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  1. Anyway I'm going to bed. Good night everyone!

    Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:06:42 UTC from web
    1. @nerthos night!

      Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:15:06 UTC from web
    2. @snowcone is this an inside joke?

      Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:15:22 UTC from web
    3. @snowcone as in the mystical creatures in Japanese fables or as in the type found in Christianity?

      Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:17:45 UTC from web
      1. @pony er.. maybe they're not just fables in Japan, but actually still believed in, I don't know

        Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:18:19 UTC from web
        1. @pony They're not exactly specific to Japan either

          Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:20:17 UTC from StatusNet Desktop
          1. @ceruleanspark I see.

            Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:23:16 UTC from web
            1. @pony lots of cultures have them. It seems to be a common meme that developing cultures used to rationalise why bad things happen.

              Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:24:57 UTC from StatusNet Desktop
              1. @ceruleanspark interesting. I wonder how often it helps solve their problems.

                Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:27:25 UTC from web
                1. @pony wrong question maybe. How effectively does it help solve their problems is better. I actually believe in them so learning about other kinds interests me.

                  Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:32:00 UTC from web
                  1. @pony The theory is that in a delicate developing society, the idea of otherworldly enforcers who'll "get you" if you undertake certain socially harmful practises helped prevent small tribes from wiping themselves out.

                    Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:39:59 UTC from StatusNet Desktop
                    1. @ceruleanspark that makes me wonder then, what keeps a developed society from weakening itself if they don't believe in otherworldly enforcers?

                      Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:41:47 UTC from web
                      1. maybe education.. maybe. But there are plenty of educated people who harm society

                        Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:42:33 UTC from web
                        1. @pony plenty of religious people who harm it as well. #

                          Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:43:52 UTC from web
                      2. @pony In some cases, the rule of law serves to replace them. In other cases, as you've guessed, education has supplanted them. For instance, living in filth is frowned upon because it's a vector for disease, rather than demonic attack.

                        Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:47:47 UTC from StatusNet Desktop
                        1. @ceruleanspark That makes sense. I suppose law, education, and belief systems alike rely also on people's desire to actually thrive. I imagine if society became depressed to the point of completely discouraging its members it could collapse even with all three working together.

                          Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:56:52 UTC from web
                          1. @pony so maybe there's a 'right' type of education, law, and belief system

                            Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:58:02 UTC from web
                          2. @pony Balance is required amongt the three. Too strong a rule of law nets you sterile dictatorships like North Korea, to much belief gets you the middle eastern theocracies, insufficient education gets you america the war torn regions of Africa.

                            Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 10:02:39 UTC from web
                            1. @ceruleanspark I can't think of any example of too much education, but that's assuming the education is true education. I think that true religion and true law have strength just like true education and that all three, in their purest forms, are essentially the same.

                              Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 10:07:23 UTC from web
                              1. @pony or at least, they depend on each other and are inextricably connected

                                Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 10:10:11 UTC from web
                              2. @pony I don't think it's possible to be "too educated". Knowledge is the one of the most precious things in the world. It is our Light Shining in Darkness by which suffering and fear can be beaten.

                                Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 10:11:22 UTC from StatusNet Desktop
                                1. @ceruleanspark I agree. As long as action and practice balances information gathering, that seems right to me.

                                  Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 10:14:05 UTC from web
                      3. @pony First off, religious people are really good with finding reasons why whatever they do is ccording to their religion. Christianity had slavery, crusades, forced baptisms and much, much more. I think the people who did that thought to do the right thing. As human beings, we try to preserve a positive identity. This includes that we want to have a coherent system of believes of right and wrong which is in harmony with what we do. We also want others to have a positive view on us. In addition, there is the huge factor that is mirror neurons which most likely has something to do with the ability to change perspectives.

                        Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:52:05 UTC from web
                        1. @hakupony Is the mirror neuron theory of empathy commonly believed? When I was researching the topic for some writing on autism, it was ambiguous.

                          Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:56:47 UTC from StatusNet Desktop
                          1. @ceruleanspark It still is up for debate. There are a few signs which point towards it, but it is not decisive.

                            Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 10:02:18 UTC from web
                            1. @hakupony I did recently read a report treating it as basically a forgone conclusion, but the author was an AI researcher, so how much he actually knows about human neurology is up for debate, so I wasn't sure if it'd moved on or not. It makes logical sense for it to work that way, certainly.

                              Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 10:05:28 UTC from StatusNet Desktop
                        2. @hakupony I think in all systems there's the possibility for corruption, be it religious, legal, or educational.

                          Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 10:01:57 UTC from web
    4. @snowcone The demons in Japan aren't necessarily malevolent, that's why I asked. So you're using the Christian concept I guess. why call him a meanie though?

      Wednesday, 27-Mar-13 09:22:13 UTC from web