Pictures I like

[SimonNZ]

Yeah because that's how conversations work, isn't it? One person says here's what I think and the other person says I'm not going to tell you what I think instead you should sift through all my garbage trolling in the unlikely possibility of finding something sincere and of substance.

And if we find something from years ago will your thoughts be unchanged?

[dissily Mordentroge]

Yeah because that's how conversations work, isn't it? One person says here's what I think and the other person says I'm not going to tell you what I think instead you should sift through all my garbage trolling in the unlikely possibility of finding something sincere and of substance.

And if we find something from years ago will your thoughts be unchanged?

Agree, however I'm stepping out of this particular detour in the discussion.  If can figure out how the hell you ban someone on this forum I'll be doing so.
Any clues?

[Todd]

Agree, however I'm stepping out of this particular detour in the discussion.  I can figure out how the hell you ban someone on this forum I'll be doing so.
Any clues?

Ah, you are looking for a safe space.  Makes sense.

[JBS]

Off topic . but in what sense is autism a disability?

It's actually a whole series of cognitive and sensory disabilities, not all of which are necessarily present in every autistic individual, but which have the cumulative effect of causing autistic people to have a hard time relating to "neurotypicals".  For instance, we often speak in a monotone, with few or no gestures, and little eye contact. People mistake this for being robotic and emotionless. In fact, it's usually because the task of formulating words and sentences and getting the mouth to say them is harder,  with more conscious activity and less subconscious activity than normal. Emitting the words requires enough attention that the usual accompaniments to speech get discarded.

The subject can take a whole book, or at least a long trawl on the Internet. But every autistic person is different. I have no idea of what the details of Ms. Thunberg's case are, so I don't know which specific disabilities she does or does not have,  and to what extent she has them.

[dissily Mordentroge]

Ah, you are looking for a safe space.  Makes sense.

Your ego knows no limits. Still worshiping at the temple of Randian Objectivism?

[JBS]

Agree, however I'm stepping out of this particular detour in the discussion.  I can figure out how the hell you ban someone on this forum I'll be doing so.
Any clues?

Go to your own member profile, click on "modify profile", then on the resulting submenu click on "edit buddies/ignore" list. The rest should be obvious. One thing though: the Ignore function hides the text of the Ignored Person's post, but you will see the header for that post, and you will see any text quoted from the post if another member quotes it in their reply.

[Todd]

Your ego knows no limits. Still worshiping at the temple of Randian Objectivism?

One thing I find most amusing is when people who obviously fancy themselves very learned trot out Ayn Rand as some type of insult.  It's of the same intellectual heft as the "Fox News!" belches some rely on.  Do keep up the good work. 

[SimonNZ]

One thing I find most amusing is when people who obviously fancy themselves very learned trot out Ayn Rand as some type of insult.  It's of the same intellectual heft as the "Fox News!" belches some rely on.  Do keep up the good work.

Its your own silly God Praise Mitch etc stuff that makes you sound like you watch nothing but Fox, along with your posture that politics is all just entertainment. Don't put the blame on anyone else.

You want to disabuse us of that notion? Offer your own considered and articulated views without the Fox-level trolling.

[Ken B]

There is an ignore list accessible from the profile page. Oddly you need to look for the buddies list to find it.

[steve ridgway]

I'm not aiming this at anyone in particular, but the ability to ignore is a skill I definitely want to get better at.

[dissily Mordentroge]

I'm not aiming this at anyone in particular, but the ability to ignore is a skill I definitely want to get better at.

It comes easily with age.

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[dissily Mordentroge]

It's actually a whole series of cognitive and sensory disabilities, not all of which are necessarily present in every autistic individual, but which have the cumulative effect of causing autistic people to have a hard time relating to "neurotypicals".  For instance, we often speak in a monotone, with few or no gestures, and little eye contact. People mistake this for being robotic and emotionless. In fact, it's usually because the task of formulating words and sentences and getting the mouth to say them is harder,  with more conscious activity and less subconscious activity than normal. Emitting the words requires enough attention that the usual accompaniments to speech get discarded.

