Wos, I can be anti-Catholic if I want (and I do). If I think supporting the Catholic Church is evil (and I do), I can say so. It’s a belief system. No belief system is beyond criticism. You don’t cease existing just because I criticize your beliefs. You have called Republicans ‘fascist’ on n...

I don't think anyone is saying that it knows anything, because we all recognize that it's not conscious. But that's not the same as saying it doesn't think . Why can't thinking be automated? For instance, what is a a human chess player doing that a computer chess program is not? Aren't they making e...

kevinswatch wrote:Awww, shucks. You all are a crepuscular bunch of formicating puissants!

-jay

Careful, you might get the general discussion tanked with such lewd talk.

Seriously, I might have to change my signature again. That's an awesome sentence.

Not to pile-on Hashi (cuz on the main, I got along with him and wouldn't object to again reading his insights if he returned), but when the Mod hisself openly posts that Catholics are servants of Lucifer who are leading people into "a woke world of lies", then Houston, we have a problem. ...

Oh my. Yeah… if that was common parlence recently… wow. It wasn’t common parlance. I don’t remember anyone saying ‘go fuck a sheep.’ I do remember the child predator stuff. I’m surprised anyone would be more upset about naughty words than child rape. But this was largely between just ...

Fist, it could be a current events thread. All purpose. I’d like to hear Ser Scott’s thoughts on Ukraine. Sounded like he was ready to go.

"I like Joe Biden". Anyone who likes Joe Biden is a complete moron who hates the US and wants the government to change their diapers. * Moderator: hmm, doesn't talk about the poster. Pass. Just because the sentence talks about a larger group than the poster doesn’t mean it’s not also ...

The Tank could be fixed with one rule: any post that references a member instead of their words gets deleted. There's simply no reason to make it personal. If you can't hear an opinion without attacking the person stating it, you should stick to talking about toilet paper. Sounds good to me. The on...

I don't think our justice system can ever be 100% perfect, therefore there's always a chance that we arrested the wrong guy. So I object to capital punishment on purely pragmatic reasons. If we could be 100% sure, and the crime was great enough (room for debate there), then I'd have no problem with ...

A new (and final) season has started last week focusing on the main characters from STNG. Looks to be a tribute to STNG and possibly a new spinoff NG series.

But personal? I'm sure it was. What else would it be? We were told it wasn't directed at the conservative members, that indeed this suspicion was conspiratorial thinking. It was ostensibly because of unwanted behavior, not unwanted people and/or their views. Did you guys invite any of the people fr...

As the absolute expert and final say on what *I* want, I can confidently and indisputably state that you are wrong, Wayfriend. Cail, Hashi, Soulbiter and I started a political discussion group on Facebook, for your information. It didn’t last long. Too insular. I’ve been a member of much larger ...

WF, you asked a question. Do you want a relatively closed political forum only involving people on the Watch? Why? I cannot think of good reasons . . . I answered this in a positive manner that was complimentary to the members here, namely, that KW members are relatively more intelligent and civil t...

Wos, you actually made me laugh. Let's see if Fist gets it.

No one is going to disagree with an innocuous and obvious statement that the changes introduced by AI will not all be for the best. Rather it's alarmist and hyperbolic statements like, "This only confirms my cynical view of humanity's penchant for self-destruction through poor decisions made by...

I think part of the reason why some like to discuss politics here is because of the history. We've been talking for nearly two decades. That blows my mind sometimes. But this long history means that we know each other's positions and history. It's easier to hold people to account if they've been on ...

. . .he was faced with the bit of code he was after, and within a few mere seconds to perform work that would have taken him hours. Except that it didn't work. The same problem occurred even with the ChatGTP code inserted into the Google g-mail code, so he asked the former how it had derived its pi...

You’re right, Fist, it wouldn’t need moderating, but we’ve already seen how participation dropped in the previous incarnation. I prefer 100% free speech, but if it means more participation, then a few rules is a reasonable compromise. There’s little point in talking to yourself.

Thanks, Savor Dam. I appreciate the kind words. I think the Tank could be resurrected. Fair and effective moderation is possible. I don’t see why it couldn’t be operated like a hidden forum where people must apply to be members, a privilege they could lose if they violate the rules (without lead...

When we say it can find new knowledge, it's like finding a new logical proof, or a new combination of the symbols that lead to a logically true result that no one has thought of before. Would this extend to science, so that it could piece together various facts in ways we never thought to, and come...