Has the US lost its edge permanently?

[Gribble]

Sure, if you don't live in a civilised world, then it is all against all. According to Thomas Hobbes, (philosopher...he wasn't into "accessible education"), what you describe iis theworld in the state of Nature. Yeah, it is all good clean fun until you get yourself killed.

I find your approach to be a total rejection of 5,000 years of human development. BTW: you wouldn't be using an Internet if we lived in your idealized state.

I disagree. Why? I **** you over in nature, what do you do? Kill me. Or get someone else to kill me. Therefore, unless I can truly and utterly obliterate you and anyone who might take umbrage to said obliteration, I treat you with, at worst, indifference. In civilization, or at least in the civilization in which I find myself, awful behavior is rarely punished. If I figuratively backstab my coworker I don't have to worry that he's going to literally backstab me, or really do much else but perhaps attempt to screw me over in some capacity later on down the road.

Civilization opens the doors wide for shitty behavior. A little barbarism, however, tends to clear that right up.

The key to using people is knowing how to do it in such a way that either A, they don't even know they've been used, or B, there's nothing they can possibly do about it.

[CAM]

I disagree. Why? I **** you over in nature, what do you do? Kill me. Or get someone else to kill me. Therefore, unless I can truly and utterly obliterate you and anyone who might take umbrage to said obliteration, I treat you with, at worst, indifference. In civilization, or at least in the civilization in which I find myself, awful behavior is rarely punished. If I figuratively backstab my coworker I don't have to worry that he's going to literally backstab me, or really do much else but perhaps attempt to screw me over in some capacity later on down the road.

Civilization opens the doors wide for shitty behavior. A little barbarism, however, tends to clear that right up.

The key to using people is knowing how to do it in such a way that either A, they don't even know they've been used, or B, there's nothing they can possibly do about it.

As is typical, individuals who are frustrated with the "system" tack towards a "barbarism" solution. The real answer to societal ills it have real "justice" which would actually improve things. However, your solution is to destroy everything that has been built my mankind and dance on the rubble. A counterproductive approach.

No more needs to be said because you need to start reading.

[Gribble]

I didn't say tear the system down. First of all, I like the system. There's quite a bit I can get away with that I wouldn't otherwise. Secondly, a little barbarism is a far cry from anarchy. By a little barbarism I mean compare the 80's to today. Granted, I wasn't doing much back in the 80's, but I it seems to me folks could get away with quite a bit more then. If someone acted like an idiot at the bar you'd give him a bloody nose and be done with it. As a result, most people would try not to act like idiots simply because they didn't want trouble. Now, shit, I can act like a complete dick at the bar. I can insult people. I can piss them off. I can do whatever I want within reason. Maybe I still get my nose bloodied, sure, but you know what? That's assault. Someone's going to jail that night and facing charges.

[CAM]

I didn't say tear the system down. First of all, I like the system. There's quite a bit I can get away with that I wouldn't otherwise. Secondly, a little barbarism is a far cry from anarchy. By a little barbarism I mean compare the 80's to today. Granted, I wasn't doing much back in the 80's, but I it seems to me folks could get away with quite a bit more then. If someone acted like an idiot at the bar you'd give him a bloody nose and be done with it. As a result, most people would try not to act like idiots simply because they didn't want trouble. Now, shit, I can act like a complete dick at the bar. I can insult people. I can piss them off. I can do whatever I want within reason. Maybe I still get my nose bloodied, sure, but you know what? That's assault. Someone's going to jail that night and facing charges.

Well, I totally agree with you about what you are describing. In the period of time you describe (before the 1990's), things were different. I don't know if barabarism is the word I would use...I would say that society was more masculine. You are right men were men...they got in fights, they defended themselves and the cops weren't there to immediately take someone to jail because being masculine was considered normal.

What pisses us off in today's world....is that society has become feminized and most men today are a bunch of sissies who don't do shit. I know we've had that discussion on LF before, so no point in getting into it again. But, let's be honest...if we returned to a more masculine society, then things would be alot better off.

[bluesummer]

If we returned to a more masculinized society, it would be a lot better off, sure. For men.

[IndiReloaded]

Well, I totally agree with you about what you are describing. In the period of time you describe (before the 1990's), things were different. I don't know if barabarism is the word I would use...I would say that society was more masculine. You are right men were men...they got in fights, they defended themselves and the cops weren't there to immediately take someone to jail because being masculine was considered normal.

Move to Australia, guys.

[IndiReloaded]

Haha Your son does the same thing I do, I thought I was the only one. I don't have enough memory to learn the "times table" so I just calculate them doing stuff like 83*10 + 83*10/2 + 83*2*2, that way I only need to know the 10* and 2* which are easy and when it's an odd number, add to it.

LOL. I asked my son about this and he said your way is inefficient, too many steps (sorry). In this case, he rounds up and then subtracts one unit.

Like I said tho, my brain doesn't work like his. I can't do what he does, nor as quickly. Its pretty good for a 10 year old tho.

[Junket]

I can't do math in my head.

[IndiReloaded]

Me neither, I have to write it all out. But I bet you make a mean circuit. That's a different skill again. I can't even connect speaker wires without them popping.

[Junket]

Me neither, I have to write it all out. But I bet you make a mean circuit. That's a different skill again. I can't even connect speaker wires without them popping.

Heh, I don't know how "mean" of a circuit I could make. Either it works, or it doesn't.

Or it kind of does, but it blows up in the conduit because I knicked the wire when I pulled it in.

That's never happened to me, by the way.

I'd love to be able to do math in my head, I can't even do long division.

I had to go to summer school in 5th grade because I failed math so badly, and long division is one of the things I failed horribly at.

The teacher would even have me stay in during recess and later after school to do it, and I just never got it, or at least, never retained it long enough for the tests.

[IndiReloaded]

You can do math. V=I*R...series and parallel circuits.

See--I know the theory of such things; I can tell a resistor from a transitor to look at them. But I would fry them soldering onto a board. There are skills and skills. I'm glad you found where yours are.

[the_robot]

LOL. I asked my son about this and he said your way is inefficient, too many steps (sorry). In this case, he rounds up and then subtracts one unit.

Like I said tho, my brain doesn't work like his. I can't do what he does, nor as quickly. Its pretty good for a 10 year old tho.

lol, not bad, I don't usually substract because I tend to make mistakes with subs and big numbers :-P

[dewilliams2]

****in math geeks!!!!

Oh sorry...I thought I was still in high school for a minute.

[IndiReloaded]

You are an overachiever who needs drugs to make it through university. Are you going to tell the med schools this during your interview, or hide it?

To my mind, you are exactly what Cam is describing.

I did all that and didn't need antidepressants. Same for lots of very intelligent Indian and Chinese kids. You should be able to compete and cope on your own power, DM.

[SirWagginston]

Haha Your son does the same thing I do, I thought I was the only one. I don't have enough memory to learn the "times table" so I just calculate them doing stuff like 83*10 + 83*10/2 + 83*2*2, that way I only need to know the 10* and 2* which are easy and when it's an odd number, add to it.

I don't understand your method. I do 83 * 10 + 83 * 9.

EDIT: Wait, I see. I just would have chosen to express 83 * 10 / 2 as 83 * 5.