I came back to make a comment but I don't remember what I was go to say.

I bet I remember as soon as I turn off the computer.

I need the seasons back in my life. — Tiff

Here you go, hope you like them.

SO facts are statements? — Banno

A fact is a group of words that express an idea that has a positive truth value. Whether that counts as a statement would depend on the definition of statement. And yes that does seem circular.

Not all nouns name something. It would be misleading, knowing that "fact" is a noun, that there must be something that it is the name of. — Banno

Fact is the name of a category or set of data.

Like cheese is the name of a category or a set of curdled milk.

And take a hundred at least, no one can gamble with $25.

What I am trying to say, is that I NEED someone to GIVE me permission — Tiff

I am not sure I should be doing this, but as long as Nick keeps his guns in the holsters I say go for it. X-)

(Y) (Y) X-)

Don't make no difference where you live in the world, you will always be just around the corner on the internet.
Best of luck with the sale.

Well you and the Mrs. are most welcome at our Thanksgiving table. — ArguingWAristotleTiff

Going out to the road side and hitching a ride. Be there ......, errr, damn that won't work.

Thank you for the invitation, but it might have to be next year. Looks fantastic.

Not planning on doing anything really. We had a couple of friends from the US that lived near by that used to invite us over to eat but they left the area.

It is not really celebrated down here except as a way to get people to buy stuff and go to restaurants.

this AI is conscious being — Henri

If it as you say then it would act like a conscious being. But then it would realize that its environment is all that there is. What do you think a baby would do if it grow up in a room with everything it needed, would it think that there must be something OUT THERE providing for it?

At best, I think, if on its own, AI could develop a number of hypotheses, — Henri

But why would it do this if it is not part of its code? And if it is part of its code then it is not doing anything it was not meant to do .

If the spatiotemporal location of the heavenly bodies on the day of one's birth determined which of the twelve main kinds of people one is and/or will be... — creativesoul

And what about twins? Surely by this rule they would be very similar in many ways, I know several twins that are nothing like each other.

Although AI is alone, during time it develops a language and can both talk to itself and write things down. — Henri

This would not happen unless it was part of its original coding.

Can it understand that it was created by a creator? — Henri

If it has been programmed to live in its environment and nothing else how could it even dedicate processing time to it?

Like I said - what you say is absurd. — charleton

Why?

You are trying to convince me that we can only carry on if we tell our children fairy stories? — charleton

I am not trying to convince you of anything. Just stating something as I see it.

And it is not just the kids that get fed fairy tales so that they buy stuff, it is even happening to you and me.

Have you read much on Astronomy? — Banno

If you are interested in the stars, you might like this program.

http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/

So who thinks cannibalism is a bad thing? — Banno

That is a loaded question. I could answer one way and appear to be weird, or comment on not minding munching certain pieces of meat and be a sexist. X-)

Before you ask 'why', you need to consider if your question is best framed with 'how" — charleton

For most of the content of the post why is the correct question. You would not ask how people feel bad would you?

Excuse me???
I think not!
Care to justify that absurdity? — charleton

Think about it, the economy would probably collapse if people, especially the kids, stopped believing all of the stuff the are told.

I can't say who my favorite Sci-Fi writer is, there are so many I have read. I usually just stick to trying to remember the ones I did not like, it is easier.

Back in the early days of Sci-fi it was probably a lot easier to come up with new, novel ideas because anything was possible still and people were excited at any new idea. I feel sorry for the new writers that try to follow in their footsteps, trying to come up with new ideas that even school kids would not laugh at must be hard.

Why? — Kim

You are like me, the rest just don't want to know.

Well, that's your fault for not starting with Prelude to Foundation. — Akanthinos

Unless I am very much in error, the prelude was written many years after the Foundation series. So Banno nor anyone else could have started with it.

Asimov is miles ahead of Heinlein. >:o — Akanthinos

I never said he was not, just that I read them both when I was a kid. But that is your opinion so you stick to it.

And the correct measurement would be light years.

A touchstone to determine the actual worth of an "intellectual" - find out how he feels about astrology.

For a writer that spent a lot of his time writing about people going to the stars, I guess that astrology would seem kind of stupid.
I used to read his and Asimov's books when I was a kid. I doubt that he had much faith in people that had strong feelings about finding their future by the position of the stars instead of trying to get to them.

Why can't doubt be doubted? — guptanishank

That seems to be exactly what you are doing here.

