Trebor

I think that there's such a thing as love at first sight, but it depends on what is meant by "at first sight." (And by love, as 2046 pointed out.) I think it's like premonitions. If you "think" that something is going to happen and it does, you call it a premonition. If it doesn't happen, it's ignored, not chalked up to a failed premonition. If the person you "love at first sight" proves to be the person you do love, over time, then it was "love at first sight," just as the premonition was "correct." Something was there at first sight, but what? You gave the example of being physically attracted to a person, presumably "on first sight" (which I think happens all the time). But what does that mean actually? Is that not a judgement (as opposed to some kind of so-called physical attraction, like some kind of chemical response)? And if it's a judgement, is it not a snap or rapid judgement? And if it's that, is it not a matter of instantaneously cashing in on all the judgements you've already made in the past, so that on seeing what is in accord with your values, or what you think is in accord with your values, you have an immediate positive reaction? You see someone with a certain look and you're smitten. Does that judgement reside only in the moment? Or is it cashing in on all your past judgments as a sum? We all live and grow and over time and say yes and no to various things, including certain looks and types of people. When we meet someone we have already said yes to, as a kind, then the yes for them is immediate. Confirmation on other estimates may take time.

Okay, thanks Grames, I'll read the entire paper.

Is it your view that "all the phenomena of life can be accounted for, described by, and deduced from the laws of physics and chemistry." (That's from Robert Efron's "Biology Without Consciousness", part two, "The Principle of Reduction," The Objectivist 1968: "The most important premise of the philosophy of materialism which affects the field of biology is the "principle of reduction," that is, the premise that all the phenomena of life can be accounted for, described by, and deduced from the laws of physics and chemistry.")

What is the nature of the "little stuff"? Edit: (From a dictionary): Field - Physics: • the region in which a particular condition prevails, esp. one in which a force or influence is effective regardless of the presence or absence of a material medium. • the force exerted or potentially exerted in such an area : the variation in the strength of the field.

"But recent developments in physics tell against that presupposition. What our best contemporary physics reveals is that there are no elementary ‘particles’, fundamental events, or some such particulars. There are only processes of various scales and complexity." Process - a series of actions or steps There are only processes? Processes of what? Actions of what? Steps taken by what?

This is not correct. Lying to a robber (someone violating your rights) does not make one a slave to them. Quite the contrary. It's a form, a moral form, of self-defense, cognitive or intellectual self-defense (using words to deceive in self-defense), a defense against the "enslavement" that the aggressor is attempting. Just what is your view on physical self-defense? That it too is a form of self-enslavement to an aggressor? If one has a right to life then one has a right to self-defense, self-defense by any means necessary, including lying, to avoid enslavement.

In his podcast, Episode 71 — July 20, 2009 (06:00: [When is Dr. Peikoff's book, DIM Hypothesis, coming out?] [Part of the response to the above question.]), Dr. Peikoff states that he has a contract with Penguin to deliver his manuscript by December 2010 and that the book would be out then a year later, in December of 2011. On his site, the page for the book, The DIM Hypothesis, states simply at the bottom, "BOOK COMING SOON." I would think, given the contract, and unless there's been some change announced since that podcast, that his book will be out this year, 2011, in just a couple of months. Edit: Dr. Peikoff says the same thing, about the contract and the availability of his book in December 2011, in his podcast, Episode 59 — April 27, 2009 (08:42: "Now a question about my book, which I'm just calling 'DIM': 'Is your book a theory that needs a real technical knowledge, or can it be grasped by a general level of knowledge?'"), as noted by patrik 7-2321 in his post to this thread which includes the specific single question response embedded -- you can listen to Dr. Peikoff's statement via patrik 7-2321's post.

Since this discussion is still here, I thought I would inform those reading this that softwareNerd informed me awhile ago that he was going to shut off, or down, Cloudflare and leave it off for a couple of days. Those who have been having problems with the forum can then determine if there's a difference, if the problems have gone away. Perhaps I'm overly hopeful, but for me everything now seems fine. The reply module loads quickly and fully and seems to function appropriately. How enjoyable the difference.

I understand. But the source of the problem, and why GS can be "smart", is government, even if GS supports what the government is doing. This is that problem of, if the government has the power to benefit companies of its choosing, companies will seek government benefits. What's needed is that wall of separation between government and the economy.

I agree. Sad case, but I think it's good to have this out in the open being discussed.

