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t3_30oi71 | We should strengthen the traditional safety net rather than replace it with basic income | Section I: Why is Basic Income Increasingly Popular?
"Basic income" is a policy that has broad support from both the progressive left and libertarian right. Center-left economists including Paul Krugman have endorsed the scheme for various reasons. First, BI is an effective anti-poverty measure. BI also reduces inequal... | The majority of your points seem predicated on the idea that a) Basic Income requires a flat tax or rejects progressive taxation, and b) that absolutely every social program must be scrapped for a BI to take effect.
Neither of these are true. Of course there are many conservatives or right-libertarian who would prefer ... | Question: you seem to assume that we must have either a safety net or a basic income. But I think everyone party to this debate (whether they think the safety net is inherently good or bad) would accept that you can have both a basic income and a safety net at the same time, and that you do not need to put 100% of tax ... | 2015-03-29 |
t3_30oi71 | We should strengthen the traditional safety net rather than replace it with basic income | Section I: Why is Basic Income Increasingly Popular?
"Basic income" is a policy that has broad support from both the progressive left and libertarian right. Center-left economists including Paul Krugman have endorsed the scheme for various reasons. First, BI is an effective anti-poverty measure. BI also reduces inequal... | Try searching for 'welfare trap', 'welfare cliff', 'unemployment trap', 'welfare marginal withdrawal rates', 'participation tax rate' ... or, to save some time, search google images for 'welfare cliff' or suchlike. I am very surprised you have seen no evidence of them. I don't know what effect you'd think is "significa... | A variation of strengthening existing welfare is called guaranteed income (where you get cash up to $20k if your income is less than $20k). It is a terrible idea compared to UBI, but let me address your points first
The welfare trap is completely indisputable. You are paid/offered money only if you stay poor/unemploy... | 2015-03-29 |
t3_30oi71 | We should strengthen the traditional safety net rather than replace it with basic income | Section I: Why is Basic Income Increasingly Popular?
"Basic income" is a policy that has broad support from both the progressive left and libertarian right. Center-left economists including Paul Krugman have endorsed the scheme for various reasons. First, BI is an effective anti-poverty measure. BI also reduces inequal... | First, your disagreements about different funding ideas are not attacks on the basic income itself, unless you were attacking resource taxes used to fund resource dividends, a different but related idea to the basic income, but you did not address that. You want to keep the progressive income tax? Fine by me.
Second, t... | You have created a false dichotomy of only those two choices. You've completely ignored the idea of improving the system such that everyone could survive without need for welfare/SNAP or a cash stipend. We need a living wage. We need to reform how Disability is handled so that those who can't work don't end up h... | 2015-03-29 |
t3_30oi71 | We should strengthen the traditional safety net rather than replace it with basic income | Section I: Why is Basic Income Increasingly Popular?
"Basic income" is a policy that has broad support from both the progressive left and libertarian right. Center-left economists including Paul Krugman have endorsed the scheme for various reasons. First, BI is an effective anti-poverty measure. BI also reduces inequal... | your position rests on the assumption that most people, given ideal education and social environments, have the ability to do just about any job as well as anyone else. this assumption runs counter to the available data regarding the heritability of psychological traits and limits of environmental intervention.
the rea... | A variation of strengthening existing welfare is called guaranteed income (where you get cash up to $20k if your income is less than $20k). It is a terrible idea compared to UBI, but let me address your points first
The welfare trap is completely indisputable. You are paid/offered money only if you stay poor/unemploy... | 2015-03-29 |
t3_4gdj35 | Males and Females are socially and emotionally incompatible and heterosexual relationships are unrealistic and farcical. | Hi CMV!
I am of the belief that there cannot exist a legitimate emotional bond between a male and a female that lead to a loving relationship (that is - one of romance). Not once have I seen a couple that did not have an enormous gap in interests, composure, speech patterns, and emotional engagement. There's always and... | You seem to be basing your entire argument on an anecdotal observation, which would seem to be heavily colored by confirmation bias. I'm fairly certain nobody else in here shares your observations, and there's a good reason for that.
If you think that differences in interests or composure are relationship killers, then... | So for starters, the fact that you personally haven't seen this does not mean it's never happened. As well, you can have a legitimate bond without having every single one of those things be exactly alike. And finally, why do you think this is solely seen in heterosexual relationships, since all of these are equally cap... | 2016-04-25 |
t3_4gdj35 | Males and Females are socially and emotionally incompatible and heterosexual relationships are unrealistic and farcical. | Hi CMV!
I am of the belief that there cannot exist a legitimate emotional bond between a male and a female that lead to a loving relationship (that is - one of romance). Not once have I seen a couple that did not have an enormous gap in interests, composure, speech patterns, and emotional engagement. There's always and... | For what it's worth, there are two large biases here with you need to contend with.
1. The couples which you know and see will be influenced heavily with who you associate with and is not representative of relationships in general or the potential which some relationships can reach
2. This also depends heavily upon you... | So for starters, the fact that you personally haven't seen this does not mean it's never happened. As well, you can have a legitimate bond without having every single one of those things be exactly alike. And finally, why do you think this is solely seen in heterosexual relationships, since all of these are equally cap... | 2016-04-25 |
t3_5aceoz | Apple are falsely equating simplicity with minimalism in their hardware design | Update
Thanks for all the replies, there's been some really useful points and I'll dish out the deltas appropriately. The most convincing argument I've heard is that Apple is trying to build a computer for the near future and if it doesn't work for you then you don't have to buy it. USB-C is the future so why bother pu... | Apple has always (or since Steve Jobs anyway) looked to evolve computers away from what they are now and towards a final form.
The iPhone isn't the way it is now because it is perfect, it is the way it is now because that is one step closer to the ideal. The ideal is the whole thing is a single piece of shatter proof g... | I'd like to play devil's advocate and elaborate on the Ford quote argument, that Apple is pushing the market forward and even though it might be painful it's for the best.
It absolutely is, if USB-C is the peripheral between wired era and wireless era. Apple was faced with a choice in their decision to push towards wir... | 2016-10-31 |
t3_5aceoz | Apple are falsely equating simplicity with minimalism in their hardware design | Update
Thanks for all the replies, there's been some really useful points and I'll dish out the deltas appropriately. The most convincing argument I've heard is that Apple is trying to build a computer for the near future and if it doesn't work for you then you don't have to buy it. USB-C is the future so why bother pu... | You have some good point, and - needless to say - the bazillion people at apple working on this have some as well:
1. Apple has exposure to other who innovate. One of the risks of being the incumbent is that you defend your existing position at the expense of moving the industry forward. You can bet your bottom dollar... | I'd like to play devil's advocate and elaborate on the Ford quote argument, that Apple is pushing the market forward and even though it might be painful it's for the best.
It absolutely is, if USB-C is the peripheral between wired era and wireless era. Apple was faced with a choice in their decision to push towards wir... | 2016-10-31 |
t3_5aceoz | Apple are falsely equating simplicity with minimalism in their hardware design | Update
Thanks for all the replies, there's been some really useful points and I'll dish out the deltas appropriately. The most convincing argument I've heard is that Apple is trying to build a computer for the near future and if it doesn't work for you then you don't have to buy it. USB-C is the future so why bother pu... | Most of the examples you have given are relevant to a power user. You have to realize that Apple's target audience has changed significantly over the years. It used to be the boutique product company for creative professionals. Now, it is a platform for kids and non tech savvy people. For most of them, their computer a... | I'd like to play devil's advocate and elaborate on the Ford quote argument, that Apple is pushing the market forward and even though it might be painful it's for the best.
It absolutely is, if USB-C is the peripheral between wired era and wireless era. Apple was faced with a choice in their decision to push towards wir... | 2016-10-31 |
t3_5aceoz | Apple are falsely equating simplicity with minimalism in their hardware design | Update
Thanks for all the replies, there's been some really useful points and I'll dish out the deltas appropriately. The most convincing argument I've heard is that Apple is trying to build a computer for the near future and if it doesn't work for you then you don't have to buy it. USB-C is the future so why bother pu... | I'm not so much trying to change your view with this response, but just to add something that I think is worth noting.
Apple has been successful before with this approach - namely, in selling the Macbook Air without an optical drive or ethernet port. At the time, both of these features were still the norm for laptops ... | Simplicity is part of Apple's design philosophy, but that's not what's driving the swap to USB-C. Neither is minimalism.
Apple is trying to drive the market. USB-C is in a pretty common situation: it's vastly superior to every other port/protocol out there, but product developers are very hesitant to start designing pr... | 2016-10-31 |
t3_40uylb | The Oregon "Militia" are Terrorists, and if they were not white but instead from a brown/middle eastern ethnicity, doing the same thing, same reason, they'd be called Terrorists immediately | Can someone explain to me why these group of people in Oregon are not considered terrorists, and are not being called that? Not on reddit, not in the media, im having a tough time finding anyone saying it
They have taken a building by force, with guns.. They have a political aim/agenda. They also have said that they wi... | Terrorism - the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal
violent acts - Nobody has died or been injured. Yes, they may be taking aggressive, non-peaceful actions. But, so far nothing violent has happened.
frighten the people in an area - Nobody in the area i... | It's armed insurrection. Terrorism is the use of [deadly] force against civilians. Destruction of infrastructure is sabotage. | 2016-01-14 |
t3_40uylb | The Oregon "Militia" are Terrorists, and if they were not white but instead from a brown/middle eastern ethnicity, doing the same thing, same reason, they'd be called Terrorists immediately | Can someone explain to me why these group of people in Oregon are not considered terrorists, and are not being called that? Not on reddit, not in the media, im having a tough time finding anyone saying it
They have taken a building by force, with guns.. They have a political aim/agenda. They also have said that they wi... | It's a protest that has broken the law. That makes the participants criminals. Terrorism generally is used to refer to acts that put the public at grave danger or target the public or government for extreme violence. Bombings, mass shootings, flying planes into buildings, that sort of thing.
This seems to be much mo... | These guys aren't terrorists because they don't WANT violence, they aren't making people afraid, and they have demands. Terrorists are different, when they act they act to kill or hurt. They don't attack strategic targets, or targets that will fight them. They attack targets that make people afraid. The marathon bombin... | 2016-01-14 |
t3_40uylb | The Oregon "Militia" are Terrorists, and if they were not white but instead from a brown/middle eastern ethnicity, doing the same thing, same reason, they'd be called Terrorists immediately | Can someone explain to me why these group of people in Oregon are not considered terrorists, and are not being called that? Not on reddit, not in the media, im having a tough time finding anyone saying it
They have taken a building by force, with guns.. They have a political aim/agenda. They also have said that they wi... | It's not legal nor allowed, but that only makes them criminals. In order to be called terrorists, they need to have committed Acts Of Terror.
