08 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
The Line Between Good and Evil Runs Through All Our Hearts
It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. Even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained; and even in the best ...
1 There are not good and bad people who may be easily distinguished, but competing forces within each of us.
25 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
The Centrist Path Between Two Extremes of Knowing
Those who have taken upon them to lay down the law of nature as a thing already searched out and understood, whether they have spoken in simple assurance or professional affectation, have therein done philosophy and the sciences great injury. For as they have been successful in inducing belief, so they have been effective in quenching and stopping inquiry; and have done more harm by spoiling and putting an end to other men's efforts than good by their own. Those on the other hand who have tak...Those who think the laws of nature are figured out and those who think we can know nothing are two erroneous extremes, a balance between acknowledging what we know and its boundaries is important.
06 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Richard Dawkins Confuses Moderate and Fundamental Religio...
While Dawkins is clearly right in his contention that religion -- any religion -- should be fair game for critics, his brand of purist atheism is grounded more in philosophy than in a cleare-eyeed look at the real world or the way religion works in American society. The difference between moderate religion and fundamentalism, now as in the past, is that moderate faith attempts to accommodate itself to secular education and ecular government: the American religious right rejects both. If there... 1 
notes
notesThe difference between them is that one group is willing to concede things about their religious doctrine, while the other is unyielding in its irrationality.
07 MAR 2011 by ideonexus
Advice for Dealing with Trolls
What to do instead
So what should we do instead. It's very simple:
Ask him what he means. ; interrogate him:
"Why do you feel that Python is so bad? What do you find wrong with it?"
Agree with him (but use a softer language):
"Yes, Perl is a nice language, and I agree that Python has its downsides and/or trade-offs in comparison to Perl."
"It's OK to prefer Perl, we'll still accept you here."
This will make the troll lose steam and help you find a common ground.
And eventually nego...An interesting take on the issue, which borrows a page from Wikipedia's suggestions for debate.
07 MAR 2011 by ideonexus
Advice for Communicating with Trolls Properly
Some Advice for Communicating with Trolls Properly
Relax: don't worry if you don't get everything exactly right.
Communicate clearly: write in the best spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, idiomatic speech, etc. that you can, no matter how bad the troll's messages were in this respect.
It may be a good idea to avoid too high or complicated words, because many foreign speakers of English often have poor English vocabulary.
Don't criticise what he says directly or the way he...Things to keep in mind and practice when arguing with Trolls.
05 MAR 2011 by ideonexus
Coffee Party Civility Pledge
As a member or supporter of the Coffee Party, I pledge to conduct myself in a way that is civil, honest, and respectful toward people with whom I disagree. I value people from different cultures, I value people with different ideas, and I value and cherish the democratic process.Important principles for political discussions.
08 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
The Samurai Reject Elaborately Ornate Religious Displays
The leading principle of the Utopian religion is the repudiation of the doctrine of original sin; the Utopians hold that man, on the whole, is good. That is their cardinal belief. Man has pride and conscience, they hold, that you may refine by training as you refine his eye and ear; he has remorse and sorrow in his being, coming on the heels of all inconsequent enjoyments. How can one think of him as bad? He is religious; religion is as natural to him as lust and anger, less intense, indeed, ...Folksonomies: centrism voluntary nobility
Folksonomies: centrism voluntary nobility
Like over-eating or alcoholism, the Samurai view ornate religion as a form of gluttony, as they also see religion accepted with an uncritical eye.
08 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Total Liberty Would Reduce Our Liberty
To have free play for one's individuality is, in the modern view, the subjective triumph of existence, as survival in creative work and offspring is its objective triumph. But for all men, since man is a social creature, the play of will must fall short of absolute freedom. Perfect human liberty is possible only to a despot who is absolutely and universally obeyed. Then to will would be to command and achieve, and within the limits of natural law we could at any moment do exactly as it please...Folksonomies: centrism
Folksonomies: centrism
If we had the liberty to kill, then everyone's liberty to move about free of fear would be impacted.
08 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Socialism and Individualism are Absurdities
To the onlooker, both Individualism and Socialism are, in the absolute, absurdities; the one would make men the slaves of the violent or rich, the other the slaves of the State official, and the way of sanity runs, perhaps even sinuously, down the intervening valley.Folksonomies: centrism
Folksonomies: centrism
It is an ideal mean to which we must strive.
08 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Property Equals Freedom
Under modern conditions%u2014indeed, under any conditions%u2014a man without some negotiable property is a man without freedom, and the extent of his property is very largely the measure of his freedom. Without any property, without even shelter or food, a man has no choice but to set about getting these things; he is in servitude to his needs until he has secured property to satisfy them. But with a certain small property a man is free to do many things, to take a fortnight's holiday when he...Folksonomies: centrism
Folksonomies: centrism
The more property a person has, the more freedom they have with it, but there is a point where their amassing of property infringes on the rights of others.
