Nerds. Nerds EVERYWHERE...

[Steersman]

<snip>
An HJ apologist too? You are trying way too hard to.find balance. Your retconning of HJs point is ridiculous.

Not really. Consider that some 49% of the population has an X-Y genotype along with a penis and testes - whom we call "males" - and that some 49% of the population has an X-X genotype along with a vagina and ovaries - whom we call "females". And the other two percent includes individuals who happen to have X-X genotypes and penis and testes, and those who happen to have X-Y genotypes and vagina and ovaries. Now you can either call those 2% anomalies, or you can call them "other sexes", but it seems rather clear to me the whole process is one of attaching labels to particular combinations: there is (apparently) no such thing as an absolute "male" and an absolute "female" - maybe in some Platonic realm, but even that looks like a stretch. As the philosopher Alfred Korzybski put it, "the map [the label] is not the territory [object]".

Well then for totally not trolling you seem to be ignoring a little thing called "science". I'm sure that's incidental in your calling it as you see it your posts. Carry on though, I guess it's funny to watch.

And, pray tell, what science would that be? The science that recognizes different combinations of genotypes and phenotypes? Or your own idiosyncratic variety?

But that some scientists are somewhat careless in noting philosophic niceties or details hardly precludes the possibility of them being wrong. Unless you happen to be into scientism ....

[jet_lagg]

Consider that some 49% of the population has an X-Y genotype along with a penis and testes - whom we call "males" - and that some 49% of the population has an X-X genotype along with a vagina and ovaries - whom we call "females". And the other two percent includes individuals who happen to have X-X genotypes and penis and testes, and those who happen to have X-Y genotypes and vagina and ovaries. Now you can either call those 2% anomalies, or you can call them "other sexes", but it seems rather clear to me the whole process is one of attaching labels to particular combinations: there is (apparently) no such thing as an absolute "male" and an absolute "female" - maybe in some Platonic realm, but even that looks like a stretch. As the philosopher Alfred Korzybski put it, "the map [the label] is not the territory [object]".

I'm a fan of Korzybski myself, and, to be fair, I haven't watched Hornbeck's Evidenced Based Feminism talk (which I'm assuming you're referring to), but the point seems almost trivially true to me. Yes, the boundaries are blurry, and arbitrary, but boundaries are also the only way we can have any kind of meaningful communication. At some point you need to set down some definitions, even if imperfect, if you're to make any kind of progress. A certain breed of intellectuals seem especially reluctant to do this (I see the sorites fallacy by intelligent and well educated people far more often than any other fallacy).

[Old_ones]

Gah! Sorry for the double post. I keep getting internal server errors, and I didn't think I'd successfully submitted it the first time.

[Cunt of Personality]

Gah! Sorry for the double post. I keep getting internal server errors, and I didn't think I'd successfully submitted it the first time.

That's a notpology if ever I saw one. Intent isn't magic you know. Just use the Edit button like everyone else does.

[Cunt of Personality]

Wow. PZs Williams post is almost up to 500 comments. That escalated quickly.

Mission accomplished; he's found the magic formula and the ad revenue rolls in. If he can sustain those numbers for a couple of months he might land a guest column on jezebel.com

[zenbabe]

Skepsheik!
I know you're lurking out there somewhere.

A year later, this video is the medicine for the genuine feelings that sharpened into painful focus with PZ's shittastic post about Williams.

[youtube]UcPKmEpqfhc[/youtube]

Fuck yes! :D

[Dornier Pfeil]

Phil, it's not our place to decide if A+ is "shite". Only Dr. Carrier (as poor McWrong has already denounced it), can decide whether or not to pull life support from it.

May I ask for a link to that denunciation? I'm curious to read it.

[Garlix]

Not really. Consider that some 49% of the population has an X-Y genotype along with a penis and testes - whom we call "males" - and that some 49% of the population has an X-X genotype along with a vagina and ovaries - whom we call "females". And the other two percent includes individuals who happen to have X-X genotypes and penis and testes, and those who happen to have X-Y genotypes and vagina and ovaries. Now you can either call those 2% anomalies, or you can call them "other sexes", but it seems rather clear to me the whole process is one of attaching labels to particular combinations: there is (apparently) no such thing as an absolute "male" and an absolute "female" - maybe in some Platonic realm, but even that looks like a stretch. As the philosopher Alfred Korzybski put it, "the map [the label] is not the territory [object]".

Well then for totally not trolling you seem to be ignoring a little thing called "science". I'm sure that's incidental in your calling it as you see it your posts. Carry on though, I guess it's funny to watch.

Uh, what's unscientific about it?

Also, I'm not sure how it's related to HJ's point. IIRC HJ was claiming there's no such thing as biological sex. But here the point is that biological sex is not always determined by XX vs XY.

Long story short, the vast majority of "biological sex" is determined by hormones (especially testosterone) and their effects on the body. The Y chromosome itself codes for very little: its main role is to initiate the whole masculinization process, rather than specify each of its steps. As a result, it is possible (though of course very rare) to have a Y chromosome while having a mostly female body, if something interferes with the masculinization process.