Now what are Acts of Terror? Since terror means fear, we could define it as an attempt to make people afraid or feel unsafe by killing people at random, so people are afraid they... | Like when students seized the Willard Straight Hall in 1969? Admittedly, not a federal building. | 2016-01-14 |
t3_53j8hn | Microsoft Windows should not be used in schools | This view is probably a bit controversial given the wide use of Microsoft Windows in schools (in the US and quite a few countries all over the world) and might seem as a bit of a rant against Microsoft but bear with me. I'm definitely not a Microsoft fan but I'm not exactly an Apple or Linux fanboy either.
( EDIT: I'm ... | All the other arguments I had have already been made, but I'd like to respond to this:
First, Windows malware doesn't "masquerade as .exe files", it is (usually) .exe files.
Second, the fact that there's no installer doesn't really mean anything. At some point someone is going to run some code, and any code can be mali... | I used Linux for 80% of the machines I install for personal use. 70% Windows (30% mac) at work. I still always have issues with Linux for the desktop. I favor mac and windows second and Linux desktop as a distance third.
This is not a good argument because the LibreOffice (Office) equivalent is not as powerful and h... | 2016-09-19 |
t3_53j8hn | Microsoft Windows should not be used in schools | This view is probably a bit controversial given the wide use of Microsoft Windows in schools (in the US and quite a few countries all over the world) and might seem as a bit of a rant against Microsoft but bear with me. I'm definitely not a Microsoft fan but I'm not exactly an Apple or Linux fanboy either.
( EDIT: I'm ... | You have a view that Microsoft should not be used, but say that even an education in VBA would be more useful than in Word. Is it possible that your problem is with general curriculum choices more than with Microsoft? | your argument focus on why office, not scripting or general knowledge about computer.
the problem is on curriculum, not used os. Teaching kids other os when windows is dominant everwhere is alienating | 2016-09-19 |
t3_53j8hn | Microsoft Windows should not be used in schools | This view is probably a bit controversial given the wide use of Microsoft Windows in schools (in the US and quite a few countries all over the world) and might seem as a bit of a rant against Microsoft but bear with me. I'm definitely not a Microsoft fan but I'm not exactly an Apple or Linux fanboy either.
( EDIT: I'm ... | First off, it is WAY easier to set up and maintain an active directory environment than a Linux environment. With AD, you get all of the other spiffy integrations like exchange, group policy that you can link to user/computer profiles, powerful deployment tools like MDT and SCCM. The list goes on and on. Now most of th... | I used Linux for 80% of the machines I install for personal use. 70% Windows (30% mac) at work. I still always have issues with Linux for the desktop. I favor mac and windows second and Linux desktop as a distance third.
This is not a good argument because the LibreOffice (Office) equivalent is not as powerful and h... | 2016-09-19 |
t3_53j8hn | Microsoft Windows should not be used in schools | This view is probably a bit controversial given the wide use of Microsoft Windows in schools (in the US and quite a few countries all over the world) and might seem as a bit of a rant against Microsoft but bear with me. I'm definitely not a Microsoft fan but I'm not exactly an Apple or Linux fanboy either.
( EDIT: I'm ... | That's a weird argument. Who cares? Kids will be just as "locked in" to whatever operating system they are first exposed to. They aren't even locked in since the concepts easily transfer between modern operating systems.
They learn how to use an operating system used by the majority of the world. They learn basic conce... | Frankly, the reason why it's emphasized in schools is that it has been and still is the most common PC operating system and that support (for the IT admins needs and from major hardware vendors) is substantial. How many hardware vendors can a school choose from if they want machines pre-installed with another OS? It ca... | 2016-09-19 |
t3_1jipi5 | Blacks are less intelligent than Whites due to genetics | To clarify what I mean by the Title:
I believe that people with a predominantly sub-saharan African heritage are genetically inclined to lower intelligence when compared to Whites and East Asians.
This does not mean that all black people are less intelligent than white people. Some black people are much more intelligen... | The scant evidence you cite has not properly controlled for social factors. When studies have controlled for social factors differences vanish.
For instance:
If your hypothesis is correct that racial differences give rise to differences in intelligence, we should expect similar races in different countries to have comp... | I'll first note that a large number, if not a majority, of geneticists disagree with that statement, and that the American Anthropological Society also issued a statement to that effect. Reputable scientists and academics do, in fact, say that race does not exist in a meaningful biological sense.
Basically, the argumen... | 2013-08-01 |
t3_4z8uwi | The police can't be trusted to manage their access to lethal force and therefore shouldn't have it. | As I see it, the problem we have with police brutality in the US is strongly underpinned by the fact that police in general have demonstrated that they can't be trusted to adequately manage their use of typically-lethal methods of force. That's not even unexpected as far as humans go; managing high-stress situations li... | How many police will you have if you have an armed citizenry and a disarmed police? (even in high gun control states, people can get guns easy enough)
Will the police be able to effectively do their jobs without sidearms? Will non-lethal weapons be enough in the situations a gun would be drawn?
What will happen to crim... | If the police can't be trusted to manage lethal force, then no civilian should be trusted with it either. If civilians have access to things like Assault Rifles how would the police stop them without access to sidearms? If police are risking their lives to stop people from committing crimes why shouldn't they be arme... | 2016-08-23 |
t3_30dn4s | I am a strong believer in eugenics. | Just a note, I do not believe in Nazism.
Now, I know this view is controversial and I know it's generally frowned upon but my lifelong belief is that eugenics isn't that bad. This started before I can even remember. I felt that people who live off of welfare and do nothing all day but drugs and get fat should lose thei... | That's exactly what the nobility said in the 17th century about the commoners, and you should hear what they said about the criminals, religious fundamentalists and nutcases they sent off to the colonies. How's it going over there?
Eugenetics is not an option that is available to us because of two reasons:
- We don't e... | But how is reproduction related to how well you do in life? Or are you also saying that a child born in poverty can't climb up the social ladder or be healthy? And that children from working/healthy parents will automatically be working/healthy too? It just seems that you're looking for a way to punish poor people. Eug... | 2015-03-26 |
t3_4y6hgj | Faddish negativity for Rio 2016 is brimming with 1st world chauvinism and confirmation bias, fueled by one-sided sensationalism and is creating a no-win scenario for Brazil and the underdeveloped world at large. | There is a tasteless trend going on that dismisses complex social issues in most of the world as an all-encompassing and canned idea of general failure.
We are allowing ourselves to paint a grossly inaccurate picture of life on our planet, an illusion where countries neatly fit in a linear scale that goes from Sierra ... | This is kind of a devil's advocate argument I came up with. It's what I imagine a reasonable person holding a view contrary to your own might say.
Basically, the world does not have to care about Brazil.
The world has made it clear what they want. They aren't tuning in to learn about how Brazil was the first in their... | When China hosted the Olympics in 2008, that was their way of showing the world that they should no longer be considered a 'developing country', but should instead be viewed as a real player on the world stage. This was done through their breathtaking opening ceremony and general flawless execution of the entire games.... | 2016-08-17 |
t3_2lthip | It upsets me that at my university that Veteran's week is shared with Transsexual awareness week. | It seems my University has a week for everything (for example, last week was Black Culture Awareness Week even though we also have Black History Month). My University sets aside the week of Veteran's Day as the week we have Veteran's week. However, this year that week has to share the week with Transsexual awareness we... | I think it all depends what your university actually does to commemorate these weeks and who decides what weeks you celebrate.
If Veterans week had events, speakers, and special activities while transexual week was just student organizations handing out mental health wristbands. I wouldn't necessarily equate the two. C... | Based off of the title, I assumed it was because of the latter's implications and that you weren't "liberal" and disagreed with them. But after reading your post I actually agree with your view.
The only way I can say anything otherwise is, who cares what shares a week with what? Whatever people want to be recognized s... | 2014-11-10 |
t3_2bbbrd | Cheerleading is not a sport | I need to preface my thoughts initially by saying that holding this view does not mean I devalue cheerleading in any way. I have attended competitions, and known several friends who cheerlead, and though I am a very active, physically fit person, I would still find it challenging to learn and execute many moves in chee... | When we are arguing about the definition of words, there are a couple of ways of doing it.
One - to point out that your usage is wrong, or it isn't common, but one can always redefine words.
The second is to question the motivation behind it.
Why is it particularly relevant what it is called?
I will give you one good r... | So you think any activity that is a bit subjective can be considered a sport?
The thing is, subjective sports do have many concrete, objective points for athletes to gain. For example, doing a specific trick is worth X points. Doing a trick in one category immediately after doing one in another category is work N bonus... | 2014-07-21 |
t3_2bbbrd | Cheerleading is not a sport | I need to preface my thoughts initially by saying that holding this view does not mean I devalue cheerleading in any way. I have attended competitions, and known several friends who cheerlead, and though I am a very active, physically fit person, I would still find it challenging to learn and execute many moves in chee... | Diving, figure skating, cheerleading, et al. Are only subjective at the very peak of their respective sports.
An experienced diver or cheerleader is objectively better than a novice, they are only subjectively better than their absolute peers in terms of skill. The same people are going to rank in the same percentiles ... | Essentially, you are using a different definition of sport to the people who call cheerleading a sport. You don't actually disagree about anything fundamental
The defiition of sport is
This says nothing about a person having to have won in an objective manner. Why are you redefining sport to meaning something other tha... | 2014-07-21 |
t3_3pj95y | It's scary that the freedom of speech is rapidly being abandoned in favor of the prevention of hate speech. | I understand that words are important, as they allow us to communicate and spread ideas. What I don't understand is the suggestion to silence those that spread hateful ideas, such as racial/religious bigotry. I may not agree with pro-life supporters, anti-gay rights protesters, and radical feminists, but I believe the... | Here's the deal: every country in the world puts some restriction on free speech you agree with. The question is not whether the right of free speech should be infringed or not--if you think there should be laws against harrasment, libel/slander, false advertising &c. you already agree that some restriction on speech i... | I interpret you as saying that having hate speech laws means you're abandoning freedom of speech. Is this correct? Do you mean that without hate speech laws, freedom of speech exists completely?
