[PhantomSac]

jjbrr, on Feb 24 2010, 03:11 PM, said:

But passing on the information to smart, rational people who would use the information for scientific purposes is more interesting to think about.

Yeah I see what you're saying, I just wonder if it's necessarily true or if we just think it is. I always have the feeling that people were happier then, I'm not sure why. Happiness is just such a relative thing and so hard to grasp (for me anyways).

edit: on the other hand maybe we could teach them to freebase! lol

[jjbrr]

Aberlour10, on Feb 24 2010, 03:08 PM, said:

its a hard job to play GOD.

[jjbrr]

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 03:14 PM, said:

edit: on the other hand maybe we could teach them to freebase! lol

I read this quickly and thought it said "frisbees" and thought you were really onto something. Happiness is a floating disc.

[PhantomSac]

Norway third in medal count at the olympics so far? LOL, population of like 5 million, and they are the best at EVERYTHING. So freaking sick, what a country.

[hotShot]

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 09:34 PM, said:

Norway third in medal count at the olympics so far? LOL, population of like 5 million, and they are the best at EVERYTHING. So freaking sick, what a country.

They live in the snow, what do you expect?

[PhantomSac]

hotShot, on Feb 24 2010, 03:36 PM, said:

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 09:34 PM, said:

Norway third in medal count at the olympics so far? LOL, population of like 5 million, and they are the best at EVERYTHING. So freaking sick, what a country.

They live in the snow, what do you expect?

They also have the best chess player, 3 of the best 10 bridge players in the world, a junior bridge team that won a gold medal recently on top of the best winter athletes, and they have a basically tiny population. It is just unreal how good Norway is at everything for it's size.

[jdonn]

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 03:41 PM, said:

hotShot, on Feb 24 2010, 03:36 PM, said:

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 09:34 PM, said:

Norway third in medal count at the olympics so far? LOL, population of like 5 million, and they are the best at EVERYTHING. So freaking sick, what a country.

They live in the snow, what do you expect?

They also have the best chess player, 3 of the best 10 bridge players in the world, a junior bridge team that won a gold medal recently on top of the best winter athletes, and they have a basically tiny population. It is just unreal how good Norway is at everything for it's size.

Snow activities and indoor activities, two things that probably coorelate very strongly with how much snow they get. I bet they do a lot worse in the summer olympics!

Btw, country that does worst in olympic medals per capita? India

[PhantomSac]

jdonn, on Feb 24 2010, 03:59 PM, said:

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 03:41 PM, said:

hotShot, on Feb 24 2010, 03:36 PM, said:

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 09:34 PM, said:

Norway third in medal count at the olympics so far? LOL, population of like 5 million, and they are the best at EVERYTHING. So freaking sick, what a country.

They live in the snow, what do you expect?

They also have the best chess player, 3 of the best 10 bridge players in the world, a junior bridge team that won a gold medal recently on top of the best winter athletes, and they have a basically tiny population. It is just unreal how good Norway is at everything for it's size.

Snow activities and indoor activities, two things that probably coorelate very strongly with how much snow they get. I bet they do a lot worse in the summer olympics!

Yeah I mean I agree that they rate to be more likely than normal to be good at those things because of their climate, but their ratio of people who are great at these things to their population is just insane. It is completely disproportionate, more than just their climate could explain.

I just read their wiki page, they also seem to be the richest country in the world by many measures, with a very stable economy and a lot of industries. I suppose this wealth affords them the luxury of being able to become very strong at things like bridge and skiing, as well as good technology and stuff like free education etc.

Still Norway seems like a remarkable country.

[bid_em_up]

jjbrr, on Feb 24 2010, 03:11 PM, said:

But passing on the information to smart, rational people who would use the information for scientific purposes is more interesting to think about.

Not a Star Trek fan?

I'm inclined to believe that its Prime Directive was a good idea.

[jjbrr]

bid_em_up, on Feb 24 2010, 04:19 PM, said:

jjbrr, on Feb 24 2010, 03:11 PM, said:

But passing on the information to smart, rational people who would use the information for scientific purposes is more interesting to think about.

Not a Star Trek fan?

I'm inclined to believe that its Prime Directive was a good idea.

I'm not really, but I wiki'd the Prime Directive and it is pretty interesting.

Quote

In the philosophical view of Star Trek, no matter how well intentioned the more advanced peoples are, interaction between advanced technology and a more primitive society is invariably destructive.

This seems to mirror jlall's apprehensions.

[Aberlour10]

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 04:13 PM, said:

I just read their wiki page, they also seem to be the richest country in the world by many measures, with a very stable economy and a lot of industries.

