qf reminder still pending q's

There are a lot of open questions, but I thnik atak will go back and answer them all

Yeah, my prolixity isn't helping here. Catching up is tough, but I promise to, preferably before this loses steam.

Am slightly distracted now unfortunately.

Sorry, didn't mean to nag. I thought it was 50/50 that they had slipped through the cracks.

I keep going back and reading. There are still a few from the first page I haven't gotten to. I skip around because some are a lot easier than others.

Link here. Discussion in the pub begins at post 783.

Atak, can you clarify regarding your feelings on whether pedophiles are capable of being rehabilitated.

For me personally, when I think of the word pedophile, I think of someone who is targeting elementary aged children or younger. So when you say looking at underage porn is probably alright, do you mean looking at naked young children?

I will agree that there is a difference between looking at teen porn vs toddler porn, but I have to disagree with looking any underage porn. Not to say that I would classify anyone who looks at pictures of a naked 17 year old as a pedophile, but I think it's wrong to promote exploiting children/teens in ways that they aren't able to legally consent to.

This one's particularly poignant, because we're trying right this second to figure out how long we can stand this.

700ish for transportation (housing there is an issue too becuse her flatmate siututaion means I can't stay with her; she says she can do the housing if I do the transport). I don't have it. She doesn't have it. This is ungood, of course. I am in an awkward living situation whereby my father, who is plenty well off (several million), will help me with most everything I need provided I am not seen as being profligate; unfortunately it is certain that he would see a trip to Scotland as inappropriate right now. So not only will he not help, but even if I suddenly found the money it would take a ton of explaining. And while this is all absurd for someone in his forties, I have screwed my life up badly enough that I need the help.

Still, I feel like I'll be able to work it out before the Christmas season, which is when I get K (I have him every Christmas, as soon as he's out of school).

Reminder

If you could change one aspect of yourself, What would it be? (broadest meaning of the word 'aspect')

1. Role of religion in shaping the course of civilisation - it is very problematic when you use one concept, in this case religion, as the prism through which you explain a complex world.
I appreciate that it might not have been your intent, but the discusssion which lead to a comparison between the trajectory of the western cultural development vs 'the rest of the world appeared to be overly reductionist.
2. Given your view on population, I am correct in assuming that you would agree that "the end justifies the means"? If so, why are aims more important than method in ethics?
I find your views on population abhorrent.

One observation on finding a good partner: do not underestimate the role of scent in determining who ends up with whom. There are many studies that suggest scent plays are decisive role for partner selection due to information connected to cross-immunising of potential offspring.

Have you ever had a mentor?
Have you ever mentored someone?

Do you believe in mentoring? Particularly for male/male?

Also...

Describe how you think men and women view the world differently (Not so much the why but the how, if you dont agree with the premise then explain why).

Tell me about your brief homeless period???

What are the key skills that set the best WW players apart from the rest, and what's how does one improve them?

Any recommendations for cool trips in the US for a poor college student (I'm in the Northeast fwiw?

I am about halfway through the well right now and you seem like an immensely interesting person. If you wrote an autobiography, I would certainly read it.

OK, let's distinguish then between pedophilia (young kids) and ephebophilia (teens). The latter is, in my opinion, basically not a problem (though acting on it is somewhat weird for an adult — more on age of consent in a bit).

I think looking at things is always OK, but for two things: whether it leads to physical contact, which is clearly very bad, and whether the one being photographed (or whatever) is being exploited. The latter problem I view as much smaller than it is made out to be — I don't think the consumer of such stuff is contributing in a sufficiently direct way that it should be punished in nearly the way that it is.

Basically, physical sexual contact with anyone too young to consent is extremely bad, and looking at pictures of that is obviously ungood because it encourages that but isn't nearly bad. Looking at pictures of young people without contact involved isn't nearly as bad though it says something disturbing about the people who like it.

(This may be unclear, as I'm trying to multitask and am horrible at it.)


Age of consent: US standards are absurdly high, at 17 in the majority of states. 14 or 15 makes a lot more sense to me. I think there's an enormous difference between things without inherently permanent consequences, like (protected) sex or drinking alcohol, and inherently long term or permanent decisions like getting married, or having kids (there's a topic for us...). I'd like to see something like an age of 14 for sex and drinking, and 22 or 24 for marriage.

just did the june 96 lsat which is the first one in the 10 more actual, official lsat preptests book.

got 14 out of 24 on the first section. logic games. ran out of time and didn't do the second game, resulting in 0 for 5 on guesses.

second section was logical reasoning. scored 15 of 24. had to guess at last 2 questions.

third section was reading comprehension. scored abysmal 12 for 27. didn't get to read the last one, and also completely bombed the second one.

last section of logical reasoning i got 20 of 26. managed to get it mostly done but some quick half guesses.

Ended up with 61 for a score of 153 for that year.

RC is my worst. I'm not a reader in general, and generally find myself not following along with general argument/outline of the paragraph.

I also find time an issue. I can usually crush the logic games given enough time, but I think I'm too apt to double check correctness of answers even though I've ruled out others as incorrect.

Logical reasoning is OK, but I'd like to do better and be a little faster.

Still have 3 weeks to practice. Why do you recommend not using the powerscore books? Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

so you believe that the studies showing that underage drinking causes brain damage are incorrect?

I also have the opportunity to take an Oxford Seminars prep course next week. It's the only one in my area. Would you recommend that?

I approve.

is there somewhere online to get a free copy of the logic games section of lsat?

Presented with those (of which I did not know) I would probably change my view (if the damage is serious).

The other problem is with addiction, and this is one I haven't puzzled through. I think that people (once they are adult, wherever we define it) should be allowed to make almost any decison that doesn't hurt other people — but the question arises when we talk about addictive substances whether people are really making the decisions at all. FOr example, with something like cigarettes which are addictive to most people who use them but don't flat-out kill people for a while, part of me wants to allow adults to smoke them whenever they want (and restaurants not to have smoking sections if they wish, and so forth), but another part wants simply to ban them outright. I don't know the answer.

(More on smoking: I think it should be a crime to smoke in the presence of a child [who cannot rationally consent to the inhalation of the poison], even one's own.)

Not as of a couple years ago, anyway, and I doubt they've changed that — but if they have it would be at LSAC.org. The ones available in commercial books tend to be extremely old (from when the games were very different); to get new ones you have to order copies. (Or ask me for the few that I wrote, if I can dig them up — I didn't write them for LSAC, mind you, but they're still equivalent to the tougher LSAT games.)

btw, anyone wishing I could keep up better should distract TimeLady. Send her PMs about her sheep game or something.

If it's the only one in your area, then definitely even though I haven't heard of them.

Only warning: don't try to combine two different approaches to doing games. It can be done, but only with a lot of work; basically, it's a don't try this at home kids kind of thing.

for the logic games, i'm fine with sample ones or whatever as well...don't have to be official

Housenuts: Right now, go to LSAC.org and order the last few years worth of tests. those old ones you're using are completely out of date — every aspect of the test has changed in important ways, even though they appear very similar. Get those on the way as of tomorrow, and then we can talk more about what you should do with them.

Mine are tough, and rough, but I'll send them.

(Remind me in a couple days, as I'll forget.)