Because it isn't absolute anywhere in the world. There are already a lot of limitations on freedom of speech. Basically, when... | 2015-10-20 |
t3_2teulf | Institutions of learning, especially colleges, should not hire educators that have accents that make it hard to understand them. | If they do, they should let both students and educators know that, for example, on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being totally incoherent and 10 being their accents don't affect learning at all) for the average English speaker, this particular educator rated a 4.
I say especially colleges (and private schools) because, un... | I don't think it really makes sense to harp so much on accent. Obviously heavy accents can be a barrier to communication. That's a given.
But at the end of the day, a university has to look at their staffing requirements and hiring pool holistically, and do what they think is best for the school. There are a lot of fac... | Keep in mind, especially with research colleges, the professor's primary job is getting money into the college through research grants. Teaching has aways been seconday. It also helps bring in the students who want to learn from research professors. And at the end of the day, money is what really matters to colleges... | 2015-01-23 |
t3_6a7jka | It Is Immoral for a Wizard to Reproduce with a Muggle. | For this CMV, I am assuming that such a union has a significant likelihood of producing a squib. A squib is a child of a muggle and a wizard that does not receive the wizard gene, and has no magical powers.
Most agree that incest is wrong because it has a high level of serious birth defects. From the point of view of a... | How about one night stands? Rowling writes wizards as nobility, and nobles frequently produced bastards with commoners. Would such a child not be better off than muggle-muggle bastards, having a chance of wizarding prowess and a chance at a normal life with his mother? If he showed any promise, his father could of c... | [Squibs are born to parents where at least one parent is a wizard] ( There is no evidence that we know of that says a wizard and a muggle are more likely to have a squib than a wizard and a witch. The only way to prevent squibs from being born is to keep wizards from breeding. if anything, it would be better for muggle... | 2017-05-09 |
t3_6a7jka | It Is Immoral for a Wizard to Reproduce with a Muggle. | For this CMV, I am assuming that such a union has a significant likelihood of producing a squib. A squib is a child of a muggle and a wizard that does not receive the wizard gene, and has no magical powers.
Most agree that incest is wrong because it has a high level of serious birth defects. From the point of view of a... | I could argue the other way -- It's immoral for a wizard not to reproduce with a muggle.
That's because wizards can have a profound effect on humanity. They can heal injuries. Prolong life. Eliminate certain forms of labor.
As such, humanity should try to create as many wizards as possible. That's maximized with muggle... | [Squibs are born to parents where at least one parent is a wizard] ( There is no evidence that we know of that says a wizard and a muggle are more likely to have a squib than a wizard and a witch. The only way to prevent squibs from being born is to keep wizards from breeding. if anything, it would be better for muggle... | 2017-05-09 |
t3_1gzgyi | I've never had one sip of alcohol, and I don't have any interest in ever trying it. CMV, please! | I'm 20 years old, and in 5 months I turn 21 (I'm in America, for what it's worth). I'm actually sort of dreading the thought of my 21st birthday, to be honest. I know that if I do celebrate it with friends, there's going to be this stigma and expectation that I'm going to drink a bunch of alcohol. If I don't, I know I'... | The dirty secret about alcohol is that it actually really does feel good. Nobody starts down the road to alcoholism because they like throwing up or blacking out. So let's at least first make that clear - the first few drinks of any drinking session are enjoyable.
Your main reason for not drinking is out of fear. An... | These are all very good reasons to be wary of alcohol, and honestly I'm not sure I would recommend you ever start drinking. That having been said, as someone who didn't drink until they were 21 and had a healthy fear of alcohol, these points:
Are pretty universally thought of as false. Alcoholic drinks are generally an... | 2013-06-24 |
t3_1gzgyi | I've never had one sip of alcohol, and I don't have any interest in ever trying it. CMV, please! | I'm 20 years old, and in 5 months I turn 21 (I'm in America, for what it's worth). I'm actually sort of dreading the thought of my 21st birthday, to be honest. I know that if I do celebrate it with friends, there's going to be this stigma and expectation that I'm going to drink a bunch of alcohol. If I don't, I know I'... | I think the only real argument you're making is one from fear; you're concerned that if you enjoy alcohol, you'll abuse it. This is a legitimate concern, and one that you'll have to engage with if you decide to give drinking a go-round. I think the rest is just further post-hoc justification or preference; expense, tas... | This advice can apply to many things aside from alcohol:
* If a lot of people like something it probably has some benefit to them. You may not be able to see that without sharing their experience. So don't overthink it, just try it. Worst case scenario you don't like and it and don't do it again.
* Learning how to try ... | 2013-06-24 |
t3_6246xa | Religion has no positive attributes | If you take a step back, and look at what religion has done to this world, it is all negative. I can't count how many wars were started purely based on religion. The Crusades were a period of time solely based on religious warfare. Religion has caused people to move from their country, and has caused more bloodshed the... | So, I am an atheist who thinks believing in God doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But still, I think religion does have some positive effects. I think most of those effects can be found elsewhere as well, but that doesn't mean they can't be found in religion. I've gotten a lot of my view from one of my best friends, w... | No one can deny that people have done awful things in the name of religion, but I don't think that people can deny that religion does good things too. I'm not going to argue if the good outweighs the bad, but you have to acknowledge that there is some good.
Personally, my cousin was able to stop drinking after he foun... | 2017-03-29 |
t3_6246xa | Religion has no positive attributes | If you take a step back, and look at what religion has done to this world, it is all negative. I can't count how many wars were started purely based on religion. The Crusades were a period of time solely based on religious warfare. Religion has caused people to move from their country, and has caused more bloodshed the... | Well, first, you are making the mistake of thinking the Crusades were purely religious. They weren't (PDF file). Religion, because of it's ability to motivate people, is an excellent tool used to justify war. However, war is rarely ever consisting of a single motivation and usually is a result of a multitude of reasons... | I would say that almost all of the best horror movies I've ever seen depended on religious sources for their stories and their iconography. Now if you don't like horror movies...
I think you can point to individual things given to is from religion and religious thinkers. Such as Jesus's admonition to love one's neighbo... | 2017-03-29 |
t3_3ertdy | Most "big words" have no place outside of formal writing or speeches. | IMO, whenever they're used it's mostly just confusing especially to younger readers. Why say "preposterous" when you can just say crazy or insane and have it make sense to more people? Do you need to sound smart with fancy language? Of course there are some exceptions for things that can't be described any other way, l... | I want people to know exactly the sentiment I'm trying to express. If I say I'm sad, it has a very different flavor than if I say I'm feeling a little melancholy. Why would I sacrifice clear communication for mass communication? What's the point in having people understand something that's not quite what I want to say? | Catering to the lowest common denominator seems likely to lower it even further. At least some of the onus should remain on readers to do some work to make more efficient uses of language more compatible with them. | 2015-07-27 |
t3_3ertdy | Most "big words" have no place outside of formal writing or speeches. | IMO, whenever they're used it's mostly just confusing especially to younger readers. Why say "preposterous" when you can just say crazy or insane and have it make sense to more people? Do you need to sound smart with fancy language? Of course there are some exceptions for things that can't be described any other way, l... | Literally every word you know is from hearing it for the first time. You only know what crazy means because someone wrote it down or said it to you, and then you figured out from either context or research what it means.
In other words, EVERY word was once a "big word" to all of us. For example, you know what prepost... | There are some words that people use to sound smart that are actually very useful words. "Plethora" is the word I like to use as an example; we have a lot of words that have the same basic meaning of "plethora" (basically: a lot of, an excess of) but a plethora is specific in the way that it is having so much of someth... | 2015-07-27 |
t3_5glutk | There are no adequate gender equal options when it comes to changing your surname in marriage | I recently got married, and one thing my wife and I have discussed at great lengths is what we should do with our surnames.
I have come to the conclusion that we currently do not have a reliable, fair, gender equal convention for dealing with family names in marriage.
Example case: Groom Jones and Bride Johnson
Their o... | For a societal standard, I suggest that all people change their name upon marriage to something new. It symbolizes leaving the family of birth and creating a new one with a chosen partner. Any produced children are given that same name, and they too hold that name until they choose to build a new family with someone el... | It's true that the marriage licensing process makes changing your name at that particular moment relatively straightforward. But a lot of people don't seem to appreciate how easy it is to change your name at almost any time for almost any reason.
Why does there need to be a single process for an entire society? If th... | 2016-12-05 |
t3_2ucr50 | Watches today serve no functional purpose other than fashion, and therefore are a waste of money | Many years ago, watches served the purpose of being able to tell time. Now, with cell phones, as well as a plethora of other personal devices that are able to tell time, watches are functionally useless. In my opinion, the only reason watches still exist are for fashion appeal, which I find stupid. Yeah boots cost $... | You can casually glance at a watch during a meeting or conversation, whereas pulling out the cell phone to check the time is distracting and rude. They're not entirely the same. Smart watches / health monitors are bit niche at the moment but starting to catch on... there's another big functional element.
A decent wat... | Watches are definitely not an obsolete item. I too am a college student who tends to think that spending $100 on any item is a hard thing to do. However, I did invest in a watch for myself for the purpose of being useful when my phone or laptop can't be.
I work at a dining hall at my University, and cell phones are for... | 2015-01-31 |
t3_6sahi4 | The Google employee's diversity memo wasn't completely wrong and he definitely did not deserve to get fired | Although some parts of his memo wasn't the most scientifically backed up it does have some merit, as men and women are scientifically proven to be slightly different mainly due to hormones. His argument was phrased in a thoughtful and polite way without name-calling or other forms of rudeness. All the response from the... | He did something that not only led to Google receiving negative public attention but also created a situation where literally any response by Google would result in part of its customer base being offended and part of its workforce feeling alienated.
In short: he created a lose-lose situation for the company.
Regardles... | Beliefs aside, I would've fired the guy. The reason isn't because of his personal beliefs but because the way he expressed his personal beliefs showed little to no tact. It was totally unprofessional, outwardly hostile, and alienated a large swath of his coworkers. In short, he created a hostile workplace and that's go... | 2017-08-08 |
t3_70vii5 | CMV Very high rent prices are not immoral | I've just read this comment, and the ensuing thread:
I've seen the sentiment quite a bit lately that "rich people" acting in their self-interests directly screws over "poor people", and that this is wrong.
Economic theory dictates that this is not immoral. If nobody could afford the ridiculously high rent prices, nobod... | This is in fact the case.
This article gives a nice summary but basically, the reason rents are so high is that it's illegal to build dense housing. And the reason it's illegal to build dense housing is to keep out poor people and minorities who are perceived as the people who would move into new apartment buildings.
