Does good need to come out of off-topic babbling? If so what are the requirements for an off topic babble.

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It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create.
Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.
-AE
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
-Socrates

That it not be dumb.

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

That it not bear a strong resemblance to a thread that a moderator just closed is another good criterion.

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Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

That a forum based on astronomy predominately recognises the humanity and community of those who post to and read the topics here.

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"Nature is obliged to let reality determine its laws, whereas mathematics is under no such constraint."

Good does not need to come, it just might!
Requirements, 1) read my posts, 2) read a few
others!

I think a first idea would be to not call a large fraction of the population of the planet dumb

Actually, given the state of human affairs on this planet and the poor choices humanity has made as a whole that have led to them, an ET might actually have a legitimate case in making such a remark.

I make no judgment on the accuracy of the statement. I only judge wether it is appropriate on this forum

Considering the fact that most animal populations never live to a "ripe old age," I'd say we're doing better than average. If that's good, and our contributions here help steer thoughts on various topics in the right direction and away from ill-informed decisions that will adversely affect many others, I'd say that's a good thing indeed.

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WIKIPEDIA and GOOGLE are your friends! But only if you use them.

Perception isn't reality. It's merely an abstraction thereof, and quite often, not a very good one at that.

Perception is what happens between the senses and consciousness. Reality is what happened before that. If you think the two are equivalent, you've never heard of Von Claustwicz, Sun Tsu, or street magicians.

Formal Logical Fallacy List

I would say it's appropriate in just about any setting, including a 1st grade classroom.

Disucussion of our errors as a whole is beneficial.

Many threads started right here in OTB are about just that. From GW to Pants too low to bullying to staring at a kid too long.

I was just driving home now, and at a four way stop, a kid approached crossing me at an intersection. He seemed indecisive about whether or not he wanted to cross in front of me or turn. Meanwhile, I was holding up traffic watching this kid waiting for him to make a definitive move before pulling out from the stop.
I couldn't help but think, if I had been in Massachusetts, I would have been pulled over and harassed by the Police State for staring at that kid too long.

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"Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out." -- Vaclav Havel

Quote:

We just don't know much.

Yet if not for those words, what would science be for? - KaiYeves

I propose an ATM corollary to Godwin's law: an ATM'er will inevitably compare himself to Copernicus (Or Galileo), when the going gets tough. - CodeSlinger

It seems to be not about how much good a thread does, but just that the thread not be all about negativity.

There are three necessary requirements for a good off-topic babble.

This has been one of them.

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

Our two requirements are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency....

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A person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.

"Senator, I knew Count Dracula; the Count was a friend of mine..."

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... and you're no Count Dracula!

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Any day you wake up on "the right side of the dirt" is a good day.

T. Anderson

Of course people are dumb! Good grief, don't you realise that half of them are so stupid they fail to reach the mean IQ?

Who made the IQ guy mean. He must learn to be calm, thats probably why half the people don't want to reach him.

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This whole internet thing is probably not a passing fad.-Ronald Brak
While speech might be free, consequences cost.-Doodler

For that matter the number of people who are exactly average is extremely small compared to the entire population. Why do we make this tiny group our basis for comparison?

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The Devil offered me power. I told him I preferred aperture.

It seems Tommac has given up askikng his Cosmology questions.

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'The eye can only see what the mind is prepared to accept'

Saying "what do you think of people who wear their pants around your knees?" is appropriate. Saying "Dont you think people who wear their pants around their knees are dumb?" is not appropriate.

I'd tell them to push off and let me wear my own darn pants! I don't want to wear their pants, on my knees or anywhere else.