Phi for All

I think driving, especially on the freeway, is a great example of using all of our greatest abilities at the same time in a spectacularly productive way. If we could learn to appreciate how amazing it is to work together peacefully and harmoniously on the road, I think it would be a great map for the rest of our lives. Think of how amazing it really is to glance at an oncoming car ONCE as you approach the freeway from the onramp and then merge that monster seamlessly because you were able to calculate your acceleration based on their speed. And now think about what an ignorant, spiteful move it is when they speed up to ruin your merge and honk at you. This makes some people feel superior and I just don't get it.

I did it in the Sandbox, and now recreate it here:

Well, if this is what the OP was talking about, then grabbing the tab on the quote works.

And we're learning more every day about how some social media platforms allow these extremists to have multiple accounts, so they seem like an army rather than a few disaffected individuals. I read an article recently about people in the US who plan on quitting their jobs because their employers are making vaccination mandatory. Eventually, the article mentions how, though some industries and sectors are individually different, the number of people who feel this way across ALL jobs is less than 1%. Why are we even hearing about this? It's being repeated across the internet, linked and re-tweeted and spun and it's a tiny fraction of workers. Informing Americans used to be a duty, but now it's just shoveling extremist shit so people stay glued and buy more stuff.

Or take a minute to think about your layout and do it in the right order. You put the drywall up and then remembered the plumbing and electricity! I believe you can also use Edit to click/hold on the quote box and physically move it down a bit, then insert your text.

I had a really pleasant experience on Saturday, driving a stretch of interstate highway that passes a local speedway. Normally, this whole stretch seems full of drivers all jockeying for the best positions and going 80 mph in a 65 zone, and it's a zoo even though the road is often four lanes wide on a side. But on Saturday, everyone decided to copy me and set their cruise control at about 68 mph, grab a lane, and stay there. It was weird, it was bizarre, and oh boy was it wonderful! No brake lights, no tailgaiting, no weaving and swerving, just people cooperating in their big balls of mile-a-minute metal in a way that helped everybody get where they were going safely. For almost ten minutes nobody passed us and we didn't pass anybody else unless they were exiting. Nobody was trying to get ahead, nobody was racing, we were all just on the highway together in peace, helping each other survive and doing so with as little stress as possible. Cooperative behavior is one of our best tools.

And I'm saying that the concept of "stay true to myself" is perhaps being misapplied when it comes to interacting with others, especially with those who stray far from our expectations. For me, staying true to myself means treating someone with preferences for certain pronouns the same way I treat someone with a preference for a lack of foul language, or a preference for a less deafening voice, or a preference to avoid certain topics in conversation. I can talk without cursing, I know my voice carries, and there are so many things to talk about that it doesn't have to be politics or COVID or high prices. So I have to wonder why my "true self" wouldn't care if I disrespected someone? A close family member of mine uses the phrase, "I like to give them a hard time", and he uses it the way you use "stay true to myself", as if nobody else is really involved. He makes jokes at people's expense that aren't very funny, and can even be hurtful or just mean, and of course when it's pointed out, he falls back on that phrase, "I like to give them a hard time, I don't mean anything by it, just joking around, don't be so sensitive!" For some reason, he thinks that's what normal people do all the time, but the weird part is that this guy would go out of his way to help if you were in trouble, and would do anything in his power to make sure you DIDN'T have "a hard time". He's a very nice guy who is misapplying a common sentiment, but he just doesn't see what's wrong with his behavior.

I agree with the last two sentences, mostly because of the first two. Maybe she IS correct. Being proud of letting your offensive feelings be known needs a rethink, guys.

People are capable of, in varying degrees, focusing their minds on the various sensory systems of the body, which apparently manifests as this feeling you mention. I can't say there is no advantage to it, but I can say nobody has ever shown a measurable difference between having this feeling and not having it. That's some good evidence that this isn't something one can exploit. If it gives you any kind of power, I would say it's a personal and subjective one. Perhaps you can learn to be more in touch with your body, or appreciate your good health on a deeper level, or use it to help you meditate and calm any anxiety you're feeling. And maybe, by being a person who's more in touch with yourself, you can actually affect others with this ability. I always appreciate it when my fellow humans are calm and confident and comfortable. But we aren't going to start another thread on how magic this feeling is. It seems to be a lot like religion, interpreted by each adherent in personal ways, thus making it a difficult discussion topic. I think there was talk of starting a chat on Discord, so if you're still thinking you're somehow tapping into dark energy, you might want to start looking there.

I took your advice and now I steam my hard-boiled eggs and let them cool on the counter. I can't believe how ignorant our ancestors were, and they claimed it was "common sense"! Maybe steam is the way to go for water bottles too. Repurpose that old espresso maker and... OK, I got nothing. Just trying to tie my comment to the OP so it's not off-topic.

And putting hard-boiled eggs in ice water. I'm still mad at our parents for that one.

