Isaac Asimov on anti-intellectualism...

[SidDithers]

Sid

[msanthrope]

1. Aren't you part of some claque or something??? nt

[Octafish]

50. ''Trolling is a art.'' -- SidDithers to zappaman

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2248867

Is that like a clacque, msanthrope?

[zappaman]

52. You better believe it!

[SidDithers]

53. Damn you BFEE!!...nt

Sid

[Octafish]

58. Leaping to the defense of the warmongers and banksters of the BFEE.

Instead of mocking people for defending them, I'll do what I can to expose their treachery.

For those interested in the topic of what Bartcop termed the Bush Family Evil Empire:

Their trail as warmonger-banksters goes back at least to war profiteering during World War I, when Samuel Prescott Bush ran Remington selling rifles to both sides. Before that, there's evidence their ancestors were slave holders.

I've talked about his son, Prescott Sheldon Bush; grandson, George Herbert Walker Bush; and great-grandsons, George Walker Bush, John Ellis (Jeb) Bush, and Neil Mallon Bush.

I find it odd to read you use DemocraticUnderground to defend BFEE scum, which is odd for someone interested in supporting democracy.

Why you do so is your business, SidDithers. It is not mine.

[SidDithers]

59. They're behind everything. Even crop circles...

Sid

[Octafish]

62. Defending the BFEE is more suited to conservative websites.

F'r instance:

http://www.conservativeunderground.com/forum505/showthread.php?58746-Machine-Gun-Mouth

What a coincidence. They use smilies, too.

[SidDithers]

63. Defending the BFEE!...

You really think that laughing at those who think every fucking thing is the fault of the BFEE, is "defending the BFEE"?




Sid

[Octafish]

82. No. But you have never posted anything to criticize them.

So, there's that.

[SidDithers]

87. I was very critical of Bush, when he was President...

Now that he's not, he's irrelevant. I don't happen to share your tin-foil conspiracist worldview, that the BFEE operates as a shadow government, and is responsible for everything from killing JFK to getting chocolate in my peanut butter.

Oh, and I see you've gone back to sourcing Paul Craig Roberts again. The father of Reaganomics.

But I'm the one not critical enough of the BFEE.



Sid

[Octafish]

90. Really? Name one time.

A link, please.

[SidDithers]

103. Alright, here are a few...

Posted this article about him in 2006, "The War President's Latest Fiasco"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1985264

Called him stupid here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1069191&mesg_id=1069520

Called him a "fucking buffoon" here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1081608&mesg_id=1081988

I criticize his debate performance against Kerry here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=969592&mesg_id=973876
and here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x942391
and here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=940897&mesg_id=940996

I call him "Commander Bunnypants" here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=669432&mesg_id=669533

and "Commander Cuckoobananas" here:
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=678002&mesg_id=678140

criticizing Shrub's comments on the Daniel Berg beheading:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=550095&mesg_id=550339

"dumbass"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=982220&mesg_id=985674

criticizing Iraq policy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5608921&mesg_id=5612570

and on and on and on. I'm not going digging anymore because it's too hard to find threads in the DU2 archives without advanced search over there.


I eagerly await your apology.

Sid

[Octafish]

107. LOL! ''I called him Bunnypants.''

That's great.

Who owes whom what apology?

Let's weigh the sides:

Know your BFEE: Social Security is a Side Show while Banksters Walk and You Pick Up the Tab

Know your BFEE: Siegelman Judge is a big-time War Profiteer

Know your BFEE: WikiLeaks Stratfor Dump Exposes Continued Secret Government Warmongering

Know your BFEE: John Roberts earned his Sgt. Pepper stripes as an Iran-Contra cover-up artiste.

Know your BFEE: David Vitter was pampered by the DC Madam

Henry Paulson, Banker to the BFEE

Know your BFEE: Goldmine Sacked or The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One

Know your BFEE: Phil Gramm, the Meyer Lansky of the War Party, Set-Up the Biggest Bank Heist Ever.

Know your BFEE: 1984 Death of Outstanding Congressional Staffer Buried Poppy-Moon Relationship

Know your BFEE: Forget Rev. Wright, It s Bush and His Cronies Who Owe an Apology for Rev. Moon!

Know your BFEE: They Looted Your Nation’s S&Ls for Power and Profit

Know your BFEE: War and Oil are just two longtime Main Lines of Business

Know your BFEE: Scions of the Military Industrial Complex

Know your BFEE: Spawn of Wall Street and the Third Reich

Know your BFEE: A Crime Line of Treason

vs.

