no class on the subject of reading and/or analyzing comic books and graphic novels. The university offers several literature based classes ranging from several periods of time and styles of writing. Why is it that the comic book industry is undersold when it comes being considered a work of literature? I feel that they have just the same stake in the matter as any other book or short story you would find in a literature class that is worth analysis on. Books like Watchmen, V for Vendetta, The Dark Knight Returns, and many other comic book series and graphic novels contain literary themes that put them on par with things like Catcher in the Rye or the Iliad … |
 Attacking Modern Agriculture#Discussion I'd like to take a moment to make a thread where I will be attacking modern agriculture. Its an interesting thing I think needs to be done - as some of you know I"m rather passionate about growing and growing food, but many of you don't really know - and probably don't want to know (and in the states, its now illegal for you to film so that you could show others and they could know certain things) there are many degrees of separation we have between ourselves and the food we eat. We simply can afford not to care, not to be aware, and not to be prompted to learn. Yet, there are major problems with how our western style of mechanized, aggressive monoculture farming using patented seeds is far from a good or optimal model, its actually a model that is incapable of being sustained. Beyond that it has serious repercussions we know about and quite a few we don't - this is further not aided when our US politicians allow for the companies that o … |
 Royal Night Guard and Immortality#Discussion Let's talk about those things I put in the Subject. Immortality is Royal Night Guard's waifu, and I believe he's said more than once that he "intends to live forever". So let's ask everyone some interesting questions, and I can pretend I'm not just asking RNG. -Would you want to be immortal? -Why do you want to be immortal? -Why don't you want to be immortal? -Do you believe immortality is even possible? -What do you think of death? |
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_HvVgl62oMI hate these people. I seriously want them to get ran over, all at once, as a group, by a bus full of nuns. The pain from banging my head against their walls of stupidity is getting too much. Not sure if I can continue to throw their insipid theories back in their faces, only to have them peal them off of said gesicht, rinse them out and toss the damn things back at me. Why do we allow this special kind of stupid to propagate? Why can't we just put the poor things down easy? In the interest of further discussion, how do you deal with these kinds of people when you run into them? Have you ever successful convinced someone of just how wrong they are? How does one combat ignorance when that ignorance uses "Ignore" and it's super effective? |
 An interesting view of human sexual history.Hey Graham! http://blog.ted.com/2014/02/20/6-studies-that-offer-fascinating-conclusions-about-human-sexuality/ I saw this and I thought it might be something you would be interested in. In today’s talk, Christopher Ryan, the co-author of Sex at Dawn with Cacilda Jethá, takes a deeper look at the standard narrative of human sexual evolution we’ve long upheld: men provide women with goods and services in exchange for women’s sexual fidelity. According to this model, Ryan points out, the war between the sexes is built into our DNA. But based on their research, Ryan and Jethá have quite a few bones to pick with this narrative. Ryan explains that our sexual patterns are an outgrowth of agricultural models—which accounts for only about five percent of human history. For the other 95 percent, human sexuality was “a way of establishing and maintaining the complex flexible social systems, networks, that our ancestors were very good at.” In hunter-gatherer societies, … |
 Confession#Share I want to become a dolphin. >in another life ;_; |
 Things considered family jokes#Discussion This thread isn't about stand up comedians, because they joke about everything and it's hard to discuss sensibly. I'm talking about jokes on kids' TV or in family movies. It seems that things like two men accidentally ending up in romantic/sexual positions, or men being "dressed like women", are played for humor. I'm sure there are instances of racism and many other things, but I'm just pointing out what I noticed most/bothered me personally. I was watching "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" because it was on Nickelodeon and I have nothing better to do, and there's a scene where an adult man leaning on another's shoulder is considered unusual and disruptive to a theater-going audience. It's not like the movie is about realistic interactions in socially stressful situations or anything, so it was played for humor. There are other examples, but that's the most recent I could think of. I admit to being a … |
 How to run for public office 1 run with the Tea Party Conservative Republicans 2 study the issues 3 run for office 4 hire Jon Stewart of The Daily Show to endorse your opponent. 5 win a landslide victory |
 MisanthropyHow does one deal with overwhelming misanthropy?I'm not the religious type, but I'm convinced that when religion condemned the nature of man it was more right than anyone in history ever was and the more I learn about humanity the more I am disgusted with it. I cannot describe to you how revolted I am by it and how much hate and loathing I have in me for it; words do not suffice. I know desiring the end humanity is nothing strange, but I hold them in such contempt and so unworthy of existence that it's starting to make me unbalanced. I used to be able to at least see individual people as individual people, but now I'm starting to see even family members as degenerate consequence of their genes as everyone else and just as unworthy of existence as them. |
 Excerpt: Colin Stokes: How movies teach manhood#Question Colin Stokes poses us a question in this TED video at 9:09. http://www.ted.com/talks/colin_stokes_how_movies_teach_manhood.html He is asking of a statistic he quotes about sexual assailants, and then of society in general in regards to what we might be getting from media and movies from a very young age >"Are they(we) absorbing the story that a male hero's job is to defeat the villain with violence and then collect the reward - who is a woman who has no friends and doesn't speak?" What do you think? Last edited at Mon, Feb 17th, 2014 05:24 |
 Sugar.#Question I wanted to share this PLOS ONE blog entry and then ask what you think about it / about sugar? I also think the history of sugar is very interesting and worth talking about if you want to or prefer. A grossly abbreviated version at wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sugar This ties a bit into my perspective that we should all be including less corporations in our diet when possible, given that they will add this substance in gratuitous amounts to anything that it helps to sell. |
 So I got with and made love with this chubby ginger chick today, and it got me thinking..Who cares if somebody is fat? Long as they genitals. |
 Why are girls more sexualized than boys? |
 Israeli racism?So, I was wandering the interwebs and I discovered this gem.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPxv4Aff3IA Let's talk about racism, but more importantly why. Be warned there's a fair bit of speculation so if I speculate wrong say so. Africans are fleeing the dangers of their home and their own destruction. This isn't an uncommon story, sadly. This, or similar but less extreme situations, happen all over the world. In America we have ongoing issues with immigration and immigration laws, but laws and the nations feelings towards immigrants may be much different in other countries for a number of reasons. "Protecting the State" is actually a legitimate concern in some countries more intent on maintaining the status quo. America is actually quite lenient with and even 'inviting' immigration. In all of American history up until recently it seems it's been the place to go to escape dangers and hardships of refuge's homes even with racism … |
 Jobs#Question So, I've been graduated from college since December, but I don't have any idea what I want to do with my life or where to go from here. I got a degree in IT, but honestly, I don't feel very accomplished or skillful in the field; I just happen to be decent with computers and know how to use them. Apparently in my parents' eyes being able to build a computer and know how to navigate XP makes me some sort of weird computer paraiah. Since September I've been working a part time job at a local tech firm doing a pretty basic data entry job, but it's a job meant for students. I've since graduated, and I was told in Februrary that I likely will not have this job in April or May. Well, it's April, almost May, so that time is coming closer. My parents have been really, really pushing me since summer last year to find a job, and when I lucked out and got this job... the pushing didn't stop. It then became "a fulltime 40 hour … |
