Cool stuff found on the Interwebs

[Roy Hunter]

[Tigger_the_Wing]

^ Very good!

Rhetorical/logical fallacies nicely summed up here.

Edit: Here is the above applied to that horrible anti-marriage-equality speech by Cardinal O'Brien.

[PKMKII]

Rhetorical/logical fallacies nicely summed up here.

The Appeal to Authority one isn't quite right. The issue of whether or not the authority is trustworthy or qualified isn't relevant. The issue is that someone is making an argument without considering the evidence. The simple fact that someone qualified made a statement does not make the statement true. There has to be something else to support the statement.

[Tigger_the_Wing]

Quite right, PK!

[Roland Deschain]

Excellent stuff there. The breakdown of the Bishop's rhetoric is especially good. May need to borrow that (read: steal).

[Roy Hunter]

[daftbeaker]

I disagree about Bob Dylan, It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) was a work of genius the first time I heard it. FSM only knows what someone who isn't a tone-deaf yobbo would make of it

The general point is a good one though and it also works in reverse, you should be careful about assuming everyone has your experiences. That point was hammered home after me getting stroppy with A level kids (and me getting manganate stains on my thumbs because they didn't want to get covered in reagents) and later realising that while they're incredibly incompetent, they're still better than I was when I was doing that course

Incidentally, I hope you're happy Roy, I now have Dylan on a loop. I only have two of his albums

[Auntie Blackbeard]

Roy me darrrrrlin , bless ye very much fer posting that an' a sloppy kiss for Penn a swell .

[gronank]

http://xkcd.com/915/
well, sorta the same.
Each generation picks up special skills from the unproductive things they do as young and it is difficult to understand exactly what those skills are good for until it is the next generations turn to do their unproductive thing.

[Roland Deschain]

I disagree about Bob Dylan, It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) was a work of genius the first time I heard it. FSM only knows what someone who isn't a tone-deaf yobbo would make of it

I like the song, and i'm not a tone-deaf yobbo (nor either of those separately).

Roy, that's a great quote. I shall share that with other people (read: I shall steal it). And damn, i'll be on a Johnny Cash binge if i'm not careful (don't ask).

Gronank, that's a great cartoon. I had a big chuckle over that.

[Roy Hunter]

I spent my youth listening to The Beatles A LOT (along with lots of Led Zep, AC/DC, the Stones, Hendrix etc, but mostly The Beatles). I remember reading an interview with Noel Gallacher, and Noel said "My only religion is The Beatles. The Beatles preached peace and love, they tried to expand their minds, they made a lot of people very happy. The Beatles never killed anyone".

My thoughts exactly. While I was at that age where I was establishing my own morality, my own values, I was listening to music that reflected what was going on in my head. The Beatles did not brainwash me - I chose to listen to them because I agreed with what they had to say at that time. I was young and smart, and I had put a huge amount of thought and reflection into what kind of person I wanted to be.

Speaking as the parent of a teenager, I think I would be an idiot to ignore what he values, what he thinks reflects the kind of person he wants to be. So maybe he stays up all night playing Call Of Duty, but he has friends online that he trusts with his (virtual) life, and they don't shoot each other for fun, they co-operate, they learn to communicate effectively. Granted, they also shoot loads of people they don't know, but I suspect that, much like my parents thought The Beatles was all about taking drugs (and they were wrong), I would be wrong to think that Call Of Duty is all about violence and behaving like a psychopath. If I don't 'get it', I suspect that is my problem and not his.

[Roland Deschain]

^ This. I'm the same. In my pre-teenage years I listened to the likes of Michael Jackson, The Jackson Five, Five Star (remember them?), Toyah Wilcox, and anything my parents played (Queen, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Cliff Richard, Musicals, a little Classical, Demis Roussos, John Denver). When I entered my teens, I listened to music far less, having found other pastimes, but when I was 14, I heard my first Metal. I loved it, but didn't pursue it further, then a couple of years later I was introduced to Metallica and Megadeth. I'd fallen in love, as the music just spoke to me like nothing else did, and the rest is history, although my tastes have broadened somewhat since then, incorporating the tastes of my parents, plus my own multiple additions. My brother just listens to that infernal Jungle, Kiss FM level Drum 'n' Bass, and Dance stuff. *shudders*

EDIT: And I also enjoy shooting people in the face online, although not in CoD.

[daftbeaker]

My brother just listens to that infernal Jungle, Kiss FM level Drum 'n' Bass, and Dance stuff. *shudders*

In his defence, a lot of metal is poo as well Nothing excuses Kiss FM though, it's like pineapple on pizza.

[Roy Hunter]

The speed of adaptation to new technology is increasing.

By 2050, we will all have 5G WiFi on our jetpacks.

[daftbeaker]

By 2050, we will all have 5G WiFi on our jetcrutches.

Fixed