Nunayer Beezwax

I'm loaded with PG's for one thing...Overall I like the team, but I'm not doing well at all. I'm trying to trade for Dirk or Dwight Howard...What sort of packages would get them? Is that what I need? What trades should I propose to get back on track? Thanks!

Chris Paul - Deron Williams - Chauncey Billups - Jose Calderon - Johnny Flynn

Ron Artest

Josh Smith - Rashard Lewis - Andre Kirilenko

Elton Brand - Al Harrington - Kenyon Martin

Nene - Chris Kaman - Andris Biedrins

This question is about analogies, what they are, how they work, and what they tell us about consciousness.

The problem at hand is...

Given this: "abc becomes abd" as your information, and this as your problem: "Do the same thing to 'xyz'". What do you come up with?

This problem is a very minimalist and specific way to look at how we form analogies. Is there a "correct" answer? What does it mean to "Do the same thing to..."? Is this a good way at looking at how intelligences make analogies?

I ran into a fascinating, elegant, beautiful little argument that other day which has been noodling away at my misanthropic cynicism ever since. For a long time I've had a pretty bleak view of humanity, but this little gem is pretty gosh darned convincing...

Brought to you by the Taoist Mathematical Logician, Raymond Smullyan:

He will prove to all of us that people are basically good at heart! Good luck Smullyan...

Premise 1: I am basically good at heart.

Premise 2: I'm no better than anybody else.

:O Did he just do it?

What can us misanthropes say now?! Can anyone help me demolish this, or are we going to have to accept that people are actually...*cringe*...Good?!

I would like some candidates for the best Free Online Thesaurus. I used to use Thesaurus.com, but it has recently changed and become useless (unless you pay?). So I need another source, using a book is so 20th century *rolls eyes*.

Please give me your best suggestions! Thanks all

Two people sit down to a discussion. They have good food, readily attainable beverages, all the time in the world, and the desire to determine the most Rational answers to the "problems" of philosophy.

Is it possible for these two people to disagree?

Will they eventually reach an agreement on everything?

And please explain yer answer. Thanks all.

"The Problem of Induction" is illustrated by the logical paradox(?) we encounter in cases of universal generalization:

such as the proposition "All ravens are black". This is expressed in formal logic as:

(x) (Rx u Bx) (for all x, if it is a raven, then it is black).

This premise is confirmed by instances which are both a raven and black, and it is disconfirmed by instances which are a raven but not black. However, this is logically equivalent to this statement:

(X) (-Bx u -Rx) (for all x, if it is not black, then it is not a raven).

This means that our original proposition is also confirmed by instances which are neither black nor a raven! And that is where the problem arises.

How can the instance "Green Frog" be confirmation of the proposition "All ravens are Black"?

Carl Hemple, the great philosopher of science, claims that there really is no paradox here, those instances really DO provide evidence for the proposition.

What do you think?

Descartes famous solipsistic meditation "I think therefore I am". Designed to thwart even his tricky evil god which tried its darnedest to deceive the poor man of everything. He reasoned that there was at least one thing of which he could not be mistaken...his own existence.

I have noticed an ample sampling of Yahoo Philosophers who pull out Rene's old chestnut in a variety of situations, though within the world of academia, it has fallen from favor among somewhere between many and most. Perhaps its time to take a closer look at it...

Cartesians: What's so hot about this trite truism? Why do you agree, and what sort of questions does it answer?

Reneggers: Set them straight...Why is the famous phrase wrong? How has it been bastardized?

Cognitive Dissonance is a term which is meant to describe the feeling one notices that they hold incompatible or contradicting beliefs. It evokes the discomfort a musically sensitive person experiences when they hear a disharmonious or harsh chord.

What do you do when you experience Cognitive Dissonance?

Is it important to you that your entire belief structure is compatible, and consistent?

What would it take to shake the foundations of your belief system?

The World-Wide Web is the most powerful tool ever invented for the spreading of information. Lately, emerging as a powerful player on the internet, are sites such as Wikipedia, and Yahoo! Answers. Both of these sites are entirely constructed by the users of their communities, and in the case of Yahoo!, the "Best Answer" to a question often comes down to a vote.

What does this sort of information transfer do to the concept of objective truth? Is this a wise path for us to follow? Is there such a thing as objective truth, or does all truth come down to a vote?

The means of production are privately owned, the pricing of goods and services are determined by the free market, and the almighty Profit turns the cogs.

What are some benefits and some detriments of the political system of capitalism? Can capitalism exist, in practice, in the modern world or is it merely theoretical? Is America best considered a capitalist country, why or why not? Must Democracy and Capitalism co-depend?

Occam's Razor is the modern terminology for a famous dictum popularized by the logician William of Ockham. Isaac Newton stated the principle thusly, "We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances." In summary, if you don't need it, throw it out.

My question is, what are some of the more interesting, unusual, or uncommon uses you can think of for this powerful philosophical tool?