draliman on life

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Can we ever experience anything objectively? Why or why not?
Definitely. I object to a bunch of stuff.

Only kidding. I would say no. Even when we try, subconsciously our preconceived ideas will always unintentionally add bias. As we recently learned, even AIs can be biased.

Do humans have a soul? Do animals have a soul?
That depends on your idea of a “soul”. Is it a sense of self, an ability for empathy, a life force? If so, “yes” to both. Though there have been some humans throughout history who didn’t seem to have one.

Why are people told to respect the dead?
Because they can’t respond to any insults, I suppose. Though there are some people I don’t respect regardless of whether they’re dead or not.

Without using the names of specific people, discuss “the ideal” President or other world leader.
Can there be an “ideal” world leader? In order to make things work, more and more compromises need to be made. I’m sure most politicians would admit to themselves that many of their lofty ideals fell by the wayside as they proceeded through their careers.

I guess the main thing is to make sure they’re in it for the people, and they leave their ego at the door. Because their entire reason for existing is now to serve.

Here’s my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Is copying and pasting images or information off the Internet plagiarism? Do you credit those whose work you ‘borrow freely’ or do you think the idea is repugnant?
If you credit the work you’ve taken, it’s just theft rather than plagiarism (which involves passing the work off as your own). I only grab stuff off the internet when I’m pretty sure it’s very general. There are exceptions in (UK) copyright law (teaching, parody, review, quotation etc) which would cover a good deal of stuff.

I think it’s pretty low if you actually pretend something’s your own work, but I think the word “repugnant” is going a bit far!

Do you let sleeping dogs lie?
I certainly don’t. Lying is wrong, even if you’re asleep. And a dog. Tell the truth, people 🙂

What’s the strangest pet name (for adults) that you’ve ever heard someone called?
Nope, I’ve only ever heard the standards.

Do you like to dance? If yes, what’s your favourite and if no, why not?
Not at all, in any way or at any time whatsoever. And I’m sure the people around me would also rather I didn’t dance.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

What is the meaning of true love?
That’s a tricky question, so I’m going to repeat what a good friend of mine has to say about it. So I’ll hand you over to Ga’M’Chek, who hails from a small planet in what we call Orion’s Belt:

CHa meG’na gA m’reep, nee ganCa n’shi-do.

I think that says it all, don’t you?

Do acts of kindness have a motive?
Usually, I would say. Even if it’s just to feel better about oneself.

If we live in a civilised world why do we see so many distinctions between rich and poor?
“Civilised” is just a set of rules on how to behave, I reckon, nothing to do with making sure everyone has enough money. Besides, if there were no poor people there’d be no rich people either, and the rich people probably wouldn’t like that.

Do we love ourselves more in the virtual world than in the real world?
Some people do, I’m sure. Some people only seem to exist in the virtual world.

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Where’s the line between respectful disagreement and being downright mean (bullying) to someone?
They’re completely different things. The first is when two people simply disagree on something, the second is a targeted and sustained attack, usually for no particular reason.

Would you prefer to live in a world where alcohol was free or where politicians were honest?
Free alcohol sounds like chaos to me. A bit of honesty in politicians would be nice, as long as they can lie when required… “no, that wasn’t our nuclear submarine that just snuck past your main harbour…”

What’s one habit you have that your family or friends think is rather childish?
You’d have to ask them. Playing computer games, maybe?

Would you rather go to a big party and rub shoulders with the rich and famous or go to an amazing quiet garden that hardly anyone has ever visited?
Rub shoulders with the rich and famous? I can’t think of anything worse. I’ll take the garden, please!

What do you think of the idea of “trick or treat or money for a charity” as a way of making Halloween more useful?
I pretty much forgot about Halloween this year, to be honest. I did get one visitor and fortunately had some sweets in. There’s no way we could police the charity thing. And getting all the tiny tots a charity collection licence would be a real pain…

Here is my post for Melanie’s Share Your World.

Had any good conversations with yourself lately? Did you listen to yourself? And how’d that work out for you?
I always have conversations with myself. And I always listen. If I’m not going to listen to myself (for better or worse), who am I going to listen to?

What is gravity and how does it work?
Gravity is a big sucking thing. At the centre of the Earth there’s a huge gravity wave generator, or “vacuum cleaner” to the layman, which constantly spins round and round sucking stuff down. We can only hope the bag never gets full or everyone will float off into space!

What is more real – Mind or Matter?
Is either real? Is this just a dream? Are you all figments of my imagination, or am I a figment of yours?

Dum dum dummmmm.

Should a vegetarian (or vegan) eat animal crackers?
I know this is a fun question, and just for fun I looked up the ingredients of “original” animal crackers. And I found this rather terrifying statement:

“Are animal crackers vegan? While Nabisco’s recipe is free of animal ingredients, Cole & Stewart’s sociological analysis would suggest that consuming animal crackers is ritualistically anti-vegan, as it socializes speciesist sentiments and human supremacy in children.”

Bloody hell. They’re only biscuits. I didn’t realise they were turning the world’s children into supremacist monsters.

What other popular foodstuffs are corrupting the minds of our children? Let me know in the comments!

Name (describe) something you wouldn’t want to run into in a dark and deserted wood or alley.
You’ve been avoiding him for months. Avoiding all the usual places. Then one day you forget. You get careless. You take a shortcut home. In a flash of lightning you see him. Darkness returns. Was he really there? Did you imagine him? Lightning flares again. He’s closer.

Much closer.

He opens his mouth, salivating in anticipation. He speaks.

“You thought you could avoid me? None can avoid me.”

He is the End. The Omega. The nightmare become real.

He is the Tax Collector.