Coded Logic

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Posts by Coded Logic

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  20

  Did you learn how to debate in school (or elsewhere)?

  by compound complex in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  last night i was taking another look at the term "dialectics":.

  the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions: discussion; debate; logical reasoning; etc.. the dialectical method is, at base, a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned arguments.. while i intend to do further research on my own, what is your own experience regarding preparation for debate, the do's and don'ts, maintaining your cool, .

  i ask, in part, because i observe that some online debaters present facts and figures and use sound reasoning while maintaining their decorum; many do not.. thank you..

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  Coded Logic

  Not really sure I can add anything you don't already know but sometimes it's nice to have them written out.

  1. Don't make things personal - attack the ideas of your opponent and not the opponent themself
  2. Don't take things personally - identify ad homimen attacks and defend your arguments not your ego
  3. Get you opponent to define terms - and don't allow them to move the goal post
  4. Whenever your opponent offers a non-sequitur - grant it to them and explain why even if it's true it doesn't impact the issue
  5. Remember that some of the most common logical fallacies are Post Hoc Ergo Proctor Hoc, False Equivocation, False Comparison, and the Argument from Ignorance. Having a firm understanding of what they are will help you quickly identify and combat them in debate.
  6. Most Importantly: Don't play chess with a pigeon. If your opponent isn't engaging you with intellectual honesty or basic decency - then you're not having an honest conversation. In this case you need to either walk away (usually the best choice) or assume the moral high ground (effective if you're before an audience). If you're playing chess and your opponent starts moving pawns like they're queen pieces - it's perfectly okay to walk away from the game. And it's also perfectly okay to point out the person is either cheating or altogether doesn't understand how to play chess. Likewise, in discussion, if a person is failing to be honest or is just attacking you - it's okay to point out they're being disingenuous or out right lying.
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  34

  Growing a beard

  by Coded Logic in

  1. social
  2. physical

  i've always been currious as to how i would look with a beard so i've finally committed to doing it.

  over the next 30 days i'm going to grow out a full chin to ear beard.. .

  ps:  any suggestions or advice on how to grow a beard would be much appreciated!.

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  Coded Logic

  I've always been currious as to how I would look with a beard so I've finally committed to doing it. Over the next 30 days I'm going to grow out a full chin to ear beard.

  

  PS: Any suggestions or advice on how to grow a beard would be much appreciated!
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  3

  Moravec's Paradox

  by Coded Logic in

  1. social
  2. current

  this seems to be yet another nail in the coffin for creationist arguments.

  the reason humans are intelligent isn't because we need brains capable of appreciating "gods creation".

  rather, it's a side effect of needing large amounts of computational power for our highly refined motor skills.

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  Coded Logic

  you can't work on a solution if you don't understand the problem. You can't code what you can't codify.

  This may well be true - but's it's not the case when it comes to mobility. The problem is well understood. It just takes an incredible amount of processing power to maintain balance and and move limbs and digits in the way you want to.
  

  Consider a relatively simple task - like picking up a glass of water. This requires the use of our primary motor cortex, our supplementary motor cortex, our premotor cortex, our posterior parietal cortex, and our occipital lobe. This over half of our brain.

  And the parts of our brain that we use for things like mathematics, philosophy and other higher reasoning endeavors are very small and non-specialized.

  Right now, on this planet we're the only species capable of preforming abstractions like writing poetry. But there's no reason to think that in a million years other species like bonobos, corvids, or octopods wont also be composing haikus. All species are transitory. And just because no other species are on our level yet doesn't mean they never will be.

  Though I'm sure by then creationist will have switched their arguments from "mankind is gods special creation" to "god wants all species to appreciate his creation"
  
  
  
  
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  47

  I was quite tolerant of this guy until now

  by never a jw in

  1. social
  2. current

  president trump is definitely a demagogue, a populist, and not a great extemporaneous speaker, just to mention few of his more conspicuous flaws.

  however, i was going along because "it's the economy stupid".

  now that has changed.

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  Coded Logic

  Trumps been living in a complete fantasy world. And the consequences of that are finally catching up with him.
  
