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 Mr. Mushrooms
Spore Print Collector
Registered: 05/25/08
Posts: 13,018
Loc: Registered: 6/04/02
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 Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Cognitive_Shift]
#10174409 - 04/15/09 08:36 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Cognitive_Shift said:
I believe we are animals, who are special in that we have a large portion of our brain dedicated to speaking and language. A species which is better at sophisticating a language, is better at transferring information. And the amount of information being transferred between ourselves is what makes us special.
You may be more correct than you realize.
It is precisely propositional language and syntactically structured speech that sets man apart from every other animal. And what does it give us?
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Condoms
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History books
Philosophy
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Religion
Kites
Antiques
Computers
Hearing Aids
Lasers
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X-ray machines
Thin layer chromatography
Bullets
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Doc Johnson's Marital Aids
Video games
Television
Radio
Smoke alarms
Cameras
Pogo sticks
Ice cube trays
Mirrors
Glass windows
Pyramids
Paintings
Symphonies
Ceiling tiles
Basement floors
Lexmark printers
rubber gloves
filtered cigarettes
ashtrays
Rom
Ram
edible undies
inhalers
Boxing Gloves
Brass Knuckles
Tooth Brushes
Pasteurized milk
Arby's
McDonald's
Amusement parks
Digital photography
Vocoders
Rock and roll
Software
Hardware
Camaros
Super Glue
Goo gone
plastic wrap
Wax paper
Coors beer
Spaghetti
Knishes
Dishwashers
Weed Wackers
Lawn Mowers
Bubble baths
Indoor plumbing
The Internet
Message boards
Cheese Danishes
Ouija boards
Horoscopes
Trampolines
Religion
Calculus
Radiation therapy
Bowling Alleys
Tickets
Shoes
Poems
And, of course, the ability to have this discussion.
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BlimeyGrimey
Collector of Spores
Registered: 08/24/05
Posts: 3,738
Loc: Puget Sound
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Mr. Mushrooms]
#10174642 - 04/15/09 09:07 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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We are "probably" the only Earth species that has the ability (or will have) to leave this planet if wanted.
That makes us "unique" animals but animals nonetheless.
MM,
You forgot particle accelerators, some of the most advanced devices/machines ever built.
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I've done no harm, I keep to myself. There's nothing wrong with my state of mental health.
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Mr. Mushrooms
Spore Print Collector
Registered: 05/25/08
Posts: 13,018
Loc: Registered: 6/04/02
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: BlimeyGrimey]
#10174675 - 04/15/09 09:13 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Damn it! You're right, I did.
I would have placed it between peanut butter and full body casts. 
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BlimeyGrimey
Collector of Spores
Registered: 08/24/05
Posts: 3,738
Loc: Puget Sound
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Mr. Mushrooms]
#10174969 - 04/15/09 09:55 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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You also put religion in the list twice.
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I've done no harm, I keep to myself. There's nothing wrong with my state of mental health.
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 meatcakeman
the search for bodhisattva
Registered: 07/03/07
Posts: 8,279
Loc: el sol
Last seen: 5 days, 7 hours
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Mr. Mushrooms]
#10176134 - 04/16/09 03:18 AM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
BlimeyGrimey said:
You also put religion in the list twice.
That's only human.Quote:
Mr. Mushrooms said:
Quote:
Cognitive_Shift said:
I believe we are animals, who are special in that we have a large portion of our brain dedicated to speaking and language. A species which is better at sophisticating a language, is better at transferring information. And the amount of information being transferred between ourselves is what makes us special.
You may be more correct than you realize.
It is precisely propositional language and syntactically structured speech that sets man apart from every other animal. And what does it give us?
CASEWORK
GRANDSTANDS
GYM BLEACHERS
GYM EQUIPMENT
OPERABLE WALLS
PROJECTION SCREENS
STEEL LOCKERS &
METAL SHELVING
TOILET PARTITIONS
TV MOUNTS & LIFTS
VISUAL DISPLAY BOARDS
Bed Posts / Finials
Billiard Table Legs
Bun Feet
Cabinet Onlays
Corbels
Furniture Hardware
Kitchen Island Legs
Kits - Chair
Kits - Table
Pedestal Legs
Sofa / Chair / Cabinet Legs
Table / Chair Legs
Table Pedestals
Turning Squares
Bags & Packaging
Barrels & Drums
Bin Racks & Bins
Bottles
Carts & Trucks
DVD Cases
Labware
Nalgene� Labware
Outdoor Products
Pipe, Duct & Blowers
Plastic Buckets
Plastic Fittings
Pumps
Rubbermaid�
Safety & Tools
Sheet, Rod & Shapes
Tanks & Accessories
Totes & Containers
Trash Containers
Tubing & Fittings
Tygon� Tubing
Valves
Planes
Trains
Automobiles
Rocketships
Bombs
Guns
Ketchup
Mustard
Microscopes
Telescopes
Ham and Cheese sandwiches
Condoms
Knives
The judicial system
History books
Philosophy
Science
Astronomy
Religion
Kites
Antiques
Computers
Hearing Aids
Lasers
Masers
Tasers
X-ray machines
Thin layer chromatography
Bullets
Artificial insemination
Doc Johnson's Marital Aids
Video games
Television
Radio
Smoke alarms
Cameras
Pogo sticks
Ice cube trays
Mirrors
Glass windows
Pyramids
Paintings
Symphonies
Ceiling tiles
Basement floors
Lexmark printers
rubber gloves
filtered cigarettes
ashtrays
Rom
Ram
edible undies
inhalers
Boxing Gloves
Brass Knuckles
Tooth Brushes
Pasteurized milk
Arby's
McDonald's
Amusement parks
Digital photography
Vocoders
Rock and roll
Software
Hardware
Camaros
Super Glue
Goo gone
plastic wrap
Wax paper
Coors beer
Spaghetti
Knishes
Dishwashers
Weed Wackers
Lawn Mowers
Bubble baths
Indoor plumbing
The Internet
Message boards
Cheese Danishes
Ouija boards
Horoscopes
Trampolines
Religion
Calculus
Radiation therapy
Bowling Alleys
Tickets
Shoes
Poems
And, of course, the ability to have this discussion.