... | The piece that you're missing here is that these luxury apartments aren't being "lived in." The wealthy who can afford these apartments are, by-and-large, using them to;
* Have as a weekend getaway
* Have as a crashpad for sporadic business trips to the given city (instead of patronizing hotels and using other hospital... | 2017-09-18 |
t3_4t8mmw | Transgenders only enforce gender stereotypes. | I try not to be bigoted, and I'd really like to open my mind to this, especially as my cousin begins his HRT. I'm a strong liberal, but I believe the concept of transgender individuals is tied strongly to the concept of gender roles. Why bother changing your gender, or identifying as a different one, if they are equal?... | Gender identity =/= gender roles.
Gender roles are OBVIOUSLY cultural and changeable, we know for a fact about historical male clothing styles that are feminine by modern standards, there is nothing inherently masculine or feminine about calling yourself "Andrea", (masculine name in Italy, feminine in most of Europe), ... | Is your feeling of certainty that you're a woman based solely on looking at yourself in the mirror? What if when you looked at yourself in the mirror, you saw wide shoulders and narrow hips and too much body hair? Some women have these features. Would you still know you were a woman?
What if when you looked in the mirr... | 2016-07-17 |
t3_4t8mmw | Transgenders only enforce gender stereotypes. | I try not to be bigoted, and I'd really like to open my mind to this, especially as my cousin begins his HRT. I'm a strong liberal, but I believe the concept of transgender individuals is tied strongly to the concept of gender roles. Why bother changing your gender, or identifying as a different one, if they are equal?... | I feel like you need to go deeper. The vast majority of trans people portrayed in the media are trans women adopting traditional femininity and occasionally you'll see a trans man adopting traditional masculinity. I don't really see non-binary or non-traditionally presenting trans identities in TV or movies. Occasional... | Is your feeling of certainty that you're a woman based solely on looking at yourself in the mirror? What if when you looked at yourself in the mirror, you saw wide shoulders and narrow hips and too much body hair? Some women have these features. Would you still know you were a woman?
What if when you looked in the mirr... | 2016-07-17 |
t3_6l0sdy | If you are against the idea of allowing homosexuals to marry because you feel marriage is about having kids and raising them, then you should be against old people marrying and against sterile people marrying. | The reason so many people have against allowing homosexuals to marry is that they feel marriage is about having and raising kids.
It would seem to me that people who feel this way should also be against allowing older people from marrying (such as ones whose kids are already grown, or who had no kids in the first place... | One problem is enforcement. Are we supposed to test every heterosexual couple for fertility before we allow them to get married? No. Older couples are likely to be infertile, but stranger things have happened than late pregnancies--and an old couple may have pre-existing children or grandchildren to support.
Would w... | Can I ask what inspired this post and why you think you might be interested in having your view changed? It is a very specific idea you are talking about here.
I would suggest that many of the people you describe don't want homosexuals to have and raise kids. In some states it is difficult or nearly impossible for gay... | 2017-07-03 |
t3_2s311o | No one should be complaining about public schools when alternatives exist that they're not willing to take advantage of. | Public schools exist to provide education to poor families that can't afford alternatives. It's a program meant for the less-fortunate, which makes perfect sense considering education for children must be provided under penalty of incarceration. Parents that have any problems with what's being taught have every right t... | Although I'm not an advocate of religion in public schools, which seems to be what you're actually against as opposed to people complaining about public schools in general, I certainly think every tax payer has a right to levy their concerns and desires for public school. To say citizens who are paying for a program th... | There is your problem right there. People should complain if they are not satisfied. The schools are paid for by their taxes, they should have a right to complain. I also think your alternative of homeschooling is not a good alternative. Poor people can't stay home all day and teach their kids, they generally have jobs... | 2015-01-11 |
t3_2a54d2 | In dating it is acceptable and pragmatic to reject people because of their sexual history. | Stereotypes are often wrong but can contain a kernel of truth. IME, inexperienced people are more likely to be clingy or weird about sex. Promiscuous people do tend to make less stable partners. Perhaps not true across cultures and populations but good rules of thumb in many places.
It is completely okay to reject some... | In regards to how someone acts, I think this is more how many relationships they have been in rather than how many partners they have had. Someone who has had very few relationships may still act clingy or weird, even if they have had a few hookups, because those are more about how you relate with another person, rathe... | I don't really think the number of sexual partners says anything about a persons personality. I've known slutty virgins and prudish nymphomaniacs, the sexual act holds no real meaning but their personal views about sex does.
If you found out your spouse of 10 years had sex with 1000 people before you met, would that ch... | 2014-07-08 |
t3_6rrq8x | If we're going to incorporate maternity leave, it should be equal to paternity leave | The reason I say "If we're going to incorporate maternity leave" is so that we can set aside the (valid) discussion of "should we incorporate parental leave at all". That is a valid discussion, but it's not the subject of my view and not something I'm prepped to debate; this CMV is predicated on accepting that maternit... | Three arguments against this:
1. Maternity leave is in part a special form of medical leave. Pregnancy, labor and delivery are very taxing on the body. That doesn't apply to paternity leave.
2. There are enormous, strongly scientifically supported benefits of breastfeeding to both mother and baby, especially early in t... | Do you demand equal leave or only equal opportunity for leave? New Zealand has I think the best approach, but it doesn't result in equal maternity and paternity leave. Instead of employers giving 18 total weeks split equally between both parents regardless of their different parenting abilities, they give all 18 to t... | 2017-08-05 |
t3_5gpze7 | This "fake news" controversy is some kind of propaganda/psyop. | All this talk about "fake news" didn't happen organically. It's obvious the MSM recieved their marching orders and coordinated the proliferation of this idea. If you check google trends, the term has exploded in popularity in the last week or so. There's absolutely nothing new about this so called "fake news". It has a... | I agree with you in that I find the term and it's sudden spread troubling.
Where I differ is in assigning a cause.
You seem to ask, if not as a coordinated effort to silence... something, why the strong push from so much media for the idea of "fake news"? The simple answer is that mainstream media is driven by the same... | Fake news is not new but it has blown up. The large part of the reason is that news in and of itself has changed.
In the past there was a decent barrier to entry to be a news site in the form of cost. Maybe I could create a small newspaper to share my version of the news but without adequate funding, it was not going t... | 2016-12-06 |
t3_3s5gwk | Wallets in the front pocket only makes sense | So, I've had this long standing confusion when it comes to wallets. I know a number of people who keep their wallets in their back pocket. I've never understood this and think it's illogical. When looking at where we keep other normal pocket items such as phones, gum, keys, etc we keep them in our front pocket generall... | I have experienced the exact opposite, at elast with the slimmer jeans.
The butt pocket is usually sewn onto the fabric, where it doesnt compromise the form, while the front pocket is set inwards where the wallet is pressed into your tigh at every step, making it painful or even impossible to walk in a particular slim ... | Not really, wallets wont break like phones, aren't rigid like keys, get squished like gum
If I put my wallet into the front pockets of most of the jeans and shorts I own it would completely fill those pockets, where would I keep my phone and keys?
The back pockets is the perfect size and shape for a wallet, almost like... | 2015-11-09 |
t3_3s5gwk | Wallets in the front pocket only makes sense | So, I've had this long standing confusion when it comes to wallets. I know a number of people who keep their wallets in their back pocket. I've never understood this and think it's illogical. When looking at where we keep other normal pocket items such as phones, gum, keys, etc we keep them in our front pocket generall... | I personally know that from a fashion's point of view, wallet, keys, or even phone in the front pocket looks bulky and betrays the natural lines of the body, which is why they're kept in the back pocket. That way, the natural line is only compromised from the backside, which is less important, in a fashion sense, than ... | Phone goes in front right, because I use it all the time. Keys go in front left, because I use them all the time. Wallet goes in back right because I use it often, but less often than my phone or keys. Stacking multiple items in a pocket is uncomfortable, so it gets it's own pocket. I'm not putting my keys or phone in ... | 2015-11-09 |
t3_5htqk2 | Animal rights groups should stop assuming animals share the same values as humans | One of the biggest gripes I have with animal rights is that they treat animals in anthropomorphic ways. They just assume that an animal feels one way or the other about something.
First of all, different species have different requirements. What applies to one species doesn't work for another. Animal rights activists o... | I'll also bring up that PETA =/= all animal rights activist groups. PETA is the only one I've heard of that believes that animals should have the same rights as humans (and that owning a pet is morally wrong).
Anecdotally most of the animal rights groups I've run into are more focused on the factory farming industry an... | I would add another point, which might change your view or perhaps expand it, and that is that animals don't necessarily share the same rights as human beings. You're also right about captivity - pet dogs are essentially held in captivity and they're the happiest animals on the planet.
I think we have a moral obligatio... | 2016-12-12 |
t3_5spe6x | JK Rowling is bad at writing male characters | Okay, so, a lot of male authors (rightfully so) get a lot of flack for writing terrible female characters. However, the thing is, I think JK Rowling is just as bad at writing male characters as some men are at writing women.
Disclaimer: I can't really blame JK for this. A lot of people have trouble connecting to the op... | If anyone's a Mary Sue, it's Hermione. Her intelligence is frequently used in a deux ex machina manner ("How are we going to get through this? Ah, Hermione knows a spell never mentioned before".) She's allegedly average-looking, but transforms to the belle of the ball by smoothening her hair and putting on a dress (pla... | Neville: In the beginning he is kindy shy and fearful, yet he still showed signs of bravery. In the first year he fought Crabbe and Goyle at quidditch match, he tried to warn the Trio that Malfoy knows about the dragon, he tried to stop the Trio from leaving common room at night (and for this he was rewarded by Dumbled... | 2017-02-08 |
t3_5ij1mv | Single gender schools are discriminatory because there is no such thing as "separate but equal" | I am a public high school teacher. Some of the people I work with favor single-sex education, and even try experiments of single-gender classes. As far as I am concerned there is no such thing as "separate but equal" and separating genders reinforces gender stereotypes and inequality, just as racially segregated school... | Ill agree with you with a single caveat: single-gender public schools are discriminatory.
In most systems, public schools are the norm, and private institutions are for people who want to choose a different path and are willing to pay for it. In that circumstance, since there is a coeducational option, the student in q... | I agree with your assessment there is no such thing as Separate but equal.
- But this isn't about equality. This is about teaching your kids the values you believe whatever they may be.
- This is about freedom to have this choice. Whatever the reason be.