 I hate False Statistics.#Share Let me start off by defining what I mean by 'False Statistics'. These are Statistics that can be true, but are presented in a light that completely twists the statistic around until what it presents is actually false. For example, I'm listening to a local news program that spoke about how leaders in the "Black Movie Community" (Why are we segregating things like this again?) feel that there aren't enough Black Movies being made and that the culture is twisted against them, pointing to the true statistic that predominately Black Movies don't bring in as much money as predominately White Movies. This is what I mean by a false statistic. It is more likely that the predominantly Black Movies were simply not as entertaining and uninteresting compared to other movies. But instead it was twisted around to something else. I just wanted to get that off my chest. I'm sure y'all have more examples on this or can expand on this case. |
 Is Libertarianism Serious?#Question Simple question. Is Libertarianism a serious school of political thought, or is it only that there are people who treat it seriously? Implying it itself is not serious, but people take it seriously |
 Sexuality & Sexual Tension in Naturalists vs Non#Answer Could it be possible that.... Could it be possible that, in a group of people all socializing and interacting and otherwise 'being normal', there would be significantly more sexual tension, energy, repression, and more sexualization in a group where everyone had their clothes on than in a comparable group of 'naturalists' or nudists. Or, in other words, just naked people being naked together like anyone else is, only without the clothes. I suspect that the group of naked people being naked together experiences drastically lower importance on things related to sex, attractiveness, sexuality, preoccupation with self body image etc than does a comparable group of people who keep their clothes on. |
 Tamar Detoxes for Science#Share I was reading about anxiety. On an NHS page I read that the following three things contribute to anxiety - Caffeine, Smoking, and Alcohol. Oh dear, I indulge in all three of those quite a lot! I'm not addicted to any of them but I'm certainly a happy and regular consumer of all three. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anxiety/Pages/self-help.aspx I'm going to have a week-long 'detox', because I feel that I have had increasing problems with anxiety lately. And while I'm at it, I thought I might as well throw Facebook into the bag as well. So: no Facebook, no cigarettes/mini cigars, no drink, and no tea, coffee, coke or other caffeinated drink. Since I'm English, tea will probably be the hardest one to let go of. I thought I'd make this thread for two reasons - firstly to have a bit of accountability, and secondly because the results at the end of the week might be interesting for you guys. It might turn out to be an awful idea, or … |
 #Question Modern society seems to be so much more full of people with depression, anxiety and unhappiness than it used to be. Why is this? A) Was this always the case, only now everybody feels more able to talk about it, due to the liberalisation of society and de-stigmatisation of emotions? B) Has it been caused by social media and the internet? There seems to be significant evidence for Facebook etcetera causing loneliness and isolation, though I can't quote any. C) Is it caused by features of modern society separate to social media and the internet? Is it just because everybody is so bored because they don't have to go hunting for their food or fight off bandits that they get depressed? D) Is it an illusion, and really nothing has changed, but since we can communicate with far more people through the internet it just seems to be more of an issue? E) Is modern society full of yellow-bellied cowards who need to man the f*** up? |
 Communicating With (Superior) 'Alien' Intelligence#Question How will we manage to understand or adequately respond to important messages or ideas from higher/alien intelligences than ours that we just can't grasp? If you want a real life example of this happening, check this out. http://io9.com/computers-are-providing-solutions-to-math-problems-that-1525261141 In this instance, a computer has solved something called the "Erdős discrepancy" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%B11-sequence I have no idea what is going on in this maths However the solution it provided is essentially so monumentally long, that its beyond comprehension. This poses to us one scenario which a 'super' intelligence has attempted to provide something in a format that is too bulky and complicated for us to grasp. What kind of other bottlenecks might we experience in communication with intelligence that has ideas or messages we aren't capable of readily consuming? Last edited at Wed, Feb 19th, 2014 06:18 |
 Felony Disenfranchisement#Question Should convicted felons be allowed to/be disallowed to vote? Should people in jail or in prison? |
 Tuition Costs: Recognizing and Addressing the Core Problems.#Discussion Why is tuition so expensive? This is a question that has been plaguing youths of developed nations more and more as the 20th and 21st centuries have advanced. As nations like the United States become more developed, that is becoming a nation where Service Sectors produce more wealth than Industrial Sectors, colleges and universities have become almost universally required to enter a field that is growing. As such, more and more people have meet the wall that is tuition costs and have either driven themselves into a bottomless pit of debt or have cast aside their own desires to pursue a less demanding path. But why? Why are these costs so high? Many have attempted to point fingers at who to blame. Students for being so foolish as to drive themselves into debt. Banks for giving out loans to those students. Government for not giving enough assistance. But these are not the sources of the problem, in my opinion. Simply a means to shift the blame away from the true … |
 Really random question that been bugging me.#Discussion Hypothetically speaking lets say you are leaving a party and you arive all the way home . As you are about to leave your car you look back and see a person of the opposite gender passed in the back seat. You can tell they're from the party because they reek of booze. Also you remember seeing them at the party. Upon further investigation you can tell they soiled themselves and sadly your car. Angrily you shake them and you get no response. Being the Good Samaritan you are you bring them inside. Here's you dilemma : You want to let them sleep but if they go to sleep on your couch they will get the couch dirt no to mention they will be in their own filth . What do you do? |
 Any thoughts on life stress and anxiety?#Question I have not been very active over the last several months. The reason has been that I have been facing the reality of emotional limitations that come with life stress. It's been simultaneously fascinating and torturous. Fascinating because like I usually do I have run to brain and behavior science to try to explain why I have had to do what I have been doing, but torturous because finding solutions has been a different matter. Also stabbing anxiety. This is the kind of thing every person can go through so I thought I could make this a new post while I try to get more active around here. Anxiety is a interesting emotion. It's like pain and actually shares some of the neurobiological wiring of the pain system. But where pain is damage to your body, anxiety seems to be damage to your world. If your body is in pain something is not working right and you are supposed to be careful with your body and make sure you don't make the injury worse, and take ca … |
 To what degree are the negative psychological effects of rape socially constructed?Yeah, this was originally going to be a troll thread, but on reflection, it's actually a legitimately interesting topic. Let's consider a less emotional crime, say theft. If someone takes an item of value out of your backpack and tells you that you're never going to see it again, you'd feel kinda violated, right? Well, what if the purloiner was a TSA agent acting in his official capacity? You'd still be pissed, but wouldn't feel as violated, right? Now consider a society in which certain high-ranking officials are, by custom and law, allowed to rape certain other persons in certain circumstances, e.g., the probably-apocryphal jus primae noctis of certain medieval jurisdictions. Would that type of rape be less psychologically damaging? |
