Posts by Viviane

61

Over-protective parent?

by GrownMidget in

i was something like 20-21 and there was this young sister, maybe 16 who i happened to like back in the day ... uh oh ...we met in the summer convention because i made the first move while she was playing board games with her friend.

we kept in touch via skype and text messages because lived kinda far from each other.

eventually her mother heard of the stuff and said to her daughter that the chatting must stop.... well, when two people have a little crush on one another, it sure doesn't.

Viviane

Joan of Arc was given command of the entire French army at 17.

Exactly.

19

Book Review: The Hunt for Vulcan: . . . And How Albert Einstein Destroyed a Planet, Discovered Relativity, and Deciphered the Universe

by Viviane in

i recently read this book and found it to be excellent.

it's the story of how we never stop knowing, how science works (even when it doesn't), how gracefully math can describe the world we live in and more.

the story begins with how sir isaac newton, author of pricipia mathematica and holder of the lucasian chair at cambridge, developed math to describe the gravity and the motion of the planets with no need god holding them in place.

Viviane

I recently read this book and found it to be excellent. It's the story of how we never stop knowing, how science works (even when it doesn't), how gracefully math can describe the world we live in and more.

The story begins with how Sir Isaac Newton, author of Pricipia Mathematica and holder of the Lucasian Chair at Cambridge, developed math to describe the gravity and the motion of the planets with no need god holding them in place. It moves to the attempt to use those laws to explain the aberration in the orbit of Mercury, the proposal of a planet or body named Vulcan, near Mercury that was causing the irregularity in the orbit, how the hunt for that body proceeded and how, ultimately a leap forward was made by Albert Einstein and others in developing relativity, a far better model that described the universe and propelled up forward.

It's also the story of how we examine ideas, how we are sometimes trapped by our own thinking, the limits of what we can know based on what we can measure and how science is self-correcting, open to inspection and as much art and inspiration as a rigorous process.

It's not a long read (I read it on Kindle), I spent 2 days reading it and plan to read it again, mainly because I read parts of it late at night when I was tired. It's not heavy on math or theory, but it does explain them sufficiently so non-science readers will understand the points.

I highly recommend it.

28

Question for believers, heaven or earth?

by Tornintwo in

just trying to figure out what i believe in the wake of leaving the borg.

jesus message appeals, of course.

i just wanted to ask believers, christians, on this forum if you think the hope is heaven or earth.

Viviane

My problem is that now I doubt the Bible.

I fail to see the problem.

61

Over-protective parent?

by GrownMidget in

i was something like 20-21 and there was this young sister, maybe 16 who i happened to like back in the day ... uh oh ...we met in the summer convention because i made the first move while she was playing board games with her friend.

we kept in touch via skype and text messages because lived kinda far from each other.

eventually her mother heard of the stuff and said to her daughter that the chatting must stop.... well, when two people have a little crush on one another, it sure doesn't.

Viviane

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

There, we can look it up now. Age of consent is not a fixed thing everywhere. It may well be legal where they live but carry a 5 year prison sentence over the nearest border, that's why I've not brought it up.

Morpheus and Simon both hit on the point I was hopefully making, that a 21 year old man may look at 16 year old and go "Whoa, hey now!", but to be interested in a romantic relationship with such a developmental difference, buy clothes, etc., doesn't speak well, especially combined with everything else we know about the OP.

61

Over-protective parent?

by GrownMidget in

i was something like 20-21 and there was this young sister, maybe 16 who i happened to like back in the day ... uh oh ...we met in the summer convention because i made the first move while she was playing board games with her friend.

we kept in touch via skype and text messages because lived kinda far from each other.

eventually her mother heard of the stuff and said to her daughter that the chatting must stop.... well, when two people have a little crush on one another, it sure doesn't.

Viviane

I will reiterate: at best the OP is undeveloped 21 goofball who tragically has something in common with a 15 or "maybe 16" year old girl ( something unthinkable for me at his age and most other normal 21 year old men)

The OP said he was born in the 90's, had issues to put it mildly, almost killed himself sometime after he quit going at 18, almost killed himself and had depression, then met this girl at a convention when he was 21 and is now married (still putting him in is early to mid 20's, 25 tops).

This guy has had a lot going on in his 20's, a lot of it very... off. Once again for emphasis, there is a difference between going "wow, that person is hot", especially when one of them looks older than average for their age, and wanting to pursue a relationship with a 15 year old when in your 20's. There is a wide gulf of experience, emotional and intellectual maturity. I mean, what's he going to do, help her with her math homework?