CAH and CAIS are two examples of conditions in which an XY genotype leads to a "mostly-biologically-female" body and, apparently, mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipoid_con ... yperplasia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_a ... y_syndrome

/XY Boobies!
//Read Melissa Hines' book. It's cool.

[Old_ones]

Gah! Sorry for the double post. I keep getting internal server errors, and I didn't think I'd successfully submitted it the first time.

That's a notpology if ever I saw one. Intent isn't magic you know. Just use the Edit button like everyone else does.

I would apologize again, but that would put me at risk of incurring Miri's wrath. Think I'll go hang my head in shame and deal with the uncomfortable feelings like a grown up...


:lol:

[Glen_Davidson]

There once was a robot named Steersman
Who was programmed to seek disagreement.
Got banned left and right
(Even over at WEIT!),
Yet the Slymepit would never deny him.

Well, I got trolled hard. Live and learn.

Not really trolling despite what you, and Strawkins, may think. Jus' calling things the way I see 'em ...

An HJ apologist too? You are trying way too hard to.find balance. Your retconning of HJs point is ridiculous.

Not really. Consider that some 49% of the population has an X-Y genotype along with a penis and testes - whom we call "males" - and that some 49% of the population has an X-X genotype along with a vagina and ovaries - whom we call "females". And the other two percent includes individuals who happen to have X-X genotypes and penis and testes, and those who happen to have X-Y genotypes and vagina and ovaries. Now you can either call those 2% anomalies, or you can call them "other sexes", but it seems rather clear to me the whole process is one of attaching labels to particular combinations: there is (apparently) no such thing as an absolute "male" and an absolute "female" - maybe in some Platonic realm, but even that looks like a stretch. As the philosopher Alfred Korzybski put it, "the map [the label] is not the territory [object]".

Consider that most of the human population has four limbs--thus we call them tetrapods.

But there are humans who never grew arms, some never grew legs, while others are amputees. How can you call humans "tetrapods," considering those facts?

Good grief, of course words aren't absolutes, there are exceptions to the "rules," and there is no such thing as an absolute human (where is the line between "human" and "ape," assuming that we're not cladisticly calling humans apes?). I suppose HJ sort of opened herself up to the mention of the exceptions, since she wrote that if she were a boy she'd have a penis (probably), only I'd say that caveat wasn't really necessary, nor was the XY "exception" necessary, and she was just covering herself re the pedants in the first case.

The world simply isn't Platonic at all, hence there is no reason to demand the sorts of caveats that merely example that fact.

http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p

[Old_ones]

Well, I got trolled hard. Live and learn.

Not really trolling despite what you, and Strawkins, may think. Jus' calling things the way I see 'em ...

An HJ apologist too? You are trying way too hard to.find balance. Your retconning of HJs point is ridiculous.

Not really. Consider that some 49% of the population has an X-Y genotype along with a penis and testes - whom we call "males" - and that some 49% of the population has an X-X genotype along with a vagina and ovaries - whom we call "females". And the other two percent includes individuals who happen to have X-X genotypes and penis and testes, and those who happen to have X-Y genotypes and vagina and ovaries. Now you can either call those 2% anomalies, or you can call them "other sexes", but it seems rather clear to me the whole process is one of attaching labels to particular combinations: there is (apparently) no such thing as an absolute "male" and an absolute "female" - maybe in some Platonic realm, but even that looks like a stretch. As the philosopher Alfred Korzybski put it, "the map [the label] is not the territory [object]".

Consider that most of the human population has four limbs--thus we call them tetrapods.

But there are humans who never grew arms, some never grew legs, while others are amputees. How can you call humans "tetrapods," considering those facts?

Good grief, of course words aren't absolutes, there are exceptions to the "rules," and there is no such thing as an absolute human (where is the line between "human" and "ape," assuming that we're not cladisticly calling humans apes?). I suppose HJ sort of opened herself up to the mention of the exceptions, since she wrote that if she were a boy she'd have a penis (probably), only I'd say that caveat wasn't really necessary, nor was the XY "exception" necessary, and she was just covering herself re the pedants in the first case.

The world simply isn't Platonic at all, hence there is no reason to demand the sorts of caveats that merely example that fact.

http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p

Complete aside... are you the Glen Davidson who used to post on Pharyngula? If so, did you flounce from that place?

If you don't want to answer don't feel bad ignoring me. I was just curious, because I remember your posts over there.

[Glen_Davidson]

I mistook liz1 (I think) for HJ, since I didn't follow the trail back.

That is all.

[Cunt of Personality]

Good night all. This has been a memorable day wherein Saint Pizzle has finally managed to say something so egregiously retarded that even Jerry Coyne felt enough of a rocket up his arse to say something. Is there a word like shadenfreude, but more specific, describing how one derives pleasure from the misfortune of another, but only because they're a cunt?