Segregation is wrong but "Black music channel" exist? And This ha... | 2016-12-15 |
t3_5ij1mv | Single gender schools are discriminatory because there is no such thing as "separate but equal" | I am a public high school teacher. Some of the people I work with favor single-sex education, and even try experiments of single-gender classes. As far as I am concerned there is no such thing as "separate but equal" and separating genders reinforces gender stereotypes and inequality, just as racially segregated school... | Think bigger than a particular class that has been misguidedly drawn up into a stereotypically "masculine" and a "feminine" topic.
This opinion piece might provide an alternate insight on fully single-gender schools: | You're right, and that's the actual, literal definition of discrimination - where one person can't have access to something.
Single gender education has some benefits; for instance, dividing the genders prevents most children from being distracted by romantic notions during class. This is a net benefit, and the homosex... | 2016-12-15 |
t3_1e7dc0 | I'm fairly ashamed of this, so please help me CMV. I believe that the vast majority of parents, no matter how tolerant and loving, would not choose to have a gay child. | Maybe I shouldn't be making claims about what "the vast majority of parents" believe, so let's just say, I believe I would not want to have a gay child if I could actually control that. I do not hate gay people, and there are several gay people whom I personally admire. Them being gay doesn't bother me. But when it ... | I think it's important to draw a distinction between tolerance of different culture and love of different culture. You can be tolerant and still prefer what you already know and can relate to. I wouldn't choose for my son or daughter to be a jock because I wouldn't be able to relate to them very well. That doesn't mean... | Personally, I would leave it on random. I would not want the responsibility of 'choosing' my child's sexual orientation, because I would not want my parents to have chosen mine. I prefer to think that if it were something that is up to a choice, I was the one who made it.
As far as relating to your gay child goes, what... | 2013-05-12 |
t3_1e7dc0 | I'm fairly ashamed of this, so please help me CMV. I believe that the vast majority of parents, no matter how tolerant and loving, would not choose to have a gay child. | Maybe I shouldn't be making claims about what "the vast majority of parents" believe, so let's just say, I believe I would not want to have a gay child if I could actually control that. I do not hate gay people, and there are several gay people whom I personally admire. Them being gay doesn't bother me. But when it ... | Why do you assume that a gay child won't have biological grandchildren? I know a lesbian couple with 3 kids. They each got inseminated and one had twins. | s'okay. My mom told me she hoped I wouldn't be gay. I turned out gay anyway and I know that she loves me.
I want to change the part of your view that says it's a problem. No one wants life to be harder for their children. Life is harder for gay people than straight people. These are two undeniable facts. Together, they... | 2013-05-12 |
t3_6qzn18 | an intelligent person that understands constructive empiricism should never communicate with anyone outside of their circle | say you are the person that understands constructive empiricism -
these type of ppl that understand constructive empiricism should never communicate with anyone outside of their circle
1 the cost is excessively high:
* it is a waste of time talking to ppl outside of their circle
* it's incredibly frustrating talking to... | A basic example where someone that understands constructive empiricism should absolutely communicate with someone outside of that circle: When interacting with people outside of that circle is necessary to you completing a task. For example:
Example1: You are purchasing something (fast food, furniture, clothes, anythin... | There isn't just one way to be intelligent. You can be book smart, street smart, musically intelligent, some people are naturally very good with their hands and figuring out how things work. Maybe the auto mechanic doesn't have above average communication skills, but he or she is brilliant with their hands when it come... | 2017-08-01 |
t3_3z9c0i | There is no reason that Daredevil should pretend to be 'conventionally' blind in his normal life. **[Spoilers of the Daredevil series on Netflix]** | For the majority of this post I am referring to my experience watching the Daredevil show on Netflix, outside of video games I don't have much more knowledge of the Daredevil universe. Also, by 'conventionally blind' I am referring to the fact that Matt Murdoch (Daredevil's alter ego) pretends that he needs a stick to ... | * But he hasn't just learned to cope with his lack of sight, he has supernatural senses. Surely a blind man who isn't at all blind would attract a lot of attention. If its possible to " deal with your blindness by sensing your surroundings better", why isn't every blind person learning to do it? Revealing that he has t... | From the comic, the blind cane is a way to hide his batons (I don't recall if this is true in the series, but they may be saving that for the next season when he's in the iconic costume).
While he can use his supernatural senses to navigate his environment, he still cannot read, which is a large part of going to colleg... | 2016-01-03 |
t3_50cmhw | Legalizing pot for recreational purposes brings no benefit to our society. | Pot brings no positives to society that I can currently see. While I understand the desire for those who are hooked on it to want it legalized (so they don't get arrested/lose their job), what positives are expected to come out of this?
*Note 1 - Medicinal use is not what I am referring to in this post.
*Note 2 - The ... | From your responses it appears your CMV is closer to "recreational pot use has no positive benefits", rather than what the consequence of that would be for its legal status.
So how about this: Cannabis helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and ... | So is everything else. Put a bucket out when its raining sometime and you'll see those drops start to add up.
That would depend on the 'drug dealer'. Theres a big difference between someone with some plants in their closet and the cartel. The cartel will still be around, but with less funding. They'll probably try to ... | 2016-08-30 |
t3_50cmhw | Legalizing pot for recreational purposes brings no benefit to our society. | Pot brings no positives to society that I can currently see. While I understand the desire for those who are hooked on it to want it legalized (so they don't get arrested/lose their job), what positives are expected to come out of this?
*Note 1 - Medicinal use is not what I am referring to in this post.
*Note 2 - The ... | Legalizing it brings benefits in terms of removing the costs of prohibition. Marijuana prohibition costs the government a ton of money in enforcement resources, and costs those who use marijuana both money and often liberty.
While there are downsides to legalization as you mention, the upside is that you stop having t... | It brings a few benefits, in that it can be taxed (I don't know if it is, but I do believe that they have to apply for a license to sell it, which likely costs money), and that it provides utility for customers. It also makes it easier for those who are prescribed medicinal marijuana to use it without undue suspicion o... | 2016-08-30 |
t3_1qj032 | China's rapid and continuing economic growth demonstrate the clear superiority of the technocratic model | This post is motivated by news of the Chinese 3rd plenum, which took place yesterday.
China has been growing at a breakneck pace since around 1980. If you haven't seen the graphs, take a look:
Chinese GDP growth over time
Chinese vs US manufacturing
China has experienced a rare thing in economics: sustained growth ov... | I can't actually disagree that an autocratic system can make decisions faster than a democratic one; it's honestly one of the downfalls of democracy.
Let's talk about the long run though, as you state:
Firstly, I think the assumption that a country like the US doesn't make intelligent decisions is false, it wouldn't be... | I guess it comes down to how you want to define the word "superiority".
If all that's important to you is achieving the stated goal of 'economic growth', then yes, a technocratic approach would be 'superior' in its effectiveness to other models. However, governments in the west aren't always engaged in a political dead... | 2013-11-13 |
t3_55ms3y | The entire notion of "Gaydar" is offensive as it is based on prejudice and sterotypes | The idea that you can tell someone's sexual orientation, just from looking at someone or observing their body language and manner of speech, is not only laughable, it is deeply offensive.
If someone tells you, or they are in a specific context etc, then that's different. If they're wearing a badge or a flag etc, then t... | While I like where you're coming from (I'm gay and not a fan of stereotypes), there have been studies that show that people are quite good at inferring sexual orientation. | There was actually research done:
People were able to pick out gay males based on voice at rate higher than chance. | 2016-10-03 |
t3_55ms3y | The entire notion of "Gaydar" is offensive as it is based on prejudice and sterotypes | The idea that you can tell someone's sexual orientation, just from looking at someone or observing their body language and manner of speech, is not only laughable, it is deeply offensive.
If someone tells you, or they are in a specific context etc, then that's different. If they're wearing a badge or a flag etc, then t... | My one female friend described GayDar as a lack of sensing a sexual threat. Although heterosexual males might find this somewhat offensive, she asserted that all heterosexual males (single, married,...etc.) give off some sense of a sexual threat, or maybe better described as a sexual interest. She based her GayDar off ... | So, at the time of this post, /u/Gladix and /u/There_Are_Four_Cats and /u/Hq3473 have given links to studies done that show that there's actually some validity to the idea of "gaydar" in a scientific sense. But I want to focus on something else:
This is probably something worth tackling; basically, in any given subcult... | 2016-10-03 |
t3_1xny71 | Star Trek is a show that shouldn't be shared with future generations | A few months ago, /u/sdneidich suggested that I watch Star Trek with my daughter when she's old enough to understand its themes, citing the positive message that it lays out for the future of humanity.
I hadn't watched Star Trek in years, so when my daughter was born, I started to do some primary research on the subjec... | The sexism, ethnocentrism and other problems you see are no different than the science you lauded in your post. The science is good because it encourages people to pursue science, to be excited by it, to make science exciting and normal. But analyze Star Trek science too closely and it is utter shit. A lot of the scien... | First: The obvious quality in my book is the overreaching theme of the Star Trek universe - equality, exploration, acceptance, making the right decisions (not just for you, but for everyone - Prime Directive anyone?).
Second: Star Trek is far enough into spaceship fantasy that younger viewers don't realize when they're... | 2014-02-12 |
t3_446n6a | Conspiracy theories are primarily used as a safety blanket to make sense of a cruel senseless world. | By and large, I think people like conspiracy theories because they explain things in an easier to swallow version than the truth. They permeate all parts of the political and belief spectrum, but they're no less comforting. It's so much easier to say Newtown was a false flag than to come to terms with the fact that the... | The reason we're susceptible to conspiracy theories isn't because they're comforting (because, sometimes they're just as unsettling for people as random chance, if not more in certain cases). It's because psychologically we're not innately all that good at rationally and reasonably evaluating evidence and coming to sol... | Aren't your arguments doing roughly the same thing? Isn't your position just explaining them in an easier to swallow version than the truth?
So what is the truth? Well, I don't know. I don't study the psychology of conspiracy theories. But it's not hard to suggest alternative hypotheses. Humans are filled will all sort... | 2016-02-04 |
t3_5dgy81 | Donald Trump is actually a genuinely nice guy and his campaign was a show, thus not a real indicator of his true personality. | I am making this post because I saw "this video will get Donald Trump elected" on YouTube, and a thread on /r/askreddit about Trump yesterday.
Preface: I do not agree with all of Trump's policy, but this is not an argument of policy.