Or they, the smart ones at least, knew the nature of the setup, knew that the bubble would ultimately burst, and knew that if they did not take advantage of the situation as best they could, then others would. So they invest in and ride the bubble up in the hopes of selling out before it all comes crashing down. (Like anyone in a Ponzi scheme would.) In such a context, is it really anyone's fault for trying to do so? Play you lose; don't play you lose. Of course, given that the government gets a pass, those who succeed in playing the game as setup by the government end up becoming the whipping boys for the government when things go bad.

I'm sorry about taking over this thread with this discussion on the forum software problems. If one of the moderators will, please move these comments to a more appropriate place. Thank you.

Someone (JASKN) suggested to me that I might find it helpful to switch to the IP.Board Mobile theme, but that didn't help. I did notice that, for me at least, there are now only two themes: IP.Board and IP.Board Mobile. I guess that someone assumed (or discovered) that there was some problem caused by the themes and deleted the others, but it's only a guess. Within the last week, roughly, David apparently installed an upgrade, and softwareNerd took the trouble to send me a notice (I got an email message) letting me know that David had done so and that hopefully it would clear up the troubles I have been having. It did not. Can't say that it definitely changed anything, but things are either the same or even a bit worse. About 90% of the time the reply module simply doesn't work properly. When it does, suddenly start working properly (never, I think, when I first log in), I'm surprised. But even then it will stop working properly in short order. What should take moments to do - post a reply - now takes an indefinite amount of time. It's certainly quite frustrating. (Right now, trying to enter a reply, for example, using the quick reply box at the bottom of this thread, the "Post" button does nothing. I have to use the "More Reply Options" and yet, once there, the problems continue.) Also, if I remember correctly, sN once told me that David had shut off the Cloudflare feature and that seemed to have cleared things up. I'm not certain about this though. Regardless, the problems returned. (Perhaps when David turned it back on. I don't really understand just what Cloudflare does, but I guess it has some great advantage and works well for most people - seems that a minority is having these problems.) It certainly seems related to the reply module thingy. It simply doesn't load fully or act appropriately or consistently. Maybe it's trying to use it from cache (Cloudflare)? Just guessing. All that seems certain about the trouble to me is that it's the reply module itself that's not functioning properly. One thing I've noticed: When I get the Cloudflare errors, it happens after sometime, even a couple of minutes, of waiting for a page to load (a thread page, not my having selected to reply), and that's the typical indication of trouble with the reply module, a long wait with, on my Mac, a rotating indicator. When I see that I'm having to wait, I know that things are not working correctly. Even when they are, or seem to be working correctly, suddenly I'll have to wait again, like when I select to "Preview" a reply before posting it. All will seem well, but then suddenly the long wait followed by the eventual failure of the reply module.

Well, I was being facetious with my halitosis comment. I have discussed the problems I've been having with softwareNerd, and he's been very helpful and responsive. There doesn't seem to be much he or any administrator can do about the problem, and although sN informed me that David recently installed a new upgrade, hoping that it would make things better (it did not), my problems still exist, both the problem with the reply module as well as numerous cloudflare errors, pages not loading but stating that there's a cloudflare error or problem (no cached page for the one I'm trying to load, or something like that). I have no complaint, only appreciation, for the help that I've gotten. Thank you, softwareNerd and any others working to resolve the problems, for your efforts. Hopefully in short order things will get better.

'"I think the really powerful thing about this video is that, for a lot of people, this is child abuse, not corporal punishment, but the reality is that, under the statutory norms that exist in our society, this would not qualify as a crime or child abuse in any state in the country," says David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.' "Texas judge beating video: brutal lashing or parental discipline?" http://www.csmonitor...ntal-discipline

The judge (father) in the video has released a statement through his lawyer: "Statement From Judge William Adams" http://www.ksat.com/...473/detail.html

"Gates is making the world ideal, and the billions of us with no voice will be forever impacted. "Yesterday, I read a note Gates wrote to members of the Harvard community. It speaks for itself: "I hope you will reflect on what you’ve done with your talent and energy. I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you work to address the world’s deepest inequities, on how well you treat people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity. "Those are not the words of a leader of business. Those are the words of a leader of people. Those are the words of an idol. "As much as I love Apple, Inc, I would happily give up my iPhone to put food on the plates of starving children. Steve Jobs turned his company into a decade long leader in the truly new space of mobile computing. Bill Gates decided to eliminate malaria. Who do you think we should be putting up on a pedestal for our children to emulate?" What ideal? (And what's keeping the guy from giving up his iPhone to put food on the plates of starving children? Hypocrisy?)

