patrick.net

Owneroccupier,

You're a gem of information about East Asia!

Yeah, religion might help. But what happens if I’m atheist. And I am.

Atheism has a place in many religions. Buddhism is one of them.

I went to a high school with a 4:1 female to male ratio (yeah, you guys totally got screwed) and most girls never dated.

Peter P,

Took a Buddhism class in college. Got so sick of the logical inconsistency of the theory that I dropped out midway.

Why can’t we have the good ole girl’s school boy’s school and school uniform?

Exactly. However, dating cannot be stopped. Willing participants will still find a way... after school. What needs to be taught is responsibility.

hate to rent,

Can't give you any advice about Vietnamese dating scene. I had a pretty good friend who is Vietnamese, but she's not what you'd call a looker.

Well, I went to a Catholic boy's school all the way till college. You do your bible studies and the school pretty much leaves you alone on everything else. Many classmates of mine, myself included, came out atheist. It is just a disciplinary thing, there are very strict codes of behavior, and in a way, necessary for kids.

However, the unintended side-effect is, some of my classmates became gay, not that there is anything wrong with it.

Peter P,

If I have kids I will either home school them or pack them off to boarding school when they turn 12.

Got so sick of the logical inconsistency of the theory that I dropped out midway.

I used to hate eastern philosophy because of the apparent logical inconsistency. My wife (then girlfriend) called me Spock and my college roommate called me Data. Now, I look at things rather differently. :)

If I have kids I will either home school them or pack them off to boarding school when they turn 12.

Neither is cheap.

However, the unintended side-effect is, some of my classmates became gay, not that there is anything wrong with it.

Huh?

"Neither is cheap."

I know, that's why I probably won't have kids.

I find that atheist are the type of people that are more likely do do the work of god. they are humanist.

True. Open-minded atheists with the sense of morality will serve humanity very well. Dogmatic atheists may not do much good.

Don't send your kid to boarding school too early. It is an entirely different beast from the usual school system.

Boarding school is like a mafia organization. The seniors bully the juniors, and since you live together in the same dorm (more beds per room compared to college), you end up being bullied 24 x7 until you become a senior yourself. Some boys may not take it so well and it may leave a scar with them in the future. Also, there is no privacy at all, not much space for self-development, because everyone spies on everyone. If you get along with your dorm mates, they will be your best friends ever throughout your life. If you don't get along with them, that will make your life a living hell.

I never got interested enough in Western religion to study it directly. However, I still manage to know more Catholic lore than my Catholic boyfriend.

hate to rent,

that's what the gay propaganda tells you. NO!

One can turn gay if put in a certain type of environment. I have quite a few Catholic gay friends, and I can tell you it is NOT entirely genetic.

really, i find that both eastern an d western philosophy are equally inconsistency.

I used to be fascinated with the philosophy of logic. I have to say that the methodologies of contemporary western philosophy tend to be logically consistent.

But logic is not everything.

Owneroccupier,

Thanks for the advice, I'll keep that in mind when and if my kids get to that age. I know a few people who went to pretty good boarding school and they seem to be okay (okay, one is bat shit crazy, but I think that's her and not her boarding school's doing).

astrid,

I am talking about boys-only or girls-only boarding school, never went through a co-ed, so the co-ed situation may be entirely different. Also, the British system is a tad bit different from the American one.

you can not teach someone to be gay, it is genetic….

Not necessarily genetic, buy innate.

One can turn gay if put in a certain type of environment. I have quite a few Catholic gay friends, and I can tell you it is NOT entirely genetic.

It is all in the stars.

There is a gay phase in adolescnce for all guys, most of us grow past that, some of us get stuck there. Sexual orientation is not entirely a natural-born thing, it is also influenced strongly by your early sexual experience and sexual partner.

A boy's school is more conducive to homosexual experience for boys who are eager to explore their bodies, let me just leave it at that.

I remember one professor say, with philosophy, you can justify anything and everything, it can be dangerous..

Did you mean statistics? :)

"A boy’s school is more conducive to homosexual experience for boys who are eager to explore their bodies, let me just leave it at that."

Hee, anyone here seen "Another Country"? Right or wrong, that's what I think of when I think of the British public school system.

(Then again, I also think of A Taxing Woman's Return when I think of the Japanese Yakuza, and I don't recall any white S500s in that movie)

True. Open-minded atheists with the sense of morality will serve humanity very well. Dogmatic atheists may not do much good.

I proffer that dogmatic any-ists do not do much good, yes even including "humanists". I encounter lots of dogmatic humanist types up here in Marin. They are so dogmatic about their humanism that they seem to forget the "human" part of that ism.

(Then again, I also think of A Taxing Woman’s Return when I think of the Japanese Yakuza, and I don’t recall any white S500s in that movie)

That movie was set in 1989. There was no S500 back then, only 500SEL. :)

Did you mean statistics?

I had a math professor in undergrad who insisted that statistics was nothing more than black magic.

but you can disprove on set of statistic with another.

All I know is that statistics a pretty good propaganda (spinning) device.

I had a math professor in undergrad who insisted that statistics was nothing more than black magic.

I have to agree. Statistics is not really math.

Come on, stop being so cynical, you all don't really believe that, do you? As long as you understand what has been done to the numbers, you should know if the calculation is good or bad. (as a none math person, I really can't tell)

Statistics are not to be confused with probabilities, even though intro stats courses necessarily cover probabilities first.

Probabilities are mathematically consistent and abide by proofs and theorems.

Statistics are descriptive means by which we "disprove the null hypothesis". That is, we can't prove anything with stats, only disprove a default assumption.

Stats really may be a kind of evil.

A Realtorâ„¢ and his girlfriend are spending their first night together. He takes off his shoes and socks. His girlfriend points at his feet and asks "what happened to your feet?" He shrugs and says, "When I was a kid I had toelio." She asks "You mean polio?" He replies, "No, I had toelio." Then he takes off his slacks and she makes a face. "What's wrong with your knees?" He shrugs and answers, "When I was a teenager I had kneezles." She says "You mean measles?" He replies, "No, I had kneezles." Finally he slides off his briefs and is nude from the waist down. His girlfriend is horrified. She wails "Oh no, you had smallcocks too!

Probabilities are mathematically consistent and abide by proofs and theorems.

Only if the underlying randomness can be ascertained.

yes, you can manipulate the number and trick someone who don’t know into something.

but statistic is very important without it biological research or any other physical science can not move forward……

True, but statistics is just another tool in academic politics.

I got a little further than probabilities. I took a college biology class and we had to do regressions and so forth. If I remember correctly, as long as I set the perimeters tightly enough, then the results are believable.

But in reality, if the problem ever came up, I just send the link to my boyfriend and wait for a reply.

Stats really may be a kind of evil.

You are probably 66.6% correct.

I'd say that's not very good.

Only if the underlying randomness can be ascertained.

Remember there are two types of mathematical proofs, the classically reasoned type we all learned in high-school (or should have), and the "exhaustive" type where all possible disproofs are ruled out. Probabilities, like binomial distributions abide by this (although maybe they are also arrived at classically; IANAMPHD).

Theoretically, all randomness can be ascertained with enough empirical measurement.

You are probably 66.6% correct.

But this stat is useless to me without an alpha or standard deviation and sample size, damnit!

I like the way engineers do proofs: "Works for n=1, works for n=2, works for all n."

Theoretically, all randomness can be ascertained with _enough_ empirical measurement.

Well, well, well... what is moral certainty?