Many people believe that Donald Trump is every "-ist" and "-phobe" in the book, in add... | What does it mean to be "nice?" Based on the Askreddit thread, I believe he's certainly capable of being polite to people he interacts with, but that doesn't mean he's not also willing to take advantage of people when it suits his self-interest. How does your opinion square with the many people who have accused Trump o... | 1. His personality in interviews from the 1970s until the election and interviews since. He seems like a nice guy in them.
The guy that had ghostwritten Trump's "autobiography" describes Trump candidacy as such: "But the prospect of President Trump terrified him. It wasn’t because of Trump’s ideology—Schwartz doubte... | 2016-11-17 |
t3_4s5eo0 | Instead of "creating" new genders, there should be no genders at all | First of, i´m far away from being an expert on this topic, i guess i understand the basic ideas but i´m not familiar with depths of this topic. So the problem with gender roles is that we put humans in 2 categories based on their biological sex and connect those categories with certain behaviours and claims, but humans... | At the moment the vast majority of people fall in a few sexuality categories that are functionally important to recognize and organize some parts of society around. Treating every human as a complete individual in any aspect isn't practical on a large scale, most people don't even do this on an individual scale - we si... | Gender can be tricky, but all you need is a quick glossary of terms to help. They're actually easy to keep track of.
First, psychological gender (or gender expression) is purely how you think and feel. Biological gender (or sex) are the reproductive organs. Secondary sex characteristics are loosely related to biologica... | 2016-07-10 |
t3_3iymd6 | If you are unattractive, it's largely your fault. | The only times where it's not your fault is if you are disfigured, or if you were born with extreme facial asymmetry. In both cases you cannot change those issues. If you have a nose that is 2 1/2 inches long and crushed in eye socket, then yes, you have an out.
However, if you are not disfigured, and your facial syeme... | you aren't 100% wrong, but the reasons you're wrong are significant, i think.
for now, i'm going to take it for granted that you meant people with average facial structures were entirely capable of making themselves more attractive at large. you seem to not quite take that seriously the idea of people with facial struc... | A lot of those things you mentioned (acne treatment, fashionable clothes, hair treatment, gym membership to lose weight) require money. Since being poor isn't the poor person's fault (in most situations), I'd say being "unattractive" because you can't afford things that would make you "attractive" isn't your fault. You... | 2015-08-30 |
t3_3iymd6 | If you are unattractive, it's largely your fault. | The only times where it's not your fault is if you are disfigured, or if you were born with extreme facial asymmetry. In both cases you cannot change those issues. If you have a nose that is 2 1/2 inches long and crushed in eye socket, then yes, you have an out.
However, if you are not disfigured, and your facial syeme... | This article will support your premise that few people if any are beyond looking attractive -- given the right treatments.
However, your stipulation that it's "their fault" if they are ugly is where you trip up. The experiment in the article provided these women with all the beauty treatments known to man, regardless o... | A lot of those things you mentioned (acne treatment, fashionable clothes, hair treatment, gym membership to lose weight) require money. Since being poor isn't the poor person's fault (in most situations), I'd say being "unattractive" because you can't afford things that would make you "attractive" isn't your fault. You... | 2015-08-30 |
t3_20ba8v | There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics… | Okay so it isn't my view, it's from Umberto Eco in Foucault's Pendulum. But I happen to agree with it and (so far) can't think of any exceptions. Change my admittedly cynical, misanthropic view. | I'm clearly a moron but I want to know how is my reasoning wrong? | There can be no way to know that all people are illogical because knowing such a thing requires that someone understand reason in order to judge that people are deviating from it. | 2014-03-13 |
t3_3rdnyj | Rewinding time is the best superpower for daily life | A topic that I've had fun discussing is to imagine what could be done with a superpower. With so many choices and so many implications for each power, this little game can spark long conversations on how each power would affect our daily lives. From all of these discussions, I've come away with the view that one power ... | rewinding time might be fun if you do not have pre existing genetic flaws, for example if you get Alzheimer at 60 rewinding it might stave it off a bit but you know your going to degenerate eventually. not to mention you can't rewind if your dead meaning that even a single accident can end your fun.
lets not forget th... | Rewind is a very good power. No doubt about it!
But while it will let you learn infinity personal skills, you are limited to one day's worth of accomplishments per day.
I'm going to suggest Multiplicity which I will define as the ability to make exact duplicates of yourself, and then later re-combine into a single pers... | 2015-11-03 |
t3_3rdnyj | Rewinding time is the best superpower for daily life | A topic that I've had fun discussing is to imagine what could be done with a superpower. With so many choices and so many implications for each power, this little game can spark long conversations on how each power would affect our daily lives. From all of these discussions, I've come away with the view that one power ... | One flaw of time rewinding is that it would destroy the entire financial system.
Almost all financial transactions depend on expectations about future events.
If time rewinding became a thing, it would allow the rewinder to make trades based on things they know will happen, but that others don't.
So for instance, Consu... | For some reason, having superpowers is something I think about a lot, but the one that I keep coming up with is actually stopping time, not reversing it.
Like some people said, reversing time for everything but your brain could cause lots of problems. For example: If your brain changed size in any way, what happened to... | 2015-11-03 |
t3_3rdnyj | Rewinding time is the best superpower for daily life | A topic that I've had fun discussing is to imagine what could be done with a superpower. With so many choices and so many implications for each power, this little game can spark long conversations on how each power would affect our daily lives. From all of these discussions, I've come away with the view that one power ... | I think you are on the right track, and you clearly have put a lot of thought into this, but I'll try to posit another power for your consideration.
A different version of this power would being able to make 'save points' with no limit, similar to a video game. This has some benefits and downsides from Rewind.
Saving P... | I think you've raised some very interesting points, and I'm in agreement with the principle behind what you're saying, but I think there are some things that need to be clarified here.
First of all, the key underlying assumption I think you're making, is that your mind and your body are two separate entities. Suppose y... | 2015-11-03 |
t3_3rdnyj | Rewinding time is the best superpower for daily life | A topic that I've had fun discussing is to imagine what could be done with a superpower. With so many choices and so many implications for each power, this little game can spark long conversations on how each power would affect our daily lives. From all of these discussions, I've come away with the view that one power ... | Ugh... that sounds like a truly horrifying power to have, and I don't think I could bring myself to ever actually use it, for a whole suite of reasons:
What happens to all of the people in the future timeline that I've abandoned? Many of whom I care about, presumably.
Do they all die? Do I just vanish, and they have to... | I think you've raised some very interesting points, and I'm in agreement with the principle behind what you're saying, but I think there are some things that need to be clarified here.
First of all, the key underlying assumption I think you're making, is that your mind and your body are two separate entities. Suppose y... | 2015-11-03 |
t3_2lvdpt | I believe women who have sex with underage boys should receive less punishment than men who have sex with underage girls. | A few weeks ago, a woman who was formerly a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader was arrested for rape after allegedly having sexual relations with a 15 year-old boy. This story is not all that unique, as there are plenty of instances when older women, often teachers, have been arrested for having sex with males under the age ... | This is only true on average. In reality these properties are distributions.
If you plot the curves for "promiscuity" or "physical strength" for men and women you will find that the curves overlap.
There are some women who are more promiscuous than some men, and so on.
Rights should be universal. It is very unjust make... | I think it is highly controversial, judging by the arguments put forth in the relevant socio-political area of debate (especially the arguments put forth by MRAs). Without this starting assumption, the rest does not follow.
Do you have a source for this being seen across cultures and species? | 2014-11-10 |
t3_43zfyp | conservatism is just narrow-mindedness | Conservatism in its most basic form is just wanting things to stay the way things are. This means that instead of thinking about and analysing a new idea or solution to a problem, conservatives prefer to stick with the current way of doing something. This to me seems like they are not very willing to even consider new ... | It strikes me that you've exaggerated one view (conservatism) and taken that as the norm whilst using a moderate version of the other (progressivism*) as a point of comparison. As below:
Most conservatives accept change is inevitable, but feel that it should be managed to protect the existing positive aspects of societ... | Let's break down your characterization of conservatives:
1. Want things to stay the way they are (or revert back to how things were in some instances)
2. Therefore they are narrow minded and not willing to consider new ideas
"Narrow-mindedness" is essentially being intolerant to other perspectives - this isn't inherint... | 2016-02-03 |
t3_2ina28 | Everything in life eventually comes to an end, therefore everything is worthless | Everything we see to be of value in life, eventually ends. For example, friendships eventually end, love eventually ends, social status suddenly disappears (remember your highschool graduation?).
People will eventually disappear, they will go their own paths. You will go your own path, you will take up a career, maybe ... | Give away all of your belongings, give away all of your money, quit your job, do nothing with your life, and cut all ties with people you love. If you truly feel the way you do, you would have already done those things but there is obviously something you are holding on to. For what reason are you holding on to those ... | I take the exact same information, and find the exact opposite reasoning. If everything existed forever, then nothing would have meaning. What would love mean? Can you truly love something if it existed forever? It would never change, always be the same.
The fact that it begins and ends means that it actually has meani... | 2014-10-08 |
t3_4qv031 | There is no plausible ending for the "Song of Ice and Fire" series that isn't Daenerys on the Iron Throne. | First things first: I don't dislike Daenerys. I think that throughout the course of the series, she has grown as a leader and is coming into her own as a potential ruler for Westeros. Does that make her deserving of it, per se? That's a matter of opinion and it's not one that I necessarily prescribe to.
However, I do t... | Daenerys will rule Westeros, but not from the Iron Throne. This is the only reasonable endgame.
The lore of A Song of Ice and Fire is full of epic wars and kings and queens and conquerors of destiny. But it's implicit in the fact that this story is the one being told (as well as in its details) that this story is the "... | I am a fan of the ice dragon for jon snow theory mainly bc dragons fighting eachother.
But i mean all in all, I can't see jon not ending on the throne. At the end of the day, he is the one that was born of ice and fire (stark and targaryen), he is the one that will lead the fight against the white walkers, etc. Maybe h... | 2016-07-02 |
t3_1oz5lq | I don't believe that parents should be able to name children whatever they want | I think that naming a child 'La-a' or 'Apple' is really harmful to that child. Not only will they grow up being teased, but what happens when they want to find a job? Who's going to take a job application seriously when the person's name is 'Apple'? Seriously.
