2. I got this link from a Mac-using buddy of mine, and had to laugh.

(Edited to reflect NEW forum-title)

[ 09 September 2004: Message edited by: DrConway ]

And where did rasmus go?

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From science to philosophy, talk about what you (or those more famous than you) have been thinking and doing lately.

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Originally posted by lagatta:
I don't understand - is this more a science and technology forum? Are historians still welcome here?

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Like, yeah.

Like, us persons in the humanities don't got ideas or something?

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Like, us persons in the humanities don't got ideas or something?

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As Anchoress pointed out, the description was "from science to philosophy". So, I'm trying to figure out how people could think that history and other humanities subjects are left out.

"Ideas" was too vague. This forum is supposed to be a place where people can discuss whatever subjects they would like in whatever discipline of study interests them. If we had a separate forum for each discipline, the babble main page would scroll down forever.

I don't see anything wrong with calling it the "Egghead forum". It's meant in a lighthearted way, just like most of the forum descriptions are.

[ 09 September 2004: Message edited by: Michelle ]

Note to self: Must not laugh will pee pants.

I was just explaining to someone the other day over eggs benny how humpty dumpty is a very violent little jingle.

And Michelle! You still have the Middle East!

You lucky duck!

I'm not sure if a goal of this new forum is to attract more Science & Technology (among other subects) news and discussion; if so, I think that a forum called "Thinking Cap" will be no more successful than was "Ideas". The only difference will be that it has (IMHO) a sillier name. People will still put things all over the place, especially in News.

[Edited to add:]

Perhaps we should also do away with the "Left Brain" & "Right Brain" groupings. (This is a subject for another thread in Rabble Reactions, but I'll mention it in the context of this forum). The left/right brain distinction is overblown anyway, but I wonder -- if "Thinking Cap" is supposed to cover "from the sciences to the humanities", then what is so "right brain" about it?

[ 09 September 2004: Message edited by: Albireo ]

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When I hear 'thinking cap' it reminds me of kindergarten teachers trying to help kids remember where they left their mittens.

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I agree.

What is so "vague" about "ideas"? Is an idea just a nebulous ephemeron until someone figgers how to turn E=mc2 into thermonuclear warheads?

And "Egghead" is someone who fights Batman, besides being a hurtful slur against anyone without a duncecap.

[ 10 September 2004: Message edited by: al-Qa'bong ]

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Originally posted by steffie:

I'm suggesting to people around here that we emulate Humpty Dumpty - and have a Great Fall!

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Or as I saw on some forum or other; "You could be a protestor like a Buddhist priest, and emulate yourself."

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I am going to form a liberation front

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Originally posted by Contrarian:

Or as I saw on some forum or other; "You could be a protestor like a Buddhist priest, and emulate yourself."

Or does nitpicking on grammar and spelling go elsewhere?

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Nitpicking is fine, but please tell me what my mistake was. Emulate, is not the right word? Maybe mimic? Imitate?

[ 11 September 2004: Message edited by: steffie ]

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What about quasi-scientific stuff like... whether aliens stole George Bush's brain?

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Oh, how cheap - this is total fiction and the worst brand of foil-hat conspiracy. The aliens could not possibly steal what is not there.

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Originally posted by steffie:
Nitpicking is fine, but please tell me what my mistake was. Emulate, is not the right word?

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steffie, your Humpty joke was fine and funny. As noted by others above, it was the protestor who was supposed to immolate himself, a more painful process than emulating himself.

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Originally posted by audra trower williams:
Your main argument last time seemed to be that people didn't know where to put science threads, so they ended up all over, so we should have a science forum. Well, I specified in the description to this forum that science threads should go here. I don't know what else I can do for you.

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There was a request for a "Science and Technology" forum. That alone, in name and content, would be great. However, I can understand why you'd want something broader than that, which can encompass things like philosopy, history, social sciences, etc.: a hang-out not only for science geeks but all kinds of intellectuals. After all, you don't want so many specialized forums that the site is unwieldy. So we try on names like "ideas", "egghead" (a joke, I know) and "thinking cap". All of these names seem to imply some kind of intellectual discussion, but when there is a science news story, is "thinking cap" where people will want to put it? I'm not sure that people will reliably think of this forum when a star goes supernova, an ancient city is discovered in Peru or there is a kick-ass new version of Mandrake Linux. Do these require your "thinking cap" any more than the latest from Saskatchewan or the West Bank, feminism or Ask Auntie? And, yes, I agree with this:

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Originally posted by Anchoress:
When I hear 'thinking cap' it reminds me of kindergarten teachers trying to help kids remember where they left their mittens.

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I do have a suggestion for a forum name: Arts & Science. Think of the subjects covered within a university's Faculty of Arts & Science, e.g. check out this list. It ain't just science, from astronomy to zoology... it's math, anthropology, philosopy, languages and literatures, psychology, philosophy, religious studies and computer science... It's everything that would be fair game in this forum. (OK, so there's also some other stuff that doesn't fit as well, like Commerce, or which steps on the toes of other forums, like Political Science, but in general it's a damned good fit for what we want here). Plus, the name Arts & Science doesn't deter science news stories. The name may, in some folks minds, conflict with "arts and culture", but perhaps that forum could be renamed & refocused as something like "culture & pop culture" (catchier name needed, perhaps).

I hope that's a constructive suggestion, but somebody may have a better one.

[ 12 September 2004: Message edited by: Albireo ]

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Originally posted by Reverend Blair:
How 'bout "Arts and Science and Sasquatches and Stuff?"

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And here I thought we shared so much, oldgoat.

I quite like Think Tank, actually. Still grown up, but a little freshened up.

If not that, go back to Ideas.

[Edited to add:]

I do like it better... thanks.

[ 13 September 2004: Message edited by: Albireo ]