"I called him Bunnypants" and "Cuckobananas." L.O.L.



Tell you what, imagine I'm playing "Hearts and Flowers" for you.

[zappaman]

108. Not to mention, you shook an astronaut's hand once!

You totally owned Sid!!!!

[SidDithers]

109. Move those goalposts!!...

You said just one time. I gave you a pile.

And now you change your criteria!

You: 'You defend the BFEE!!!'
Me: No, I laugh at those who think the BFEE is responsible for everything.
You: 'OK, well you never criticize the BFEE'
Me: No, I was critical of Bush when he was President, now I think he's irrelevant.
You: 'No you weren't. Show me where you were critical of Bush'
Me: Here you go, (bunch of links to show how I hold Bush in disdain)
You: 'But you don't criticize Bush as much as meeeeee!! Wharglalblrlle'
Me:

Keep trying, octafish.

Sid

[snooper2]

78. Do you keep a spreadsheet, a Word doc or Excel?

Or is it just a SHITLOAD of favorites/bookmarks?

[William769]

2. kick & recommended.

[Fumesucker]

3. The ultimate intellectual argument

[jazzimov]

12. Yes, the ULTIMATE intellectual argument.

Do you have an issue with that?

[Fumesucker]

14. !

[Rex]

27. Wow.

Was that serious?

[HuckleB]

30. Alas...

... it's an odd world at DU.

[Rex]

35. Indeed!

[Fumesucker]

33. Evidently you are unfamiliar with the most intellectual of all reasoned discourse, the ROFL smiley

[Rex]

34. I feel so foolish now.

[Luminous Animal]

72. And don't forgot, "fuck Nader."

[zappaman]

73. Fuck RON PAUL!

Never forget!

[zeemike]

31. People who think they know everything

are a great annoyance to those of us who do.

Isaac Asimov

[CrawlingChaos]

86. OMG, direct hit!

You just made me laugh so hard. *bows to Fumesucker*

[IrishAyes]

95. Fumesucker is always worth reading.

[tammywammy]

4. k&r

[Motown_Johnny]

5. K&R for the Good Doctor n/t

[Gothmog]

79. Agreed

[kelly1mm]

6. Don't the mechanics of democracy, at least US style democracy, work that way though? An ignorant

person's vote carries just as much weight as a fully informed person's vote.

[bemildred]

17. That's why you need a good free education system in a democracy.

We used to have the finest in the world.

[hatrack]

7. Asimovdo - it's got what brains crave!!

It's got like electolytes and shit!!

[blkmusclmachine]

8. "Feigned ignorance can also mask knowing evilness." - GWB

[sheshe2]

9. Kick and Rec!

[dionysus]

10. OMFG he has the same hair as the ancient aliens guy Sid!!!!

vaht?

[jazzimov]

15. His HAIR?!?!?!?!?!

The man's writing changed my life and my way of thinking - and you're worried about his HAIR?!?!!?! Maybe you should read his words, first. I guess this just shows how shallow your opinion is.

Sorry, the Good Doctor wouldn't have approved of the above post. BTW, when that picture was taken that hairstyle was very popular. Just sayin'.

[Throd]

24. Lighten up, I have the same deal. My head looks like a testicle that my hair is afraid of.

[whopis01]

48. That is just wrong

I now have a very vivid, animated image of that in my head...

[Number23]

92. I don't know what that means. I'm AFRAID to know what that means.

And I'm still dying.

[dionysus]

26. dude, it's a joke. i love The Foundation series. chillax man.

[OldBoss]

11. K&R, nt.

[Half-Century Man]

13. I have a bare wall

Where do I get that poster?

[bemildred]

16. I forget the actual number, but he wrote over 100 books IIRC.

Industrious doesn't quite cover it. Some of which were pretty good. And he was a great popularizer of science.

[ChazInAz]

18. Well over two hundred.

And he wrote on, apparently, every topic. He was, and remains, one of my favorite writers and human beings. The field of science fiction has become pretty pathetic since he died.

[CBGLuthier]

43. Closer to 500 according to some experts

But most were nonfiction. In fact, in terms of novels he actually wrote very few. But they were some of the best.

[MisterP]

23. including a great book on the diastrousness of a group--uh, making sure that its knowledge

is more important than everyone else's ignorance ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Eternity

[bemildred]

41. I read that a long time ago. Very apropos here, the "Platonic Guardians".

The hubris. They always start with the assumption that they should be the bosses, and then "reason" from there.