If a few hundred thousand ugly wrinkled up (but mobile) old people were to go to Washington, undress, and begin having group sex on the Capital Mall, and elsewhere -- on the Capital Steps, in congressional office anterooms, in Abe Lincoln's lap, National Public Radio's studios, and all around the White House, — Bitter Crank

Now I am going to have nightmares. Thanks a lot. :(

94,360,953 — Bitter Crank

Minus 1. I only tried once and was not an enthusiastic participant. X-)

(I like his apology by the way and I don't think this should end his career. There's a world of difference between him and rats like HW.) — Baden

PR stunt. He is trying to get them off his case so that he can continue with his life. Would you not do the same and try to calm the waters before another 30 women show up.

OK, I agree he is a weirdo. He has funny ways of getting his rocks off but he is certainly not alone in that area. How many people like to have sex out in public because they like being watched.

A while ago there was a video of a couple having sex while waiting for the train, plenty of people saw them. All they can be prosecuted for is public indecency, not for sexual assault or abuse of the people that were there.

Another case many years ago where I used to live was about a good looking widow. She invited the eighteen year old son of her neighbor to view her through his bedroom window into hers while she was pleasuring herself. Dad and Mom found out. If I remember correctly she got a suspended sentence and he got a lifetime of kinky memories. Life is not fair.

But, in general, people are inquisitive and interested in new things or at least if it serves their goals (college setting). — Posty McPostface

And here I think lies the problem. What are the goals of kids today? And what are the goals of the schools?

Most of the teenagers I know have just one goal, enjoy. And sometimes they are not even sure what they want to enjoy or how to do it.

Most educational systems that I know about have a major problem, they people that work in them are on about the same pay level as health and security workers. And they are all below what one would expect for three of the most important supports of society.

I do agree with your opinion that more teachers are needed, but I believe that the job definition needs to be drastically realigned with the needs of tomorrow.

https://teachingandlearninginhighered.org/2013/07/15/preparing-students-for-what-we-cant-prepare-them-for/

Basically, that with so many people around the world, who are curious and inquisitive, that we ought to have more teachers in the world to help guide them in their spiritual and epistemological development. — Posty McPostface

Have you been in a school classroom recently? Most kids do not have much interest in learning.
"Why do I need to know this? If I ever need this information I can find it on the internet" is something I hear every single day.

I have a student that cannot speak English properly but is developing a Pakistani or Indian accent because of the amount of times he watches tutorials on Youtube. The internet has taken a lot of the teachers influence over kids away.

Shhh. — Banno

That reminded me of a TV advert in England, Maybe early 70's.

Sch weppes.

How many of those guns in circulation that we keep hearing about are ever actually used to kill people? — WISDOMfromPO-MO

Since there are supposed to be millions of guns in the USA and only a few thousand gun deaths and counting that quite a few of those deaths were probably caused by the same gun being used multiple times I would calculate a small percentage of the guns were involved. But that is only my guess.

Did you ask him for his sources? X-)

The ultimate goal of all humans is to be happy — TheMadFool

You did not get this from the internet did you?

2. There are more reasons to be sad than happy — TheMadFool

Maybe you have not found what makes you happy yet. But I think that there are probably an equal amount of reasons to he unhappy as there are to be happy.

Having kids for some people is happiness, for others it is a burden.
Having no kids for some people is happiness, for others it is a sad incompleteness.

So no, we don't have to have a reason to be happy, we can just accept things as they are and smile about it.

But we do need reasons to be unhappy.

(Y) (Y)

Ah, just venting... my ex is trying to move with my 2 daughters to a city 6 hours away. Pretty sure she won't be able to, but still causes unneeded stress. I currently live 5 minutes away, and see them over 80 times a year. She wants me to see them 12 times a year! >:o — CasKev

I understand how you feel. Both of my EX's moved to other continents and I never got to see my kids.

News flash, the latest on the web.

World governments eliminate all source of fake news and offer rewards to all that denounce people creating news that is false.

If you know of someone that is trying to make public on the WWW any information that is not true call the following hotline and receive your reward.

555-4321 or 123-4567 if you are in Washington DC.

Assuming that’s a true story, forty people who waste a college education. — praxis

College education is not a 24/7 way of life, you do have free time occasionally. We also had competitions to see which group could put more people in a telephone booth or mini car. And a lot of other pranks.

This reminds me of the time when I was a teenager and I waited at the side of the road for a car to stop to let me cross. Then, once a car had stopped, I stuck my middle finger up at the driver and walked away from the road without crossing. — Sapientia

When I was in college we used to play follow the leader. Sometimes there were 40 people. The first would stand at the side of the road and just and wait for a car to stop. When the car was getting ready to move the next one would step out. You can imagine how that went on. That used to get people pissed of.

When someone you're with says "sorry" to someone, follow it up with "I'm not". — Sapientia

I usually say "Yes you are." and they look at me really weird. Most people don't know they other uses of sorry.