Comment author: Giles 09 February 2013 06:17:21AM 34 points [-]

I love the landmine metaphor - it blows up in your face and it's left over from some ancient war.

Comment author: BillyOblivion 24 February 2013 09:40:49PM 1 point [-]

Not always from some ancient war.

Comment author: [deleted] 23 February 2013 09:52:17AM 3 points [-]

To prevent lines from being merged together, add two spaces at the end of each one.

In response to comment by [deleted] on Rationality Quotes February 2013
Comment author: BillyOblivion 24 February 2013 09:17:55PM 2 points [-]

That's so...typewriter.

Thanks.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 13 February 2013 07:45:51AM 3 points [-]

Also, consider the possibility that it is you who is dumb, ignorant, and making mistakes.

Comment author: BillyOblivion 23 February 2013 05:32:21AM 1 point [-]

I don't consider it, I assume it.

But "dumb" and "ignorant" are not points on a line, they are relative positions.

To quote this bloke at a climbing gym I used to frequent "We all suck at our own level".

In response to comment by [deleted] on Rationality Quotes February 2013
Comment author: simplicio 23 February 2013 01:42:08AM 6 points [-]

We demand complete rigour from all forms of levity! The unexamined joke is not worth joking!

Comment author: BillyOblivion 23 February 2013 05:17:25AM *  -2 points [-]

Mickey Mouse is dead Got kicked in the head Cause people got too serious They planned out what they said They couldn't take the fantasy They tried to accept reality Analyzed the laughs Cause pleasure comes in halves The purity of comedy They had to take it seriously Changed the words around Tried to make it look profound ...

--Sub Hum Ans, "Mickey Mouse is Dead"

Comment author: Nebu 15 February 2013 04:13:36PM 0 points [-]

Better for whom? I'd really like my rival countries to have ethical military leaders, but maybe I prefer my own country's military leaders to be ruthless.

Comment author: BillyOblivion 20 February 2013 07:04:08AM 0 points [-]

Is ruthlessness necessarily unethical in a military leader?

Sometimes compassion is a sharp sword.

In response to Morality is Awesome
Comment author: Mitchell_Porter 06 January 2013 05:36:15PM *  34 points [-]

Morality needs a concept of awfulness as well as awesomeness. In the depths of hell, good things are not an option and therefore not a consideration, but there are still choices to be made.

Comment author: BillyOblivion 28 January 2013 05:42:14PM 0 points [-]

I'm sigquoting that if you don't mind.

Not that that means anything anymore, but I'm old school that way.

Comment author: Delta 03 August 2012 10:24:51AM 12 points [-]

The sentiment is correct (diligence may be more important than brilliance) but I think "all amusements and other employments" might be too absolute an imperative for most people to even try to live by. Most people will break down if they try to work too hard for too long, and changes of activity can be very important in keeping people fresh.

Comment author: BillyOblivion 09 August 2012 10:19:47AM 6 points [-]

I think that both you and Mr. Franklin are correct.

To wreak great changes one must stay focused and work diligently on one's goal. One needn't eliminate all pleasures from life, but I think you'll find that very, very few people can have a serious hobby and a world changing vocation.

Most of us of "tolerable" abilities cannot maintain the kind of focus and purity of dedication required. That is why the world changes as little as it does. If everyone, as an example who was to the right of center on the IQ curve could make great changes etc., then "great" would be redefined upwards (if most people could run a 10 second 100 meter, Mr. Bolt would only be a little special).

Further more...Oooohh...shiny....

Comment author: Bruno_Coelho 24 May 2012 05:36:48PM -1 points [-]

Puting whenever you think in terms of fights don't do a good job. People come rapid with ferocious comments.

Comment author: BillyOblivion 28 May 2012 10:33:08AM 1 point [-]

If you're a football (American, not Eurasian) coach you're routinely going to frame your aphorisms in terms of battles, or "fights" as you put it.

Comment author: MixedNuts 16 May 2012 12:08:59PM 8 points [-]

Dear people who are "difficulty with everyday tasks" crazy and not "world-changing genius" crazy: we got ripped off.

Comment author: BillyOblivion 28 May 2012 10:25:26AM *  0 points [-]

Those two sets aren't always disjoint.

Comment author: TimS 17 May 2012 04:56:35PM 0 points [-]

Not much revolutionary or counter-revolutionary terror, no death camps, comparatively little secret police.

What exactly was the war on heresy?

The high and mighty being content with merely existing at the top of traditional "divinely ordained" hierarchy

Peasant revolts based on oppressive governance costs didn't happen?

If we don't count the denial of a glimpse of hope to "whole classes and races" (and genders) of people, then most of what I personally don't approve of in the time period drops out. But even if that isn't included in the ledger, it wasn't all that great for the vast majority of white Christian men.

Comment author: BillyOblivion 28 May 2012 07:48:16AM -2 points [-]

What exactly was the war on heresy?

You mean then, or now?

Remember what happened to Larry Summers at Harvard when he merely asked the question?

Does the phrase "Denier" cause any mental associations that weren't there in the late 90s?

At least Copernicus was allowed to recant and live his declining years in (relative) peace.

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