grumblebee » Big Big Question

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Registered since: 2007-12-30 00:28:45

Posts by grumblebee:

What if (a) free will didn’t exist, (b) people knew it didn’t exist, and (c) people had a gut-level feeling that it didn’t exist?, 04 Jun 2008 in bigbig& metaphysics& philosophy
Do you have an earliest memory?, 23 May 2008 in bigbig& memory
This too shall pass., 13 May 2008 in bigbig& communication& language
Is there anything for which you do not have a price?, 09 May 2008 in bigbig& economics& priorities
Do you believe that there’s any sense in which words have fixed meanings?, 09 May 2008 in bigbig& communication& language& philosophy
Are you a member of a team? Do you think all people are team-members?, 07 May 2008 in bigbig& sociology
Do people really feel like they’ve wasted their youth?, 05 May 2008 in bigbig& philosophy& priorities& sociology
What would happen if we cured cancer?, 22 Apr 2008 in bigbig& death& medicine
What’s it like to feel attractive?, 18 Apr 2008 in bigbig& culture& sociology
What gives you a feeling of complexity?, 26 Mar 2008 in bigbig& philosophy
How does it make sense to say that I pay taxes?, 11 Mar 2008 in bigbig& economics
What are the mechanics behind talking to yourself?, 01 Feb 2008 in Uncategorized
What is belief?, 30 Dec 2007 in bigbig& metaphysics& philosophy& religion

Comments by grumblebee:

What if (a) free will didn't exist, (b) people knew it didn't exist, and (c) people had a gut-level feeling that it didn't exist?

2008-06-04 09:08:03: I'm hoping that you'll all work with me on this one. If you find a hole in the specifics of my counter factual (e.g. "there's no possible chemical that aliens could put in the water that would have this effect."), I'm hoping you'll focus on my main question, which is ...

Who's Your Daddy?

2008-05-13 08:01:16: Who? He.

Is there anything for which you do not have a price?

2008-05-09 13:01:11: LeeJay, if it makes you feel better about yourself, I'd have sex with a stranger for a lot less than a million. Half-a-million? Definitely. Sex is over really quickly, and SHIT -- there's a lot I could do with half a million. I'd probably do it for less than that, ...

Do you believe that there's any sense in which words have fixed meanings?

2008-05-13 10:50:54: ...they’re standing on the other side of the fence there arguing with someone who seems to think that X Doesn’t Mean Y, even though it’s a common and standard and referenceable definition... Nice post, Josh. But I think these people are falling prey to an illusion. My contention isn't only ...
2008-05-13 12:39:47: Josh, I think if personal definitions are clear, conversations are possible (and surprisingly easy), even if people's definitions don't overlap. I'm an atheist. My best friend is a devout Christian. We understand each other's frameworks, even if we don't share them. I can step into his without believing it maps ...

Are you a member of a team? Do you think all people are team-members?

2008-05-07 12:44:49: filmgeek, as I said in my post, I do feel connected to my family and friends. It's a sort of team, I guess. It's funny, even given the examples you give, I don't automatically think, "Of course! A woman should run a woman's rape-support group." It would be a bit odd ...

Do people really feel like they've wasted their youth?

2008-05-05 09:25:06: I know you're joking, Chris Mear, but that plays into my point. Let's say you're 50, you never got a chance to sleep around when you were in your 20s. What upsets you the most, that you didn't get to do it back then or that you're not doing it ...

Video games: the new book, or the new cap gun?

2008-04-18 10:12:34: I'm confused by the assumption (if I'm understanding it correctly) that new past-times must replace specific old ones. Even if, say, book-reading declines and video-game-playing increases, it doesn't follow that video games have replaced books. The two trends my be unrelated. To me, a better question is -- given their ...

Why do people hate puns?

2008-03-26 12:40:37: I do agree that if you're looking for the most universal jokes -- the ones likely to resonate with the most people, violation is your friend. But that's kind of like saying that if you want to turn on the most men, you should show some cleavage. It ignores all ...
2008-03-26 12:28:01: iamkimiam, that was an interesting blog post. I think it's true that many people (most people?) need a joke to contain violation in order for the joke to be funny. But there are other sorts of jokes that at least some people find funny. My guess is that there are ...

How does it make sense to say that I pay taxes?

2008-03-11 12:26:51: I still don't get it, Mike, though thanks for answering. I can't just choose to move to another country. I don't have citizenship anywhere else. You're right, I can choose to pay now or pay later, but how is that a real choice? Since I'll get in huge trouble if I choose ...
2008-03-11 13:26:48: Let me simplify my question: I get why I should care what the government does with its money. (What it does affects me.) Why should I care what the government does with MY money? What money does the government have that was mine? My tax dollars? Since those dollars were "destined" to ...
2008-03-11 13:17:51: I'm fine if we want to call the act of handing-over-money "paying." So I'll go with you there. My interest is whether or not it makes sense to say I'm paying with MY money. It seems more like I'm paying with money that the government is letting me hold for ...
2008-03-11 12:33:09: Mike, there's just something that reeks of a nursery-school con about it. (I don't mean about taxation, which, as I say, I'm in favor of. I mean about the way we're taught to view taxation.) It's as if Mrs. Jones passed out colorful boxes to all the kids on the first ...

To Infinity...

2008-03-11 11:10:01: Shit. I'm scared of roller-coasters.

Advice that's worse than worthless?

2008-03-11 11:08:48: It's a bad idea to date friends.

Comic books: kids stuff, still?

2008-03-11 12:16:19: Here's my problem with comics: so few of their creators seem to care about or know how to craft a meaningful relationship between words and pictures. Maybe this is just a quirky bee in my bonnet, but I loath redundancy. To me, anything gratuitous is the opposite of art. People ...

How has art changed the world?

2008-03-11 11:46:14: I don't think art has changed the world any more or less than anything else (trees, politic, war, germs, rocks...). And I don't think it's changed the world in noticeably different ways than anything else. Which isn't to say I think art is inert. My problem is with the word ...

What is belief?

2007-12-30 08:32:31: Kickstart, I think you're still circling around the issue. Belief -- in my context -- is faith, you say. Okay, but now you've just renamed it. What is faith? Faith, as you define it, is "accepting something as complete truth without requiring proof..." Okay, but what does "accepting something" mean? I'm ...
2007-12-30 10:37:22: I don’t think it’s the same feeling as believing your arm is real. Do you have any real emotion going on when you think about your arm? I don’t. I would think religious belief is more like love, and love can make people act better or it can make people act ...
2007-12-30 10:45:39: I also get continually confused by what people mean by "belief" when they link the word to volition. "If you're going to CHOOSE to believe that, there's nothing more I can say." What I call belief is not something that is under my control. I can't choose to disbelieve in ...

Could you lead a double life?

2007-12-29 16:42:16: I've never pondered this before, but my from-the-gut reaction is "no way." After letting it sit for a while, my "no" feels just as strong, despite the fact that I'm turned on by the adventure of secret identities. But I wouldn't be tempted, because I know it wouldn't work for ...

What didn't you get?

2007-12-29 17:20:42: I didn't get sick. And that's not just a flip answer. My wife was down with a really bad cold, but I managed to get through Christmas without catching it. I didn't get off scott free, however. It's almost New Years, and I'm starting to feel symptoms. Blech! I also didn't ...