[Cliché Guevara]

I was reading the post over at WEIT, and it occurred to me what pisses me off about PZ so much. What pisses me off about all of them to be honest.

They hate the world. They hate the world and everything in it. Nothing is good, nothing is worthwhile, nothing is beautiful. Everything is ugly horrible and terrible. Or at least enough is that we need to be focusing on those things on a constant basis.

Fuck That.

That's the difference between them and people like Dawkins or Stephen Fry or whoever. People like Douglas Adams and Christopher Hitchens whose love for the world, warts and all shone through loud and clear. I mean really, say what you want about Coyne...it's clear he fucking loves the world. It's clear he's on that side of the divide. He loves his boots and his food and all that stuff...nothing wrong with that.

Myers? He just wants to tear it all down. Celebrate anything positive? (Which in reality is what we're doing when we're mourning the loss of Williams...not at all when anything at all negative is happening. No beauty is worthwhile, only the ugliness.

Which only serves to justify his own ugliness.

He's a privilege fundamentalist (or an intersectionalist fundamentalist, I suppose, to be more accurate). I'm sure we've all known the religious variety who could likewise dismiss the death of someone like Williams with a callous "Eh, just another hellbound sinner." Well, for Peezus, Williams is just another wealthy white man, which amounts to the same thing. He really is a venomous little toad of a man, and he's latched onto a worldview that allows him to rationalize being all the petty, mean-spirited, miserable asshole he can possibly be.

[Brive1987]

Does any one have any idea what sort of income would be generated by a site like FtB?

I know it's shared proportionally so a case could be made that PZ is subsidising the unknown bloggers who don't generate hits or comments (like OB). Despite protestations to the contrary the peezster doesn't quite come across as affluent. Effluent, sure, but rich? Not so much.

Nonetheless I" m confident his pitch to Mary is that his 22 hours a day internet obsession is the only bulwark between them and middle-class poverty. It would just be interesting to quantify the standard term "click-bait".

[sinister]

If there is one thing I hate it is probably people who ignore that words have definitions to facilitate communication. It is vastly accepted that many words mean things. When people want to ignore those meanings to ascribe esoteric thoughts to them, I refuse to accept that the word then stops having the normal definition. Yes words are sounds apethings use to mean things, and sure that sound could be annnnything! That doesn't mean we have to drop definitions because you managed to find very rare exceptions. F off with this rebranding humanity as esoteric lifeforms we cannot fathom.

[Gumby]

I mistook liz1 (I think) for HJ, since I didn't follow the trail back.

That is all.

Hey Glen - check your PMs at your registered Pit account.

[Brive1987]

A dead brown boy and a white old-man go head to head in a relevance death match and generate 500 comments

An article on the suffering of the Palestinians garners 60 odd.

Oh PZ where is the balance?

[Glen_Davidson OM]

Complete aside... are you the Glen Davidson who used to post on Pharyngula? If so, did you flounce from that place?

If you don't want to answer don't feel bad ignoring me. I was just curious, because I remember your posts over there.

No, I just left, shortly before the Shermer thing blew up. It was getting too boring anyway. That's also why I'm not here very much, either, although I like to check in from time to time, to see if something new is happening--like this recent post.

Not that even this matters much, of course, it's one in a long list of posts revealing Peezus' envy of those about whom others care, mean-spirited and hypocritical.

http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p

[Gumby]

In other news, Lauren Bacall has just died.
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/laure ... 201281523/

Great news PZ! More click-bait! I'm sure you can think of plenty of nasty things to say about her, after all she allowed herself to be objectified, right?

[sinister]

In other news, Lauren Bacall has just died.
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/laure ... 201281523/

Great news PZ! More click-bait! I'm sure you can think of plenty of nasty things to say about her, after all she allowed herself to be objectified, right?

I guess we now find out what does and doesn't constitute a distraction. It would be pretty easy to help us understand if PZ puts this loss into context for us.

[Guestus Aurelius]

There once was a robot named Steersman
Who was programmed to seek disagreement.
Got banned left and right
(Even over at WEIT!),
Yet the Slymepit would never deny him.

:lol: :clap: And nice touch about WEIT. :-)

;)

FTR, I don't think you're a troll. Just argumentative.

[screwtape]

Re: Robin Williams

(snip)

Q.Why do so many married men die before their wives?
A.Because they really really really want to.

(snip)

Somewhere recently I read the delightful statement that "50% of marriages end in divorce, the other 50% end in death."

Since my flow cytometry came back this week showing exactly what kind of leukaemia I am dealing with I now have a somewhat more urgent desire to see Peezus reach his well-deserved demise (before I reach my less-deserved one).

[Dornier Pfeil]

It's finally Dawkins-Throws-PZ-Under-the-Bus Day (everything you see below was either tweeted or re-tweeted by Dawkins):

So all we have to do is wait for Bill Cosby to die or commit suicide. I doubt he is loved by millions any less then Robin Williams was.

I am not a Twit so someone else will have to shout that out.

