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Thank you. I worry about that sort of thing. Not really, I worry about dangerous ideas.
As well you should. For some reason, this reminds me of that famous quote by Carl Sagan:
But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown. [Broca's Brain (1979), p. 64ISBN 0394501691]
When this sort of thing gets too deep, I refer people to the logical fallacies:
...and ask them to study that for several hours and then get back to me. Of course, they never do.
The other problem is problems with evidence. One person (e.g., "my wife") doesn't a large enough sample make to draw any conclusions, and is more a matter of anecdotal evidence, which is pretty much worthless in any sort of generalized argument. But most people don't let a little thing like facts get in the way of their prejudices, hey what??
As well you should. For some reason, this reminds me of that famous quote by Carl Sagan:
But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.
When this sort of thing gets too deep, I refer people to the logical fallacies:
...and ask them to study that for several hours and then get back to me. Of course, they never do.
The other problem is problems with evidence. One person (e.g., "my wife") doesn't a large enough sample make to draw any conclusions, and is more a matter of anecdotal evidence, which is pretty much worthless in any sort of generalized argument. But most people don't let a little thing like facts get in the way of their prejudices, hey what??
Exactly. When statements like "you will never change my mind." are uttered it speaks volumes about the person posting it.
Exactly. When statements like "you will never change my mind." are uttered it speaks volumes about the person posting it.
I love studying fallacies.
Me too! (Note the amendment to the quote; I looked it up to make sure I had the reference right).
My favorite writer of all time is Bertrand Russell. I love his prose style (he won the Nobel Prize for Literature the year I was born, 1950). Loving Russell all my life has gotten me into untold amounts of trouble, including the accusation of being "snotty" ("snobby," actually, which isn't even a word). I carried around Russsell's Why I am Not a Christian on the bus in public school, just to be annoying. << tee hee >>
>> Exactly. When statements like "you will never change my mind." are uttered it speaks volumes about the person posting it.
One of the things I like best about Russell is his definition of "free thinker." In his little masterpiece of a book (said by detractors to be a "pot boiler," written merely to make money), Understanding History, he says that being a free thinker has not so much to do with WHAT you think, but rather, HOW you think. In other words, if you refuse to listen to opinions different than your own, or believe things because you parents or society told you to, or because it's comforting, then your thought is not free.
By that definition, you could "believe in" pretty much anything (the flying spaghetti monster or orbiting teapots in space), as long as you kept an open mind. So much fun is not to be found anywhere else, IMHO. See:
I've complained a lot on here about being lonely, not having anyone in my life. I'm reading How Will You Measure Your Life, by Clayton M. Christenson. He's a professor in the Harvard Business School who came to his teaching career late in life and is a cancer patient, himself.
Now I know why I'm lonely; I sacrificed my personal life and interpersonal connections in order to achieve in my professional life. It's just really that simple. It's not that I'm not loveable or nobody cares about me, I've just never given anybody any time. It's very clear to me what happened, in light of this book and the author's recommendations.
This is an excellent book and I recommend it; he indicates that theories are more effective than trial and error. He uses business models and applies them to personal life, so that his students at the HBS won't end up with multiple divorces, alienated children, or in jail.
This is just the book I needed to get my head straight. If I survive, and I suspect I might, I'm going back to school and I'm going to give people more time in my life, cultivate friends, and try to have more of a personal life.
I have, in some instances, used the phrase, "...and you won't change my mind", but only in the context of someone arguing some loophole that is unethical or immoral. I don't approve of the mindset that looks for ways to weasel out of a debt, a responsibility or a commitment.
As far as listening to someone debate a POV in opposition to my own, (except as noted above), I have been swayed by someone who presents a fact backed up with research. Anecdotal evidence doesn't count, because we all have anecdotes. But a good argument, calmly presented (this is not The View) could sway me. It may not be easy, but give it a go.
Man, I didn't get anything when I ended chemo (except for a "Maybe see you in a few months for a stem cell transplant!" conversation). I actually didn't know it was my last chemo until I was there - I thought I would have 8 months of chemo and instead I had 6 months due to the organ damage I sustained.
Hmmm. Sounds familiar: 4 rounds of chemo (April through July 2011, 5 days of treatments). Then a 'remission' starting in August 2011 - though I still had dead tumors and scar tissue. One tumor reactivated in December. From December through May I received another 6 rounds of chemo, plus 3 stem cell transplants.
What is left of the tumors has shrunk by half, again, but they still aren't totally gone. We're debating what to do next - biopsy the largest remnant, or surgery to try to pick them all out, of wait-and-see.
I'm at the 14-month point in this little melodrama, and at this point, I'm technically back in remission (for 5 months now), but I have the immune system of an infant - masks, CBCs weekly, more hand washing than an OCD sufferer, and - in 6 months - re-vaccination for everything I had resistance to, but don't any longer. No work, no hugs, no crowds, no rock-n-roll or baseball or gardening. Sex, of course, is completely outta the question. Chemo nuked about 1/4 of my hearing; I've lost the high end frequencies.
This has been a real adventure, for sure.
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