[MisterP]

80. and it's sorta become a DU punchline after Syria

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023554942

[bemildred]

94. There you go. Perfect example. Damn shame I missed that thread. nt

[SDjack]

19. If Asimov would permit me to tinker with his statement, I would make it read: “… my ignorant

religious beliefs trump your knowledge.”

[fleabiscuit]

74. His book on the bible covers that!

[toby jo]

20. First thought - Sarah Palin.

[Skittles]

21. proof that teabaggerism is nothing new

[zappaman]

22. What are you?

Some kind of scientific materialist?!

[SidDithers]

25. Long live the claque!...

Sid

[defacto7]

32. I paid 1000 Lire

to the theater claque in Milan once so they wouldn't boo me off stage. I suppose it worked. ??

[HuckleB]

29. +1,000,000,000 .... 000

[HuckleB]

28. Yup! And, yes, you are a curmudgeon looking for an anti-science DU bludgeon.

Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

[Warren DeMontague]

38. Spinning some folks into high dudgeon, and

... nope, there aren't any more.

[SidDithers]

45. Just flinging poo, or something...

Sid

[sharp_stick]

76. Damn you

scientific materialists and poo flinging. Ever notice how materialist sounds kind of like "imperialist"


hmmmmm?


I think they've got your number, the evidence is becoming harder. I actually read that "evidence is becoming harder" on DU once. I should have saved the post.

[zappaman]

77. Damn the harder evidence!

[HuckleB]

100. I love a good patty throwing contest!

[Cha]

36. Brilliant of Isaac Asimov.. thank you, Sid~ nt

[Warren DeMontague]

37. You're really gonna listen to a guy who is using his typewriter as a bong?

Seriously, pass that bad boy over here.

[Blanks]

42. Just like his hairstyle...

Typewriter bongs were all the rage back then.

Or so I've heard.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

39. Here's one for Obama: "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." Isaac Asimov

See drones for reference.

[YoungDemCA]

40. Ouch.

nt

[City Lights]

47. That's my sig line.

[jtuck004]

83. I'm guessing he never met one of our banksters. n/t

[OnyxCollie]

44. Funny how no one

has pointed out the irony of the OP posting a criticism of anti-intellectualism.

[Wilms]

46. ^

[Octafish]

49. +2

[zappaman]

54. says the guy who is baffled by crop circles!

Guess you don't agree with Isaac Asimov?
Oh well, I'm sure that sci-fi script you've been sitting on is way better than anything he wrote!

[Octafish]

60. Of course, that's not what I wrote. But coming from you, misrepresenting what I write is not new.

Fascinating subject. One crop circle was a graphic representation of pi...



The circle is a coded representation of pi to the 10th significant figure

Most complex crop circle ever discovered in British fields

By Richard Savill
The Telegraph (UK)
Last Updated: 12:40PM BST 17/06/2008

The most complex, "mind-boggling" crop circle ever to be seen in Britain has been discovered in a barley field in Wiltshire.

The circle is a coded representation of pi to the 10th significant figure
The formation, measuring 150ft in diameter, is apparently a coded image representing the first 10 digits, 3.141592654, of pi.

It is has appeared in a field near Barbury Castle, an iron-age hill fort above Wroughton, Wilts, and has been described by astrophysicists as "mind-boggling".

Michael Reed, an astrophysicist, said: "The tenth digit has even been correctly rounded up. The little dot near the centre is the decimal point.

Article continuesadvertisement
"The code is based on 10 angular segments with the radial jumps being the indicator of each segment.

"Starting at the centre and counting the number of one-tenth segments in each section contained by the change in radius clearly shows the values of the first 10 digits in the value of pi."

CONTINUED...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2144652/Most-complex-crop-circle-ever-discovered-in-British-fields.html

Have you read any books written by Isaac Asimov, zappaman? If so, what did he write about character assassination?

[SidDithers]

70. Actually, what you wrote was...

"Doubtful whether a pair of drunken RAF noncoms could figure this one out. "

Sid

[tclambert]

71. Yeah, but most space aliens use base 12.

PI = 3.184809493B9186 in base 12

[zappaman]

81. They also use mac.

That's how we saved the earth.
Watch the documentary INDEPENDENCE DAY starring Will Smith if you don't recall...

