...but seriously... ...there is an issue with talking with the uneducated, I agree. They lack training in any kind of logic and do not even consider the possibility of doing research. I am on a facebook network with highly politically motivated people who are largely uneducated. First they seem to believe that life is about picking sides. Persona A has said A, person B has said B, I like person A better so person A is right. They follow a leader and buy the entire package sold by that leader. Second is that they also have what I call a fundamentalist mind set. Life to them is about opposing opposites rather than scales of grey, so if, for example, you argue that there is some form of environmental devastation that must addressed, they can only respond in terms of for or against AL Gore style global warming. They cannot perceive the nuances of environmental destruction and have reduced it to a single black and white issue, global warming. In dealing with these people, my mantra now is "research, research, research". If they say A, I now say "do your research" and give them links to evidence of B, C and D. They then accuse me of believing B, C or D (even though they are often contradictory - that is what research is about), and unfriend me because I am an enemy of their chosen leader and not preaching the gospel according to A. That's just how it is... the great dumbing down of humanity. Christine -----Original Message----- From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Christine Kent Sent: Friday, 29 April 2011 10:44 AM To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: atw: Re: How to Have a Rational Discussion That fact that it is put out by atheists is a bit of a giveaway. -----Original Message----- From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Janice Gelb Sent: Friday, 29 April 2011 10:26 AM To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: atw: Re: How to Have a Rational Discussion On Apr 29, 2011 10:01AM, Christine Kent wrote: > Ahhh, but even some intelligent people (like leading edge physicists) > know there is more to the world than the 3 dimensional material plane, > and that other planes of existence exist and can be perceived. > > This is the kindergarten class on flatlanders > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXV8XB-GPo&feature=fvwrel > > ...and this is part 1 of 5 of a stunning BBC documentary on universes > with different laws of physics. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-nP4yD1hkk > > I would agree with you that these are appropriate rules for meetings > held the workplace, and "discussions" (if you can call them that) > conducted on Austechwriter, but they are entirely too limiting for > informal or personal interactions such as those conducted on FaceBook. > Do you really want to limit the whole of human experience to what goes > on in the 3 dimensional brain? I don't. > I don't think the flowchart is meant to apply to discussions of theoretical possibilities; more to frustrating discussions of fact that are not possible due to one side not abiding by simple guidelines that facilitate actual back-and-forth discussion as opposed to lectures or proselytizing. -- Janice ************************************************************** Janice Gelb | The only connection Oracle has with janice.gelb@xxxxxxxxxx | this message is the return address ************************************************** To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes). To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ************************************************** ************************************************** To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes). To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ************************************************** ************************************************** To view the austechwriter archives, go to www.freelists.org/archives/austechwriter To unsubscribe, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe" in the Subject field (without quotes). To manage your subscription (e.g., set and unset DIGEST and VACATION modes) go to www.freelists.org/list/austechwriter To contact the list administrator, send a message to austechwriter-admins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **************************************************