I think that there needs to be a system implemented where y... | Freakonomics did a podcast, titled "How Much Does Your Name Matter?", on this very subject. The overall conclusion is that what your parents name you has virtually no effect on the outcome of your life. You might think "La-a" is a cruel name to give a kid, but that girl is will statistically have the same chance of suc... | There are many factors in play when someone is bullied and it isn't just because you have an odd first name. If your argument is to prevent bullying then you'll have to include altering last names, "foreign" names, clothing, glasses, height, weight, IQ and financial status. The parents will also have to follow guidel... | 2013-10-22 |
t3_5fcmpc | If you are a vegan, you have to be pro-life. | This is for the vegans that are vegan for the moral reasons, not for those who simply want to try not eating meat and animal product for a variety of the other reasons.
My main argument for this is that the same argument vegans have for not being able to eat eggs (chicken fetus) completely contradicts the pro-choice ar... | Most vegans actually are opposed to eggs because of the fact that you are imprisoning chickens and stealing their eggs (and often treating them horribly in the process), not because an egg is a potential life. Most eggs that are consumed are not even fertilized, so they are not a potential life. Additionally, vegans al... | If the fact that it was a potential life was the reason vegans didn't eat eggs, then they would have no problem eating milk or other products that come from animals. The reason they don't is because of how the animals are farmed or the fact that they are farmed at all. It has nothing to do with the potential for life... | 2016-11-28 |
t3_5fcmpc | If you are a vegan, you have to be pro-life. | This is for the vegans that are vegan for the moral reasons, not for those who simply want to try not eating meat and animal product for a variety of the other reasons.
My main argument for this is that the same argument vegans have for not being able to eat eggs (chicken fetus) completely contradicts the pro-choice ar... | The equivalent position would be that - and I suspect this is true - the vegan does not women to be held in farms and then impregnated and then their fetuses removed to be sold as food. It's the holding of the life in bondage for the purpose of human food that is objectionable to those who hold the moral position you ... | There are many reasons that vegans don't eat eggs, but them being fetuses or potential life is not one of them. It is out of concern for the wellbeing of existing chickens in the egg industry (sources available upon request):
1. Male egg laying chicks are disposed of shortly after hatching because they can't lay eggs ... | 2016-11-28 |
t3_1rcrz0 | I believe that man made global warming to be made up, | [EDIT]
Consider this case closed. You've changed my mind. More below. Many thanks
I guess I'm not the first to ask this here, but I suppose this is a special case.
So this is probably going to be easy for you guys, as I'm currently in limbo.
Sometime during my teenage years, I got a bit too deep into conspiracy theorie... | Ad hominum. People's ideas are not false because of who they are.
Emotional rationalization. You have strong prejudices and then seek to rationalize them. Your belief in conspiracy theories and the pseudo science surrounding climate denialism is the problem. You need to overcome your emotions, prejudices and biases and... | It sounds like you've been been really turned off to the activism surrounding global warming than to the actual theory, which is unfortunate. It always bad when advocates for an issue turn people away, for whatever reason. I'm really glad you're trying to get past that distaste and focus on facts.
As for facts, this si... | 2013-11-24 |
t3_1rcrz0 | I believe that man made global warming to be made up, | [EDIT]
Consider this case closed. You've changed my mind. More below. Many thanks
I guess I'm not the first to ask this here, but I suppose this is a special case.
So this is probably going to be easy for you guys, as I'm currently in limbo.
Sometime during my teenage years, I got a bit too deep into conspiracy theorie... | I'm going to contribute to this discussion by throwing in what no one seems to mention when discussing global climate change, which is that we already have a planetary model for the runaway greenhouse effect: Venus.
With an average global temperature of 735 K (462 °C; 863 °F), Venus is without a doubt the hottest plane... | I'll be simple and succinct, hopefully other people can add corrections and sources if needed. I'll try to add sources as well but all of this is coming from my lay understanding as someone who took chemistry courses in college and have had an interest in the issue--which I was skeptical of initially as well.
First of... | 2013-11-24 |
t3_1rcrz0 | I believe that man made global warming to be made up, | [EDIT]
Consider this case closed. You've changed my mind. More below. Many thanks
I guess I'm not the first to ask this here, but I suppose this is a special case.
So this is probably going to be easy for you guys, as I'm currently in limbo.
Sometime during my teenage years, I got a bit too deep into conspiracy theorie... | So, heres a pretty simple thing. I have two points, and I'm curious as to which one you don't agree with.
First off, we need to talk about CO2. Spectography shows that CO2 absorbs infra-red energy. By absorbing and trapping the infra-red energy, it "creates" heat. In a closed system, CO2 will increase the overall tempe... | I'm going to address a few key points by discussing pre-history and the carbon cycle.
The Earth has a certain amount of carbon on it. It's basically the same amount from when the Earth was formed, just in various locations and in various forms.
On the surface/in the ocean/in the atmosphere carbon is exchanged through ... | 2013-11-24 |
t3_1rcrz0 | I believe that man made global warming to be made up, | [EDIT]
Consider this case closed. You've changed my mind. More below. Many thanks
I guess I'm not the first to ask this here, but I suppose this is a special case.
So this is probably going to be easy for you guys, as I'm currently in limbo.
Sometime during my teenage years, I got a bit too deep into conspiracy theorie... | I think first and foremost we need to consider your view of the people who speak up as 'biased hippies'. I can see how you might come to that view, but as it stands the reality of manmade climate change is accepted by:
* The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - set up by two UN organisations and endorsed by the ... | It sounds like you've been been really turned off to the activism surrounding global warming than to the actual theory, which is unfortunate. It always bad when advocates for an issue turn people away, for whatever reason. I'm really glad you're trying to get past that distaste and focus on facts.
As for facts, this si... | 2013-11-24 |
t3_26avz4 | Pie is clearly superior to cake. | Pie and cake are both immensely popular desserts in the western world. However, the continued popularity of cake baffles me as pie is clearly superior.
1. Pies are filled with fruit, which is yummy and reasonably healthy even when sweetened and put into pie.
2. A good cake can be very good, but an average cake is no... | Rebuttal:
* Cakes may also be filled with fruit. Cakes can also be made reasonably healthy.
* That's completely unsubstantiated and a matter of personal taste. Rebuttal unnecessary.
* Cake is also quite a "malleable concept." Cake comes in a wide variety of flavors (significantly wider than pie flavors), and can be mad... | The only good pie there is is not filled with fruit, and that would be pecan. I don't really understand why saying "Oh , but it has FRUIT" makes it better. Just eat an orange before or afterwards. Personally, i LOVE fruit, so I don't want the taste of my fruit to be ruined by pie ingredients.
This is just really subjec... | 2014-05-23 |
t3_26avz4 | Pie is clearly superior to cake. | Pie and cake are both immensely popular desserts in the western world. However, the continued popularity of cake baffles me as pie is clearly superior.
1. Pies are filled with fruit, which is yummy and reasonably healthy even when sweetened and put into pie.
2. A good cake can be very good, but an average cake is no... | Normally I would agree with you, until I actually think about it. Once you introduce ice cream cake into the equation, cake wins easily. Perhaps the best example would be a Ben and Jerry's ice cream cake, lest you point out some nasty fake ice cream cake available in your local supermarket freezer case. Pie may indeed ... | Not every pie is a fruit pie. There are several custard pies, such as butterscotch pie or some savoury pies, as you mention later, that have absolutely no fruits. You cannot argue that pies are inherently better because of fruit if that is not a quality common to all pies. Further, the prevalence of sugar in pies, I wo... | 2014-05-23 |
t3_6987iy | In-depth classes in high school for "core courses" (math, english, science, etc) should be optional and replaced with mandatory classes on political systems, home economics (mortgages, tax, jobs, benefits, healthcare, etc). | In elementary and middle school, you're taught the basics of the core courses, and those are often the skills we'll need in those courses for the average life. Basic maths, grammar, vocabulary, basic computer skills, etc. In high school, you're required to take more in-depth courses like trigonometry, calculus, Engli... | The point of school is to learn how to learn. You aren't learning calculus, you are learning problem solving. You aren't learning American history, you are learning how to write essays. You aren't learning literature, you are learning critical thinking. With those skills, you can learn how to do anything. The stuff you... | Try looking at school from a different perspective. High school isn't intended to teach you things that will be useful in life. It's intended to expose you to information and topics that you are unlikely to encounter in the "real world." This isn't necessarily for your benefit, or even for the benefit of most studen... | 2017-05-04 |
t3_3m4tq2 | Republicans use the US Constitution as a cop-out for deciding certain issues instead of thinking through them logically | In 1791, Thomas Jefferson came out in opposition to a proposed National Bank for the United States. He didn't come to this conclusion after consulting with economic officials nor did he do any sort of analysis on what would work the best, he didn't even consult the people of the US for their opinions. He simply argued ... | In regards to Jefferson v Hamilton, Jefferson mostly opposed economic measures like this not only because of State's Rights principles, but also because all the moneyed interests were concentrated in the north. Hamilton was a devout northerner, so most economic measures conveniently either benefited him or his cronies ... | Deciding whether or not the Constitution applies to and/or allows a certain action is, by definition, an act of logic. And it's not only conservatives who do it.
One's personal beliefs don't always come into play, it's simply a question of whether or not the action is within the limits imposed by the Constitution. And ... | 2015-09-23 |
t3_3cntuq | Socialism/ Communism will not work in today’s society because people are selfish. | Socialism and its later potential follow up Communism, are great ideas and in an ideal world would create an utopia, where everyone is truly equal and there is no gap between rich and poor, in fact there are no poor and rich. However previous experiments have shown that it just does not work due to the key concept Marx... | It's not supposed to be utopian. It's just "we have a series of things in our economic system that are really fucked up in many ways, if we did this and that, we end up with a less fucked up system".
A basic knowledge of Marx tells you that the revolution required an informed industrial proletariat. The examples you gi... | Socialism is by no means a precursor to anything, let alone communism. The notion of socialism preceding communism was a Marxist idea, probably propaganda, and is surely false considering the numerous countries that have successfully implemented democratic socialism, for instance: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Denm... | 2015-07-09 |
t3_4eg6ia | Hillary Clinton poses a bigger threat to Civilians in the Middle East if she becomes Commander in Chief than Isis | So Hillary Clinton has supported every bomb/war/drone attack that goes through congress, since the beginning of her career.
The first bomb that I have heard of the Clintons supporting was on the day of Bill Clintons impeachment vote, where he bombed Iraq throughout the day with cruise missiles until he became impeached... | 1. It doesn't make sense to hold her responsible for Bill's actions, which she wasn't consulted on, and had no authority over.
2. While I agree that the War on Iraq was a mistake, and thought so at the time, her decision was based on the information that was provided to her at the time. There was good reason to believ... | Last I checked the First Lady has no military command/authority.