They became the big oil gift, did note waste a barrel from it...invested that income very very smart over the past decades and... they are best prepared for the time "after oil" with inland development and xxxx billions invested all over the world. This is the whole story.

[PassedOut]

Aberlour10, on Feb 24 2010, 04:51 PM, said:

PhantomSac, on Feb 24 2010, 04:13 PM, said:

I just read their wiki page, they also seem to be the richest country in the world by many measures, with a very stable economy and a lot of industries.

They became the big oil gift, did note waste a barrel from it...invested that income very very smart over the past decades and... they are best prepared for the time "after oil" with inland development and xxxx billions invested all over the world. This is the whole story.

Yes, it's wonderful to see how the Norwegians have made use of their oil money. When you visit there (the beauty of the place is remarkable) you see very many productive, prosperous people, and almost no one flaunting ostentatious wealth. Norway makes quite a contast with what you see in other countries rich with oil.

[Fluffy]

I've wasted my time often thinking about the travel to the past thing (and the apocalypsis thing helene mentioned as well), and I felt more or les as jjbrr, I knwo many things, but none of them would be useful just by myself.

I though about using this kind of history in a role-playing game to see what others would come to.

I know a lot of mathematics, wich I could teach to smart people who would listen and could spread the word, and some mechanics and physics, that would be enough to change history, but I doubt I could make many machines to work in my lifetime.

If you travelled farther to the past things in middle age things could get ugly. First of all you are not a Noble, so people won't listen to you whatever you tell them. Even knowing big disasters (like naval battles for Spain), I could hardly get anyone high enough to believe me. And I if not taking enough care someone would send me to Inquisition or some such . And then , there are no schools to teach people, so things are gonna get tough just to survive.

[mike777]

jjbrr, on Feb 24 2010, 04:34 PM, said:

bid_em_up, on Feb 24 2010, 04:19 PM, said:

jjbrr, on Feb 24 2010, 03:11 PM, said:

But passing on the information to smart, rational people who would use the information for scientific purposes is more interesting to think about.

Not a Star Trek fan?

I'm inclined to believe that its Prime Directive was a good idea.

I'm not really, but I wiki'd the Prime Directive and it is pretty interesting.

Quote

In the philosophical view of Star Trek, no matter how well intentioned the more advanced peoples are, interaction between advanced technology and a more primitive society is invariably destructive.

This seems to mirror jlall's apprehensions.

Of course in real life you can pass all the rules you want but out in deep space the prime directive is ignored all the time.

You come across nice aliens and they are hurting/in great pain...you just walk away and say let them die.

This is basically the issue of every Star Trek episode or do you say what the heck I am Kirk and that green alien is cute!.

[mike777]

Fluffy, on Feb 24 2010, 06:07 PM, said:

I've wasted my time often thinking about the travel to the past thing (and the apocalypsis thing helene mentioned as well), and I felt more or les as jjbrr, I knwo many things, but none of them would be useful just by myself.

I though about using this kind of history in a role-playing game to see what others would come to.

I know a lot of mathematics, wich I could teach to smart people who would listen and could spread the word, and some mechanics and physics, that would be enough to change history, but I doubt I could make many machines to work in my lifetime.

If you travelled farther to the past things in middle age things could get ugly. First of all you are not a Noble, so people won't listen to you whatever you tell them. Even knowing big disasters (like naval battles for Spain), I could hardly get anyone high enough to believe me. And I if not taking enough care someone would send me to Inquisition or some such . And then , there are no schools to teach people, so things are gonna get tough just to survive.

In Spain you have an out.

Become a monk, join/create something along the lines of the Jesuits, work within the system, make a difference at the margins.

[Aberlour10]

Maple Leafs are like a hurricane tonight

[Jlall]

I don't think I've ever won a sports bet... F the lakers, F kobe.

[jjbrr]

Thoughts about pizza? Best you've ever had? Thick or thin crust? NY or Chicago? Topping preferences?

I like mine from the North End in Boston. I don't understand the appeal of thin crust.

Bacon goes good on pizza imo.

[jdonn]

Chicago style pizza royally grossly extrmely overrated. Love NY style.

Bacon pizza is so good. Throw on some pineapple and call it Hawaiin.

[jjbrr]

I admit I can't classify Chicago pizza as real pizza. It's more like a casserole or something. I'm OK if Chicagoers flame me for this, but I still think Chicago deep dish pizza is in some subcategory of pizza which one cannot adequately compare to NY style. Apples and oranges imo.

Overrated in what way? It seems like it is exactly what it claims to be - a thick pizza. I hope people don't expect it to be magically better than a thinner pizza simply because it's thick. Quality pizza is obviously a function of the quality of the ingredients used and proper cooking methods, whatever they might be.

Does anyone have reviews of the new Domino's pizza?