[BarnOwl]

Just been perusing the comments over at WEIT - one of my favorite Robin Williams films that hasn't been mentioned yet is the documentary In the Wild: Dolphins. I think you can watch the entire thing on YouTube if you're interested.

Also love Stephen Fry, and I AM DISAPPOINT that I can't even watch DVDs of the QI series here in the USofA. Funniest TV program ever. Check your PAL privilege!

[youtube]QElA1rXJU38[/youtube]

[austin]

PZ Myers doubles down on his own stupidity (last comment from his long incredibly stupid blog post):

"Celebrity culture. Fuck it.

These people do not have an emotional connection to Robin Williams, the man; it’s fine to like the actor/comedian and enjoy his work, but look at this thread, and my twitter feed: people are freaking out that someone pointed out that the obsession with celebrity is getting in the way of caring about things that matter. I’m mainly feeling that I should have been more rude, because asking me to have been nicer about the dead famous guy is completely missing the point."

What goes around, comes around. Reality bites back like a motherfucker. How many of us will mourn when you fucking die? Probably not many given that you'll be a "dead less than famous guy," particularly in the atheist community after trashing practically everyone.

[Guestus Aurelius]

Re: Robin Williams

(snip)

Q.Why do so many married men die before their wives?
A.Because they really really really want to.

(snip)

Somewhere recently I read the delightful statement that "50% of marriages end in divorce, the other 50% end in death."

Since my flow cytometry came back this week showing exactly what kind of leukaemia I am dealing with I now have a somewhat more urgent desire to see Peezus reach his well-deserved demise (before I reach my less-deserved one).

Jeez, that's shitty. Sorry to hear that.

[Dornier Pfeil]

Yes, somehow you are to blame for being born with perfectly functional limbs, and that you yet haven't been involved in an incident to relinquish one or several of those perfectly functional limbs. It's rather sadistic when you think about it.

Able bodied people should be ashamed of themselves. They should be voluntarily hobbled just so we can be sure they check their privilege. Here in America the ADA isn't enough, we should have the Americans Get Disabilities Act. Bodies should be equal. Paralysis for everyone!

I believe Kurt Vonnegut wrote a guide for such a paradise

Yes, somehow you are to blame for being born with perfectly functional limbs, and that you yet haven't been involved in an incident to relinquish one or several of those perfectly functional limbs. It's rather sadistic when you think about it.

Able bodied people should be ashamed of themselves. They should be voluntarily hobbled just so we can be sure they check their privilege. Here in America the ADA isn't enough, we should have the Americans Get Disabilities Act. Bodies should be equal. Paralysis for everyone!

Didn't someone write a book or something about that?
OH YEAH!
http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/harrison.html

I'm just acknowledging the blood dripping throwing stars sticking out of my chest.

[Guestus Aurelius]

PZ Myers doubles down on his own stupidity (last comment from his long incredibly stupid blog post):

"Celebrity culture. Fuck it.

These people do not have an emotional connection to Robin Williams, the man; it’s fine to like the actor/comedian and enjoy his work, but look at this thread, and my twitter feed: people are freaking out that someone pointed out that the obsession with celebrity is getting in the way of caring about things that matter. I’m mainly feeling that I should have been more rude, because asking me to have been nicer about the dead famous guy is completely missing the point."

What goes around, comes around. Reality bites back like a motherfucker. How many of us will mourn when you fucking die? Probably not many given that you'll be a "dead less than famous guy," particularly in the atheist community after trashing practically everyone.

PZ Myers is a #mournsplainer

[Guestus Aurelius]

Here, now it's official:

[Dornier Pfeil]

Having read most of the 'boons comments on XY-gate, it appears they recognise the formula is rational but self-evident and that because it triggers, it does more harm than good.

I can see the idea here, in the same way a vet may be triggered by a rational convo about 'nam, a bereaved parent could be triggered by a crime report etc etc.

Bit wasn't the point of Dawkins tweet twofold? Firstly that his own abuse experience could be graded by realised relative personal impact - without condoning the crime. And secondly that it doesn't follow that an issue that triggers a minority must be off limit to the majority for reasoned discussion.

That SJWs, triggered by the world, should fret while the humanist convention applauds is part of the QED.

Like many authoritarians, they act like that one busybody aunt who gets in everyone else's affairs "for your own good, dearie" and "because I love you and just want to protect you." Meanwhile, their constant meddling causes far more harm than simply allowing people to mingle freely and say anything would have.

They've taken it upon themselves to become offended on behalf of others who are often not even present at the time the "offensive" thing happened.

My favorite is the "I'm just helping you to be a better person." bullshitlie.

[NotEntitled]

PZ Myers doubles down on his own stupidity (last comment from his long incredibly stupid blog post):

"Celebrity culture. Fuck it.

These people do not have an emotional connection to Robin Williams, the man; it’s fine to like the actor/comedian and enjoy his work, but look at this thread, and my twitter feed: people are freaking out that someone pointed out that the obsession with celebrity is getting in the way of caring about things that matter. I’m mainly feeling that I should have been more rude, because asking me to have been nicer about the dead famous guy is completely missing the point."