 Scientific Morality#Discussion One "Edward Slingerland" writes of a concept he feels needs to be retired. of "Scientific Morality" Impressed by the growing explanatory power of the natural sciences of his time, the philosopher David Hume called upon his colleagues to abandon the armchair, turn their attention to empirical evidence, and "hearken to no arguments but those which are derived from experience… reject every system of ethics, however subtle or ingenious, which is not founded on fact and observation." This was over two hundred years ago, and unfortunately not much changed in academic philosophy until about the last decade or two. Pushing past a barrier also associated with Hume—the infamous is-ought or fact-value distinction—a growing number of philosophers have finally begun arguing that our theories should be informed by our best current empirical accounts of how the human minds works, and that an ethical system that posits or requires an impossi … |
 I haven't been on this site in awhile.I left because at one point, I felt I was in a place where my beliefs were looked down upon, and, had no chance to be properly discussed. This isn't about that though. I came because I could just say everything that I have bottled up, and won't be verbally violated. I am an unhappy person. I would like to blame everyone but myself, but I know deep down that it's all on me. I can't control myself, the most regular part of my day is taking a shower, same time, every day for the past two years. Other than that I keep digging a hole. I barely accomplish anything in school anymore and I am starting to hate everyone that I know. My only solid abilities are creativity and I know what little value that has these days. I want all sorts of things I can't have or just won't ever posses because of my loathing. I am judged for the way I look, and regret ever doing anything out of the norm, as I live in a religiou … |
 Banana Wars#Question Smedley Butler writes, in his book "War is a Racket" >I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few h … |
 Solving big problems with... food?#Answer I think we might be able to save the world with food. It sounds kind of silly, but if you think about some of the problems that plague us today as a species - and the world around us, quite a lot of them are fueled by our quite changed relationship with food. But, this is only thinking about how our sustenance relates to problems - what if we applied food as the solution? Its such an incredibly flexible platform to work from, and the market and need and ability to apply solutions with food exists everywhere we do. I think its possible we could actually eat our way to a better tomorrow. Maybe not even only possible, but... it just sounds really easy when put that way, doesn't it? Eat your way to a better existence. I am still thinking about how this might work, but here are a few key points that give this idea some leverage I feel. 'Food' is something we need every day to survive. Everyone consumes this, constantly - lets direct this consumption in … |
 #Discussion Hey, guys. Just thought I'd pop in and see how the oldfriends are doing. Not sure why I decided to pop in, but whatever. Yes I know this isn't /chat/ but the community isn't the same over there |
 Middle East and DemocracyOkay, so we can all agree that stable democracies is a bit absent in the middle east sans Turkey, Israel, and kind sorta Iran (they vote but the choices are all picked before hand). Why is this?Other democracies such as Iraq and Afghanistan is on the verge of a civil war or at the very least unstable. Other countries in the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and Oman are an outright monarchy. With this some may wonder how Democracy can spring up in Middle East. I have a hypothesis if you will indulge me. Iran is our best chance at creating a stable, Islamic (as in demographics), secular democracy. My reasoning is thus: Iran is a stable country and more than that, it has an educated middle class with educated men and women who know they can have a better life and who don't have the same steam that propelled the Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah all those years ago. They already have a good structure for democracy, all they would have to do is reduce the Ayatollah … |
 Legalizing All Drugs#Discussion Would legalizing all drugs be a solution to the war on drugs that America has been losing for the past few years? Would all kids become crack hoes? What do y'all feel? I think it would be totally helpful, especially so people won't be thrown in jail for stupid reasons like possession, using, or selling drugs and leave jail for the folks who deserve it. Also, for people to have more control over what they put in their own bodies. If someone wants to smoke crack or shoot up heroin then I say more power to them, it's their own life and they should be more than able to. |
 Morones thread#Discussion I guess this is the board for this. The recent tragic events in Raleigh have brought an outpouring of sympathetic messages and gifts to Michael Morones and his parents from the brony community -- after the fact. Is there something we could have done beforehand, and should do in the future, to help support or defend kids and others who get persecuted in various ways for being fans of this show? |
 Nexavar (Sorafenib)#Question Should India back off of Bayer's intellectual property? Should Bayer reexamine its priorities in the healthcare industry? What do you think about the Nexavar patent saga? http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/business/global/india-overrules-bayer-allowing-generic-drug.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2545360/Pharmaceutical-chief-tries-stop-India-replicating-cancer-treatment.html |
 #Share Dear /dis/ I have a problem. A very major problem at that. One that relentlessly gnaws at my soul every single day of life. That problem is that I hate humans. Not as in I merely dislike humans, or find them annoying or simply not worthwhile to interact with. I mean I HATE them. As in hate them to such degrees that mortal words cannot come close to fully enveloping the feelings of disgust, loathing, contempt, animosity, bitterness, revulsion, abhorrence, enmity, and outright hostility that I experience every time I even think of the word 'human'. As you can imagine, the fact that I hold these feelings towards mankind whilst simultaneously being surrounded by 7 billion of them at any given time, poses a major detriment to my life - and makes me a very, VERY angry person. Is there any way to resolve this issue of mine, preferably without all the time and effort it takes to become a supervillain and exterminate the fleas with some kind of doomsday device? |
 #Discussion My dear /dis/, Of the various online realms in which I dwell, this has been by far one of the most consistently stimulating. Due in part to the inspiration you have caused me over the last year, and for the conclusions you've helped me draw, I have been able to form my own philosophies regarding this universe and our existence. I'd like to posit an idea for you today. "There is nothing more important that represents both the individual and the collective human experience, than knowledge." I've approached this from various perspectives, mainly scientifically, psychologically, and philosophically. In regards to science, it represents the true systematic nature of determining 'what is' and 'why it is', as a product of reason and the scientific method. Through experimentation and observation, measurement and collectivized experiences from across the world, we've built libraries. Nowadays, a great deal of this in … |
 Looking for racism in all the wrong places#Question A while ago, I happened upon an interesting story, a story of racism. The person in question was talking about an experience he had in his younger years as an upper middle class (IIRC) black youth. The story was about how he felt pressured into looking for racism where it didn't exist, to the point where he verbally attacked a teacher or professor (I don't agree that he was completely undeserving of it, mind you). This is an interesting topic and one that bears a bit of discussion, but the reason I'm bringing up the story in question is because I would like to introduce it as somewhat of a source for a post I'd like to make on the issue. Try as I might, however, I cannot find it. If one of you have read it and can direct me to it, I would much appreciate it. |
 Imouto#Discussion Is the taboo against incest primarily biological (e.g., Westermarck Effect) or primarily cultural? |
 Kids Finding Pony PornThese people are full of crap [ponyconfessionscommentary.tumblr.com]. Please stop believing them. |
 sick of all the demonization of pedophiles (VERY SERIOUS)Note:Does this thread piss you off? That is a consequence of the nature of the subject for some of us. Unfortunately too often the consequences of that is sabotaged conversation. Like it or not this is discussion worth having and I for one am not willing to ignore it so if you want to comment in this thread take the time to actually read it. Once you have you will see how to handle it constructively and will hopefully have calmed down. Email me if you have any questions.
