Philosophy: What does it take?

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

@@Steel Accord,@@Discordian, @@Nine, this post is pretty non-germane, but I gotta recharge the old brain for the night! I shall rejoin the conversation later in the day!

[Discordian 6,013]

I absolutely agree.

 

What happened to "follow your dreams"?

 

Two of our beloved ponies embody this lesson beautifully; Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

 

The former is an entrepreneur for Luna's sake! And never are her motivations treated as bad, but her methods, and that's really what matters. (Or at least from a deotological position.)

 

My point being that wrongdoing on the path to achieving your dreams undermines both your integrity as well as the ultimate point of having the dream in the first place.

 

Both Rainbow and Rarity have struggled with this exact obstacle many times. Whether it's taking a dubious short-cut for a short term gain or sacrificing your honor to obtain your end goal.

 

Oh come on!

 

I literally padded out one of my last posts, I'm not that smart!

 

Of course, if you have to go, by all means, don't let us keep you.

I've always, ALWAYS thought a lot of the Rarity hate came from people misunderstanding the type of person she is. They view her as the type of person that would throw away their friends for material goods. That she's a bad person because she cares more about how things look than anything else.

 

WRONG.

 

She's a very visual and materialistic person. She knows what she wants so she pushes to get it. She's also a business woman who sometimes barely keeps her head over water and thus must fight for her passion.

 

As with any materialistic person (such as myself) it's very hard for her to let go of the things she likes so she makes a big deal out of things.

 

But she's seen as a bad person because she cares about looks. But so do a lot of people. I wanna know where the idea that caring about something visual over other qualities became a bad thing.

 

But this isn't me being philosophical at this point. Just me bitching about how every Rarity hater I've ever run across seems to totally misunderstand the type of person she is. :okiedokielokie:

[Nine 707]

I absolutely agree.

 

What happened to "follow your dreams"?

 

Two of our beloved ponies embody this lesson beautifully; Rarity and Rainbow Dash.

 

The former is an entrepreneur for Luna's sake! And never are her motivations treated as bad, but her methods, and that's really what matters. (Or at least from a deotological position.)

 

My point being that wrongdoing on the path to achieving your dreams undermines both your integrity as well as the ultimate point of having the dream in the first place.

 

Both Rainbow and Rarity have struggled with this exact obstacle many times. Whether it's taking a dubious short-cut for a short term gain or sacrificing your honor to obtain your end goal.

I couldn't help but notice that with the exception of AJ (who? Orange Applehat? Oh, yeah I've seen her ..) that Rarity and Rainbow Dash frequently make it to the bottom of Mane 6 popularity contests. I don't wonder why. Their character conflicts make them into natural hate magnets. Actually a long time ago I wrote this thing about Rainbow Dash and the merits of competition but I'll be damned if I'm about to go looking for it now. Suffice to say whenever people say of Rarity or Rainbow Dash "she's a bitch", it bothers me. As if they've never struggled with a decision?

[Discordian 6,013]

I couldn't help but notice that with the exception of AJ (who? Orange Applehat? Oh, yeah I've seen her ..) that Rarity and Rainbow Dash frequently make it to the bottom of Mane 6 popularity contests. I don't wonder why. Their character conflicts make them into natural hate magnets. Actually a long time ago I wrote this thing about Rainbow Dash and the merits of competition but I'll be damned if I'm about to go looking for it now. Suffice to say whenever people say of Rarity or Rainbow Dash "she's a bitch", it bothers me. As if they've never struggled with a decision?

Making the decision between the things you care about and other things you care about is quite difficult indeed. I don't like how people seem to have an idea of what things OTHER people should find more important. They make it sound easy to just drop one thing for another because of predefined and honestly bullshitty "shoulds and should nots"

 

:okiedokielokie:

Edited March 30, 2014 by Discordian

[Nine 707]

 

And this is where I'm gonna start fading out of this conversation.