What goes around, comes around. Reality bites back like a motherfucker. How many of us will mourn when you fucking die? Probably not many given that you'll be a "dead less than famous guy," particularly in the atheist community after trashing practically everyone.

Wow.

There is a time to point out the silliness of celebrity culture, and that time is when someone like Paris Hilton gets kicked out of a nightclub for wearing neon underwear and it makes the news. Not when a beloved performer who suffered with clinical depression tragically commits suicide. How can this distinction possibly be lost on anyone with a modicum of intelligence?

[Gumby]

[TiBo]

Someone reboot the Steersdroid, it's stuck in "Both sides of the 'rift' just need an adult to show them the way to peace and harmony" mode again.

I'd like to think of Steersman as the Pit's own Piff Puff Diddy Doo Dah.
[youtube]08143DQywRw[/youtube]

[CaptainFluffyBunny]

Screwtape, sorry to hear that about your leukemia. Best of luck.

[Brive1987]

Re: Robin Williams

(snip)

Q.Why do so many married men die before their wives?
A.Because they really really really want to.

(snip)

Somewhere recently I read the delightful statement that "50% of marriages end in divorce, the other 50% end in death."

Since my flow cytometry came back this week showing exactly what kind of leukaemia I am dealing with I now have a somewhat more urgent desire to see Peezus reach his well-deserved demise (before I reach my less-deserved one).

That truly sucks. I hope you were / are in a position to (in the words of another) suck the marrow out of life.

[AndrewV69]

In other news:

In another part off the world, this dood agrees with PeeZuss Christ and his point about Robin Williams, the media and brown peeps:
http://blog.jim.com/images/arab_spring.jpg

[TiBo]

*ZINNNGGGG* That Bromance is history :pray:

[clownshoe]

PZ Myers is nothing. He's the emotionally immature internet troll that never grew up.
His blog post using Robin Williams' death as fodder for a click-bait Bread and Circuses argument is more proof of his limited intellect and paper-thin us-against-them ideology.

[zenbabe]

Good night all. This has been a memorable day wherein Saint Pizzle has finally managed to say something so egregiously retarded that even Jerry Coyne felt enough of a rocket up his arse to say something. Is there a word like shadenfreude, but more specific, describing how one derives pleasure from the misfortune of another, but only because they're a cunt?

:lol:

I've experienced the annoyance Rebecca (gotta be careful of using "RW" right now, eh?) felt when she was hit on in The Elevator and it made her uncomfortable. I'm sure it's a very common experience for both men and women. I certainly understand why it would make her feel awkward and creeped out. Annoying. Most people shrug off stuff like that though, because it's pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

I've also experienced the acute spike of deep depression and despair that drove Williams to that final act. This week in fact, I had a dose of it that lasted quite a few hours (then eased, thankfully) so it's super fresh to me. That kind of thinking, that your life is just not worth living anymore, is incredibly powerful and awful. It's heart breaking that this guy, this one guy that everyone all over the world kind of 'knows' all at once, felt so terrible about everything that he felt he had no choice but to just stop experiencing it. His final days and moments were likely to have been very bad. (or, possibly, he felt peace, but I suspect the chance of that is slim).

The two experiences aren't comparable.

And while I think the media is sensationalistic and shitty, if people who are dealing with mental illness are inspired by his story to get out of bed for one more day, and get some decent therapy, I don't mind some extra attention given to Williams.

Also I had a huge crush on him when he was Mork :)

[TiBo]

Since my flow cytometry came back this week showing exactly what kind of leukaemia I am dealing with I now have a somewhat more urgent desire to see Peezus reach his well-deserved demise (before I reach my less-deserved one).

Does that mean you're not hopeful to get through?

[Glen_Davidson]

PZ Myers doubles down on his own stupidity (last comment from his long incredibly stupid blog post):

"Celebrity culture. Fuck it.

These people do not have an emotional connection to Robin Williams, the man; it’s fine to like the actor/comedian and enjoy his work, but look at this thread, and my twitter feed: people are freaking out that someone pointed out that the obsession with celebrity is getting in the way of caring about things that matter. I’m mainly feeling that I should have been more rude, because asking me to have been nicer about the dead famous guy is completely missing the point."

What goes around, comes around. Reality bites back like a motherfucker. How many of us will mourn when you fucking die? Probably not many given that you'll be a "dead less than famous guy," particularly in the atheist community after trashing practically everyone.

Humans acting humanly--by caring about someone whose craft has affected them emotionally.

Oh my God, that is just wrong! Non-dictionary atheists must care about the most righteous beings, SJWs and their celebs (like PZ, but don't mention that).

Being atheist is about putting others down for the sake of improving the world (yeah, that's it), and agreeing with Peezus. And that you don't like it means that you're just more humans acting like humans. Quit it.

