Why do People Think I'm Old?

[B-17]

15.

What did I win?

Good one

You win an airplane!!

[Banshee7]

Sweet 

[Penguin]

@The Community: Hm, I'm glad to see that I was wrong.   It's likely I forgot how much time passed between the readings of the posts that claimed that I was old, so what looked like a rash of them was really just one every so often.  I really should have titled the thread "Why does Masherbrum think I'm Old?" seeing as he's the one who says that I'm some old guy the most.

Vonmessa: I hope to enter into academia post haste!  I don't regard the textbooks as gospel at all, and even my history teacher points out the weird or wrong stuff (bias, slip-ups).  Instead, I see textbooks as a very close approximation (due to typos, etc.,) of the sum total of human knowledge of a given subject at a given depth, scope, and time.  Oddly enough, I want to continue studying science (specifically physics) if I can, for a number of reasons, one of which being avoiding becoming outdated.  My tone is a product of writing essays for school -phrases like "I think" or "I believe" or "Maybe" are not allowed- one either goes for a point (without sensationalizing) or remains silent.  That tone is required for everything and gets even more formal and strong with grade and class level (Honors, AP).  I might add a line to my sig saying that I don't write this way to sound arrogant, but rather not to sound weasely (look 'weasel word' up on Wikipedia to find out more, it's the best approximation that I can provide).  Any ideas on something else that I can do with it?  Just to nitpick, North Face jackets are awful- Columbia all the way!   I will be doing some community service this summer- I don't know what yet.

-Penguin

[F22RaptorDude]

trust me no one thinks you are old

[ink]

some of the smartest people I have met, were the dumbest.

having "book" knowledge does not make one intelligent, the ability to look inside of oneself and see who you are with out bias is true intelligence.

sadly most people are as ignorant as they can be.

[Penguin]

What a coincidence, I've been trying to reason out what I am for the past week or so.  I've come to the conclusion that there is no Aristotelian soul because the brain creates the mind, and that since the universe is a closed system free will doesn't exist, either.  However, we don't know what will happen next, so what appears as random chance is in fact a lack of information.  Thus, I've also concluded that thoughts are just atoms moving around, but that certain ideas (math) transcend reality because they form their own and we just discover them.  Therefore, morality is both relative (killing someone is bad, but you're just average if everyone you know is a murderer) and subjective (the old joke that 9 out of 10 people enjoy a dog-pile).  This can really put a downer on you, but then you realize that emotions fall into the same category.  They are just hormones coursing around.

Thus, I am a materialist, hard determinist, moral relativist, and semi-nihilist.  That took a while to figure out, but man was it worth it.

-Penguin

[titanic3]

You over think stuff WAY too much. Someone ask me the meaning of life, my answer would be "Enjoy it while it lasts." you would probably write a 700 page novel. Don't take this the wrong way, I haven't met you so I wouldn't know for sure, but from what I can tell from your posts, you're one of those people who blabs on and on and on.

KISS.

Keep
It
Simple
Stupid

No need to overcomplicate or overthink stuff when you don't have to.

[sluggish]

Because you're a middle-aged fat British man?

[phatzo]

Because you're a middle-aged fat British man?

lol, Beets reckons it's not him but you never know.

[vorticon]

Thus, I am a materialist, hard determinist, moral relativist, and semi-nihilist.  That took a while to figure out, but man was it worth it.

-Penguin

that's cool. i am...definitely going to be able to pay my bills once i get paid tomorrow. guess which one of us is happier

[Melvin]

People think you are old because:

A) You won't shut up.

B) You are convinced that you are right.

C) You remind them of themselves... last week.

[Tom5572]

Penguin:

I disagree with almost every thing you post but admit your arguments are well thought out. You lack of life experience shows your age. Books give you theory, they give you an idea of understanding. I have to agree, some what, with what Vonmessa said. You may think you understand the horrors of war but without actually experiencing it, understanding is impossible. Books cannot combine the coppery smell of blood with burning flesh, or the exultaition of living with extreme guilt because you are alive. War, to me, is a bunch of oximorons nestled tighlty together. I have never fealt more alive then when closest to death. It is the ultimate test of human endurance. This is not an attempt to glorify war, it is what it is. Go to the VFW, watch how the vetrans talk to each other. Those who know war will tell more to a complete stranger, with similar experiences, than they will with those they love.

I am not going to tell you not to talk about the horrors of war but you must also realize you will never understand what it is you are talking about. In some cases it is better to let people think you a fool then to say something and remove all doubt.

