Mikie

Yes -- you're fairly predictable. To summarize this odd discussion: you're yet another deluded 9/11 truther desperately pretending to not be a 9/11 tr...

Lots of things go unexplained. All kinds of strange things happen during disasters. There's nothing about that video -- or logic generally -- that sug...

A history of stupid choices and stupid judgments comes to mind. But generally it's not something easy to explain.

Yes. Reminds me of Nietzsche: "There are horrible people who, instead of solving a problem, tangle it up and make it harder to solve for anyone who wa...

So do I, including family members. So what? It's still terrible, terrible judgment.

Indeed. Much more careful than most people are, in fact. It's very tempting to have opinions about everything, rather than constantly saying "I really...

So the idea that people with terrible judgment also are more likely to make armchair claims about physics being “bad” is “baloney” to you? Seems almos...

You didn’t come close to understanding what I wrote. Give me a break. If they’re “smart and perceptive” and yet buy into what a 10 year old could reco...

Yes, this and a thousand other reasons. But to quote Strangelove: “There’s nothing to figure out—the man’s obviously psychotic.” To bring it back to “...

Don't you mean the natural born rebel, you conforming Nazi you? You can mock Q all you want, but what about the EVIDENCE? Why don't you want to talk a...

This is an important point. Very important. I never once said that. I'm talking about 9/11 truthers -- those who believe the towers were an "inside jo...

Yes -- a common defense for all quacks, charlatans, and bad faith actors. Knowing the difference between honest, healthy skepticism/questioning and qu...

I think that's basically it, yeah. I'd just add that the axioms (or principles) are generally not even thought. Most of our activity (read: behavior, ...

No, no. Those people have it wrong. In my theory, it's Ethiopian space lasers.

No, you're transparently attempting to make a point which you believe supports your call to question things. Nevertheless: what exactly would the "ful...

Yes, maybe the buildings were brought down by dynamite. Maybe JFK wasn't killed by Oswald. Maybe Pearl Harbor was planned (or allowed). Maybe we DID f...

True. Again, this is why I said it's tricky, but in the end a good rule of thumb is go with the consensus, if there is one -- and especially when it's...

Yes indeed.

In my opinion, there's a danger in the very idea of "debate" -- as if we're qualified to judge whether there's even "two sides" to the story. I don't ...

They do have a say in that -- a limited one. That has nothing to do with whether physics has been "bad" for the last few decades. The OP isn't about f...

Well we can't all recognize our delusions. If you're not a physicist, I'm not interested in your amateur opinion -- no matter how many pop science boo...

I leave that to physicists to decide. To presume I have any idea that its "bad physics" is delusional. Ditto for you (unless you're a physicist, of co...

Yes: understanding physics takes work. Hard work.

The Framers' Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution by Michael Klarman Highly recommended.

Well said. My apologies. A trap I often fall into indeed. Be well.

This response is as coherent as anything else you’ve said. What does politics have to do with ANYTHING I said? Also, “metaphysics” is not an excuse fo...

It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a word used to explain another word, and this is supposed to be interesting. It’s really the incoherent ramblings ...

:lol: This coming from a guy who says a symbolism isn’t abstract? Give me a break. We have no idea what “self” is either. But even if we did, to say i...

No, we can define it any way we'd like precisely because we don't understand it. Something we don't understand isn't "hard to define" -- it's just unk...

So consciousness, which we don't understand, happens because of the "will," which we also don't understand. Maybe ectoplasm happens because of a zflec...

If by God we mean anything we don’t understand, sure. No. You said logic isn’t abstract. Logic most certainly is abstract, as is mathematics. Consciou...

In an interview recently, I heard him say that it was a personal choice not to go on reading Heidegger, and that the issue may ultimately lie with him...

My main disagreements really come from the ideas of Nietzsche and Heidegger, whom Chomsky hasn't really dealt with (unfortunately). When I asked him i...

Yes, in a scientific sense. In a practical sense, it's the most obvious thing in the world. This is baffling. What's abstract about syllogisms? It's l...

No surprise. He was (and is) my teacher. Still very much in what most call the "analytic" tradition, and so I'm not in complete agreement with everyth...

I think most of what you said is rife with confusion, to be honest. The difference between what’s abstract and what’s logical isn’t that clear. Russel...

This is like saying we don't see the "words" behind things. Mathematics is something humans do. There's little reason to think the structure of everyt...

The very idea of “matter” is itself undefined, and itself comes out of the human being. So to say consciousness is matter is like saying x is y. We ha...

All kind of fun. Yet it has to be pointed out, again and again, that before any discussion gets off the ground it's helpful to know a few things -- li...

Anything is arguable. There's “another side” to anything as well, sky’s the limit. It’s not that it’s unphilosophical — it’s right in the middle of wh...

Everything's an existential interpretation. Besides, what's the alternative? That we are what we think and believe? Yeah, maybe -- but maybe that's tr...

I didn’t realize it when I posted, but you’re exactly right: it is very much Greek. All the better! Me too. I hadn’t posted much in weeks prior to thi...

What a strange position. Again, if this is the kind of conclusion that “philosophy” results in, then it’s no wonder it’s become a joke. I don’t see ho...

Yes, theoretically. But that’s a truism. In the real world, anything we do can unwittingly become awful. If we fight against a repressive government, ...

Right. Notice he didn't say that's all he does.

I’ll leave you to ponder it for yourself. Your guess is probably as good as mine.

I can see now how what I wrote could be seen in this way -- not unreasonably. So to be clear: no, that's not what I believe, of course. Then life woul...

You're asking me my opinion about that? Obviously I have a thousand ideas of what I'd like to see survive -- but that's personal and irrelevant. Why? ...

I want humanity to survive, yes. I’d like to contribute to solving the problems it faces. As any sane person does. Having academic discussions about t...

Yes. What I said was in reference to a hypothetical cloistered man who "need not contribute anything" to the world. In the real world, monks have cont...