This video has certainly caused a stir. Just noticed this comment ("Texas Judge Caught on Video Beating Daughter 'Needs Help'"): "You Liberals attacking the judge's behavior are sooo funny. You people actually think it's okay to murder a baby before he or she is even born !!! But we're supposed to believe you actually care about this abused girl, or children at all ?? What a world!

Dr. Peikoff, in his most recent podcast - Episode 188, October 31, 2011 - addresses this statement by Kent Lansing: 01:08: "'In The Fountainhead, Kent Lansing says, "If I were asked to choose a symbol for humanity as we know it, I wouldn't choose a cross nor an eagle nor a lion and unicorn. I'd choose three gilded balls." Is this a reference to a pawn shop, and if so is it a positive or negative meaning?'"

True, but halitosis is better than no-tosis

This, that judge's (and wife's) action, was on the borderline between appropriate discipline and abuse?

I just noticed a new comment for the article I just mentioned, "Texas judge's daughter says he 'dared' her to post beating video": "My father used a belt, also. I think this is what he knew. I seriously doubt he considered it abuse. We all turned out well - responsible, hard-working, and never trouble with breaking the law. Certainly there are better ways to punish children, but child abuse - not really."

"Texas judge's daughter says he 'dared' her to post beating video" 'Hillary Adams appeared on the "Today" show Thursday morning and said she held on to the video for years and chose this moment to reveal it because she'd finally had enough. Although she did not go into detail, she told host Matt Lauer that "the disputes and the harassment were escalating, and finally it was just the straw that broke the camel's back." She added: "I told him I had the video and he brushed it off. ... He didn't seem to think anything of it, and basically dared me to post it. 'She said she had set up the video camera on her dresser to capture the discipline that routinely occurred in the household. "It did happen regularly," she said. "I waited seven years because back then I was still a minor and living under his roof, and releasing it then, I don't know what would have happened to me, my mother, my little sister. So waiting until today, seven years later, has allowed me pull away and distance myself from the consequences." 'On the show, Hillary was accompanied by her mother, Hallie, who is also seen in the video striking the girl and telling her to "take it." 'The mother, who has since divorced William Adams, said she saw the video for the first time this weekend. She said she knows many people wonder how she could have participated, or stood by while her husband meted out the blows. '"My answer to you and to the world is something that I've been hiding for a very long time, it's a family secret, and that's addiction," she said. Although she did not go into details, she said she is not the one with the addiction. 'She added, "I lived in an environment of dysfunction, and it steadily got worse." She said she tried to leave her husband when Hillary was just a baby but he "shamed" her into returning to the marriage. "I was completely brainwashed and controlled," she said, adding that her husband told her "what to say, what to do." 'Hillary Adams said she has forgiven her mother.' Ah, the mother was but a victim of the father. Not responsible for her own participation, and forgiven. (You can hear the mother demand, in the video, that Hillary "bend over and take it like a woman." Makes one wonder just what women are expected to bend over and take.) But the father, well he needs "help." Dr. Hurd has some interesting and revealing things to say about this whole phenomena of wanting to "get help" for others in his recent daily dose posting: "Behavioral Change Is NOT the Same as Change of Mind" Seems that what a lot of people want is some means of controlling "helping" others, especially those that they "love." Edit: Good comments (Newburgh Mama blog) re the "take it like a woman" statement of the mother: "

"Jesus H. Christ, by the time the reply box comes up I've forgotten what I was going to write. This site is buggy as hell nowadays." Amen! It's quite frustrating. The issue seems to be the reply module (or whatever it's called, "object"?). It takes minutes to load, and then for me most of the time it does not load properly (I do not see or have access to all of the edit-format buttons, etc., and I see a lot of code for paragraphs and line breaks), and when I do reply, all of my returns are deleted and the reply becomes one run-on paragraph - unless I can figure out how to insert the proper code. If I choose to preview my message, again I have to wait minutes for the reply module to load. Absolutely too frustrating.

In 2004, Texas Judge William Adams (Rockport, Texas), a family court judge no less, (and his wife I assume) beat his daughter, Hillary, sixteen at the time, for downloading music (illegally) and playing video games (as I understand it). Hillary had set up a video camera in expectation of something about to happen. She only recently uploaded the video to YouTube. According to a recent interview, the judge has said that it was a long time ago, it wasn't as bad as it looked on the video, and he has since apologized. "In my mind, I haven't done anything wrong other than discipline my child after she was caught stealing," Adams said. "And I did lose my temper, but I've since apologized." Police investigate Texas judge over video beating