!!Twilight #Discussion [i post this here because this is the only mature enough forum i know that can peacefully handle this discussion] Pedophiles, in the last few centuries have been considered the worst scum and filth a human can be. they are depicted as sick, twisted and demented hobos who do nothing but attempt to rape kids. this is not true at all! how do i know all this? simple, I am a pedophile. does it mean i molest kids? no. does it mean i rape kids? no. does it mean im some twisted psh … |
 #Question Is false information worse than having no information at all, or is it the same? Can this be proven? |
 "Preference" Pt. 1Preference. What a word to say aloud. A word in which has,it's definition literally in the word itself. Just look it up in a dictionary and you'll find this:(Noun) A greater liking of one alternative over another or others. Now, aside from the factual meaning, preference can mean so much more than what is written in a book. It is a word that connects with something so much greater: free will and human rights. The free will to choose, the right to having a say. This concept has been retold again and again throughout world history, constantly reminding us of who we are as the human race. Of course, throughout history, it has not always been that way; there was Times when a group of people would try to take that away from the human species, such as the Nazis (but they are for later conversation.) But many of the challenges that this world has faced were, again, created by choice and decision. What does this have to do with preference you may ask? It is like I said i … |
 What is "art"?#Question People like to complain about modern art, especially abstract or minimalistic works, claiming that they don't require any skill, therefore not art. While I'm not a modern art fan by any means, this annoys me because I think that while skill is often involved in the creation of art, art does not necessarily need to be reflective of skill. And then I read (skimmed) this: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/art-definition/ Is the concept of art, then, entirely undefinable? Am I wrong to think that, since there are things we can clearly label "not art" and "art", there must be a rule, however subjective, to determine where something is relative to this spectrum? If not, what is this definition? Is it entirely subjective, or is there an objective quality that all art must possess? I realize that there's not a one-size-fits-all dictionary-type definition, but I guess my question was more about whether art is definable by any means at … |
 What do you think of these flag designs? |
 Capitalism & Democracy? Or Capitalism vs Democracy?#Question Are Capitalism and Democracy mutually exclusive or otherwise opposed ideologies? Why and why not? |
 Guess.#Discussion Which one is the shittier person: the enabler, or the guy who would let the misery end? Bronyism is about banding together of social misfits into a mutual hugbox where social retardation as depicted in the cartoon series is the norm. In a sense, they're live-action roleplaying, except it's all too real because most of them are actually autistic or otherwise loose in the head. They're kinda like a cult that teaches its members to behave in a certain manner to belong, and when that clashes with the norms of society they call you a martyr and hug you even tighter so you wouldn't leave, defining it as a virtue to behave in an ill manner. The kid just wanted to belong in a group, but the group molded him into a freak - and now they're trying to appear as the good guy here, when in fact their indoctrination was the reason why the kid is in the hospital in the first place. |
 2045 Avatar Project/Transhumanism General#Discussion I bumped into this little picture a few days ago and caught some talk of this project last night, thought I would bring it up for discussion. Here is the website. http://2045.com/ To me it brings up a lot of questions as well as considerations of the possibilities here. I want to point out that as best I can tell, it seems to me we will not be creating a new home or way to extend life for ourselves, we'll be creating a new being which will mimic or act very similar to our self. I don't think these methods will be able to replicate a human being exactly, because the human being is much more than just what a brain scan could produce. Would the avatars have emotions? Would they have feelings? Would they have motivations? Would they be easier to manipulate by a third party than the avatar itself could control? Will they sing, laugh, or play with authenticity - or would they merely attempt to follow a script of such things? Some of my other questions I wo … |
 #Discussion "Alexander's hypothesis was that drugs do not cause addiction, and that the apparent addiction to opiate drugs commonly observed in laboratory rats exposed to it is attributable to their living conditions, and not to any addictive property of the drug itself." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Park Is addiction more environmental or biological/chemical? |
 World Economic Forum Executive Summary 2014#Share Sharing this, feel free to discuss, debate, or point things out. http://reports.weforum.org/global-risks-2014/executive-summary/ >Who is the World Economic Forum? From Wiki >The foundation is funded by its 1,000 member companies, typically global enterprises with more than five billion dollars in turnover (varying by industry and region). These enterprises rank among the top companies within their industry and/or country and play a leading role in shaping the future of their industry and/or region. Membership is stratified by the level of engagement with Forum activities, with the level of membership fees increasing as participation in meetings, projects and initiatives rises. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Economic_Forum >Well I'm not going to read the report. What does it say? The ten most pressing issues we face from a perspective of the WEF are No.Global Risk 1Fiscal crises in key economies 2Structurally high unemployment/underemployment 3Water … |
 I probably have a bit of a problem with the porn I watch. Does anyone else have this issue?When I found porn as a teenager (well, I was probably like 11), it was amazing and I was able to get off to everything. But at the ripe age of 2x, I have to look at the SICKEST stuff before I can even get off. I'm talking Russian daddy / daughter amateur porn (yes, most of it is real..) or amateur cheating girls. Every time I finish, I'm disgusted with myself. This is a really awful cycle. My friend tells me "I watch misogynist HD hentai rape, only because you can't find any good HD hentai that's not rape. It's just porn, man, anything goes". But, ugh, I don't know. I can't help but feel disgusted afterwards, although I hear it's common. Thoughts? |
 Bon Barbas#Discussion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR2XJcyBkgk My personal view on the community is that they are disgusting, degrading, ghastly, sleazy, prurient, and nauseating...the worst of them is the bronies. The whole world benefit greatly by their non-existence. This is Bob Barbas of the Raptor News. Just doing God's work. |
NoneInvasion of privacy.So, here's the deal. I'm 21 years old, female, and I currently live at home with my mother. It's all I can afford (which is another issue I might bring up in a different post.) Last week, with an issue of my eyes bothering me, I went to the optometrist with my mother. Got some eye drops, was told use them 4 times a day blah blah blah blah. One thing they told me very specifically was to take out my contact lenses when I used the eye drops to prevent discoloration and something of the lenses themselves. No biggie. They would prefer I wear my glasses, but as i currently have none, that's not possible. I lost mine about 4 months ago. An irritation, but not a major issue. So, while I was at work today, using the eye drops, they started to severely irritate my left eye. I told my mother. She mentioned looking for my glasses. I told her not to bother, I'd already searched my room. So, I get home from work to a pile of things outside my bedroom door. Open do … |
