Protect the flock! From JP and Hachette!

What are you doing right now?

Besides posting on here and replying to this thread. Original credit for this goes back to Fate and Nathan on MX.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Contradiction on January 23, 2012 at 3:51am

As a leader, you mean?

No, W was comedy. Because he was blundering and not-too-smart. Gingrich is a political machine.

But again, like Santorum, I just really despise the idea of such a foul human being representing America. Obama, while he may be a poor leader in some respects, has a heart.

I realize that you should vote for people based on their credentials rather than personality, but I feel like the Republicans currently running (except maybe Romney) would effectively run us into the ground with shitty Reaganomics and regressive social policies.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by EndOfTheEarth on January 22, 2012 at 2:50pm

He did win SC.
Have fun.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fake Fang on January 23, 2012 at 5:07am

Currently writing an essay.

After that, I'm working on my newest novel, which is based on the ancient Golem myths set in a modern day setting, complete with an unreliable narrator

It shall be called...

Frankenstein: Or, the Postmodern Prometheus.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fake Fang on January 23, 2012 at 5:08am

Also, I totally think that Soylent Green should be a crayon color.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Xuut on January 23, 2012 at 5:55am

Happy Chinese New Year everyone. :) This year is the year of the Dragon and ridiculously early.

And of course, my worst two exams are this week. :P

Have a good one guys, even if you don't celebrate it.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fake Fang on January 23, 2012 at 9:23am

Enjoying myself on a roleplay thread, discussing the nature of good and evil.

For referrence, in the rolepay, "Contractors," are the antithesis of a farming machine that originally became popular sometime a hundred years ago...I mean, they're emotionless human beings with psychic powers. Or something. Also, they kill people.

"The thing about good and evil is that they don't truly exist. In the grand scheme of things, they're just words that we use to define our actions, excusing some and condemning others based on how we react to them.

In any given non-contractor individual, there is something called, "Guilt." Guilt is the result of society, rather than any inner morality--in other words, humans teach younger humans to feel bad when they commit X crime, be it through action or inaction. Guilt is a Pavlov's Dog style of mechanism, and an ingenious one at that--we recoil from committing actions that harm others or society itself--hereafter referred to as, "Sins"--due to being harmed physically, scolded, or otherwise punished by our parents and elders as children. We feel bad when we hurt others because we are reliving this punishment, and when we learn new things that are considered wrong we assign the feeling of that punishment to that, too. Any refusal to commit a sin is the result of self interest.

Likewise, all actions we would consider, "Good," such as giving to charity or helping others in some other way at our own cost, are committed solely for the sake of pleasure—in other words, we feel good when we help others. I’m not entirely sure if this is the result of our pride or some other Pavlov’s Dog mechanism, but regardless, we do good things for our own sake.

The evidence to back these claims up is apparent—do children, before they are taught otherwise, act saint-like? Do they do what’s best for those around them? If taught that an action is a sin, do they never commit it again? This is fundamentally absurd. While I don’t condone excessively punishing children, especially corporally, I do acknowledge that sometimes making them feel bad after they’ve done something wrong is called for, if not required, to instill morals in them later on in life.

What I’m getting at is, guilt is what causes us to not do bad things. I’m not entirely sure about good actions, but perhaps there is a similar mechanism for that, too—and perhaps there is not. Regardless, the humans we consider, “Good,” are no better than those we consider, “Bad,”—it’s just that some are overcome by their guilt when they commit a sin, whereas others weigh the benefit and find the pleasure of committing a sin to be greater than the guilt gained in the same manner.

On the subject of the roleplay, Contractors are a curious invention—they start off human, with human morals, and yet overnight they lose their guilt completely. Perhaps this is the result of a destruction of their Pavlov’s Dog syndrome? If so, do they have to test the waters after losing their guilt to discover that they are free to do whatever they want within legal bounds without any negative reaction from their Freudian superego? Who can say.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Omega on January 23, 2012 at 9:33am

Plane crashed into a park up the road.

Dad knew the guy - had flown the plane too. They haven't really said much on the news, but we know because the guy in question was the only one flying it.

Not nice.