Maybe if Peezus had seen Williams satirizing religion, it would be better, although nothing makes up for not caring properly about following the PZ dogma: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyat ... ious-joke/

Not that I care about that per se, but I do suspect that it would have prejudiced Myers differently, had he known. Too late now, he can't pretend that Williams maybe matters, for signaling some agreement with the demands of the intolerant Peezus.

http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p

[Dornier Pfeil]

PZ Myers doubles down on his own stupidity (last comment from his long incredibly stupid blog post):

"Celebrity culture. Fuck it.

These people do not have an emotional connection to Robin Williams, the man; it’s fine to like the actor/comedian and enjoy his work, but look at this thread, and my twitter feed: people are freaking out that someone pointed out that the obsession with celebrity is getting in the way of caring about things that matter. I’m mainly feeling that I should have been more rude, because asking me to have been nicer about the dead famous guy is completely missing the point."

What goes around, comes around. Reality bites back like a motherfucker. How many of us will mourn when you fucking die? Probably not many given that you'll be a "dead less than famous guy," particularly in the atheist community after trashing practically everyone.

Wow.

There is a time to point out the silliness of celebrity culture, and that time is when someone like Paris Hilton gets kicked out of a nightclub for wearing neon underwear and it makes the news. Not when a beloved performer who suffered with clinical depression tragically commits suicide. How can this distinction possibly be lost on anyone with a modicum of intelligence?

That time would have been just a few days ago when Obama had a press conference to announce the bombing of ISIS/ISIL/IS had started. ABC preempted 'Live With Kelly and Michael' for the live news. Twitter exploded at the affront of having Kate Upton preempted by the press conference.

[Southern]

Good night all. This has been a memorable day wherein Saint Pizzle has finally managed to say something so egregiously retarded that even Jerry Coyne felt enough of a rocket up his arse to say something. Is there a word like shadenfreude, but more specific, describing how one derives pleasure from the misfortune of another, but only because they're a cunt?

Cüntenfreüde.

With two umlauts because, why not. Peezus deserves all the umlauts today. Pëëzüs. There you go.

[Tribble]

Even skeptifem (the inventer of the 'gender traitor' epithet) comes across as more empathic than Myers and his horde!

comment 107

skeptifem

12 August 2014 at 11:40 am

If it wasn’t his suicide they would find *something else* to cover instead of the racist killings. A celebrity feud or meltdown or movie or whateverthefuck. It seems kind of shitty to use this suicide as the case to illustrate the media’s racism. Suicide resulting from long-term mental illness is a damn important issue that is overlooked.

Thing is, what they don't understand is that while this was true in the past, in the last 20-years its swung to blacks are over-represented in media coverage for this kind of issue. But beyond the fact the media has long since corrected it's ways, it's still not racism.

Truth is, it's not particularly news worthy. Lots of people have bad things happen to them. Really bad things. Sometimes they make the 24-hour news cycle, like the case of Brown which made the national news with MSNBC, CNN, NPR, the WSJ, CBS, NCB, ABC, etc., covering it. It just hasn't gone as excessively crazy as some other stories.

I don't think they can be happy unless all the networks end up as Death to Whitey News:

[youtube]TS4v_kj9rw4[/youtube]

[austin]

I guess I don't understand why none of PZ's regular fuckers can't recognize the simple fact that the Robin Williams post is in really poor taste. Any moron would instantly see that - no matter what they might think of Williams or Myers.

[zenbabe]

Somewhere recently I read the delightful statement that "50% of marriages end in divorce, the other 50% end in death."

So at the end of the day (so to speak) (not to be blasphemous when speaking earlier of suicide) (nor of your comment below) (and not to be overly apologetic like us women folk with our lady brains tend to be, according to fanciful science) we're all going to go our own way, huh?

Since my flow cytometry came back this week showing exactly what kind of leukaemia I am dealing with I now have a somewhat more urgent desire to see Peezus reach his well-deserved demise (before I reach my less-deserved one).

Ugh.
Want some pouncetugs?
I'm not waiting for consent, even wanly given.

http://dump.gayadesign.nl/dumps/Cat_Ready_To_Pounce.jpg

[acathode]

Just been perusing the comments over at WEIT - one of my favorite Robin Williams films that hasn't been mentioned yet is the documentary In the Wild: Dolphins. I think you can watch the entire thing on YouTube if you're interested.

Also love Stephen Fry, and I AM DISAPPOINT that I can't even watch DVDs of the QI series here in the USofA. Funniest TV program ever. Check your PAL privilege!

[youtube]QElA1rXJU38[/youtube]

Love QI, one of the best TV shows available.
[youtube]ME_HYvcaEDo[/youtube]
[youtube]HUVBXb4XIqE[/youtube]

[Pitchguest]

Shit, screwtape. :-(

I was just about to say my kidney stone is back and here we go again. That whole bloody circus. I feel like a dick now. Hang in there, mate.

[NotEntitled]

I guess I don't understand why none of PZ's regular fuckers can't recognize the simple fact that the Robin Williams post is in really poor taste. Any moron would instantly see that - no matter what they might think of Williams or Myers.