 Israel and Palestine: effect on anti-semitism#Discussion Let me say some stuff before I actually start the thread 1) I'm Jewish and pro Zionist 2) I'm pro peace between Israelis and Palestinians 3) The fact that the land is not being shared is not the real issue. There are people on both sides who want misery for the other, merely because of hatred and bigotry I know that Palestinian and Israeli conflict is a sensitive topic, but I'm not here to debate that. I feel that Israel is being demonized by the media. Regardless of how people feel about the way Israel is treating Palestine, people use Israel Zionism to demonize Jews. There are unfortunately many people who wrongly accuse Jews and Zionists of being greedy parasites who want to take over the world. As a Jewish man I feel threatened when there are people in the world who are ok with teaching their kids hate songs about killing Jews. Although antisemitism has existed since Roman times, I feel it's wrong for people to tell me to "get … |
 This may be longer discussion and more genral/universal disussioín (free to delete if useless) but I wondered if ideologies like kike narchism (freedom) comunism (compassion) capitalism (responsibility for your own doings) or fasism (honor over where you belong) feels I Just want these ideologies rather complement themself where they can in things they can do good, ands support other philosophies, raether than caring for their own rightfullness, |
NoneAnarchy#Discussion Is it just for eggheady Emo kids or is there some sort of viable option in it? |
 "I had sex with a girl before finding out I was gay." - some gay dudes"I had sex with a guy before finding out I was straight." - no straight dude ever What's up with that? I'm kidding, of course. There are a few straight people who date/have sex with somepony of the same sex and discover they're not gay after all. However it seems (maybe this is not the case, but I don't have evidence one way or the other) that gays/lesbians are more likely than straight folks to have a sexual experience outside their sexuality. I'm not sure why this would be, if it is indeed the case (and again, I have no proof that it is, but it does seem to be). Is it really just heteronormative values that cause those that aren't straight to try and "fit in" so to speak? I dunno, what do you think? |
 vvhttp://www.youtube.com/user/SuperJayGames [9/30/2013 8:37:17 PM] Mellyy: i always feel sleepy after i wake up [9/30/2013 8:37:26 PM] Mellyy: I'll be okay after awhile [9/30/2013 8:38:07 PM] Jerome: Aww [9/30/2013 8:38:12 PM] Jerome: Haha, you’re so adorable. [9/30/2013 8:38:24 PM] Jerome: did you get my message? [9/30/2013 8:39:33 PM] Mellyy: yeah, but i fell asleep already xD [9/30/2013 8:39:42 PM] Mellyy: i replied though! [9/30/2013 8:40:35 PM] Jerome: Umm, I don’t think so, No. I replied. [9/30/2013 8:40:40 PM] Jerome: ^-^ [9/30/2013 8:41:54 PM] Mellyy: but i didn't get anything! [9/30/2013 8:41:56 PM] Mellyy: o.o [9/30/2013 8:43:15 PM] Jerome: Well, should I send it again? [9/30/2013 8:44:39 PM] Mellyy: oh jeez! Okay I see it naao [9/30/2013 8:45:24 PM] Mellyy: oh wait a second. [9/30/2013 8:45:28 PM] Mellyy: WAAAIT a second! [9/30/2013 8:45:44 PM] Mellyy: MY message didn't get sent, not yours ~,~ [9/30/2013 8:48:17 PM | Edited 8:49:29 PM] Jero … |
NoneWhat is a man?Hello, /dis/. I'm conducting a public experiment. Describe for me if you please (BUT DO NOT NAME!) a man that you hold in the highest respect, and describe him only by those traits which make him highly respectable in your eyes. |
 #L09Why it is that when a female teacher has intercourse with her student, she gets 1-3 years in jail, and everybody laughs at how lucky the student got.However, if a male teacher has intercourse with his student, he gets 7-10 years in jail, and gets hated for the rest of his life and people crying for the death sentence? |
 #Discussion Why are or why aren't you religious? |
 My Little Pony, Now only for Men??#Share I am a casual fan of MLP FiM, I watch the show, I look at and enjoy fanworks, but I'm not involved in the community. I don't know much of what normally goes on, but I do keep getting things like that on my tumblr, and I can't help but wonder. How much of it is true? Obviously, some of this is blown out of proportion (calling girls fake fans of MLP?) But turning some of the characters into sex symbols (Princess Molestia) is true. Is there a section of bronies like that? Turning MLP into a man's thing? I want to know where haters are getting information like that. |
 Mental IllnessesI just got back from a NAMI thanksgiving celebration and I'm a little bored now. so ask someone who is living with schizoaffective disorder anything. |
 Creating an Argument#Question I couldn't help but think my friends over at /dis/ could help me out with this logical conundrum. Towards the end of my philosophy class, our teacher asked us to write an argument for the question: >Is this bad weather? = P After ruminating on all the shortfalls of language and human psychology and social interaction when approaching a question such as thing, I began to break it down into it's key parts. I'm wondering if anypony else is doing it better than I am at the moment. z (this) = a given time and place being indicated or experienced b (bad) = relative unpleasant or unwelcome attributes W (weather) = a state of atmosphere In order for 'P' (the question) to be true, how would these variables fit together in formal logical expression? Before you ask, I'm not asking you to do my homework. Just the fact that having lurked and been a part of these threads for a while, the practical side of logic and the capacity to pounce o … |
 #Share Hey guys, I'm sorry to come here with my problems, but I just can't take it anymore! I want to jump off the nearest highrise! I've been so depressed lately with the fear that I could possibly be a bad person or do something horrible. I need to get this off my chest and hopefully someone knows something I don't. So in short, I'm terrified of the thought that I may be a pedo. I've never had this issue before, this started over the past few months. Everytime I see a child I get scared shitless now, I try to avoid interacting with them, or even looking in their direction, I'm scared of losing control or something and hurting an innocent child. I have no history of any violence, or any mental health issues, and to be honest I never really liked kids, they're gross and loud and annoying. I've done some research and I think I may have found a few explanations for this, but I can't convince myself, and get past the guilt, di … |
 Some multi-faceted problems that plague me day to day.So let's say that someone is contemplating suicide. There are a few choices in how to proceed communications with the subject. You can remain silent, but that is boring. It is also against the site rules to advise someone how to commit suicide, or Melancholy forbid that you convince the subject to commit such an act. However, if I the experimenter deem it possible that the subject might commit suicide, the correct choice of action may very well be to tell the subject alternative suicide methods in order to minimize the amount of human suffering that takes place. Of course, that course of action is also somewhat against the rules. The favored response by the rules of the site, society, culture, and by human ethic, is to convince the subject to get treatment for their suicidal ideation while ignoring the cost, and necessity of treatment all together. From a financial point of view, getting help is not the best course of action unless the subjects life holds the value of th … |