It's 42.

Or, OR, we could discuss science and drop the other drama. That would be fantastic! Objectively, I think most here can forgive a newbie for sitting down at a the table for a discussion and instead telling us how badly we do things here. I hope you can forgive some testiness in a time when internet trolls are attacking anything intellectual. And I'm sorry, but I don't buy your "experiment" explanation for a second, but I'm willing to see how productive a conversation about science will be now that you're done with it.

It's not. I can pull up many posts from trolls and extremists that have posted over the years, and show you where they've used almost your exact same words. Many took longer than a month to use them.

Coincidentally(?), this is the troll mantra, and what most every bully, stalker, and other extremists say when their behavior is questioned. I wonder how your experiment would have turned out if you'd actually discussed science on a science discussion forum, instead of posting what you have.

You may like this image, but we're a science discussion forum. We're more interested in talking about science, so the social aspect is centered around mainstream explanations and learning more science. Most of your posts are NOT focused on science, so they're annoying and extraneous. We invite you to sit around the table and talk about science, but you choose to jump on top of it and shout like this about anything but science. It's unproductive and meaningless, so your posts seem like they're contrary to our purpose. Maybe you should try a site with more of a social emphasis, but I would warn you not to jump up on their tables either. Can you try to behave, or are you a person who revels in their rebel fantasies and won't give them up even when it makes sense?

First, congratulations on spotting a professional using popular science techniques to create unnecessary controversy. "Blindly accept" is a bit intellectually dishonest, imo, for a professional physicist talking about Einstein, or any other scientists. That's not how the methodology works, and Kaku knows it, but his audience may not. And Einstein's infinities are the fault of the precision of our maths, and aren't supposed to represent true infinite force or heat or density, so it's kind of shady to say that part of Einstein's theory makes no sense. On galactic scales, the universe is homogenous (the same basic structure) and isotropic (the same in all directions), so this may be what he's referencing. I've never heard another professional physicist claim the universe was finite or infinite, and in fact the discussions here so far confirm we just can't know right now. Our observable universe is finite, but the entire thing may not be.

Yet something tells me that substantially prolonged life might be different. The average human understands extravagance, and may even be used to heartless behavior from the wealthy when it comes to life style, but knowing your whole life could be ten times longer if "the haves" weren't so greedy seems too great a lure. People risk incarceration already because of wealth gaps, and I think an equally big gap in life expectancy would be much worse. Life is just that important to the living. Maybe I should just leave it that I wouldn't want to live forever if some people wanted to but weren't allowed.

WRT beer in a bar, the word "discard" means pouring it anywhere EXCEPT someone's mouth. You may have found an exploitable loophole.

If you can't make it available for everyone, and only the wealthy can afford it, I think most folks would view that differently than not getting to party on a yacht or eat caviar whenever you want. If the rich get to also live forever, I think the not-rich might resent that in a whole different way. I like Peterkin's idea of staying the same age physically for the rest of your normal life. Not more time for everyone to stress the planet's resources, but more time in a youngish body to enjoy our lives. I can appreciate how experience and knowledge have changed my perspective throughout my life, but living through an aging body is only teaching me tolerance for other people's aging bodies. If none of us had to go through it, I don't think our perspectives would be diminished in the least.

Are you saying this agreement is always for the same child? Because more often than not, there is a right and a wrong stance in disagreements between children. I would hope the parents know the difference between that and mere conflicting opinions. I think it was Russell Peters the comedian who pointed out that, if you have two kids and one of them falls down the stairs, your reaction as a parent depends which one it is. One of them will make you jump out of your chair and rush to make sure they're all right. If it's the other one, you shake your head and roll your eyes first before levering yourself out of the chair to saunter over and see what the hell they did this time. You love them both equally, but you know them well, too.

This is the real key, isn't it? This exfilist/antinatialist/promortalist stance assumes all suffering is the same, rather than on a spectrum like most human conditions.

This is about accumulated human knowledge, and learning it in the proper order to make YOUR best use of it. A successful curriculum is what schools offer students, and access to immediate human resources when there's something you don't understand. Think of school and what you learn there as your "toolbox", the basic information you need to make informed decisions. And self-learning is great too! Using other sources (Khan Academy leaps to mind, always) on top of what you're learning in school is a great way to challenge yourself and find areas of interest in your studies. We've had other threads about online study if you want to do a Search. Discussing specifics about a subject with other interested folks is a great way to learn as well. We specialize in science discussion here, and I would encourage you to ask questions if there's anything you want more knowledge about. The members here are amazing in their diverse knowledge, and more than willing to help everyone involved in the conversations sharpen their reasoning tools.

I'm preparing the OP for a thread on defending basic human decency as extreme nationalism clashes with increasing globalization. When it's open, I hope we can continue the conversation that's obviously off-topic here.

! Moderator Note No, we won't be referring to a person as "thing" in our discussions. Civility is still our most important rule.