Me neither. I skimmed some of the comments and some people are actually saying thing's like "PZ didn't insult Robin Williams or those sad about his death at all!" The people who live to criticize implications that may or may not exist in other peoples' statements are-- somehow-- completely ignoring the insulting implications of PZ's post.

It's almost like a superpower, to have that level of Doublethink going on. Kind of perversely impressive.

[Brive1987]

http://i.imgur.com/ESDwo2Q.jpg

[TheMudbrooker]

A little Bogart and Bacall

[youtube]DwXc4N_10rA[/youtube]

[Skep tickle]

Old_ones, thanks for posting that rant. I was about to do so.

<snip>
An HJ apologist too? You are trying way too hard to.find balance. Your retconning of HJs point is ridiculous.

Not really. Consider that some 49% of the population has an X-Y genotype along with a penis and testes - whom we call "males" - and that some 49% of the population has an X-X genotype along with a vagina and ovaries - whom we call "females". And the other two percent includes individuals who happen to have X-X genotypes and penis and testes, and those who happen to have X-Y genotypes and vagina and ovaries. Now you can either call those 2% anomalies, or you can call them "other sexes", but it seems rather clear to me the whole process is one of attaching labels to particular combinations: there is (apparently) no such thing as an absolute "male" and an absolute "female" - maybe in some Platonic realm, but even that looks like a stretch. As the philosopher Alfred Korzybski put it, "the map [the label] is not the territory [object]".

Well then for totally not trolling you seem to be ignoring a little thing called "science". I'm sure that's incidental in your calling it as you see it your posts. Carry on though, I guess it's funny to watch.

And, pray tell, what science would that be? The science that recognizes different combinations of genotypes and phenotypes? Or your own idiosyncratic variety?

But that some scientists are somewhat careless in noting philosophic niceties or details hardly precludes the possibility of them being wrong. Unless you happen to be into scientism ....

For accuracy: The 2 x 2 table (XX & XY on one axis, male & female on the other axis) is the "normal" scenario. The implementation by nature is much more complicated than that, yet still the correlation between genotype (XX or XY) and gender-phenotype (female or male) is extremely high. No doubt it meets any reasonable criterion for statistical significance. ;)

To recap briefly: "Intersex" conditions include an eclectic mix of genotypes (not just XX and XY - everything from XO to XXY to people who are mosaics" or "chimeras" & don't have just one sex karyotype), and an eclectic mix of phenotypes (not just "male" and "female", starting with appearance of external genitalia at birth then including internal reproductive organs and secondary sex characteristics and self-identification of gender and gender "presentation"), which match up in a wide variety of ways - with the biological features often (but not always, w/ current knowledge) explicable by underlying genetic & hormonal variances from "normal".

[Cliché Guevara]

PZ Myers doubles down on his own stupidity (last comment from his long incredibly stupid blog post):

"Celebrity culture. Fuck it.

These people do not have an emotional connection to Robin Williams, the man; it’s fine to like the actor/comedian and enjoy his work, but look at this thread, and my twitter feed: people are freaking out that someone pointed out that the obsession with celebrity is getting in the way of caring about things that matter. I’m mainly feeling that I should have been more rude, because asking me to have been nicer about the dead famous guy is completely missing the point."

What goes around, comes around. Reality bites back like a motherfucker. How many of us will mourn when you fucking die? Probably not many given that you'll be a "dead less than famous guy," particularly in the atheist community after trashing practically everyone.

Wow.

There is a time to point out the silliness of celebrity culture, and that time is when someone like Paris Hilton gets kicked out of a nightclub for wearing neon underwear and it makes the news. Not when a beloved performer who suffered with clinical depression tragically commits suicide. How can this distinction possibly be lost on anyone with a modicum of intelligence?

Peezus is no different than the sort of snob who feels compelled to brag to you that they don't watch tv, or that they have no interest in whatever popular event everyone else is excited about. Being "aware" of ebola in Africa, or of police brutality somewhere across the country, or of violence in the Middle East means nothing. Most of us are in no position at all to do anything meaningful with that "awareness," especially some unimportant cowpie professor in the middle of nowhere. Knowing a bit of superficial information about "serious" news doesn't empower him to do the slightest thing about it, but that's OK, because he only wants to use it to show how much better he is than you anyway -- he pays attention to important information, unlike all you sheeple. It's an opportunity for him to cynically indulge in some moral posturing to win some irrelevant internet status points. That's what makes him even more pathetic and disgusting to me.

[Brive1987]

PZ Myers doubles down on his own stupidity (last comment from his long incredibly stupid blog post):

"Celebrity culture. Fuck it.

These people do not have an emotional connection to Robin Williams, the man; it’s fine to like the actor/comedian and enjoy his work, but look at this thread, and my twitter feed: people are freaking out that someone pointed out that the obsession with celebrity is getting in the way of caring about things that matter. I’m mainly feeling that I should have been more rude, because asking me to have been nicer about the dead famous guy is completely missing the point."