Because you guys use really big words. I'm pretty dumb so until I have researched the meaning of such words and groups I won't be able to take part in the conversation. But I'll always be right around the corner, waiting to pounce....  :okiedokielokie:

I thought you were doing alright

 

@@Steel Accord,@@Discordian, @@Nine, this post is pretty non-germane, but I gotta recharge the old brain for the night! I shall rejoin the conversation later in the day!

Alrighty, later

 

 

 

I've always, ALWAYS thought a lot of the Rarity hate came from people misunderstanding the type of person she is. They view her as the type of person that would throw away their friends for material goods. That she's a bad person because she cares more about how things look than anything else.

All my agree are belong to you.

Rarity tries to make things work without compromising on the things she wants. I think that's admirable when it can be done. 

 

 

I don't like how people seem to have an idea of what things OTHER people should find more important.

 

Milton Friedman said you can always count on other people to put their interests ahead of your own.

[Discordian 6,013]

Indeed. It's hard to have everything you want. A lot of people work under the dogma that one must sacrifice one thing to keep another. People like Rarity outright defy such things and try to get everything anyway. Not because of greed or anything but more about the fact that it's a lot of work and she knows she can handle it.

 

The very idea that making a decision on one thing means throwing the other away, as opposed to just setting it aside for a short time, is really iffy. It's not that black and white but people apply that line of reasoning to Rarity anyway.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Discordian

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

Never mind, I can't sleep! So, what were we talking about? 

[Nine 707]

 

 

It's not that black and white but people apply that line of reasoning to Rarity anyway.

Yeah, they apply this line of reasoning to everything actually. It's called zero-sum; the idea that every success necessitates a loss. I have never understood how people can believe this, because it's plainly false. Values, however you define them, don't exist in a static, limited amount. They grow over time, with effort and input. Infrastructure is a good example. We used to live in caves with sharp sticks. Now we have New York.

Yeah wealth goes up, not sideways. Believe it or not, you can often have your cake and eat it too, because you can start with one cake, and then trade it for two.

Never mind, I can't sleep! So, what were we talking about? 

Hookers and blow: illegal and dangerous, or underappreciated past-time?

[Discordian 6,013]

Yeah, they apply this line of reasoning to everything actually. It's called zero-sum; the idea that every success necessitates a loss. I have never understood how people can believe this, because it's plainly false. Values, however you define them, don't exist in a static, limited amount. They grow over time, with effort and input. Infrastructure is a good example. We used to live in caves with sharp sticks. Now we have New York.

Yeah wealth goes up, not sideways. Believe it or not, you can often have your cake and eat it too, because you can start with one cake, and then trade it for two.

 

Hookers and blow: illegal and dangerous, or underappreciated past-time?

It's funny you mention the old saying about cakes cuz I was just trying to figure out a way to make sense of that which would apply here.

 

People tell me "you can't have your cake and eat it too" but I always ask "why not".

 

While I've not been able to figure out the exact way to have both (until now, that is) no one's ever been able to tell me why that saying makes any sense in return. "Just because" is a good answer for an opinion on a video game but when trying to define an old saying like that it doesn't work so well.

Never mind, I can't sleep! So, what were we talking about? 

Your face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And how we miss it already. :lol:

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

 

 

Hookers and blow: illegal and dangerous, or underappreciated past-time?

 

I'm going to go with under-appreciated and dangerous. Little of Column A and Column B

[Discordian 6,013]

I'm going to go with under-appreciated and dangerous. Little of Column A and Column B

The question is: Do the risks justify the endgame. :okiedokielokie:

[Nine 707]

 

 

People tell me "you can't have your cake and eat it too" but I always ask "why not".

 

You're right to ask why not. Those people aren't thinking like traders. Trade works on the principle that people agree on price, but not on value. When you and another person exchange goods, you both walk away with something more valuable to you than what you came with, and yet .. all you did was give each other the items you came with. Fucking miracles!

This man traded a paper clip for a house in 14 steps. And this is how you can have your cake, and eat fifty of them too.

