evilgenius wrote:I just read about some person who was upset that their dog died after it was stuffed into an overhead bin on an airplane, in its cage, I guess. I have to ask, what did they expect would happen when they tried to take an animal on a plane? Was it going to get a seat of its own? Were they going to let it roam all about the plane, getting into other people's stuff and licking at their feet and hands? That's cute for about five minutes. I like dogs, but not everyone does. Should people who don't expect such a thing in a confined public space have to endure it simply because the person who brought the dog needed it for emotional support?
Ibon wrote:Are you guys controlling how many hours you spend here and on other sites?
Are you able to acknowledge the theme of this thread and see your own complicity?
Outcast_Searcher wrote:Ibon wrote:Are you guys controlling how many hours you spend here and on other sites?
Are you able to acknowledge the theme of this thread and see your own complicity?
I don't get it. As long as one lives one's life responsibly overall (honest, legal, pays taxes, meets family obligations, etc), why does one's choice of hobbies imply them doing something wrong, if their hobby is hanging out on the computer?
As far as I'm concerned, if someone is honest (and single) and wants to make their life about beer and hookers -- as long as they aren't hurting anyone else and don't drive drunk and pay the hookers -- they're just as morally OK as someone who chooses to be a practicing Quaker or Amish person.
Cog wrote:Think about why people come to your retreat down there Ibon. They want to interact with nature and have some quiet in their life. I'm sure they interact with other people there but not to the extent of the crowded cities they left behind.
The digital world can be as quiet or as raucous as I wish it to be. My time, my rules, my choice. I've earned a little decadence.
evilgenius wrote:You know what's funny is that what people mostly do is take what is given in their lives and then try to claim that they wanted it all along. Take a look at this Ted Talk, https://www.ted.com/talks/petter_johansson_do_you_really_know_why_you_do_what_you_do, it gets at the point. The video's subject is the appeal of human faces. I think you can see how this applies to religion and politics as well. After all, most people tend to believe and think according to the backgrounds they come from. Few people free themselves. Being free, however, may not mean being separate from, or without adherence to. When you understand it you may squirm a bit, realizing that a culture where individuals get everything they want without reference to society at large can be dangerous. In a world without humility all that it takes for a person to fall afoul is to tell the truth, whatever that is.
In the wake of the Florida bridge collapse, where some engineer called up a state worker's phone and warned about cracks, I've been thinking about AI. You know, the AI that Google used to beat the world's best Go players did so without any of its programmers understanding how it did that. AI as it is developing now is based upon what is termed 'machine learning.' That means that they let the programs learn for themselves, and the programmers often can't follow what that is doing to the program. It becomes very complex. What happens if it develops the equivalent of cracks? Nobody would know! If it's just how to place cat pictures all over the internet, that's one thing. If it's a program designed to manipulate public opinion, that's quite something else. The way that people integrate the trivial world into their lives and then claim ownership leaves them naked before such manipulation. The only protection is an anchoring in a society that moves more slowly. But AI thinks far faster than we do, and it can follow its purpose without resorting to appeals. It's kind of scary.
Newfie wrote:I think we have veered far from EGs core subject. Not unusual. .
KaiserJeep wrote:I still go out by myself. But every time I tell myself how stupid it is to do this alone.
KaiserJeep wrote:Then there is that other problem, which is age. My main camping buddy, whoom I camped with almost 25 years, died of cancer. Then the other three "sometimes" campers quit going a lot. Two got second wives and second families and are still obsessed with paying college tuition. The third finally admitted to me that he resides in a Senior community and now is not up to the rigorous wilderness camping and fishing we did before.
I still go out by myself. But every time I tell myself how stupid it is to do this alone.
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