 Parents being forcefully kept from their children. #Discussion It's a horror story you might hear, about a future where the Government will rip children away from their parents who aren't raising them according to Their Standards. We put it in the realm of fantasy, never to breach reality. Well, I wouldn't be writing this if it hadn't happened already. You might be surprised to know I have three examples. (Breaking up into three parts because of 'too many links'.) [url -to-take-his-children-home/]“School is out – My children are to be given to me,”[/url]the dad said. The school said no, they will decide when the child is given to him. The father, Jim Howe, is citing a Tennesse law that states, more or less, that parents are to be given their children once school closes after a reasonable amount of time, fifteen minutes in most cases. What started this whole mess is a new policy that all parents picking their children up must drive up to the school after two and wait in line until 2:35 P … |
 Is immorality inescapable?#Discussion Are good and bad qualities of states of existence, or qualities of actions? Is there ever an immoral situation that a person does not put them self into? For example, can a person ever find themself in a immoral situation completely against their will? And where is the line between what is defined by their will? Homosexuality works as an example. It seems to me that the debate regarding it is based on two factors, how inherant it is, and whether it is immoral or not. The side saying it's moral generally seems to say it's inherant to a person, and the side saying it's immoral generally says it's a choice. Imagine if it were without a doubt unquestionably inherant and unchangeable from birth for the entire existence of a person. Would anyone still say it's immoral? Or only their choice to indulge in such actions, and their urge for it is irrelevant? One part of this question is is morality based on actions or situations? I firmly believe … |
 Having Children#Discussion Do you think having children is important as society seems to think? Do you think the pressure for married couples to have children is overbearing? Do you think the reward for having children is worth the responsibility and the hardship that comes with it? What does /dis/ think about children? |
NoneThe Spectrum Crunch: How we are running out of bandwidth.#Share http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOyqQAbPrn8 tl;dw We are literally running out of space in the air for broadcasting information though radiation. Remember TVs that used to pick up signals though 'bunny ears' and radios in the modern era? Well now our cellphones, tablets, wireless internet and a whole lot more is doing the exact same thing, and the space isn't unlimited. So what is the solution? Treat the space like a commodity like Oil and have the Government distribute it? Or is the solution in technological advancement? What's your opinion on the situation? |
 Examining Efficiency#Question Mirriam Webster defines "Efficient" as ef·fi·cient adjective \i-ˈfi-shənt\ : capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy We often use 'efficient' in a positive light. More efficient = better. An efficient worker is a good worker. An efficient company, a good one. However, in the context of money, or in the context of labor, could 'efficient' become damaging, harmful, or counterproductive? Is it possible that we have perused capital or labor efficiency just a bit too far? Why or why not? |
 Short Film InterpretationI'm curious.What do you think the 'message' or 'story' is here in this short animated film lasting 5:25 (and then credits at the end) http://youtu.be/cxUuU1jwMgM Last edited at Tue, Dec 17th, 2013 05:38 |
 Neoreaction and Aristocracy#Discussion >Made in America >monarchic/feudal society >gold standard >heroism >government, where it is suggested, is non-interventionist and impotent; solutions derive from the actions of the main characters >feudal society characterized by an explicit aristocratic and clerical hierarchy. >racial caste system; the traditional three castes of the peasantry, aristocracy and the military >Equestria is led by elites that are either deities or ascended spiritual masters that act as a bridge between the material and the transcendent. >Ascent into royalty is conflated with spiritual and genetic ascension. >gold standard >Reaffirms inequality and encourages harmony and division of labor, as opposed to egalitarianism. >The Apple family is the most extreme characterization of family values in Western media, demonstrated from their ritualistic reunions of branches of the family from across the continent, to their will to assemble militias to defend … |
 #Discussion The law of jante(pic related) is thought to be the model that most of Scandinavia follows when dealing with other people. Also described as the shield of Jante, it discourages individuality, and supposedly promotes solidarity. Is this a healthy mindset for a community to have? For those of you living somewhere in Scandinavia, do you think these laws are an accurate portrayal of peoples mindset? Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante Last edited at Wed, Dec 4th, 2013 14:20 |
 #Discussion You guys are screwd. https://boards.4chan.org/mlp/res/14873534 I'm not actually against you guys, but if they do raid you... What's your next move? |
 Cyclic social stress.#Discussion I have been feeling pretty down about where things seem to be going lately and I came across this article that supports some things I have thought were true about where the world fits into past patterns of social evolution. Basically I have thought that there was some kind of "breaking point" coming but I have not had the history knowledge to do more than speculate about what I was feeling about what is coming. Blame Rich, Overeducated Elites as Our Society Frays [www.bloomberg.com] Pics from the article. Top: Detail of the cycle of wealth gap creation and political/social instability Bottom: Political violence spikes through US history. >Complex human societies, including our own, are fragile. They are held together by an invisible web of mutual trust and social cooperation. This web can fray easily, resulting in a wave of political instability, internal conflict and, sometimes, outright social collapse. >Analysis of past societies shows that … |
 Human MIcrobiomes#Discussion Not too long ago I was presented with the idea, from a friend of mine who holds a degree in chemistry, that our microbiomes are actually a very important and integral part of who we are as people. That we can actually produce antibodies in one human and spread them to another human who will integrate those antibodies through casual physical contact. I haven't researched this, but this morning I noticed an article from NPR which suggests that our microbiomes have a lot to do with how our minds operate as well, and that we can exchange behavior patterns, attitudes, etc by exchanging microbes. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/18/244526773/gut-bacteria-might-guide-the-workings-of-our-minds Perhaps, as organisms, we are a lot more than just a brain piloting a human machine in which a lot of microbes are hitching a ride on and in us. Perhaps we are not just the sum of those microbes as well, but also their lives, networks, and exchanges? Its an interesti … |
 #Discussion NYPD admits what everyone's suspected for years. Sometimes they get bored and just randomly ticket people http://reason.com/blog/2013/07/09/disgruntled-nypd-officer-reveals-world-o pic unrelated |
 "Charging Crystals in the Sun" - Pagan Ritual or Valid Exercise?#Question Now, I'm probably one of the last people to publicly dismiss certain types of mysticism when I encounter it in other people, largely due to the fact that I respect them. One I've never ever bought before though, is 'charging' or 'cleansing' a crystal in the sun. Sounds like absolute rubbish, doesn't it? >Quite by accident, Washington State University researchers have achieved a 400-fold increase in the electrical conductivity of a crystal simply by exposing it to light. The effect, which lasted for days after the light was turned off, could dramatically improve the performance of devices like computer chips. http://www.itechpost.com/articles/11786/20131117/accidental-discovery-dramatically-improves-electrical-conductivity.htm Is... is this legit? Could my wiccan and pagan friends who insist on cleansing or charging crystals in the sun have actually been on to something this whole time? I think this also has some interesti … |