[zappaman]

75. I wonder if Asimov was baffled by crop circles?

"Doubtful whether a pair of drunken RAF noncoms could figure this one out. "

[pokerfan]

88. right

No human could make crop circle like that.

[Vashta Nerada]

96. Haha! Reminds me of this:

[zappaman]

99. Greatest video ever!!!

&feature=kp

[SixString]

57. + 1000

[Fumesucker]

65. Evidently I was a bit too subtle..

[OnyxCollie]

66. Derp.

[Phlem]

89. shhh

That's why it's hilarious.



-p

[MineralMan]

51. In many ways, Isaac Asimov was my childhood

mentor. I read everything he wrote that I could get my hands on. From history and religion to science and speculation, he had an enormous influence on me as a boy, starting at age 9. I owe much of my life-long curiosity and continuing study of many subjects to his introduction of them to me.

[SidDithers]

55. I "discovered" him later in life...

During those impressionable youth years, I read all the Fantasy fiction that I could find, but never devoured Science Fiction in the same way.

In my mid 30s I said to myself - I really should try to read some Asimov. So I picked up I, Robot, and read it. Then the Foundation stuff, and then I was hooked.

I regret that I didn't start reading it when I was 14.

Sid

[MineralMan]

56. I continued reading him through high school.

Later, I read much of his non-science non-fiction writings. I learned a great deal from the man, and what I learned led me to read more about the same subjects.

As an adult, I wrote him a letter, thanking him for awakening my interest in so many subjects and for leading me down the path of being a non-fiction writer. He wrote back, thanking me for being one of those for whom he wrote all of that material. I never did get a chance to meet him, but would have welcomed an opportunity.

[calimary]

61. Few things more perfectly encapsulate the whole false-equivalence canard.

LOVE Isaac Asimov! Good to remind ourselves of this.

And thank goodness we now have one of his philosophical heirs in a high-profile position, and speaking out:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/09/neil-degrasse-tyson-tells-cnn-stop-giving-equal-time-to-the-flat-earthers/

I think we really need to get on this - start making it a bigger and bigger deal - til it starts permeating the national mindset.

[SidDithers]

64. Exactly...

Watching Cosmos on Sunday night got me thinking of Sagan, and then of Asimov.

It's what inspired this thread.

Sid

[calimary]

101. I LOVED it! We set the video to record in case we missed it, but we didn't.

Thought it was really nicely done. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a most worthy heir to Dr. Sagan. And I'm very glad that with this enhanced profile, he's using it to draw attention to the damn false equivalence bullshit currently plaguing the vast majority of our media - oh "both sides! Both SIIIIIIIIIIIDES!!!!!"

And I'm glad they're updating anyway. We've learned a lot more about the cosmos and our own little neighborhood in it since the original series aired.

[blackspade]

67. Nicely said.

[alp227]

68. YES this quote is for real!

from his 1980 essay, The Cult of Ignorance

[SidDithers]

69. Hehe...

Yeah, I usually try to confirm those things, before posting a cutesy facebook meme.



Sid

[jtuck004]

84. Lot of truth in his fiction...

[africanadian]

85. One of the greats

I read dozens of his books, both fiction and non-

[tridim]

91. There is absolutely no excuse for anti-intellectualism in the Internet age.

Point^2.

[Number23]

93. Cool OP. And damn if it didn't bring out some of DU's "finest" in the process

That chase after everyone on this site and then turn around and try to dictate how everybody else needs to respond.

[SidDithers]

104. Par for the course, eh?...

Sid

[IrishAyes]

97. Thanks very much for an important OP,

followed though it was by the usual DU backstabbing and sniping by people trying to pee higher on the tree. (I also read Desmond Morris!)

Asimov was a wise guiding force in my life, too. His short story, "I'm in Mars Port Without Hilda" remains a favorite, along with much more educational fare. I especially love his textbooks; always knew I loved math even though I didn't care for most of my math teachers. I wound up hitting the wall in academia via calculus and physics. But when I picked up an Asimov textbook, it was a thing of pure joy to me. Beautifully written and almost impossible not to understand. Who else can make that claim but him? Nobody I ever heard of.

That's my favorite picture of him, too. So thanks all around. The way I love to whack at some men might look like male bashing, but not true. I love smart men. Stand in awe of some, Asimov chief among them.

[DesertDiamond]

98. Or, my lies deserve the same air time as your truths.

[SixString]

102. K&R

[LWolf]

105. The irony is strong with this one. nt

[SixString]

106. Yes it is. N/T.