The subject can take a whole book, or at least a long trawl on the Internet. But every autistic person is different. I have no idea of what the details of Ms. Thunberg's case are, so I don't know which specific disabilities she does or does not have,  and to what extent she has them.

A dear friend, diagnosed as autistic, does not see himself as having a disability. He's a senior server technician with a large international internet/communications/mobile company, has two philosophy PH D's etc. However, he sees the majority of those who interact with him (including myself) as being at a disadvantage in their constant requirement for emotional support and validation.
There are so many variations on the so called autism spectrum I often wonder about the validity of having only that term as a catchall phrase.

Neither do I know which specific disabilities Ms Thunberg may have but I find myself wishing more of our species were like her.

[dissily Mordentroge]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-19/artist-ben-quilty-painting-dark-australian-history-myall-creek/11707954

H.J.Johnstone's painting Evening Shadows..(1881?)

[greg]

A dear friend, diagnosed as autistic, does not see himself as having a disability. He's a senior server technician with a large international internet/communications/mobile company, has two philosophy PH D's etc. However, he sees the majority of those who interact with him (including myself) as being at a disadvantage in their constant requirement for emotional support and validation.

Some of these things that are seen as disabilities are only seen that way because they make it harder to fit into society.

Even ADHD, for example. What I've heard is that people with it will make the best hunters. But the problem is, we don't hunt any more. So they can end up doing very well at playing FPS games, but even so making a living doing so can be nearly impossible. So the upsides are too niche and the downsides are too all-encompassing.

[dissily Mordentroge]

Some of these things that are seen as disabilities are only seen that way because they make it harder to fit into society.

Even ADHD, for example. What I've heard is that people with it will make the best hunters. But the problem is, we don't hunt any more. So they can end up doing very well at playing FPS games, but even so making a living doing so can be nearly impossible. So the upsides are too niche and the downsides are too all-encompassing.

Fascinating. Do we see evolution at work here?

[greg]

Fascinating. Do we see evolution at work here?

Some might say remnants of evolutionary history. Or evolution still trying to take risks. Not sure which one it really is.

Other sorts of "disorders" may be in the same category. For example, psychopathy- which would seem very risky to give fearlessness to something as fragile as a human. But I think the reason why it's still very common (1% of people) is that enough people have gotten very lucky by taking big risks and being successful.

There's other characteristics, which aren't disorders but are more of a gamble, as well. Being a creative person is difficult because making a living doing creative work is unlikely.

Also, some of these "disorders" (autism/Asperger's,  ADHD, psychopathy) are more likely to affect men, as well as having either very low or very high IQ. I think the reason why evolution will gamble on these traits is because men are waaaay more disposable than women when it comes to keeping the species alive.

[dissily Mordentroge]

Some might say remnants of evolutionary history. Or evolution still trying to take risks. Not sure which one it really is.

Other sorts of "disorders" may be in the same category. For example, psychopathy- which would seem very risky to give fearlessness to something as fragile as a human. But I think the reason why it's still very common (1% of people) is that enough people have gotten very lucky by taking big risks and being successful.

There's other characteristics, which aren't disorders but are more of a gamble, as well. Being a creative person is difficult because making a living doing creative work is unlikely.

Also, some of these "disorders" (autism/Asperger's,  ADHD, psychopathy) are more likely to affect men, as well as having either very low or very high IQ. I think the reason why evolution will gamble on these traits is because men are waaaay more disposable than women when it comes to keeping the species alive.

Disposable men? An interesting theory. Another is the persistence of homosexuality in homo sapiens the evolutionary reasons for which few if any satisfactory answers have been provided. There is however the probability of genetic variations coming in groups. This is best explained by observing traits we have decided to breed into domestic canines for instance. These often come as 'package deals' including traits neither planned nor wanted. Me, I'm just happy evolution somehow allowed me to exist as gay.

[dissily Mordentroge]

There are images that bring a smile to my face whilst puzzling me as to why and what they're trying to say.
This is one of them.

    Boy's Own (on the air)
          Tim Storrier

[Mirror Image]

Getting back on topic...

I love this Corot painting:

[Ken B]

Getting back on topic...

I love this Corot painting:

Nice. I guess it depicts the evolutionary struggle between traits.