 Agenda 21#Discussion Some time ago, my stepdad and mom got back from a Michelle Bachmann rally ok, now some of you who don't like Bachmann please try to keep the snarky comments to yourselves if you can and were all riled up about agenda 21. They got bumper stickers saying something about protecting america's sovereignty and stopping Agenda 21. Apparently it was a horrible, terrible thing. So, I asked: what is agenda 21, exactly? Surprisingly they both admitted they didn't quite understand it: but what they did understand was that it would be giving the UN sovereignty over US soil. So, let me ask: what do you think about Agenda 21? |
 Logical fallacies and cognitive debiasingRecently /dis/ discussed a recent article on how political thinking can mess with your logical abilities [www.motherjones.com]. That is directly relevant to a subject that I have been wanting to cover for a long time and want to start a thread for, cognitive bias and critical thinking. Also thinking rationally, logically, what fallacies are and a whole big group of other issues that I am seeing all over the place with respect to what is going on in US politics when we argue about, well anything. It's worse now with the shutdown but it's always bad. And whoever you are reading this you do it too. I do it, you do it, everyone does it. The only question is where, what context and how bad. So I thought that a thread about the subject would be a good idea. While doing some reading about the subject in the other /dis/ thread I encountered a pair of papers that are frankly the best resource that I have ever seen for framing the subject and I am going to break these paper … |
 Girls gets filmed getting her pussy eaten in public. College management sees video and threatens to expel her. Girl changes her story and claims he "RAPED" her, in order to avoid getting expelled.Full story below: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2462551/Passersbys-photos-videos-woman-raped-sidewalk-Ohio.html |
 Real world proof of the effectiveness of border security?#Discussion In January, Israel finished construction of a 143 mile fence along their southern border. This recent quarter, Israel’s Population, Immigration, and Borders Authority released astounding figures of a drop from 10,440 in 2012.. to just 36. Source [www.theblaze.com] These are not only illegal immigrants, but potentially they could be terrorists, criminals and gangs seeking to cause harm in Israel's borders. Israel took action to prevent them entry and kept them out. The astounding results are giving reason for Israel to expand the border fence. Of course, the United State's 1,954 mile border is about 14 times bigger than Israel's southern border fence. One could argue that the $377 million cost could also be that much more expensive and the two year time frame would be that much larger if implemented in the US. But these results are hard to argue against. If 10,440 (recorded) unknown individuals were crossing into Israel in 2012. How many are … |
None#Discussion Free Banking [www.youtube.com]. Discuss. |
NoneMLP thesis Questionnaire#Question I am writing a thesis on fanthropology and fandoms and how important the internet is to them. It would really help if any bronies could answer these questions please. Many thanks~ 1: What age did you first know you were a brony? or felt a strong connection/initial pull to pony characters? 2:What age did you discover your first brony community? 3: Did you feel accepted and a sense that you were no longer alone in your passion? 4: What do you feel your drive(s) is for being a brony? 5: Do you feel a stronger connection with bronies than non bronies? 6: Did you feel your passion was weird before finding a brony community? 7: Do you make money off of the fandom? 8: Do you feel you would have as many friends/social life if it wasn't for the brony fandom? 9: if it wasn't for the internet, do you think you'd be a brony??? If it didn't exist as a form of communication. Many thanks! |
 GDP vs GPI#Question In the US, we are often pointed to the GDP as a figure indicating the well-being of the nation. Do you think GPI is a better measurement of a nation or group's wellbeing than GDP? If you think one is better the other, why? Is the one you think is less ideal still relevant, and if so, for what? fromwiki >Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a given period of time. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living. >Genuine Progress Indicator, or GPI, is a metric that has been suggested to replace, or supplement, gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of economic growth. GPI is designed to take fuller account of the health of a nation's economy by incorporating environmental and social factors which are not measured by GDP. For instance, some models of GPI decrease in value when the poverty rate increases. |
 Economic Crisis and New Poverty#Discussion So I dug in the actuality in the last week. > Report on "new poverty". Lawyer testifies how she can barely make enough money to support her family. More and More families, even where parents have jobs, get into financial troubles. > Theft in stores has increased. More and more parents steal little things (batteries, food) because they simply can't afford it on their budget. > 1 in 4 young adults is unable to find any job > another factory closes down and another few thousand people are out of a job. I'm starting to get worried, how will our Western life be in another decade? |
 Muscle memory without muscles?#Discussion (Caution: Spoilers within from the Anime Sword Art Online) So I'm watching the latest episode of Sword Art Online shown on Toonami (Return) and it brought up an interesting topic. To those who don't know, Sword Art Online centers around the sub-genre that has some popularity in Japan that can be simply called 'Trapped in the Game'. In this series, an MMO called Sword Art Online is released making use of headgear that allows the wearer to 'dive' into the game. (To those who don't know, this is a cyberpunk term that means to leave one's body to interact with a digital envirement be it the internet or an MMO). However, the day the game is released, something happens that traps all the players of SAO in the game, unable to logout and return to their bodies. If they are disconnected in the 'real' world, they die. If they die in the game, they die for real. Only beating the game will release them. Or those who survive … |
 #Discussion What do you think of the Lottery of Birth argument? |
 #Discussion Hi, I'm soon going to be resitting three of my senior school (high school) I wanted to do business and management at good Uni for it in England and am just wondering if anyone here has done the same or similar course. What kinds of things can I expect? Is there much of a workload per week? Is it actually useful for getting a job or setting up my own business? From past experiences I know that I like doing business but I'm just wondering now if it's something that is actually worth doing. It isn't just a "I don't know what I want to do in life so I'll do business" kind of feeling. Thanks |
 Lets talk about Joshua Milton Blahyi "Former General Butt Naked#Discussion http://www.news.com.au/world/africa/general-butt-naked-the-notorious-liberian-war-criminal-has-never-been-punished-and-is-now-a-priest/story-fnh81gzi- 1226752461112 Another more detailed article on General Butt Naked. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/general-butt-naked-warlord-blahyi-seeks-forgiveness-in-liberia-a-930688.html The man commonly known as Gen. Butt Naked went from being a blood thirsty rebel leader to a peaceful priest. What are your thoughts on this man? Do you think he should be taken to court? Do you think he should continue going unpunished? |