  

  
  

  . . .
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  3

  Moravec's Paradox

  by Coded Logic in

  1. social
  2. current

  this seems to be yet another nail in the coffin for creationist arguments.

  the reason humans are intelligent isn't because we need brains capable of appreciating "gods creation".

  rather, it's a side effect of needing large amounts of computational power for our highly refined motor skills.

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  Coded Logic

  This seems to be yet another nail in the coffin for creationist arguments. The reason humans are intelligent isn't because we need brains capable of appreciating "gods creation". Rather, it's a side effect of needing large amounts of computational power for our highly refined motor skills. Things like mathematics, philosophy, music, etc. are, on many levels, much simpler than the complex tasks of climbing a tree or opening a door. Recent developments in robotics has forced us to realize this. Consider Movec's Paradox:

  Moravec's paradox is the discovery by artificial intelligence and robotics researchers that, contrary to traditional assumptions, high-level reasoning requires very little computation, but low-level sensorimotor skills require enormous computational resources. The principle was articulated by Hans Moravec, Rodney Brooks, Marvin Minsky and others in the 1980s. As Moravec writes, "it is comparatively easy to make computers exhibit adult level performance on intelligence tests or playing checkers, and difficult or impossible to give them the skills of a one-year-old when it comes to perception and mobility."[1]
  Similarly, Marvin Minsky emphasized that the most difficult human skills to reverse engineer are those that are unconscious. "In general, we're least aware of what our minds do best," he wrote, and added "we're more aware of simple processes that don't work well than of complex ones that work flawlessly."
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  131

  Do Jehovah's Witnesses Accept Evolution?

  by jukief in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  by evolution or by creation?

  by evolution or by creation?

  "the bible is a myth" and "evolution is true".

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  Coded Logic

  OMG, this is brilliant!
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  63

  Famous Last Words

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  sooner or later it happens to all of us.the time comes for us to draw our last breath and pass from this life into the next.over the years history has recorded some fascinating "famous last words"...here are a few.. "i've never felt better".douglas fairbanks,sr.,actor.. "iam about to----or i am going to-----die;either expression is correct".dominique bouhours,french grammarian.. "don't let it end like this.tell them i said something.

  "pancho villa,mexican revolutionary.. "all my possessions for a moment of time!

  "elizabeth 1,queen of england.. "everybody has got to die,but i have always believed an exception would be made in my case.now what?

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  Coded Logic

  I have dined upon the flora and fauna of our world. Now let that flora and fauna dine upon me. Let my energy be reborn in the next incarnation of our carbon cycle. For it wasn't just me that was inside the universe - it was the universe that was inside of me.
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  20

  Technological singularity

  by Brokeback Watchtower in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/technological_singularity.

  the singularity" redirects here.

  for other uses, see singularity (disambiguation).the technological singularity (also, simply, the singularity)[1][2] is the hypothesis that the invention of artificial superintelligence will abruptly trigger runaway technological growth, resulting in unfathomable changes to human civilization.

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  Coded Logic

  I find the simulation argument to be a very silly one. Simulations don't actually have the properties of the things they're modeling.

  A computer that's running a weather forecast simulation doesn't actually produce rain. And a simulation of a human brain wouldn't actually produce consciousness.
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  43

  Gun Nuts...

  by silentbuddha in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  anyone here into guns.

  i know alot of the euros here hate the idea but i wonder if there are any other members who are collectors or who are into hunting, target shooti g etc.. no shame zone?.

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  Coded Logic

  I like guns as much as the next American and think shooting them is an absolute blast!

  That being said, I've never understood the "home defense" argument. Keeping guns in our homes doesn't make us any safer. To the absolute contrary, households with guns have twice the homicide rate of those who don't. And persons in a household with a gun have three times the suicide rate.

  That's not to say I'm against having guns in the home. But if you own guns purely because you think your gun is making you safer - you couldn't be more wrong.

  I hope everyone enjoys their guns and uses them safely. And please remember that guns - when used as a weapon - are inherently an offensive weapon. Not a defensive one.
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  4

  Anybody listen to Country/Western/Indie music?

  by Coded Logic in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  anybody have some good suggestions?

  not really sure what to call it.

  it's kind of like country music - but i personally call it "western" music because it's - well - not country music.

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  Coded Logic

  Hahahahaha!