61

Over-protective parent?

by GrownMidget in

i was something like 20-21 and there was this young sister, maybe 16 who i happened to like back in the day ... uh oh ...we met in the summer convention because i made the first move while she was playing board games with her friend.

we kept in touch via skype and text messages because lived kinda far from each other.

eventually her mother heard of the stuff and said to her daughter that the chatting must stop.... well, when two people have a little crush on one another, it sure doesn't.

Viviane

Physical age isn't necessarily the same as emotional age - it's possible that the 17 year old in a 17/22 relationship is the more mature, 'older and wiser' one.

Agreed, but this is example is a "maybe 16 year old". There is a world of difference between 15 and 17, 18 and 20, etc.

61

Over-protective parent?

by GrownMidget in

i was something like 20-21 and there was this young sister, maybe 16 who i happened to like back in the day ... uh oh ...we met in the summer convention because i made the first move while she was playing board games with her friend.

we kept in touch via skype and text messages because lived kinda far from each other.

eventually her mother heard of the stuff and said to her daughter that the chatting must stop.... well, when two people have a little crush on one another, it sure doesn't.

Viviane

For goodness sakes you guys are over sensitized and a bit OTT

Anecdote != data.

Sure, sometimes it works out. But a "maybe 16" year old (meaning possibly and probably 15 year old) being courted by a 21 year old is not the same as a 20 year old dating a 26 year old. There is an emotional maturity difference, a life experience difference that makes it, to me, very weird that someone in their 20s, old enough to drink, drive, have a job, live on their own, would be intellectually and sexually interested in a sophomore in high school

14

What is it like to have that one true friend?

by My Name is of No Consequence in

what is it like to have that one true friend?

growing up in the org, i never really had friends.

i had many acquaintances, some of which were worldly.

Viviane

I'm now a firm believer in moving on when relationships aren't healthy. The sooner, the better.

175

How confident are you about various so called facts?

by slimboyfat in

no facts about the world are absolutely certain.

that being the case i wonder how others would rank amd rate their confidence in various factual statements about the world.

i am going to rate my confidence in ten items of "knowledge" as a percentage.

Viviane

100% - I can see it myself from a plane (although it's not a perfect sphere)

I only came here to say "oblate spheroid".

372

On respect for the belief of others. Sorry for the long post

by StarTrekAngel in

i am inclined to start this thread in response to some comments made in other threads.

i have been coming around these forum for quite some time now so whatever you find in here is not just related to something someone may have said this week.

it can go months back as well.. i have seen many who claim to respect the belief of others but when it comes down to applying it into practice, things take a whole different tune.

Viviane

That is not how this unfolded. You disagreed with Eden's "belief" that you had "insisted". In your initial reaction to Eden you asked him to explain in detail. But, you did not leave it there, you attacked "the believer" questioning whether anyone should trust another word he says, that every word was suspect as he had "already lied". You did that before he answered your request with a detailed explanation. You can disagree with his explanation, but don't reconstruct the order of events.

Eden did lie. I never insisted. Any claim to the contrary is a lie. How much more simple can it be?

Why, prior to Eden going on a protracted defense did you call into question his integrity? This has been done to you several times, it is wrong. I find it entirely illustrative of the OP, of attacking the believer instead of the belief.

Why would I call into question the integrity of someone that is actively lying? Because they are actively lying.

The question is whether it is a lie. It is vernacular usage despite your insistence "it isn't". Further, the question is whether it is justified to immediately launch into an attack on a "liar" and the entire integrity of a poster based upon this expression.

Eden claimed I was "insisting" on something when I in reality said "Examples of urbanity would include..". Previously, to another post, I had written "Do you have specific examples?". Nowhere did I ever "insist" on anything. I didn't do anything that a synonym for insist.

What I did was ask questions, namely that if someone was willing to lie, why should they be trusted? Why shouldn't we call into question that persons character. I said if you do that, THEN we would have to call his character into question. I never said "You have no character, you're a liar, you're untrustworthy".

Your example of "dinner's ready" to illustrate my lazy thinking is an irrelevant counter. It neither repeats the request indirectly nor uses shame as a form of press. My two examples did.

It illustrates what happened, not what is claimed to have happened.

I concede that using insist this way is, at worse, imprecise. It is not a lie. Your post pressed Eden to answer at risk of being labeled discourteous.

The exact quote: Agreed. Urbanity would include thing like, oh, say, if you make accusations, being able to prove it. It's just common courtesy.

Not only did I not "insist", I didn't even make a request of any type. If Eden felt pressured, it was pressure of his own making by deciding on making claims without backing them up. I didn't make him do that nor ask him for proof.