 #Question Some questions on philosophical reductionism: Question #1, "How does reductionism explain emergent phenomena?" Question #2, "How can everything be 'reduced' into a series of measurements?" |
None#Share So, occasionally I go out to search for articles with dissenting views. You know, the whole "trying to be rational and reduce one's biases" thing. It's not hard, there are plenty of articles. Most are smarmy, but that's another story. What I've been wondering is...does this really help? It feels like all I'm likely to do is just become much more entrenched into my own views than otherwise, and intolerant towards others (e.g., "Oh, this argument again."). I'm starting to wondering whether what I'm doing really has the objective that I think it has. Whether this really is the best way to challenge one's own views. I don't have much of a point here, I just wanted to ramble this out and it seemed appropriate to put here. |
NoneModern Child 'Soldiers'#Discussion Que. boy, 12, pleads guilty to hacking government websites! [www.torontosun.com] The boy was hired by Anonymous (or at the very least a branch of the formless 'organization') to hack in their name in exchange for Video Games and did nothing as the boy was eventually tracked down and arrested. Instead, they are slinking back into the shadows and letting a 12 yo take the fall. This has the same feeling of using children as human shields and African Warlords using children as soldiers. While it is not so dramatic in the loss of life, to use someone so easily influenced in such a manner is despicable in my eyes. This is my problem with secretive anonymous shadow organizations. There is no accountability, no one to keep the rest of the members in line, no one capable of breaking the silence to bring their own members to justice. |
 Obamacare!!#Question Obamacare is now live. What do you think about it, if you live in the US? Or outside the US can comment too, sure. Any questions? Are you ready for the DEATH PANELS |
 I think /dis/ is full of psuedo intellectual tryhards.#discussion #share #based #rare #question #answer #wow Last edited at Tue, Oct 22nd, 2013 16:58 |
 Is Economics also Science?#Question Simple question: do you consider economics to be a science? Why or why not? |
 Religion#Discussion I think religion is a safety blanket for the unknown |
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NoneGood News Everyone!#Discussion (I'm too lazy to get the image for it so someone else can) The World has reached the UN's goals for reduction of people living in abject poverity and those without clean drinking water five years early. In 1990, the UN wanted to cut in half the number of people living in extreme poverity (those living on less than $1.25 a day) and the number of people without clean drinking water. The goal was set to have this happen in 2015. In 2010, the goals were meet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzmxQOonnGE Prof. Stephen Davies explains that this is due to the world growing to accept free market and open trade. Does /dis/ share in his sentiments? |
 Corporations & Governments#Discussion What role do you think corporations should have in influencing and running governments? Is such a relationship fine, or perilous? Why? |
 www.landoverbaptist.net <-- they be messing with the wrong people. Last edited at Sun, Oct 20th, 2013 13:03 |
 TransexualsWhat do you think of Transexuals. Pic related. Transexual. |
 The human race's self criticismI've noticed that in a lot of in a lot of films, television shows,(both animated and live action), music, whether religious or secular, the human race seems to be extremely critical of itself Some examples that come to mind:Peace on Earth [www.imdb.com] The Day the Earth Stood Still Most Western religious doctrines seem to preach that humanity is evil by default I remember a Courage the Cowardly dog episode [courage.wikia.com] that had this kind of message, and I'm sure there are many others Most post-apocalyptic stories tend to have a similar message My point being, why do you think this is so commonplace? Despite our improvements health, science, technology, etc, and in how we treat others, we don't seem to be very optimistic about the future. How much of this mindset, and of the do you think is warranted? |
 #Discussion If man and a woman get married, and then one of them gets a sex-change operation, would they still be considered married in a state that doesn't recognize same-sex marriage? |
 Peak Oil#Discussion What do you think about peak oil? Do you think we have already hit it? Do you think it is yet to come? Do you think there is no such thing as peak oil, and we will continue drawing it from the earth at an ever increasing rate because of reasons? What impact do you think peak oil has or will have? |
 Is our fandom dying?#Question Hello everyone, I am new to Pony Chan but not to the fandom so bare with me. I just finished waching the last Youtube video posted by TheMovieBrony. To those who don't know. This YT channel was created to show off the fandom's fan made videos (but you're all probably familiar with it at this point). Ultimately, he or she passed on his or her sires to jhallar because he or she is no longer apart of the fandom due to work and graduating school. Thankfully, it continues to this day. For some reason this is making me worry. Do you believe the brony fandom will die? If so, can it be saved? Last edited at Wed, Oct 9th, 2013 06:59 |
 Your daily shot of reality#Answer http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day Not really a #discussion because I'm not legitimately sharing an opinion of my own nor saying something that opens up good discussion, but: Here's another of those empty and slightly annoying "American traditions." |
 Is this the right place to ask for help?#Question Hi there, umm this is probably one of the few times I ever ask for help but I hope that the community as a whole can help me. I am to present a subject soon on the matters regarding Bronies and their involvement in the world. Each source must be scholarly meaning a credible source, I would love to use EQD but that is not a credible source compared to the BBC or Young Siblings. I have what could be a decent presentation but I believe that it could be a better presentation with a little help since I have shirked the internet of late and am in need of assistance to make we as a community look better in the eyes of the public. |
 #Discussion So what do you think about alcoholism? I mean, is it really just up to the person what they do with their lives or is it a more influential aspect of a person that will affect those around them detrimentally as well? Alcohol seems like such an easy fix to so many problems! I mean, if its the difference between someone with severe social anxiety and a social butterfly, whats the big deal with a shot or two in your morning coffee? Its better than being a shut in with no forsee-able life. |
 Picking Sides#Discussion Creationists vs Evolutionists Republicans vs Democrats The 2 most pointless feuds that i will not understand. Creationists vs Evolutionists feud to me is like arguing about is like the chicken and the egg theory. Whats the point of even worrying on how humans came from if it generates so much hate among us. Instead of wasting time and life on telling each other on how wrong you are. We could ask God himself when we die. Republicans vs Democrats...Now, I may not be a voter because, I know BS when I see it. To me, I see it a game, "The Blame Game". Whenever something happens in the US, both sides want point fingers at each other, but won't take the responsibilities of the problem. The other thing is that both parties are the same. They both say anything to a vote and they are funded by banks. What really ticks me off, is that people today still think that Rep/Dem are different and still fighting over which party is worst but in reality...both sid … |
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