What goes around, comes around. Reality bites back like a motherfucker. How many of us will mourn when you fucking die? Probably not many given that you'll be a "dead less than famous guy," particularly in the atheist community after trashing practically everyone.

Wow.

There is a time to point out the silliness of celebrity culture, and that time is when someone like Paris Hilton gets kicked out of a nightclub for wearing neon underwear and it makes the news. Not when a beloved performer who suffered with clinical depression tragically commits suicide. How can this distinction possibly be lost on anyone with a modicum of intelligence?

Peezus is no different than the sort of snob who feels compelled to brag to you that they don't watch tv visit FtB, or that they have no interest in whatever popular event everyone else is excited about. Being "aware" of ebola in Africa, or of police brutality somewhere across the country, or of violence in the Middle East means nothing. Most of us are in no position at all to do anything meaningful with that "awareness," especially some unimportant cowpie professor in the middle of nowhere. Knowing a bit of superficial information about "serious" news doesn't empower him to do the slightest thing about it, but that's OK, because he only wants to use it to show how much better he is than you anyway -- he pays attention to important information, unlike all you sheeple. It's an opportunity for him to cynically indulge in some moral posturing to win some irrelevant internet status points. That's what makes him even more pathetic and disgusting to me.

FTFY :mrgreen:

[Opyt]

Phil, it's not our place to decide if A+ is "shite". Only Dr. Carrier (as poor McWrong has already denounced it), can decide whether or not to pull life support from it.

May I ask for a link to that denunciation? I'm curious to read it.

You win. I was under the impression when someone says something along the lines of:

So why did I leave? Honestly, I’m a perfectionist control freak who hates working in groups.

(bolding mine)
that an inference would be that it's a withdraw from both spheres, as both are groups, although I was originally under the impression that A+ & FfTB were linked together, considering the overlapping of commenter/supporter/blogger types. That has "clearly" changed however, and I was under the wrong impression. You're right though, she never specifically denounced A+ as a whole. I'm bad at this source thing and I tend to jump to conclusions. ;)

I will wholly admit that it was my mistake in leading you on. :shifty:

[Tribble]

It's finally Dawkins-Throws-PZ-Under-the-Bus Day (everything you see below was either tweeted or re-tweeted by Dawkins):

Coyne is NOT HAPPY with Myers and lets us know it:

Here’s how you don’t respond to Williams death: as P.Z Myers has in a post at Pharyngula, in which he claims that the media (and our government) has taken advantage of Williams’s death to draw attention away from racism and other social problems. In other words, we’ve been manipulated:

I’m sorry to report that comedian Robin Williams has committed suicide, an event of great import and grief to his family. But his sacrifice has been a great boon to the the news cycle and the electoral machinery — thank God that we have a tragedy involving a wealthy white man to drag us away from the depressing news about brown people.

. . . Boy, I hate to say it, but it sure was nice of Robin Williams to create such a spectacular distraction. No one wants to think the police might be untrustworthy. [This refers to the police shooting of black teenager Mike Brown in St. Louis.]

And think of the politicians! Midterm elections are coming up. Those are important! So people like Barack Obama need to be able to show their human side and connect with the real concerns of the American people by immediately issuing a safe, kind statement about Robin Williams, while navigating the dangerous shoals of police brutality and black oppression by avoiding them. Wouldn’t want to antagonize those lovely law-and-order folks before an election, you see.

Wealthy white man? Really? This is one of the most contemptible and inhumane things I’ve ever seen posted by a well-known atheist. It reeks of arrogance, of condescension, and especially of a lack of empathy for those who loved and admired Williams not because they knew him, but because he brought them happiness and made them think

Never thought I'd see him use his shit-kickers for anything but blog-filler. But, apparently, I was wrong and he's going to put them to good use.

[Steersman]

In other news:

In another part off the world, this dood agrees with PeeZuss Christ and his point about Robin Williams, the media and brown peeps:
http://blog.jim.com/images/arab_spring.jpg

What are the translations? "Peezus says, 'Off with their heads'"? "Heads will roll"?

[Gumby]

In other news:

In another part off the world, this dood agrees with PeeZuss Christ and his point about Robin Williams, the media and brown peeps:
http://blog.jim.com/images/arab_spring.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/IqJWxWV.jpg

[Skep tickle]

...I've also experienced the acute spike of deep depression and despair that drove Williams to that final act. This week in fact, I had a dose of it that lasted quite a few hours (then eased, thankfully) so it's super fresh to me. That kind of thinking, that your life is just not worth living anymore, is incredibly powerful and awful. ...

I'm glad you're feeling less blue & hope that's an infrequent feeling for you, that doesn't recur. It's scary.

Since my flow cytometry came back this week showing exactly what kind of leukaemia I am dealing with I now have a somewhat more urgent desire to see Peezus reach his well-deserved demise (before I reach my less-deserved one).

Yikes! Do you mind sharing anything about the results? (Better-prognosis CLL...I hope...?)