Tom

[Tupac]

What a coincidence, I've been trying to reason out what I am for the past week or so.  I've come to the conclusion that there is no Aristotelian soul because the brain creates the mind, and that since the universe is a closed system free will doesn't exist, either.  However, we don't know what will happen next, so what appears as random chance is in fact a lack of information.  Thus, I've also concluded that thoughts are just atoms moving around, but that certain ideas (math) transcend reality because they form their own and we just discover them.  Therefore, morality is both relative (killing someone is bad, but you're just average if everyone you know is a murderer) and subjective (the old joke that 9 out of 10 people enjoy a dog-pile).  This can really put a downer on you, but then you realize that emotions fall into the same category.  They are just hormones coursing around.

Thus, I am a materialist, hard determinist, moral relativist, and semi-nihilist.  That took a while to figure out, but man was it worth it.

-Penguin

"Donny, these men are Nihilists. There's nothing to be afraid of."

I seriously fear the day you have to drive a car and make decisions quickly.

[Jayhawk]

You can omit me from any list of folks that think you are old and/or mature.

You are no doubt, a person of intelligence.  Your ability to read, comprehend and regurgitate what you read in books and on the interwebz is remarkable, almost as remarkable as the level of your naivety and lack of real-world experience.

That is what is going to round you out.

I'm sure that you could write me a 3 page dissertation on shaving in the morning, including the pros and cons of doing it, the best time to do it complete with sources of reference.  Invariably, your report would lack the voice of experience and would lose any credence with anyone that has read it the moment  they lay eyes on you as it is obvious that you have never picked up a razor in your life.

You can tell us all about war and how horrible it is, yet you have never picked a weapon and stood a post.  Until that time, you are unqualified to discuss the horrors of war.

Until you have walked the slums of Boston (or Philly if you choose to come down here) and handed out blankets to the less fortunate when it is so cold outside that you, yourself are freezing in your long johns and brand new North Face jacket that mommy and daddy bought for you, you know nothing about what less-fortunate means.

Nothing of which you claim to to be so knowledgeable about is worth a hill of beans.  You claim to have knowledge of the difference between the homeless, bums, drug addicts and those that are lazy yet I am willing to bet that you have never walked anyplace close to where these people "live" unless it was on a field trip or you were chaperoned with parents, let alone have had one-on-one face time with any of them.

Mistake you for old?  Hardly.

It is quite obvious how young you are by the rose-tinted, sunshine and puppies perspective that you put everything into that gives it away.

Until you have lived a little yourself and have tried to put your knowledge to use, in a practical, real-life scenario, you really do not have any clue about that which you speak of.

Don't believe everything you read in textbooks as gospel.  Remember, it was not too long ago that textbooks still claimed that the Earth was the center of the universe...

 

[curry1]

@The Community: Hm, I'm glad to see that I was wrong.   It's likely I forgot how much time passed between the readings of the posts that claimed that I was old, so what looked like a rash of them was really just one every so often.  I really should have titled the thread "Why does Masherbrum think I'm Old?" seeing as he's the one who says that I'm some old guy the most.

Vonmessa: I hope to enter into academia post haste!  I don't regard the textbooks as gospel at all, and even my history teacher points out the weird or wrong stuff (bias, slip-ups).  Instead, I see textbooks as a very close approximation (due to typos, etc.,) of the sum total of human knowledge of a given subject at a given depth, scope, and time.  Oddly enough, I want to continue studying science (specifically physics) if I can, for a number of reasons, one of which being avoiding becoming outdated.  My tone is a product of writing essays for school -phrases like "I think" or "I believe" or "Maybe" are not allowed- one either goes for a point (without sensationalizing) or remains silent.  That tone is required for everything and gets even more formal and strong with grade and class level (Honors, AP).  I might add a line to my sig saying that I don't write this way to sound arrogant, but rather not to sound weasely (look 'weasel word' up on Wikipedia to find out more, it's the best approximation that I can provide).  Any ideas on something else that I can do with it?  Just to nitpick, North Face jackets are awful- Columbia all the way!   I will be doing some community service this summer- I don't know what yet.

-Penguin

The point everyone is trying to make is that talking and acting smart or knowing knowledge doesn't make you a smart person.  In fact if tried to write like you would normally talk instead of writing like everyone on here is trying to give you a grade.  We aren't grading you, as much as some of us make an occasional grammar Nazi remark no one actually cares *gasp*.  Be yourself the best you can, not someone else's idea of what you should be namely an English teacher.