2004-02-24 20:00:54
| #virus from 2004-02-24 20:00:00 (showing messages 1-30) Bookmark the permanent url.
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20:00:54 | prometheus | Roll call. Anyone here? |
20:01:03 | Ophis | Ophis (~Ophis@[death to spam].ns1.abiose.net) has joined #virus |
20:01:05 | localroger | hallooo |
20:01:13 | Ophis | Hello! |
20:01:33 | prometheus | Howdy. |
20:01:53 | prometheus | I have been nominated to lead tonight's chat. |
20:02:05 | Ophis | Interesting topic... I wished we could find an answer to it :-) |
20:02:27 | prometheus | Some people the answer is never. |
20:02:37 | Ophis | Good point :-) |
20:02:38 | localroger | Isn't Sat like 36 years old? |
20:03:16 | prometheus | But for the sake of the chat let us try to focus on the optimal situation. |
20:03:21 | localroger | lol |
20:04:15 | prometheus | When do you remember a time when you thought as a rational being at least somewhat? |
20:04:57 | localroger | I would say there was a gradual sharpening between the ages of 5 and 10. 7 is the traditional "age of reason." |
20:05:21 | Ophis | 7!? I don't think I became "rational" until I was 24 :-/ |
20:05:36 | localroger | Well you beat Sat to it :-) |
20:05:50 | prometheus | What event marked the transition, Ophis. Reading von Mises? |
20:06:25 | prometheus | Perhaps we need to define rational. Any takers. |
20:07:01 | localroger | Well in my case my dad was a Ph.D. physicist, so I had a strong attraction to rational thought. |
20:07:12 | Ophis | Actually, I'd change that... I say I became "rational" when I was about 15 and I realized that the world wasn't peftect |
20:07:55 | localroger | It's worth remembering that before the 19th century children were regarded more like "little adults" and were expected to conduct themselves appropriately. They were regularly sentenced to long jail sentences and death for petty crimes. |
20:08:12 | localroger | Our ability to not be rational as early as possible is something of a luxury. |
20:08:34 | prometheus | Have we undermined the rationality of children by not assuming it. |
20:09:02 | localroger | (This doesn't count deliberate non-rationalities like religion which we're expected to follow. It's things like cause and effect and understanding the importance of abstractions like money and work.) |
20:09:37 | localroger | We have a romantic attachment to the idea of "childhood innocence" which we don't want to "corrupt" by poisoning it with too many "adult thoughts." |
20:09:53 | Ophis | I think that's a silly idea... |
20:10:47 | prometheus | Children are capable of making rational decisions in difficult situations. |
20:10:49 | localroger | I think we become capable of rationality around the age of 7, give or take, but whether we realize our potential depends on whether it's expected of us and whether we have the opportunity to learn it. |
20:11:09 | Lukian | Lukian (~wizard@[death to spam].203-109-238-27.ultrawholesale.com.au) has quit IRC [Ping timeout] |
20:11:19 | prometheus | And whether it is repeatedly challenged. |