Why did the virtual sex thread get locked? Entirely valid philosophy question imo, and an interesting one at that.

Just had my PhD thesis accepted (with very minor correction, mainly typos). Good day! Beer day!

Yeah, that's the one. It wears off, though.

grats from a sober guy

Grats to u 2 Ryanb9...

I dont drink so no grats needed

But you've mellowed out...finally...so I'm congrating you..

I think you spoke too soon

No you don't!

Hi all. I've a question, it's not strickly SMP related but by the looks of things a lot of you guys are masters at it.

How do you guys read to get the fullest possible understanding AND retention of the content? I manage ok atm but I could definitely improve. I'm about to start reading Mortimer Adlers "How to Read a Book" but I thought i'd ask you lot first. Thanks.

I really dont get tje point of thid topic but I`m very drunk and I saw something about being druuuunk so I will post my pointles post

This is an honest synopsis of a great many SMP posts IMO, not least of all my own.

Do you mean textbooks for study purposes?

John Coltrane: I Want To Talk About You - 1962

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR9ix...rev-rn-2r-4-HM

Just Jazz........

Yes and no. I'm going to be running 2 distance learning degree courses (Eng & Lit) for the next 8 months, so info would be useful but I just generally want to improve my retention and understanding. It's annoying, I love to learn and read but i'm useless at retaining and REALLY understanding things. Part of it is the mentality i've got atm. ie. "read to finish the book" rather than "read to win SMP arguments"

Ummm....sax...always good...why isn't this in the Lounge?

Or in a nice casino in vegas if you can find one

I think our strengths aren't as useful for Eng & Lit, but by far you'll find the prevailing tendency among SMPers is that they learn actively rather than passively.

Many people ask SMPers the best approach to learning any sort of mathematics, and the answer is universally "you can not passively absorb math, you must actively do it."

Applying this sort of attitude towards Eng & Lit is a bit trickier, because there are very few ways self-motivated learners can master the field due it it being difficult to find problems with definite solutions. When I learn a new technique in mathematics, I will literally apply it to anything relevant that pops into my mind. Obviously, I usually fail, but my failures in mathematics are some of the most insightful lessons. Knowing why things are false and why you failed is incredibly valuable, and only comes from struggle and defeat.

So I suppose if you want to employ this principles in a course you teach, you'd seek a way to:
1) Encourage students to attempt to apply principles and techniques you teach to a multitude of examples, and rather than fearing failure, try to enjoy understanding why a principle fails.

2) Inform students that they are wrong when they are wrong rather than allowing them to live in a hyper-pluralist fantasy. If everyone can be entitled to their own opinions, then no one can be wrong - being wrong is essential to learning.

3) Encourage students to try difficult problems, and allow them to get stuck and experience a bit of frustration.

4) Be willing to give bad grades on exams to people who do not understand concepts. Grades are the tool which provides the emotional impact that causes memories to form.

5) Avoid graded homework. It's too easy to cheat, and people will try too hard to get answers correct rather than to solve problems for the purpose of learning. Save the power of grading for a few key essays and exams.

This last suggestion is painful for you, the instructor.

6) Have prepared "the answer," and an explanation why wrong answers are wrong. When giving out bad grades, you need to be ready for a million sob stories from beautiful women and a million angry tirades. Sometimes, you're going to be dead wrong, and handling the stress from enraged students and distressed students will take a lot out of you. Clear answer keys and explanations for why students failed are important, and unfortunately that means many long hours of grading.

drunk bread ftw!!!

i lol,d

My roommates cat threw up on my copy of Sartre's Nausea. NH cat, NH indeed.

Something that's bothered me for years:

in the book White Noise the lead character and his son Heinrich (?) are driving in his car. They are arguing about various things and Heinrich points out that although we live in a modern age we don't have any real understanding of the technology that surrounds us. He asks his father how he could possibly improve the lives of people if he were transported into the past, his father replies 'I'd tell people to boil their water', to which Henrich says 'you might as well tell them to wash behind their ears'.

What does he mean by this?
Is it that people won't listen to his advice (this is the only conclusion I could draw)?

Please only reply if you've read the book, or passage yourself please (since there are maybe things that are relevant I haven't touched on). Thanks to anyone can help me.

Haven't read the book, but I think know the answer. I'll semi-respect your instructions, though:

Song about dogs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KDDKbfhmI


Other uses for your dog or puppies (or your neighbor's dog(s) as the case may be) -


Stewed Dog

Recipe By : Joe Sweeney
Serving Size : 30 Preparation Time :3:00
Categories : Ethnic Philippines

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 kg dog meat -- * see note
1 1/2 cups vinegar
60 peppercorns -- crushed
6 tablespoons salt
12 cloves garlic -- crushed
1/2 cup cooking oil
6 cups onion -- sliced
3 cups tomato sauce
10 cups boiling water
6 cups red pepper -- cut into strips
6 pieces bay leaf
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
1 1/2 cups liver spread -- ** see note
1 whole fresh pineapple -- cut 1/2 inch thick

1. First, kill a medium sized dog, then burn off the fur over a hot fire.
2. Carefully remove the skin while still warm and set aside for later (may be
used in other recpies)
3. Cut meat into 1″ cubes. Marinade meat in mixture of vinegar, peppercorn,
salt and garlic for 2 hours.
4. Fry meat in oil using a large wok over an open fire, then add onions and
chopped pineapple and suate until tender.
5. Pour in tomato sauce and boiling water, add green peper, bay leaf and
tobasco.
6. Cover and simmer over warm coals until meat is tender. Blend in liver spread
and cook for additional 5-7 minutes.

* you can substiture lamb for dog. The taste is similar, but not as pungent.
** smooth liver pate will do as well.

__________________________________________________ _______________

-Zeno

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/47...t-life-893680/

Why it was closed?

My sometime ambitions as an inventor have once again been thwarted, though not by time travellers this time, so small blessings and all that. I was thinking about looking into designing a mouse pad you can use anywhere - an 'Anywhere Mousemat' if you will. Turns out some bunch of cowboys have invented an 'Anywhere Mouse' that at first glance seems to render my thing obsolete.

But looking at their copy, I'm not impressed. So it can track 'even on a perfectly smooth glass surface', huh? Wow these guys do not know their target market. I'm not worried about my mouse failing to track on a perfectly smooth glass surface, I'm worried about it failing to track on sofa cushions, duvets and, on at least one occasion, the bare skin of my lower thigh. All terrains where the Anywhere Mouse mat will be far more useful than the alleged "Anywhere" Mouse.

I suppose I could probably go ahead and put the thing together anyway, but frankly if I can't call it the Anywhere Mouse Mat I just don't see the point.