First, they weren't black lives matter protesters. Second that is not at all what he said. You obviously haven't watched the video, or if you did, you weren't really listening. You could probably learn a thing or two, because there was a lot of substance ... | 2016-04-12 |
t3_4eg6ia | Hillary Clinton poses a bigger threat to Civilians in the Middle East if she becomes Commander in Chief than Isis | So Hillary Clinton has supported every bomb/war/drone attack that goes through congress, since the beginning of her career.
The first bomb that I have heard of the Clintons supporting was on the day of Bill Clintons impeachment vote, where he bombed Iraq throughout the day with cruise missiles until he became impeached... | Every single President in modern history has authorized military action that has resulted in civilian deaths. No matter who is elected, the United States will continue to use military action that results in collateral damage.
The world is chaotic. It's messy, it's not fair, it's dangerous. But it's easy to sit in the c... | For people in the Middle East, there isn't really a comparison to the damage ISIS is causing compared to US foreign policy.
Think about the most exaggerated version of Compton you have seen in film. Children being killed by random drive by shootings, never ending turf wars, police that shoot first and don't bother to ... | 2016-04-12 |
t3_3rrmk0 | I don't see any reason to have kids | I mean for me not all people. I'm 20 year old male living in Scotland and struggling for a job, I have had one before but still not for long. I don't want kids right now and I'm always told i'll change my mind but I'm 80% sure i won't.
I won't have more than a low paying job in my life and I won't to travel and go on h... | This should really be in a relationship advice subreddit or something. This might be breaking the CMV rules, but I have to use this space to express that you shouldn't be asking people to convince you that having kids is the right idea.
We're not talking about buying a car, but creating a new human life. If you are not... | Right, I'mma try and change your view that you should change your view. Text inbound.
In the case of reproducing, nobody else's opinion matters. Nobody else gets to dictate you procreating, nobody else gets to say whether or not you 'should' have children or not, and least of all, your girlfriend. It is a choice you, a... | 2015-11-06 |
t3_6cucfk | Evidence is the only thing that should be allowed steer policy. It should be regarded as absolutely holy and should supercede any other forces dictating the architecture of our society. | I have always wondered how it is that anything apart from reason, logic and evidence has survived political debate. If one has reproducable, transparent evidence of some policy innovation leading to a decrease in suffering or an increase of human welbeing, how can one lose any debate that scores reason and scientific s... | There is something other than evidence which is actually necessary for policy making. You even have it in your post, you just don't recognize it. It's this:
What you have there is a metric. A metric is how you decide what is good. You have defined "good" as "a decrease in suffering or an increase in human wellbeing". H... | The problem is that this isn't enough to create policy. You have to go one step deeper; you must justify that the reduced suffering or increased wellbeing is important. There ultimately is no evidence that either of these are good or bad outside of axioms. And you can't provide evidence of axioms. | 2017-05-23 |
t3_6r54bq | Donald Trump shouldn't radically change the immigration system for the U.S. as it will be damaging to the nation. | Donald Trump has tried to change the immigration system with his proposed travel bans [from seven mainly Islamic nations, if I remember correctly] and today's news about a proposed bill which could radically change the immigration system.
The U.S. as we know it was founded on immigrants back in 1776 [although Native Am... | To start, I'm an American and I loathe Donald Trump. I consider myself many things, but those aren't important. I'm also somewhat aware of British politics. I love Frankie Boyle's political commentary and I'm a fan of Labour, though I don't show too much since it's not my country.
The U.S. as we know it was founded ... | This well-trodden refrain about America being "founded by immigrants" is a fairly meaningless statement. If you look at the long arc of human history, you end up discovering that almost everyone came from somewhere else. The only place that wasn't "founded by immigrants" is wherever humans first developed as a specie... | 2017-08-02 |
t3_6r54bq | Donald Trump shouldn't radically change the immigration system for the U.S. as it will be damaging to the nation. | Donald Trump has tried to change the immigration system with his proposed travel bans [from seven mainly Islamic nations, if I remember correctly] and today's news about a proposed bill which could radically change the immigration system.
The U.S. as we know it was founded on immigrants back in 1776 [although Native Am... | Can you clarify what you mean by "damaging to the nation"? Damaging how? Damaging economically? Damaging socially? Damaging the country's image in the international community?
You put a great deal of emphasis on the historical importance of immigration in US history, and the significance it has played throughout the ye... | If lawmakers were always concerned with "damaging the nation" then we'd never get anything done in government. Sometimes you have to take a risk in order to see the outcome, otherwise you would never improve nor damage the country, it would just stagnate with years-old policies.
Due to being on Reddit, I'd wager you're... | 2017-08-02 |
t3_2qwnfj | Japan ought to ban abortion | Recently I read this article (1) discussing the impacts of Japan's sexual apathy. One of the greatest impacts is the deficit of new born children. Japan's reproduction rate is well below the necessary replacement rate of 2 children per adult. If such a retrogression continues, Japan will face extraordinary challenges i... | Couldn't they just bring in more immigrants to compensate? Instead of forcing women to have unwanted children the immigrants would be having children. | There are easier and more moral ways to stimulate population growth than to force women to have children they don't want. You can't argue that banning abortion is the easiest way to solve this problem.
Japan could increase tax breaks for having children or encourage immigration. Restriction people's rights is not the s... | 2014-12-31 |
t3_599qbx | Equating "gender unequal" societies as "women disadvantaged" societies is misguided, and obscures the true problem of gender inequality. | This is clearly a controversial post, so reading the post fully would probably be helpful.
The main point I would like to make here is that "gender unequal societies" are just that, gender unequal. Men and women in a "gender unequal society" have fundamentally different expectations from society, and are assigned diffe... | The simplest answer I can think of is that men are freer because they have far greater opportunity to leave. Being the one making money, if a man leaves a woman in Saudi Arabia she is screwed. If the woman leaves a man he is free to remarry, go on with his life etc because he still has opportunities. Since men are more... | Hi there,
Thanks for presenting your point, it was an interesting read. I largely agree with everything you wrote, and I get very irritated by the way modern feminism suggests that I, as a man, am automatically living the sweet life by comparison to the women around me.
The one point of your post that I disagree with ... | 2016-10-25 |
t3_3nubdt | Voter turnout on election days will not increase until there is a way for citizens to vote online. | Local elections just happened where I live, with 11% voter turnout. In the 2012 presidential election, there was an estimated 57.5% turnout. Numbers are low and they aren't going to get significantly better for a large variety of reasons, and I think the only way to boost it up closer to 70, 80, hell 90% would be to ... | Your argument that voting cannot be increased until it can be accomplished online in my opinion is flawed for a few reasons.
First, there are a few other ways that could increase voter turnout without having to go online. First, make election day a federal holiday, allowing more people to have the day off, thus allowin... | States allow absentee mail-in voting which basically means you can request a ballot be mailed to you and you mail it back by a certain date to vote. So, people already can vote in their underwear from the comfort of their own home yet choose not to. What makes you think that online voting would be any different? | 2015-10-07 |
t3_3eu8tm | The SJW movement uses language of the elite and privileged, and thus does very little to empower or educate. | Let me preface this by saying that I consider myself socially liberal, and I actually agree with most SJW talking points. Like other left-leaning movements, it seems to have good intentions, but I actually think it does more to silence non-privileged voices than it does to encourage education, empowerment, progress, or... | There is no "SJW movement." It's just a pejorative label. There is no group that self-identifies as SJWs. There is no "SJW" organization. No SJW leaders. No SJW conferences.
What you view as a movement is just a bunch of independent people with similar conceptions of social justice, and they may have different views on... | First off, I agree with you in part - I do think we can do a lot to be more accessible. But I think you swing too far the other way, and I'd like to play half-devil's-advocate to some of your points.
Well, in principle, why shouldn't it? If you want to discuss the details of a subject, it isn't unreasonable to be expec... | 2015-07-28 |
t3_3eu8tm | The SJW movement uses language of the elite and privileged, and thus does very little to empower or educate. | Let me preface this by saying that I consider myself socially liberal, and I actually agree with most SJW talking points. Like other left-leaning movements, it seems to have good intentions, but I actually think it does more to silence non-privileged voices than it does to encourage education, empowerment, progress, or... | Academia has always been like that. Mind you, a lot of "SJW's" are college students, they're used to this style of talk about social issues and mimic it on tumblr. The way it's always been with social activism is that there's a sort of "ivory tower" side and a more "hands on" side to it.
The latter organizes youth grou... | On the subject of specialized language, couldn't you say the same thing for pretty much any specific area of discussion? For example, American football has dozens of similarly inaccessible words for those who haven't taken the time to look them up. These words aren't any harder to learn than any other. It just so ha... | 2015-07-28 |
t3_4c6tgx | Dress code restrictions in high schools should be lifted. | There was recently a ban placed in my old high school of yoga pants due to their being too sexually revealing. I find that the most popular arguments made are based on this notion. It is either that the clothing is too revealing and is distracting to students, or that it is too revealing for the age group wearing it.... | I know in bigger cities, the dress code is to keep students from wearing gang colors. Lived in Houston briefly about 20 years ago, and I remember one guy said the entire city had just started a dress code because of a serious gang problem. I don't know if it helped, but it did make sense. You can't visibly tell what ga... | Let me contribute a slightly different point.
I went to wealthy private school that had a dress code. Nothing too crazy - just collared shirts, khakis, belt, tuck in the shirt. A bit more liberal for women but same general style.
I hated it as most kids would. But my school was basically a mix of very very wealthy kids... | 2016-03-27 |
t3_4capvw | American politics no longer cares about logic or reason, and as a young voter I have no reason to be optimistic about the future of my country. | Emotion is everything in the modern political arena. Fear this, be angry at that, hate them, that's all it ever boils down to, and it's a plague that has infected both sides. I can't even decide which party to be more fed up with because they are both horrible.
On the one side you have democrats, the party that is SUPP... | Most of these aren't illogical positions. You just focus on simple talking points, and not the nuanced reasoning. Your exposure is mostly simplified talking points where it's easy to knock down straw men.
The legal arguments were states rights and whether or not the interest of creating nuclear families was justified. ... | If it is not too late for this, I would like to add that by your logic, the US government should have been hopeless shortly after it was created. Remember that Andrew Jackson threw a drunken party on his inaugeration that was so wild that not even security could drive the mob from the White House. Beyond that, Teddy wa... | 2016-03-28 |
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