I don't see how any of said "human accomplishments" make us any more special than the rest of the global fauna...
If anything, they make us more privileged, not special. I see the word 'special' as having a connotation of singularity and uniqueness; we are neither. We try to convince ourselves otherwise, but we inevitably fall victim to the same vital guidelines of survival that all animals on Earth must heed to. Our capabilities are innumerable, materialistically speaking. But biologically, we are subject to Death, hunger, thirst, and all other mundane agents of earthly life.
From an egotistical and humanistic standpoint, we are superb. But in the unbiased and holistic view of Earth and its inhabitants, we are as appropriate as the prokaryotes living symbiotically within us.
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大开眼界
Hasta siempre, comandante.
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Mr. Mushrooms
Spore Print Collector
Registered: 05/25/08
Posts: 13,018
Loc: Registered: 6/04/02
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: BlimeyGrimey]
#10181639 - 04/16/09 10:11 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
BlimeyGrimey said:
You also put religion in the list twice.
At least someone is paying attention. 
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Mr. Mushrooms
Spore Print Collector
Registered: 05/25/08
Posts: 13,018
Loc: Registered: 6/04/02
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: meatcakeman]
#10181653 - 04/16/09 10:13 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
meatcakeman said:
I don't see how any of said "human accomplishments" make us any more special than the rest of the global fauna...
Undoubtedly that is the problem.
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 67,525
Loc: underbelly
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Mr. Mushrooms]
#10183640 - 04/17/09 08:50 AM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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It's only a problem if you think things are really different then they are.
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“What is the ideal for mental health, then? A lived, compelling illusion that does not lie about life, death, and reality; one honest enough to follow its own commandments: I mean, not to kill, not to take the lives of others to justify itself.”
― Ernest Becker
"Beneath the civilized veneer, man remains the supreme predator. Cursed with what he believes is understanding, his true soul blossoms godlike in the heart of the nuclear inferno."
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Mr. Mushrooms
Spore Print Collector
Registered: 05/25/08
Posts: 13,018
Loc: Registered: 6/04/02
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Icelander]
#10184425 - 04/17/09 11:36 AM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Reality isn't what we want it to be; neither is it what we think it is. Reality is what it is, nothing more nor less.
--Robert Ringer
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deCypher
Registered: 02/10/08
Posts: 52,515
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Mr. Mushrooms]
#10185125 - 04/17/09 01:33 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Mr. Mushrooms said:
Reality isn't what we want it to be; neither is it what we think it is. Reality is what it is, nothing more nor less.
--Robert Ringer
Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle drugs.
--Jane Wagner
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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
  
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Mr. Mushrooms
Spore Print Collector
Registered: 05/25/08
Posts: 13,018
Loc: Registered: 6/04/02
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: deCypher]
#10185483 - 04/17/09 02:32 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Was Jane her middle name?
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deCypher
Registered: 02/10/08
Posts: 52,515
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Mr. Mushrooms]
#10185492 - 04/17/09 02:34 PM (3 years, 1 month ago) |
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Don't believe so, but I'm not 100% sure on the author of the quote. Either it's Jane Wagner, her friend Lily Tomlin, or Robin Williams. 
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We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
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Psilonescens
NW Warshingtonian
Registered: 10/27/09
Posts: 69
Loc: Puget Sound PNW
Last seen: 1 year, 1 month
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Re: I believe we are nothing more than animals and not special. [Re: Icelander]
#11377449 - 11/03/09 01:28 PM (2 years, 6 months ago) |
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There's a fine list of difference between ours and any given primates thought processes. One could say they think purely out of instinct; but you also must first realize that we have those same instincts within our conscious. The thoughts " get food." " mate." and " fight." All cross both species minds at some point. However inhibitions and self control develop more acutely within the human mind thanks to genes passed down from our ancestors that tell us why to or not to.. Try to eat that 15 foot snake on that tree branch. Another benefit? You have 2 hemispheres that fully interact with eachother whentou reach the age of about 25. In primates, the 2 halves are connected at birth, which prevents growth from cells already present at birth. Yet we've only been here for around 5000 years. And we've already destroyed thousands of more times land than any primate ever could dream of.
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It felt amazing, being knocked off my pedestal by a fungus.
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