Guest guest Posted January 23, 2011 Report Share Posted January 23, 2011 I have a bunch of friends they're a real motley crew i like to chat with them but they just talk about the news we have a ton of forums and they're all really cool but i can't help getting over these aspergers blues feel free to add on more if you like . By Greg Gumina Copyright 2011-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 Just read this post this morning and have an 'add on', might be a bit rough :-) The news can get one thinking About what is being construed However a myriad of thoughts Can often lead to Asperger's blues There seems no obvious solution To the many wars and 'supposed' revolutions Too few seem to care Their eyes vacant as they uncomprehendingly stare What do we share? A common ground Each pebble dropped in the pool Sends ripples that abound Even one lone voice on earth Might be heard On the edges of hearing That others might be stirred. > > I have a bunch of friends > they're a real motley crew > i like to chat with them > but they just talk about the news > > we have a ton of forums > and they're all really cool > but i can't help getting over > these aspergers blues > > feel free to add on more if you like . > > By Greg Gumina > Copyright 2011-? > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 One of the things I personally dislike is that it's difficult to have an intelligent conversation with some people because no one knows what is going on in the world. Or they whine about why something happens to them, but have no knowledge of the chain of events which led to their misery even though the chain of events was published in the newspaper over a period of months. It makes them sound stupid, ignorant, and like they are whiners. The flipside of all of this is sounding like an unsympathetic know it all whenever I provide my viewpoint on things. I don't see why I should have to suffer just for providing facts that periodicals and news shows have been airing for years. Administrator > > I have a bunch of friends > they're a real motley crew > i like to chat with them > but they just talk about the news > > we have a ton of forums > and they're all really cool > but i can't help getting over > these aspergers blues > > feel free to add on more if you like . > > By Greg Gumina > Copyright 2011-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 There are a couple of factors contributing to what you are talking about. I put both of them on the poor quality of education in this country and many others. The first point is a lack of training in effective communication. Effective communication and informal reasoning were once considered highly important in a democracy or Republic. Communication at least is also valued in modern business. Without the ability to effectively communicate, things fall apart. Since our schools have stopped training the majority of students to communicate (near compete lack of direct training while vocabulary is shrinking, particularly since Textspeak is entering spoken language) or reason (critical thinking hasn't been taught outside of hard sciences for some time), it is small wonder that violence and incivility is increasing since an inability to communicate can lead some to violence. Another key factor missing from effective communication is respect for others as a person. You can dislike their opinion but still see they have value as a person. I've covered part of the second already. That is informal logic or rational thinking. People aren't taught that today. Part of rational thinking is to look beyond the first phase of something and look at least to the second and maybe the third. Since I'm talking about education, Phase 1 might be "let's teach more about self-esteem" but Phase 2 would be the effect of reducing core subjects, such as history, math, communications, in favor of time spent on puffing up egos. What we're seeing is a workforce that can't work like it did 10 years ago but feels really good about itself, like it is owed a six-figure entry salary. The mania for fame at any price is probably an offshoot of this because it is easier to act a fool than study. What I see happening is leaving behind rationality and returning to a more faith-based system of thinking. I don't mean religious thinking alone, though that can be part of it. In this case we have people who hear "vaccines cause autism." That appeals to them on an emotional level, as all arguments do first before the mind starts rationally thinking, but they stop at the emotion. For whatever reason, they like the feeling and stick with it. They might realize at some level that rationally considering the evidence will undermine their emotional stance, so they fight it. This partly explains the nastiness in the vaccine debate. This also applies to other things like politics, etc. I see many, many nasty and bating comments on political sites while rational comments frequently go little noticed. Its all about the emotional content and I don't think we'll come to a good outcome as long as people are emoting instead of thinking. Honestly, if people were thinking and had been for the last several decades, we wouldn't be in the mess we are now. Lastly, and important part of effective communication is to recognize when further discussion is a lost cause and just walk away. As I stated above, faith-based thinking is quite common. As such, there are people who are so dead set in their beliefs that no facts will sway them. In those cases, the best thing is to just walk away from the debate. Let them think they have won if that is important to them. If they are unwilling to risk having the opinion changed even a little by rational, respectful debate, that is their problem. PS: Throughout history the powers that be have sought to keep rhetoric and effective communication to themselves. This allowed them to easily make any rube seem a fool in a debate and thus hold power, often simply by making the rest afraid of being made a fool of. In a message dated 2/12/2011 12:29:58 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes: One of the things I personally dislike is that it's difficult to have an intelligent conversation with some people because no one knows what is going on in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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