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

The question is: Do the risks justify the endgame. :okiedokielokie:

 

Well, it depends! I'd say it depends on the quality! I think we can all agree that we value bang for our buck.

[Discordian 6,013]

Well, it depends! I'd say it depends on the quality! I think we can all agree that we value bang for our buck.

I can honestly say I love me some bang for my buck

 

 

You're right to ask why not. Those people aren't thinking like traders. Trade works on the principle that people agree on price, but not on value. When you and another person exchange goods, you both walk away with something more valuable to you than what you came with, and yet .. all you did was give each other the items you came with. Fucking miracles!

This man traded a paper clip for a house in 14 steps. And this is how you can have your cake, and eat fifty of them too.

I think I remember hearing about this guy awhile back. Impressive that he's gotten that far with it. Next he'll be trading up to a place on that Mars Colonization project...

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

 

You're right to ask why not. Those people aren't thinking like traders. Trade works on the principle that people agree on price, but not on value. When you and another person exchange goods, you both walk away with something more valuable to you than what you came with, and yet .. all you did was give each other the items you came with. Fucking miracles!

This man traded a paper clip for a house in 14 steps. And this is how you can have your cake, and eat fifty of them too.

 

 

This is pretty cool! I wish I had a sense for entrepreneurship. It's like charisma or music sense: you either have it or you don't.

 

I'm just a lowly microbiologist...

[Discordian 6,013]

This is pretty cool! I wish I had a sense for entrepreneurship. It's like charisma or music sense: you either have it or you don't.

 

I'm just a lowly microbiologist...

And an even lower gamer...

 

It's actually pretty daunting to know people can do stuff like this with their skills but for people like me who's only skill is in entertaining himself there is no place in this world.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Discordian

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

And an even lower gamer...

 

It's actually pretty daunting to know people can do stuff like this with their skills but for people like me who's only skill is in entertaining himself there is no place in this world.

 

You could become a writer, as well! Publish a treatise on the value of chaos!

[Discordian 6,013]

Ironically, I have done some writing in my past. Never was very good at it though.

 

My small vocabulary and inability to describe things make it very hard to write.

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

Ironically, I have done some writing in my past. Never was very good at it though.

 

My small vocabulary and inability to describe things make it very hard to write.

 

As Nine said, you've done well tonight! You brought out the concept of the Noumenon! Not too many people know what that is!

[Discordian 6,013]

I wonder why. I honestly find it one of the most interesting ideas. I know some people are completely against Kant for some reason though.

[Nine 707]

This is pretty cool! I wish I had a sense for entrepreneurship. It's like charisma or music sense: you either have it or you don't.

 

I'm just a lowly microbiologist...

I work way below my ability, because reasons. I don't really care what I do for a job. My hobbies are more interesting anyway.

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

Kant was one of those people that said something for everyone to love and for everyone to hate. 

[Discordian 6,013]

I work way below my ability, because reasons. I don't really care what I do for a job. My hobbies are more interesting anyway.

This is me. All of me.

 

I don't care what my job is so long as I have one. (Note: I am currently unemployed with no change in that in the foreseeable future because I lack the skills or experience to hold down a job)

 

My one and only true love is video games.

 

But the reason I love video games is something of a philosophical thing. It's more than entertainment value. Remember what I said about every game we play being a window into another world?

 

...I have a collection of over 400 games across all my systems and I will forever collect more and more until the day I die.

 

Let that sink in.

 

Video games are not just entertainment for me, they are more than a simple passion...they are existential.

Edited March 30, 2014 by Discordian

[AlicornAcolyte 254]

Well, my biggest hobby is learning! I buy about three books a week! It's really getting out of hand! 

[Discordian 6,013]

Well, my biggest hobby is learning! I buy about three books a week! It's really getting out of hand!

I do so love to learn.

 

More often than not the things I like to learn are not things I can use practically though.

 

Life's a bitch.